Page 34 - Hamas

Israel could have used smaller weapons to avoid deaths in Gaza, say experts

Defence experts who have reviewed debris images from an Israeli airstrike that ignited a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians questioned why Israel did not use smaller, more precise weapons when so many civilians were nearby. They said the bombs used were likely US-made. The strikes, targeting Hamas operatives, killed as many as 45 people sheltering in a temporary displacement camp near the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday and have drawn international condemnation. Israel is investigating the attack but says that the Hamas targets were 1.7 kilometres away from a declared humanitarian zone and that its review ahead of the strike determined no expected harm to civilians. But displaced civilians were scattered throughout the area, and Israel had not ordered evacuations. So even if the tents that burned were not inside the marked humanitarian zone, the civilians there thought it was safe. Israel, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has not said how far the

Stalemate in Gaza

International support for Israel is weakening

Israeli official cautions war in Gaza may extend seven more months

Despite earlier considerations for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas, the more hawkish faction of Israel's war cabinet advocated for proceeding with the Rafah offensive

US military-built pier in Gaza breaks apart: Here's all you need to know

A string of security, logistical and weather problems has battered the plan to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza through a US military-built pier. Broken apart by strong winds and heavy seas just over a week after it became operational, the project faces criticism that it hasn't lived up to its initial billing or its USD 320 million price tag. US officials say, however, that the steel causeway connected to the beach in Gaza and the floating pier are being repaired and reassembled at a port in southern Israel, then will be reinstalled and working again next week. While early Pentagon estimates suggested the pier could deliver up to 150 truckloads of aid a day when in full operation, that has yet to happen. Bad weather has hampered progress getting aid into Gaza from the pier, while the Israeli offensive in the southern city of Rafah has made it difficult, if not impossible at times, to get aid into the region by land routes. Aid groups have had mixed reactions bot

Israel's Knesset advances bill labelling UNRWA as 'terror organisation'

The bill's preliminary reading passed by a vote of 42-6

Israel says Gaza war likely to last another 7 months as tanks probe Rafah

The United States, Israel's closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah on Tuesday while saying it did not believe such an operation was under way

Algeria proposes UNSC resolution demanding Israel halt offensive in Rafah

Algeria is circulating a proposed UN Security Council resolution that would demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and order Israel to halt its military offensive in the southern city of Rafah immediately. The draft resolution, obtained on Wednesday evening by The Associated Press, also demands that the cease-fire be respected by all parties. It also calls for the immediate release of all hostages taken during Hamas' attack in southern Israel on October 7. Some diplomats said they hoped for a quick vote, even as early as Wednesday. It is our hope that it can be done as quickly as possible because life is in the balance, Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong told reporters. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: We're waiting to see it and then we'll react to it. The United States has vetoed multiple resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. The draft demands compliance with previous Security Council resolutions that call for the opening of all border crossings and humanitarian access

Hamas munitions caused fire in Rafah's displaced persons camp, says Israel

The Sunday night airstrike killed Hamas commanders Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar in a compound in the Rafah neighborhood of Tel Sultan

Israeli advisory panel to examine treatment of imprisoned Hamas terrorists

Approximately 2,300 Palestinian terror suspects have been detained in Gaza since Israel launched its ground invasion on October 27

Israeli strikes kill 37 Palestinians near Gaza's Rafah as offensive expands

Israeli shelling and airstrikes killed at least 37 people, most of them sheltering in tents, outside the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight and on Tuesday pummelling the same area where strikes triggered a deadly fire days earlier in a camp for displaced Palestinians according to witnesses, emergency workers and hospital officials. The tent camp inferno has drawn widespread international outrage, including from some of Israel's closest allies, over the military's expanding offensive into Rafah. And in a sign of Israel's growing isolation on the world stage, Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday. The Israeli military suggested Sunday's blaze in the tent camp may have been caused by secondary explosions, possibly from Palestinian militants' weapons. The results of Israel's initial probe into the fire were issued Tuesday, with military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari saying the cause of the fire was still under investigation but that the ..

