Page 50 - Israel

Israel, Hamas accuse each other of complicating ceasefire talks in Qatar

Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts on Wednesday, as the two sides inch closer to a deal that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza. The two sides appear closer than they have been in months to reaching an agreement that would bring home dozens of hostages being held in Gaza. However, talks have come close before, only to collapse. Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that progress was being made toward a deal, sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say. On Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions related to the withdrawal from Gaza, the prisoners and the return of displaced people, which it said was delaying the deal. Israel's government accused Hamas of reneging on reneging on understandings that have already been reached. Still, both sides said discussions are ongoing. Israel's negotiating tea

Israel's admission of killing Haniyeh justifies Oct 1 attack: Iranian envoy

Hamas leader Hanieyh's killing came hours after top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on July 31

Foreign investments in Israel rise to $11.8 billion in first half of 2024

In 2023, the US was the leading source country for investments in Israel with $24 billion followed by France with $3.7 billion, India with $1.2 billion and the UK with $1.1 billion

Cities worldwide hold subdued Christmas Eve celebrations amid conflicts

Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists. Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them. The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70 per cent of Bethlehem's income almost all from the Christmas season. The number of visitors to Bethlehem plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in

Israeli raid and airstrikes in West Bank kill at least 8 Palestinians

At least eight people were killed by Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank around the city of Tulkarem on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, including three people it said were killed by Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military said it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of some uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid. Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a second somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of the war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent. Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war with Israel are struggling to protect

Iran denies allegations of using kids to hit Israeli targets in Europe

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran said the allegations, are "absurd, shameful and immoral," adding that Iran "never had a proxy" nor needed one

Israel intercepts projectile launched from Yemen, former hostage dies

A septuagenarian Israeli woman who was taken hostage during Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 0ctober 7, 2023 has died. She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian militant group took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead. Israel's subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted a projectile launched from Yemen. Here's the latest: A former Israeli hostage dies at 78 Tel Aviv Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78. The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed the death on Tuesday but did not disclose the cause. Her daughter, Carmit P

Israel confirms killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, warns Houthis

Israel's defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas' top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has acknowledged killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement. In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh. He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria's Bashar Assad and destroyed Iran's anti-aircraft systems. We will strike (the Houthis') strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership, he said. Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa, he said, referring t

Bethlehem plans another somber Christmas under the shadow of war in Gaza

The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold handmade olive wood carvings and religious items to people visiting the traditional birthplace of Jesus since 1927. But as Bethlehem prepares to mark its second Christmas under the shadow of the war in Gaza, there are almost no tourists, leaving the Nativity Store and other businesses unsure of how much longer they can hold on. For the second straight year, Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted, in deference to ongoing war in Gaza. There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling and very few public decorations or displays. Last year before Christmas, we had more hope, but now again we are close to Christmas and we don't have anything, said Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store. Israel's war against Hamas has been raging for nearly 15 months, and there still is no end in sight. Repeated ceasefire efforts have stalled. Since the wa

Ex-Israeli spies describe attack using exploding devices against Hezbollah

Two recently retired senior Israeli intelligence agents shared new details about a deadly clandestine operation years in the making that targeted Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Syria using exploding pagers and walkie talkies three months ago. Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. The agents spoke with CBS 60 Minutes in a segment aired Sunday night. They wore masks and spoke with altered voices to hide their identities. One agent said the operation started 10 years ago using walkie-talkies laden with hidden explosives, which Hezbollah didn't realise it was buying from Israel, its enemy. The walkie-talkies were not detonated until September, a day after booby-trapped pagers were set off. We created a pretend world, said the officer, who went by the name Michael. Phase two of the plan, using the booby-trapped pagers, kicked in in 2022 after Israel's Mossad intelligence agency learned Hezbollah had b

Will not let Hezbollah rebuild terror infrastructure: Israel minister

Under the terms of a two-month ceasefire that went into effect on November 27, Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw its armed presence from areas of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River

Fresh Israeli strikes across Gaza kill 22 as Vatican envoy visits region

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 20 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said. Israeli authorities meanwhile allowed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with members of the territory's small Christian community. A strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza City killed at least eight people, including three children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Civil Defense, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government, had earlier said four children were among those killed. The Israeli military said it carried out a precise strike on Hamas militants sheltering there. A strike on a home in the central city of Deir al-Balah late Saturday killed at least eight people, including three women and two children, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. A man and his wife were .

Rocket fired from Yemen hit Tel Aviv, 16 injured: Israeli military

A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians. A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 am Saturday, the military said. The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify. The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israe

Over 2 million people remain trapped in Gaza's dire conditions: UNRWA

UNRWA reported that worsening weather conditions in recent days are expected to continue

Netanyahu eyes Iran after triumphs over Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria

Without Syria, the alliances Tehran has nurtured for decades have unraveled

Israel debunks media claims of using water for acts of genocide in Gaza

Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing acts of genocide by denying clean water to Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli forces preventing Syrian villagers from accessing their fields

Israeli forces have set up a position in an abandoned Syrian army base in the village of Maariyah and prevented local farmers from accessing their fields, residents said Thursday. Associated Press journalists who visited the area saw the Israeli troops from a distance and watched a local resident waving a white flag approach to speak with them. The village, on the western edge of Syria's southern Daraa province, is near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, but outside of a buffer zone in the Golan established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel. Abdel Raouf Issa, a resident of Maariyah, said the Israeli military had penetrated about 1 kilometre into the village and is demanding that we hand over all weapons to the occupation. We told them that we have no weapons at all. They prevented us from farming. They prevented us from moving, he said. We call on the United Nations to remove the occupation as soon as possible. Kamal Saleh Damara, a local official in the vill

Israeli fighter jets strike Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation: IDF

According to the IDF statement, the Houthis "with Iran's guidance and funding" have acted together with Iran-backed militias over the past year to target Israel

US lawmakers urge Biden admin to stop sending military aid to Israel

Congress members called on Washington to uphold its own laws that restrict military aid to countries that commit war crimes

Israel's borders shifted throughout history, acts in Syria may reshape them

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, entered Syrian territory Tuesday and said Israeli troops would remain in the area indefinitely, blurring the border with its northern neighbour. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has never had fully recognized borders. Throughout its history, the frontiers with its Arab neighbours have shifted as a result of wars, annexations, ceasefires and peace agreements. Now, the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad has created a situation that could once again reshape Israel's borders. As Assad was toppled early this month, Israel quickly moved into the Syrian side of a 50-year-old demilitarized buffer zone. Netanyahu described the move as defensive and temporary, and said it was aimed at making sure that none of the groups jostling for power inside Syria threatened Israel. But in Tuesday's visit to the Syrian side of the buffer zone, Netanyahu made clear that Israel plans on staying for some time. Speaking on the windswept summit of Mou