Page 21 - Israel-palestine

Hamas frees Israeli-American hostage in goodwill move before Trump visit

An Israeli-American soldier held hostage for more than 19 months in the Gaza Strip was released Monday, Hamas said, in a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel. The Israeli military confirmed that Edan Alexander had been turned over to the Red Cross and was being brought to Israeli forces. Alexander was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza. His release would be the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, unleashing fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds. Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing the territory and displacing much of its population again. Days before the ceasefire ended, Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis and sparking warnings about the risk of famine if the blockade isn'

Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter kills at least 16 people in Gaza

An Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the Gaza Strip killed at least 16 people early on Monday, mostly women and children, according to local health officials. At least five children and four women were among those killed in the strike on a school in the Jabaliya area, the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service said. It also said that a number of people were wounded. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in densely populated areas. There was no immediate comment on the latest strike. The attack came as U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week. After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel is intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip, where its 10-week blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis. Here is the latest: Hamas says it will release last living American hostage in Gaza in a ceasefire ...

Israel warns of evacuations at 3 Yemen ports after US-Houthi ceasefire

The evacuation warning issued by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Arabic media spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X asked people to evacuate the ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif

Hamas agrees to free last living US hostage in Gaza, says Trump envoy

Hamas said Sunday that the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the delivery of aid. Two Hamas officials told The Associated Press they expect the release in the next 48 hours. US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed late Sunday in a message to AP that Hamas had agreed to release Alexander as a good will gesture toward Trump. The announcement of the first hostage release since Israel shattered a ceasefire in March comes shortly before Trump visits the Middle East this week. It highlighted the willingness of Israel's closest ally to inject momentum into ceasefire talks for the 19-month war as desperation grows among hostages' families and Gaza's over 2 million people under the new Israeli blockade. Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey. He was abducted from his base during the Oct. 7, 2023, ...

Overnight Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 15 people, mostly women, children

Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed nine people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials. Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. A third strike killed another child and wounded seven people, according to Nasser Hospital, which received bodies from all three strikes. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest strikes. Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages. Aid groups say

Israeli airstrikes kill 23 in Gaza amid growing outcry over aid blockade

Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday killed at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza, including three children and their parents whose tent was bombed in Gaza City, health officials said. The bombardment continued as international warnings grow over Israeli plans to control aid distribution in Gaza as Israel's blockade on the territory of over 2 million people is in its third month. The UN and aid groups have rejected Israel's aid distribution moves, including a plan from a group of American security contractors, ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials calling itself the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Among the 23 bodies brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours were those of the family of five whose tent was struck in Gaza City's Sabra district, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Another Israeli strike late Friday hit a warehouse belonging to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in the northern area of Jabaliya. Four people were killed, according to the Indonesi

Tufts grad student Ozturk freed on bail in setback to Trump administration

The Friday ruling in favor of Tufts student Rümeysa Ozturk marks a setback for the administration amid its crackdown on foreign students accused of antisemitic activism over the Israel-Hamas conflict

Freed Palestinian student accuses Columbia University of inciting violence

A Palestinian student arrested as he was about to finalise his US citizenship accused Columbia University on Thursday of eroding democracy with its handling of campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, who led anti-war protests at the Ivy League school in New York in 2023 and 2024, spent 16 days in a Vermont prison before a judge ordered him released on April 30. He spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday, a day after pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with campus security guards inside the university's main library. At least 80 people were taken into custody, police said. Mahdawi said instead of being a beacon of hope," the university is inciting violence against students. Columbia University is participating in the destruction of the democratic system, Mahdawi said in the interview. They are supporting the initiatives and the agenda of the Trump administration, and they are punishing and torturing their students. A spokesperson for Columbia University, .

Aid group shuts Gaza soup kitchens as Israeli blockade halts supplies

Israel's ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance for Gaza forced a leading aid group on Thursday to shut its community soup kitchens, faced empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies in the war-battered enclave. World Central Kitchen was serving 1,33,000 meals per day and baking 80,000 loaves of bread over the past weeks, but said it was forced to suspend operations since there is almost no food left in Gaza for the organisation to cook. The lack of food is threatening Gaza's population, already battered by 19 months of war. In April, the World Food Programme said its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel's blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory. Malnutrition and hunger are becoming increasingly prevalent in the Gaza Strip as Israel's total blockade enters its third month. Aid agencies say a shortage of food and supplies has driven the territory toward starvation and supplies to treat and prevent ...

Airstrikes kill 92 in Gaza as Israel prepares to ramp up its offensive

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 59 people, including women and children, hospital officials said Wednesday, as Israel prepares to ramp up its campaign against Hamas in a devastating war now entering its 20th month. The strikes included one attack on Tuesday night on a school sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians, which killed 27 people, officials from the Al-Aqsa Hospital said, including nine women and three children. It was the fifth time since the war began that the school in central Gaza has been struck. An early morning strike on another school turned shelter in Gaza City killed 16 people, according to officials at Al-Ahli Hospital, while strikes on targets in other areas killed at least 16 others. A large column of smoke rose and fires pierced the dark skies above the school shelter in Bureij, a built-up urban refugee camp. Paramedics and rescuers rushed to pull people out from the blaze. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with security guards at Columbia univ

Pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks and keffiyehs clashed with security guards Wednesday after staging a protest inside Columbia University's main library. Videos and photos shared on social media showed dozens of protesters pushing past campus security officers and racing into the building. The group then hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves in an ornate reading room. Some also appeared to have scrawled "Columbia will burn" across framed pictures. Other videos showed campus security officers barring another group of protesters from entering the library, with both sides shoving to try and force the other group aside. University officials said in a statement that the protest is so far isolated to one room in the library. They say protesters were asked for identification and ordered to disperse, but none immediately complied. "They have been told that failure to comply will result in violations of our rules and policies and possible arrest," the officials said

Syria, Israel holding indirect talks to avoid escalation, says Prez Sharaa

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Wednesday that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent recent hostilities from getting out of control. He spoke on his first visit to Europe since taking office in January, and as he seeks to broaden ties to Western countries. Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on parts of Syria last week, saying it aims to protect the country's Druze minority coming under attack by pro-government gunmen. Speaking to reporters in Paris, al-Sharaa said, "Regarding negotiations with Israel, there are indirect talks through mediators to calm down the situation so that they don't go out of control." He did not say who the mediators are. His visit to Paris comes amid renewed sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad in December. Assad, a member of Syria's Alawite minority, ruled for more than two decades. The vi

Only 21 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now believed to be alive, says Trump

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, leaving only 21 believed to be still living. As of today, it's 21, three have died, Trump said of the hostages being held by Hamas, noting until recently it had been 24 people believed to be living. He did not elaborate on the identities of those now believed to be dead, nor how he had come to learn of their deaths. There's 21, plus a lot of dead bodies," Trump said. One American, Edan Alexander, had been among the 24 hostages believed to be alive, with the bodies of several other Americans also held by Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel. The president's comments came as Israel approved plans on Monday to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, in a bid to recover the hostages and try to fulfill its war aims of destroying Hamas. If implemented, the move would vastly expand Israel's operations there and likely draw fierce ...

Pope Francis's last gift: Popemobile to become health clinic for Gaza

One of Pope Francis's popemobiles, used during his visit to Bethlehem in 2014, is being refitted with everything needed for frontline care in Gaza strip

A look at Gaza's troubled history as Israel vows to take full control

Israel's Cabinet voted Monday to seize the Gaza Strip for an unspecified amount of time in a move that could see Israel reestablish control over a territory it vacated two decades ago. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after a decades-long occupation and then imposed a blockade on the territory along with Egypt. Israeli officials did not clarify Monday what a reoccupation of Gaza would entail, but the announcement raises the potential for the reestablishment of Israeli settlements inside the territory. Israel's settler movement has been emboldened under its current ultranationalist government. Details were not formally announced, and Israeli leaders have said the expansion of operations will not begin until after President Donald Trump's visit. The plan may be another measure by Israel to try to pressure Hamas into making concessions in ceasefire negotiations. Seizing Gaza would further dim hopes for Palestinian statehood, embed Israel inside a population deeply hostile to it and .

Troops to stay in Gaza for unspecified time as Israel approves takeover

Israel approved plans Monday to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel's operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition. The new plan, which was approved in an early morning vote by Israeli Cabinet ministers, also calls for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move to Gaza's south. That would likely amount to their forcible displacement and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis. Details of the plan were not formally announced, and its exact timing and implementation were not clear. Its approval came hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers. The plan may be another measure by Israel to try to pressure Hamas into making concessions in ceasefire negotiations. A third person, a defense official, said the new plan would not begin until after U.S. Preside

Israeli bulldozers raze West Bank hamlet, displace dozens of Palestinians

Israeli military bulldozers demolished most of a Palestinian Bedouin village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Monday, taking out the hamlet's infrastructure and leaving residents wandering amid the rubble of their homes. The bulldozers rolled into Khalet Al-Dab in the morning, taking down most of the village's structures, said Basel Adra, a filmmaker, journalist and activist from the area. Nine homes, five tents and five animal pens were demolished, said Mohammed Rabia, head of the village council in the area. COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for administrative affairs in the occupied West Bank, said it demolished the buildings because they were built illegally in an area designated as a closed firing zone. Palestinians have long said that securing Israeli permission to build in the West Bank is nearly impossible. Ali Dababsa, 87, a shepherd who watched the forces demolish his home, looked aghast. "We want to die under this soil, this land is precious to us and we a

Israel approves plan to capture entire Gaza to pressure Hamas for ceasefire

The plan is part of Israel's attempt to put more pressure on Hamas to release hostages and agree to a ceasefire under Israel's conditions

Houthis announce campaign targeting Israeli airports as tensions rise

Most attacks from Yemen have been intercepted by Israel's missile defence systems, though a drone strike hit Tel Aviv last year

Israel approves plans to intensify military ops in Gaza, says official

Israeli Cabinet ministers approved plans to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said on Monday. The official said the plan was gradual and involved claiming more territory in the Palestinian enclave, where Israel already controls roughly half of the land. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the influential security Cabinet, a gathering of top ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, approved the decision early Monday. The approval comes a day after Israel announced it was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers for the expanded operations in Gaza, which Israel says are meant to increase pressure on Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire that better aligns with Israel's terms. An eight-week ceasefire with the Hamas militant group collapsed in March when Israel resumed strikes in Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians, many of them women and children. Israel also captured swaths of ...