Page 97 - Israel-palestine

Intense negotiations at UN on Gaza aid resolution, trying to avoid US veto

UN Security Council members were in intense negotiations Tuesday on an Arab-sponsored resolution to spur desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza during some kind of a halt in the fighting, trying to avoid another veto by the United States. US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters Tuesday morning that negotiations were still underway. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the 15-member council, said she hoped the council could vote on a resolution early Tuesday afternoon. The council had scheduled a vote late Monday afternoon, but it was postponed to try to get the US to support the resolution or abstain. The US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all other council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions. The draft resoluti

PM Modi, Israel's Netanyahu hold talks on maritime security over Gaza war

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a "productive" conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on the Israel-Hamas conflict including "shared concerns" over the safety of maritime traffic in the region. In the phone talks, Modi also highlighted India's consistent stand in favour of early restoration of peace and stability in the region with continued humanitarian assistance for the affected people. "Had a productive exchange of views with PM @netanyahu on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, including shared concerns on the safety of maritime traffic," Modi posted on 'X'. "Highlighted India's consistent stand in favour of early restoration of peace & stability in the region with continued humanitarian assistance for the affected," he said. There have been concerns over the safety of maritime traffic in the region. A missile reportedly fired by Yemen's Houthi militants hit a commercial tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen last week triggering ...

Israel strikes south Gaza, raids hospital in north amid renewed US support

Israeli strikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in southern Gaza and troops raided one of the last functioning hospitals in the north as the country pressed ahead with its offensive against Hamas on Tuesday with renewed backing from the United States, despite rising international alarm. The offensive, launched in response to Hamas' October 7 attack into Israel, has killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians, displaced some 1.9 million, demolished much of northern Gaza and sparked attacks on US and Israeli targets across the region. Attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have led major shipping companies as well as the oil and gas giant BP to suspend trade through the vital waterway, prompting the US and its allies to launch a new mission to counter the threat. But after meeting with Israeli officials Monday, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was not here to dictate timelines or terms." His remarks signalled that the US would continue shielding Israel fro

UNSC delays vote on resolution urging cessation of hostilities in Gaza

The UN Security Council delayed until Tuesday morning a vote on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for a halt to hostilities in Gaza to allow for urgently needed aid deliveries to a massive number of civilians as members intensified negotiations to try to avoid another veto by the United States. The council said Monday's 5 p.m. EST vote would not take place, and diplomats said negotiations were taking place to get the United States, Israel's closest ally, to abstain or vote yes on the resolution. A key issue is how to implement and sustain a desperately needed aid operation. Human Rights Watch accused Israel earlier Monday of deliberately starving Gaza's population by blocking the delivery of water, food and fuel, a method of warfare that it described as a war crime. The United Nations' food agency reported on December 14 that 56 per cent of Gaza's households were experiencing severe levels of hunger, up from 38 per cent two weeks earlier. The draft on the table on Monday morning

US seeks to press Israel to wind down major combat operations in Gaza

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was expected to press Israel to wind down major combat operations in Gaza on a visit Monday, in the latest test of whether the US can leverage its unwavering support for the offensive to blunt its devastating impact on Palestinian civilians. France, the UK and Germany some of Israel's closest allies joined global calls for a cease-fire over the weekend, and Israeli protesters have demanded the government relaunch talks with Hamas on releasing more hostages after three were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops while waving a white flag. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will keep fighting until it removes Hamas from power, crushes its still-formidable military capabilities and returns the dozens of hostages still held by the group after its Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the war. The US has vetoed calls for a cease-fire at the UN and rushed munitions to Israel while pressing it to take greater steps to avoid harming civilians.