Spain, Norway formally recognise Palestine as EU rift with Israel widens

Spain and Norway moved to formally recognise a Palestinian state with Ireland to follow suit on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three western European nations. Israel slammed the diplomatic move that will have no immediate impact on its grinding war in Gaza but adds to international pressure on Tel Aviv to soften its devastating response to last year's Hamas-led attack. Prime Minister Pedro Snchez said the Spanish Cabinet will recognise a Palestinian state at its Tuesday morning meeting. This is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace, Snchez, standing at the gates of the prime minister's palace in Madrid, said during a televised speech. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz lashed out at Spain on X, saying Snchez's government was being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of th

Bollywood shows support for Palestine post Israel's attack on Rafah

Indian celebs like Swara Bhasker, Gauahar Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh, among others, reacted to 'disturbing video of children' in Rafah after Israel's strike on Israel Gaza war

Netanyahu acknowledges 'tragic mistake' after strike kills Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Monday that a tragic mistake had been made after an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah set fire to a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people. The strike only added to the surging international criticism Israel has faced over its war with Hamas, with even its closest allies expressing outrage at civilian deaths. Israel insists it adheres to international law even as it faces scrutiny in the world's top courts, one of which last week demanded that it halt the offensive in Rafah. Netanyahu did not elaborate on the error. Israel's military initially said it had carried out a precise airstrike on a Hamas compound, killing two senior militants. As details of the strike and fire emerged, the military said it had opened an investigation into the deaths of civilians. Sunday night's attack, which appeared to be one of the war's deadliest, helped push the overall

Israel-Hamas war Israel's retaliatory strike kills 35 in Rafah

Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv, Israel, for the first time in months, triggering alert sirens across central Israel. Watch the video to know more

Hamas representative denies new negotiations with Israel amid truce talks

Hamdan expressed scepticism about Israel's willingness to accept fresh proposals, cautioning against granting Israel additional time to perpetuate aggression in the absence of substantial guarantees

UN court orders Israel to cease Gaza offensive, isolating US position

A UN court's order that Israel halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has deepened a disconnect with the United States over a military operation that faces mounting international condemnation but that American officials describe, at least for now, as limited and targeted. The decision Friday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague adds to the pressure facing an increasingly isolated Israel, coming just days after Norway, Ireland and Spain said they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor of a separate international court sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as leaders of Hamas. The Biden administration stands apart from the global community though it is opposed to a major offensive in Rafah, the administration also insists that the steps its close ally Israel has taken so far have not crossed red lines. Administration officials so far have appeared determined to press on with military and

Israel to revive ceasefire talks with Hamas after outcry on abduction video

Cease-fire talks stalled last week after Israel invaded Rafah, a southern city in Gaza

With Hamas firm, fighting back in Gaza, Israel faces only bad options

Diminished but not deterred, Hamas is still putting up a fight after seven brutal months of war with Israel, regrouping in some of the hardest-hit areas in northern Gaza and resuming rocket attacks into nearby Israeli communities. Israel initially made tactical advances against Hamas after a devastating aerial bombardment paved the way for its ground troops. But those early gains have given way to a grinding struggle against an adaptable insurgency and a growing feeling among many Israelis that their military faces only bad options, drawing comparisons with US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was the subtext of a rebellion in recent days by two members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's three-man War Cabinet Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's main political rival who demanded that he come up with detailed postwar plans. They supported Israel's retaliation for Hamas' October 7 attack, including one of the heaviest bombing campaigns in recent history,

On National Day, Israel Prez commends PM Modi's support after Hamas attacks

Highlighting the growing importance of India's role in global leadership, President Herzog said that New Delhi has continued to speak loudly and clearly for Israel

France, Belgium support bid for arrest warrants of Israel, Hamas leaders

The accusations center on war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel