Page 84 - Israel-palestine

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

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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

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Harris to meet Israeli official in Washington despite Netanyahu's rebuke

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday is hosting a member of Israel's wartime Cabinet who is visiting Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, is sitting down with several senior Biden administration officials this week, including Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. President Joe Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday. An official from Netanyahu's far-right Likud party said Gantz did not have approval from the prime minister for his meetings in Washington and that Netanyahu gave the Cabinet official a tough talk underscoring the widening crack within Israel's wartime leadership nearly six months into the Israel-Hamas war. In her meeting with Gantz, Harris plans to press for a temporary cease-fire deal that would allow for the release of several categories of hostages being held by ...

Kamala Harris calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza for next six weeks

US Vice President Kamala Harris has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for at least the next six weeks, as she called on the Israeli government to "do more" to increase the flow of aid in the war-ravaged enclave. Harris made the ceasefire call on Sunday during a speech in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the annual remembrance of the landmark civil rights movement. The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated, and given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table, Harris, 59, said. This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid. This would allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is more secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom, and self-determination, the Indian-American leader said amidst applause from the audience. Hamas claims it wants

Netanyahu rival's visit to US highlights cracks within Israel's leadership

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked a top Cabinet minister arriving in Washington on Sunday for talks with US officials, according to an Israeli official, signalling widening cracks within the country's leadership nearly five months into its war with Hamas. The trip by Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival who joined Netanyahu's wartime Cabinet following Hamas' October 7 attack, comes as friction between the US and Netanyahu is rising over how to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and what the postwar plan for the enclave should look like. An official from Netanyahu's far-right Likud party said Gantz's trip was planned without authorization from the Israeli leader. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu had a tough talk with Gantz and told him the country has just one prime minister. Gantz is scheduled to meet on Monday with US Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan and on Tuesday with Secretary of St

Israel opts out of Cairo discussions on Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday, expressing hope that the discussions would lead to a cessation of hostilities

Israeli attendance unclear as Gaza talks look ready to stumble: Report

Progress toward a pause in fighting has been stalled for weeks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bristled at Hamas conditions he termed 'delusional'

Corporate-controlled media failed in reporting from Palestine: Vijayan

The corporate-controlled media has failed in delivering accurate news from war-torn Palestine and a similar influence can be witnessed in the Indian media as well, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. Inaugurating the three-day international media festival at the Kerala Media Academy here, Vijayan said at the global level, the policy of the media has greatly been to hide the atrocities of Israel. "This is a time when media freedom is facing challenges across the world and in India as well. The world was in shock to know that over a hundred journalists lost their lives in the Israeli attack on Palestine's Gaza. Not just journalists, but women and children are also being murdered mercilessly," Vijayan said. Palestine is a free country and Israel has made Gaza an open jail but the corporate media houses have managed to keep this fact from the rest of the world, the CM said. The Left leader said, "The corporate-controlled media has failed in delivering accurate news

Biden OKs military air drops of aid into Gaza after dozens die in tragedy

President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US will begin air-dropping humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops. The president announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy. Biden said the air drops will begin in the coming days. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way. Biden made the announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White house.

Highlights: Bengaluru cafe blast case booked under UAPA, others by police

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Fresh ceasefire calls after Israel attacks Palestinians awaiting food

International leaders said the disaster reinforced the need for an immediate halt in fighting to alleviate the human suffering that has no parallel in recent memory

Deeply shocked, says India on killing of over 100 in northern Gaza

India on Friday said it is "deeply shocked" at the loss of lives in northern Gaza during the delivery of humanitarian aid, a day after more than 100 people were killed and over 700 injured in an incident. In a strongly-worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for "extreme concern". "We are deeply shocked at the loss of lives in northern Gaza yesterday during delivery of humanitarian assistance," the MEA said. "Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern," it added. India also called for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to the people of Gaza. "We reiterate our call for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance," the MEA said. There was no reference to Israel in the statement. More than 100 people were killed and over 700 injured when Israeli troo