Page 103 - Israel

Netanyahu slams Brazilian president's comparison of Gaza war to Holocaust

Israel has condemned Brazil's president for comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust, accusing him of being antisemitic and trivializing the Nazi genocide of European Jews during World War II. The outcry further strained relations between the countries, which have deteriorated since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to office last year. Lula has portrayed himself as a leader of the Global South, a loosely defined group of developing countries. Speaking to reporters at the African Union summit in Ethiopia, Lula said that what is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn't been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews." Such comments strike a raw nerve in Israel, a country established as a haven for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust. Israel rejects any comparisons of its conduct in the war in Gaza to the Holocaust. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lula's comments trivialised the Holocaus

Israel strikes Gaza as US says it will block another cease-fire resolution

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 18 people overnight and into Sunday, according to medics and witnesses, as the United States said it would veto another draft UN cease-fire resolution. The US, Israel's top ally, instead hopes to broker a cease-fire agreement and hostage release between Israel and Hamas, and envisions a wider resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back, calling Hamas' demands delusional and rejecting US and international calls for a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until total victory over Hamas and to expand it to Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah, where more than half the enclave's population of 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. An airstrike in Rafah overnight killed six people, including a woman and three children, and another strike killed five men in the southern city of Khan Younis, the main target of the ...

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

Israel hasn't presented evidence that Hamas diverted UN aid: US envoy

Israel has not presented specific evidence that Hamas is diverting UN aid and its recent targeted killings of Gaza police commanders safeguarding truck convoys have made it virtually impossible to distribute the goods safely, a top US envoy said in rare public criticism of Israel. With the departure of police escorts following Israeli strikes, criminal gangs are increasingly targeting the convoys, said David Satterfield, the Biden administration's special Middle East envoy for humanitarian issues. He said the lawlessness as well as regular Israeli protests at crossing points by those opposed to aid going into Gaza have disrupted delivery and distribution. We are working with the Israeli government, the Israeli military in seeing what solutions can be found here because everyone wants to see the assistance continue, Satterfield told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Friday. A solution "is going to require some form of security escorts to return. Satterfield said that

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

5 patients die as oxygen runs out in Gaza hospital seized by Israeli forces

Five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen cut off in southern Gaza's main hospital that was stormed by Israeli troops, causing chaos for hundreds of staff and wounded inside, health officials said on Friday. Troops were searching the complex where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located. The raid came after troops had besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for nearly a week, with staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. The Israeli military said Friday it had detained dozens from the facility, including some it alleged were involved in Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back hard against the US vision for after the war particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After ...

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 govt approves operations of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite services

The Starlink company, owned and operated by SpaceX, operates communication services that include broadband internet via satellites and independent of communication centers located on the ground

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

Israeli strikes killed 10 Lebanese civilians, Hezbollah vows to retaliate

The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese media reported Thursday, making the previous day the deadliest one in more than four months of cross-border exchanges. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for the strikes, which hit in the city of Nabatiyeh and a village in southern Lebanon, just hours after projectiles from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier. In Nabatiyeh, the strike knocked down part of a building, killing seven members of the same family, including a child, the state-run National News Agency said. A boy initially reported missing was found alive under the rubble. Initial reports had said four people were killed. In the village of Souaneh, a woman and her two young children were killed. The Lebanese civilian death toll included six women and three children. Three Hezbollah fighters were also killed on Wednesday. The fire from Lebanon earlier Wednesday struck the northern Israeli town of Safed, killing

Israel-Hamas war | 'We'll catch him dead or alive': IDF's warning to Hamas leader

The Israelis published a video they claim shows Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct 7 attacks, inside a tunnel beneath Gaza. Watch the video to know more. #israel #yahyasinwar #hamas #gaza

Israel-Hamas war: Hundreds killed in Rafah, fear escalates in south Gaza

Israel military's focus has now shifted to Rafah and more than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million population fear being caught in the crossfire. Watch the video to know more.

Indonesia goes to polls as it seeks to enter new phase amid concerns

Millions of Indonesians were choosing a new president on Wednesday as the world's third-largest democracy aspires to become a global economic powerhouse just over 25 years since emerging from a brutal authoritarian era. The incumbent Indonesian defence minister, who has been accused of human rights atrocities as an ex-general, and two former governors are vying to succeed the still-widely popular President Joko Widodo. Widodo's rise from a riverside slum to his country's presidency has showcased the vibrancy of his Southeast Asian nation's democracy in a region rife with authoritarian regimes. The voting in a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands sprawled across three time zones, with a population of 270 million, is a logistical nightmare, with white ballot boxes and ballots being brought by donkeys and on foot in some of the more remote locations. Polls open at 7 am local time in each time zone and the first region began voting at 22.00 GMT. Aside from the presidency, about 20,000 ..

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

Israeli military rescues 2 hostages from Hamas' captivity in Gaza Strip

The Israeli military said it rescued two hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip early Monday. It identified the men as Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70. It said both men were kidnapped by Hamas militants from Kibbutz Nir Yizhak in the Oct. 7 cross-border attack that started the 4-month Israel-Hamas war. The rescue took place in the southern border town of Rafah. The army says both men are in good medical condition. They are among the 136 hostages that Israel says remain in Hamas captivity.

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 ...