Page 25 - Hamas

Threat of war with Israel redefines 'normal' life in Lebanon's Beirut

Beirut is used to living with the threat of war, and this was a couple of weeks ago. That threat is now getting more acute

India shares with Israel its concern over escalating situation in West Asia

India and Israel on Wednesday held a key meeting during which the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral endeavours even as New Delhi shared its concern over the "escalating situation" in West Asia and emphasised "restraint, dialogue, and diplomacy", an official statement said. During the 17th India-Israel Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) hosted here, the two sides also shared views on the prevailing situation in the Indo-Pacific, the Ministry of External Affairs said in the statement. The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and the Israeli side by the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yaakov Blitshtein. "Reiterating India's strong and unequivocal condemnation of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, the Foreign Secretary called for the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages, ceasefire, the need for continued humanitarian assistance, and adherence to international humanitarian law," it said. "At the same time,

Will win war against terror by fighting together, says top Israeli official

Terrorism is a disease that will not stop unless all like-minded nations fight against it, a top Israeli official has said, asserting that his country will win the war against terror amid the escalating tensions in West Asia. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Yakoov Blitshtein, Director General of Foreign Affairs of Israel, said it was necessary to put an end to terror in Israel and all other places. "Terrorism is a disease that we must face (fight), not only in Israel but in the entire world. This is a disease that will not stop unless all of us, like-minded countries, fight against it," he said. Referring to the terror attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, Blitshtein said the country is in difficult times but shall overcome it. "We will build new cities, new homes and bring back all the citizens to their homes, to their villages, to their kibbutz, to the cities. We will win the war against terrorism," he said. His remarks come after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes

Israel, Hezbollah step back, but for how long? All eyes on Iran's next move

The Israelis claim to have thwarted what could have been a large-scale Hezbollah assault

Negotiations more effective than rescues in bringing Israeli hostages home

Israel's military has rescued its eight hostage from Gaza since the 10-month-old war began. While the rescue Tuesday set off celebrations, it also renewed calls from the families of hostages who are still being held in Gaza for a deal that would bring home their loved ones before it's too late. They say an agreement, not military rescues, is the best hope. International mediators have tried for months to broker a deal that would see scores of hostages still held by Hamas exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and a cease-fire. But Israel and Hamas cannot agree on key portions of the deal. Of some 250 hostages taken by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, around 105 were released in a cease-fire last November. Israel says 108 remain in Gaza, at least 36 of whom are believed dead. After 10 months, the IDF managed just to release a small number of hostages from Hamas and the rest of them must be released by negotiations and by ending this war, said Mazen Abu Siam,

Rescued another hostage abducted in Hamas' Oct 7 attack: Israeli military

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it has rescued one of the scores of people abducted in Hamas' October 7 attack, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. The rescue brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis amid months of grinding war but also another painful reminder of the scores of hostages remaining in captivity despite international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement in which they would be released. The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip," without providing further details. It was not immediately known if the rescue was made under fire or if anyone was killed or wounded during the operation. The 52-year-old was one of eight members of Israel's Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted on October 7. He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children. Israel's Channel 12 showed

Risk of broader war eases a bit after Israel-Hezbollah exchange: US general

Brown noted Hezbollah's strike was just one of two major threatened attacks against Israel

UN aid operations in Gaza halted after Israel issues evacuation orders

The official said UN staff on the ground had been directed to try and find a way to keep operating. He said UN operations had not been formally suspended

Economists suggest ending war to revive Israel's struggling economy

In Jerusalem's Old City, nearly all souvenir shops are closed. In Haifa's flea market, forlorn merchants polish their wares on empty streets. Airlines are canceling flights, businesses are failing and luxury hotels are half empty. Nearly 11 months into the war with Hamas, Israel's economy is struggling as the country's leaders grind ahead with an offensive in Gaza that shows no signs of ending and threatens to escalate into a wider conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to allay concerns by saying the economic damage is only temporary. But the bloodiest, most destructive war ever between Israel and Hamas has hurt thousands of small businesses and compromised international trust in an economy once thought of as an entrepreneurial dynamo. Some leading economists say a cease-fire is the best way to stop the damage. The economy right now is under huge uncertainty, and it's related to the security situation how long the war will go on, what the intensity will be and the .

Gaza cease-fire talks to continue after Cairo meetings fail to resolve gaps

The development came after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah traded heavy fire

Iran's foreign min vows retaliation against Israel over Haniyeh's death

Iran's foreign minister again has referenced his country's planned retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Abbas Araghchi said late Sunday he made the remark in a conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani by telephone. Iran reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated, Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it unlike Israel. Tajani said in a statement he called for restraint and to pursue a constructive approach, in order to stop the cycle of military actions in the region, which only risks bringing more suffering. It is important that Iran exercises moderation towards Hezbollah in order to avert an escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Italian soldiers of the UNIFIL contingent are operating, and towards the Houthis in order to avoid an increase in tensions in the Red Sea area, where Italy plays a leading role in the .

