Israel will take more territory in Gaza and fight until Hamas is wiped out if the Palestinian militant group keeps refusing to free remaining hostages, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday. He spoke as mediators continued efforts to salvage Gaza’s ceasefire deal shattered by Israel’s renewal of air and ground war on March 18…
Israel’s suspension of goods entering Gaza is taking a toll on the Palestinian enclave, with some bakeries closing and food prices rising, while a cut in the electricity supply could deprive people of clean water, Palestinian officials said. The suspension, which Israel said was aimed at pressuring militant group Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine…
Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Friday it would free the father of the youngest hostages seized in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and two others including a dual US citizen in the next exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon will be handed over on Saturday,…
Qatar has withdrawn as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and warned Hamas that its Doha office “no longer serves its purpose,” senior diplomatic sources told Al Arabiya English on Saturday. Qatar’s foreign ministry said that its efforts in mediating a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas were…
Lebanon’s prime minister accused Israel of rejecting a ceasefire after the Israeli military bombed the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut for the first time this week on Friday. At least 10 strikes hit the southern suburbs before dawn after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings, with AFPTV footage showing explosions and clouds of smoke. “The…
U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, stressed the urgent need to conclude a Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal and pointed to upcoming Cairo talks as crucial, the White House said. Their call followed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s whirlwind trip to the Middle East that ended…
