Israel's far-right finance minister has threatened to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition if he doesn't resume the war in Gaza after the first phase of ceasefire expires in six weeks. Bezalel Smotrich made the threat on Monday, a day after the ceasefire went into effect. "If, God forbid, the war is not resumed, I will bring the government down," Smotrich told reporters. Smotrich, who leads an ultranationalist religious party, voted against the deal but has remained in the governing coalition for the time being. His departure would rob Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority, setting the stage for the government's collapse and early elections. Smotrich said he has received assurances that Israel will resume the war after the first phase, during which 33 hostages held in Gaza are to return home and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are to be freed. The second phase, which must still be negotiated, is to work out an end to the war and return of all remaining hostage
If the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal goes according to the current draft, then fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days, and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed. In this first phase Israeli troops will pull back to the edges of Gaza, and many Palestinians will be able to return to what remains of their homes as stepped-up aid flows in. The question is if the ceasefire will survive beyond that first phase. That will depend on even more negotiations meant to begin within weeks. In those talks, Israel, Hamas, and the US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators will have to tackle the tough issue of how Gaza will be governed, with Israel demanding the elimination of Hamas. Without a deal within those 42 days to begin the second phase, Israel could resume its campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas even as dozens of hostages remain in the militants' hands. Hamas has agreed to a draft of the ceasefire deal, two officials confirmed, but Israeli officials say detai
Hamas said Tuesday that the militant group believes it's still possible to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement and a hostage exchange deal that would end Israel's 14-months war in the enclave. The group said in a statement that such deal is still possible if Israel stops adding new conditions to the ceasefire proposal. A spokesperson with Hamas said he has no details about the alleged new conditions being referred to. Still, Hamas lauded the serious and positive meditation efforts by Egypt and Qatar to reach a ceasefire. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on X Tuesday morning that Israel wants to have security control over Gaza the same way it does in the West Bank after it dismantles Hamas' military and government capabilities. We will not allow any terrorist organisation against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of before October 7th, he wrote on the social media platform. Officials close to ceasefire negotiations .
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least six people overnight, including two young children who died in the tent where their family was sheltering, medical officials said Sunday. The strike in the Muwasi area, a sprawling tent camp housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people, also wounded the children's mother and their sibling, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital saw the bodies. A separate strike in the southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, killed four men, according to hospital records. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its daily strikes across Gaza often kill women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around people 250 hostage. Some 100 captives are still being held inside Gaza, around
Thousands of people made the crossing back into Lebanon from Syria on the second day of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, after nearly 14 months of fighting. At the Jousieh border crossing in the Qusair area of Syria's Homs province, on Lebanon's northeastern border, bumper-to-bumper cars lined up on Thursday waiting to be cleared for crossing. All four lanes were taken up by cars making their way into Lebanon, while those waiting to cross into Syria had to use an offroad. Of the six border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, two remain functional after Israeli airstrikes forced the others shut. The two countries share a border 375 kilometres long. Over 600,000 people fleeing Lebanon poured into Syria in the past year, most of them after the war between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in mid-September. The cross-border flow was a striking reversal in fortunes given that Lebanon is still hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees who fled the war in their country that began
The development came after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah traded heavy fire
"This is vital work. The remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close," US national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House
A top Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group is losing faith in the United States' ability to mediate a cease-fire in Gaza ahead of a new round of talks scheduled for this week amid mounting pressure to bring an end to the 10-month-old war with Israel. Osama Hamdan told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that Hamas will only participate if the talks focus on implementing a proposal detailed by US President Joe Biden in May and endorsed internationally. The US referred to it as an Israeli proposal and Hamas agreed to it in principle, but Israel said Biden's speech was not entirely consistent with the proposal itself. Both sides later proposed changes, leading each to accuse the other of obstructing a deal. Hamas is especially resistant to Israel's demand that it maintain a lasting military presence in two strategic areas of Gaza after any cease-fire, conditions only made public in recent weeks. We have informed the mediators that...any meeting should be based o
The wording by the G-7, specifically name-checking Biden, appears designed to corner PM Benjamin Netanyahu into formally accepting the cease-fire proposal on which he's also been equivocating
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday blasted a UN Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire that his country's top ally, the US, chose not to block. He said the resolution had emboldened Hamas and he vowed to press ahead with the war. As the war grinds through a sixth month, both Israel and Hamas have rejected international cease-fire efforts, each insisting its version of victory is within reach. The passage of the UN resolution has also escalated tensions between the US and Israel over the conduct of the war. Netanyahu has said Israel can only achieve its aims of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages if it expands its ground offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where over half of Gaza's population has sought refuge, many in crowded tent camps. The US has said a major assault on Rafah would be a mistake. Hamas says it will hold onto the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent cease-fire, withdraws its forces from Gaza and ..
India, voting in favour of a General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, has said the challenge in this extraordinarily difficult time is to strike the "right balance". The 193-member UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the draft resolution at an emergency special session on Tuesday, with 153 nations voting in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions. India was among the 153 nations that voted in favour of the resolution, adopted amid a round of applause in the GA hall. Those voting against included Austria, Israel, and the US while Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ukraine, and the UK were among those who abstained. "India has voted in favour of the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said after the vote. The resolution, introduced by Egypt, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under ..
Pakistan's recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and incidents of firing on the international border are a breach of bilateral agreements, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. A BSF head constable died after sustaining injuries in unprovoked firing by the Pakistan Rangers along the international border in Ramgarh sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district on Thursday. "Such incidents of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration, sometimes done with drones and with firing, are violations of bilateral agreements and we always raise and take up these matters with Pakistan," Bagchi said replying to a question on incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan. It was the third incident of ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Rangers on the international border in the last over three weeks. In a significant move aimed at reducing tensions, the Indian and Pakistani armies on February 25, 2021 announced that they would cease firing across the Lo
Sudan's warring sides on Monday agreed to extend a shaky cease-fire in their battle for control of the country, after two key international mediators signalled impatience with persistent truce violations. The five-day extension of the cease-fire between Sudan's military and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, was announced in a joint statement late Monday by Saudi Arabia and the United States. "The extension will provide time for further humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, and discussion of a potential longer-term extension," the statement said. The development came after both Riyadh and Washington on Sunday called out both warring sides for specific breaches of a week-long truce that is to expire Monday evening rather than issue another general appeal to respect agreements. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel- Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo
The SAF warned citizens to keep away from the clash areas and avoid approaching any unknown metal objects until the technical crews arrive to deal with them
Armenia's defence ministry on Friday accused Azerbaijan's armed forces of opening fire on Armenian positions, in violation of a ceasefire agreement, the ministry said in a post on social media
The BSF gave a befitting reply after Pakistani rangers resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation at the International Border in the Arnia sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday
A year after Galwan, Beijing still has the upper hand
Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Y K Joshi on Tuesday said ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan is being followed in letter and spirit by both sides
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said at her daily news conference on Thursday that the Biden administration remains closely engaged with a range of leaders and officials in the region
They said the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 4:30 am but there was no report of any damage on the Indian side