Hamas sending delegation to Cairo for update on ceasefire negotiations

In a statement, Hamas spokesman Izzat Al-Rishq said the team, led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya, is traveling "at the invitation of the mediators in Egypt and Qatar."

Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza ahead of high-level ceasefire talks

Multiple Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt. Among the dead were 11 members of a family, including two children, after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a total of 33 bodies from three strikes in and around the city that also hit tuk-tuks and passersby. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from another strike. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. First responders also recovered 16 bodies from the Hamad City area of Khan Younis after a partial pullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential block west of Khan Younis and two farther south in Rafah. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear, but the areas were repeatedly bombed by the Israeli military over the past week. An Associated Press

ICC prosecutor insists court can issue warrants against Israeli leaders

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Friday called on judges to "urgently" rule on his request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others linked to the Israel-Hamas war, saying the court has jurisdiction. It is settled law that the Court has jurisdiction in this situation, Prosecutor Karim Khan wrote in a 49-page legal brief. Khan called on a panel of ICC pretrial judges to urgently render its decisions on the requests he filed in May for warrants for Netanyahu, his defence minister, Yoav Gallant and three leaders of Hamas, two of whom have since been killed. The brief filed by Khan came in response to legal arguments filed by dozens of countries, academics, victims' groups and rights groups either rejecting or supporting the court's power to issue arrest warrants in its investigation into the war in Gaza and the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. In his May request for arrest warrants, Khan accused Netanyahu, Gallant and three

Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in Gaza, say Palestinian officials

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received the bodies, including the remains of a woman and three children, after strikes overnight and into Thursday. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital counted the bodies. A man held the body of a child wrapped in a white shroud as a woman next to him wept, saying: My love, my soul. The Israeli offensive launched in response to Hamas' October 7 attack has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants or civilians. Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted around 250. Around 110 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential areas. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a ...

American Airlines extends suspension of flights to Israel amid Gaza war

American Airlines is suspending flights to Israel through late March, extending a break in service that started in the early days of the war in Gaza. A spokesperson for the airline said Wednesday that customers with tickets for flights to Tel Aviv can rebook at no extra charge or cancel their trip and get a refund. The airline said flights to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv will be suspended through March 29. The airline updated a travel advisory on its website over the weekend. We will continue to work closely with our partner airlines to assist customers travelling between Israel and European cities with service to the US, the spokesperson said. Delta Air Lines extended its suspension of Tel Aviv flights through September 30 from August 31. United Airlines has suspended service indefinitely. All three airlines stopped flying to Israel shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack that started the war. Many other international airlines did the same, although some later ..

Egypt skeptical of Gaza cease-fire proposal as more details emerge

Key mediator Egypt expressed scepticism Wednesday about the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas as more details emerged a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo. The challenges around the so-called bridging proposal appeared to undermine the optimism for an imminent agreement that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried into his latest Mideast visit this week. Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, the White House said, without immediately giving details on what was said. Officials in Egypt, in its unique role as both a mediator and affected party since it borders Gaza, told The Associated Press that Hamas won't agree to the bridging proposal for a number of reason

Israeli tank, drone strikes kill at least 17 in Gaza's Khan Younis

Israeli tank and drone strikes in Gaza on Wednesday killed at least 17 people, according to hospital staff and Associated Press journalists who counted the bodies. The strikes happened in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south. Lebanon's Hezbollah on Wednesday launched more than 50 rockets, hitting a number of private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night. The attacks came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signalled that challenges remain. Diplomatic efforts had redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation. Meanwhile, key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism Wednesda

Hezbollah launches more than 50 rockets on Israeli-annexed Golan Heights

Lebanon's Hezbollah has launched more than 50 rockets, hitting a number of private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The attack on Wednesday came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain. Hamas in a new statement called the latest proposal presented to it a reversal of what it agreed to previously and accused the US of acquiescing to what it called new conditions from Israel. There was no immediate US response. First responders in Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday's attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak. Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed o

Israel-Hamas war: Hezbollah fires around 50 rockets, hitting Golan Heights

Lebanon's Hezbollah has launched more than 50 rockets, hitting a number of private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The attack on Wednesday came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain. Hamas in a new statement called the latest proposal presented to it a reversal of what it agreed to previously and accused the US of acquiescing to what it called new conditions from Israel. There was no immediate US response. First responders in Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday's attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and fire fighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak. Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed