Page 77 - Gaza

Aid convoy reaches Gaza as Israel attacks targets in Syria, West Bank

The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reached Gaza on Sunday, as Israel widened its attacks to include targets in Syria and the occupied West Bank and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group that if it launches its own war, we will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine. For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas' brutal October 7 rampage through a series of Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, waiting for the command to cross. Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war. Fears of a widening war grew as Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants. Israel has traded fire with Hezbollah militants si

Shrinking fuel supplies for Gaza's hospital put premature babies at risk

A premature baby squirms inside a glass incubator in the neonatal ward of al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip. He cries out as intravenous lines are connected to his tiny body. A ventilator helps him breathe as a catheter delivers medication and monitors flash his fragile vital signs. His life hinges on the constant flow of electricity, which is in danger of running out imminently unless the hospital can get more fuel for its generators. Once the generators stop, hospital director Iyad Abu Zahar fears that the babies in the ward, unable to breathe on their own, will perish. The responsibility on us is huge, he said. Doctors treating premature babies across Gaza are grappling with similar fears. At least 130 premature babies are at grave risk across six neonatal units, aid workers said. The dangerous fuel shortages are caused by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which started along with airstrikes after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns on October 7. At least 50,000 pregn

LIVE Updates: Earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolts Nepal, informs NCS

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Gaza's global challenge

India did well to reiterate its stand on Palestine

French intel points to Palestine rocket, not Israeli strike, for Gaza blast

An assessment by French military intelligence indicates the most likely cause of the deadly explosion at Gaza City's al-Ahli hospital was a Palestinian rocket that carried an explosive charge of about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and possibly misfired, a senior French military official said Friday. Several rockets in the arsenal of the Palestinian militant group Hamas carry explosive charges of about that weight, including an Iranian-made rocket and another that is Palestinian-made, the intelligence official said. None of their intelligence pointed to an Israeli strike, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, but was cleared to discuss the assessment by President Emmanuel Macron in what was described as an attempt to be transparent about the French intelligence findings. The assessment was based on classified information, satellite imagery, intelligence shared by other countries and open-source information, the official said. The size of the blast crater in a ..

UN leaders welcome aid's entry into Gaza but note it's far from enough

United Nations leaders and agencies have welcomed the entry of a humanitarian aid convoy into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt but noted that it is only a small beginning, still far from enough and reiterated their appeal for an immediate ceasefire. A 20-truck convoy of the Egyptian Red Crescent entered Gaza with humanitarian supplies, the first since the conflict began following attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7. "I want to express my deep gratitude to Egypt in this regard. But the people of Gaza need a commitment for much, much more a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday. "We are working nonstop with all parties that are relevant to make it happen, he said in remarks at the Cairo Summit for Peace. Five UN agencies - UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and t

Israel to step up strikes on Gaza before ground offensive, says IDF

With an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza looming large, Israel has said it will step up its aerial strikes in the besieged Palestinian territory to create the best conditions for troops to move in. Indicating Israel's preparations for the second stage of its declared three-phase operation to change the security regime in Gaza, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us. From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimizing the danger, Hagari told reporters on Saturday, in a clear signal towards an imminent ground incursion. In another clear indicator that Israel was preparing for the second stage of its three-phase operation to change the security regime in Gaza, IDF's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told commanders of the elite Golani infantry brigade earlier on Saturday that they should expect surprises prepared by terror groups when they enter the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah official says his group already 'is in heart' of Israel-Hamas war

A top official with Hezbollah vowed that Israel will pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon already is in the heart of the battle. The comments by Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, came as Israel shelled and made drone strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles toward Israel. Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, the highest daily toll since the violence began two weeks ago. For Hezbollah, heating up the Lebanon-Israel border has a clear purpose, Kassem said: We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready. Hamas officials have said that if Israel starts a ground offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah will join the fighting. Exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border have picked up in the two weeks since the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed over 1,400 civilians and soldiers in ...

550 failed Palestinian rocket launches detected in Gaza, says Israel

The military also released footage of rocket barrages being launched from Gaza, in which several rockets could be seen crashing into the Strip

Pro-Palestinian protesters march in London as Israel-Hamas war roils world

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through a rainy London on Saturday to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, and similar calls were heard in cities around the world as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third week. On the day a trickle of aid entered Gaza, where more than 1 million people have left their homes because of the conflict, protesters gathered in at Marble Arch near London's Hyde Park before marching to the government district, Whitehall. Police estimated the crowd that wound its way through the city for three hours at up to 100,000. Waving Palestinian flags and chanting Stop bombing Gaza, participants called for an end to Israel's blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of a brutal incursion into southern Israel by the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza. Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,300 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mostly civilians sl

Israel-Hamas war: Aid trucks enter Gaza from Egypt as Rafah crossing opens

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "needs are far higher" in the enclave that has more than 2 million people

US President Biden speaks to freed American-Israeli hostages from Gaza

On Friday afternoon, Biden released a statement taking credit for the pair's release and thanking "the government of Qatar and the government of Israel for their partnership in this work

LIVE: Forex reserves increase by $1.153 bn to $585.895 bn, shows RBI data

Catch all the latest updates LIVE from around the world here

Israel strikes one of world's oldest churches in Gaza Latest updates on the war

On Oct 19, Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza, one of the world's oldest churches, was bombed by Israel, injuring many Christians. Watch the video to know more.

