Page 35 - Hamas

Benjamin Netanyahu ICC arrest warrant: Can Israeli PM actually be arrested?

Israeli media has described possible International Criminal Court arrest warrants against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as a 'legal earthquake' and 'legal bombshell'

Israeli, Hamas leaders join list of people accused by top war crimes court

By accusing the heads of Israel and Hamas of war crimes, the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor placed them among world leaders infamous for heinous acts against humanity. The chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced arrest warrants Monday against two Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders. The prosecutor focused on actions taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 when militants stormed southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, and on Israel's military response in Gaza, which has killed roughly 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Netanyahu condemned the decision Monday, calling it a complete distortion of reality. I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor's comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas, Netanyahu said. In a statement, Hamas accused the prosecutor of trying to equate the victim with the executioner. It said it has the right to resist Israeli ...

Satellite photos show Palestinians' exodus after Israel's evacuation orders

Newly-released satellite photos reviewed by the Associated Press show a large exodus of Palestinians from the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah earlier this month ahead of a feared Israeli ground invasion there. The photos taken three days apart first on May 5 and then on May 8 show the change on the ground after Israel issued its first evacuation order for the city on May 6. They show that crowded tent camps in the central and northwest regions of the city grew sparse within days of the order. One pair of before-and-after photos shows an area near the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp, one of the camps built for families displaced during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948. In the three days between the photos, at least half of the hundreds of tents cramming the area disappeared, likely from Palestinians packing up and departing. The other pair of photos shows the central Ash Shabourah neighborhood of Rafah city. Tents packing city streets give way to sandy patches. The

Ultimatum raises pressure on Netanyahu to make postwar plans for Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from his own War Cabinet and his country's closest ally over postwar plans for Gaza, even as the war with Hamas shows no sign of ending. On Saturday, Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet and Netanyahu's main political rival, said he would leave the government on June 8 if it did not formulate a new war plan including an international, Arab and Palestinian administration to handle civilian affairs in Gaza. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the Cabinet, has also called for a plan for Palestinian administration, and said in a speech this week that he wouldn't agree to Israel governing Gaza itself. The United States has meanwhile called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with assistance from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states ahead of eventual statehood. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push those plans when he visits Israel on Sunday. So far, Netanyahu ha

First aid shipment sent across newly built US pier into Gaza Strip

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built US floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time on Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there. The shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day entering the Gaza Strip as Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah as its 7-month offensive against Hamas rages on. But the US and aid groups also warn that the pier project is not considered a substitute for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza. Before the war, more than 500 truckloads entered Gaza on an average day. The operation's success also remains tenuous due to the risk of militant attack, logistical hurdles and a growing shortage of fuel for the trucks to run due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip since Hamas' October 7 attack on

Gaza conflict: Hezbollah introduces new weapons, tactics against Israel

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles. The attack wounded three soldiers, one of them seriously, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across the border with Israel over the past seven months, but the one on Thursday appears to have been the first successful missile airstrike it has launched from within Israeli airspace. The group has stepped up its attacks on Israel in recent weeks, particularly since the Israeli incursion into the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. It has struck deeper inside Israel and introduced new and more advanced weaponry. This is a method of sending messages on the ground to the Israeli enemy, meaning that this is part of what we have, and if needed we can strike more, said Lebanese political analyst Faisal Abdul-Sater who closely follows Hezbollah. While the cross-border exchanges of fire have been ongoing since early Octobe

South Africa urges UN's top court to order immediate cease-fire in Gaza

South Africa urged the United Nations' top court on Thursday to order a cease-fire in Gaza during hearings over emergency measures to halt Israel's military operation in the enclave's southern city of Rafah. It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide. The country's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to totally and unconditionally withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The court has already found that there is a real and imminent risk to the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel's military operations. This may well be the last chance for the court to act, said Irish lawyer Blinne N Ghrlaigh, who is part of South Africa's legal team. Judges at the court have broad powers to order a cease-fire and other measures, although the court does not h

US military completes Gaza Strip pier project, aid to flow soon amidst war

The US military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated delivery process more than two months after US President Joe Biden ordered it to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make it in as Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on that southern city on the Egyptian border. Fraught with logistical, weather and security challenges, the maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of aid getting into the Gaza Strip, but it is not considered a substitute for far cheaper land-based deliveries that aid agencies say are much more sustainable. The boatloads of aid will be deposited at a port facility built by the Israelis just southwest of Gaza City and then distributed by aid groups. US ..

