Page 3 - Israel

Israel has set up nearly 1,000 new barriers across West Bank since 2023

Since Israel's war with Hamas began more than two years ago, Israel has erected nearly 1,000 barriers in cities and towns in the occupied West Bank, further stifling movement for Palestinians and hindering daily lives, a local government body says. While Israel's military has long imposed movement and access constraints after capturing the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, the number of new barriers is unprecedented, residents say. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, an official Palestinian governmental body, 916 gates, barriers and walls have been installed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Israeli military raids throughout the West Bank have also increased, with Palestinians killed or detained. Israel says it is trying to root out militancy. Among the new barriers are metal gates stationed at many village and town entrances and between cities, blocking access in and out. Sometimes the Israeli military is stationed at them. Palestinia

Pakistan plans to send peace troops to Gaza: 'We will be proud to do it'

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the government will take a decision after consulting parliament and other relevant institutions

Israeli strikes kill 60 in Gaza after Hamas allegedly violated ceasefire

The Israeli military said that the operation was in response to Hamas attacking its troops in Rafah, a claim denied by the militant group

Israel's military kills three Palestinian militants in West Bank raid

Israeli authorities said they had killed three Palestinian militants early on Tuesday during an operation in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. Israeli police said the three men were shot as they came out of a cave near Jenin, a town in the northern West Bank known as a militant stronghold. A statement claimed the militants were planning an attack, but gave no further details. The statement said the Israeli military carried out an airstrike shortly afterward to destroy the cave. The army confirmed an airstrike in the area but gave no further details. Israel has stepped up its military activity in the occupied West Bank since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza. Israel says the operations have cracked down on militants in the West Bank. But Palestinians and human rights groups say scores of uninvolved civilians have also been among the dead, while tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes.

British political commentator Sami Hamdi detained at California airport

Sami Hamdi, a British political commentator, was being held Monday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he was detained by ICE officers at San Francisco International Airport, according to federal officials. One senior US official said the detention was related to comments he has made about the Middle East. Hamdi, who is Muslim, was on a speaking tour in the US and on Saturday had addressed the annual gala for the Sacramento, California, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. Earlier this morning, ICE agents abducted British Muslim journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco Airport, apparently in response to his vocal criticism of the Israeli government during his ongoing speaking tour, the group said in a Sunday social media post. The detention is the latest in the Trump administration's ramped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners in the United States who it says have either fomented or ...

Hamas handed over another hostage's body to Red Cross in Gaza, says IDF

Israel's military late Monday said that Hamas has handed over the remains of another hostage to the Red Cross in Gaza. Since the ceasefire began on October 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. After the latest body is returned to Israel, another 12 bodies still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over. Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told journalists in Hungary that Israel will not allow Turkish troops to take part in an international force the United States has proposed to oversee the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 20-point deal brokered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month calls for a force to monitor the ceasefire but does not mention which countries would provide troops. It says the US would work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force to deploy in Gaza. The force would train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces" and will consul

Two Hezbollah leaders killed by Israel's targeted strikes in Lebanon

Israel Air Force said that the two operatives worked for Hezbollah and were killed within an hour of one another

Trump warns Hamas of major consequences if Israel-Palestine deal breached

President Trump also highlighted the wide support for the peace plan, with multiple people agreeing to join the Stabilisation Force to help maintain peace in the region

Marco Rubio visits US-led coordination centre in Israel amid Gaza ceasefire

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured a US-led coordination centre in southern Israel Friday, as the Trump administration pushed forward with plans to set up an international security force in Gaza and shore up a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Rubio was the latest in a series of high-level US officials to visit the civilian military coordination centre and the country. US Vice President JD Vance was there earlier this week, where he announced its opening, and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, were also in Israel. Around 200 US troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries at the centre, planning the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza. On Friday, an AP reporter saw international personnel there with flags from Cyprus, Greece, France, Germany, Australia and Canada. Rubio had been expected to name a civilian coordinator who would work alongside a commander from the US Central Command, bu

Israeli PM meets US Secretary of State Rubio to discuss Gaza peace plan

Meanwhile, as per The Times of Israel, a US official said that US President Donald Trump will "f**k" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli leader jeopardizes the Gaza ceasefire deal

Rubio to visit Israel after Vance, ensure fragile Gaza ceasefire holds

As US Vice President JD Vance's visit to Israel comes to a close, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would be travelling to the country to keep the momentum on the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this week, Vance announced the opening of a civilian military coordination centre in southern Israel where some 200 US troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries planning the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza. Rubio told journalists at Joint Base Andrews late Wednesday that he plans to visit the centre and appoint a Foreign Service official to work alongside the top US military commander in the Middle East, Vice Adm Brad Cooper. The US is seeking support from other allies, especially Gulf nations, to create an international stabilisation force to be deployed to Gaza and train a Palestinian force. We'd like to see Palestinian police forces in Gaza that are not Hamas and that are going to do a good jo

