Tag: Israel Gaza war

Hamas sends delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks with Israel

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A view of New Rafah in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where local residents displaced during security operations in recent years will be housed, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the nearby Gaza Strip, in Rafah, Egypt
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hamas said on May 2 that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza.

After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days. But chances for the deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.

The stakes in the ceasefire negotiations were made clear in a new U.N. report that said if the Israel-Hamas war stops today, it will still take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed by nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza. It warned that the impact of the damage to the economy will set back development for generations and will only get worse with every month fighting continues.

The proposal that U.S. and Egyptian mediators have put to Hamas — apparently with Israel’s acceptance — sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate six-week cease-fire and partial release of Israeli hostages, but also negotiations over a “permanent calm” that includes some sort of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to an Egyptian official. Hamas is seeking guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal and complete end to the war.

Hamas officials have sent mixed signals about the proposal in recent days. But on May 2, its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement that he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and “stressed the positive spirit of the movement in studying the cease-fire proposal.”

The statement said that Hamas negotiators would travel to Cairo “to complete the ongoing discussions with the aim of working forward for an agreement.” Mr. Haniyeh said he had also spoken to the prime minister of Qatar, another key mediator in the process.

The brokers are hopeful that the deal will bring an end to a conflict that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, caused widespread destruction and plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis. They also hope a deal will avert an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought shelter after fleeing battle zones elsewhere in the territory.

If Israel does agree to end the war in return for a full hostage release, it would be a major turnaround. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack stunned Israel, its leaders have vowed not to stop their bombardment and ground offensives until the militant group is destroyed. They also say Israel must keep a military presence in Gaza and security control after the war to ensure Hamas doesn’t rebuild.

Publicly at least, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that is the only acceptable endgame.

He has vowed that even if a cease-fire is reached, Israel will eventually attack Rafah, which he says is Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza. He repeated his determination to do so in talks on May 1 with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Israel on a regional tour to push the deal through.

The agreement’s immediate fate hinges on whether Hamas will accept uncertainty over the final phases to bring the initial six-week pause in fighting — and at least postpone what it is feared would be a devastating assault on Rafah.

Egypt has been privately assuring Hamas that the deal will mean a total end to the war. But the Egyptian official said Hamas says the text’s language is too vague and wants it to specify a complete Israeli pullout from all of Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the internal deliberations.

On May 1 evening, however, the news looked less positive as Osama Hamdan, a top Hamas official, expressed skepticism, saying the group’s initial position was “negative.” Speaking to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, he said that talks were still ongoing but would stop if Israel invades Rafah.

Mr. Blinken hiked up pressure on Hamas to accept, saying Israel had made “very important” compromises.

“There’s no time for further haggling. The deal is there,” Mr. Blinken said on May 1 before leaving for the U.S.

An Israeli airstrike, meanwhile, killed at least five people, including a child, in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The bodies were seen and counted by Associated Press journalists at a hospital.

The war broke out on Oct. 7. when Hamas militants broke into southern Israel and killed over 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, taking around 250 others hostage, some released during a cease-fire on November.

The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Hamas is believed to still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Since then, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has wreaked vast destruction and brought a humanitarian disaster, with several hundred thousand Palestinians in northern Gaza facing imminent famine, according to the U.N. More than 80% of the population has been driven from their homes.

The “productive basis of the economy has been destroyed” and poverty is rising sharply among Palestinians, according to the report released on May 2 by the United Nations Development Program and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

It said that in 2024, the entire Palestinian economy — including both Gaza and the West Bank — has so far contracted 25.8%. If the war continues, the loss will reach a “staggering” 29% by July, it said. The West Bank economy has been hit by Israel’s decision to cancel the work permits for tens of thousands of laborers who depended on jobs inside Israel.

“These new figures warn that the suffering in Gaza will not end when the war does,” UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said. He warned of a “serious development crisis that jeopardizes the future of generations to come.”

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Israel pummels Gaza after U.S. Congress approves military aid

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April 24, 2024 10:10 pm | Updated 10:10 pm IST – Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories

Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes and artillery fire in its war against Hamas on Wednesday after the U.S. Congress approved $13 billion in military aid.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the Senate’s approval of the aid package already passed by the House of Representatives sent a “strong message to all our enemies” in a post on social media platform X.

U.S.-Israeli relations been strained by Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to send troops into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people are sheltering, many in makeshift encampments.

Also Read | Columbia University cites progress with Gaza war protesters following encampment arrests

Fears are rising that Israel will soon launch an assault on Rafah, which it says is the “last” major Hamas stronghold, but aid groups warn any invasion would create an “apocalyptic situation”.

Early Wednesday, hospital and security sources in Gaza reported Israeli air strikes in Rafah, as well as the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

An AFP correspondent and witnesses also reported heavy bombardment of several areas of northern Gaza during the night, while the Israeli military said its aircraft “struck over 50 targets” over the previous 24 hours.

New tent blocks

Mr. Netanyahu, however, has insisted the assault on Rafah will go ahead.

Citing Egyptian officials briefed on the Israeli plans, the Wall Street Journal said Israel was planning to move civilians from Rafah to nearby Khan Yunis over a period of two to three weeks.

Satellite images shared by Maxar Technologies showed new blocks of tents that had been set up in recent weeks in southern Gaza.

The Journal reported that Israel would then send troops into Rafah gradually, targeting areas where Hamas leaders are thought to be hiding in an operation expected to last six weeks.

Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas government media office said an invasion would be a “crime” and that central Gaza and Khan Yunis “cannot accommodate the numbers of displaced people in Rafah”.

The war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of around 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive that has killed at least 34,262 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

The Israeli army announced the death of a soldier in Gaza, raising its losses to 261 since the ground operation began.

Israel estimates that 129 of the roughly 250 people abducted during the Hamas attack remain in Gaza, including 34 it says are presumed dead.

Hospital bodies

The U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday it was “horrified” by reports of mass graves found at the Gaza Strip’s two biggest hospitals after Israeli sieges and raids.

Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals during the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centres and to hold hostages abducted on October 7. Hamas denies the accusations.

Also Read | The Gaza war needs a smart exit strategy 

Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said nearly 340 bodies were uncovered of people killed and buried by Israeli forces at the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

The Israeli army said claims it had buried Palestinian bodies were “baseless”, without directly addressing allegations that Israeli troops were behind the killings.

It said that “corpses buried by Palestinians” had been examined by Israeli troops searching for hostages and then “returned to their place”.

The European Union backed a call from U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk for an “independent” probe into the deaths at the two hospitals.

“This is something that forces us to call for an independent investigation of all the suspicions and all the circumstances, because indeed it creates the impression that there might have been violations of international human rights committed,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said Wednesday.

U.N. human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said some of the bodies found at Nasser Hospital were allegedly “found with their hands tied and stripped of their clothes”, adding that efforts were underway to corroborate the reports.

Call to renew U.N. agency funding

The war has left much of Gaza’s medical system in ruins, with medics struggling to treat both casualties of the war and people with pre-existing conditions.

Amjad Aleway, an emergency doctor in Gaza City speaking in the ruins of Al-Shifa hospital, told AFP “the number of casualties is overwhelming, and we lack sufficient operating theatres to address them, nor do we have specialised facilities for patients with kidney and heart conditions”.

This image provided by Maxar Technologies, shows a rows of tents built near Khan Younis in Gaza on April 23, 2024.

This image provided by Maxar Technologies, shows a rows of tents built near Khan Younis in Gaza on April 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP

The European Union’s humanitarian chief Janez Lenarcic called on donor governments to fund the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, which has been central to aid operations in Gaza.

His comment came after an independent report found “Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence” for its claim that UNRWA employs “terrorists”.

The report did find “neutrality-related issues”, such as agency staff sharing biased posts on social media.

After the report was released, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called for an investigation into the “blatant disregard” for U.N. operations in Gaza, adding that 180 of the agency’s staff had been killed since the war began.

While some governments have renewed funding for the agency — including Germany, which announced it would resume cooperation on Wednesday — the United States and Britain are among the holdouts.

The White House would “have to see real progress” before it restores funding, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, there has been a surge in deadly violence in the occupied West Bank.

On Wednesday the Israeli military said it had killed a woman during an “attempted stabbing” near Hebron. The Palestinian health ministry identified her as Maimunah Abdel Hamid Harahsheh, 20.

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After mass arrests at Columbia University, pro-Palestinian protests sweep U.S. college campuses

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Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on April 22 as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to defuse campus tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas.

More than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia’s green were arrested last week, and similar encampments have sprouted up at universities around the country as schools struggle with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining safe and inclusive campuses.

NYPD officers from the Strategic Response Group form a wall of protection around Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Michael Gerber and Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kay Daughtry, not in the picture, during a press conference regarding the ongoing pro-Palestinians protest encampment at Columbia University in New York on April 22, 2024. 
U.S. colleges and universities are preparing for end-of-year commencement ceremonies with a unique challenge: providing safety for graduates while honoring the free speech rights of students involved in protests over the Israel-Hamas war
| Photo Credit:
AP

At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters throughout the day Monday. The school said it warned the crowd to leave, then called in the police after the scene became disorderly and the university said it learned of reports of “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents.” Shortly after 8:30 p.m., officers began making arrests.

“It’s a really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus,” said New York University law student Byul Yoon.

“Antisemitism is never ok. That’s absolutely not what we stand for and that’s why there are so many Jewish comrades that are here with us today,” Yoon said

The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group’s Oct. 7 invasion.

Tensions remained high Monday at Columbia, where the campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID and where protests broke out both on campus and outside.

Several hundred students and pro-Palestinian supporters rally at the intersection of Grove and College Streets, in front of Woolsey Hall on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. on April 22, 2024. U.S. colleges and universities are preparing for end-of-year commencement ceremonies with a unique challenge: providing safety for graduates while honoring the free speech rights of students involved in protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

Several hundred students and pro-Palestinian supporters rally at the intersection of Grove and College Streets, in front of Woolsey Hall on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. on April 22, 2024. U.S. colleges and universities are preparing for end-of-year commencement ceremonies with a unique challenge: providing safety for graduates while honoring the free speech rights of students involved in protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
| Photo Credit:
AP

U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was “an enormous encampment of people” who had taken up about a third of the green.

“We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,” she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus. Columbia announced Monday that courses at the Morningside campus will offer virtual options for students when possible, citing safety as their top priority.

A woman inside the campus gates led about two dozen protesters on the street outside in a chant of, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — a charged phrase that can mean vastly different things to different groups. A small group of pro-Israel counter demonstrators protested nearby.

University President Minouche Shafik said in a message to the school community Monday that she was “deeply saddened” by what was happening on campus.

“To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik wrote, noting that students who don’t live on campus should stay away.

A sign sits erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, on April 22, 2024.

A sign sits erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, on April 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. During the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, and at least two-thirds of the dead are children and women.

On Sunday, Elie Buechler, a rabbi for the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative at Columbia, sent a WhatsApp message to nearly 300 Jewish students recommending they go home until it’s safer for them on campus.

The latest developments came ahead of the Monday evening start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Nicholas Baum, a 19-year-old Jewish freshman who lives in a Jewish theological seminary building two blocks from Columbia’s campus, said protesters over the weekend were “calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel.” He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.

“Jews are scared at Columbia. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “There’s been so much vilification of Zionism, and it has spilled over into the vilification of Judaism.”

The protest encampment sprung up at Columbia on Wednesday, the same day that Shafik faced bruising criticism at a congressional hearing from Republicans who said she hadn’t done enough to fight antisemitism. Two other Ivy League presidents resigned months ago following widely criticized testimony they gave to the same committee.

In her statement Monday, Shafik said the Middle East conflict is terrible and that she understands that many are experiencing deep moral distress.

“But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view,” Shafik wrote.

Over the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and faculty will try to find a resolution to the university crisis, noted Shafik, who didn’t say when in-person classes would resume.

U.S. House Republicans from New York urged Shafik to resign, saying in a letter Monday that she had failed to provide a safe learning environment in recent days as “anarchy has engulfed the campus.”

In Massachusetts, a sign said Harvard Yard was closed to the public Monday. It said structures, including tents and tables, were only allowed into the yard with prior permission. “Students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action,” the sign said. Security guards were checking people for school IDs.

The same day, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee said the university’s administration suspended their group. In the suspension notice provided by the student organization, the university wrote that the group’s April 19 demonstration had violated school policy, and that the organization failed to attend required trainings after they were previously put on probation.

The Palestine Solidary Committee said in a statement that they were suspended over technicalities and that the university hadn’t provided written clarification on the university’s policies when asked.

“Harvard has shown us time and again that Palestine remains the exception to free speech,” the group wrote in a statement.

Harvard did not respond to an email request for comment.

At Yale, police officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanor trespassing, said Officer Christian Bruckhart, a New Haven police spokesperson. All were being released on promises to appear in court later, he said.

Protesters set up tents on Beinecke Plaza on Friday and demonstrated over the weekend, calling on Yale to end any investments in defense companies that do business with Israel.

In a statement to the campus community on Sunday, Yale President Peter Salovey said university officials had spoken to the student protesters multiple times about the school’s policies and guidelines, including those regarding speech and allowing access to campus spaces.

School officials said they gave protesters until the end of the weekend to leave Beinecke Plaza. The said they again warned protesters Monday morning and told them that they could face arrest and discipline, including suspension, before police moved in.

A large group of demonstrators regathered after Monday’s arrests at Yale and blocked a street near campus, Bruckhart said. There were no reports of any violence or injuries.

Prahlad Iyengar, an MIT graduate student studying electrical engineering, was among about two dozen students who set up a tent encampment on the school’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus Sunday evening. They are calling for a cease-fire and are protesting what they describe as MIT’s “complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” he said.

“MIT has not even called for a cease-fire, and that’s a demand we have for sure,” Iyengar said.



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Israel-Iran Tensions LIVE Updates: Iran Says Launched Drones, Missiles At Israel

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Israel-Iran LIVE: Israeli Channel 12 said missiles Iran had launched would likely strike sooner.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, an attack that may trigger a major escalation between the regional archenemies, with the U.S. pledging to back Israel.

Israel’s military said the drones, which Iraqi security sources said were seen flying over the country from Iran, would take hours to reach their targets.

Israeli Channel 12 said missiles Iran had launched would likely strike sooner but that some missiles and drones had been shot down over Syria or Jordan.

Here are the LIVE updates on Israel-Iran Tensions:

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US Says Shot Down Iranian Drone Headed To Israel

The U.S. military has shot down Iranian drone aircraft headed toward Israel on Saturday, three U.S. officials said, without disclosing how many drones were shot down or the precise locations.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in an attack that may trigger a major escalation between the regional archenemies.

Iran Warns US To “Stay Away” From Conflict With Israel

Iran warned the United States Sunday to “stay away” from its conflict with Israel after Tehran launched a drone and missile attack in retaliation for a deadly strike on its Damascus consulate.

“Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,” Iran’s Permanent United Nations mission said on X. 

“Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” it said. “It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US MUST STAY AWAY!”

“Matter Concluded”: Iran After It Launches Drone, Missile Strikes At Israel

Yemen Rebels Launch Drones At Israel In Coordination With Iran: Security Agency

Yemen’s Huthi rebels launched multiple drones at Israel in coordination with Iran, security firm Ambrey said late Saturday, adding that the projectiles were likely timed to reach Israel simultaneously. 

“Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) were reportedly launched by the Huthis toward Israel. The UAVs were launched in coordination with Iran,” the company said. “Israeli ports are assessed to be potential targets”, it added, and warned of “collateral damage” to shipping.

France Foreign Minister Condemns Iran Strikes On Israel As Threat To Stability

France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne on Saturday condemned Iran’s drone strikes on Israel as a “new level” in the threat to security.

“France condemns with the greatest firmness the attack launched by Iran against Israel,” he said on the platform X.

“In deciding to take this unprecedented action, Iran has reached a new level of destabilisation and is risking a military escalation,” he added, reiterating France’s commitment to Israel’s security.

Netanyahu Holds War Cabinet Meet As Iran Launches Drone Strikes At Israel

Iran Launched More Than 100 Drones: Israel

Iran launched more than 100 drones towards Israel, and more can be expected, an Israeli army official said Sunday.

“This evening we’ve identified more than 100 UAV drones launched towards Israel from Iran,” the official said, adding: “We expect the drones to be here in the following hours and we might see some more waves of drones as time progresses.”

“Operating At Full Force To Defend State”: Israel As Iran Launches Drone Strikes

Sirens Sounded In Israel Kibbutz Near Lebanon Border: Army

The Israeli army said it sounded sirens in a kibbutz near the Lebanon border early Sunday, after Iran launched a drone attack on Israel.

“Sirens sounded in Kibbutz Snir, northern Israel,” the army said in a statement.

Jordan, Iraq Close Airspace As Iran Launches Drone Strikes On Israel

Shortly before Iran launched drones towards Israel in response to its air strike on the latter’s embassy in Syria, Jordan temporarily closed its airspace for all incoming, departing and transit aircraft, The Times of Israel reported, citing state-owned Al Mamlaka news on Saturday.

Two flights from the Emirati airline Fly Dubai turned back towards the United Arab Emirates after taking off en route for Israel, ostensibly due to concerns over an Iranian threat or the decision by Jordan to close its airspace, The Times of Israel reported, citing local media outlet Channel 12.

Lebanon Closes Airspace As Iran Strikes Israel

Lebanon closed its airspace and suspended air traffic late Saturday, after Iran launched a drone attack on Israel, the transport minister said.

“Lebanese airspace has been closed to all aircraft… temporarily and as a precaution”, Ali Hamie posted on X, adding that the measure would be in effect from 2200 GMT on Saturday until 0400 GMT on Sunday.

Rishi Sunak Condemns “Reckless’ Iran Strikes On Israel

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned as “reckless” late Saturday Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel, adding that Britain would “continue to stand up for Israel’s security”.

“Alongside our allies, we are urgently working to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants to see more bloodshed,” Sunak said in a statement.

Netanyahu Holds Israel War Cabinet Meeting: Prime Minister’s Office

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet is meeting in Tel Aviv, his office said Sunday, after Iran launched a drone attack on Israel.

“Netanyahu is convening the War Management Cabinet at this time, in Kirya in Tel Aviv,” the prime minister’s office said.

Iran Strikes “Severe And Dangerous Escalation”: Israel

The Iranian drone attack under way against Israel marks a “severe and dangerous escalation,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Sunday.

“We are closely monitoring Iranian killer drones that are en route to Israel sent by Iran. This is a severe and dangerous escalation,” Rear Admiral Hagari said.



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Israel bombs Gaza, fights Hamas around hospitals

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Israeli forces pounded besieged Gaza on March 27 in the war sparked by the October 7 attack and fought Hamas around several hospitals despite a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire.

Talks in Qatar towards a truce and hostage release deal, involving U.S. and Egyptian mediators, have brought no result so far, with Israel and the Palestinian militant group blaming each other.

Tensions have risen between Israel and its top ally the U.S. over the soaring civilian death toll and dire food shortages in Gaza, and Israeli plans to push its ground offensive into the far-southern city of Rafah, which is packed with displaced civilians.

In heavy overnight bombardment, Israeli strikes again hit Gaza City and Rafah, where a fireball lit up the sky over the city crowded with up to 1.5 million people, most of them displaced by the war.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said 66 people were killed in overnight bombardment and combat.

Israeli forces have battled militants in and around three Gaza hospitals, raising fears for patients, medical staff and displaced people inside them.

Fighting has raged for nine days around Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the territory’s largest, and more recently near two hospitals in the main southern city of Khan Yunis, Al-Amal and Nasser.

The Army and Shin Bet security service said they were “continuing to conduct precise operational activities” in both cities “while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and medical equipment”.

The Army said “troops continued to eliminate terrorists and locate terror infrastructure and weapons” around al-Shifa.

“Thus far, hundreds of terrorists have been apprehended and dozens of terrorists have been killed in the area of the hospital,” it said.

Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles have also massed around the Nasser Hospital, the Gaza health ministry said, adding that shots were fired but no raid had yet been launched.

The Palestinian Red Crescent warned that thousands were trapped inside and “their lives are in danger”. The Israeli army has yet to comment on the situation in and around the hospital.

UN warns of ‘man-made famine’

Gaza has endured almost six months of war and a siege that has cut off most food, water, fuel and other supplies, and the UN has warned that its 2.4 million people are on the brink of a “man-made famine”.

The flow of aid trucks from Egypt has slowed amid the war and due to lengthy Israeli cargo inspections.

Donor governments have airdropped food into Gaza where desperate crowds have rushed towards aid packages drifting down on parachutes. At least 18 people have been reported killed in stampedes or drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.

Hamas has urged an end to the airdrops and called for stepped-up road deliveries instead. The United States said it would keep airdropping humanitarian supplies while also pushing for more overland deliveries.

The war broke out when Hamas launched its unprecedented October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The militants also took about 250 hostages. Israel says that, after an earlier truce and hostage deal, about 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,414 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry.

Israel also charges that Palestinian militants sexually assaulted October 7 victims and hostages.

The New York Times published a report on the first Israeli woman to speak publicly about having been sexually abused, 40-year-old lawyer Amit Soussana.

Soussana, who was abducted from a kibbutz on October 7 and released in November, said she was repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted at gunpoint by her guard inside Gaza.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that her abuse “is a wake up call to the world to act. To do everything and pressure Hamas. To free our hostages. To bring our hostages home.”

Death toll ‘far too high’

The UN Security Council on Monday passed its first resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and the release of the captives.

The United States, which had blocked previous resolutions, abstained, drawing an angry rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The right-wing premier cancelled an Israeli delegation’s planned visit to Washington, although Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was already there.

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin stressed, before meeting Gallant, that “the number of civilian casualties is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low” in Gaza.

Despite the tensions, Rear Admiral Hagari said security cooperation was closer than ever, “encompassing the entire US military and the US intelligence services”.

Israeli and Hamas envoys have engaged in weeks of indirect talks aimed at halting the fighting, but both sides said this week the talks were failing.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari has said that, although the CIA and Mossad chiefs had left Doha, the talks were “ongoing” at a technical level.

Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad charged that Israel “is being intransigent and wants to keep the war going, despite international positions and in defiance to UN Security Council’s decision to cease fire during Ramadan,” the ongoing Muslim holy month of fasting.

“There has not been any progress in ceasefire talks or negotiations for prisoners’ exchange,” he said. “The Israeli government’s procrastination is just a way to gain time and keep their aggression going.”

Amid the bloodiest ever Gaza conflict, Israel has also exchanged daily cross-border fire with Hamas ally Hezbollah based in southern Lebanon.

The hostilities, in which Israel has also targeted Hamas militants, have raised fears of all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war in 2006.

Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel Wednesday killing a civilian, after Israel carried out a deadly pre-dawn strike in south Lebanon.

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Israeli undercover forces dressed as women and medics storm West Bank hospital, killing 3 militants

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Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces opened fire inside the wards of the Ibn Sina Hospital in the town of Jenin. The ministry condemned the raid and called on the international community to pressure Israel’s military to halt such operations in hospitals. A hospital spokesperson said there was no exchange of fire, indicating that it was a targeted killing.

The military said the militants were using the hospital as a hideout, without providing evidence. It alleged that one of those targeted in the raid had transferred weapons and ammunition to others for a planned attack, purportedly inspired by the Hamas assault on southern Israel on October 7 that triggered the war in Gaza.

