Page 47 - Hamas

Israel to increase defence spending by at least $8 billion as war rages

The ministry, in a document presented to parliament on Monday, said the overall 2024 budget will probably have to total 562 billion shekels

Gaza war far from over: Netanyahu reaffirms; Israel's budget deficit swells

Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza will likely cost it at least another 50 billion shekels ($14 billion) in 2024 and result in a near-tripling of its budget deficit, the Finance Ministry said on Monday

Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war, create transitional govt

Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war with a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said on Monday. The proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel's professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel's insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war. Israel's War Cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet later Monday discuss the hostage situation, among other topics, an Israeli official said, but would not say if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the ...

Pope Francis appeals for end of Israeli strikes at Gaza on Christmas day

Pope Francis on Monday blasted the weapons industry and its instruments of death that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the abominable attack of Hamas against southern Israel on October 7 and called for the release of hostages. And he begged for an end to Israel's military campaign in Gaza and the appalling harvest of innocent civilians as he called for humanitarian aid to reach those in need. Francis devoted his Christmas Day blessing to a call for peace in the world, noting that the biblical story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem sent a message of peace. But he said that Bethlehem is a place of sorrow and silence this year. Francis' annual Urbi et Orbi ("To the City and the World") speech typically offers a lament of all the misery facing the world, and this year's edition was no differe

Oct 7 revisited: When terror came knocking and Israeli intel was unaware

While most didn't know what had hit them, many, including those occupying top public offices in the country, had no clue how Hamas had breached the iron curtain of Israeli defence and intelligence

Nvidia raises $15 mn for non profits helping Israel-Hamar war-hit civilians

Employees from more than 30 countries donated a total of $5 million, which the company matched and doubled to $10 million under a special program introduced to help those affected by the war

Iran army demonstrates its military might as Gaza, Red Sea conflicts grow

The Islamic Republic has consistently denied all allegations of involvement in the attacks on commercial shippers, which have escalated since the conflict in Gaza began October 7

Palestinian death toll reaches 20,424 amid Israel war: Hamas-run Gaza govt

Israel says it has achieved almost complete operational control over northern Gaza and is preparing to expand a ground offensive against Hamas militants to other areas

Israel-Hamas war clouds Christmas eve celebrations in West Bank's Bethlehem

The normally bustling biblical birthplace of Jesus resembled a ghost town on Sunday, as Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem were called off due to the Israel-Hamas war. The festive lights and Christmas tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists and jubilant youth marching bands that gather in the West Bank town each year to mark the holiday. Dozens of Palestinian security forces patrolled the empty square. This year, without the Christmas tree and without lights, there's just darkness, said Brother John Vinh, a Franciscan monk from Vietnam who has lived in Jerusalem for six years. He said he always comes to Bethlehem to mark Christmas, but this year was especially sobering, as he gazed at a nativity scene in Manger Square with a baby Jesus wrapped in a white shroud, reminiscent of the thousands of children killed in the fighting in Gaza. Barbed wire surrounded the scene, the grey rubble reflecting none of the joyous lights and

Pentagon says Iranian drone struck chemical tanker in Indian Ocean: Report

The incident comes as the latest illustration of the growing regional tensions after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel

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Gaza death toll exceeds 20,000 as Israel expands ground war against Hamas

Israel's war to destroy Hamas has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said on Friday, as Israel expanded its offensive and ordered tens of thousands more people to leave their homes. The deaths amount to nearly 1 per cent of the territory's prewar population the latest indication of the 11-week-old conflict's staggering human toll. Israel's aerial and ground offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in modern history, displacing nearly 85 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people and leveling wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. More than half a million people in Gaza a quarter of the population are starving, according to a report Thursday from the United Nations and other agencies. Israel declared war after Hamas's October 7 attack, in which militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages. Israel has vowed to keep up the fight until Hamas is destroyed and removed from powe

Israel bombed areas in Southern Gaza it designated safe for civilians

During the first six weeks of the war in Gaza, Israel routinely used one of its biggest and most destructive bombs in areas it designated safe for civilians

Gaza death toll crosses 20,000 as Israel expands ground offensive

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza surpassed 20,000, health officials said Friday, the latest indication of the staggering cost of the war as Israel expanded its ground offensive and ordered tens of thousands more people to leave their homes. The deaths, amounting to nearly 1 per cent of the territory's pre-war population, are just one measure of the devastation wrought by the conflict that over 11 weeks has displaced nearly 85 per cent of Gaza's people and levelled wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. More than half a million people in Gaza a quarter of the population are starving, according to a report Thursday from the United Nations and other agencies describing the crisis caused by Israel's bombardment and siege on the territory in response to Hamas' October 7 attack. Despite the emergency, a UN Security Council vote on aid deliveries and terms for a cease-fire was delayed again late Thursday, after days of high-level negotiations. The United States, which has veto power

UNSC adopts resolution demanding unhindered aid access throughout Gaza

The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution demanding the immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip and to create conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The 15-nation Council voted on Friday, after days of delays, on a draft resolution proposed by the United Arab Emirates. The resolution was adopted after 13 members voted in favour of the resolution, none against while the US and Russia abstained. The resolution demanded that parties to the conflict allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip, and in this regard calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities. The resolution also demanded that the parties to the conflict allow and ...

A year in politics: A recap of all key global events that shaped 2023

From geopolitical conflicts to historic political shifts, 2023 has been a year of significant milestones. Dive into the key political events that left an indelible mark on the world stage

Oil extends weekly gains, up 1% as tensions over Red Sea attacks persist

More maritime carriers are avoiding the Red Sea due to attacks on vessels carried out by the Houthi militant group, who say they are responding to Israel's war in Gaza

Over 0.57 mn people in Gaza are now 'starving' due to fallout from war: UN

A report released Thursday by the UN finds that more than half a million people in Gaza are starving because of not enough food entering the territory since the outbreak of war more than 10 weeks ago. It is a situation where pretty much everybody in Gaza is hungry," said World Food Programme chief economist Arif Husain. He warned that if the war between Israel and Hamas continues at the same levels and food deliveries are not restored that the population could face a full-fledged famine within the next six months. The report released Thursday by 23 UN and nongovernmental agencies found that the entire population in Gaza is in a food crisis, with 576,600 at catastrophic - or starvation - levels.

US expects Israel to shift to targeted operations in Gaza: Secy Blinken

Hostage deal uncertain after Egypt's talks end without results

Israel intensifies Gaza strikes, Hamas fires rockets amid truce talks

Fighting in the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday with some of the most intense Israeli bombardment of the war and Hamas demonstrated its ability to rocket Tel Aviv