Top UN court holds hearing on Israeli military's incursion into Rafah

The United Nations' top court opens two days of hearings on Thursday into a request from South Africa to make sure Israel halts its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population has sought shelter. It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza. Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded acce

Meta restores posts by Malaysian media on PM Anwar's meeting with Hamas

Muslim-majority Malaysia had sent a letter asking Meta to explain the taking down of posts by two media organisations about the meeting

Israel forces destroy weapons workshop as Hamas tries to regroup in Gaza

This comes on the heels of Israel killing 15 terrorists in a Hamas command center located inside a UNRWA school

UN launches probe into first international staff killed by strike in Rafah

The staffer, a retired Indian Army officer named Waibhav Anil Kale, was working with the UN Department of Safety and Security and was on route to the European Hospital in Rafah

UN mourns death of ex-Indian Army officer in Gaza, blames Israeli tank

The United Nations condoled and expressed apologies to India over the killing of a former Indian Army officer, who died in war-torn Rafah in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in was attacked by shots fired from what it believes was an Israeli tank. Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale, 46, who retired prematurely from the Indian Army in 2022, joined the world body as a Security Coordination Officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) two months ago. He was killed, and another DSS staffer from Jordan was injured when their UN-marked vehicle was struck when they were travelling to the European Hospital in war-torn Rafah in Gaza on Monday morning. Kale, who had commanded the 11 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles in Kashmir, is the "first international casualty" for the world body since the Israel-Hamas conflict started last year. We also express our apologies and our condolences to the Government and people of India, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio ...

Govt should strongly condemn killing of ex-Army officer in Gaza: Gokhale

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on Wednesday wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging that the government strongly condemn the killing of a former Indian Army officer in Gaza. Col Waibhav Anil Kale, 46, who took premature retirement from the Indian Army in 2022, had joined one of the UN agencies three weeks ago. He was killed in war-torn Rafah in Gaza on Monday morning, becoming the "first international casualty" for the world body since the Israel-Hamas conflict started last year. "It is shocking that a retired Indian Army colonel was killed by Israel in Gaza and the shameless Modi Govt hasn't uttered a single word," Gokhale said in a post on X, where he shared the letter written to the External Affairs Minister. Gokhale said the former Army officer was travelling in a clearly-marked UN vehicle when he was killed. "It is clear from reports that Col. Kale was killed when his convoy was attacked in a strike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There is ...

Israel-Hamas conflict: Indian personnel working with UN killed in Rafah

An Indian personnel working with the United Nations was killed in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in Rafah, making it the first international casualty for the organisation since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The individual was a staff member of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS). While the identity of the victim has not yet been revealed, sources confirmed to PTI he was from India and a former Indian Army personnel. The Indian personnel killed in Rafah is the first casualty" among international UN staff in Gaza since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict following the October 7 terror attacks. Another DSS staffer was injured in the incident when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when ..

Simply unacceptable: India condemns dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Highlighting the October 7 attack on Israel, Kamboj also asserted that the Hamas attack on Israel also deserves equivocal condemnation of the forum

Israeli forces press deep into Gaza ruins to recapture an area from Hamas

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing again. Around half of Gaza's population took sanctuary there after Israel ordered evacuations from northern Gaza in October

As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in Gaza

This comes after the Israeli military ordered the immediate evacuation of several more neighbourhoods in eastern Rafah as the Israeli military steps up its operations in the southern Gazan city

Ceasefire in Gaza war possible 'tomorrow' if Hamas releases hostages: Biden

This comes after Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams left Cairo, Egypt without a deal earlier this week

To expand ops, Israel orders new evacuations in the S Gaza city of Rafah

Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped. Fighting is escalating across the enclave with heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah, leaving the crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forcing more than 110,000 people to flee north. Israel's move into Rafah has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned. The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties. More than 1.4 million Palestinians half of Gaza's population have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel's offensives elsewhere. Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya