Page 3 - Palestine Refugees

Humanitarian crisis caused by Israel-Hamas war unacceptable: Ruchira Kamboj

India termed the UN Security Council resolution that demanded immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the month of Ramadan a "positive step," asserting that the humanitarian crisis resulting from the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict is "simply unacceptable." "We are deeply troubled by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis has deepened and instability has been increasing in the region and beyond," India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, told a UN General Assembly meeting here Monday. She said India views the adoption of a resolution on March 25 by the UN Security Council "as a positive step." Kamboj said the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children. "The resulting humanitarian crisis is simply unacceptable," she said, adding that Delhi has strongly condemned the deaths of civilians in the conflict and it is imperative to avoid the loss of civilian lives in any conflict

Palestinians seek April vote on UN membership, US says 'peace first'

The Palestinians want the Security Council to vote later this month on their revived request for full membership in the United Nations, despite the United States reiterating Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinians must first negotiate a peace agreement. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said 140 countries recognise the state of Palestine, and we believe it is high time now for our state to become a full member at the United Nations. The Palestinians are making a fresh bid for UN membership as the war between Israel and Hamas that began Oct 7 nears its sixth month, putting the unresolved decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the spotlight after years on the back burner. During the Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States, Mansour said, countries were blocked from joining the UN, but they all eventually became members, including North Korea. The US doesn't recognise North Korea but didn't block its admission, he said, and asked why conditions

Australia outraged by death of aid worker in Israeli airstrike, says PM

The strike killed citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland as well as Palestinians and a dual citizen of the US and Canada

Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza's main hospital after 2-week raid

Palestinian residents say the Israeli military has withdrawn from Gaza's main hospital after a two-week raid, leaving behind a vast swath of destruction. Hundreds of people returned to Shifa Hospital and the surrounding area after the withdrawal early Monday, where they found bodies inside and outside of the facility. The military has described the raid as one of the most successful operations of the nearly six-month war, saying it killed scores of Hamas and other militants, as well as seizing valuable intelligence. Mohammed Mahdi, who was among those who returned, described a scene of total destruction. He said several buildings had been burned down. He counted six bodies in the area, including two in the hospital courtyard. Another resident, Yahia Abu Auf, said there were still patients, medical workers and displaced people sheltering inside the medical compound. He said several patients had been taken to the nearby Ahli Hospital. He said army bulldozers had plowed over a makeshi

Israel intensifies air strikes on Hamas, operations in hospital compound

Targets included tunnel shafts, terror infrastructure, and a launching area from where rockets were fired at the Israeli city of Sderot

Palestinian Prez appoints ex-top govt official Mohammad Mustafa as new PM

Mohammad Mustafa (69) will have several weeks to appoint his cabinet. During the process, outgoing Palestinian PM Mohammed Shtayyeh will remain at the helm

67 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Ramadan begins amid food shortage

With no end to fighting sight, Palestinians in Gaza began fasting Monday for the holy month of Ramadan as hunger worsens across the strip and pressure grows on Israel over the growing humanitarian crisis. The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a cease-fire ahead of the normally joyous month of dawn-to-dusk fasting that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid. However, the cease-fire talks stalled last week. Gaza's Health Ministry said the bodies of 67 people killed by Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll to more than 31,112 since the war began. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says that women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly ...

Israel will halt Gaza war during Ramadan if hostage deal is fixed: Biden

United States President Joe Biden said Israel would be willing to halt its war on Hamas in Gaza during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan if a deal is reached to release some of the hostages held by the militants. Negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar are working on a framework deal under which Hamas would free some of the dozens of hostages it holds, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a six-week halt in fighting. During the temporary pause, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages. If a deal is reached in the coming days, this timeline would also include Ramadan, which starts around March 10. Biden's comments in an interview taped Monday for NBC's Late Night With Seth Meyers were the most detailed yet about a possible halt in fighting during the holy month a time of heightened religious observance and dawn-to-dusk fasting. Ramadan's coming up and there has been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engag

Palestinian PM submits govt's resignation in a bid to usher reforms

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh says his government is resigning, in a move that could open the door to US-backed reforms in the Palestinian Authority. President Mahmoud Abbas must still decide whether he accepts Shtayyeh and his government's resignation, tendered Monday. But the move signals a willingness by the Western-backed Palestinian leadership to accept shake-up that might usher in reforms seen as necessary to revitalize the Palestinian Authority. The US wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza once the war is over. But many obstacles remain to making that vision a reality.

