Page 83 - Israel-palestine

Ahead of anticipated offensive, Israel to direct Palestinians out of Rafah

The Israeli military said Wednesday it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip's southernmost town of Rafah toward humanitarian islands in the centre of the territory ahead of its planned offensive in the area. The fate of the people in Rafah has been a major area of concern of Israel's allies including the United States and humanitarian groups, worried an offensive in the region densely crowded with so many displaced people would be a catastrophe. Rafah is also Gaza's main entry point for desperately needed aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a Rafah offensive is crucial to achieve Israel's stated aim of destroying Hamas following the militants' Oct 7 attack in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 taken hostage and brought into Gaza. Israel's invasion of Gaza has killed more than 31,000, according to Gaza health officials, left much of the enclave in ruins and ...

Highlights of the day: Foreign Secretary Kwatra given extension of 6 months

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

Aid ship sets sail from Cyprus to Gaza as 5 months into war, hunger worsens

An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail Tuesday from Cyprus to Gaza, the international charity behind the effort said. The shipment is a test for the opening of a sea corridor to supply aid to the territory, where starvation is spreading five months into the Israel-Hamas war. World Food Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef Jos Andrs, posted on the X social media platform that a ship set sail on Tuesday. Associated Press live footage showed it being towed out of a harbor in the port city of Larnaca. The United States has separately announced plans to construct a sea bridge near Gaza in order to deliver aid, but it will likely be several weeks before it is operational. The 5-month-old war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and driven some 80% of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes. The U.N. says a quarter of the population is starving. The attack that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people, and militants

67 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Ramadan begins amid food shortage

With no end to fighting sight, Palestinians in Gaza began fasting Monday for the holy month of Ramadan as hunger worsens across the strip and pressure grows on Israel over the growing humanitarian crisis. The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a cease-fire ahead of the normally joyous month of dawn-to-dusk fasting that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid. However, the cease-fire talks stalled last week. Gaza's Health Ministry said the bodies of 67 people killed by Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll to more than 31,112 since the war began. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says that women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly ...

Yemen's Houthi rebels attack Liberian-flagged container in Red Sea

An attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels saw an explosion take place near a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea on Monday, though the blast caused no damage, authorities said. The master of the vessel reported the explosion and said no one was hurt, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The UKMTO later identified the vessel as the Pinocchio, managed by a Singaporean firm. The private security firm Ambrey say the incident may have involved a missile, but information remained scarce. Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed the attack early Tuesday in a prerecorded statement, claiming the Pinocchio was an American ship without offering evidence to support the assertion. He also claimed the vessel was hit by naval missiles, again providing no evidence to support the claim. He said the Houthis would continue their attacks, aimed at pressuring an end to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. However, the Houthi attacks

Highlights of the day: Netanyahu meets with Ajit Doval, updates him on war

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

Biden warns Netanyahu not to attack Rafah as Ramadan festivities begin

The US hoped for a breakthrough before Islam's holy month, which began after sundown on Sunday

Protest-vote movement over US' handling of Hamas war spreads across states

The protest-vote movement over President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war has spread to several states and raised more questions about whether a small but significant number of Democrats angry at Biden might abandon him in November. A week after 101,000 Michigan voters chose uncommitted on their ballots, so did roughly 263,000 voters in the five Super Tuesday states where similar ballot options were available. Minnesota, which had the most organized effort outside of Michigan, saw 1 in 5 Democratic voters mark the uncommitted option, a higher percentage than the 13% who voted uncommitted in Michigan. Organizers are watching the state of Washington's primary on Tuesday to see how many voters select uncommitted. And a Leave It Blank campaign has formed for Georgia's Tuesday primary that's intended to have the same effect, as is a uninstructed vote in Wisconsin's April 2 primary. Supporters of the protest argue anger over the war could endanger Biden's chances in swing stat

US will work towards 6-week immediate, sustained ceasefire in Gaza: Biden

Greeting the Muslim community across the world on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, US President Joe Biden on Sunday reiterated that the United States will continue working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages. While we get more life-saving aid to Gaza, the United States will continue working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages. And we will continue building toward a long-term future of stability, security, and peace. That includes a two-state solution to ensure Palestinians and Israelis share equal measures of freedom, dignity, security, and prosperity. That is the only path toward an enduring peace, Biden said. The United States will continue to lead international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza by land, air, and sea, he said. Earlier this week, I directed our military to lead an

Biden cajoles Netanyahu with tough talk but Israeli PM remains dug in

US President Joe Biden has stepped up public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, warning he's hurting Israel and speaking candidly about come to Jesus conversations with the leader over the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite Biden's increased displays of frustration, Israeli officials and Middle East analysts say no signs are emerging that Biden can push Israel, at least in the short term, to fundamentally alter how it's prosecuting the conflict that is entering a new dangerous phase. He has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas, Biden said of Netanyahu in an MSNBC interview. But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken. He's hurting...in my view, he's hurting Israel more than helping Israel. The president had hoped to have an extended cease-fire in place by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin Monday. Biden ...

