Hamas

UN: Child War Victims Spiked in 2023 Amid Gaza, Sudan Crises

Violence against children in armed conflicts reached "extreme levels" in 2023, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, according to a forthcoming UN report obtained by AFP on Tuesday. The United Nations' annual "Children in Armed conflict" report placed the Sudanese army as well as the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the blacklist for "the killing ...

UN Probe Accuses Israel of 'Crimes Against Humanity'

A UN investigation concluded on Wednesday that Israel has committed 'crimes against humanity' during the war in Gaza, including that of "extermination", while saying Israeli and Palestinian armed groups have both committed war crimes. The independent Commission of Inquiry's report is the United Nations' first in-depth investigation into the ...

US Aims to Bridge Israel-Hamas Gaps on Deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Wednesday to work to seal a Gaza ceasefire agreement, saying not all Hamas demands were acceptable but voicing hope gaps could be closed. Consulting with key mediator Qatar on the Hamas response to the plan outlined by US President Joe Biden, Blinken said the Palestinian group could have given a "clear ...

Gazans Criticise Hamas Over Delay in Truce Deal

Certain Gazans are growing frustrated with Hamas, over delays in ending the war that has destroyed so many lives. Some Gazans have criticized Hamas, which rules the besieged Palestinian territory, for failing to end the war with Israel that has devastated their lives. Hamas has "led the Palestinian people into a war of annihilation", said Umm ...

Israel Court Extends Al Jazeera Ban

An Israeli court has extended for 35 days the government's shutdown of Qatar-based television news channel Al Jazeera, the justice ministry said on Friday. Al Jazeera, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, went off the air in Israel under an initial 45-day order early last month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has had a ...

Rare Day of Relative Calm as Gaza Sees ‘Tactical Pause’ for Aid

Gaza saw its first day of relative calm in months on Sunday, after Israel's military said it would "pause" fighting daily around a southern route to facilitate aid flows, following repeated United Nations warnings of famine in the Palestinian territory. "The first day of Eid al-Adha could almost be considered compared with the previous days," ...

On the Road to Total War 

Conflict scenarios are complex and foreshadow cycles of destructive violence resembling total war. Diplomacy has proven ineffective in containing the recurrent rounds of violence and offering an alternative road map to the dominant ideological and strategic impasses and power politics. The Palestinians are still subjected to the sway of the ...

Netanyahu Dissolves Israeli War Cabinet

An Israeli government spokesman on Monday said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dissolved the war cabinet following the resignation earlier this month of centrist leader Benny Gantz. David Mencer, spokesman at the prime minister's office, told reporters the war cabinet was a "prerequisite" for former army chief and defense minister Gantz to ...

Calm in Gaza Despite Blasts in South

Israel struck Gaza on Monday and witnesses reported blasts in the besieged territory's south, but fighting has largely subsided after a day of relative calm and as Muslims marked Eid al-Adha. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet, a government spokesman said, reflecting fractures at the top of the country's ...

Gaza Rescuers Report Deadly Strikes While Clashes Slow for Eid

Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 13 people in central Gaza, the civil defence agency in the Palestinian territory said, although fighting has largely subsided as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha. An Israeli announcement at the weekend of a daily "pause" of military activity to facilitate aid flows coincided with the Muslim holiday and has ...

Israeli Army Got Intel on Hamas Plans Before October 7

A document drawn up by the Israeli army's military intelligence on September 19, 2023 warned that Hamas was training for a large-scale invasion of the Jewish state, according to information revealed on Tuesday by Israeli public broadcaster Kan News, citing anonymous security sources. According to Kan News, the document details a series of ...

Netanyahu to Meet Families of Dead Gaza Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited relatives of hostages killed in Gaza to a meeting at his home, several families told AFP Tuesday, as criticism mounts over his response to the hostage crisis. In the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 251 people were kidnapped from southern Israel. Of the 116 hostages still in Gaza, 41 ...