By Richard CARTER THE HAGUE, Jan 26, 2024 (AFP) – The head of the top United Nations court on Friday began reading the initial decision in the case against Israel over alleged genocide in Gaza, a landmark case that has sparked global interest. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) could in theory order Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Hamas, or to facilitate humanitarian aid. The […]
Middle East
Yemen’s Huthis fire missiles at ships in Red Sea
By Jamal al-Jabiri SANAA, Jan 24, 2024 (AFP) – Yemen’s Huthis fired three missiles at two merchant ships in the Red Sea on Wednesday in their latest attack in the commercially vital waterway, the White House and the Iran-backed rebels said. It came after the Huthis vowed to keep up their attacks despite repeated US and British strikes against them. One missile missed its target and a US Navy destroyer shot down the other two, […]
Qatar ‘appalled’ at alleged criticism by Netanyahu
DOHA, Jan 25, 2024 (AFP) – Qatar said Wednesday it was “appalled” by remarks attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was allegedly caught on tape calling the emirate’s role as mediator in the Gaza war “problematic”. At a meeting this week with the families of hostages held in Gaza, Netanyahu blamed Qatar for financing Hamas and said he was upset at a US decision to extend the presence of a military base in […]
Israel proposes pause in fighting as part of hostage deal: Axios
WASHINGTON, Jan 23, 2024 (AFP) – Israel has proposed to Hamas via Qatari and Egyptian mediators a pause in fighting of up to two months as part of a deal to free all the hostages being held in Gaza, the US news site Axios reported Monday. The report, citing unnamed Israeli officials, said the deal would take place in multiple stages, the first of which would see the release of women, men over 60 and […]
EU presses Israel on two-state solution after war in Gaza
By Max DELANY BRUSSELS, Jan 22, 2024 (AFP) – The EU’s foreign policy chief on Monday insisted on an eventual two-state solution as he told Israel it couldn’t build peace “only by military means” ahead of talks with Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats. Josep Borrell repeated the condemnation from the United Nations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unacceptable” rejection of calls for a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza. “What we want to […]
Netanyahu rejects conditions for hostage release
JERUSALEM, Jan 21, 2024 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had rejected conditions demanded by Hamas militants for the release of hostages, hours after the group released a report justifying its October 7 attack on Israel. “In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands an end to the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all murderers…. If we accept this, our soldiers have […]
US military declares two Navy SEALs lost at sea ‘deceased’
WASHINGTON, Jan 21, 2024 (AFP) – Two US Navy SEALs who went missing during an operation to seize Iranian weapons bound for Yemen’s Huthi rebels have been declared dead after a 10-day search failed to locate them, the US military said Sunday. The Central Command (CENTCOM) had previously said that two SEALs who were reported as lost at sea were involved in the January 11 operation, in which the elite special operations personnel boarded a […]
Huthis say US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack
SANAA, Jan 19, 2024 (AFP) – Yemen’s Huthi rebels claimed another attack on a US ship early Friday, after the United States launched fresh strikes on rebel targets over their aggression towards vessels in and around the Red Sea. While the Iran-backed rebels maintained they had struck the commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, the US military later said the group’s missiles had missed their mark. In a statement posted to social media, the […]
Israel, US rift over possible Palestine state
WASHINGTON, Jan 19, 2024 (AFP) – Washington stressed once again Thursday it believes creation of a Palestinian state is the only way to guarantee Israel’s long-term security, putting the US-Israeli divide on the matter on sharp display. The comments come as questions swirl over the fate of the Gaza Strip when the Israel-Hamas war is over. Earlier Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “must have security control over all the territory west […]
Three women, four children killed in Pakistan strike on Iran: state media
TEHRAN, Jan 18, 2024 (AFP) – At least three women and four children were killed on Thursday in a missile attack by Pakistan on Iran’s southeast border region, Iranian state media reported. “Pakistan attacked an Iranian border village with missiles,” state television said, quoting Alireza Marhamati, deputy provincial governor of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province. “Three women and four children children were killed in this incident. All non-Iranian nationals,” he added. The attack targeted a village near […]
US strikes in Yemen after Huthis re-designated ‘terrorist’ entity
WASHINGTON, Jan 18, 2024 (AFP) – American forces targeted 14 missiles that were ready to launch in Yemen, the US military said Wednesday, after Washington re-designated the Iran-backed Huthi rebels as a “terrorist” entity for their attacks on merchant vessels. The Huthis — who have already faced multiple rounds of air strikes in response to their targeting of international shipping — struck a US-owned bulk cargo carrier in the wake of the designation announcement, and […]
Hamas sets new conditions in hostage medicines deal
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Jan 17, 2024 (AFP) – A top Hamas official announced new conditions Wednesday for delivering medicines to hostages held by the group in Gaza, insisting trucks carrying the drugs must not be inspected by Israel. Under a deal thrashed out by mediators Qatar and France on Tuesday, medicines along with humanitarian aid are to be supplied to civilians in Gaza in exchange for delivering drugs needed by hostages held there. Forty-five […]