Category Archives: Israel-Gaza war

CIA chief to discuss fresh Gaza hostage deal and ceasefire with Israel and Qatar – reports

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William Burns and the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service will reportedly meet Qatari prime minister in Europe as part of efforts to broker a deal

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency and his Israeli counterpart will meet Qatari officials in coming days for talks on a second potential Gaza hostage deal and pause in fighting, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

William Burns and the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will meet Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend, one official briefed on the meeting told the news agency.

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Israel braces for interim ICJ ruling on allegation of genocide in Gaza

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Behind bullish statements officials have been examining potential scenarios for impending decision in case brought by South Africa

Israeli officials are bracing for an expected interim ruling from the international court of justice on South Africa’s allegation that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide against Palestinians, an emergency measure that could expose Israel to international sanctions.

The UN’s top court, which settles disputes between states, said on Wednesday that it would hand down its landmark ruling on Friday. The Hague-based body could order Israel to stop its three-month campaign in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on 7 October. ICJ rulings are binding and cannot be appealed against, although the court has no power to enforce them.

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Border deal ‘really close’, says Kyrsten Sinema amid Democrats’ anger over reports of Trump meddling – as it happened

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Shifting to federal court in Washington DC, the judge Amit Mehta is on the verge of sentencing the former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro for ignoring a subpoena from the January 6 committee, Politico reports.

He was convicted of contempt of Congress charges last September:

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Middle East crisis: US and UK impose new sanctions on Houthi leaders; Nasser hospital ‘runs out of food, anaesthetics and painkillers’ – as it happened

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At least four senior figures from Houthis subject to asset freezes and travel bans, say reports; Gaza-run health ministry says situation in Khan Younis hospital ‘extremely catastrophic’

The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, said the conflict in Gaza shows the UN and other world bodies have lost their effectiveness and called on Muslim countries and other nations to unite for a new “fair world order”, reports Al Jazeera.

Reporting from Ankara on Wednesday, where Raisi met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Al Jazeera journalist Sinem Köseoğlu said the main agenda of the meeting had been Israel’s war on Gaza.

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Qatar accuses Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing Gaza mediation efforts

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Doha ‘appalled’ at leaked remarks allegedly by Israeli PM in which he said Qatar’s role in talks was ‘problematic’

Qatar has harshly criticised Israel’s prime minister, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas for personal political gain.

Doha’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Wednesday night that his government was “appalled” by leaked remarks allegedly made by Netanyahu in which he criticised the country’s mediation efforts over the war in Gaza, adding that the Israeli leader’s comments were “irresponsible and destructive” but “not surprising”.

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Thousands trapped in Gaza hospitals as Israeli troops encircle Khan Younis

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Israel’s assault on Gaza’s second-largest city continues as Hamas delegation travels to Egypt for ceasefire and hostage-release talks

Thousands of people sheltering in hospitals in Khan Younis are now trapped by Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip’s second largest city, even as a delegation from Hamas travelled to Egypt for the latest round of talks aimed at another ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it had “encircled” the southern city of Khan Younis after two days of heavy fighting, in what Israeli officials have described as the last large ground assault in the three-month-old war before a shift to “lower intensity” operations aimed at eradicating the Palestinian militant group.

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More than one-third of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, poll shows

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Poll released Wednesday shows divisions by age and political lines, with 35% overall saying campaign against Palestinians is genocide

More than one in three Americans believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a poll published on Wednesday has found.

According to the Economist/YouGov poll, roughly equal numbers of adults believe Israel’s military campaign against Palestinians, which is estimated to have killed more than 25,000 people since 7 October, amounts to genocide: 35% say it is, 36% say it isn’t, with 29% undecided.

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ICJ to deliver interim ruling on genocide case against Israel on Friday

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South Africa’s foreign minister will fly to The Hague for the ruling in a possible sign of Pretoria’s confidence in its case

South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, is flying to The Hague to be present on Friday when the international court of justice (ICJ) delivers its highly anticipated verdict on South Africa’s request for an interim ruling in its genocide case against Israel.

The ruling, if granted, would probably take the form of an order to Israel to announce a ceasefire in Gaza and allow more UN humanitarian aid into the country.

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UN secretary general says Israel’s rejection of two-state solution is ‘unacceptable’

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António Guterres says denial of Palestinian state will embolden extremists at highly charged security council debate

Israel’s “clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution” is unacceptable, and could only prolong the conflict in Gaza, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has said, at the launch of a highly charged security council debate focusing on aid shipments to Gaza.

Gutteres told the meeting in New York on Monday that the denial of a Palestinian state will only embolden extremists everywhere and indefinitely extend the conflict.

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Twenty-four soldiers killed in deadliest day for Israeli forces of Gaza war

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Deaths come as talks of ceasefire increase and pressure rises on Netanyahu over leadership and handling of war effort

Twenty-four Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, by far the biggest single-day Israeli death toll in the three-month war against Hamas, as talks about a ceasefire intensified and Palestinian casualties continued to climb.

The deaths came amid fierce fighting around the southern city of Khan Younis, with dozens of Palestinians killed and wounded. The Israeli casualties are likely to increase domestic pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu over his leadership and handling of the war effort.

