Page 33 - Hamas

Blinken back in Mideast as Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal hangs in balance

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East this week as a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal hangs in the balance after the dramatic rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a major military raid and turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. With no firm response yet from Hamas to the proposal received 10 days ago, Blinken on Monday will start his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the conflict began in October. He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before travelling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar. While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other US officials have praised the hostage rescue, the operation resulted in the deaths of a large number of Palestinian civilians that may complicate the cease-fire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas' resolve to carry on fighting in the war it initiated with its October 7 attacks in Israel. It's hard to say how Hamas will process this particular ...

Israeli govt extends ban on Al Jazeera operations by another 45 days

Regarding the ban, the Israeli minister asserted, saying that it was unanimously adopted by the government, based on updated opinions from all security sources

'274 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raid that rescued 4 hostages'

Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 274 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli air and ground raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas. The ministry said Sunday that around 700 people were wounded in Saturday's operation. The operation deep into central Gaza was the largest rescue operation since October 7, when Hamas and other militants stormed across the border, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage. Israel launched a massive offensive in response that has killed over 36,700 Palestinians, according to local health officials. Israelis celebrated the return of Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, after Israeli forces raided two locations at once while under fire.

Israel rescues 4 hostages in Gaza raid; Hamas says 210 Palestinians killed

Israel said Saturday it rescued four hostages who were kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on October 7. The army said it rescued Noa Argamani,25, Almog Meir Jan 21, Andrey Kozlov 27, and Shlomi Ziv (40), in a complex special daytime operation in Nuseirat. The hostages were rescued in two separate locations in the heart of Nuseirat, it said. Hamas kidnapped some 250 hostages during its attack on southern Israel on October 7. About half were released in a week-long cease-fire in November. Israel says more than 130 hostages remain, with about a quarter of those believed dead, and divisions are deepening in the country over the best way to bring them home. Saturday's operation is the largest recovery of alive hostages since the war erupted, bringing the total of rescued captives to seven.

US making biggest push to halt Israel, Hamas fighting. Is it succeeding?

In Middle East capitals, at the United Nations, from the White House and beyond, the Biden administration is making its most concentrated diplomatic push of the eight-month-old war in Gaza to persuade Israeli and Hamas leaders to take a proposed deal that would bring a cease-fire and release of more hostages. But one week into the U.S. pressure campaign, the world still is waiting for signs that the cease-fire appeal begun May 31 by President Joe Biden was working, by moving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders toward a negotiating breakthrough. For Israel and Hamas, the U.S. diplomatic press has become a public test of whether either side is ready to stop fighting at least on any terms that fall short of their professed goals, whether it's the complete crushing of the militant group or the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. For Biden, who describes the proposal as Israeli, it's the latest high-profile test of U.S. leadership in trying to convin

Israel, Hamas to be listed for violations of children's rights, says UN

The UN secretary-general will list Israel and Hamas as violating the rights and protection of children in armed conflict in an upcoming annual report to the Security Council. According to the preface of last year's report, lists parties engaged in the killing and maiming of children" and in attacks on schools, hospitals and protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals. The head of Secretary-General Antnio Guterres' office, Courtenay Rattray, called Israel's UN Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, on Friday to inform him that Israel would be listed on the next report when it is sent to the council within a few weeks, UN spokesman Stphane Dujarric told reporters. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad also are being listed. Israel reacted with outrage, sending news organisations a video of Erdan berating Rattray, supposedly on the other end of a phone call.

Israel's army targets 'Hamas compound' in school; media says 39 killed

Israel's military said Thursday it targeted what it called a Hamas compound inside of a school in the Gaza Strip, an attack Hamas-affiliated media there reported killed at least 39 people. Information about the strike in the Nuseirat area remained contradictory Thursday morning, and The Associated Press could not immediately independently confirm details about the strike. Hamas' al-Aqsa television broadcaster offered the death toll, without offering a source for the figures. The Israeli military said its fighter jets struck the school run by the United Nations agency providing aid to the Palestinians, known by the acronym UNRWA. The Israeli military claimed, without immediately offering evidence, that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad used the school as cover for their operations. Before the strike, a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians during the strike, including conducting aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information, the Isra

In apparent blow to Biden's plan, Hamas leader demands full end to Gaza war

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said there would be no let-up in Israel's offensive while negotiations over the ceasefire proposal were under way

Over 1 mn in Gaza could face highest level of starvation by mid-July: UN

United Nations agencies warned Wednesday that over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of next month if hostilities continue. The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a joint report that hunger is worsening because of heavy restrictions on humanitarian access and the collapse of the local food system in the nearly eight-month Israel-Hamas war. It says the situation remains dire in northern Gaza, which has been surrounded and largely isolated by Israeli troops for months. Israel recently opened land crossings in the north but they are only able to facilitate truck loads in the dozens each day for hundreds of thousands of people. Israel's incursion into Rafah has meanwhile severely disrupted aid operations in the south. Egypt has refused to open its Rafah crossing with Gaza since Israeli forces seized the Gaza side of it nearly a month ago, instead diverting aid to Israel's Kerem Shalom crossin

US urges UNSC to support cease-fire plan in Gaza announced by Biden

The United States urged the UN Security Council on Monday to support the three-phase plan announced by President Joe Biden aimed at ending the nearly eight-month war in Gaza, freeing all hostages and sending massive aid into the devastated territory. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States circulated a draft resolution to the 14 other council members to back the proposal for ending the conflict that began with Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians. Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan and we call on the Security Council to join them in calling for implementation of this deal without delay and without further conditions, she said in a statement. The brief draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would welcome the May 31 deal announced by Biden and call on Hamas to accept it fully and implement its terms without delay and without ...

