Page 86 - Israel-palestine

EAM Jaishankar calls for a 'permanent fix' to Israel-Palestine conflict

In his remarks, Jaishankar stated that a large number of nations, particularly those in the Global South, believe that terrorism shouldn't be justified

Increasing number of nations view 2-state solution as urgent: EAM on Gaza

India maintained for many decades that there should be a two-state solution to the Palestine issue and an increasing number of nations are now not only endorsing it but considering it as "more urgent" than before, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday amid concerns over the prevailing situation in Gaza. Jaishankar made the remarks at an interactive session at a security conference in Munich in presence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The external affairs minister described the October 7 attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas as "terrorism" but at the same time, referring to Tel Aviv's response, said Israel has an international obligation to observe the humanitarian law. Jaishankar said it is important that Israel should have been very mindful of civilian casualties. Explaining New Delhi's position on the conflict, he said there are different dimensions to it, and broadly classified them into four points. "Number

Egypt builds a wall near Gaza as Israeli offensive on Rafah looms

Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting the border city of Rafah, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show. Egypt, which has not publicly acknowledged the construction, repeatedly has warned Israel not to forcibly expel the over 1 million Palestinians now displaced in Rafah across the border into its territory while it battles the militant group Hamas for a fifth month. However, the preparations on the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest Cairo is preparing for just that scenario, something that could threatened its 1979 peace deal with Israel that's been a linchpin for regional security. The Egyptian government did not respond to requests for comment Friday from the AP. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Feb. 11 issued a statement warning Israel over its possible Rafah offensive and its displacement of the Palestinian people. The satellite images, taken

Egypt setting up area at Gaza border for Palestinians to take shelter

One of the sources said Egypt was optimistic talks to clinch a ceasefire can avoid any such scenario, but is establishing the area at the border as a temporary and precautionary measure

S'pore police repeats call for not allowing Israel-Hamas-related protests

The Singapore Police Force has reiterated its stance on not allowing events related to the Israel-Hamas war to be held, amid online calls for a weekend march at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a sprawling park in the diplomatic conclave close to the British and the US embassies. Police said on Thursday that they are aware of calls on social media to gather for an event called Walk-Out Singapore' to demonstrate views related to the Israel-Hamas conflict". The SPF said that they contacted the organiser on Thursday and advised her on the matter. "A police permit is required for such activities," Channel News Asia reported, citing the SPF. Police said organising or participating in such an event is an offence. Earlier this week, the authorities also said that they were aware of calls to protest against Israel at the Singapore Airshow and have warned that organising or participating in a public assembly or procession without a permit is illegal. The Israeli defence contingent is ...

Israeli forces eliminate senior Hezbollah commander Ali Muhammad Al-Dabs

His elimination was carried out in an Israel Air Force strike on a military structure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Nabatieh, southern Israel

Israeli airstrikes killed 10 Lebanese civilians, Hezbollah to retaliate

The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese state media reported on Thursday, making the previous day the deadliest in more than four months of cross-border exchanges. Israel's military said it killed a senior commander with the militant Hezbollah group's elite Radwan Force, Ali Dibs, who it says played a role in an attack inside Israel last year that unnerved Israelis, as well as other attacks directed at Israel over the past four months. It said Dibs was killed on Wednesday along with his deputy Hassan Ibrahim Issa, as well as another Hezbollah operative, in a strike in the southern city of Nabatiyeh. Hezbollah confirmed three of its fighters were killed and released photos of Dibs and Issa without giving information about their roles in the group. A Lebanese security official said Dibs escaped a drone strike in Nabatiyeh last week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate

Israeli army fires into Gaza hospital; kills a patient, wounds six others

Israeli forces fired into the main hospital in southern Gaza early on Thursday, killing a patient and wounding six others, according to medics, as the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people from the medical complex that has been largely cut off by fighting for weeks. Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed at least 13 people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, 10 civilians mostly women and children and three fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas. The strikes came just hours after a rocket attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier in what was the deadliest of daily exchanges of fire along the border since the October 7 start of the war in Gaza. It also underscored the risks of a broader conflict. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the October 7 attack that sparked the wa

Palestinians living in US to be shielded from deportation, says White House

The White House has announced that Palestinians living in the US will be shielded from deportation as the Israel-Hamas war continues, citing significantly deteriorated conditions on the ground in Gaza. Palestinians will be covered under what's known as deferred enforced departure, an authority used at a president's discretion. The directive signed by President Joe Biden effectively allows Palestinian immigrants who would otherwise have to leave the United States to stay without the threat of deportation. That protection will last 18 months, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, and will give Palestinians who qualify a temporary safe haven. "While I remain focused on improving the humanitarian situation, many civilians remain in danger," Biden wrote in the memorandum that accompanied the announcement. Biden's decision comes after more than 100 Democratic lawmakers called on the White House to use either deferred enforced departure or a similar authority, called temporary ...

Dozens Palestinians flee besieged Gaza hospital after weeks of isolation

Palestinians have begun evacuating the main hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, according to videos shared by medics on Wednesday. Weeks of heavy fighting had isolated the medical facility and claimed the lives of several people inside it. The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its fifth month, has devastated Gaza' health sector, with less than half of its hospitals even partially functioning as scores of people are killed and wounded in daily bombardments. Israel accuses the militants of using hospitals and other civilian buildings as cover. Khan Younis is the main target of a rolling ground offensive that Israel has said will soon be expanded to Gaza' southernmost city of Rafah. Some 1.4 million people over half the territory's population are crammed into tent camps and overflowing apartments and shelters in the town on the Egyptian border. The videos showed dozens of Palestinians carrying their belongings in sacks and making their way out of the Nasser Hospital

Blasts hit gas pipeline in Iran, official calls it an act of sabotage

Explosions struck a natural gas pipeline in Iran early Wednesday, with an official blaming the blasts on a sabotage and terrorist action in the country as tensions remain high in the Middle East amid Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Details were scarce, though the blasts hit a natural gas pipeline running from Iran's western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province up north to cities on the Caspian Sea. The roughly 1,270-kilometer (790-mile) pipeline begins in Asaluyeh, a hub for Iran's offshore South Pars gas field. Saeed Aghli, the manager of Iran's gas network control center, told Iranian state television that a sabotage and terrorist action caused explosions along several areas of the line. There are no known insurgent groups operating in that province, home to the Bakhtiari, a branch of Iran's Lur ethnic group. Aghli did not name any suspects in the blasts. In the past, Arab separatists in southwestern Iran have claimed attacks against oil pipelines. However, attacks against

Northern Gaza residents can return once it's clear of militants: Israel

Israel's top general says the army will not allow residents of northern Gaza to return to their homes until the area is completely cleared of militants. At a press conference Tuesday, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi said that although many of the estimated 15,000 Hamas militants originally in northern Gaza had been killed or wounded, rocket launches and attacks against Israeli troops are still occurring there. He says residents will return there when it is safe to return and there are no more terror activities. Northern Gaza was the first target of Israel's ground invasion in late October, after weeks of heavy airstrikes and artillery shelling. Most of the more than 1 million people living there fled in the opening weeks of the war, which has flattened entire neighbourhoods. Israel is now threatening to expand its operation to the southern city of Rafah, where over half of Gaza's population is sheltering. Halevi says the army is weighing different options to evacuate Rafah, though no final ...

US Senate passes $95.3 bn aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

The Senate early Tuesday passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, pushing ahead after months of difficult negotiations and growing political divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad. The vote came after a small group of Republicans opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the US should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But 22 Republicans voted with nearly all Democrats to pass the package 70-29, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten national security across the globe. With this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waiver, will not falter, will not fail, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who worked closely with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on the legislation. The bill's passage through the Senate with a ..

UK announces new sanctions on Israeli settlers over 'human rights abuses'

The United Kingdom on Monday announced new sanctions on the four extremist Israeli settlers, who committed alleged human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank

Biden pushes for six-week fighting pause in Israel-Hamas hostage deal

"Once Hamas' control of Gaza is over, they must prepare to build a state that accepts peace and does not harbor terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad," Biden said

Israel strikes Rafah after Biden warns to have a plan to protect civilians

A series of Israeli strikes early on Monday hit Rafah, the city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip where 1.4 million Palestinians have fled to escape fighting elsewhere in the four-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel has been signalling its ground offensive in Gaza may soon target the densely populated city on the Egyptian border. On Sunday, the White House said President Joe Biden had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not conduct a military operation against Hamas in Rafah without a "credible and executable" plan to protect civilians. The strikes hit around Kuwait Hospital early on Monday morning, an AP journalist in Rafah said. Some of those wounded in the strikes had been brought to the hospital. The Israeli military said it struck "terror targets in the area of Shaboura" -- which is a district in Rafah. The military statement said the series of strikes had concluded, without elaborating on the targets or assessing the potential damage or ...

What would be the implications of collapse of Israel-Egypt peace treaty?

It was a warm handshake between the unlikeliest of statesmen, conducted under the beaming gaze of President Jimmy Carter. Sunlight streamed through the trees at Camp David, Maryland, as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin solidified a landmark agreement that has allowed over 40 years of peace between Israel and Egypt. It has served as an important source of stability in a volatile region. That peace has held through two Palestinian uprisings and a series of wars between Israel and Hamas. But now, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to send Israeli troops into Rafah, a city in Gaza on the border with Egypt, the Egyptian government is threatening to void the agreement. Here's a look at the history of the treaty and what could happen if it is nullified. HOW DID THE TREATY ORIGINATE? It was 1977, and Begin, Israel's new prime minister, opposed ceding any of the land Israel had conquered a decade earlier in the 1967 Mideast war. Those lands

West Bank settler population grew nearly 3%, Gaza war could give new push

The population of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank grew nearly 3 per cent in 2023, according to a new report based on population statistics from the Israeli government. The report, released on Sunday by the pro-settler group WestBankJewishPopulationStats.com, found the settler population jumped to 517,407 as of December 31, from 502,991 a year earlier. The settler population has grown over 15 per cent in the last five years, the report said. Last year, it passed the half-million mark, a major threshold. This year's report predicted "accelerated growth" in the coming years, claiming the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which triggered the current war in Gaza, persuaded many Israelis who were formerly opposed to settlement-building on occupied land to change positions. "Serious cracks have indeed developed in the wall of opposition to Jewish settlement of the West Bank," it said. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war

Biden asks Israel to not press into Rafah without plan to protect civilians

Israel shouldn't go ahead with a military operation in the densely populated Gaza border town of Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians, President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the White House said. They spoke after two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat said Egypt threatened to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent into Rafah, where Egypt fears fighting could force the closure of the besieged territory's main aid supply route. The threat to suspend the Camp David Accords, a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly a half-century, came after Netanyahu said sending troops into Rafah was necessary to win the four-month war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He asserted that Hamas still has four battalions there. Over half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have fled to Rafah to escape fighting in other areas, and they are packed into sprawling tent camps and UN-run shelters near the border. Egyp

Highlights of the day Mizoram CM to present state budget on Feb 27

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