Page 57 - Hamas

Fighting rages near main Gaza hospital as PM dismisses calls for cease-fire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel's battle to crush Gaza's ruling Hamas militants will continue with "full force". A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address. The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there. The position appears to run counter to post-war scenarios floated by Israel's closest ally, the United States, which has said it opposes an Israeli reoccupation of the territory. Asked what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said Israeli forces must be able to enter Gaza when necessary to hunt down militants. Pressure was growing on Israel after frantic doctors at Gaza's largest hospital said the last generator had run out of fuel, causing the death of a premature baby, another child in an

Arab countries oppose measures against Israel despite fighting in Gaza

Other Arab countries demanded that moderate Arab states suspend their economic relations with Israel

Introducing new weapons in ongoing wars with Israeli troops: Hezbollah

The leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group said Saturday his fighters have introduced new weapons, including a missile with a heavy warhead in the ongoing fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border, adding that they will keep using the tense frontier to pressure Israel. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also blasted the United States over the Israel-Hamas war, saying it is the only country that can stop Israel's wide offensive on the Gaza Strip but doesn't do so. He said attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, that Washington says have reached more than 40 rockets and suicide drone attacks, will continue until the war in Gaza comes to an end. Nasrallah's comments came as the situation along Lebanon's southern border continues to escalate. Hezbollah on Friday attacked northern Israel with three suicide drones after an Israeli strike in central Syria killed seven Hezbollah fighters. Nasrallah did not claim responsibility for a suicide drone attack that hit the Israeli Red Sea town of Eila

Israel refraining from harming civilians, Hamas using as shields: Netanyahu

He further said that Israel is doing everything possible to avoid harming Gazan civilians, whereas, Hamas is doing everything to prevent them from leaving for safe zones

Far too many Palestinians have been killed in Gaza: Antony Blinken

Far too many Palestinians have been killed and far too many have suffered in the last few weeks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday, in one of the most severe condemnations of the civilian death toll in Gaza due to an Israeli military offensive. At a media briefing at the end of the India-US "2+2" ministerial dialogue, the top US diplomat said more needs to be done to minimise the harm to Palestinian civilians, in remarks that came amid a growing outcry over the death of innocent civilians in Gaza. "Far too many Palestinians have been killed, far too many have suffered these past weeks. And we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximise the assistance that gets to them," Blinken said. "To that end, we will be continuing to discuss with Israel concrete steps that can be taken to advance these objectives. We will continue to focus relentlessly on getting our hostages home," he added. Israel has been carrying out a massive military offensive

Rishi Sunak under pressure to sack minister Braverman over Palestine remark

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to sack his Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, as the row surrounding her controversial newspaper article attacking the Metropolitan Police over its handling of Israel-Hamas protests in London continues to gain momentum on Friday. While Sunak's official spokesperson at 10 Downing Street has said that he has full confidence in the Home Secretary, they did confirm that the contents of The Times' Op-Ed did not have the full clearance of her boss. The harshly worded piece on Wednesday attacked the Met Police for having double standards and playing favourites by not taking tougher action against pro-Palestinian protesters when they turned aggressive. "The words that she used are not words that I myself would have used," UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told broadcasters when asked about the row. While clearly distancing himself from her stance, the senior Cabinet minister stressed that he has a productive relationship with her as a colleague"

Oil set for third weekly decline as Middle East conflict concerns ebb

The three weeks of declines are the longest weekly losing streak for both contracts since a four-week drop from mid-April to early May.

UN report paints picture of devastation of collapsing Palestinian economy

A new U.N. report paints a stark picture of the devastation of the collapsing Palestinian economy following a month of war and Israel's near total siege of Gaza. The gross domestic product shrank 4% in the West Bank and Gaza in the war's first month, sending over 400,000 people into poverty -- an economic impact unseen in the conflicts Syria and Ukraine, or any previous Israel-Hamas war, the U.N. said. Gaza's Hamas rulers launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 killing over 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and kidnapping about 240 others. More than two-thirds of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have fled their homes since Israel launched weeks of intense airstrikes followed by an ongoing ground operation, vowing to obliterate Hamas. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that 10,818 Palestinians, including more than 4,400 children, have been killed so far. The rapid assessment of economic consequences of the Gaza war released Thursday by the U.N. Development Prog

Reuters denies it had prior knowledge of Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel

"Reuters staff journalists were not on the ground at the locations referred to in the HonestReporting article.

