Page 133 - Israel

US stands by Israel today, tomorrow, and every day, says Blinken amid war

Highlighting his brief interaction with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his recent visit, Blinken told reporters there is a not of assistance "moving forward"

Israeli rabbis work around the clock to count the dead from Hamas attack

Rarely do rabbis spend the Sabbath counting bodies. But on Saturday, a week after Hamas militants blew easily past Israel's fortified security fence and gunned down hundreds of Israelis at music festivals, in their homes, in cars while trying to flee Israel's military rabbinate made an exception. At Shura military base in central Israel, bodies have been coming in faster than the rabbis can identify them. Hundreds of soldiers, women, and children in body bags line shelves of refrigerated trucks, awaiting examination. Identification teams gather on plastic stools opposite the trucks to take smoke breaks between shifts. They wear heavy gas masks the smell of death is overwhelming. Generally, Jewish law says that you cannot break the Sabbath for a dead person, said Rabbi Israel Weiss, who is helping lead the operation. The exception is when a family is in doubt, and the death is so crippling that it may risk the family's lives. Then, you must work on the Sabbath to identify the body

Israel army will soon enter Gaza to win, will attack everywhere: IDF chief

"We're going to do something big, important, To change the situation for a long, long time... This is a great mission, a great privilege. Do it with excellence," he added

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Will intervene if Israel launches ground offensive: Iran foreign minister

The US has asked Qatar to relay a warning to Hezbollah not to open up a second front to the war in the country's north

Operation Ajay: Two flights bring back 471 Indians from Tel Aviv, Israel

Two flights from Tel Aviv carrying a total of 471 Indians landed in the national capital on Sunday morning. One flight was operated by Air India and another by SpiceJet. A total of four flights have been operated under Operation Ajay, which was launched by the government to facilitate the return of Indians who wish to come back from Israel, where an intense conflict is going on with militant group Hamas. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Sunday said the third flight with 197 passengers landed at the Delhi airport in the morning. The fourth flight with 274 passengers onboard touches down in the national capital, he said in posts on social media platform X and also shared pictures of passengers. Two chartered flights from Tel Aviv, operated by Air India, came with a total of more than 435 passengers on Friday and Saturday.

The puzzles of defence economics

Rethinking military production in a new world of conflict

Sri Lankan Prez calls for stability amid ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for a fresh approach from the world to maintain a stable geopolitical system in the wake of the escalating conflict involving Israel and Hamas. Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Geopolitical Cartographer, an international research foundation specialising in the Indian Ocean, under the theme Emerging New Order in the Indian Ocean Region', Wickremesinghe on Friday night talked about the importance of the current situation in West Asia and its potential impact on the global order. The 74-year-old leader expressed concerns about the global geopolitical implications of the conflict, particularly the challenges for the United States in managing multiple international issues simultaneously. Can the US manage Ukraine, Taiwan and the Middle East, Gaza? I don't think so. If you are going to have two aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean, that's serious. Can you manage it? It's going to be difficult because many issues are going to .

Fourth flight from Israel carrying 274 Indian nationals land in Delhi

A special flight carrying 274 Indian nationals wanting to leave Israel amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict left for home on Saturday, the second in a day and fourth since the launch of 'Operation Ajay'. The special flights are part of the operation launched on October 12 to facilitate the return of those Indian nationals who wish to return home following the brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants from Gaza on October 7. The Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv earlier earlier announced that two special flights will operate from Ben Gurion airport on Saturday. The first flight left around 5.40 pm local time. The second flight with 274 Indian nationals took off at 11.45 pm local time. The third batch of 197 Indian nationals left for home around 5.40 pm local time (8.10 pm IST). "#OperationAjay moves forward. 197 more passengers are coming back to India," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted on X. The Embassy of India in Israel posted on X,"As part of #OperationAjay, Indian

For 70 years Israel has been an occupier: Owaisi on the Israel-Hamas war

Amid its ongoing counter-offensive against Hamas, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had asked residents of the Northern Gaza Strip to relocate to the southern part of the enclave

IDF hints at starting of ground offensive, says war not against people

IDF, however, clearly stated that its war was against terror group Hamas and not against the people of Gaza

Israel military's Canine Unit rescues 200, kills 10 militants in Kibbutz

But a separate encounter on Kibbutz Kfar Aza had a more tragic outcome

Hamas using innocent Palestinian families as human shields: Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden on Sunday said that Hamas is using innocent Palestinian families as human shields in its assault on Israel, The Times of Israel reported.

