Page 40 - Israel-palestine

ICC member states start their annual meeting amid pushback and allegations

The International Criminal Court's member states open their annual meeting Monday while the court faces pushback over arrest warrants for Israeli officials, sexual harassment allegations against the court's chief prosecutor and a very empty docket. The Assembly of States Parties, which represents the ICC's 124 member countries, will convene its 23rd conference to elect committee members and approve the court's budget against a backdrop of unfavourable headlines. Last month, judges granted a request from the court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas' military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the nearly 14-month war in Gaza. It marks the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused by the global court of justice. The decision has been denounced by critics of the court and given only milquetoast approval by many of its ..

Israeli strikes on Gaza's Muwasi kill at least 6, including 2 children

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least six people overnight, including two young children who died in the tent where their family was sheltering, medical officials said Sunday. The strike in the Muwasi area, a sprawling tent camp housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people, also wounded the children's mother and their sibling, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital saw the bodies. A separate strike in the southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, killed four men, according to hospital records. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its daily strikes across Gaza often kill women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around people 250 hostage. Some 100 captives are still being held inside Gaza, around

Israeli strike in Gaza kills WCK workers; Israel says 1 was Oct 7 attacker

An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people including employees of World Central Kitchen, and the charity said it was urgently seeking more details after Israel's military said it targeted a WCK worker who was part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war. WCK said it was heartbroken by the airstrike and that it had no knowledge anyone in the car had alleged ties to the Oct 7, 2023 attack, saying it was working with incomplete information. It said it was pausing operations in Gaza. The charity's work in Gaza was temporarily suspended earlier this year after an Israeli strike killed seven of its workers, most of them foreigners. The Israeli military in a statement said the alleged Oct 7 attacker had taken part in the assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz, and it asked senior officials from the international community and the WCK administration to clarify" how he had come to work for the charity. The violence in Gaza raged even as a ceasefire between Isr

Israel strikes Hezbollah smuggling sites in Syria, testing ceasefire

Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites along Syria's border with Lebanon, the Israeli military said Saturday, testing a fragile, days-old ceasefire that halted months of fighting between the sides but has seen continued sporadic fire. The military said it struck sites that had been used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect, which the military said was a violation of its terms. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or activists monitoring the conflict in that country. Hezbollah also did not immediately comment. The Israeli strike, the latest of several since the ceasefire began on Wednesday, came as unrest spread to other areas of the Middle East, with Syrian insurgents breaching the country's largest city, Aleppo, in a shock offensive that added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars. The truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, brokered by the United States and France, calls for an

Lebanese fishers hope ceasefire with Israel means a return to normal life

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn. During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishers at this ancient Phoenician port on shore, upending their lives and the industry. While less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many people off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh fish and rice boiled in fish sauce or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips such as hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads. The loss of fish damaged a deep association with home, but now the possibility of renewed Lebanese fishing on the country's southern coast is helping fuel hope for a brighter future. On Friday, a few boats went out close to the shore as fishers in the port worked on the

Displaced Lebanese return from Syria as ceasefire with Israel holds

Thousands of people made the crossing back into Lebanon from Syria on the second day of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, after nearly 14 months of fighting. At the Jousieh border crossing in the Qusair area of Syria's Homs province, on Lebanon's northeastern border, bumper-to-bumper cars lined up on Thursday waiting to be cleared for crossing. All four lanes were taken up by cars making their way into Lebanon, while those waiting to cross into Syria had to use an offroad. Of the six border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, two remain functional after Israeli airstrikes forced the others shut. The two countries share a border 375 kilometres long. Over 600,000 people fleeing Lebanon poured into Syria in the past year, most of them after the war between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in mid-September. The cross-border flow was a striking reversal in fortunes given that Lebanon is still hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees who fled the war in their country that began

Lebanese displaced by war return home after Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants returned home on Wednesday as a ceasefire took hold, driving cars stacked with personal belongings and defying warnings from Lebanese and Israeli troops to avoid some areas. If it endures, the ceasefire would end nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah's patron, Iran, and Israel's closest ally, the United States, into a broader conflagration. The deal does not address the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes overnight on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, according to hospital officials. Israel said one strike targeted a Hamas sniper and the other targeted militants hiding among civilians. The truce in Lebanon could give reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the ...

Want a future that has hope for Palestinians: Israeli Ambassador to India

Ambassador Reuven Azar said that Israel has given very severe blows to Hamas

Highlights: Term of JPC on the Waqf Amendment Bill extended till end of next budget session

News updates: Catch all the latest news updates from around the world here

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holds as Lebanese residents return to homes

A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah appeared to be holding Wednesday, as residents in cars heaped with belongings streamed back toward southern Lebanon despite warnings from the Israeli and Lebanese military that they stay away from certain areas. If it holds, the ceasefire would bring an end to nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah's patron Iran and Israel into a broader conflagration. It could give some reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the border with Lebanon. The US- and France-brokered deal, approved by Israel late Tuesday, calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN ..

Israel strikes crossings with Syria for first time, says Lebanon minister

Strikes came moments after US President Joe Biden announced that a ceasefire would come into effect at 4 am local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday to halt hostilities

Trump's team claims credit for Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal by Biden

The Biden administration kept President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration closely apprised of its efforts to broker the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah that is slated to go into effect early Wednesday, according to the outgoing Democratic administration. Trump's team, meanwhile, was quick to spike the football and claim credit for the rare spot of good news for a Democratic administration that's been dragged down by the grinding Mideast conflict. "Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump," Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump's choice for his national security adviser, said in a post on X on Tuesday, shortly before the Israel Cabinet signed off on the agreement. "His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won't be tolerated. I'm glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East." The Biden administration's reported coordination with Trump's team on its efforts to forge the ceasefire in Lebanon i

Israel, Hezbollah start a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting

Israel has approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah that would end nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the war in the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire agreed on Tuesday would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable. Hours before the ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signalled it aims to pummel Hezbollah before the ceasefire takes hold at 4 am local time on Wednesday. Another huge airstrike shook Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced. There appea

UK PM Keir Starmer welcomes ceasefire deal between Israel, Hezbollah

Keir Starmer said that the UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East

Israel-Hezbollah peace deal designed to ensure end of hostilities: Biden

President Joe Biden has announced that Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah have accepted a US-brokered peace deal that is designed to be a "permanent cessation" of hostilities between the two sides. As part of the ceasefire, Israel will gradually withdraw its troops from Lebanon over the next 60 days, Biden said in his address to the nation from the White House on Tuesday, shortly after Israel's Security Cabinet approved the accord. According to reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to the Security Cabinet the agreement aimed at ending months-long fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah which was ignited by the Gaza conflict and has killed and displaced thousands. Biden said he spoke with Netanyahu and Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati. "I'm pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United States' proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. I want to thank President Macron of France for his partnership in ...

EU asks Israel for ceasefire with Hezbollah as 'all concerns addressed'

The European Union's top diplomat said Tuesday there were no excuses for Israel to refuse to implement a ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying all its security concerns had been addressed in the US-French-brokered deal. Josep Borrell, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief, called for increased pressure on Israel to blunt extremists in the government who are refusing to accept the deal. Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Italy, Borrell warned that if a ceasefire is not implemented, Lebanon will fall apart. Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security Cabinet was set to convene Tuesday to discuss a proposed ceasefire. Among the issues that remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. Borrell said the US would chair a ceasefire implementation committee, but France would participate at the request of Lebanon. On the proposal agreement brokered

Israeli strikes kill dozens across Lebanon, 29 dead in Beirut attack

The Beirut airstrike is just one of several across the country as Israel continues its aggressive military campaign against Hezbollah

Hezbollah fires over 250 rockets into Israel, wounding at least 7

Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in the militant group's heaviest barrage in several days, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army centre killed one soldier and wounded 18 others on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said. Israel's military expressed regret and said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah, adding that its operations are directed solely against the militants. The strike was under review. Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a direct, bloody messa

Rabbi who went missing in UAE since Thursday was killed: Israel's PMO

Israel said Sunday that the body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found after he was killed in what the government described as a heinous antisemitic terror incident. The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death. Zvi Kogan went missing on Thursday, and there were suspicions he had been kidnapped. His disappearance comes as Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October. The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Kogan had been found dead. Kogan's wife, Rivky, is a US citizen who lived with him in the UAE. She's the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Kogan was last seen in Dubai. A video circulating on social med

Israel cracks down on Palestinians who speak out against war in Gaza

Israel's yearlong crackdown against Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza is prompting many to self-censor out of fear of being jailed and further marginalised in society, while some still find ways to dissent carefully. Ahmed Khalefa's life turned upside down after he was charged with inciting terrorism for chanting in solidarity with Gaza at an anti-war protest in October 2023. The lawyer and city counsellor from central Israel says he spent three difficult months in jail followed by six months detained in an apartment. It's unclear when he'll get a final verdict on his guilt or innocence. Until then, he's forbidden from leaving his home from dusk to dawn. Khalefa is one of more than 400 Palestinian citizens of Israel who, since the start of the war in Gaza, have been investigated by police for incitement to terrorism or incitement to violence, according to Adalah, a legal rights group for minorities. More than half of those investigated were also criminally