IDF destroys 130 tunnels in ongoing effort to combat Hamas infra in Gaza

In a post on social media platform X, the IDF wrote, "IDF combat engineers are currently working to expose and destroy Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including tunnels"

Hamas war: Israel takes journalists on tour in Gaza - here's what they saw

An Israeli tank rolls across a sandy moonscape, surrounded by rubble. Damaged buildings are visible in every direction. Toppled trees lie along the Mediterranean shoreline. The Israeli military escorted international journalists into the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, giving them a glimpse of the aftermath of 12 days of heavy fighting in the area. Israel has been at war against Gaza's Hamas rulers since the Islamic militant group carried out a bloody cross-border attack on October 7, killing over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping more than 240 others. Israel responded with weeks of intense airstrikes before launching a ground operation on October 27. "It's been a long two weeks of fighting," said Lt. Col. Ido, whose last name was withheld under military guidelines. We've lost some soldiers. The initial focus of the operation was northern Gaza, near the Israeli border, before troops moved in on Gaza City, which Israel says is the center of Hamas' military ...

Top Hamas leader trapped in bunker as forces enter 'heart of Gaza': Isreal

Saudi Arabia will host summits of Arab and Islamic nations in coming days to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia's investment minister said on Wednesday

G7 announces unified stance on Israel-Hamas war after intensive meetings

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies announced a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday after intensive meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel's right to self-defense and calling for humanitarian pauses to speed aid to desperate civilians in the Gaza Strip. In a statement following two days of talks, the nations sought to balance unequivocal criticism of Hamas' attacks against Israel and the need for urgent action to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave. All parties must allow unimpeded humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, and access for humanitarian workers, said the statement, hammered out by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and the release of hostages. The G7 meeting

Israel pressured by allies over plight of civilians in Gaza as 1,000s flee

Israel faced mounting pressure from some of its closest allies Wednesday over the plight of civilians in Gaza, where thousands streamed on foot out of the enclave's north because of dwindling food and water and fear of approaching Israeli forces. Over 70% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have already left their homes, but the number making their way south has quickened recently as Israeli troops battle Hamas militants inside Gaza City and the humanitarian situation grows increasingly dire. The Group of Seven wealthy nations called Wednesday for the unimpeded delivery of food, water, medicine and fuel, and for humanitarian pauses in the fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left open the possibility of small pauses to deliver humanitarian aid, but has ruled out a broader cease-fire unless all hostages are freed. There is no end in sight to the war triggered by Hamas' deadly Oct 7 assault inside Israel. Israel has said the battle to end Hamas' rule and crush its

More Palestinians fleeing combat zone in northern Gaza amid war: UN

The pace of Palestinian civilians fleeing the combat zone in northern Gaza has picked up as Israel's air and ground campaign there intensifies. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday that about 15,000 people fled on Tuesday, compared to 5,000 on Monday and 2,000 on Sunday. Here's what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war: UKRAINE EVACUATES 43 OF ITS NATIONALS AND 36 MOLDOVANS FROM GAZA Kyiv: Ukraine has evacuated 43 of its nationals from the Gaza Strip and helped 36 Moldovan citizens reach safety in Egypt, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian diplomats helped the two groups get out of the war zone, Zelenskyy said Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. He also said Ukraine was working with embassies in Israel and Egypt to get more of its citizens out of Gaza. ISRAEL CABINET TO MEET IN WEST BANK FOLLOWING WARNINGS OF MORE VIOLENCE Jerusalem: Israel's wartime security Cabinet will meet late Wednesday in the West Bank offic

Hamas war: G7 announces unified stance supporting Israel after Tokyo meet

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies announced a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday after intensive meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel's right to self-defence and calling for humanitarian pauses to speed aid to desperate Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the nations sought to balance criticism of Hamas' attacks against Israel and a push for urgent action to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave in need of food, water, medical care and shelter. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy emphasised that they support humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and release of hostages. There was also condemnation of the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians, which the ministers said is unacceptable, undermines security in the West Bank, and threatens

Israel-Hamas war: Thousands of Palestinians flee south amid battle in Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south on foot with only what they can carry after running out of food and water in the north, a UN agency said Wednesday, as Israel said its troops were battling Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City. Over 70 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have already fled their homes, but the growing numbers making their way south point to an increasingly desperate situation in and around Gaza's largest city, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment. The war triggered by Hamas' October 7 assault inside Israel has entered a second month, with an increasingly dire humanitarian situation inside the besieged Palestinian enclave and no end in sight. Israel has said its war to end Hamas' rule and crush its military capabilities will be long and difficult, and that it will maintain some form of control over the coastal enclave indefinitely. About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday, triple the number that left Monday, according to the UN .

Israel's ground forces target Hamas tunnels after encircling Gaza City

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel had "one target - Hamas terrorists in Gaza, their infrastructure, their commanders, bunkers, communications rooms"

In message to Iran, US deploys nuclear-powered submarine in Persian Gulf

Israel to consider 'tactical little pauses' for aid, hostages: Netanyahu

A tough second half for oil marketing companies due to surging crude prices

Most commodity traders are betting energy prices will remain high