Israeli forces kill at least 34 people in Gaza, rescue workers say

Israeli forces kill at least 34 people in Gaza, rescue workers say
FILE PICTURE Palestinians inspect damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, December 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 10 December 2024
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Israeli forces kill at least 34 people in Gaza, rescue workers say

Israeli forces kill at least 34 people in Gaza, rescue workers say

CAIRO: Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 34 Palestinians overnight and on Tuesday, medics said, as Israeli tanks pushed into areas in central and southern parts of the enclave. An Israeli airstrike killed at least 25 people in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have operated since October, and injured dozens of others in a multi-floored building, medics said.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency said most of those killed were from the same family, including women and children. Images posted online, which Reuters couldn’t immediately verify, showed the bodies lined up in a single mass grave in the town. Another airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people. It wounded several others, medics and the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said, while another killed two people in Rafah south of the enclave.

In Deir Al-Balah near the coast, Israeli naval forces detained six Palestinian fishermen who tried to sail into the Mediterranean Sea earlier on Tuesday, according to residents. Gunmen led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages back to Gaza when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies. More than 44,700 Palestinians have been killed in the 14-month-old Israeli military campaign on Gaza that has followed, Gaza health authorities say.

Ceasefire efforts by Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, have failed to find agreement, but recent signs of optimism among Israeli and Palestinian officials have suggested a deal to end the war could be closer. On Monday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas’ increasing isolation after the downfall of Syria’s Bashar Assad could open the door to a deal to return hostages but it was too early to say if efforts would succeed. On Tuesday, a Hamas official declined to disclose the content of negotiations but told Reuters mediators had recently stepped up their efforts, citing the group’s willingness to show the flexibility needed “to end the aggression on our people.”

A Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation effort said Hamas had asked other Gaza factions to list the names of Israeli and foreign hostages in their custody, whether dead or alive, signalling potential progress in the talks. Hamas wants a deal that ends the war and sees the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held captive in Gaza as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel, while Netanyahu has vowed the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.


Yemen’s Houthis say will deal with Israel in case of any violations Gaza ceasefire deal

Updated 4 sec ago
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Yemen’s Houthis say will deal with Israel in case of any violations Gaza ceasefire deal

Yemen’s Houthis say will deal with Israel in case of any violations Gaza ceasefire deal
Houthis to coordinate closely with the Palestinian resistance to deal with any Israel violation

CAIRO: Yemen’s Houthis said they will coordinate closely with the Palestinian resistance to deal with Israel in case of any violations to the Gaza ceasefire deal, the militant group’s military spokesperson said on Saturday.

At least 46,899 Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza war since Oct. 7, 2023, health ministry says

At least 46,899 Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza war since Oct. 7, 2023, health ministry says
Updated 7 min 29 sec ago
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At least 46,899 Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza war since Oct. 7, 2023, health ministry says

At least 46,899 Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza war since Oct. 7, 2023, health ministry says
  • 23 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured over the past 24 hours

CAIRO: Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said in an update on Saturday.
23 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said.


Lebanon’s new president stresses urgency of Israeli withdrawal from south under truce deal

Lebanon’s new president stresses urgency of Israeli withdrawal from south under truce deal
Updated 18 January 2025
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Lebanon’s new president stresses urgency of Israeli withdrawal from south under truce deal

Lebanon’s new president stresses urgency of Israeli withdrawal from south under truce deal
  • The ceasefire requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days
  • UN to exert utmost efforts to secure an Israeli withdrawal within the set deadline under the ceasefire terms

CAIRO: Lebanon’s new president Joseph Aoun stressed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday the urgency of an Israeli military withdrawal as stipulated by a ceasefire deal that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in November.
According to a statement by the Lebanese presidency on X, Aoun told Guterres during a meeting in Beirut that continued Israeli breaches were a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the agreed ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire, which took effect on Nov. 27 and was brokered by the United States and France, requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, and for Hezbollah to remove all its fighters and weapons from the south.
Guterres said the UN would exert utmost efforts to secure an Israeli withdrawal within the set deadline under the ceasefire terms, according to the statement.
He had said on Friday the Israeli military’s continued occupation of territory in south Lebanon and the conduct of military operations in Lebanese territory were violations of a UN resolution upon which the ceasefire is based.
Despite the deal, Israeli forces have continued strikes on what they say are Hezbollah fighters ignoring the accord under which they must halt attacks and withdraw beyond the Litani River, about 30km from the border with Israel.


Foreign minister says Syria looking forward to return to Arab League

Foreign minister says Syria looking forward to return to Arab League
Updated 18 January 2025
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Foreign minister says Syria looking forward to return to Arab League

Foreign minister says Syria looking forward to return to Arab League

CAIRO: Syria’s foreign minister said on Saturday he was looking forward to the return of Syria to the Arab League as the country’s new rulers seek a place in the regional political landscape.
Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani made his statements during a joint press conference in Damascus with Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki, who said the Arab League was working with member states to activate Syria’s participation. 


Missile fired from Yemen intercepted over central Israel, military says

Missile fired from Yemen intercepted over central Israel, military says
Updated 18 January 2025
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Missile fired from Yemen intercepted over central Israel, military says

Missile fired from Yemen intercepted over central Israel, military says

Explosions were heard over Jerusalem after sirens blared across the city and central Israel on Saturday morning, AFP journalists reported, while the Israeli military said a projectile had been launched from Yemen.
The explosions and sirens came after Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, said that the ceasefire in the war in Gaza would take effect from 0630 GMT on Sunday.
Sirens and explosions were heard over Jerusalem at around 10:20 am (08:20 GMT) on Saturday, shortly after sirens sounded across central Israel in response to the projectile launched from Yemen, the military said in a statement.
Minutes later, the military said it had intercepted the projectile launched from Yemen.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.
On Friday, the Houthis warned that they would keep up their attacks if Israel did not respect the terms of its ceasefire with Hamas.