Footage said to be security camera video from the hospital that circulated on social media showed about a dozen undercover forces, most of them armed, dressed as women with Muslim headscarves or hospital staff in scrubs or white doctor’s coats. One in a surgical mask carried a rifle in one arm and a folded wheelchair in the other. The forces were seen patting down one man who kneeled against a wall, his arms raised.

The Associated Press has not independently verified the footage, but it is in line with its reporting.

Also read: Israel-Hamas war | Timeline of major events from the first 100 days

Meanwhile, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, even as talks inched forward on a cease-fire to pause the war, which began when hundreds of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others.

In response, Israel launched a blistering air, sea and ground offensive that killed more than 26,700 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The ministry count does not distinguish between fighters and noncombatants, but it says about two-thirds of the dead are women and minors.

The conflict has also levelled vast swaths of the tiny coastal enclave, displaced 85% of its population, and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation. That humanitarian crisis may soon be exacerbated, the UN has warned, after several countries froze funding to the main aid provider to Palestinians in Gaza following Israeli claims that a dozen of its workers participated in the October 7 assault.

HOSPITALS TARGETED

Israel has come under heavy criticism for its raids on hospitals in Gaza, which have treated the tens of thousands of Palestinians wounded in the war as well as providing critical shelter for displaced people.

Gaza’s health care system, which was already feeble before the war, is on the verge of collapse, buckling under the scores of patients, the lack of fuel and medical necessities limited by Israeli restrictions and repeated interruptions from fighting in and near the facilities.

Israel says militants use hospitals as cover, hiding out in them or launching operations from them. The military has found underground tunnels in the vicinity of hospitals, and says it has located weapons and vehicles used in the October 7 attack on hospital grounds.

WEST BANK CRACKDOWN

Since October 7, violence in the West Bank has also surged as Israel has cracked down on suspected militants, killing more than 380 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most were killed in confrontations with Israeli forces during arrest raids or violent protests.

The Israeli military says it has arrested nearly 3,000 Palestinians in the West Bank over the past four months.

The military said in Tuesday’s hospital raid, forces killed Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, who it said was planning an imminent attack. The two other men killed, brothers Basel and Mohammed Ghazawi, were hiding inside the hospital and were involved in attacks, the military claimed.

The military did not provide details on how the three were killed. Its statement said Jalamneh was armed with a pistol, but made no mention of an exchange of fire.

Hamas claimed the three men as members, calling the operation “a cowardly assassination.” Hospital spokesperson Tawfiq al-Shobaki said there was no exchange. He said the Israelis attacked doctors, nurses, and hospital security during the raid.

“What happened is a precedent,” he said. “There was never an assassination inside a hospital. There were arrests and assaults, but not an assassination.” He said Basel Ghazawi had been a patient in the hospital since October with partial paralysis.

The raid took place in Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel and the frequent target of Israeli raids even before the war began. Israeli operations there and in an adjacent built-up refugee camp have left vast destruction.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but imposed a stifling blockade on the territory, along with Egypt, when Hamas came to power in a violent takeover in 2007. It maintains an open-ended occupation of the West Bank, where more than half a million Israelis now live in settlements.

The Palestinians claim these territories as part of their future independent state, hopes for which have increasingly dimmed since the war began.

PROGRESS ON CEASE-FIRE TALKS ELUSIVE

Progress, meanwhile, appeared elusive on a new deal between Israel and Hamas that could lead to a pause in fighting and see the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Hamas’ supreme political leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group was studying the latest terms for a deal, but said the priority was the “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza, something Israel opposes, and that any agreement should lead to a long-term cease-fire.

He said Hamas’ leadership had been invited to Cairo to continue talks.

Israel had said that cease-fire talks held Sunday were constructive but that “significant gaps” remained in any potential agreement.

The prime minister of Qatar — which has served as a key mediator along with Egypt and the United States — was more upbeat, saying American and Middle Eastern mediators had reached a framework proposal. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Monday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the mediators had made “good progress.” The Israeli military said it was fighting Palestinian militants in south, central and northern Gaza, which was pummelled in the first weeks of the war and where Israel has claimed to have largely dismantled Hamas. It said aircraft destroyed the rocket launcher that fired a barrage of rockets at central Israel on Monday, the first rockets targeting the populated area in weeks.

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White House says ‘it’s the right time’ for Israel to scale back operations as fighting hits 100 days

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The White House said on January 14 that “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory’s ruling Hamas militant group.

The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war.

Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon on Jan. 14 following a Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians — an older woman and her adult son — in northern Israel. The exchange of fire underscored concerns that the Gaza violence could trigger wider fighting across the region.

The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation.

Transition to low-intensity operations: US tells Israel

Speaking on CBS, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has been speaking to Israel “about a transition to low-intensity operations” in Gaza. “We believe it’s the right time for that transition. And we’re talking to them about doing that,” he said on Face the Nation.

Israel launched the offensive after the Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead until Hamas is destroyed and all of the more than 100 hostages still in captivity are freed.

The war has sent tensions soaring across the region, with Israel trading fire almost daily with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Iranian-backed militias attacking U.S. targets in Syria and Iraq. In addition, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been targeting international shipping, drawing a wave of U.S. airstrikes last week.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said his group won’t stop until a cease-fire is in place for Gaza. “We are continuing, and our front is inflicting losses on the enemy and putting pressure on displaced people,” Nasrallah said in a speech, referring to the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled northern border areas.

Protesters mark 100 days of war

In other developments, tens of thousands of people in Europe and West Asia took to the streets on Jan. 14 to mark the 100th day of the war. Opposing demonstrations either demanded the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas or called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

In Israel, supporters of the hostages and their families wrapped up a 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv calling on the government to win their immediate release.

Late on Jan. 14, Hamas released a short video in which three Israeli hostages, presumably speaking under duress, pleaded with their government to end the war and bring them home. It was not clear when the video was taken. At the end of the clip, Hamas said it would provide an update on their fate on Jan. 15.

Hamas has released several videos of this kind, in an apparent effort to pressure Israel to agree to its demand of ending the war ahead of negotiations on a possible release of all hostages in exchange for most or all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The unprecedented level of death and destruction in Gaza has led South Africa to lodge allegations of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Israel denies the accusations and has vowed to press ahead with its offensive even if the court in The Hague issues an interim order for it to stop.

Israel has also been under growing international pressure to end the war in Gaza, but it has so far been shielded by U.S. diplomatic and military support. Israel argues that any cease-fire would hand victory to Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and is bent on Israel’s destruction.

“It’s been 100 days, yet we will not stop until we win,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Jan. 14.

But differences with the Americans have begun to emerge. During a visit to the region last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed his calls on Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties and increase the supplies of desperately needed humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

In recent weeks, Israel has scaled back operations in northern Gaza, the initial target of the offensive, where weeks of airstrikes and ground operations left entire neighborhoods in ruins.

Mr. Kirby, the White House spokesman, acknowledged that Israel had taken some “precursory steps” toward scaling back the offensive. But he said there was more to do. “We’re not saying let your foot up off the gas completely and don’t keep going after Hamas,” he said. “It’s just that we believe the time is coming here very, very soon for a transition to this lower intensity phase.”

Escalation into full-blown war?

The deadly Hezbollah missile strike in northern Israel renewed concerns about a second front erupting into full-blown war. It came shortly after the Israeli army said it killed three Lebanese militants who tried to infiltrate Israel.

Late on Jan. 14, Israeli military said it had struck Lebanon in response to the missile strike. Israeli officials said a woman in her 70s and her son, in his 40s, were killed in the town of Yuval.

The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israel would not tolerate attacks on civilians. “The price will be extracted not just tonight, but also in the future,” he said.

Yuval is one of more than 40 towns along Israel’s northern border evacuated by the government in October. Israeli media reported that the family stayed in the area because they work in agriculture.

Tensions have also spread to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinian health officials say nearly 350 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in confrontations throughout the war.

On Jan. 14, the Israeli army said troops opened fire after a Palestinian car breached a military roadblock in the southern West Bank and an attacker fired at soldiers. Palestinian health officials said two Palestinians were killed.

Palestinian health officials said two teenage boys were killed by Israeli fire. The army said it shot them after they threw a bomb at an army base.

Israel has launched major operations against the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza. “No one is able to move,” said Rami Abu Matouq, who lives in the Maghazi camp. “Warplanes, snipers and gunfire are everywhere.”

In the central town of Deir al-Balah, health officials said at least 15 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Jan. 13.

At the entrance of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, men lined up to pray for the dead, their bodies wrapped in white shrouds. The bodies were put on the back of a pickup truck before they were taken to be buried.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian TV station Al-Ghad said a cameraman was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. The channel said Yazan al-Zwaidi was apparently in a crowd of people at the time. Details were not immediately available, and the Israeli military had no comment.

The internet advocacy group Netblocks said communications in Gaza were still out after a 48-hour outage. The Palestinian telecommunications operator in Gaza, Jawwal, said two of its employees were killed Saturday when they were hit by a shell while fixing lines in Khan Younis.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday that hospitals had received 125 bodies in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll to 23,968. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around two-thirds of the dead are women and minors. It says over 60,000 people have been wounded.

Israel says Hamas is responsible for the high civilian casualties, saying its fighters make use of civilian buildings and launch attacks from densely populated urban areas. The military says 189 soldiers have been killed and 1,099 wounded since the start of the ground offensive.

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Israel strikes southern Gaza as Blinken in Egypt for talks

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Israel bombarded the southern Gaza Strip on January 11 as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Egypt on the final leg of regional talks aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from spreading.

His arrival coincided with the start of a hearing at the UN’s top court over accusations Israel has committed “genocidal acts” in Gaza.

“The situation is such that the experts are now predicting that more people in Gaza may die from starvation and disease” than from military action, said Adila Hassim, a top lawyer for South Africa, which has brought the case against Israel.

In Cairo, Mr. Blinken was to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country is a mediator in the Gaza war now in its fourth month.

Mr. Blinken’s nine-country West Asia trip is concluding after Wednesday’s UN Security Council resolution that demanded Iran-backed Yemeni rebels “immediately cease” attacks which have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea.

South Africa accused Israel before the International Court of Justice of breaching the United Nations Genocide convention in its response to Hamas’s October 7 attack, which triggered the war.

“No armed attack on a state territory no matter how serious… can provide justification for or defend breaches of the convention,” said Pretoria’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, setting out his country’s case at the court.

South Africa, a longtime backer of the Palestinian cause, has lodged an urgent ICJ appeal to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza.

In Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt and overrun with displaced people fleeing fighting further north, Palestinians expressed hope the ICJ could render justice on their behalf.

“Israel considers itself above the law. We ask from the international judges to judge Israel,” and its government,” said Hisham al-Kullah.

Another Rafah resident, Mohammad al-Arjan, expressed hope that “the court stops the war”.

A Israeli solider looks at an installation at the site of the Nova festival, where people were killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Reim, in southern Israel, January 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Mr. Blinken has dismissed the case as “meritless” and Israel’s president called it “atrocious and preposterous”.

The war began when Hamas launched its unprecedented October 7 attack, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.

Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,357 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hamas’s press office said early on Thursday that 62 people had been killed in strikes overnight, including around Gaza’s main southern city of Khan Yunis.

Israel’s military said in a statement on Thursday that “underground combat” led to the discovery of more than 300 tunnel shafts under Khan Yunis, and that “Israeli hostages had been inside” one vast tunnel.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said an Israeli strike on an ambulance in central Gaza killed four medics and two other passengers on Wednesday.

A picture taken from Rafah shows a rainbow over the southern Gaza Strip on January 11, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

A picture taken from Rafah shows a rainbow over the southern Gaza Strip on January 11, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the incident when contacted by AFP.

During a visit with troops in central Gaza, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said the militants had prepared their defences “over a very long period of time in a very organised way” adding it is “a very, very complex battlefield.”

