Battles rage around Rafah after US halts some weapons to Israel
Cairo, Egypt/Washington DC, US/Rafah, Gaza Strip Reuters Hamas battled Israeli troops on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip’s crowded southern city of Rafah on Wednesday and Washington said it had held up a shipment of powerful bombs to Israel to prevent Palestinian civilian casualties. The United States, which aims to stave off a full Israeli […]
US believes Hamas, Israel can break Gaza ceasefire impasse; Israeli forces cut Rafah aid route
Rafah, Gaza Strip/Cairo, Egypt Reuters The US said negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire should be able to close the gaps between Israel and Hamas while Israeli forces seized the main border crossing in Rafah on Tuesday, closing a vital route for aid. Hamas official Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut, warned that if Israel’s […]
Fate of Gaza ceasefire uncertain, Israel vows to continue Rafah operation
Updated: 11:55pm (AEST) Rafah, Gaza Strip/Cairo, Egypt/Jerusalem Reuters Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and pressed ahead with strikes in Rafah while planning to continue negotiations on a deal. The developments in the seven-month-old war came as […]
Gaza truce hopes slim; Hamas officials leaving Cairo but returning on Tuesday
Cairo, Egypt/Doha, Qatar Reuters Prospects for a Gaza ceasefire appeared slim on Sunday as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out. The two sides blamed each other for the impasse and the Hamas delegation said […]
Thousands of Israelis protest to demand hostage return
Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist movement Hamas that would see the remaining Israeli hostages brought home from Gaza. At a rally in Tel Aviv that took place as Hamas officials were meeting Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo, […]
UN agencies prepare for Rafah incursion, warn of “slaughter”, while Hamas, CIA director to hold truce talks in Cairo
Geneva. Switzerland Reuters An Israeli incursion in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans at risk and be a huge blow to the aid operations of the entire enclave, the UN humanitarian office said on Friday, as the World Health Organization announced contingency plans for an incursion. Israel has repeatedly warned […]
US Catholic leaders, urging ceasefire, call on Biden to halt weapons shipments to Israel
United States RNS More than 200 US Catholic leaders, including a cardinal, an archbishop and numerous nuns, have put their names on a letter urging President Joe Biden to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of Israeli hostages and halt the shipment of weapons to Israel. “We call on President Biden, a […]
Palestinian Embassy seeks temporary status for Gazans who entered Egypt during war
Cairo, Egypt Reuters The Palestinian Embassy in Egypt is seeking temporary residency permits for tens of thousands of people who have arrived from Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, which it says would ease conditions for them until the conflict is over. Diab al-Louh, the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, said as many as […]
US calls out Israel and Hamas after Gaza aid shipment attacked, diverted
Washington DC, US Reuters The US on Thursday called on both Israel and Hamas to ensure that aid bound for civilians in Gaza is not disrupted, after a shipment from Jordan was attacked by Israeli settlers and subsequently diverted by Palestinian militants. Secretary of State Antony Blinken viewed the aid on Tuesday just before it […]
Blinken says US cannot support Rafah assault without humanitarian plan
Ashdod, Israel Reuters US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he has still not seen a plan for Israel’s planned offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that would protect civilians, repeating that Washington could not support such an assault. Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem for two-and-a-half […]