Page 14 - Israel

India, US should find common ground to resolve tariff issue: Netanyahu

The foundation of India-US relationship is "very solid' and both sides should find common ground to resolve the tariff issue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. The prime minister also said that the military equipment supplied to India by Israel performed well during Operation Sindoor and that the defence cooperation between the two countries are on an upswing. In an interaction with a group of visiting Indian journalists, Netanyahu said he would like to visit India "soon". As India-US ties are reeling under some strain after US President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, the Israeli prime minister said both sides should amicably resolve the issue. To a question on whether he would give any advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on dealing with Trump, the Israeli leader half-jockingly said he would do so privately. "Modi and Trump are terrific friends of mine. Yes I would give Modi some advice (on dealing with Trump), but ...

Highlights: NDA authorises PM Modi, BJP chief Nadda to pick the alliance's V-P candidate

Highlights: Catch all the news developments here

What to know as Israel considers Gaza reoccupation amid war escalation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering ordering the full reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media, a move that would draw fierce opposition internationally and within Israel. It would mark a stunning escalation of the nearly 22-month war in the territory that has already been largely destroyed and where experts say famine is unfolding. It would put the lives of countless Palestinians and about 20 living hostages at risk, and deepen Israel's already stark international isolation. It would also face fierce opposition within Israel: Families of the hostages would consider it a virtual death sentence, and much of the security establishment is also reportedly opposed to an open-ended occupation that would bog down and further strain the army after nearly two years of regional wars. The threat to reoccupy Gaza could be a negotiating tactic aimed at pressuring Hamas after talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar appeared to have broken down

Israel says Hamas starving hostages; UNSC says Israel starving Palestinians

Israel called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday to demand the release of its emaciated hostages, including one seen digging his own grave. Their plight drew widespread sympathy -- but the 2 million Palestinians starving in Gaza got even more. Not only the Palestinians but most council members blamed the Israeli government and military for the two-month blockade of Gaza and failure to allow enough food into the conflict-wracked territory, where its health ministry has reported over 100 deaths from starvation, including many children. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who flew to New York to attend the council meeting, accused Russia and other unnamed council members as well as the international media of perpetuating "so many lies". He pointed to Hamas and Islamic Jihad's starvation of hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel "while the terrorists enjoy meat, fish and vegetables". Saar insisted that Israel is facilitating "huge

Netanyahu hints at wider war in Gaza, former military & spy chiefs object

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at wider military action in devastated Gaza on Tuesday, even as former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs called for an end to the nearly 22-month war. The new pressure on Netanyahu came as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll had surpassed 61,000. Health officials reported new deaths of hungry Palestinians seeking food at distribution points. As desperation mounts, the Israeli defence body coordinating aid announced a deal with local merchants to improve aid deliveries. Among those speaking out were former leaders of Israel's Shin Bet internal security service, Mossad spy agency and the military -- and also ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In a video posted to social media this week, they said far-right members of the government are holding Israel "hostage" in prolonging the conflict. Netanyahu's objectives in Gaza are "a fantasy", Yoram Cohen, former head of Shin Bet, said in the video. "If anyone imagines that we

Israel mulls full Gaza control despite military and public concerns

Some Israeli military leaders have expressed reservations, the official said, while the plan would likely face considerable opposition

Israeli forces kill over 20 people seeking food in Gaza, say witnesses

Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials and witnesses, who described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites as the malnutrition-related death toll surged. Desperation has gripped the Palestinian territory of more than 2 million, which experts have warned is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and nearly two-year offensive. Yousef Abed, among the crowds en route to a distribution point, described coming under what he called indiscriminate fire, looking around and seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground. I couldn't stop and help them because of the bullets, he said. Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said they had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about three km away from a distribution site in Khan Younis, which is operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private US and Israeli-backed contractor that took over a

Pak, Iran agree to increase bilateral trade volume to $10 billion annually

Pakistan and Iran on Sunday agreed to enhance bilateral trade volume to USD 10 billion from the current USD 3 billion annually as they signed 12 agreements and MoUs after talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Prime Minister Sharif announced the new bilateral trade target while addressing a joint press meeting with President Pezeshkian after their talks during which they also agreed to strengthen cooperation to combat militancy along their shared border, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). The agreement to enhance bilateral trade volume to USD 10 billion was reached earlier in the morning during a meeting between Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Iranian Minister for Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak. Sharif also said that Iran has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, which had been at the heart of the current conflict with Israel. Pakistan stands with Iran for the acquisition of peacefu

Hamas deputy commander Salah al-Din Za'ara eliminated in Gaza strike

Za'ara previously served as the commander of the battalion's combat support company and was responsible for directing and promoting numerous terror operations

Israeli military intel goes back to basics with focus on spies, not tech

The plan is to rely less on technology and instead build a cadre of spies and analysts with a broad knowledge of dialects - Yemeni, Iraqi, Gazan - as well as a firm grasp of radical Islamic doctrines

Statehood a distant dream for Palestinians as nightmare unfolds in Gaza

Plans announced by France, the United Kingdom and Canada to recognise a Palestinian state won't bring one about anytime soon, though they could further isolate Israel and strengthen the Palestinians' negotiating position over the long term. The problem for the Palestinians is that there may not be a long term. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood and has vowed to maintain open-ended control over annexed east Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip territories Israel seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their state. Israeli leaders favour the outright annexation of much of the West Bank, where Israel has already built well over 100 settlements housing over 500,000 Jewish settlers. Israel's offensive in Gaza has reduced most of it to a smoldering wasteland and is pushing it toward famine, and Israel says it is pressing ahead with plans to relocate much of its population of some 2 million to other ...

Dozens killed while seeking food in Gaza as US envoy heads to Israel

At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the worst-case scenario of famine in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds. US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the fighting, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza. Wooden carts ferry the wounded as survivors carry flour Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the

Trump says US, Israel to run more Gaza food centres, offers few details

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US will partner with Israel to run new food centres in Gaza to address the worsening humanitarian crisis there, but he and US officials offered few additional details about the plan or how it would differ from existing food distribution centres. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a trip to Scotland that Israel would preside over the new food centres to make sure the distribution is proper. We're going to be dealing with Israel, and we think they can do a good job of it," Trump said. The opaque details come as the Trump administration is facing calls at home and abroad to do more to address the hunger crisis in Gaza. The U.S.'s close ally, Israel, is at the center of an international outcry as more images of emaciated children continue to emerge. That pressure comes after the U.S. pulled out of talks last week to try to broker a ceasefire in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, accusing Hamas of acting in bad faith. B

India reiterates support at UN for two-state solution to Israel conflict

India told a high-level UN conference that global efforts must now focus on achieving a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict through "purposeful dialogue and diplomacy". It also said that one should not be content with paper solutions but strive to achieve practical ones. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said on Tuesday that deliberations during the preparation for the UN High-Level International Conference on The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution' confirm that the international community continues to believe there is no substitute for a two-state solution. He said the conference offers an opportunity to reflect on the path traversed so far in the journey towards achieving peace through a two-state solution. Our efforts must now focus on how to bring about a two-state solution through purposeful dialogue and diplomacy, and bringing the parties to the conflict to

UK may recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes action

Starmer held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before making his announcement, said a source, who asked not to be named

Gangs, merchants sell food aid in Gaza, where IDF shattered security

Since Israel's offensive led to a security breakdown in Gaza that has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is being hoarded by gangs and merchants and sold at exorbitant prices. A kilogram of flour has run as high as $60 in recent days, a kilogram of lentils up to $35. That is beyond the means of most residents in the territory, which experts say is at risk of famine and where people are largely reliant on savings 21 months into the Israel-Hamas war. Israel's decision this weekend to facilitate more aid deliveries under international pressure has lowered prices somewhat but has yet to be fully felt on the ground. Bags of flour in markets often bear U.N. logos, while other packaging has markings indicating it came from the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation all originally handed out for free. It's impossible to know how much is being diverted, but neither group is able to track who receives its aid. I

Donald Trump says 'real starvation' in Gaza, challenges Netanyahu's claim

US President Donald Trump said the US will coordinate with other nations to provide more aid in Gaza, after the UN warned that vast food supplies are needed to prevent widespread starvation

Israel's leader claims no one in Gaza is starving; Data, witnesses disagree

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says no one in Gaza is starving: There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza. We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza otherwise, there would be no Gazans. President Donald Trump on Monday said he disagrees with Netanyahu's claim of no starvation in Gaza, noting the images emerging of emaciated people: Those children look very hungry. After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The U.N. has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last. "This aid, delivered in this way, is an insult to the Palestinian people, said Hasan Al-Zalaan, who was at the site of an airdrop as some fought over the supplies and crushed cans of chickpeas ...

Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, aid delivery remains chaotic: Officials

Israeli strikes or gunfire killed at least 78 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday, including a pregnant woman whose baby was delivered after her death but also died, local health officials said. Dozens were killed while seeking food, even as Israel moved to ease restrictions on the entry of aid. Under mounting pressure over the spiralling hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel said over the weekend that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day and designate secure routes for aid delivery. International airdrops of aid have also resumed. Aid agencies say the new measures are not enough to counter worsening starvation in the territory. Martin Penner, a spokesperson for the UN food agency, told The Associated Press that all 55 of its aid trucks that entered on Sunday were unloaded by crowds before reaching their destination. Another UN official said nothing on the ground has changed and no alternative routes were allowed. Israel sai

Houthis pledge to step up shipping attacks to pressure Israel on Gaza

The Houthis, who took control of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, have been striking Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Israel's war with Hamas, which rules Gaza, began in October 2023