Page 69 - Israel-palestine

Blinken calls top Israeli officials to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal

Blinken commended Israel for the proposal and emphasized that the onus is on Hamas to accept the deal

Israeli airstrikes near Syrian city of Aleppo kills several people

Israeli airstrikes around the Syrian city of Aleppo killed several people early on Monday, Syrian state media reported. The state-run SANA news agency gave no specific toll. It said the strikes were around the southeastern edge of Aleppo. "The aggression led to a number of martyrs and some material losses," SANA said. Israel did not immediately acknowledge the strikes and rarely does when it comes to Syria. Syria and Israel have been at war since Israel's founding in 1948. Syria's President Bashar Assad has been backed by Iran in his country's yearslong war, and Israeli strikes previously have targeted Iranian positions and equipment. The strikes also come while Israel is fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel separately has been striking targets in Lebanon as well as Hezbollah continues its cross-border fire into the country.

Israel seeks governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza, despite past failures

Israel is looking into an alternative local governing body for Gaza, the defence minister said on Sunday, proposing a future beyond Hamas but giving no idea who those challengers might be. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's comments came at a time of new uncertainty in the eight-month war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure from many Israelis to accept a new ceasefire deal proposed by US President Joe Biden while far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does. Gallant, part of Israel's three-member War Cabinet who recently urged the government to have a detailed postwar plan for Gaza, said in a briefing that "we seek a governing alternative to Hamas. The framework for this includes isolating areas, removing Hamas operatives in these areas and bringing in other forces that will enable the formation of a governing alternative". That will achieve Israel's goals of removing Hamas' military and governing authority in Gaza and returning home

Protesters in Tel Aviv demand hostage swap, call for Netanyahu's ouster

Organisers claim that Saturday's demonstration marked the largest gathering since October 7, estimating a turnout of 120,000 individuals in Tel Aviv alone

Hezbollah shot down Israeli drone in Lebanon, rockets at Israeli base

The militant Hezbollah group said it shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon and fired rockets at an Israeli military base on Saturday, hours after Israeli drone strikes killed at least one person and wounded several others. Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters struck the Hermes 900 Kochav drone, saying such aircraft have been targeting militants and civilian homes. The exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border has been intensifying over the past weeks with Israel's military push on Gaza's southern city of Rafah. The Israeli military said a surface-to-air missile was fired toward a drone operating in Lebanese airspace, adding that it was hit and fell in Lebanese territory. "The incident is under review," the military said. The Hermes 900 Kochav is a medium altitude and long endurance drone that can carry four anti-tank guided missiles. Hezbollah said on Saturday that its fighters also attacked an Israeli army base in the border town of Kiryat Shmona with

Israel offered Hamas a three-step road map to an enduring ceasefire: Biden

US President Joe Biden on Friday announced that Israel has offered to Hamas, a three-step roadmap to enduring ceasefire in the region. Now after intensive diplomacy carried out by my team and my many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It's a road map to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages, Biden told reporters at the White House. This proposal has been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas, he said, adding that this new proposal has three phases. The first phase that would last for six weeks includes a full and complete ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. There are American hostages who would be released at this stage, and we want them home, he said, adding that Palestinian civilians would .

Hamas 'no longer capable' of carrying out another major attack: Biden

President Joe Biden said Friday that Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire. Biden addressed the nearly 8-month-old Israel-Hamas war as the Israeli military confirmed on Friday that its forces are now operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city. This is truly a decisive moment, Biden said as he spoke of a three-phase deal that Israeli officials have offered Hamas. Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it. Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Cease-fire talks ground to a

Stalled attempts by Israeli firm to interfere in Lok Sabha polls: OpenAI

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, has said it acted within 24 hours to disrupt deceptive uses of AI in covert operations focused on the Indian elections, leading to no significant audience increase. In a report on its website, OpenAI said STOIC, a political campaign management firm in Israel, generated some content on Indian elections alongside about the Gaza conflict. "In May, the network began generating comments that focused on India, criticized the ruling BJP party and praised the opposition Congress party," it said. "In May, we disrupted some activity focused on the Indian elections less than 24 hours after it began." OpenAI said it banned a cluster of accounts operated from Israel that were being used to generate and edit content for an influence operation that spanned X, Facebook, Instagram, websites, and YouTube. "This operation targeted audiences in Canada, the United States and Israel with content in English and Hebrew. In early May, it began targeting audiences in India wi

Israel could have used smaller weapons to avoid deaths in Gaza, say experts

Defence experts who have reviewed debris images from an Israeli airstrike that ignited a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians questioned why Israel did not use smaller, more precise weapons when so many civilians were nearby. They said the bombs used were likely US-made. The strikes, targeting Hamas operatives, killed as many as 45 people sheltering in a temporary displacement camp near the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday and have drawn international condemnation. Israel is investigating the attack but says that the Hamas targets were 1.7 kilometres away from a declared humanitarian zone and that its review ahead of the strike determined no expected harm to civilians. But displaced civilians were scattered throughout the area, and Israel had not ordered evacuations. So even if the tents that burned were not inside the marked humanitarian zone, the civilians there thought it was safe. Israel, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has not said how far the

Israel reopens Gaza food sales as Rafah offensive chokes aid: Report

The offensive against Rafah, a key gateway into Gaza from Egypt, has effectively halted the flow of UN aid to the devastated Palestinian territory

Stalemate in Gaza

International support for Israel is weakening

Rafah strike: How India has responded to Israeli attack on refugee camps

MEA said that India is one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine in late 1980s

'All Eyes on Rafah' campaign irks Israel; 'Where were your eyes on Oct 7?'

'All Eyes on Rafah' campaign has gained massive traction, with numerous celebrities joining in to express solidarity with Palestine and condemn the deadly attack on Rafah camp in Gaza on May 26

China hosts Arab leaders at summit focused on trade, Israel-Hamas war

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an international peace conference focused on the Israel-Hamas war and promised more humanitarian aid as he opened a summit with leaders of Arab states Thursday in Beijing. As war is raging causing tremendous suffering, justice can't be absent and the two-state solution can't be shaken, Xi said in a speech opening the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. He called on Arab states to deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, clean energy, space exploration and health care. The summit attended by heads of state from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Tunisia among others was set to focus on China's expanding trade ties and on security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war. Beijing and the Arab states back the Palestinians in the conflict, where Israel is facing growing international condemnation after the strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in which at least 45 were killed over the weekend. The overall Palestinian death toll

Israeli official cautions war in Gaza may extend seven more months

Despite earlier considerations for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas, the more hawkish faction of Israel's war cabinet advocated for proceeding with the Rafah offensive

Israel's Knesset advances bill labelling UNRWA as 'terror organisation'

The bill's preliminary reading passed by a vote of 42-6

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US condemns loss of life but says no policy changes after deaths in Rafah

The US would be monitoring the investigation into the incident and expected Israel to learn lessons from the airstrike, Kirby said

Explained: Why the 'All Eyes on Rafah' viral AI image is sweeping Instagram

As Israeli troops advance in an offensive on Rafah in the Gaza Strip, a campaign with the slogan 'All Eyes on Rafah' is gaining momentum

Israel says Gaza war likely to last another 7 months as tanks probe Rafah

The United States, Israel's closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah on Tuesday while saying it did not believe such an operation was under way