Page 7 - Hamas

Statehood for Palestine? The legal test, the war, and the global shift

Global calls for Palestinian statehood rise, but legal, political, and diplomatic roadblocks remain complex and contested

If I weren't around, India would be fighting Pakistan, claims Trump

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed, yet again, that if he had not intervened in time with a threat of stopping all trade negotiations, India and Pakistan would have been at war. Addressing the media in Scotland, along with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of their official talks, Trump took credit for stepping in to prevent six major wars around the world, including between India and Pakistan. He was responding to a question about pushing Israel towards ending the conflict in Gaza just hours after ceasefire talks with Hamas collapsed. We have many ceasefires going on If I weren't around, you would have six major wars going on India would be fighting with Pakistan, Trump said while addressing the media from his Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland. We have many hotspots that were at war. I think a very big one was India and Pakistan because you are talking about two nuclear nations. That was a very big one, said Trump, who is on a private visit to ...

Houthis pledge to step up shipping attacks to pressure Israel on Gaza

The Houthis, who took control of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, have been striking Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Israel's war with Hamas, which rules Gaza, began in October 2023

Trump asks Israel to 'finish the job' as he feels Hamas obstructs Gaza deal

Trump blames Hamas for failed ceasefire, backs Israel's tougher stance against the Palestinian group

Netanyahu, Trump appear to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas

Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling "alternative" options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave

Netanyahu says Israel exploring new options amid stalled Hamas talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering alternative options to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu's statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. The teams left Qatar on Thursday as President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas' latest response to proposals for a deal showed a lack of desire to reach a truce. Witkoff said the US will look at alternative options," without elaborating. In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu echoed Witkoff, saying, "Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal. Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and ou

US ends Gaza ceasefire talks early, accuses Hamas of lacking 'good faith'

The United States is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing its negotiating team home from Qatar for consultations after the latest response from Hamas shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday. While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith," Witkoff said in a statement. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza. It was unclear what alternative options" the U.S. was considering. The White House had no immediate comment. At a news briefing Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott did not offer details on what the alternative options the U.S. is considering. When pressed for clarity on whether and how the U.S. would proceed, Pigott did not offer clarity and said, This is a very dynamic situation. He said there's never been a questi

Gaza faces worst hunger crisis yet as truce talks stall over aid access

The crisis is spiraling as Israel and Hamas mull a truce and comes two weeks after the European Union announced an agreement with Israel to increase the flow of food to Gaza

Response of ceasefire proposal handed to mediators with new demands: Hamas

An Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas has yet to deliver an official response to the proposal submitted a week ago and is now raising new demands on issues previously resolved

IDF kills Hamas commander, hits 75 terror targets in latest operation

The Israel Defence Forces on Sunday stated that they had killed Bashar Thabet, a commander in Hamas' Development and Projects Department within its weapons production headquater. Thabet was reportedly responsible for research and development in Hamas' weapons manufacturing apparatus.The IDF said that they located and dismantled terrorist infrastructure, terrorists and tunnel shafts. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has also been involved, striking approximately 75 terror targets, including terrorists' military compounds and additional terrorists' infrastructure."Operational Update: IDF Activity in Gaza- Eliminated: Bashar Thabet, a commander in Hamas' Development and Projects Department within its weapons production HQ. He was responsible for research & development within Hamas' weapons manufacturing apparatus, which operates to restore and increase their weapons stockpile," the IDF said in a post on X."IDF troops located & dismantled terrorist infrastructure, terrorists and ...