Effort to get aid to Gaza by sea halted as first ship still waits in Cyprus

A US Army vessel carrying equipment to build a temporary pier in Gaza was heading to the Mediterranean on Sunday, after US President Joe Biden announced plans to increase aid deliveries by sea to the besieged enclave where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are going hungry. The new push for aid came as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was set to begin Monday in much of the world after officials in Saudi Arabia saw the crescent moon. Hopes for a new cease-fire by Ramadan faded days ago with negotiations apparently stalled. The opening of the sea corridor, along with airdrops by the US, Jordan and others, reflected growing alarm over Gaza's deadly humanitarian crisis and a new willingness to bypass Israeli control over land shipments. But aid officials say that air and sea deliveries can't make up for a shortage of land routes. Aid trucks entering Gaza daily are far below the 500 entering before the war. A ship belonging to Spanish aid group Open Arms and carrying 200 tons of food

After months of warnings of famine in Gaza, children succumb to starvation

After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel's bombardment, offensives and siege, children are starting to die. Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces and has suffered long cutoffs of food supply deliveries. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the north's Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. Most of the dead are children including ones as old as 15 as well as a 72-year-old man. Particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb in the south, where access to aid is more regular. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, one of the senior doctors told The Associated Press. The child deaths we feared are here, Adele Khodr, UNICEF's Middle East chief, said in a statement earlier this week. Malnutrition is generally slow to bring death, striking children and the elderly

Houthi attack kills 3 crew members in rebels' 1st fatal assault on shipping

A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday killed three of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel, the U.S. military said. It was the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The attack on the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence further escalates the conflict on a crucial maritime route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe that has disrupted global shipping. The Houthis have launched attacks since November, and the U.S. began an airstrike campaign in January that so far hasn't halted their attacks. Meanwhile, Iran announced Wednesday that it would confiscate a $50 million cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp. aboard a tanker it seized nearly a year earlier. It is the latest twist in a yearslong shadow war playing out in the Middle East's waterways even before the Houthi ...

Pressure grows on Israel to open more aid routes into Gaza by land, sea

Efforts to get desperately needed humanitarian aid to war-wracked northern Gaza gained momentum Wednesday with the European Union increasing pressure for the creation of a sea route from Cyprus to Gaza and British Foreign Minister David Cameron saying that Israel's allies were losing patience. While aid groups say all of Gaza is mired in a humanitarian crisis, the situation in the largely isolated north stands out. Many of the estimated 300,000 people still living there have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive. The U.N. says that one in six children under the age of 2 in the north suffers from acute malnutrition. Amid the global pressure to alleviate the crisis, two Israeli officials said Wednesday the government will begin allowing aid to move directly from its territory into northern Gaza and will also cooperate with the creation of the sea route from Cyprus. Israel would allow 20 to 30 aid trucks to enter northern Gaza from Israel on Friday, the start of more regular

Highlights of the day: Adani Enterprises acquires Le Marche Duty Free

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

Palestinian death toll from Israel-Hamas war climbs to 30,717: Gaza

Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has climbed to 30,717. It said on Wednesday that 86 bodies were brought to local hospitals in the last 24 hours, in addition to 113 wounded people. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and maintains detailed casualty records. Its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the United Nations, independent experts and even Israeli counts. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed. It says the real toll is higher as there are bodies buried in the rubble from Israeli airstrikes and in areas that paramedics cannot access. It says over 72,000 people have been wounded in the war. Israel says it has killed over 10,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence. The war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on October 7, in which Palestinian militants kil

One Indian killed, two injured in anti-tank missile attack in Israel

An Indian national was killed and another two were injured on Monday when an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck an orchard near Israel's northern border community of Margaliot, officials said. All three victims hail from the southern state of Kerala. The missile hit a plantation in Margaliot, a moshav (collective agricultural community), in the Galilee region in the north of Israel around 11 am on Monday, Zaki Heller, spokesperson for rescue services Magen David Adom (MDA), told PTI. Patnibin Maxwell from Kollam in Kerala was killed in the attack. His mortal remains were identified in Ziv hospital, official sources said. Bush Joseph George and Paul Melvin were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment, they said. "George was taken to the Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva after suffering injuries on face and body. He underwent an operation, is recovering well, and has been kept under observation. He could speak with his family in India," an official source told PTI. M

Israel criticises UN in Gaza, says 450 of its workers are militants

Israel ramped up its criticism of the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees Monday, saying 450 of its employees were members of militant groups in the Gaza Strip, though it provided no evidence to back up its accusation. Major international funders have withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency, known as UNRWA, since Israel accused 12 of its employees of participating in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and left about 250 others held hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. The UN envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, said Monday there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Hamas committed rape, "sexualized torture," and other cruel and inhuman treatment of women during the attack. The attack sparked an Israeli invasion of the enclave of 2.3 million people that Gaza's Health Ministry says has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. Aid groups say the fighting has displaced most of the territory's ...

Reasonable grounds to believe Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct 7: UN

The U.N. envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict said in a new report Monday that there are reasonable grounds to believe Hamas committed rape, sexualized torture, and other cruel and inhumane treatment of women during its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. There are also reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing, said Pramila Patten, who visited Israel and the West Bank from Jan. 29 to Feb. 14 with a nine-member team. In the report, she said the team found clear and convincing information that some hostages have been subjected to the same forms of conflict-related sexual violence including rape and sexualized torture. Patten's report said the team's visit was neither intended nor mandated to be investigative in nature. She said the team was not able to meet with any victims of sexual violence despite concerted efforts to encourage them to come forward. However, team members held 33 meetings with Israeli institutions and conducted interview wi

Highlights of the day: Magnitude 3.2 earthquake hits HP's Lahaul and Spiti

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