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Netanyahu faces hostages dilemma as Israeli political debate heats up

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Deal to free hostages could give boost to unpopular PM but concessions could cost him key allies’ support

As Israeli military casualties mount in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. The Israeli prime minister’s popularity has plummeted and polls suggest that in an immediate election his rightwing Likud party would lose half its seats to a resurgent centrist opposition.

Voters have not forgotten the glaring failures that allowed Hamas to attack southern Israel from Gaza on 7 October, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 240. But the lack of tangible results from the Israeli offensive in Gaza that was supposed to bring “total victory” over Hamas is now important too.

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Houthis say US-UK airstrikes will not go unpunished or unanswered

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Houthi leaders reiterate commitment to targeting Israel-linked ships in Red Sea after attacks they say targeted Yemeni capital

Houthi leaders have vowed defiance in the face of a new wave of attacks they say targeted five governorates, including the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and surrounding areas.

A Houthi army spokesperson, Brig Gen Yahya Saree, said the allied attacks would not go unpunished or unanswered. Houthi leaders also repeated that their threats to ships in the Red Sea were solely directed at stopping commercial ships trading with Israel due to its bombardment of Gaza. They insisted other ships had free passage. Some ships navigating the Red Sea have put out identifiers saying they are “not Israeli connected”.

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Labor urged to recognise Palestinian state ‘without further delay’ after Israeli PM’s rejection of two-state solution

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Palestinian diplomat Izzat Abdulhadi says Australia must do more than express disappointment at Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance

A Palestinian diplomat has implored the Australian government to recognise Palestine as a state “without further delay” after what he called the Israeli prime minister’s “appalling but not surprising” rejection of a two-state solution.

The comments from the head of the general delegation of Palestine to Australia, Izzat Abdulhadi, come after two Labor MPs also urged the government to fast-track recognition of Palestinian statehood, whereas the Coalition said the immediate priority should be “security and stability”.

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US calls on Israel to protect staff and patients as military reportedly storms Gaza hospital

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Medical staff arrested at al-Khair hospital, Palestinian officials say, while al-Amal hospital surrounded by tanks

The White House has called on Israel to protect innocent people as Palestinian officials said the Israeli military had stormed one hospital in Gaza and placed another under siege.

National security council spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday Israel had a right to defend itself but added: “We expect them to do so in accordance with international law and to protect innocent people in hospitals, medical staff and patients as well, as much as possible.”

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US and UK strike Yemen in latest attempt to stop Houthis targeting ships

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US officials confirmed attacks amid footage of explosions around the capital city of Sana’a

The US and the UK have conducted a further round of strikes against the Houthis in an attempt to stop the rebel group targeting shipping in the southern Red Sea.

A joint statement from both countries said that they had conducted “an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes” against eight Houthi targets, with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.

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Families of four Israeli hostages urge Rishi Sunak to push for their release

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UK PM urged to apply pressure on Qatar to help free Liri Albag, Eliya Cohen and Ziv and Gali Berman

The families of four Israeli hostages have urged Rishi Sunak to apply pressure on Qatar to help free their loved ones.

The father of 18-year-old Liri Albag, the older brother of 26-year-old twins Ziv and Gali Berman, and the girlfriend of Eliya Cohen, also 26, pleaded with the prime minister to do everything in his power to secure their release after 108 days in captivity.

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EU foreign policy chief says Israel failed to engage with Brussels peace summit

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Josep Borrell says minister came to meeting with plans for an artificial island off Gaza and a railway to India

One of the EU’s most senior diplomats has criticised the Israeli foreign minister for not properly engaging with a summit in Brussels designed to pave the way for a peace plan in the Middle East.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, told reporters Israel Katz had come to the meeting to present plans for an artificial island off the coast of Gaza and a railway to India, concepts that had nothing to do with the peace talks.

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Middle East crisis: US officials reject Houthi claim they attacked American ship in Gulf of Aden – as it happened

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The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip “could not be worse”, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Monday.

“From now on I will not talk about the peace process, but I want a two-state-solution process”, Borell was quoted by Reuters as saying ahead of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting.

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Benjamin Netanyahu’s denial of Palestinian statehood undermines prospects for peace, Labor MP says

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Criticism from the assistant foreign minister, Tim Watts, comes as backbencher says Israeli prime minister ‘is not a partner for peace’

The Australian government has said it is deeply disappointed by comments from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he rebuffed international calls for a pathway to a Palestinian state.

The assistant foreign minister, Tim Watts, said the remarks undermined prospects for peace. He also urged Israel to “live up to” its commitment to uphold international law in its military operations in Gaza, where the death toll has passed 25,000 Palestinians.

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Hamas official says ‘no chance’ hostages will return to Israel after Netanyahu rejects deal

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The prime minister said he rejected the terms of a deal which included Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza

The prospect of a deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas appeared to recede on Sunday after a Hamas official said Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of their conditions meant there was “no chance” of their return.

Netanyahu had earlier dismissed the militant group’s conditions to end the war, which he said included leaving Hamas in power and Israel’s complete withdrawal from the territory.

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