Page 2 - Israel-palestine

UN adds Israeli, Russian forces to blacklist for sexual violence cases

An annual United Nations report documenting sexual violence in conflicts worldwide has included Israeli forces for the first time since the review began more than 15 years ago for their treatment of Palestinian detainees. Israel denies the accusations. The 35-page report -- shared by the Israeli mission to the UN late on Thursday ahead of its expected release on Friday -- blacklists 77 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for sexual violence in conflicts around the world. It says the number of cases rose sharply in 2025 from 2024. Russian armed and security forces were also blacklisted for the first time this year for sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilians detained during the war in Ukraine. The list for 2025 includes Israel's armed and security forces as well as Hamas militants, who were previously blacklisted after their attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Both Israe

Israel targets new Hamas leader in Gaza, Palestinians report 3 dead

Israel carried out a pair of airstrikes in Gaza City late on Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring 12, hospital officials said. The strike took place on the eve of Eid al-Azha, a major Muslim holiday. In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Israel Katz, said the strikes had targeted the new leader of Hamas' military wing. They identified him as Mohammed Odeh and called him "one of the architects" of the October 7, 2023, attacks, which triggered over two years of war. The strike came less than two weeks after Israel killed the previous head of Hamas' military wing, Izz al-Din al-Haddad. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. The bodies of the dead were taken to Gaza's Shifa Hospital, which confirmed the deaths. The attack came on the eve of Eid al-Azha, normally a joyous time of family gatherings and large meals. The holiday once again is subdued this year in Gaza, where the vast majority of people remain displaced

Israel-Lebanon hold 3rd round of talks as fighting with Hezbollah continues

A third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon kicked off in Washington Thursday, days before the expiration of a truce that reduced but did not stop the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Lebanese officials are hoping that the two-day negotiations will yield a new ceasefire deal and pave the way for tackling a series of thorny issues, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah. The Trump administration has been pushing for a breakthrough between the two neighbours that have been officially in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948. Hezbollah, however, is not part of those talks and has been vocally opposed to Lebanon engaging in direct negotiations with Israel. Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group have continued to trade near-constant fire across the border despite a US-brokered ceasefire on April 17. Initially a 10-day truce, it was then extended for another three ...

Israeli drone strikes on vehicles in Lebanon kill 12, including 2 children

Israeli airstrikes Wednesday struck seven vehicles in Lebanon - three of them on the main highway just south of Beirut - killing 12 people including a woman and her two children, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon, hours after telling residents of six southern villages to evacuate. Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of direct talks in Washington on Thursday as the Trump administration pushes for a breakthrough between the two neighbours that have been in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948. The United Nations has also accused Hezbollah of drone strikes near its peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' message to both sides is that they must observe the ceasefire and stop all attacks, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said. The Health Ministry confirmed the seven airstrikes on vehicles, but didn't provide full detai

Hezbollah adopts new weapon: Fibre-optic drones, used widely in Ukraine war

Hezbollah has launched a new weapon against northern Israel in the latest round of fighting: small drones controlled with fibre-optic cables the width of dental floss that avoid electronic detection. These drones - used widely in the war in Ukraine - are small, hard to track and potentially lethal. Many drones are susceptible to electronic jamming by air defences. Jamming can cause a drone to crash or return to its point of origin. But fibre-optic drones are not controlled remotely. They have a thin cable that connects an operator directly to the drone, making it impossible to electronically jam. The drones are not infallible because the wind - or other drones - can cause the cables to tangle. But, "if you know what you're doing, it's absolutely deadly", said Robert Tollast, a drone expert and researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London, explaining how the drone can fly low and creep up on a target. Experts say militaries must either intercept the drones, which is

Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire by 3 weeks, says Trump

President Donald Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. Trump says the meeting between Israel's and Lebanon's ambassadors to the United States went "very well." The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.

Hezbollah launches 39 military ops against Israeli targets in 24 hours

In a separate incident, at least four paramedics were killed, and six others were injured in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon's Mayfadoun

Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics as war with Hezbollah grinds on

The Israeli military on Wednesday killed four Lebanese rescue workers and wounded six others in three consecutive, targeted strikes, paramedic groups said, a stark illustration of the human cost of the Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon a day after it the two countries held historic talks in Washington. The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was "looking into" what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence. The Lebanese Health Ministry condemned the attacks as a "blatan

Hezbollah won't abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in US

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah's political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks. "As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all," Safa told The Associated Press. "We are not bound by what they agree to," he added in a rare interview with international media. He spoke next to a cemetery as an Israeli drone buzzed overhead. Historic negotiations at a sensitive time ----------------------------------------- Lebanese officials are looking to broke

