Page 54 - Hamas

Israel approves truce with Hamas; Palestinian prisoners also to be freed

Israel's Cabinet on Wednesday approved a temporary cease-fire with the Hamas militant group that is expected to bring the first halt in fighting in a devastating six-week war and win freedom for dozens of hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. The deal calls for a four-day cease-fire, during which Israel will halt its military offensive in Gaza while Hamas frees at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it and other militants are holding, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said. The first hostages to be released are women and children. The government of Israel is committed to bringing all of the hostages home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, the office said in a statement. A statement released by Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, Wednesday morning said the deal includes the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli

Israel approves deal to free around 50 hostages and pause war with Hamas

In a second stage of the deal, Hamas would release more women and children in return for Israel prolonging the pause by several days, according to the government statement

Gaza war: India calls to resolve Palestinians' issues in sustainable manner

At a BRICS meeting convened to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict, India on Tuesday said the immediate crisis was triggered by a terrorist attack and none should compromise where terrorism is concerned, even as it called for addressing concerns of Palestinians and stressed the two-state solution. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who addressed the virtual meeting on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also pointed out that in response to the crisis in Gaza, India has sent 70 tonnes of humanitarian assistance and will continue its relief assistance. "The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza is causing immense human suffering, including to civilians, elderly, women and children. We welcome all efforts of the international community towards de-escalation. Right now there is an urgent need to ensure that humanitarian aid and relief, effectively and safely reach the population of Gaza," Jaishankar said at the meeting hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and attended

Good news soon: Israeli PM Netanyahu; truce deal close, says Hamas

"The movement delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement," Haniyeh said in a statement on Telegram

Israel-Hamas conflict: Watch how Houthi rebels hijacked Gujarat-bound ship

Yemen's Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have seized the Bahamas-flagged cargo ship Galaxy Leader, linked to an Israeli company, in the Red Sea. Here's what happened

Ukrainians who fled nation for Israel find themselves living with war again

Tatyana Prima thought she'd left the bombs behind when she fled Ukraine more than a year and a half ago, after Russia decimated her city, Mariupol. The 38-year-old escaped with her injured husband and young daughter, bringing the family to safety in southern Israel. The calm she was slowly regaining shattered again on October 7, when Hamas militants invaded. All these sounds of war that we hear now, they sometimes work as a trigger that brings back memories of what we've gone through in Mariupol, she said. "It's hard feeling like that you're the one responsible for your child, the one who wants what's best for them, and in some way like you've failed them. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than 45,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge in Israel, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics and aid groups. Like Prima, most of them were slowly picking up the pieces of their lives and finding ways to cope when the war in Israel erupted. Now they are reliving their traum

Why Israel might win the battle in Gaza but end up losing the war

Biden gave Israel's leaders some good and personally chastening advice: Don't let rage drive you to mistakes the US made after a terror attack on America killed almost 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001

Close to truce agreement with Israel: Hamas chief even as assault continues

Hamas officials are "close to reaching a truce agreement" with Israel and the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators, Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement sent to Reuters by his aide

Cyprus ready to ship aid to Gaza once a go-ahead is given, says president

Cyprus is ready to immediately begin shipping large quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza in vessels that can navigate shallow water once conditions on the ground allow for it, the president of the east Mediterranean island nation said Monday. President Nikos Christodoulides said his country's proposal for a maritime corridor from the Cyprus' port of Larnaca to Gaza is the only one currently being discussed on an international level as a feasible way to significantly supplement the trickle of aid getting into the enclave through Egypt's Rafah border checkpoint. Planning for the corridor of about 230 miles (370 kilometers) is essentially completed, and aid can begin to flow when a pause in fighting is declared, Christodoulides said. The Cypriot leader, who has been in regular contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the proposal, said that getting a green light to start the shipments is a complicated matter requiring intricate negotiations in light of the ongoing

Gunfire kills, hurts dozens in Gaza hospital encircled by Israeli tanks

There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military of the reports from the Indonesian Hospital but the Palestinian news agency WAFA said the facility had been hit by artillery fire

India welcomes efforts for humanitarian pauses in Israel-Hamas conflict

India welcomed efforts for humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as efforts by the international community aimed at de-escalation and delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine. Speaking in the Informal meeting of the plenary in the UN General Assembly on a briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj stressed that the message from the Indian leadership has been clear and consistent. India welcomes all efforts by the international community that strive towards the de-escalation of conflict and enables the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine, Kamboj said. We are firmly opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, clearly against violence and are on the side of adherence to international humanitarian law and ensuring that further escalation is prevented, Humanitarian aid delivery continues, all hostages are ...

