Page 87 - Israel

Iranian Prez Raisi's helicopter crash could reverberate across Middle East

The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials is likely to reverberate across the Middle East. That's because Iran has spent decades supporting armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the Palestinian territories that allow it to project power and potentially deter attacks from the United States or Israel, the sworn enemies of its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tensions have never been higher than they were last month, when Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel in response to an airstrike on an Iranian Consulate in Syria that killed two Iranian generals and five officers. Israel, with the help of the United States, Britain, Jordan and others, intercepted nearly all the projectiles. In response, Israel apparently launched its own strike against an air defense radar system in the Iranian city of Isfahan, causing no ...

Israeli airstrike kills 27 in central Gaza, fighting rages across north

An Israeli airstrike killed 20 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting raged across the north on Sunday as Israel's leaders aired divisions over who should govern Gaza after the war, now in its eighth month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism from his own War Cabinet, with his main political rival, Benny Gantz, threatening to leave the government if a plan is not formulated by June 8 that includes an international administration for postwar Gaza. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was expected to meet with top Israeli leaders on Sunday to discuss an ambitious US plan for Saudi Arabia to recognise Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza in exchange for a path to eventual statehood. Netanyahu, who is opposed to Palestinian statehood, has rejected those proposals, saying Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestini

Pro-Palestine protesters rally in rain in DC to mark painful past, present

Hundreds of protesters rallied within sight of the US Capitol, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and voicing criticism of the Israeli and American governments as they marked a painful present the war in Gaza and past the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from what is now Israel when the state was created in 1948. About 400 demonstrators braved steady rains to rally on the National Mall on the 76th anniversary of what is called the Nakba, the Arabic word for catastrophe. In January, thousands of pro-Palestinian activists had gathered in the nation's capital in one of the larger protests in recent memory. There were calls in support of Palestinian rights and an immediate end to Israeli military operations in Gaza. No peace on stolen land and End the killings, stop the crime/Israel out of Palestine, echoed through the crowd. Protesters also focused their anger on President Joe Biden, whom they accuse of feigning concern over the death toll in Gaza. Biden ..

Ultimatum raises pressure on Netanyahu to make postwar plans for Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from his own War Cabinet and his country's closest ally over postwar plans for Gaza, even as the war with Hamas shows no sign of ending. On Saturday, Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet and Netanyahu's main political rival, said he would leave the government on June 8 if it did not formulate a new war plan including an international, Arab and Palestinian administration to handle civilian affairs in Gaza. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the Cabinet, has also called for a plan for Palestinian administration, and said in a speech this week that he wouldn't agree to Israel governing Gaza itself. The United States has meanwhile called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with assistance from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states ahead of eventual statehood. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push those plans when he visits Israel on Sunday. So far, Netanyahu ha

Israel resists grand bargain as US, Saudi officials work on security pact

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has rebuffed calls for the creation of a Palestinian state, saying that it would become a "terror haven"

Gaza war tragic, terrible, but not a 'genocide': Israel tells UN court

The ICJ's panel of judges is hearing arguments from Israel at the court on Friday after hearing from South Africa on Thursday afternoon

First aid shipment sent across newly built US pier into Gaza Strip

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built US floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time on Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there. The shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day entering the Gaza Strip as Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah as its 7-month offensive against Hamas rages on. But the US and aid groups also warn that the pier project is not considered a substitute for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza. Before the war, more than 500 truckloads entered Gaza on an average day. The operation's success also remains tenuous due to the risk of militant attack, logistical hurdles and a growing shortage of fuel for the trucks to run due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip since Hamas' October 7 attack on

Israel to address charges at UN's court post South Africa's cease-fire plea

Israel will respond to charges of genocide at the United Nations' top court on Friday, after South Africa filed an urgent request with the court to order a cease-fire in Gaza. It's the third time that the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, has held hearings on the Israel-Hamas war since South Africa filed proceedings at The Hague-based court in December. On Thursday, South Africa told the court that the situation in Gaza has reached a new and horrific stage, and urged the 15 judges to take urgent action. Israel must totally and unconditionally withdraw from the Gaza Strip, said Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands. South Africa has submitted four requests for the ICJ to investigate Israel. According to the latest request, the country says Israel's military incursion in Rafah threatens the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza. During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza, saying it does all it can to spare .

