Page 68 - Hamas

Biden will be plunging into Middle East turmoil on his visit to Israel

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday left the White House for a quick trip to Israel to show solidarity with the people of the country in the aftermath of the terrorist attack by Hamas. However, Biden had to abruptly scrap his trip to Jordan for a meeting with leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Palestine after the Palestinian Authority cancelled the summit following a huge explosion at a hospital in Gaza. Hundreds of civilians are feared dead after a deadly blast at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. Israel has denied its involvement in the bombing, while the Palestinians have held it responsible. I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted. Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened, Biden said in a statement minutes before he

How international law applies to war and why Hamas-Israel have broken it

Hamas and Israel have both been accused of breaking international law during their latest conflict, and the United Nations says it is collecting evidence of war crimes by all sides. Enforcing the law amid the fog of war is difficult. Holding perpetrators to account once conflicts are over has often proved elusive. Here is a look at some of the issues. WHAT ARE THE RULES OF WAR? The rules of armed conflict are governed by a set of internationally recognised laws and resolutions, including the United Nations charter, which prohibits aggressive wars but allows countries the right to self-defence. Battlefield behaviour has international humanitarian laws including the Geneva Conventions, drawn up after World War II and agreed on by almost every nation. The four conventions agreed upon in 1949 set out that civilians, the wounded and prisoners must be treated humanely in wartime. They ban murder, torture, hostage-taking and humiliating and degrading treatment and require fighters to tr

Here is all we know about what happened at the hospital blast in Gaza city

This is what we know about Tuesday's deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza City. In the dark of early evening in Gaza, reports emerged of an explosion at Gaza City's al-Ahli hospital. Al-Ahli was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli airstrikes and with families and others who have taken refuge on hospital grounds. Video that The Associated Press confirmed as being from the hospital showed an orange ball of fire and flames engulfing the building and grounds. The video showed the outside of the hospital, where countless Palestinian families had been camping out. Torn bodies covered the grass, with slain children lying among dead adults. Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry blamed an Israeli airstrike, and said it killed at least 500 people. Israeli authorities soon after denied involvement, saying a misfired Palestinian rocket appeared to blame. Outraged over the hospital blast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II announced they were pulling out of

More US ships sail toward Israel, 2,000 troops on heightened alert

Within hours of the horrific October 7 attack by Hamas, the US began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. On Tuesday, more ships and forces were heading toward Israel, and other troops in the US were preparing to deploy if called on. One US aircraft carrier and its strike group are already in the eastern Mediterranean and a second one has left the US and is heading that way. In addition, three Marine warships are moving into the region. Scores of aircraft were dispatched to US military bases around the Middle East, and American special operations forces are working with Israel's military in planning and intelligence. As of Tuesday, five shipments of US weapons and equipment had arrived in Israel. The buildup reflects growing US concern that the deadly fighting between Hamas and Israel will escalate into wider regional conflict. So the key mission for American ships and warplanes is to establish a large and vis

After blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital, Hamas and Israel trade blame

The Israeli military says it had no involvement in an explosion that killed hundreds of people at a Gaza City hospital and that the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says an Israeli airstrike caused the blast, and that it killed some 500 people, many of whom had sought shelter from an ongoing Israeli offensive. The Israeli military, however, said Palestinian militants had fired a barrage of rockets near the hospital at the time.

SpiceJet flight with 286 passengers arrives in Delhi amid Israel conflict

A SpiceJet flight with 286 passengers, including 18 Nepalese nationals, from Tel Aviv landed at the Delhi airport on Tuesday. This is the fifth flight to be operated under the government's Operation Ajay to facilitate the return of Indians who wish to come back from Israel where an intense conflict is going on with the militant group Hamas. In a post on social media platform X, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that 286 passengers, including 18 Nepalese nationals, arrived on board the fifth flight under Operation Ajay. He also shared pictures of the passengers being welcomed at the airport by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan. According to the Kerala government, there were 22 people from the state among the passengers who arrived in the flight. The SpiceJet aircraft A340 had faced a technical issue after landing at Tel Aviv on Sunday and the plane was taken to Jordan to rectify the problem. After fixing the issue, the plane retu

5 Hezbollah fighters killed as tensions flare along Lebanon-Israel border

Clashes erupted on Tuesday along the Lebanon-Israel border that left five Hezbollah fighters dead, marking the largest number of casualties for the militant group in a single day as tensions with Israel escalate. Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas militant group. Hezbollah has announced the death of 10 militants since skirmishes began. Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi threatened that Israel would retaliate aggressively should Hezbollah escalate. This is a war on the home, Halevi said after meeting with Israeli troops near the northern border with Lebanon. If Hezbollah makes a mistake, it will be annihilated. The escalation comes amid fears that the war could spread into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has expressed strong support to the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Israel considers the heavily-armed group in Lebanon an even big

Gaza hospital blast raises stakes for Biden's trip to Israel and Jordan

President Joe Biden's efforts to tamp down tensions in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas faced a bloody setback Tuesday when, shortly before his expected departure for the Middle East, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas withdrew from scheduled meetings to protest an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza blamed the blast on an Israeli airstrike but the Israeli military said it had no involvement and pinned the blame on a misfired Palestinian rocket. Abbas' cancellation, disclosed by a senior Palestinian official, reflects an increasingly volatile situation that will test the limits of American influence in the region as Biden visits Israel and Jordan on Wednesday. Biden's decision to put himself in a conflict zone the same year he made a surprise visit to Ukraine demonstrates his willingness to take personal and political risks as he becomes heavily invested in another intractable foreign conflict with no clear end game and

LIVE news: Hundreds killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City hospital

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Palestinian medics struggle to save lives as Israel continues bombardment

For hours and hours, Moen Abu Aish digs through the rubble of demolished homes to find survivors of Israeli airstrikes, toiling in a vast and desperate search complicated by the shortage of critical supplies and the sheer scope of destruction across the Gaza Strip. Even as rescue worker Abu Aish, 58, and his colleagues struggle to pry lifeless bodies from the concrete and twisted metal where residential towers once stood, the death toll keeps rising. Gaza's Health Ministry has reported that Israel's bombardment launched after Hamas mounted a bloody, unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 has killed more than 2,700 Palestinians, many of them women and children. But far more Palestinians have been killed than have been officially reported, with 1,200 people, among them some 500 minors, believed to be trapped under the rubble awaiting rescue, or recovery, health authorities said. They based their estimates on distress calls they received. So many times medics say they hear vict

IDF foils infiltration bid by terrorist cell from Lebanese territory

Taking to X, the Israel Defence Forces stated, "The IDF thwarted an attempted infiltration by a terrorist cell from Lebanese territory

Biden to travel to Israel on Oct 18 amid concern that conflict could expand

President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday to show support for the US ally as concerns increase that the raging Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Biden's travel to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a possible ground attack on the 141-square-mile (365-square-kilometre) territory to root out Hamas militants responsible for what US and Israeli officials say was the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust. Biden is looking to send the strongest message yet that the US is behind Israel. His Democratic administration has pledged military support, sending US carriers and aid to the region. Officials have said they would ask Congress for upward of USD 2 billion in additional aid for both Israel and Ukraine, which is fighting Russia's invasion. Blinken made the announcement early Tuesday after more than seven hours of talks with

With humanitarian aid blocked at Egyptian border, Gaza close to collapse

Truckloads of aid idled at Egypt's border with Gaza as residents and humanitarian groups pleaded Monday for water, food and fuel for dying generators, saying the tiny Palestinian territory sealed off by Israel after last week's rampage by Hamas was near total collapse. U.S. President Joe Biden planned to travel to Israel on Wednesday to signal White House support for the country and to Jordan to meet with Arab leaders. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the trip early Tuesday in Tel Aviv during his second visit to Israel in less than a week amid fears that the fighting could expand into a broader regional conflict. In Gaza, hospitals were on the verge of losing electricity, threatening the lives of thousands of patients, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes searched for bread. Israel maintained punishing airstrikes across Gaza as a ground invasion loomed, while Hamas militants kept up a barrage of rocket attacks, and tensions mounted near

Palestinians report heavy shelling in South Gaza, civilians seek refuge

Palestinians in Gaza reported intense bombardments near the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, where Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge, early on Tuesday. Details of causalities were not immediately available. Israeli bombs hit areas west and southeast of Khan Younis and west of Rafah, according to local reports. Thousands of people trying to escape Gaza are gathered in Rafah, which contains the territory's only border crossing to Egypt, as international mediators press for a deal to allow aid in and refugees with foreign passports out. The US hoped to break a deadlock over delivering aid to increasingly desperate civilians in besieged Gaza following a brutal attack by Hamas militants, as President Joe Biden was set to head to Israel and Jordan on Wednesday. Aid workers warned that life in Gaza was near complete collapse because of the Israeli siege, with hundreds of thousands of people seeking shelter, ever-decreasing water supplies and power running out at hospitals.

Putin begins China visit, underscores ties amid Ukraine war, Gaza conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a visit that underscores China's support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine as well as Russian backing for China's bid to expand its economic and diplomatic influence abroad. The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that is now complicated by the Israel-Hamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel against its relations with Iran and Syria, two countries that are strongly backed by Russia and with which China has forged ties for economic reasons as well as to challenge Washington's influence in the Middle East. Putin's plane was met by an honour guard as the Russian leader began his visit that is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road' initiative to build infrastructure and expand China's overseas influence. In an interview to Chinese state media, Putin praised the massive but loosely linked BRI ..

Iran's foreign minister warns of 'preemptive measure' against Israel

Iranian Foreign Minister stressed that the United Nations and the international community should find a political solution at an earliest before things reach a "boiling point"

Senior US general flies into Israel as its conflict with Hamas deepens

The US military is increasing its firepower in the region, aiming to prevent Iran and other Iran-backed groups from getting involved in the conflict as international fears of a wider war grow

UNSC rejects Russia's resolution on Gaza that fails to mention Hamas

The UN Security Council rejected a Russian resolution Monday night that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians but made no mention of Hamas, whose surprise attack that killed 1,300 Israelis was the worst Jewish massacre since the World War II Nazi Holocaust. Only four countries joined Russia in voting for the resolution China, United Arab Emirates, Mozambique and Gabon. Four countries voted against it the United States, Britain, France and Japan. The other six countries abstained. For a resolution to be adopted it needs a minimum of nine yes votes in the 15-member council. The UN's most powerful body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has failed to respond to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,300 people and to Israel's retaliatory airstrikes that have killed 2,750 and its order to Gazans in the north to head south to avoid an expected ground war. Britain's UN ambassador, Barbara Woodward, said it would be ...

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Joe Biden consults with world leaders on edge over Israel-Hamas war

President Joe Biden consulted with a trio of world leaders and his own national security team on Monday amid growing global concern about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip and fears that the Israel-Hamas war could metastasize into a broader regional conflict. Biden spoke over phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the fallout from Hamas militants' surprise attacks on Israel that left 1,400 dead and retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 2,778 Palestinians. Earlier Monday, Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed in the Oval Office by their national security team on the situation on the ground in Israel and Gaza. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients joined the briefing led by National security adviser Jake Sullivan, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns, according to the White House. Biden had be