Xi to attend BRICS virtual summit on Palestinian-Israel issue: China

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS extraordinary virtual summit on Tuesday on the Hamas-Israel conflict, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced here on Monday. Earlier, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current chair of the BRICS group, convened a virtual summit of the BRICS group of nations on the Middle East situation in Gaza for Tuesday, the South African Foreign Ministry announced. At the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi will attend the BRICS extraordinary virtual summit on the Palestinian-Israel issue and deliver important remarks in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying announced Monday. President Ramaphosa will deliver opening remarks at the meeting, where members and invited states will also deliver country statements on the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the South African Foreign Ministry announced. BRICS countries include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. United

31 babies saved from Gaza's Shifa Hospital, '12 killed' as war continues

Heavy fighting erupted Monday around a hospital in northern Gaza where thousands of patients and displaced people have been sheltering for weeks, as Israel pressed an offensive it says is aimed at eradicating Hamas and uprooting their militant infrastructure. A shell struck the second floor of the Indonesian Hospital, killing at least 12 people, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza and a medical worker inside the facility. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The advance came a day after the World Health Organisation evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital. At least 28 were transported to Egypt on Monday. More than 250 critically ill or wounded patients remain stranded at the compound, which Israeli forces stormed days ago. The plight of Gaza's hospitals is at the focus of a battle of narratives over the war's brutal toll on Palestinian civilians, thousands of whom have been killed or buried in rubble since the conflict was sparked by .

Heavy fighting breaks out near another Gaza hospital after babies evacuated

Heavy fighting erupted Monday around a hospital in northern Gaza where thousands of patients and displaced people have been sheltering for weeks, as Israeli forces focus on clearing out medical facilities that they say Hamas militants use for cover. The advance on the Indonesian Hospital came a day after the World Health Organisation evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the territory's largest, where they were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound. The plight of Gaza's hospitals is at the focus of a battle of narratives over the war's brutal toll on Palestinian civilians, thousands of whom have been killed or buried in rubble since the six-week-old war was sparked by Hamas' Oct 7 rampage into southern Israel. Israel says Hamas uses civilians as human shields, while critics say Israel's siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory's 2.3

Israel-Gaza war: IDF says it exposed Hamas tunnel under Al-Shifa Hospital

Israeli Army first entered the Al-Shifa Hospital complex a few days ago, alleging that the militant group Hamas used it as a command centre

India-bound ship hijacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels in Red Sea, says IDF

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media that the "very sick" babies were evacuated, along with six health workers and 10 staff family members

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Houthi rebels hijack Israeli-linked ship in Red Sea, take 25 crew hostage

Yemen's Houthi rebels seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in a crucial Red Sea shipping route on Sunday, officials said, taking over two dozen crew members hostage and raising fears that regional tensions heightened over the Israel-Hamas war were playing out on a new maritime front. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they hijacked the ship over its connection to Israel and took the crew as hostages. The group warned that it would continue to target ships in international waters that were linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Israel's campaign against Gaza's Hamas rulers. All ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets, the Houthis said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office had blamed the Houthis for the attack on the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said the 25 crew members had a range of nationalities, including Bulgarian, Filipino, Mexican and Ukrainian,

32 babies among critically ill stranded in Gaza's Shifa hospital: UN team

A United Nations team said Sunday that 291 patients were left at Gaza's largest hospital after Israeli troops had others evacuate. Those left included 32 babies in extremely critical condition, trauma patients with severely infected wounds, and others with spinal injuries who are unable to move. The team was able to tour Shifa Hospital for an hour after about 2,500 displaced people, mobile patients and medical staff left the sprawling compound Saturday morning, said the World Health Organisation, which led the mission. It said 25 medical staff remained, along with the patients. Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation, the agency said, describing Shifa as a death zone. It said more teams will attempt to reach Shifa in coming days to try to the evacuate patients to southern Gaza, where hospitals are also overwhelmed. Israel has long alleged that Hamas maintains a sprawling command post inside and under Shifa

Working to broker Israel-Hamas deal over hostages, Gaza ceasefire, says US

US made the remarks over an earlier media report that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a tentative deal that would free dozens of hostages in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting.