Page 88 - Israel-palestine

US military conducts new airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels

The US military conducted new airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said Friday. American forces destroyed four explosive-loaded drone boats and seven mobile anti-ship cruise missile launchers Thursday that could target vessels in the Red Sea, the US military's Central Command said. "They presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," the Central Command said. "These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels." The Houthis have not acknowledged the losses. Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel's offensive in Gaza. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Hout

US Senate votes on package of wartime funding for Ukraine, Israel

The Senate on Thursday voted to begin work on a package of wartime funding for Ukraine and other U.S. allies, but doubts remained about support from Republicans who rejected a carefully negotiated compromise that also included border enforcement policies. A vote to begin work on the new package cleared on a 67-32 vote, but the legislation's path remained uncertain. Senate leaders had not agreed to a process to limit the debate time for the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the vote a good first step" and pledged that the Senate would keep working on this bill -- until the job is done. The New York Democrat has tried to salvage $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, as well as roughly $35 billion for Israel, other allies and national security priorities, after the collapse this week of a bipartisan agreement to tie border enforcement policies to the package. Republicans are divided about how to proceed, and GOP leaders were still scrambling to find a plan that their senators

Hamas war: Israeli forces kill senior terrorist operative near Tulkarm

In the operation, the fighters also killed two armed terrorists who tried to escape from the house where the wanted man was staying

Toll from Israeli army action in Gaza is still 'too high': Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the toll from Israel's military offensive on Gaza's civilians remains "too high". Blinken made the comments Wednesday as he was in the region seeking to broker a cease-fire that would pause the fighting. Blinken said the Israeli offensive, launched in response to a deadly Hamas cross-border attack on Oct. 7, is "fully justified". But he expressed concern about the effects of the offensive on Gaza civilians. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the fighting, and the offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and led to a humanitarian crisis. As I told the prime minister and other Israeli officials, the daily toll that its military operations continue to take on innocent civilians remains too high, Blinken said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected Hamas' terms for a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement, vowing to continue the war until absolute victory and dismissing any ...

No Israeli ties unless Gaza 'aggression' halted, says Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has resumed talks with the US about forging closer defense ties after a pause following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, people familiar with the discussions said in late January

Still seek complete ceasefire in Gaza, end to Israeli offensive, says Hamas

Hamas says it has responded in a positive spirit to the latest proposal from the US and Mideast mediators for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages. But the militant group said in a statement on Tuesday that it still seeks a comprehensive and complete" cease-fire to end "the aggression against our people". Israel has ruled out the kind of permanent cease-fire sought by the militant group. Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday that Hamas' reaction to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages was generally positive" as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was making his latest visit to the Middle East. Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the US and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve an extended halt in fighting and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its October 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war nearly four months ago. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman ..

Inter-ministerial panel to discuss issues related to Red Sea crisis

A high-level inter-ministerial committee will again meet on February 8 to discuss the way forward on the trade front in the wake of ongoing problems in the Red Sea, an official said. Earlier the panel held its meeting on the issue on January 17 here. Senior officials from five ministries -- external affairs, defence, shipping, finance (department of financial services), and commerce -- are expected to participate in the deliberations. "In the February 8 meeting, the officers are expected to talk about steps being taken by them to help the exporting community deal with this crisis," the official said. These meetings are convened by the commerce ministry. In the last meeting, the commerce ministry had asked the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to monitor and maintain credit flow to exporters, who are facing freight cost troubles due to the Red Sea crisis. Meanwhile, the finance ministry on Monday asked banks and insurance companies to expeditiously resolve issues of exporters

Israel's evacuation covers 67% of Gaza, leaves Palestinians crammed

Israel's evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip now cover two-thirds of the territory, or 246 square kilometers (95 square miles), United Nations humanitarian monitors said Tuesday. More than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people is now crammed into the town of Rafah on the border with Egypt and surrounding areas, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. The Health Ministry in Gaza said the known Palestinian death toll is at 27,478 people after nearly four months of war. A quarter of Gaza's residents are now starving and 85% of the population has been driven from their homes, with hundreds of thousands crammed in makeshift tent camps. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shortly after arriving in the kingdom Monday. It's Blinken's fifth visit to the Mideast since the war in Gaza broke out on Oct. 7, when Hamas stormed into southern Israel. The assault killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilian

McDonald's Oct-Dec results: Sales rise 3.4%, hit by West Asia boycotts

A banner year came to a bumpy end for McDonald's, which lost sales in many markets due to the war in Gaza. Global same-store sales or sales at restaurants open at least a year rose 3.4 per cent in the October-December period, well below the 4.7 per cent increase Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Customers in the Middle East were angered after McDonald's Israel which is operated by a local franchisee -- announced in October it was providing free meals to Israeli soldiers. In response, some franchisees, like McDonald's Oman, announced donations to relief efforts in Gaza. Last month, McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski warned that misinformation in the Middle East and elsewhere was hurting sales. In addition to customer boycotts, McDonald's has had to temporarily limit store hours or close some locations due to protests. We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to anyon

What's in $118 bn Senate package that pairs border policies & wartime aid?