Makeshift clinic

The war has triggered an acute humanitarian crisis, with an Israeli siege sparking acute shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said there are “nearly insurmountable challenges” to aid delivery in Gaza.

“Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need,” he told reporters.

The WHO says only a few Gaza hospitals are even partly functioning.

In Rafah, former Gaza health ministry staffer Zaki Shaheen converted his shop into a makeshift clinic.

“We decided to open a medical department, and we got help from the health ministry,” aiming to ease pressure on overburdened hospitals, Mr. Shaheen told AFP.

“We receive no less than 30 or 40 cases per day, morning to night. I’ll be sleeping, then someone comes in with an injury or a burn, so we treat them,” he said, a stethoscope around his neck, a jumble of medical supplies to his right, and an empty Coca-Cola fridge on his left.

The United Nations estimates 1.9 million Gazans have been uprooted by the war.

Before his final stop in Egypt, Blinken sketched out a possible post-war future for Gaza after meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa on Wednesday.

Mr. Blinken told Mr. Abbas that Washington supported “tangible steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state – a long-term goal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government has opposed.

In Bahrain, Blinken said Mr. Abbas was “committed” to reforming the Palestinian Authority “so that it can effectively take responsibility for Gaza, so that Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited under a Palestinian leadership”.

Israeli soldiers take part in military rescue exercise in Upper Galilee near the Lebanon border on January 11, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers take part in military rescue exercise in Upper Galilee near the Lebanon border on January 11, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Mr. Abbas, 88, is widely unpopular in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority has partial administrative control and the Israel-Hamas war has led to increased popular support for Hamas.

Spike in regional unrest

Violence involving Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen has spiked during the war, leading to heightened fears of a wider conflict.

Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who say they are acting in support of the Palestinians, have carried out numerous attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, a vital artery for international trade.

Washington has set up a multinational naval task force to protect shipping from the attacks, which Mr. Blinken on Wednesday said were “aided and abetted” by Iran and would bring “consequences” if they continue.

On Thursday armed men in “military-style” uniforms boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, a maritime risk management company said.

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Israeli military says it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza

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Israeli troops on December 15 mistakenly shot to death three hostages in a battle-torn neighborhood of Gaza City, and an Israeli strike killed a Palestinian journalist in the south of besieged territory.

The deaths underscored the ferocity of Israel’s more than two-month-old onslaught in Gaza, as a U.S. envoy was trying to persuade the Israelis to scale back their campaign sooner rather than later.

Editorial | Principled shift: On India’s stand on Gaza 

The hostages were killed in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have been engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas militants in recent days. The soldiers mistakenly identified the three Israelis as a threat and opened fire on them, said the army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

He said it was believed that the three had either fled their captors or been abandoned.

“Perhaps in the last few days, or over the past day, we still don’t know all the details, they reached this area,” Hagari said. He said the army expressed “deep sorrow” and was investigating.

Hamas and other militants abducted more than 240 people in their Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, and the hostages’ plight has dominated public discourse ever since. Their families have led a powerful public campaign calling on the government to do more to bring them home.

Demonstrations in solidarity with the hostages and their families take place nearly every day. Israeli political and military leaders often say freeing all the hostages is their top aim in the war alongside destroying Hamas.

People use bullhorns as they protest following an announcement by Israel’s military that they had mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Still, in seven weeks since ground troops pushed into northern Gaza, troops have not rescued any hostages, though they freed one early in the conflict and have found the bodies of several. Hamas released over 100 in swaps for Palestinian prisoners last month, and more than 130 are believed to still be in captivity.

The three hostages were identified as three young men who had been abducted from Israeli communities near the Gaza border — 28-year-old Yotam Haim, 25-year-old Samer Al-Talalka and 26-year-old Alon Shamriz.

Mr. Netanyahu called their deaths an “unbearable tragedy” vowing to continue “with a supreme effort to return all the hostages home safely.”

Israeli strike on school kills Al Jazeera cameraman 

In southern Gaza, the Al Jazeera television network said an Israeli strike Friday in the city of Khan Younis killed cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and wounded its chief correspondent in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh. The two were reporting at a school that had been hit by an earlier airstrike when a drone launched a second strike, the network said.

Speaking from a hospital bed, Mr. Dahdouh told the network that he managed to walk to an ambulance. But Abu Daqqa lay bleeding in the school and died hours later. An ambulance tried to reach the school to evacuate him but had to turn back because roads were blocked by the rubble of destroyed houses, it said.

Mr. Dahdouh, a veteran of covering Israel-Gaza wars whose wife and children were killed by an Israeli strike earlier in the war, was wounded by shrapnel in his right arm.

Before Abu Daqqa’s death, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported at least 63 journalists killed in the war, including 56 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese.

Israel’s offensive, triggered by the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiraling humanitarian crisis.

It has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Thousands more are missing and feared dead beneath the rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Its latest count did not specify how many were women and minors, but they have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead in previous tallies.

While battered by the Israeli onslaught, Hamas has continued its attacks. On Friday, it fired rockets from Gaza toward central Israel, setting off sirens in Jerusalem for the first time in weeks but causing no injuries. The group’s resilience called into question whether Israel can defeat it without wiping out the entire territory.

Israelis remain strongly supportive of the war and see it as necessary to prevent a repeat of the Hamas attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. A total of 116 soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive, which began Oct. 27.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed unease over Israel’s failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to offer wholehearted support for Israel with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing.

Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling continued Friday, including in the city of Khan Younis — the main target of Israel’s ground offensive in the south — and in Rafah, which is part of the shrinking areas of tiny, densely populated Gaza to which Palestinian civilians have been told by Israel to evacuate. Details on many of the strikes could not be confirmed because communications services have been down across Gaza since late Thursday because of fighting.

In meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday and Friday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed a timetable for winding down the intense combat phase of the war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Sullivan that it would take months to destroy Hamas, but he did not say whether his estimate referred to the current phase of heavy airstrikes and ground battles.