Israel orders evacuations in central Gaza as ceasefire talks stall

The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas the military has rarely operated with ground troops. The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave. The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israeli military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, though negotiations have been stalled for months. The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is also where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located. The organizations did not immediately comment on the evacuation warnings. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned that the military will attack with intensity against militants. He called for residents, including

Israel kills seven senior Hamas terrorists released in 2011 prisoner deal

Among those killed were Riyad Asila and Bassem Abu Sanina, who carried out the 1998 stabbing murder of Israeli civilian Haim Kerman in Jerusalem

Israeli strikes kill 32 in Gaza as war death toll tops 58K after 21 months

Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people on Sunday, including six children at a water collection point, while the Palestinian death toll passed 58,000 after 21 months of war, local health officials said. Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in indirect talks meant to pause the war and free some Israeli hostages after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Washington visit last week. A new sticking point has emerged over Israeli troops ' deployment during a ceasefire. Israel says it will end the war only once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something it refuses to do. Hamas says it is willing to free all the remaining 50 hostages, about 20 said to be alive, in exchange for an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Throughout the war in Gaza, violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Funerals were held there Sunday for two Palestinians, including Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, killed by Israeli .

59 Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes, gunfire near aid site

At least 31 Palestinians were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, while Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians including four children, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said. There were no signs of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks following two days of meetings between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump had said he was nearing an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would potentially wind down the war. The 31 Palestinians shot dead were on their way to a distribution site run by the Israeli-backed American organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation near Rafah in southern Gaza, hospital officials and witnesses said. The Red Cross said its field hospital saw its largest influx of dead in more than a year of operation after the shootings, and that the overwhelming majority of the more than 100 people hurt had gunshot wounds. Airstrikes in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah

Israeli strikes and shootings kill 52 Palestinians in Gaza: Hamas

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip including four children, while 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said on Saturday. The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths. At least 24 people were killed on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah run by an Israeli-backed American organisation, said hospital officials and witnesses, including those wounded. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching. It

Israeli forces kill two Gaza terror leaders, including sector commander

Fazal Abu al-Ata previously served as deputy commander of the Shuja'iyya sector in Gaza, and during the Iron Swords war was appointed commander of the Shanaiyah sector

As Netanyahu wraps US visit, progress on Gaza ceasefire remains murky

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a memorial service on Thursday for two slain Israeli Embassy staffers as he wraps up a four-day visit to Washington in which talks with President Donald Trump, White House aides and lawmakers focused on finding a pathway to a ceasefire deal in Gaza. But as Netanyahu gets set to head back to Israel, it is unclear if there was any breakthrough on sealing a Trump-backed 60-day truce between Israel and Hamas, which the US leader believes can lead to a permanent end to the 21-month war in Gaza. Netanyahu said in a video released Thursday that he is trying to wrap up the US-backed deal but stressed it will be temporary and would be aimed at releasing the final 50 hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza. The prime minister also underscored that in any potential ceasefire agreement he will not budge from his fundamental demand that Hamas lay down its arms and no longer have any governing or military capabilitiessomething the group so far has ...

Ship attacked by Houthi rebels sinks in Red Sea, six of 25 aboard rescued

A Liberian-flagged cargo ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels sank on Wednesday in the Red Sea, and a European naval force in the Mideast said only six of the 25 people who were on board have been rescued. The attack on the Eternity C, which also killed at least three of the crew, represents the most serious assault carried out by the Houthis in the crucial maritime trade route where USD 1 trillion in cargo once passed through annually. From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones in a campaign the rebels describe as supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iranian-backed rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump. The attack on the Eternity C, as well as the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas in another attack Sunday, raise new questions about the Red

Trial starts over Trump admin crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration campaign of arresting and deporting faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations argued on Monday it was an orchestrated effort that has stifled free speech at universities around the country. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations against President Donald Trump and members of his administration, is one of the first to go to trial. Plaintiffs want US District Judge William Young to rule the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. Not since the McCarthy era have immigrants been the target of such intense repression for lawful political speech, Ramya Krishnan, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, told the court. The policy creates a cloud of fear over university communities, and it is at war with the First Amendment. The First Amendment ..

Trump welcomes Hamas' positive reply to US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan

The plan also includes staged release dates for the remaining hostages and a commitment by Israel to allow increased humanitarian aid into Gaza through traditional channels