Page 14 - Palestine

Europeans, Arab nations launch initiative for independent Palestinian state

European, Arab and Islamic nations have launched an initiative to strengthen support for a Palestinian state and its institutions, and prepare for a future after the war in Gaza and escalating conflict in Lebanon, Norway's foreign minister said Friday. Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press that there is a growing consensus in the international community from Western countries, from Arab countries, from the Global South, that we need to establish a Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian government, a Palestinian state and the Palestinian state has to be recognized. Eide said many issues need to be addressed, including the security interests of Israel and the Palestinians, recognition and normalization of relations after decades of conflict and the demobilization of Hamas as a military group. These are pieces of a bigger puzzle, Norway's chief diplomat said. And you can't just come in there with one of these pieces, because it only works if all the pieces are laid in place. But e

Israeli strike on northern Gaza school kills 11, injures 22 others

An Israeli airstrike hit a school sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 22, including women and children, the territory's Health Ministry said. The Israeli military confirmed it struck the school in the Jabalia refugee camp, saying it was targeting Hamas militants inside who were planning attacks on Israeli troops. The claim couldn't be independently confirmed. Footage from the al-Falouja School showed rescue workers rushing casualties out of the school compound amid widespread debris and crowds of people. One video showed men wrapping a mangled, severed torso in a plastic sheet and putting body parts into a cooler. Gaza's Health Ministry didn't immediately say how many of the casualties were women and children. Israeli forces have repeatedly struck schools, saying Hamas fighters use them as command centres to plan attacks. The military says it uses precision weapons to avoid civilian casualties. The ..

Israel's Lebanon move frustrates US; Netanyahu to address UN today: Updates

Israeli PM rejects US-backed ceasefire with Hezbollah, raising fears of wider conflict in West Asia amid Gaza war. Netanyahu to address the UN General Assembly in New York today

Explained: Who is Jhumpa Lahiri, why did she refuse Isamu Noguchi award?

The New York-based museum, which was found by Japanese American designer and sculptor, recently told employees not to wear clothes expressing political messages, or slogans

Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri rejects award over museums kaffiyeh ban

Indian-origin author Jhumpa Lahiri declined the prestigious 2024 Isamu Noguchi Award in protest of the Noguchi Museum's recently implemented dress code policy

News updates: Report of MSP panel to be made public soon, says central govt

Latest news updates: Catch all the latest news developments from across the world here

Hezbollah and Hamas leaders who have been assassinated since Gaza war

Mohammed Nasser was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 3. Israel claimed responsibility, saying he headed a unit responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israel

3 hostages recovered earlier likely killed in Nov strike: Israeli military

The Israeli military says there is a high probability that three hostages found dead months ago were killed in an Israeli airstrike. The army on Sunday announced the conclusions of its investigation into the deaths of Cpl. Nik Beizer, Sgt. Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano. It said investigations had determined that the three were likely killed in a November airstrike that also killed a senior Hamas militant, Ahmed Ghandour. All three of the hostages were kidnapped in Hamas' October 7 attack. Their bodies were recovered in December, but the cause of death was only recently determined. In its report, the army said there was a high probability they were killed in the strike, based on where the bodies were recovered, pathological reports and other intelligence. But it said, "it is not possible to definitely determine the circumstances of their deaths." The conclusions could add pressure on the government to strike a deal to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Critics say it

Why Palestine dies: Powerful reflections on the conflict and call for peace

Raja Shehadeh's latest book provides a profound analysis of Israel-Palestine conflict, combining personal stories with political history, while critiquing global inaction and exposing false narratives

Israeli airstrikes hit UN school, homes in Gaza, 34 dead, say hospitals

Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight and Wednesday hit a UN school sheltering displaced Palestinian families as well as two homes, killing at least 34 people, including 19 women and children, hospital officials said. The war in Gaza is now into its 11th month, with tens of thousands of people dead, and international efforts to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and the Hamas militant group have repeatedly stalled as they accuse each other of making additional and unacceptable demands. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops launched raids in several towns backed by airstrikes, continuing a crackdown across the territory that the military says is targeting militants but has wrecked neighbourhoods and killed civilians. One airstrike killed five people the military said were militants threatening its troops. A second strike on a car killed at least three people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. An attacker crashed a fuel truck into a West Bank bus stop near the Israeli ...

