hamas

Israel Hostage Families Urge Foreign Pressure for Gaza Truce

Families of hostages held in Gaza have urged the United States and other governments with citizens among the captives to pressure Israel to strike a deal with Hamas for their return. Following indications on Monday of progress in talks towards a truce in the seven-month war, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that it had appealed to a ...

UN and US Defend Free Press After Israel Bans Al Jazeera

The United Nations defended freedom of the press on Monday as it commented on Israel's decision to shut down the Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, while the United States opposed Israel's closure of the channel, saying it should be allowed to operate despite any concerns about its coverage. "We think Al Jazeera ought to be able to operate in ...

Israel Simultaneously Attacks Rafah, Engages in Negotiations After Hamas' Response

Following Hamas' response to the ceasefire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar, Israel decided to persist in its planned military operation in Rafah while simultaneously deciding to send a delegation of negotiators to Cairo for talks. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh informed mediators Qatar and Egypt early on Monday evening that his Palestinian ...

Fourth Israeli Soldier Dead Following Kerem Shalom Rocket Attack

The number of Israeli soldiers killed in a rocket attack launched from the besieged Gaza Strip towards the Kerem Shalom border crossing has risen to four, the military announced Monday, updating an earlier figure. The military did not specify whether the soldier was among the 12 servicemen wounded in the attack on Sunday. The military said on ...

Hamas to Continue Truce Talks Despite Rafah Evacuation

A Hamas spokesman said Monday that the Palestinian militant group would continue negotiations towards a truce in Gaza, despite Israel's order to begin evacuating people from Rafah in the south. "We will continue the negotiations positively and with an open heart", Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told AFP. He reiterated that an agreement was ...

The Limits of Negotiations

  The ongoing negotiations shepherded by the US and Saudi Arabia offer a suitable platform to tackle the equivocations of a deliberately mounted conflict and its self defeating premises. This conflict is intractable by definition and was initially conceived to prevent the possibility of diplomatic intermediation. The offer of a 40-day truce ...

Gaza Negotiations Stall Again

A Hamas official said on Sunday that the group's delegation to the Gaza truce talks in Cairo was leaving for Qatar after disagreements with Israel over demands to end the war persisted. A meeting in Cairo on a proposed truce linked to the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip ended on Sunday without any concrete progress, while Israel and Hamas ...

War Diary: Day 212

From Gaza to Lebanon, This is Beirut brings you a daily recap of the war between Hamas and Israel and its repercussions on the region. Here are the main highlights for May 5th, 2024.

Gaza Truce Talks on Hold, to Resume Sunday

Talks resumed in Cairo on Saturday on ways to achieve a truce in the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, against a backdrop of mutual accusations by the warring parties of obstructing any agreement. Talks resumed in Egypt Saturday aimed at halting months of war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel that have triggered protests around the ...

Le Monde: Armed Groups Rob $70 Million From Gaza Banks

Armed groups in Gaza, including one with presumed Hamas links, last month robbed the Bank of Palestine of some $70 million, French daily Le Monde reported Saturday. The funds were taken from the vaults of several branches of the bank, it said, citing a Bank of Palestine document sent to "certain international partners" detailing the ...

Police Clear Pro-Gaza Sit-In at Top Paris University

Police entered Paris' Sciences Po university on Friday to remove dozens of students staging a pro-Gaza sit-in in the entrance hall, AFP journalists saw, as protests fire political debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One student told reporters "around 50 students were still inside the rue Saint-Guillaume site" when police ...

Major Differences Persist in Hostage Release Talks

Ongoing disagreements are preventing the release of hostages, according to i24 News sources. Hamas continues to demand a complete halt to fighting. Despite an offer from Egypt, endorsed by Israel, Hamas seems reluctant to accept the proposed agreement, labeled "extremely generous" by Antony Blinken, said the Israeli media on Friday. Experts ...