Page 48 - Israel

Progress made over Israel-Hamas ceasefire, hostage release: Officials

US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but a deal has not been reached yet, officials said Monday. Three officials acknowledged progress has been made and said the coming days would be critical for ending more than 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the talks. One of the three officials and a Hamas official said there were still a number of hurdles to clear. On several occasions over the past year, US officials have said they were on the verge of reaching a deal, only to have the talks stall. One person familiar with the talks said there had been a breakthrough overnight and that there was a proposed deal on the table. Israeli and Hamas negotiators will now take it back to their leaders for final approval, the person said. The person said mediat

Netanyahu sends director of Mossad for Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, his office said Saturday, in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza. It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar's capital, Doha, for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved. Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since then. Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas' ability to fight in Gaza. Hamas has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory. On Thursday, Gaza's Health Ministry said over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, the majority women and

US House passes bill to sanction ICC for Israeli PM, Gallant arrest warrant

The bill, titled the 'Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,' passed with a vote of 243 to 140, signalling strong support for Israel

Palestinian death toll from Israel-Hamas war above 46,000: Gaza health dep

The Gaza Health Ministry says the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has climbed above 46,000. The ministry updated its toll from the ongoing 15-month conflict on Thursday. It says 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. The ministry has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in residential areas. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it says are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza. Israeli authorities believe at least a third of them were killed in the

'Hatred of humanity': Musk slams George Soros for funding Hamas-linked NGOs

Elon Musk has once again targeted billionaire George Soros, accusing him of 'hatred of humanity' and linking it to Israel, following Soros' controversial financial support of NGOs

Ceasefire, hostage deal between Israel and Hamas very close: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is very close and he hopes we can get it over the line before handing over US diplomacy to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. In area after area, we're handing off, in some cases, things that we haven't been able to complete but that create real opportunities to move things forward in a better way, he said on a stop in Paris for meetings. Blinken said that even if the Biden administration's plans for a ceasefire and hostage deal don't come to fruition before Trump's inauguration, he thinks they'll be put into practice afterward. I believe that when we get that deal - and we'll get that deal - it will be on the basis of the plans that President Biden put before the world, he said.

Israel launches e-visa for Indian travellers: How to apply & required docs

The e-visa platform is integrated with Israel's Entry Travel Authorization (ETA) system, ensuring efficient processing and prompt approvals

US shifts over $100 mn in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah. In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. The notices were dated Jan 3 and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Most of the money will go to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have a critical role in standing up the ceasefire that was agreed to in November following an all-out war that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months. It is intended to help the LAF deploy in the south of the country and supplement the role of the UN peacekeeping mission patrolling the so-called Blue Line, which has separated Israel and Lebanon since the end of a 2006 war between Israel and the .

Israel launches raids across occupied West Bank, kills 3 Palestinians

The Israeli military launched a wave of raids across the occupied West Bank overnight and into Tuesday, killing at least three Palestinians. The army said it killed two Palestinian militants in an airstrike after they fired at troops in the area of Tamun, a village in the northern West Bank. It said another militant was killed in close-quarters combat in the nearby village of Taluza and that an Israeli soldier was severely wounded there. The military said it arrested more than 20 suspected militants in different parts of the territory. It said the overnight operations were not related to the shooting the day before, in which gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis in the West Bank, killing two women in their 70s and a 35-year-old policeman before fleeing the scene. Israeli forces were pursuing those attackers in separate operations. Palestinians have carried out scores of shooting, stabbing and car-ramming attacks against Israelis, especially during the past 15 months of the

Hurdles remain as Israel, Hamas once again inch toward ceasefire deal

Israel and Hamas once again appear to be inching toward a ceasefire that could wind down the 15-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of Israelis held hostage there. Both Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach a deal before the January 20 inauguration. But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements. The latest round of negotiations has bogged down over the names of hostages to be released in a first phase, according to Israeli, Egyptian and Hamas officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations. Israel wants assurances that the hostages are alive, while Hamas says that after months of heavy fighting, it isn't sure who is alive or dead. Other hurdles remain. The first phase, expected to last for six to eight weeks, would also include a halt in fighting, a release of Palestinian prisoners and a surge in aid to the

Israel starts recruitment for first ultra-orthodox brigade 'Hahashmonaim'

It was also noted that 100 more ultra-orthodox people will join the brigade's first reserves company after undergoing intensive training for six months

Israel denies reports Hamas forwarded list of 34 hostages for release

The denial comes amid ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US

Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza kill at least 21, say hospital workers

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 15 people including a child early Saturday in southern Gaza, hospital staff said, while a new effort at ceasefire talks was said to be underway in Qatar. A small boy cried over his father, and a woman draped herself over one of the bodies wrapped in white plastic. The three airstrikes hit a car, a house and people on the street in the city of Khan Younis, according to staff at Nasser Hospital. And the Civil Defence, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government, said an airstrike destroyed a residential area behind the Saraya complex in Gaza City, killing at least five people. There was no immediate comment from Israel's military. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 59 people had been killed and more than 270 injured by strikes in the past 24 hours. There were no immediate statements on the indirect negotiations in Qatar's capital, Doha, toward a ceasefire after nearly 15 months of war. The Hamas militant group on Friday said talks h

Fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce holding so far, despite violations

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on November 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say

Biden govt informs Congress of planned $8 bn weapons sale to Israel

The State Department has informed Congress of a planned USD 8 billion weapons sale to Israel, US officials say, as the American ally presses forward with its war against Hamas in Gaza. Some of the arms in the package could be sent through current US stocks but the majority would take a year or several years to deliver, according to two US officials Saturday who spoke on condition of anonymity because the notification to Congress hasn't been formally sent. The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against airborne threats, 155 mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 500-pound bombs and more. The weapons package would add to a record of at least USD 17.9 billion in military aid that the US has provided Israel since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, launched the war. The Biden administration has faced criticism over mounting deaths of Palestinian civilians. There have been demonstrations on college campuses

Is the fragile ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah likely to hold

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on November 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say

US plans $8 billion arms sale to Israel, maintains support to ally

The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed militant groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen

Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as ceasefire talks to resume in Qatar

Israeli strikes killed at least 42 people in Gaza, including children, overnight and into Friday, hospital and emergency response workers said, as health workers and Israel's military traded claims over reported evacuation orders for two hospitals in the territory's largely isolated north. The assertions over Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals occurred as stalled ceasefire talks to end nearly 15 months of war were set to resume in Qatar. Staff at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that more than a dozen women and children were killed in strikes in central Gaza, including in Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah. Dozens of people were killed across the enclave the previous day. We woke up to the missile strike. We found the whole house disintegrated, Abdul Rahman Al-Nabrisi said in the Maghazi refugee camp. Later Friday, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that an airstrike killed three people in a car in Zawaida in central Gaza. And the Civil Defence, first responders ..

Israel struggles to deter escalating attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels

The rockets from Gaza have mostly fallen silent. A ceasefire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has taken hold. But repeated fire from Yemen's Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis are stepping up their missile attacks, sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis scrambling for shelter in the middle of the night, scaring away foreign airlines and keeping up what could be the last major front in the Middle East wars. It's like musical chairs, said Yoni Yovel, 31, who left the northern Israeli city of Haifa late last year to avoid rocket fire from Hezbollah only to see his apartment in Tel Aviv's Jaffa neighborhood heavily damaged by a Houthi missile. Israel has repeatedly bombarded ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Israeli leaders have threatened to kill central Houthi figures and have tried to galvanize the world against the threat. But the ...

Israeli strike hits Gaza humanitarian zone as Netanyahu OKs talks in Qatar

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 40 people, including several children, across the Gaza Strip, hitting Hamas security officers and an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone. As the daily bombardment continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had authorised a delegation from the Mossad intelligence agency, the Shin Bet internal security agency and the military to continue negotiations in Qatar toward a ceasefire deal. Israeli media said the delegation would depart on Friday. There was no immediate Hamas comment. The US-led talks have repeatedly stalled during 15 months of war. The Israeli strike in the seaside humanitarian zone known as Muwasi occurred as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been huddling there in damp winter weather. Everyone was taking shelter in their tents from the cold, and suddenly we found the world turning upside down. Why, and for what? said Ziyad Abu Jabal, displaced from Gaza City. The early morning strike killed