Netanyahu appoints military secy Major General Gofman as new Mossad chief

Praising Gofman's credentials, Netanyahu described him as an 'outstanding officer--bold and creative,' adding that he had demonstrated 'impressive resourcefulness'

'Flagrant violation': EU condemns Israel over 30 new West Bank settlements

The reaction came following Israel's recent decision to establish more than 30 new settlements in the occupied West Bank

Israeli parliament approves death penalty for Palestinians in murder cases

Israel's Parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. The bill's passage marked a major victory for Israel's far-right, which has pushed hard for the measure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the chamber to vote yes in person. The law makes the death penalty - by hanging - the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted for nationalistic killings. The law also gives Israeli courts the authority to impose either the death penalty or life imprisonment on its own citizens. It is not retro-active and will apply only to future cases. The measure has been harshly condemned by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups, who say it is racist, draconian and unlikely to deter attacks by Palestinian attackers. It is expected to face legal challenge in Israel's Supreme Court.

Israel approves revised war budget to $222 bn extending reliance on debt

The spending plan, approved by Knesset lawmakers early Monday in a vote of 62 to 55, totals 699 billion shekels ($222 billion) and sets a deficit target of 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product

Yemen's Houthis carry out 'second military operation' against Israel

This comes moments after the Iranian-backed group in Yemen officially joined the conflict in the region, earlier on Saturday

Israeli settlers smash cars, set fires in West Bank as 4 killed in Gaza

Israeli settlers rampaged through multiple Palestinian villages overnight Saturday and into Sunday, smashing cars, setting fires and wounding several men in the latest flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported attacks in at least six communities on Sunday. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said at least three Palestinians in the village of Jalud suffered head wounds from beatings and were hospitalized after confronting settlers, who were also reported injured. The rampage came a day after an 18-year-old Israeli settler was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle in an area near two of the villages attacked. Police said they are investigating the settlers' claims that the collision was deliberate. The violence came as Israel's government also presses ahead with new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Attacks by settlers have intensified alongside a broader surge in violence since the Iran war started. Israel's .

Israeli strikes kills 12 in Gaza, including 2 children and a pregnant woman

At least 12 Palestinians, including two boys, a pregnant woman and eight police officers, were killed Sunday by Israeli airstrikes in the war-torn Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said. A strike Sunday morning hit a house in the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat in central Gaza and killed four people, including a couple in their 30s and their 10-year son, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The woman had been pregnant with twins, the hospital said. The fourth fatality, a 15-year-old neighbor, was taken to the Awda hospital in Nuseirat. "We were sleeping and got up to the strike of a missile. The strike was strong," said Mahmoud al-Muhtaseb, a neighbor. "There was no prior warning." Another strike Sunday afternoon hit a police vehicle on the south-north Salah al-Din route at the entrance of the central town of Zawaida, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said. The strike killed eight police officers, including Col. Iyad Ab Yousef, a senior police official in central Gaza, th

Israel to reopen Gaza's Rafah crossing for limited movement of people

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said the crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen on Wednesday in both directions

US embassy to offer consular services at Israeli settlement in West Bank

The US embassy in Jerusalem plans to offer consular services for the first time at an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. A statement posted Wednesday to the US embassy's account on the social platform X said consular officers "will be providing routine passport services" to US citizens Friday in the West Bank settlement of Efrat. The embassy said a similar outreach service is planned in the coming months in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, calling the services part of its "efforts to reach all Americans." The US embassy has previously provided consular services in Ramallah and other Palestinian cities in the West Bank. The move continues a shift in policy under US President Donald Trump's administration, which has been far friendlier to Israeli settlements in the West Bank than past US presidents. "We welcome the historic decision by the US embassy in Jerusalem to extend consular services to American citizens in Judea and Samaria," Israel's Foreign Ministry said o

EU diplomats to meet 'Board of Peace' director over Gaza's future

The European Union's top diplomats are set to meet Monday with the director of the Board of Peace in Brussels after a shaky and controversial embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure and rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Nikolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. diplomat chosen by Trump to manage the Board of Peace, will meet the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and foreign ministers from across the 27-nation bloc. The EU diplomats are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and fresh sanctions on Russia. Just across the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East, the EU has deep links to Israel and the Palestinians. It now plays a crucial oversight role at the Rafah border crossing, and is the top donor to the Palestinian Authority. The question of whether to work with the Trump-led board has split national capitals from Nicosia to Copenhagen. The EU is supportive of the United Nations' mandate in Gaza. EU members Hungary and Bulgaria are fu