All posts tagged: truce

Israel Cuts Gaza Electricity Supply As Truce Falters 

Israel Cuts Gaza Electricity Supply As Truce Falters 

Is a new Israel Defense Forces (IDF) assault on the Gaza Strip imminent? Israel has on Sunday cut all electricity to the Strip, in a move which typically signals some kind of escalation in military operations. Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister announced in a video message that Israel would use “all means available … to ensure the return of all Israeli hostages” and to force Hamas out of Gaza. “I just signed an order for the immediate halt of electricity to the Gaza Strip,” Cohen confirmed. There had already long been lengthy blackouts throughout the Hamas-Israel war. Via Middle East Eye Hardline Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gvir praised the move: “The Gaza Strip must be completely and immediately blacked out as long as even one Israeli hostage is being held there,” he said. “Israel must bomb the huge fuel depots that entered the Strip as part of the unfortunate deal, as well as the generators operated by Hamas.” Some 2.3 million Palestinians are in the Gaza Strip, and those that have electricity supplies are mostly reliant …

UN agency head calls for temporary truce in northern Gaza

UN agency head calls for temporary truce in northern Gaza

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency called on Tuesday for a temporary truce to allow people to leave areas of northern Gaza as health officials said they were running out of supplies to treat patients hurt in a three-week-old Israeli offensive. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA relief agency, said the humanitarian situation had reached a dire point, with bodies abandoned by roadsides or buried under rubble. FRANCE 24’s Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem. Source link

‘Time for haggling to stop’ on Gaza truce, Blinken says

‘Time for haggling to stop’ on Gaza truce, Blinken says

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.  Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers. In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN’s counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.  For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here. (FRANCE 24 with AP)  Source link

Hamas demands ‘complete halt’ to war in response to Gaza truce plan

Hamas demands ‘complete halt’ to war in response to Gaza truce plan

Back to homepage / Middle East As it happened Hamas gave its official response to the latest US-backed truce proposal for Gaza on Tuesday, calling for a “complete halt” to Israeli “aggression” as fighting raged in the Palestinian territory. The US said it was “evaluating” the response. Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $404 million in new US assistance for the Palestinians, urging other countries to give more money to address Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Read our liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded. Issued on: 11/06/2024 – 01:42Modified: 11/06/2024 – 16:36 2 min Israeli military vehicles maneuver inside the Gaza Strip on June 10, 2024. © Amir Cohen, Reuters This liveblog is now closed. For all the latest head here. Summary: The US said Israel had accepted the three-phase plan for a ceasefire in Gaza. Sources with knowledge of the talks said Hamas welcomed the plan but proposed “amendments”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $404 million in new US assistance for the Palestinians during a summit in Jordan aimed at boosting humanitarian aid for …

Netanyahu Threatens Military Action Against Hezbollah as Biden Pushes for Truce

Netanyahu Threatens Military Action Against Hezbollah as Biden Pushes for Truce

“The odor of blood in the hospital’s emergency room this morning was unbearable,” Karin Huster, a medical adviser for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza, said in a statement. “There are people lying everywhere, on the floor, outside.” Israel’s military said it was conducting military operations “above and below ground” against Hamas militants in Bureij and the eastern part of Deir al-Balah, both in central Gaza, and that it had “eliminated” several. Hamas also reported clashes with Israeli forces in the area, and said on Wednesday that it had fired missiles at Israeli troops in the east of Bureij. “There is no place to flee to now,” said Hani Ahmed, a teacher and father of five who lives near the center of Bureij. He said two buildings in his area had been struck. “Khan Younis is rubble. Rafah is under attack. The north is destroyed,” Mr. Ahmad said. “I might take my family in my small bus and live at the beach as I have no tent. We are terrified.” As the bloodshed in Gaza continued, …

Netanyahu May Face a Choice Between a Truce and His Government’s Survival

Netanyahu May Face a Choice Between a Truce and His Government’s Survival

For months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has refused to offer a timeline for ending the war against Hamas in Gaza, a stance his critics see as a political tactic. But he has been put on the spot by President Biden’s announcement outlining a proposal for a truce. Mr. Netanyahu, a conservative, has long juggled competing personal, political and national interests. He now appears to be facing a stark choice between the survival of his hard-line, hawkish government and bringing home hostages held in Gaza while setting himself and Israel on a new course away from growing international isolation. Critics of the prime minister have portrayed him as indecisive and say there are two Netanyahus. One, they say, functions pragmatically in the small war cabinet he formed with some centrist rivals, to give it public legitimacy. The other is effectively being held hostage by the far-right members of his governing coalition, who oppose any concession to Hamas and who ensure his political survival. On Friday, Mr. Biden outlined broad terms that he said were …

Israel battles Hamas as mediators call on both to accept Gaza truce plan

Israel battles Hamas as mediators call on both to accept Gaza truce plan

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip and battled Hamas Sunday as mediators called on both sides to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden. Since Biden spoke at the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the war, now nearing its ninth month, until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the captives. Palestinian militant group Hamas, meanwhile, has said it “views positively” what Biden described as an Israeli proposal. Netanyahu, a hawkish political veteran leading a fragile right-wing coalition government, is under intense domestic pressure from two sides. Protesters backing an immediate hostage release, who rallied again Saturday in Tel Aviv, want him to strike a truce deal, but his far-right allies are threatening to bring down the government if he does. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has offered Netanyahu political support if the government secures a deal. Smoke billowing in Gaza at sunset following Israeli bombardment, as the war nears its ninth month. © Menahem Kahana, AFP Fighting rocked Gaza Sunday, with Israel’s …

Macron, Xi call for worldwide ‘Olympic truce’ during Paris Games – POLITICO

Macron, Xi call for worldwide ‘Olympic truce’ during Paris Games – POLITICO

With heavy sanctions on Russia impacting the country’s trade with the United States and the EU, China now supplies Russia with the lion’s share of its consumer goods as well as key technologies for the battlefield. The two sides enjoy what Xi has called a “no-limits partnership.” Macron, meanwhile, welcomed Chinese “commitments” to “abstain from selling any weapons” to Russia and “closely control the export of dual-usage equipment,” saying that such statements were “reassuring.” Xi in turn warned Ukraine’s backers against focusing too much on Beijing’s support for Moscow, hinting at Washington’s role in the conflict. “We oppose those who use the crisis and throw the responsibility on a third party, and call for a new Cold War,” he said. Earlier in the day, Xi, Macron and their wives attended an official welcome ceremony at the Invalides monument in Paris, during which the French Republican Guard played the national anthems of the two countries. They also reviewed the troops and exchanged pleasantries about the features of the 17th century monument. The Chinese leader held three-way talks with Macron …

Hamas leader says it accepts Gaza truce proposal

Hamas leader says it accepts Gaza truce proposal

Palestinian group Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, March 26, 2024. MAJID ASGARIPOUR / VIA REUTERS Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday, May 6, informed mediators Qatar and Egypt that his Palestinian militant group had accepted their proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza after nearly seven months of war. “Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas movement, conducted a telephone call with the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and with the Egyptian intelligence minister, Mr Abbas Kamel, and informed them of Hamas’s approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement,” the group said in a statement published on its official website. However, the details of the mediators’ latest proposal are not yet known. Le Monde with AFP Source link