Page 35 - Israel-palestine

Hamas accepts draft deal for Gaza ceasefire, hostages release: Reports

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said on Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. The plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for final approval. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end the 15-month war and secure the release dozens of hostages captured in Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Some 100 Israelis are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third them are dead. Officials have expressed mounting optimism

Israel refuses to return Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's body in hostage deal

Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was considered one of the most influential leaders in Hamas with reports suggesting that he was the mastermind behind the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023

Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal 'closer than ever' as Trump pressures Netanyahu

Trump's Mideast envoy reportedly had a 'tense' meeting with Netanyahu, pressuring the Israeli PM to accept key compromises to secure a hostage deal ahead of the January 20 US presidential inauguration

UPDATES: Net direct tax collection grows 16% to Rs 16.90 trn during April 1-January 12

Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world

Biden, Netanyahu discuss efforts to reach Israel-Hamas war ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday about efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, a sign of the intensifying push to reach a deal before Donald Trump's inauguration next week. Talks mediated over the past year by the US, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled at moments when they seemed close to a deal. Still, in recent days, US officials have expressed hope of sealing an agreement. Sunday's call between Biden and Netanyahu came as the head of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, and Biden's top Mideast adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the Qatari capital Doha. Barnea's presence, confirmed by Netanyahu's office, meant high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved in talks. McGurk has been working on final details of a text to be presented to both sides, Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told CNN's "State of the .

Netanyahu sends director of Mossad for Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, his office said Saturday, in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza. It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar's capital, Doha, for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved. Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since then. Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas' ability to fight in Gaza. Hamas has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory. On Thursday, Gaza's Health Ministry said over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, the majority women and

US House passes bill to sanction ICC for Israeli PM, Gallant arrest warrant

The bill, titled the 'Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,' passed with a vote of 243 to 140, signalling strong support for Israel

News updates: Grap 3 curbs back in Delhi-NCR amid rise in air pollution levels

Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world

Palestinian death toll from Israel-Hamas war above 46,000: Gaza health dep

The Gaza Health Ministry says the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has climbed above 46,000. The ministry updated its toll from the ongoing 15-month conflict on Thursday. It says 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. The ministry has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in residential areas. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it says are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza. Israeli authorities believe at least a third of them were killed in the

UAE launches education campaign in Gaza under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3

The UAE, as part of the 'Operation Chivalrous Knight 3', has launched a campaign to support education in the Gaza Strip.The campaign includes sending school bags and educational supplies to children, aiming to assist students in continuing their education amid the difficult humanitarian conditions facing the sector.As part of the UAE's ongoing humanitarian efforts, the campaign includes aid in the form of school bags equipped with essential supplies, including notebooks, pens, and stationery, as well as other school supplies. These will be sent in batches to support the educational process and encourage students to continue studying.This initiative comes within the framework of efforts led by the UAE, with the participation of the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), Zayed Charitable & Humanitarian Foundation, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, and Sharjah Charity International, to alleviate the living burdens on Palestinian families and enhance educational opportunities for ...

Ceasefire, hostage deal between Israel and Hamas very close: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is very close and he hopes we can get it over the line before handing over US diplomacy to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. In area after area, we're handing off, in some cases, things that we haven't been able to complete but that create real opportunities to move things forward in a better way, he said on a stop in Paris for meetings. Blinken said that even if the Biden administration's plans for a ceasefire and hostage deal don't come to fruition before Trump's inauguration, he thinks they'll be put into practice afterward. I believe that when we get that deal - and we'll get that deal - it will be on the basis of the plans that President Biden put before the world, he said.

Shooting attack on bus carrying Israelis in occupied West Bank kills 3

A shooting attack on a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank has killed at least three people. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said at least six others were wounded in the attack on Monday. Violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the ongoing war there.

News updates: Justin Trudeau to stay on until Liberal party chooses replacement

Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world

Israel denies reports Hamas forwarded list of 34 hostages for release

The denial comes amid ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US

Israel denies reports of Hamas sending list of hostages to be released

The statement of Israel's PM office came after it was reported by a UK-based news agency that Hamas had approved a list of 34 hostages that it would release in exchange for a ceasefire agreement

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah killed last year in war operations room: Aide

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year while inside the militant group's war operations room, according to new details Sunday disclosed by a senior Hezbollah official. A series of Israeli airstrikes flattened several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2023, killing Nasrallah. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people died. According to news reports, Nasrallah and other senior officials were meeting underground. The assassination of Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for 32 years, turned months of low-level strikes between Israel and the militants into all-out war that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months until a US-brokered ceasefire took effect November 27. His Eminence (Hassan Nasrallah) used to lead the battle and war from this location, top Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa told a news conference Sunday near near the site where Nasrallah was killed. He said Nasrallah died in the war ...

Fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce holding so far, despite violations

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on November 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say

US plans $8 billion arms sale to Israel, maintains support to ally

The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed militant groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen

Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as ceasefire talks to resume in Qatar

Israeli strikes killed at least 42 people in Gaza, including children, overnight and into Friday, hospital and emergency response workers said, as health workers and Israel's military traded claims over reported evacuation orders for two hospitals in the territory's largely isolated north. The assertions over Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals occurred as stalled ceasefire talks to end nearly 15 months of war were set to resume in Qatar. Staff at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that more than a dozen women and children were killed in strikes in central Gaza, including in Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah. Dozens of people were killed across the enclave the previous day. We woke up to the missile strike. We found the whole house disintegrated, Abdul Rahman Al-Nabrisi said in the Maghazi refugee camp. Later Friday, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that an airstrike killed three people in a car in Zawaida in central Gaza. And the Civil Defence, first responders ..

Israel struggles to deter escalating attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels

The rockets from Gaza have mostly fallen silent. A ceasefire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has taken hold. But repeated fire from Yemen's Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis are stepping up their missile attacks, sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis scrambling for shelter in the middle of the night, scaring away foreign airlines and keeping up what could be the last major front in the Middle East wars. It's like musical chairs, said Yoni Yovel, 31, who left the northern Israeli city of Haifa late last year to avoid rocket fire from Hezbollah only to see his apartment in Tel Aviv's Jaffa neighborhood heavily damaged by a Houthi missile. Israel has repeatedly bombarded ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Israeli leaders have threatened to kill central Houthi figures and have tried to galvanize the world against the threat. But the ...