Israel to resume ceasefire, aid after it launched deadly strikes in Gaza

Gaza's fragile ceasefire faced its first major test Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers, and an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted. The military later said it resumed enforcing the ceasefire, and the official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the issue with the media. A little over a week has passed since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire remained in place and we want to make sure it's going to be very peaceful. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been quite rambunctious and they've been doing some shooting. He suggested that the violence might be the fault of rebels within the organization rather than its leadership. It's going to be handled toughly but

US V-P Vance visits Israel, says Gaza ceasefire going better than expected

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other envoys projected optimism Tuesday about Gaza 's fragile ceasefire agreement, calling progress better than anticipated as they visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation. Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10 is going better than I expected after two years of war between Israel and Hamas. The Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, added that we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time. They are in Israel as questions remain over the long-term plan for peace, including whether Hamas will disarm, when and how an international security force will deploy to Gaza and who will govern the territory after the war. Vance tried to downplay any idea that his visit his first as vice president was urgently arranged to keep the ceasefire in place. He said he feels confident that we're going to be in a place where this peace lasts, but warned tha

Lebanon president urges talks with Israel, says war brought no gains

Lebanon's president said Monday that his country and Israel should negotiate to solve pending problems between them since war didn't lead to any positive results. The comments by President Joseph Aoun came after U.S. counterpart Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the more than two-year war, which started when the Palestinian militant group led an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. A day after the Israel-Hamas war began, Lebanon's Hezbollah started attacking Israeli military posts along the border in what it called a backup front for Gaza. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensified into full-blown fighting nearly a year later, during which the Lebanese group suffered heavy losses and many of its political and military commanders were killed. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon that left .

Israel is not a US protectorate, Netanyahu says ahead of meeting with Vance

Israel's prime minister toughened his stance Wednesday by declaring that his country is in charge of its own security and isn't an American protectorate as he prepared to discuss progress on Gaza's fragile ceasefire agreement with US Vice President JD Vance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks ahead of his meeting with Vance appeared aimed easing public concerns that the presence of an envisioned international security force in Gaza could limit Israel's ability to strike in the devastated territory to thwart future threats. We are not a protectorate of the United States. Israel is the one that will decide on its security, Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office as he headed into the meeting. Speaking to reporters before the meeting's start, Vance acknowledged that the road to peace is strewn with huge hurdles but at the same time tried to maintain the buoyant tone he sounded Tuesday on his arrival to Israel. "We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is

Israel identifies 2 more hostages as Vance prepares to meet Netanyahu

Israel has completed the identification of the bodies of two more hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Wednesday, as US Vice President JD Vance sounded a buoyant note about progress in Gaza's fragile ceasefire during a visit to Israel. Authorities identified the deceased hostages as Arie Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar. Their bodies were transported in coffins by the Red Cross and handed over to the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. A military ceremony attended by the chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces was planned for later in the day, Netanyahu's office said. The two were killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants, which triggered the two-year war. Since the ceasefire began on October 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. Another 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, a key element to the ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, the burial of more than 50 Palestinians is set for Wednesday at

Netanyahu will be arrested if he enters Canada, says PM Mark Carney

On Canada's approach to Palestinian statehood, he stated, The end goal is a free and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel

Israel identifies body of hostage released by Hamas amid ceasefire efforts

Israel said on Tuesday it had identified the body of a hostage that was released by Hamas overnight, while the militant group's chief negotiator said Hamas is determined to implement the ceasefire agreement with Israel. US Vice President JD Vance is expected in the region on Tuesday to shore up the fragile ceasefire, which has teetered over the past few days. Israel confirmed that Hamas released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on the Gaza border. Haimi, 42, a fourth-generation resident of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was part of the emergency response team. He had four children, including one born after the attack. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 deceased hostages. Thirteen bodies have been released since the ceasefire began. After trading strikes earlier this week, Hamas negotiators reiterated that the group is committed to ensuring the war ends once and for ...

Gaza peace deal brokered by Trump faces collapse as violence resumes

A good way to find the answer would be to look at what's probably also the best model for creating a peacekeeping force for Gaza: the Kosovo Force, better known as KFOR

Israel renews ceasefire enforcement after strikes on Hamas sites in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed condolences to the families of two IDF soldiers, Major Yaniv Kula and Staff Sergeant Itay Ya'avetz, who were killed in the Rafah incident