Israeli missile strike on Gaza kills at least 40: Palestinian authorities

Israel's military conducted a missile strike early Tuesday that targeted a humanitarian area in the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians there, authorities said. Details about the strike in the Mawasi coastal community just west of Khan Younis that the Israeli military has designated as a humanitarian zone remained unclear. The area is home to many Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war in which the Israeli military has devastated the wider Gaza Strip after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The Israeli military described the strike as hitting significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center, without immediately providing additional evidence. The Palestinian news agency WAFA said dozens had been killed and wounded, without providing precise casualty figures. It described five missiles striking the area, cratering the ground. The Israeli military said it used precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional means it did

Shooting attack at West Bank-Jordan border crossing kills 3 Israelis

Three people were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the three men who were killed were in their 50s. There was no immediate comment from Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994 but is fiercely critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. The Allenby crossing is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' Oct 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on ...

Israeli forces appear to withdraw from West Bank camp after military ops

Israeli forces appeared Friday to have withdrawn from the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, after a more-than weeklong military operation that has left dozens dead and a trail of destruction. Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the camp from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads, and an Associated Press reporter inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining troops inside as dawn broke early Friday morning. Israel's military had no immediate comment but said it would issue a statement later in the day. It was not clear whether the apparent withdrawal was only a temporary measure to regroup forces. Hundreds of Israeli troops have been involved for more than a week in what has been their deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began, employing what the United Nations called lethal war-like tactics. Their focus has been the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian militancy that has grown since th

Israel's main labour union calls strike as pressure mounts for hostage deal

High-tech companies, manufacturers to join strike. Protesters block key roads to pressure government

Israel's main labour union calls strike as pressure mounts for hostage deal

High-tech companies, manufacturers to join strike. Protesters block key roads to pressure government

Israeli army kills five more West Bank militants, including local commander

The Israeli military says it has killed five more militants in a large-scale operation in the occupied West Bank, including a well-known local commander. There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation of the death of Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, a commander in the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Nur Shams refugee camp. The military said he was killed along with four other militants in a shootout with Israeli forces early Thursday after the five had hidden inside a mosque. It said Abu Shujaa was linked to numerous attacks on Israelis, including a deadly shooting in June, and was planning more. He was reported killed earlier this year, but then made a surprise appearance at the funeral of other militants, where he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a cheering crowd. The military said another militant was arrested in the operation in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, and that a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police was lightly wounded. Israel launched a large-scale

Houthis will allow rescue ships to aid tanker ablaze in Red Sea: Iran

Yemen's Houthi rebels have agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to assist a Greek-flagged oil tanker that remains ablaze in the Red Sea in consideration of humanitarian and environmental concerns, Iran's UN Mission said late Wednesday. The Pentagon said Tuesday that attempts by an unidentified third party to send two tugboats to the stricken Sounion were blocked by the Iranian-backed Houthis. Air Force Maj Gen Pat Ryder told reporters that the Houthis' actions demonstrate their blatant disregard for not only human life, but also for the potential environmental catastrophe that this presents. Last week's attack on the Sounion marked the most serious assault in weeks by the Houthi rebels, who continue to target shipping through the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion in trade that typically passes through the region, as well as halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen. Iran's UN Mission ...

Israeli raids in occupied West Bank have killed 9: Palestinian officials

Israel launched raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, where its forces killed at least nine Palestinians and sealed off the volatile city of Jenin, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the ongoing war there. Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire with the Israeli military. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp. The Israeli military confirmed it was operating in the West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem but did not provide further details. Over 600 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began over 10 months ago, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have died during such raids, which often trigger gunbattles with ...

Israel evacuation orders cram Palestinians into shrinking humanitarian zone

Young girls screamed and elbowed each other in a crush of bodies in southern Gaza, trying desperately to reach the front of the food line. Men doled out rice and chicken as fast as they could, platefuls of the nourishment falling to the ground in the tumult. Nearby, boys waited to fill plastic containers with water, standing for hours among tents packed so tightly they nearly touched. Hunger and desperation were palpable Friday in the tent camp along the Deir al-Balah beachfront, after a month of successive evacuation orders that have pressed thousands of Palestinians into the area that the Israeli military calls a humanitarian zone. The zone has long been crowded by Palestinians seeking refuge from bombardment, but the situation grows more dire by the day, as waves of evacuees arrive and food and water grow scarce. Over the last month, the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for southern Gaza at an unprecedented pace. At least 84 per cent of Gaza now falls within the ...

Palestinians plan UN resolution enshrining court demand to end Israel hold

The Palestinians said Thursday they are planning to introduce a U.N. General Assembly resolution in September enshrining the recent sweeping ruling by the U.N.'s top court that declared Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful and setting a time frame for it to end. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the U.N. Security Council that the resolution, which would not be legally binding, is essential to spur the end of Israel's occupation. We are sick and tired of waiting, he said. The time for waiting is over. The International Court of Justice on July 19 issued an unprecedented, sweeping condemnation of Israel's rule o ver the lands it captured 57 years ago. It called for the occupation to end and for settlement construction to stop immediately. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon, who spoke to the