In first call with Palestinian prez, Biden talks support for aid to Gaza

President Joe Biden on Saturday spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the leaders to allow humanitarian aid to the region and affirmed his support for efforts to protect civilians. The weekend calls in Washington came as the US said it was moving up a second carrier strike group in support of Israel, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken intensified diplomatic outreach across the Middle East and beyond to rally an international response to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding. Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh before stopping in the United Arab Emirates as he sought ways to help civilians trapped in between the fighting and to address the growing humanitarian crisis. He also called his Chinese counterpart as Palestinians struggled to flee from areas of Gaza targeted by the Israeli military before an expected land offensive. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as wel

Thankful to govt for 'Operation Ajay', says Indians evacuated from Israel

The third flight carrying 197 Indian nationals from Israel under 'Operation Ajay' arrived in the national capital here on Sunday

Reuters videographer killed in Lebanon by Israeli shelling laid to rest

A Reuters videographer killed in Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon was laid to rest in his hometown on Saturday in a funeral procession attended by hundreds of people. Draped in a Lebanese flag, Issam Abdallah's body was carried on a stretcher through the streets of the southern town of Khiam, from his family's home to the local cemetery. Dozens of journalists and Lebanese lawmakers attended the funeral. Abdallah was killed Friday evening near the village of Alma al-Shaab in south Lebanon when an Israeli shell landed on a gathering of international journalists covering exchange of fire along the border between Israeli troops and members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group. The Lebanese army said in a statement Saturday that Israeli troops fired a shell the day before hitting a civilian car used by journalists killing Abdallah and wounding others. The army said that other areas in south Lebanon at the time were targeted by an Israeli helicopter gunship and artillery, including

Israel-Hamas clash: Preparing for attack from air, sea, land, says IDF

IDF statement says it is readying to "expand the offensive" by implementing "wide range of offensive operational plans" which it says include "joint and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land."

Operation Ajay: Third flight carrying 197 Indians fly out from Israel

The third batch of 197 Indian nationals wanting to leave Israel amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict left for home on a special flight on Saturday. The special flights are part of 'Operation Ajay' launched on October 12 to facilitate the return of those Indian nationals who wish to return home following the brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants from Gaza on October 7. "#OperationAjay moves forward. 197 more passengers are coming back to India," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted on X. The Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv has announced that two special flights will operate from Ben Gurion airport on Saturday. The first flight left around 5:40 pm local time. The second flight is scheduled at 11:00 pm local time and can carry 330 passengers. The third batch of 197 Indian nationals left for home around 5.40 pm local time (8.10 pm IST). The Embassy has been working round the clock to facilitate all our citizens in Israel who wish to leave. We have reached out to students

Israel-Hamas clash: Violence fuels growing tensions in occupied West Bank

While the world is focused on the war in Gaza, tensions have risen in the occupied West Bank, where 54 Palestinians were killed over the past week in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers. U.N. monitors said it was the deadliest week for Palestinians in the territory since at least 2005. Since Hamas' deadly mass incursion into southern Israel, in which militants killed over 1,300 people and captured around 150, Israeli forces have held the West Bank under a tight grip, closing crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Friday was a particularly deadly day, with 16 Palestinians killed in different incidents in the West Bank. The military says it has arrested 220 people in raids across the West Bank, including 130 Hamas operatives, since last weekend's attack. Hamas militants are present in the West Bank, but largely operate underground because of Israel's tight grip on the ...

Pact reached to allow foreigners to leave Gaza amid Palestinian evacuation

Egypt, Israel and the United States have agreed to allow foreigners in Gaza to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, a senior Egyptian official says. The official said Saturday that Israel has agreed to refrain from striking areas the foreigners would pass through on their way out of the besieged Palestinian territory. He said Qatar also was involved in the negotiations and the participants received also approval from the Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A second official at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing point said they received instructions to reopen it on Saturday afternoon for foreigners coming from Gaza. The first official said negotiations were still underway to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza through the crossing point. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief media. Israel has ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip.