Hamas

Gaza's Rafah crossing reopens for limited traffic as ceasefire advances

Palestinians in Gaza watched with hope and impatience Sunday as workers laid the groundwork to reopen the territory's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, its lifeline to the world. Israel says the crossing is scheduled to resume Monday as its ceasefire with Hamas moves ahead. "Opening the crossing is a good step, but they set a limit on the number of people allowed to cross, and this is a problem," said Ghalia Abu Mustafa, a woman from Khan Younis. Israel said the crossing had opened in a test, and the Israeli military agency that controls aid to Gaza said residents could begin crossing Monday. But only a small number of people can cross at first. "We want a large number of people to leave, for it to be open so that sick people can go and return," said Suhaila Al-Astal, a woman displaced from the city of Rafah who said her sick daughter needed help abroad. "We want the crossing to be open permanently." Israel's announcement came a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 30 ...

Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies in final exchange under Gaza ceasefire

Israel turned over the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Thursday, just days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage, a Gaza Health Ministry official said. This marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas carried out as part of the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire reached in October. The Red Cross said it helped facilitate the return of the bodies. They were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the health ministry. The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, had been a key part of the first phase in the ceasefire that paused the war. Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage recovered, according to the ceasefire terms. It's unclear if the bodies released Thursday were of Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war. Israel has released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal, many who

Vikram Misri links Hamas Oct 7 attack on Israel to cross-border terrorism

At the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Misri said India has its own share of experience as a victim of cross-border terrorism, in a veiled reference to April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack

A Short History of the Gaza Strip: Anne Irfan's book traces roots of crisis

Gaza, the city, is as old as the Old Testament in which it finds a mention. Gaza, the modern-day strip, was born in 1948, its fate entwined with the establishment and expansion of Israel

Datanomics: Gaza trapped in poverty as Donald Trump opens peace panel

India has been invited to join the proposed Gaza Peace Board as the Israel-Palestine conflict devastates Gaza and the West Bank, with collapsing incomes, rising poverty and record unemployment

Gaza Board of Peace takes shape as Israel raises objections to plan

Argentine President Javier Milei and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are set to become founding members, they announced on Saturday

Trump invites India to join proposed Gaza Board of Peace: Reports

The Gaza Board of Peace is Trump's plan to build on the fragile ceasefire in the region

Trump announces 'Board of Peace' for phase two of plan to end Gaza war

According to Trump's post, with the support of Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, the next phase will aim to secure a comprehensive demilitarisation agreement with Hamas

Israeli soldier sentenced to 20 days in jail for posting Gaza firing video

The soldier, from the Golani Brigade, posted the video himself on social media, showing him firing shots toward Gaza, which he said was done 'in honour of the new year'

Israel strikes Hezbollah, Hamas sites in Lebanon ahead of disarmament meet

Israel's air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, saying they are home to infrastructure for the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. The strikes came a few days before Lebanon's army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel. The strikes took place nearly two hours after Israel's military Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted warnings on X that the military would strike targets for Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas groups in two villages in the eastern Bekaa Valley and two others in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a home struck in the village of Manara in the Bekaa Valley belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024. The Lebanese army last year began the disarmament process of Palestinian groups while the government has said that by the end of 2025 all the areas clos

Israel aids Italy in arrest of Hamas leader, 6 others in Europe crackdown

A joint task force transferred information and evidence to law enforcement authorities in Italy, through accepted and agreed channels, as part of an investigation targeting Hamas infra in Italy

Hamas violating Trump's peace plan, warns Netanyahu as Israel vows response

Israel vowed on Wednesday to respond to an incident in southern Gaza's Rafah in which a bomb exploded against an Israeli armored personnel carrier, lightly injuring an IDF officer

Ceasefire enters tougher phase as Trump plan aims to reshape Gaza's future

With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East. US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan which was approved by the U.N. Security Council lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas' rule of Gaza. If successful, it would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision, normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. But if the deal stalls, Gaza could be trapped in an unstable limbo for years to come, with Hamas remaining in control of parts of the territory, Israel's army enforcing an open-ended occupation an

