Page 21 - Israel-palestine

Gaza faces famine threat as Israel blocks aid, crisis grows. What to know

The crisis in Gaza has reached one of its darkest periods, as Israel blocks all food and supplies from entering the territory and continues an intensifying bombardment campaign. Humanitarian officials caution that famine threatens to engulf the strip. Doctors say they are out of medicine to treat routine conditions. Israeli leaders are threatening an even more intense ground offensive. The military is preparing for a new organization with U.S. backing to take over aid delivery, despite alarms raised from humanitarian groups that the plans won't meet the massive need and could place restrictions on those eligible. It's unclear when operations would begin or who would fund them. This is the deadliest and most destructive phase of Israel's war on Gaza, yet the world has turned away," said Bushra Khalidi, policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory at the humanitarian nonprofit Oxfam. "After 19 months of horror, Gaza has become a place where international law is ...

Microsoft gave AI to Israeli army but denies its use to harm Gaza civilians

Microsoft acknowledged Thursday that it sold advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages. But the company also said it has found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. The unsigned blog post on Microsoft's corporate website appears to be the company's first public acknowledgement of its deep involvement in the war, which started after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and has led to the deaths of tens of thousands in Gaza. It comes nearly three months after an investigation by The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giant's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military use

Over 100 killed in Gaza as Israel hits 130 targets in 48 hours

Israeli strikes kill over 100 Palestinians in Gaza in 48 hours as ceasefire talks stall Netanyahu signals further escalation and aid plan faces global criticism

Israeli strikes kill 82 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up Middle East visit

Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Friday morning, as US President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble. The widespread attacks across northern Gaza come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that Trump's regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. The strikes lasted hours into Friday morning sending people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya and followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a

54 people killed in overnight airstrikes on Gaza's Khan Younis city

A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis. An Associated Press cameraman in Khan Younis counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday, and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in the city's Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital's morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed. It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children. The strikes come as US President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that Trump's regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.

New US-backed group set to begin aid operations in Gaza within weeks

A new humanitarian organization that has US backing to take over aid delivery to starving civilians in Gaza said Wednesday that it expects to begin operations before the end of the month after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials. A statement from the group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified several US military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort. Many in the aid community believe it is meant to supplant the distribution system now run by the UN and other international aid agencies. The foundation failed to address much of the criticism and unanswered questions that the international community has about the group, including who would fund the work and how much involvement the US, Israel or any other government or military would have in controlling life-saving aid for Palestinian civilians. In an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, Tom Fletcher, the U.N. ..

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill 48, including 22 children, say hospitals

At least 22 children were killed in Gaza overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday in a punishing series of Israeli airstrikes on homes in northern Gaza, according to local hospitals. The strikes killed at least 48 people in total, the Indonesian Hospital in Jabaliya reported. The strikes came a day after Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage in a deal brokered by the United States, and as President Donald Trump was visiting Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no way Israel would halt its war in Gaza, dimming hopes for a ceasefire.

UN humanitarian chief slams Israel for 'deliberately' blocking aid to Gaza

The United Nations' top humanitarian official blasted Israel on Tuesday for deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on Palestinians, including the risk of famine one of the strongest condemnations by a high-ranking U.N. official during the war in Gaza. Tom Fletcher, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, briefed members of the Security Council, describing this work as a grim undertaking since Israel began blocking all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza more than 10 weeks ago. He went as far as saying that the council must act now to prevent genocide. Israel vehemently denied that is taking place. I ask you to reflect for a moment on what action we will tell future generations we each took to stop the 21st century atrocity to which we bear daily witness in Gaza, said Fletcher, a longtime British diplomat who took up the U.N. post in November. It is a question we will hear, sometimes incredulous, sometimes furious but always there

Campus protests flare on smaller scale but with higher stakes this time

Campus activism has flared as the academic year winds down, with pro-Palestinian demonstrations leading to arrests at several colleges. Compared with last spring, when more than 2,100 people were arrested in campus protests nationwide, the demonstrations have been smaller and more scattered. But the stakes are also much higher. President Donald Trump's administration has been investigating dozens of colleges over their handling of protests, including allegations of antisemitism, and frozen federal grant money as leverage to press demands for new rules on activism. Colleges, in turn, have been taking a harder line on discipline and enforcement, following new policies adopted to prevent tent encampments of the kind that stayed up for weeks last year on many campuses. What are protesters demanding? More are pushing for the same goal that drove last year's protests an end to university ties with Israel or companies that provide weapons or other support to Israel. Protesters who took

WATCH: Freed by Hamas, US-Israeli hostage reunites with family in Israel

US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander freed after 19 months by Hamas reunites with family in Israel as ceasefire talks loom amid escalating Gaza conflict and Trump's regional visit

Netanyahu credits Trump for Edan Alexander's release after 584 days

Welcoming Alexander back, Netanyahu credited the success of the rescue to Israeli military pressure and diplomatic efforts led by US President Donald Trump, calling it "a winning combination"

'World's worst hunger crises': WHO warns as 2.1 mn in Gaza face starvation

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that Gaza is already in the grip of a hunger crisis and said that people are starving

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, .