This is Beirut

Hamas Says Weapons Are 'Legitimate Right', Open to Proposals That Preserve It

This is Beirut, 14/12 12:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hamas's Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said on Sunday that the militant group had a "legitimate right" to hold weapons and that any proposal for the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire must uphold that right. "Resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right guaranteed by international law and are linked to the establishment of a Palestinian state," ...

Senior Hamas Military Leader Raed Saad Killed in Israeli Airstrike

This is Beirut, 13/12 18:41 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamas Raed Saad Israel Gaza

Israel said it killed the head of weapons production in Hamas's military wing in a strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. "In response to the activation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the elimination of the terrorist Raad Saad, ...

At Least 13 Dead In Gaza As Winter Storm Byron Batters Displaced Population

This is Beirut, 12/12 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Gaza Israel Storm

Gaza's civil defense agency on Friday said at least 13 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory. Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the ...

Gaza: International Force Could Deploy Next Month

This is Beirut, 12/12 18:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas Gaza Israel

International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a U.N.-authorized stabilization force, part of the second phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, two U.S. officials told Reuters. According to the sources, the International Stabilization Force (ISF) will not be tasked with fighting Hamas. A U.S. ...

Hamas Proposes Weapons 'Freeze' in Return for Long-Term Truce

This is Beirut, 10/12 23:46 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Hamas Gaza Khaled Meshaal

A top Hamas leader told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the militant group is open to a weapons "freeze" but rejects the demand for disarmament put forward in the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza. "The idea of total disarmament is unacceptable to the resistance (Hamas). What is being proposed is a freeze, or ...

Israel’s Power Vacuum Dilemma

Seth J. Frantzman , 10/12 17:10 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Israel Benjamin Netanyahu USA Lebanon Syria Gaza

On December 2 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israel Defense Forces soldiers wounded in recent fighting in southern Syria. Their injuries followed a November 26 IDF raid on the village of Beit Jinn in southern Syria, an operation that left several Syrians dead and wounded a number of Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu had a ...

Netanyahu Says Expects to Move to Second Phase of Gaza Truce 'Shortly'

This is Beirut, 07/12 16:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Hamas Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he expected to move into the second phase of the US-sponsored ceasefire plan for Gaza "very shortly." Speaking during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after a meeting between the two leaders, Netanyahu said, "We discussed how to bring an end ...

Mediators Qatar and Egypt Call for Next Steps in Gaza Truce

This is Beirut, 06/12 19:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Qatar Egypt Israel Gaza Hamas

Qatar and Egypt, guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire, called on Saturday for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an international stabilization force as the necessary next steps in fully implementing the fragile agreement. The measures were spelt out in the US- and UN-backed peace plan that has largely halted fighting, though the ...

Mediators Egypt, Qatar, Others 'Concerned' About Israel Opening One-Way Gaza Exit

This is Beirut, 05/12 21:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Donald Trump Hamas Saudi Arabia Qatar Egypt Gaza

Gaza mediators Egypt and Qatar and six other Muslim-majority countries said on Friday they were concerned about Israel stating it would open a one-way crossing for Palestinians to exit the Strip. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates "expressed their deep concern ...

Key Hamas Rival, Yasser Abu Shabab, Killed in Gaza

This is Beirut, 04/12 15:10 - Reading : less than a minute

Yasser Abou Shabab Gaza Hamas

Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the Popular Forces and one of Hamas’s main rivals in Gaza, was killed on Thursday under unclear circumstances. Israeli media provided conflicting accounts: some reported the killing was carried out by Hamas members, while others claimed he died in family clashes in Gaza or from fire by members of his own group, ...

Israel Says Received Presumed Remains of Gaza Hostage

This is Beirut, 03/12 18:57 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Hamas Gaza Hostages

Israel announced Wednesday it had received hostage remains found in Gaza from the Red Cross, which were being transported to the morgue for identification. It comes as the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms. Under the first phase of the deal, which came into ...

Israel Says to Allow Gazans to Exit to Egypt 'in Coming Days'

This is Beirut, 03/12 18:09 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Egypt

Israel said on Wednesday it would open the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt to allow residents to exit the Palestinian territory "in the coming days," but Egypt denied such a deal with Israel. "In accordance with the ceasefire agreement... the Rafah Crossing will open in the coming days exclusively for the exit of residents from ...

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