'Yellow line' under Trump's peace plan is new border: Israel military chief

Eyal Zamir, who is the chief of the general staff, said Israel would hold onto its current military positions, adding that those positions give it control of more than half of Gaza

Gaza ceasefire is at critical moment as first phase winds down: Qatar PM

Qatar's prime minister on Saturday said the Gaza ceasefire has reached a critical moment as its first phase winds down, with the remains of just one Israeli hostage still held by militants in Gaza. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an international conference in the Qatari capital that international mediators, led by the US, are working to force the way forward to the second phase to cement the deal. What we have just done is a pause, he told the Doha Forum. We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire. A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out, which is not the case today, he said. While the ceasefire halted the heavy fighting of the two-year war, Gaza health officials say that over 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took effect in October. In new violence, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City, Shifa Hospit

24 killed as Israel launches strikes in Gaza in latest test of ceasefire

Israel's military on Saturday said it launched airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on October 10. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 14 people killed and another 45 wounded, including children. Similar waves of strikes have occurred during the ceasefire after reported attacks against Israeli forces. One strike targeted a vehicle, killing seven and wounding 18 Palestinians in Gaza City's Rimal neighbourhood, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The majority of those wounded were children, director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said. Another strike targeting a house near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza killed at least three people and wounded 11 others, according to the hospital. It said a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza killed one child and wounded 16 others. And a strike targeting a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed three people, including a woman,

Israeli soldiers battle trauma, PTSD after two years of war with Hamas

Wrapped tightly around his forearms, the former Israeli soldier feels the snakes' cold skin against his, and for a moment, he's able to breathe. It's been nearly 18 months since he left the army after fighting in the war in Gaza, and the flashbacks and panic attacks haven't ceased. He was wounded in a Hamas missile attack on his military base, and said two of his friends also soldiers in their 20s died by suicide. This farm in central Israel dedicated to helping soldiers has been a lifeline, he said. It doesn't matter if a plane goes by or if the drone goes by or if someone is yelling. ... Because I'm here with the snake right now, said the 27-year-old sergeant major, who called the experience grounding. Like other soldiers who spoke to The Associated Press, he insisted on anonymity to discuss private mental health matters. Israel's longest war is leaving a trail of traumatised soldiers, with a growing number suffering from mental health illnesses after two years of war with Hamas

Gaza death toll tops 69,000 as Israel, militants again exchange remains

More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war so far, Gaza health officials said Saturday, as both sides completed the latest exchange of bodies under the terms of the tenuous ceasefire. The latest jump in deaths occurred as more bodies are recovered in the devastated Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began on October 10, and as other bodies are identified. The toll also includes Palestinians killed by strikes that Israel says target remaining militants. Israel on Saturday returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians to Gaza, according to hospital officials there, a day after militants returned the remains of a hostage to Israel. He was identified as Lior Rudaeff, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that Rudaeff was born in Argentina. The exchanges are the central part of the ceasefire's initial phase, which requires that Hamas return all hostage remains as quickly as possible. Families and .

Israel returns bodies of 15 Palestinians for Israeli hostages' remains

Israel on Saturday returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza, hospital officials in the strip said, a day after militants returned the remains of a hostage to Israel under the terms of the tenuous ceasefire agreement in the two-year war. The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous, US-brokered truce. As part of the deal, Israel has returned the remains of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli hostage. The Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis said the 15 bodies were brought there. The return came shortly after Israel confirmed the remains given back Friday night were of an Israeli man who died while fighting Hamas in the militants' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. The hostage's body was identified as that of Lior Rudaeff, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Rudaeff was born in Argentina and moved to Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, a farming community in southern Israel, as a child. H

Red Cross to hand over received remains of 3 hostages to Israel military

Israel said the Red Cross has received the remains of three hostages in Gaza and they will be handed over to Israel's military. A Hamas statement earlier said the remains were found Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza. Since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on October 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza. Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains aren't of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation. Israel's military said official identification of these remains would be provided to families first. Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage. Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the ceasefire began have been identified, ...