Gaza conflict: Hezbollah introduces new weapons, tactics against Israel

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles. The attack wounded three soldiers, one of them seriously, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across the border with Israel over the past seven months, but the one on Thursday appears to have been the first successful missile airstrike it has launched from within Israeli airspace. The group has stepped up its attacks on Israel in recent weeks, particularly since the Israeli incursion into the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. It has struck deeper inside Israel and introduced new and more advanced weaponry. This is a method of sending messages on the ground to the Israeli enemy, meaning that this is part of what we have, and if needed we can strike more, said Lebanese political analyst Faisal Abdul-Sater who closely follows Hezbollah. While the cross-border exchanges of fire have been ongoing since early Octobe

South Africa urges UN's top court to order immediate cease-fire in Gaza

South Africa urged the United Nations' top court on Thursday to order a cease-fire in Gaza during hearings over emergency measures to halt Israel's military operation in the enclave's southern city of Rafah. It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide. The country's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to totally and unconditionally withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The court has already found that there is a real and imminent risk to the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel's military operations. This may well be the last chance for the court to act, said Irish lawyer Blinne N Ghrlaigh, who is part of South Africa's legal team. Judges at the court have broad powers to order a cease-fire and other measures, although the court does not h

Love and loss in Palestine

Nathan Thrall's book exemplifies the opposing views of the Israel-Hamas war, representing one end and acknowledging Palestinian resilience in the face of unrelenting tragedy

Israel Q1 economic growth rebounds 14.1%, lifted by shopping, building

The recovery in the January to March period was led by large increases in private spending and investment, both of which slid in the fourth quarter

US military completes Gaza Strip pier project, aid to flow soon amidst war

The US military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated delivery process more than two months after US President Joe Biden ordered it to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make it in as Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on that southern city on the Egyptian border. Fraught with logistical, weather and security challenges, the maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of aid getting into the Gaza Strip, but it is not considered a substitute for far cheaper land-based deliveries that aid agencies say are much more sustainable. The boatloads of aid will be deposited at a port facility built by the Israelis just southwest of Gaza City and then distributed by aid groups. US ..

Top UN court holds hearing on Israeli military's incursion into Rafah

The United Nations' top court opens two days of hearings on Thursday into a request from South Africa to make sure Israel halts its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population has sought shelter. It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza. Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded acce

Biden admin must listen to youth voices on Gaza: Indian-American students

The Biden administration should listen to the voices of the youth over the war in Gaza, two Indian-American students have said, as they came out in support of the ongoing protests on college campuses across the US over demand to divest from Israel. Protests over the Israel-Hamas war have spread across US university and college campuses in recent weeks, leading to disruptions and arrests. A lot of students are currently protesting with various forms of sit-ins in order to try and demand the schools to divest from Israel, Aara Sampath, a rising freshman at the University of Pennsylvania told PTI in an interview. The term "rising freshman" refers to a student who is about to start their freshman year of high school. Since the 7 October attack by Hamas and Israel's retaliatory assault, students have launched rallies, sit-ins, fasts and, most recently, encampments against the war. They are demanding that their schools, many with massive endowments, financially divest from ...

Israel forces destroy weapons workshop as Hamas tries to regroup in Gaza

This comes on the heels of Israel killing 15 terrorists in a Hamas command center located inside a UNRWA school

Fierce battle between Israel and Hamas-led militants in north, south Gaza

Gaza's Civil Emergency Service and health ministry said rescue teams have been unable to reach areas where the army was operating to respond to calls for help

UN launches probe into first international staff killed by strike in Rafah

The staffer, a retired Indian Army officer named Waibhav Anil Kale, was working with the UN Department of Safety and Security and was on route to the European Hospital in Rafah

Israel-Hamas conflict: Indian personnel working with UN killed in Rafah

An Indian personnel working with the United Nations was killed in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in Rafah, making it the first international casualty for the organisation since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The individual was a staff member of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS). While the identity of the victim has not yet been revealed, sources confirmed to PTI he was from India and a former Indian Army personnel. The Indian personnel killed in Rafah is the first casualty" among international UN staff in Gaza since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict following the October 7 terror attacks. Another DSS staffer was injured in the incident when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when ..

ICC prosecutor faces demand to act against Israeli leaders, Putin warrant

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor faced demands Tuesday for speedy action against Israeli leaders and a blistering Russian attack over the ICC's arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin stemming from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Karim Khan responded by telling the UN Security Council that he will not be swayed or intimidated as his team investigates possible war crimes or crimes against humanity in Gaza and the Palestinian territories as well as in Ukraine. Libya's UN ambassador, Taher El-Sonni, told Khan that if the Libyan cases the ICC is investigating are so complex that they won't be completed until the end of 2025, he should allocate the court's efforts to the war in Gaza. El-Sonni claimed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity are being perpetrated by Israeli forces. The world expects the ICC to be courageous and to issue arrest warrants against officials of the Israeli regime who have repeated again and again that they want to commit genocidal actio