Middle East

Netanyahu: govt to ‘close’ Al Jazeera TV in Israel

  JERUSALEM, May 5, 2024 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his government has decided to shut down the Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, with which his administration has had a long-running feud. The government “unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel”, Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter. “There will be no freedom of speech for the Hamas trumpets in Israel,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said […]

Hamas official says group will not accept truce that does not end Gaza war

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, May 4, 2024 (AFP) – A senior Hamas official on Saturday said the group would not accept a truce that did not completely end the Gaza war, accusing Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of “personally hindering” a deal. Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Saturday in the latest bid to halt the devastating almost seven-month-old war that has triggered worldwide protests. They were to hear the […]

Embracing hostage families, Blinken urges Hamas to accept ‘very strong’ deal

TEL AVIV, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Hamas to accept a “very strong” ceasefire-for-hostages offer as he vowed to put a priority on families seeking to reunite with loved ones. In rare scenes for the top US diplomat, who has faced furore at home and abroad over President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in its campaign against Hamas, Blinken was greeted outside his Tel Aviv hotel […]

Protesters chase EU diplomats from Palestinian Museum

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – Protesters from a Palestinian university chased a group of European diplomats out of a museum in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday over what activists said was their position on the Gaza war. Video posted on social media showed Italian consul general Domenico Bellato hurrying away from the Palestinian Museum near the city of Ramallah followed by a crowd of demonstrators. “The student’s movement refused those visitors […]

Netanyahu says troops to enter Rafah ‘with or without’ Gaza truce

JERUSALEM, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Israeli military will launch a ground offensive in Rafah “with or without” a truce with Hamas in Gaza. “The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total […]

Biden presses Egypt and Qatar on ceasefire, hostage deal

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to “exert all efforts” towards securing the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said. Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a truce in the Palestinian territory which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack […]

Hamas releases video of two hostages calling for Gaza deal

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Hamas’s armed wing released video Saturday of two men held hostage in Gaza who are seen alive and urging Israeli authorities to strike a deal for the release of all the remaining captives. Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified the two as Keith Siegel and Omri Miran who were abducted by militants during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7. “The […]

Hamas says studying new Israeli truce proposal

By Jay DESHMUKH JERUSALEM, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Hamas said it was studying on Saturday the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after media reports said a delegation from mediator Egypt arrived in Israel in a bid to jump-start stalled negotiations. The signs of fresh truce talks came alongside at least three Israeli air strikes during the night in Rafah, southernmost Gaza, according to an AFP correspondent. Rafah is […]

Iraqi female TikTok star shot dead: officials

BAGHDAD, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – A gunman on a motorbike shot dead a well-known Iraqi social media influencer known as Om Fahad outside her Baghad home on Friday, Iraqi security officials told AFP. An unidentified attacker shot Om Fahad in her car in the Zayouna district, a security official said, requesting anonymity because he was not cleared to speak to the media. Another security source said the attacker appeared to have pretended to be […]

Leaders of 18 nations call on Hamas to release hostages

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – The leaders of the United States, Britain, France and more than a dozen other countries called in a joint statement Thursday for Hamas to release the scores of hostages it is holding. Hamas seized the hostages during a shock October 7 attack that sparked the deadliest ever war between it and Israel, which has vowed to eleminate the Palestinian militant group. “We call for the immediate release of all […]

US House approves Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid, threatens TikTok

By Camille CAMDESSUS WASHINGTON, April 21, 2024 (AFP) – The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved long-delayed military aid to Ukraine in a rare show of bipartisan unity, while also bolstering Israel and Taiwan defenses and threatening to ban Chinese-owned TikTok. The four bills in the $95 billion package were overwhelmingly approved in quick succession, though they leave the future of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in some doubt as he seeks to fend […]

Calls for calm after reported Israeli strike on Iran

TEHRAN, April 20, 2024 (AFP) – World leaders appealed for calm Friday after reported Israeli retaliation against Iran added to months of tense spillover from the war in Gaza, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in a central province. Israeli officials made no public comment on the attack and Iranian officials played down its significance. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Israeli micro-drones used in the operation had caused no deaths or damage, dismissing it […]