UAE warns Israel against launching military operation in Rafah, Gaza

The Ministry reaffirmed the UAE's position, calling for a return to negotiations to achieve the two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state

'Good progress' in talks on freeing hostages and Gaza ceasefire: Qatari PM

According to Al Thani, Hamas needs to reach "to a place where they engage positively and constructively in the process"

US struggling to sway Israel on its treatment of Palestinians. Here's why

President Joe Biden's administration keeps pressing Israel to reengage with Palestinians as partners once fighting in Gaza is over and support their eventual independence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying no. Even on actions to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the two allies are far apart. That cycle, frustrating to much of the world, seems unlikely to end, despite U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's fourth urgent diplomatic trip this week to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war started. Though the United States, as Israel's closest ally and largest weapons supplier, has stronger means to apply pressure on Israel, it shows no willingness to use them. For both Netanyahu and Biden, popular opinion at home and deep personal conviction in the rightness of Israel's cause, and each man's battle for his own short-term political survival, are all combining to make it appear unlikely that Netanyahu will yield much on the U.S. demands regarding the ..

US retailer Target sees disruption of India supplies due to Red Sea crisis

Many retailers around the globe are stocking up on goods and seeking air or rail alternatives in a bid to avoid empty shelves during spring

US State Secy Blinken meets Palestinian leader Abbas in occupied West Bank

The visit came a day after talks on Tuesday with Israeli PM Netanyahu and his war cabinet over Israel's war with Hamas, regional tensions and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel taps top legal minds, a Holocaust survivor, to battle genocide claim

Israel is sending top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to The Hague this week to counter allegations that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The robust engagement with the International Court of Justice is unusual for Israel, which normally considers the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased. The decision to participate rather than boycott reflects Israeli concerns that the judges could order Israel to halt its war against Hamas and tarnish its image internationally. Israel cannot run away from an accusation that is so serious, said Alon Liel, a former director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry and a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa. Israel, which as one of the parties in the case is entitled to send a judge, has tapped a former Israeli Supreme Court chief justice to join the court's 15 regular members who will rule on the accusation. It has also enlisted a British barrister and lauded international law expert as

Israeli jets pound central Gaza as Netanyahu indicates longer war

A Red Crescent video published on Sunday showed the chaotic aftermath of strikes in central Gaza, as rescuers worked in the dark to carry an injured child from smoking rubble

Nvidia raises $15 mn for non profits helping Israel-Hamar war-hit civilians

Employees from more than 30 countries donated a total of $5 million, which the company matched and doubled to $10 million under a special program introduced to help those affected by the war

Rising civilian death toll: US pushes Israel for Gaza strategy shift

Hospitals in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah reported a new influx of dead and wounded early on Friday including two children

Israeli president says 'two-state solution' not a solution: What is it?

The two-state solution means establishing two separate states for the people of two communities, i.e., Israel for the Jewish and Palestine for the Palestinian people

Israel hits South Gaza town, one of last areas where Palestinians can flee

Israeli forces struck the southern Gaza town of Rafah twice overnight, residents said Thursday, sowing fear in one of the last places where civilians could seek refuge after Israel widened its offensive against Hamas to areas already packed with displaced people. United Nations officials say there are no safe places in Gaza. Heavy fighting in and around the southern city of Khan Younis has displaced tens of thousands of people in a territory where over 80% of the population has already fled their homes, and cut most of Gaza off from deliveries of food, water and other vital aid. Two months into the war, the grinding offensive has set off renewed alarms internationally, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres using a rarely exercised power to warn the Security Council of an impending humanitarian catastrophe and urging members to demand a cease-fire. The United States has called on Israel to limit civilian deaths and displacement, saying too many Palestinians were killed when it