Suspected cyberattack paralyses the majority of gas stations across Iran

Nearly 70% of Iran's gas stations went out of service on Monday following possible sabotage a reference to cyberattacks, Iranian state TV reported. The report said a software problem caused the irregularity in the gas stations. It urged people not to rush to the stations that were still operational. Israeli media, including the Times of Israel, blamed the problem on an attack by a hacker group dubbed Gonjeshke Darande or predatory sparrow. State TV quoted a statement by the Oil Ministry as saying more than 30% of gas stations remain in service. The country has some 33,000 gas stations. In recent years, Iran has seen a series of cyberattacks on its filling stations, railway system and industries. Surveillance cameras in government buildings, including prisons, have also been hacked in the past. In 2022, the Gonjeshke Darande group hacked a major steel company in the southwest of the country. A cyberattack on Iran's fuel distribution system in 2021 paralyzed gas stations across the

Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of hostages draws scrutiny

Israel's government faced calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies and from protesters at home on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who waved a white flag, added to mounting concerns about its conduct in the 10-week-old war in Gaza. The protesters urge the government to renew hostage negotiations with Gaza's Hamas rulers, whom it has vowed to destroy. Israel could also face pressure to scale back major combat operations when US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Monday. Washington is expressing growing unease with civilian casualties even while as it provides vital military and diplomatic support. The war has flattened large parts of northern Gaza, killed thousands of civilians and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are in crowded shelters and tent camps. Some 1.9 million Palestinians nearly 85 per cent of Gaza's population have fled their homes. They survive off a trickl

Over four km long tunnel discovered adjacent to Gaza border, claims Israel

The Israeli military said on Sunday it has discovered a large tunnel shaft in Gaza close to what was once a busy crossing into Israel, raising new questions about how Israeli surveillance missed such conspicuous preparations by Hamas for the militants' deadly October 7 assault. The entryway to the tunnel is just a few hundred metres from the heavily fortified Erez crossing and a nearby Israeli military base. The military said it stretches for over 4 kilometres, links up with a sprawling tunnel network across Gaza and is wide enough for cars to pass through. The army said on Sunday that the tunnel facilitated the transit of vehicles, militants, and supplies in preparation for the October 7 attack. That day, militants used a rocket-propelled grenade to break past the portion of wall close to the Erez crossing and stormed the base, killing at least three soldiers and kidnapping some back to Gaza, the army said. It was one of several places along the border wall where militants easily

Egypt's Suez canal authority monitoring tensions in Red Sea amid Israel war

Iran-aligned Houthis have launched attacks against vessels in the region in protest against Israel's bombardment and invasion of Gaza that has killed almost 19,000 Palestinians

Israel presses ahead in Gaza as errant killing of captives adds to concern

Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who were shirtless and waving a white flag, raised questions about its conduct in a 10-week-old war that has brought unprecedented death and destruction to the coastal enclave. Gaza remained under a communications blackout for a fourth straight day the longest of several outages over the course of the war, which aid groups say complicate rescue efforts after bombings and make it even more difficult to monitor the war's toll on civilians. Israel could come under further pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week. Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties and the mass displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians nearly 85% of Gaza's population even as it has provided vital military and diplomatic support to its close ally. The air and ground war has flattened vast swathes of northern Gaza and

US presses Israel to shift from combat as Iranian-backed attacks escalate

The top two US military leaders are travelling to Tel Aviv to advise the Israeli government on how to transition from major combat operations against Hamas in Gaza to a more limited campaign and prevent a wider regional war. Their trip comes as Iranian-backed militants on Saturday launched a wave of attack drones against ships in the Red Sea and said they would continue until Israel's aggression ends. One of the American warships assigned to the Ford carrier strike group, the destroyer USS Carney, successfully engaged 14 one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, US Central Command said in a statement. Britain reported that a Royal Navy destroyer downed another drone that was targeting commercial ships. It was the latest in a series of attacks threatening commercial and US Navy ships in the Red Sea that have escalated after Israel intensified its response to the Hamas' strike against Israel on October 7. Israel is stinging from the deadliest attack ever

3 hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops had been holding white flag

Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, military officials said on Saturday, in Israel's first such acknowledgement of harming any hostages in its war against Hamas. Anger over the mistaken killings is likely to increase pressure on the Israeli government to renew Qatar-mediated negotiations with Hamas over swapping more of the remaining captives, which Israel says number 129, for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israeli leaders have said the hostages' release can only be achieved through military pressure. A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, reiterated on Saturday that there will be no further release of hostages before the war ends and Israel accepts Hamas conditions for an exchange. Hamdan, a member of the militant group's decision-making political bureau, said he had no information on unconfirmed reports of a meeting between Israeli and Qatari officials regardin

Communications blackout, spiralling hunger compound misery in Gaza Strip

A prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery Saturday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiralled in recent days. Internet and telephone lines went down Thursday evening and were still inaccessible Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel's war against Gaza's ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week. The internet blackout is ongoing, and based on our records it is the longest such incident in the over-two-month war, said Alp Toker, the group's director. The United Nations' humanitarian affairs department said communications with Gaza were severely disrupted due to damage to telecommunications lines in the south. The offensive, triggered by the unprecedented Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel, has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million

Rising civilian death toll: US pushes Israel for Gaza strategy shift

Hospitals in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah reported a new influx of dead and wounded early on Friday including two children

LIVE: PM Modi to interact with beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra

Catch all the latest news updates from across the world

A negotiated outcome is best way to end Lebanon-Israel tension, says US NSA

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday that he has discussed with Israeli officials the volatile situation along the Lebanon-Israel border, adding that a negotiated outcome is the best way to reassure residents of northern Israel. Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Sullivan said that Washington won't tolerate threats by Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, which has been attacking Israeli military posts along the border since a day after the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7. Over the past two months, Israel has evacuated more than 20,000 of its citizens from towns and villages along the border with Lebanon, some of whom have expressed concerns that they have no plans to return home as long as Hezbollah fighters are deployed on the Lebanese side of the border. We need to send a clear message that we will not tolerate the kinds of threats and terrorist activity that we have seen from Hezbollah and from the territory of Lebanon, Sullivan told reporters in ...

Israeli president says 'two-state solution' not a solution: What is it?

The two-state solution means establishing two separate states for the people of two communities, i.e., Israel for the Jewish and Palestine for the Palestinian people

Biden envoy to meet with Abbas, discuss postwar arrangements for Gaza

The United States national security adviser and the Palestinian president were set Friday to discuss postwar arrangements for Gaza which, according to a senior US official, could include reactivating Palestinian security forces driven out by Hamas in its 2007 takeover of the territory. The proposal, floated as one of several, was the first specific indicator of Washington's vision for security arrangements in Gaza if Israel achieves its US-backed objective to end Hamas control of the besieged enclave. Any role for Palestinian security forces in Gaza is bound to elicit strong opposition from Israel, which seeks to maintain an open-ended security presence there and says it won't allow a postwar foothold for the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, a West Bank-based autonomy government led by President Mahmoud Abbas. On Thursday, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, spoke to Israeli leaders about a timetable for winding down the intense combat phase of the war. The

Israel-Hamas war: Top ten updates on Israel's offensive against Hamas

India was among the countries that voted in favour of the United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza

Hamas war to last mths, says Israeli min as US envoy discusses timetable

Israel's defence minister said it will take months to destroy Hamas, predicting a drawn-out war even as his country and its top ally, the United States, face increasing international isolation and alarm over the devastation from the campaign in Gaza. Yoav Gallant's comments came as US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders to discuss a timetable for winding down major combat in Gaza. Israeli leaders repeated their determination to pursue the military assault until they crush the militant group for its Oct 7 attack. The exchange seemed to continue a dynamic the two allies have been locked in for weeks. President Joe Biden's administration has shown unease over Israel's failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to offer wholehearted support for Israel with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing. I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives, Biden said Thursday when asked if he wants