Page 95 - Israel-palestine

Israel hits camps in central Gaza day after Biden approves new arms sales

Israeli warplanes struck two urban refugee camps in central Gaza on Saturday, as the Biden administration approved a new emergency weapons sale to Israel despite persistent international cease-fire calls over mounting civilian deaths, hunger and mass displacement in the enclave. Israel says it is determined to pursue its unprecedented air and ground offensive until it has dismantled Hamas, a goal viewed by some as unattainable because of the militant group's deep roots in Palestinian society. The United States has shielded Israel diplomatically and has continued to supply weapons. Israel argues that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas, a stance shared by the Biden administration which at the same time urged Israel to do more to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians. The war, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, has displaced some 85% of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million residents, sending swells of people seeking shelter in Israeli-designated safe are

Thousands of Palestinians stream into Rafah as Israel expands its offensive

The Israeli-Hamas war has already driven around 85% of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes, levelling the northern part of the territory and heightening fears about a similar fate for the south as Israel's air and ground offensive widened Friday. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have streamed into the town of Rafah in the southernmost end of Gaza in recent days, according to the United Nations, crowding into an already overwhelmed area of the embattled territory. More than 20,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead. About 1,200 people were killed after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct 7, with around 240 people taken hostage. Currently: Israeli strikes across Gaza kill dozens of Palestinians, even in largely emptied north As Gaza war grinds on, tensions soar along Israel's

Turkey 'detains 32 IS militants, foils attack bid' on synagogues, churches

Turkish security forces have detained 32 people suspected of links to the Islamic State extremist group who were allegedly planning to carry out attacks on synagogues and churches as well as the Iraqi Embassy, Turkey's state-run news agency reported Friday. The suspects, including three alleged senior IS militants, were detained in raids carried out at dawn in nine provinces across Turkey, Anadolu Agency reported, citing unnamed security sources. They were detained in a joint operation by the country's intelligence agency and police, the agency said. The arrests come a week after police rounded up 304 suspected IS militants in simultaneous raids across Turkey in what appeared to be a security sweep leading up to the New Year festivities. The Islamic State group has carried out a string of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on January 1, 2017, that killed 39 people during New Year celebrations.

Iran executes four accused of sabotage, links to Israel's Mossad

The executions took to five the number of people put to death this month in a decades-long shadow war that has seen Iran accuse Israel of attacks on its nuclear effort

Pro-Palestinian protesters block airport access roads in NY, Los Angeles

Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly blocked entrance roads to airports in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, forcing some travellers to set off on foot to bypass the jammed roadway. As US airlines contended with a rush of holiday travel, the demonstrations snarled traffic on the outskirts of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. In New York, activists locked arms and held banners demanding an end to the Israel-Hamas war and expanded rights for Palestinians, bringing traffic to a standstill on the expressway leading up to the airport for about 20 minutes. Video posted to social media showed passengers, some carrying suitcases, leaving vehicles behind and stepping over barriers onto the highway median. One woman could be heard saying that she was sorry for what's going on in another country, but she had to get to work, using an obscenity. Twenty-six people were arrested on the roadway, said Steve Burns, a spokesperson for the Port

Israel launches heavy strikes across central, south Gaza, toll crosses 21k

Israel launched heavy strikes across central and southern Gaza overnight and into Wednesday after broadening its offensive against Hamas to more areas where the military had told Palestinians to seek shelter earlier in the war. Residents reported heavy bombing in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, in the southern city of Khan Younis and in the southern town of Rafah, areas where tens of thousands have sought refuge as much of northern Gaza was pounded to rubble. It was a night of hell. We haven't seen such bombing since the start of the war, said Rami Abu Mosab, speaking from the Bureij camp, where he has been sheltering since fleeing his home in northern Gaza. He said warplanes flew overhead and gunfire and explosions echoed from the eastern edge of the camp which, like others in Gaza, houses refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation and their descendants and now resembles other densely populated neighbourhoods. A home near Abu Mosab's shelter was hi

Oil prices slip as investors monitor Red Sea tensions triggered by Gaza war

Israeli forces pummelled central Gaza by land, sea and air on Wednesday after Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told reporters on Tuesday that the Gaza war would go on "for many months"

Indian refiners seek to boost Middle East supplies as attack delays cargoes

Shippers turned cautious about entering the Red Sea in recent weeks due to multiple attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels

Delhi police zero in on two suspects in Israel embassy 'blast' call case

Police said that there are several different social media applications that need to be checked and concerned companies will be communicated with

Intel partners with Israel to invest $25 bn in new manufacturing facility

The new factory is expected to begin operating in 2028. Intel will operate it at least till 2035

Gaza ground offensive has expanded into urban refugee camps, says IDF

Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza's main telecom provider announced another complete interruption of services in the besieged territory. The military's announcement of the new battle zone threatens further destruction in a war that Israel says will last for many months as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its October 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge. The US said Israel's minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Despite US calls for Israel to curb civilian casualties and international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said

Suspecting 'possible terror attack', Israel issues travel warning for India

The Israeli National Security Council has issued a travel advisory for its citizens in India, suspecting that an explosion near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday was "a possible terror attack". No one was injured in the blast that occurred near the Israel embassy in the Chanakyapuri diplomatic enclave in New Delhi on Tuesday evening. When contacted, Israeli embassy spokesperson Guy Nir said, "We can confirm that around 5:48 pm, there was a blast in close proximity to the embassy. Delhi Police and the security team are still investigating the situation." The recommendations of the Israeli National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday, which come amid concerns of a "recurrence of events", apply especially to New Delhi. Israeli nationals have been warned to try to avoid going to crowded places (malls and markets) and places identified as serving Westerners/Jews and Israelis. They have also been urged to be on heightened alert in public places (including restaurants, hotels, pu

Israel to give Intel $3.2 bn grant for new $25 bn chip plant in south

This is the largest investment ever by a company in Israel. The news comes as Israel remains locked in a war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel

Explosions in Red Sea off Yemen's coast, unmanned aircraft sighted: UK

Two unmanned aircraft were observed before two explosions occurred 5 nautical miles from a vessel located 50 nautical miles west of Hodeidah on Yemen's west coast, the United Kingdom said

Iran increasing production of highly enriched uranium: Atomic watchdog

Iran has increased the rate at which it is producing near weapons grade uranium in recent weeks, reversing a previous slowdown that started in the middle of this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report to member states. Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the report that Iran in recent weeks had increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023," according to an IAEA spokesperson Sunday. Iran had previously slowed down the rate at which it was enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity. Uranium enriched at 60 per cent purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. The UN nuclear watchdog said its inspectors had verified the increased rate of production since the end of November at facilities in Natanz and Fordow to about 9 kilograms per month, up from 3 kilograms per month since June and representing a return to earlier levels of production. Enriching uranium

Navy deploys 3 warships in Arabian Sea amid attacks on merchant vessels

The Indian Navy's explosive ordnance disposal team on Monday carried out a detailed inspection of merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto on its arrival at Mumbai harbour, two days after the ship was hit by a drone off India's west coast in the Arabian Sea when it was on its way to New Mangalore port. In view of spate of attacks on commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea, the Navy deployed P-8I long-range patrol aircraft for surveillance, and warships INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata in the region to maintain "deterrent presence", officials said. Saturday's drone attack on Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto came amid increasing concerns over various commercial vessels being targeted reportedly by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Liberian-flagged vessel with 21 Indian and one Vietnamese crew, anchored at outer anchorage off Mumbai at 3:30 pm. "On her arrival, the Indian Navy explosive ordnance disposal team inspected the vessel

Gaza war far from over: Netanyahu reaffirms; Israel's budget deficit swells

Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza will likely cost it at least another 50 billion shekels ($14 billion) in 2024 and result in a near-tripling of its budget deficit, the Finance Ministry said on Monday

Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war, create transitional govt

Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war with a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said on Monday. The proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel's professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel's insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war. Israel's War Cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet later Monday discuss the hostage situation, among other topics, an Israeli official said, but would not say if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the ...

Pope Francis appeals for end of Israeli strikes at Gaza on Christmas day

Pope Francis on Monday blasted the weapons industry and its instruments of death that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the abominable attack of Hamas against southern Israel on October 7 and called for the release of hostages. And he begged for an end to Israel's military campaign in Gaza and the appalling harvest of innocent civilians as he called for humanitarian aid to reach those in need. Francis devoted his Christmas Day blessing to a call for peace in the world, noting that the biblical story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem sent a message of peace. But he said that Bethlehem is a place of sorrow and silence this year. Francis' annual Urbi et Orbi ("To the City and the World") speech typically offers a lament of all the misery facing the world, and this year's edition was no differe

War exacts very heavy price from us, but we have no choice: Netanyahu

Fifteen Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza over the weekend, the Israeli military said on Sunday, while tentative efforts continued on a deal for another exchange of hostages for Palestinians held by Israel. As Christmas Eve fell, smoke still rose over Gaza from the fighting, while Bethlehem in the West Bank was hushed, its holiday celebrations called off. The mounting death toll among Israeli troops 154 since the ground offensive began could erode public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage. The war has devastated parts of Gaza, killed roughly 20,400 Palestinians and displaced almost all of the besieged territory's 2.3 million people. The Health Ministry in Gaza said 166 people were killed in the coastal enclave over the past day. Israelis still largely stand behind the country's stated goals of crushing Hamas' governing and military capabilities and