Israel pounds Gaza, evacuates town near Lebanon ahead of ground offensive

Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil. Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in Khan Younis in the south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into the town's Nasser Hospital, Gaza's second largest, which is already overflowing with patients and people seeking shelter. On Thursday, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered ground troops to prepare to see Gaza from the inside, hinting at a ground offensive aimed at crushing Gaza's militant Hamas rulers nearly two weeks after their bloody incursion into Israel. Officials have given no timetable for such an operation. Over a million people have been displaced in Gaza, with many heeding Israel's orders to evacuate the northern part of the sealed-off coastal

President Biden calls for restraint as Israel prepares for ground assault

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge. One blast struck a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City where families were seeking shelter, and Israel's defense minister ordered ground troops to be ready to invade, though he didn't indicate when. Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals tried to stretch out ebbing medical supplies and fuel for generators, as authorities worked out logistics for an aid delivery from Egypt. Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza performed surgeries by the light of mobile phones and used vinegar to treat infected wounds. Amid the violence, President Joe Biden pledged unwavering support for Israel's security, today and always, while adding that the world can't ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians" in the besieged Gaza Strip. In a national address Thursday night from the Oval Office, hours after returning to Washington from an urgent visit to Israel, Biden drew a distinction between ..

As Israel readies troops for ground assault, Gaza awaits much-needed aid

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, as the Israeli defense minister ordered ground troops to prepare to see Gaza from the inside, though he didn't indicate when the ground assault would begin. Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals tried to stretch out ebbing medical supplies and fuel for generators, as authorities worked out logistics for a desperately needed aid delivery from Egypt. Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza performed surgeries by the light of mobile phones and used vinegar to treat infected wounds. Amid the violence, President Joe Biden pledged unwavering support for Israel's security, today and always, while adding that the world can't ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians" in the besieged Gaza Strip. In an address Thursday night from the Oval office, hours after returning to Washington from an urgent visit to Israel, Biden drew a distinction between ordinary Palestinians and Hamas,

As Israel-Hamas war rages, Israelis can travel to US without getting visa

As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, the United States Thursday launched a visa waiver programme allowing Israelis wishing to visit the United States for 90 days or less to come without applying for a visa. The US announced on September 27 that it was admitting Israel into the visa waiver programme, adding the country to a select group of 40 mostly European and Asian countries whose citizens can travel to the US for three months without visas. At the time, the US said Israelis could start travelling to America without visas as of November 30. In a news release, the Department of Homeland Security said the program was operational as of Thursday. Officials gave no reason for the changed timeline in a news release Thursday. But just days after Israel's admittance to the visa waiver programme, Hamas launched attacks against numerous locations in southern Israel. Since then the Israeli military has relentlessly attacked locations in the Gaza Strip as it prepares for a ground ...

US issues caution for Americans travelling overseas amid Israel-Gaza war

Amid the Israel-Gaza war and increasing anti-US protests, the United States on Thursday issued a worldwide caution for Americans travelling overseas. "Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against US citizens and interests, the Department of State advises US citizens overseas to exercise increased caution, the travel advisory said. US citizens should stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, the advisory said. The advisory also urged US citizens to enrol in the 'Smart Traveler Enrollment Program' so that they can receive information and alerts and can be easily located in an emergency overseas.

UN-backed aid could soon enter Gaza from Egypt, but only at trickle for now

President Joe Biden says he struck a deal with his Egyptian counterpart to allow a first run of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which Israel sealed off after the Hamas attack on October 7. Israel says it's now ready to honour Biden's request to let in limited humanitarian aid. The Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies and the United Nations are expected to help oversee the operation, in part to ensure the supplies from the convoy through the Rafah Crossing on Egypt's border with Gaza reaches civilians not combatants. Official at the UN health agency say they're praying the first tranche will go in on Friday. Here's a look at what could be expected to go in, and how. WHAT THE TRUCKS WILL CARRY The United Nations and its various agencies the World Health Organisation, the World Food Program, and children's agency UNICEF among them along with partners like Red Cross and Red Crescent groups are accustomed to moving needed goods to troubled areas. They