Hamas

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

Al Jazeera to Pursue Legal Action Over Israel Ban

The news director of Al Jazeera informed AFP in an interview that the TV network is determined to pursue every available legal action to contest Israel's ban of its operations within the country. Al Jazeera can still broadcast its live feed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as the shutdown does not apply to these territories. Al Jazeera will look ...

Biden Slams 'Anti-Semitism' amid Gaza Protests

United States President Joe Biden condemned a "ferocious surge" in anti-Semitism on Tuesday, in a Holocaust memorial speech that came at a fraught moment in Israel's war in Gaza and with protests roiling American universities. Biden, who has backed Israel since the start of the conflict, said too many people were forgetting that it was the ...

War Diary: Day 214

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 7th, 2024.

Israel Seizes Rafah Crossing as Gaza Truce Talks Resume

Israel deployed tanks into Rafah on Tuesday, in southern Gaza, taking control of the border crossing with Egypt, an action that the United Nations stated obstructed access to the crucial humanitarian route. Israel sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing the border crossing with Egypt Tuesday, in an operation the United Nations said denied ...

South Gaza Hospitals Face Critical Shortage of Fuel

Hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have only three days of fuel left, the head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, due to closed border crossings. Despite international objections, Israel sent tanks into the overcrowded southern city of Rafah on Tuesday and seized the nearby crossing into Egypt which is the main conduit for aid ...

The Agreement Approved by Hamas: A Diplomatic Trap?

Could there possibly be two versions of a ceasefire proposal for Gaza? Could there have been a modified version unbeknownst to Israeli authorities? According to Israeli statements, the Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a ceasefire in the enclave, approved by Hamas on Monday, differs from the one previously endorsed by Tel Aviv. However, there appears ...