Category Archives: Hamas

Starmer has avoided state-visit bear traps but has he changed any of Trump’s thinking?

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PM cannot afford for US president to walk away from Ukraine crisis and must persuade him to publicly support specific Gaza plans

With bear traps avoided and fireworks unlit, Keir Starmer will be delighted that his press conference with Donald Trump lent credence to his claim to be America’s first partner in defence, trade and now technology.

Trump, for his part, got the “great pictures” he wanted and was on his best low-wattage behaviour. He said he did not disagree with his host about much, save Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state. And he teetered on the edge of being diplomatic, at least until he advised Starmer to use the military to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

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Israel launches ground offensive deep inside Gaza City

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IDF says advance aims to ‘dismantle Hamas’s grip’ as UN report says Israel has committed genocide in territory

Israel unleashed its long-threatened ground offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, sending tanks and remote-controlled armoured cars packed with explosives into its streets, in defiance of international criticism and the findings of a UN commission that it was committing genocide in the Palestinian territory.

“Gaza is burning. The IDF is striking terror infrastructure with an iron fist,” Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X as the attack was launched in the early hours of the morning, adding: “We will not relent until the mission is completed.”

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Gulf leaders call on Trump to rein in Israel after Qatar emergency summit

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Arab states say US should use its leverage and influence as they promise to ‘activate joint defence mechanisms’

Gulf leaders meeting at an emergency summit in Qatar have called on the Trump administration to use its leverage to rein in Israel following the unprecedented Israeli attempt last Tuesday to assassinate Hamas negotiators in Doha.

Speaking after the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the group’s secretary general, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, said: “We … expect our strategic partners in the United States to use their influence on Israel in order for it to stop this behaviour … they have leverage and influence on Israel, and it’s about time that this leverage and influence be used.”

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Rubio says Netanyahu has full support of US over plans to destroy Hamas

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US secretary of state, who is visiting Jerusalem, warns of ‘Israeli counter reaction’ if allies recognise Palestine

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has put the Trump administration’s full support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem, saying Washington’s priorities were the liberation of Israeli hostages and the destruction of Hamas.

In public remarks standing alongside Netanyahu, Rubio did not mention the possibility of a ceasefire, and did not repeat his earlier criticism of Israel for carrying out an airstrike last week aimed at Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of another close US ally, Qatar.

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US’s Rubio says efforts to recognise Palestinian state make it harder to end war – as it happened

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That brings the press conference to a close, as Netanyahu takes a moment to acknowledge both his and Rubio’s staff who are sat in the front row.

The main takeaways from the event, which lasted just over half an hour, are that the US views international efforts to recognise the Palestinian state as a hindrance to peace efforts and that Netanyahu refuses to rule out future strikes on Hamas leaders – wherever they are.

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Rubio in Israel for talks to limit diplomatic damage over Qatar strikes

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US secretary of state says Trump ‘not happy’ about Israeli attack that targeted Hamas officials in Doha for Gaza talks

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has held talks in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at limiting the diplomatic damage to both countries by Israel’s attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders in Qatar, its continued demolition of Gaza, and the accelerated expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli prime minister took Rubio on a tour of the Western Wall, where both men placed written prayers between the stones, before taking his American visitor underground to view archeological excavations.

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Hamas and Hezbollah among groups relisted by Australia for counter-terrorism sanctions

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Total of 33 groups and 10 individuals face continued financing sanctions as government adds new ‘entity linked to Hamas’

A trio of extremist organisations including Hamas, along with other entities and individuals, have been relisted for counter-terrorism financing sanctions.

Palestinian groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Lebanese group Hezbollah, along with 30 other entities and 10 individuals, have been relisted by the federal government for sanctions.

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Meeting with Keir Starmer was ‘tough’, says Israeli president

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Isaac Herzog says ‘when allies meet they can argue’ after some Labour MPs condemn Downing Street meeting

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, had a “tough” set of exchanges over humanitarian aid in Gaza at a Downing Street meeting, amid street protests demanding Herzog’s arrest as a war criminal.

Herzog, speaking to the Chatham House thinktank immediately after the meeting, said he had offered the British government a fact-finding mission to look at the levels of aid entering Gaza. He denied there was any famine and blamed the high civilian death toll on Hamas placing missiles in living rooms.

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Israeli military kills at least 41 people as it continues to order evacuation of Gaza City

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Many of 1 million residents say they will not leave as they do not believe al-Mawasi humanitarian zone is safe

The Israeli military has killed at least 41 people in Gaza, including 12 aid seekers, over the last 24 hours as it continued to order the population of Gaza City to evacuate before its planned offensive.

The evacuation orders were accompanied by intensified Israeli bombing of the city, the Israeli military interspersing orders with announcements of high-rise towers they had bombed.

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Israel’s expanded assault on Gaza City will endanger lives of ‘countless civilians’, charity warns – Middle East crisis live

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Warning from ActionAid comes after Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army told residents of Gaza City to leave

Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor

Fifty-one Israeli arms makers and the US defence giant behind the F-35 fighters used to bomb Gaza are among the 1,600 exhibitors at the biennial DSEI trade show that begins in London’s Docklands on Tuesday.