Those powers would not restrict the entry of US citizens or others with a legal basis to enter the country

Senators release $118 bn package pairing border policies with wartime aid

Senators on Sunday released a highly anticipated USD 118 billion package that pairs border enforcement policy with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and other US allies, setting off a long-shot effort to push the bill through heavy skepticism from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. The proposal is the best chance for President Joe Biden to resupply Ukraine with wartime aid a major foreign policy goal that is shared with both the Senate's top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell. The Senate was expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives. With Congress stalled on approving USD 60 billion in Ukraine aid, the US has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian soldiers outgunned as they try to beat back Russia's invasion. The new bill would also invest in US defense manufacturing, send USD 14 billion in military aid to Israel, steer nearly U

US warns of further retaliation if Iran-backed militias continue attacks

After a weekend of retaliatory strikes, the United States on Sunday warned Iran and the militias it arms and funds that it will conduct more attacks if American forces in the Mideast continue to be targeted, but that it does not want an open-ended military campaign across the region. We are prepared to deal with anything that any group or any country tries to come at us with, said Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser. Sullivan said Iran should expect a swift and forceful response if it and not one of its proxies chose to respond directly against the US. Sullivan delivered the warnings during a series of interviews with TV news shows after the US and Britain on Saturday struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen. The Iran-backed militants have fired on American and international interests repeatedly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. An air assault Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation f

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No adverse impact of ongoing Red Sea crisis so far on India's trade

There is no adverse impact on India's exports and imports so far due to the Red Sea crisis, an official said. The official said that the transportation cost has increased as the shippers are taking a long route. "There is no impact in volume terms so far. Only the transportation cost is up. It has risen for all the countries. It has not affected the trade adversely so far. We have to see the long term demand, but it will depend on the EU and the US," the official added. These two regions account for over 30 per cent of the country's total exports. However, exporters said that they are keeping their fingers crossed as due to the significant jump in freight cost, India's exports may be impacted. The trade data for January will be released by the commerce ministry on February 15. In December last year, exports rose marginally by one per cent to USD 38.45 billion. Due to the attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels on commercial ships, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's

Hamas war: IDF carries out airstrike on Hezbollah site in Southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, the IDF has time and again responded by striking the terror group's cells and posts in southern Lebanon

Netanyahu slams President Biden's condemnation of Israeli settlers

Biden also said that they undermine the security of Israel and have the potential to "lead to broader regional destabilisation across the Middle East, threatening United States personnel and interests

Availability of containers not affected due to Red Sea crisis: Patel

The Red Sea crisis at present has not affected the availability of containers for traders and the government is closely monitoring the situation, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said that exports from India are continuing as the sailings of containers carrying ships from India have been diverted via the Cape of Good Hope route, encircling Africa. "The crisis in Red Sea, at present, has also not much affected the availability of containers in most of the ports," she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The crisis in the Red Sea shipping route began after Yemen-based Houthi rebels launched frequent attacks on commercial shipping vessels plying through the route in November as a fallout of the Israeli-Palestinian war, which started in early October 2023. Due to the crisis, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's busiest shipping route, has disrupted the global supply chains as vessels have to take long ..

Half of US adults say Israel has gone too far in war in Gaza: Poll

Half of U.S. adults say Israel's 15-week-old military campaign in Gaza has gone too far, a finding driven mainly by growing disapproval among Republicans and political independents, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Broadly, the poll shows support for Israel and the Biden administration's handling of the situation ebbing slightly further across the board. The poll shows 31% of U.S. adults approve of Biden's handling of the conflict, including just 46% of Democrats. That's as an earlier spike in support for Israel following the Hamas attacks Oct. 7 sags. Melissa Morales, a 36-year-old political independent in Runnemede, New Jersey, says she finds herself watching videos and news from Gaza daily. Images of Palestinian children wounded, orphaned or unhoused by the fighting in Gaza make her mind go to her own 3-year-old boy. I just can't even imagine, like, my son roaming the streets, wanting to be safe. Wanting his mom. Or just .

Prez Biden issues order targeting violent Israeli settlers in West Bank

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order addressing the issue of violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a move aimed at restoring stability in the region, CNN reported

10,000 Indian workers to reach Israel soon in batches starting next week

With Israel's construction sector suffering a severe manpower crisis post the October 7 conflict with Hamas, some 10,000 workers from India are to make their way here starting next week, industry sources said on Wednesday. These 10,000 workers will reach in batches of 700 to 1,000 a week, a source in the Israel's Builders Association (IBA) told PTI here. With Israel's latest conflict with Hamas in Gaza a little short of four months, and a ban on the entry of Palestinian workers and the departure of several thousand other foreign workers, the Israeli construction industry has been facing a deep crisis and several ongoing projects are getting either stalled or delayed. Following the conflict, Israel has banned the entry of Palestinian workers. The departure of several thousand other foreign workers, the Israeli construction industry has been facing a deep crisis. Israeli business daily The Calcalist in a report in Hebrew last week said that the quota of foreign manpower for the ...