Biden bats for hostage-for-truce deal; asks Israelis, Hamas to step up

President Joe Biden is looking past resistance from key Israeli officials as he presses Israel and Hamas to agree to a three-phase agreement that could immediately bring home dozens of Israeli hostages, free Palestinian prisoners and perhaps even lead to an endgame in the nearly eight-month-old Gaza war. Biden's big swing -- during a tough re-election battle -- could also demonstrate to a significant slice of his political base demoralised by his handling of the conflict that he's doing his part to end the war that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians and left hundreds of thousands struggling to meet basic needs. White House officials on Monday said Biden's decision to make public what it describes as an Israeli proposal -- just one day after it was delivered to Hamas -- was driven by a desire to put Hamas on the spot. The move diverged from the US administration's position throughout the conflict to allow the Israelis to speak for themselves about hostage negotiations. "The ...

Prez Biden urges Qatar to pressure Hamas to accept cease-fire proposal

US President Joe Biden held a conversation with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss how the ceasefire and hostage deal offers a concrete roadmap for ending the crisis in Gaza

4 hostages found dead in Gaza, including 3 older men seen in video: Israel

The Israeli military on Monday confirmed the deaths of four more hostages held by Hamas -- including three older men seen in a Hamas video begging for their release. The three men, Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger and Haim Peri, were all age 80 or older. Looking weak and wary, they appeared in a video in December released by Hamas under the title, Don't let us grow old here. The fourth hostage was identified as Nadav Popplewell. Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the four men died together in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when Israel was operating there. The cause of death was not immediately known. We are checking all of the options, Hagari said. There are a lot of questions. Israel carried out a major offensive in Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold, early this year. Hamas claimed in May that Popplewell had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike, but provided no evidence. Cooper, Metzger and Peri were featured in a Hamas propaganda video in wh

No permanent ceasefire unless Hamas destroyed, says Israeli PM Netanyahu

His comments raise further questions about the three-phase peace plan laid out by Biden, which he said had been put forward by Israel

Israel seeks governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza, despite past failures

Israel is looking into an alternative local governing body for Gaza, the defence minister said on Sunday, proposing a future beyond Hamas but giving no idea who those challengers might be. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's comments came at a time of new uncertainty in the eight-month war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure from many Israelis to accept a new ceasefire deal proposed by US President Joe Biden while far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does. Gallant, part of Israel's three-member War Cabinet who recently urged the government to have a detailed postwar plan for Gaza, said in a briefing that "we seek a governing alternative to Hamas. The framework for this includes isolating areas, removing Hamas operatives in these areas and bringing in other forces that will enable the formation of a governing alternative". That will achieve Israel's goals of removing Hamas' military and governing authority in Gaza and returning home

US expects Israel to accept agreement to end Gaza war if Hamas agrees

"This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal" as was transmitted to them, an Israeli proposal" then Israel would say yes," US official said

Protesters in Tel Aviv demand hostage swap, call for Netanyahu's ouster

Organisers claim that Saturday's demonstration marked the largest gathering since October 7, estimating a turnout of 120,000 individuals in Tel Aviv alone

Israel offered Hamas a three-step road map to an enduring ceasefire: Biden

US President Joe Biden on Friday announced that Israel has offered to Hamas, a three-step roadmap to enduring ceasefire in the region. Now after intensive diplomacy carried out by my team and my many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It's a road map to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages, Biden told reporters at the White House. This proposal has been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas, he said, adding that this new proposal has three phases. The first phase that would last for six weeks includes a full and complete ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. There are American hostages who would be released at this stage, and we want them home, he said, adding that Palestinian civilians would .

Hamas 'no longer capable' of carrying out another major attack: Biden

President Joe Biden said Friday that Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire. Biden addressed the nearly 8-month-old Israel-Hamas war as the Israeli military confirmed on Friday that its forces are now operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city. This is truly a decisive moment, Biden said as he spoke of a three-phase deal that Israeli officials have offered Hamas. Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it. Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Cease-fire talks ground to a

Police arrest 'many' at Israel-Hamas war protest at UC Santa Cruz

Police in riot gear surrounded arm-in-arm protesters Friday at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to remove an encampment and barricades where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have blocked the main entrance to the campus this week. Many people were arrested, the university said. Campus, local and state police swarmed the protesters, and video from local news stations showed officers telling people to leave, then taking away signs and part of a barricade. There appeared to be some pushing and shoving between police and protesters. Officers carried zip ties and appeared to detain a few people. For weeks, encampment participants were given repeated, clear direction to remove the encampment and cease blocking access to numerous campus resources and to the campus itself, Scott Hernandez-Jason, a spokesperson for the university, said in a statement Friday. They were notified that their actions were unlawful and unsafe. And this morning they were also given multiple warnings by law ..