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Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas to accept Gaza ceasefire deal

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President says ‘the Israelis have accepted my terms’ and urges release of hostages to secure peace agreement

Donald Trump on Sunday issued what he called his “last warning” to Hamas, urging the Palestinian militant group to accept a deal to release hostages from Gaza.

“The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

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US and UN discuss Gaza reconstruction plan before general assembly

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Talks aimed at preventing row at UN conference, where several countries plan to recognise state of Palestine

A potential UN-endorsed reconstruction plan for Gaza, including a one-year technocratic government, an international stabilisation force, disarmament of Hamas and a rejection of mass deportation of Palestinians, is being discussed with the US to prevent the UN general assembly descending into a bitter row about the symbolic recognition of Palestine as a state.

It is almost certain that the UK, France, Canada, Belgium and Malta will recognise the state of Palestine at a UN conference on 22 September to be held on the sidelines of the general assembly, in the week when world leaders deliver major speeches.

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Seven Israeli soldiers wounded in explosion in Gaza City, IDF says

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Armoured vehicle hit in Zeitoun neighbourhood as Arab media reports intense clashes in the area

Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in an explosion targeting an armoured vehicle in Gaza City on Friday night, the Israel Defense Forces have said.

The soldiers were wounded while operating in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, which has been the site of intense Israeli military activity in recent weeks.

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US soldiers could be liable for war crimes in Gaza. Will they be prosecuted?

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Human Rights Watch says US military personnel could face criminal prosecution for assisting Israel’s war in Gaza

Human rights groups and activists who protest against continued US support for Israel have focused primarily on the flow of US weapons, warning that continuing to send weapons to a state which has been documented using them in probable war crimes makes the US complicit.

However, this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighted another facet of US military support for Israel: military cooperation and intelligence sharing.

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UN and Red Cross warn of catastrophe if Israel launches Gaza City offensive

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Netanyahu tells soldiers he has approved takeover plan as aid groups advised to prepare for forced displacement

The International Red Cross and UN have warned of an impending catastrophe in the Gaza Strip if Israel launches an offensive to take over Gaza City, as the Israeli military told medical and aid groups in the Palestinian territory to prepare for imminent forced displacement.

At the same time a concerted campaign of international opposition to Israel’s defiance of ceasefire calls and its approval of a huge new illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank gathered pace, with the UK summoning Israel’s ambassador and joining 20 other countries in condemning the settlement plan as a “violation of international law”.

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Israel to call up 60,000 reservists as it launches ‘first stages’ of attack on Gaza City – Middle East crisis live

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Troops already holding outskirts of territory’s capital, military says, while Israel approves huge new illegal settlement splitting West Bank

Iran launched its first military exercise since the end of its 12-day war with Israel, state television reported Thursday, with navy vessels launching missiles at targets at sea in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

While such drills are routine in the Islamic Republic, the “Sustainable Power 1404” exercise comes as authorities in Iran are trying to project strength in the wake of a war that saw Israel destroy air defense systems and bomb nuclear facilities and other sites.

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Israel to call up around 60,000 reservists before planned offensive on Gaza City, says Israeli military official – as it happened

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Israel is “killing all prospects” for peace in the Middle East, Jordan’s foreign minister has said amid escalating international outrage over Israel’s plans for a new large-scale offensive in Gaza City and plans to massively expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Ayman Safadi made his remarks during a visit to Moscow on the same day that the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, approved a plan to conquer Gaza City, an urban area home to hundreds of thousands of people in the north of the Palestinian territory.

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Israel to respond by Friday over Gaza truce plan accepted by Hamas

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Israel under pressure to accept ceasefire proposal that is said to be almost identical to earlier US-backed plan

Israel has said it will deliver its response to international mediators by Friday over a new Gaza ceasefire plan accepted by Hamas amid mounting pressure for a truce in a war that has claimed more than 62,000 Palestinian lives.

After mass protests in Israel demanding a deal to secure the release of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza, it appeared that Hamas had reduced its demands over a prisoners-for-hostages exchange as well as over the scope of an Israeli-demanded “security buffer zone”.

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Hamas says it accepts proposal for Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages

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Deal would include 60-day halt to violence and exchange of half of living Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners

Hamas officials say they have accepted a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal that would include the release of half of the approximately 20 remaining living Israeli hostages as part of a phased resolution to the war, as Gaza health officials said 62,000 Palestinians had died in the 22 months of war.

The proposed deal follows negotiations between Hamas and Egyptian and Qatari officials that have been taking place in Cairo in recent days, and comes after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was confronted on Sunday by Israel’s biggest protests of the war, which called for a deal to secure the release of the hostages.

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Albanese says ‘Hamas will engage in propaganda’ amid confusion over statements on Palestinian statehood

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Hamas account claims quotes attributed to co-founder Hassan Yousef unlikely to be true given he’s been in jail since October 2023

Anthony Albanese has warned media about Hamas propaganda, amid confusion regarding statements reportedly made by the terrorist group in relation to Australia’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.

Nine newspapers reported on Wednesday that the Hamas co-founder and senior official Hassan Yousef had welcomed the decision, praising Australia’s “political courage” and calling on other countries to follow its example.

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