Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas conflict with a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said Monday. The proposal, worked out with the … Read more
Nasseem was separated from his relatives amid continued heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza Gaza: Nassem Mohra, a 10-year-old kidney patient, fears he may never see his family again after Israeli forces arrested his father while he was taking the boy to a hospital in southern Gaza for urgent dialysis treatment. A neighbour brought Nassem, who … Read more
Gaza’s deadliest ever war cast a pall of gloom over Bethlehem on Christmas Eve Sunday, as the death toll spiralled and Israel shifted its efforts against Hamas to the besieged territory’s south. The health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip said an Israeli strike late Sunday killed at least 70 people in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in … Read more
The U.N. Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution Friday calling for immediate speeded-up aid deliveries to hungry and desperate civilians in Gaza — but without the original call for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas. The long-delayed vote in the 15-member council was 13-0 with the United States and Russia abstaining. The vote came … Read more
The United Nations Security Council on Friday passed a resolution aimed at increasing humanitarian aid for Gaza — overcoming intense resistance from the U.S. that ultimately forced diplomats from multiple countries to weaken the potential effect of the initiative. The U.S. abstained from voting on the resolution while 13 other council members voted for it. … Read more
According to Israeli authorities, 129 hostages remain held in Gaza. Palestinian Territories: Hamas’s military wing on Thursday said Israel’s objective to eliminate the militant group in Gaza was “doomed to fail”, more than two months into war triggered by attacks on Israel. Abu Obeida, spokesman for Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, also said in an audio recording … Read more
There is not sufficient public evidence to support Israel’s claims that a Gaza hospital the country raided had served as a Hamas command center, according to a Washington Post investigation published Thursday. The Israeli raid on al-Shifa Hospital last month, which was preceded by an evacuation order aimed at thousands of people sheltering at the … Read more
An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 “Dreamliner” aircraft displays Israeli and Emirati flags after landing upon arrival from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on the company’s first scheduled commercial flight from Abu Dhabi, on April 6, 2021. JACK GUEZ | AFP | Getty Images DUBAI, United Arab Emirates … Read more
A group of six House Democrats with national security backgrounds this week called on President Joe Biden to pressure Israel to make “an immediate and significant shift of military strategy and tactics in Gaza,” amid renewed pressure on the country to enact a new cease-fire. The Democratic lawmakers warned that the rising civilian death toll … Read more
The leader of Hamas made his first visit to Egypt for more than a month on Wednesday, a rare personal intervention in diplomacy amid what a source described as intensive talks on a new ceasefire to let aid reach Gaza and get hostages freed. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who normally resides in Qatar, typically intervenes … Read more