History of the Israel-Palestine conflict – A podcast series | In Part 1 of this series, The Hindu look at the origins of this conflict, which began with the steady influx of Jewish settlers in Palestinian territories and culminated in the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

“There is no contradiction between saying the fight is going to take months and also saying that different phases will take place at different times over those months, including the transition from the high-intensity operations to more targeted operations,” Sullivan said Friday.

Sullivan also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss Gaza’s postwar future. A senior U.S. official said one idea being floated is to bring back Palestinian security forces driven from their jobs in Gaza by Hamas in its 2007 takeover.

Any role for Palestinian security forces in Gaza is bound to elicit strong opposition from Israel, which seeks to maintain an open-ended security presence there. Netanyahu has said he will not allow a postwar foothold for the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The U.S. has said it eventually wants to see the West Bank and Gaza under a “ revitalized Palestinian Authority “ as a precursor to a Palestinian state — an idea soundly rejected by Netanyahu, who leads a right-wing government that is opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Palestinian officials have said they will consider a postwar role in Gaza only in the context of concrete U.S.-backed steps toward statehood.

In the meeting, Abbas called for an immediate cease-fire and ramped-up aid to Gaza, and emphasized that Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state, according to a statement from his office. It made no mention of conversations about postwar scenarios.

The 88-year-old Abbas is deeply unpopular, with a poll published Wednesday indicating close to 90% of Palestinians want him to resign. Meanwhile, Palestinian support for Hamas has tripled in the West Bank, with a small uptick in Gaza, according to the poll. Still, a majority of Palestinians do not back Hamas, according to the survey.

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The Hindu Morning Digest, December 10, 2023

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The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs that a joint team of officers visited six seaports in Gujarat, including the Adani Tuna Port. File photo: adaniports.com

Jaishankar speaks to Palestinian PM, reiterates India’s long-standing position on Palestine

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on December 9. Mr. Jaishankar reiterated India’s long-standing position on Palestine. During the telephonic conversation, Mohammad Shtayyeh expressed deep concern on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch.

Ram temple sets off realty boom in Ayodhya

As Ayodhya town gears up for the consecration of the temple, land prices soar to an all-time high, especially in areas around the new structure. The combined efforts of the Union and State governments — currently involved in the development of Ayodhya with 264 projects worth about ₹32,000 crore, including highways, roads, infrastructure, a green field township, an international airport, international spiritual centre, among others — is also a reason for the city’s growth.

MEA carries out “technical correction”, after Meenakshi Lekhi objects to her name in question on Hamas

Hours after Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi claimed that a parliament question that carried her name was not signed by her and sought an inquiry in the “breach”, the Ministry of External Affairs swung into action and said a “technical correction” is being carried out to the name of the Minister mentioned in the Unstarred Question in the Lok Sabha.

Ashok Gehlot faults communal polarisation for Congress’s defeat in Rajasthan

The outgoing Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot listed communal polarisation as one of the key reasons for Congress’s defeat in Rajasthan in the recent Assembly election, at a meeting to review the reasons for party’s debacle presided over by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge held in party headquarters in Delhi. There was a unanimous view that the party should have heeded to reports of anti-incumbency against the sitting legislators, instead 88% of the sitting MLAs were repeated.

Four years on, CAA awaits political nod for its implementation

Four years after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 was passed by Parliament, the legislation is yet to be implemented despite the administrative framework in place as it awaits political nod from the BJP-led Union government.

Mamata seeks audience with PM Modi for release of Central funds

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month to seek the release of Central funds to the State. “I will meet him [the Prime Minister] with some of my MPs. They are not paying our dues, especially for the 100-day work scheme [MGNREGS]. Funding for rural roads and even health schemes have been cancelled. If the Prime Minister doesn’t give us time, I will see what I can do,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson said in Siliguri.

RSS trade union arm to protest Centre’s policies again

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union arm of the Sangh Parivar, will hold its second protest rally against the BJP-led Union Government in a span of just one month. This is the second BMS protest in a month; anganwadi workers and helpers, mid-day meal cooks, ASHA workers demand permanent jobs with government employee benefits.

Israel presses on with Gaza bombardments, including in areas where it told civilians to flee

Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip overnight into Saturday in relentless bombardments, including some of the dwindling slivers of land Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the territory’s south. The latest strikes came a day after the U.S. vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite it being backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Portfolios allocated to Ministers in the new Telangana Cabinet

The State Government has issued a gazette notification of the portfolios allocated to the newly constituted Cabinet after the approval of Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has decided to retain the Municipal Administration and Urban Development portfolio along with the General Administration and Law & Order. He will also hold all other unallocated portfolios.

Morbi bridge collapse | Gujarat High Court bats for lifetime pension, help for victims’ families

Observing that one-time compensation is not going to help the families of the victims of the Morbi suspension bridge collapse, the Gujarat High Court asked the Oreva Group, the company responsible for operation and maintenance of the ill-fated bridge, to provide life-time pension to the elderly who lost their sons and jobs or stipend to widows. The division Bench of Chief Justice Sunil Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee was hearing a suo motu PIL on the October 30, 2022 incident in which 141 persons lost their lives after a British-era suspension bridge collapsed.

Visited six seaports, including Adani port in Gujarat, to check unregulated ports that could impact national security: MHA to parliamentary panel

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs that a joint team of officers visited six seaports in Gujarat, including the Adani Tuna Port, after the panel sought to know the action taken against more than 20 seaport immigration check-posts (ICP) running in violation of rules with implications for national security. Earlier, in a report tabled in the Upper House in March, the panel had sought to know of the bottlenecks in the effective functioning of seaport ICPs.

Manipur violence | CBI files chargesheet against nine accused in Naga woman abduction-killing case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a chargesheet against nine accused persons in a case related to the abduction and murder of a 55-year-old Naga woman in Manipur in July amid the ethnic conflict. The ethnic conflict in the State, underway since May 3, between the dominant Valley-based Meitei people and the hills-based Scheduled Tribe Kuki-Zo people, has led to the deaths of at least 175 people so far, with thousands of others injured and tens of thousands internally displaced. 

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