
‘There will be no more Hamas': Netanyahu says Israel will free hostages and dismantle the group
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that Hamas would be completely dismantled and all Israeli hostages freed. Israeli Prime Minister speaking at the EAPC facilities in Ashkelon, Israel.(X-@IsraeliPM)
Speaking at the EAPC facilities in Ashkelon, he said, 'There will be no more Hamas – it's over. We will free all of our hostages and eliminate Hamas down to its very foundations. Expected revenues from gas in the coming decade will be almost NIS 300 billion.'
(This is a breaking story. Check for more updates.)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Hindu
34 minutes ago
- The Hindu
France says Iran sanctions decision depends on detainees' release
France said on Thursday (July 3, 2025) it would decide whether to reimpose sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme depending on whether Tehran released two French detainees charged with spying for Israel. "Freeing Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris is an absolute priority for us," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. "We have always told our interlocutors from the Iranian regime that any decisions on sanctions will be conditional on resolving this issue." Iran officially suspended its cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Wednesday. The move came after a 12-day conflict last month between Iran and Israel, which saw unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and sharply escalated tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies that, but has gradually broken away from its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers, after the United States pulled out of it in 2018. Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates its arsenal amounts to 90 nuclear warheads. The landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal provided Tehran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic programme to be monitored by the UN nuclear watchdog. The deal included the possibility of UN sanctions being reimposed through a mechanism called "snapback" if Iran failed to fulfil its commitments, an option that expires in October. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has urged European signatories of the 2015 deal to trigger the "snapback" mechanism and reinstate all UN sanctions on Iran. Kohler, 40, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, have been held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject. But Iran has now charged the pair with spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, diplomatic and family sources told AFP on Wednesday. They were also accused of "corruption of Earth" and "plotting to overthrow the regime", the sources said. All three charges carry the death penalty. Tehran has not confirmed the new charges. A French diplomatic source described the allegations as "completely unfounded". Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been publicised, in what some Western governments including France describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West. Three other Europeans, who have not been identified, have also been arrested in the wake of the current conflict, two of whom are accused of spying for Israel, according to the authorities.


The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Amnesty International says Israel using starvation to commit Gaza genocide
Amnesty International issued a report Thursday (July 3, 2025) claiming a controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza uses starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas. The U.K.-based human rights group condemned Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the U.S. and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations. Israel's foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has 'joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.' Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites. The Amnesty report said Israel has 'turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians' through GHF's militarized hubs. The conditions have created "a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.' 'This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,' said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general. The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously. The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals. Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment. The World Food Programme says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began. 'The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,' the WFP said in a June report. Amnesty's report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organisations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective. It's the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the U.S. government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known U.S. donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque. GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza's population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine. Palestinian witnesses have described scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites. In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians. 'Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,' GHF said. GHF has called for Israel's military to investigate the allegations from Gaza's Health Ministry, but last month the organisation said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire. Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The U.N. and aid groups deny there is significant diversion. Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic 'blood libel.' It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court's accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister committed war crimes in Gaza.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Iran committed to Non-Proliferation Treaty, foreign minister says
Despite suspending cooperation with the IAEA, Iran asserts its commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, channeling future interactions through its Supreme National Security Council. This action follows accusations against the IAEA of siding with Western nations and comes after alleged Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The IAEA awaits official clarification from Iran regarding the new restrictions on inspections. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Iran remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday, a day after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog."Our cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will be channeled through Iran's Supreme National Security Council for obvious safety and security reasons," Araqchi wrote in a post on Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday enacted the legislation passed by parliament last week to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, a move the U.S. called "unacceptable."Araqchi's comment on X was in response to a call from Germany's Foreign Ministry urging Tehran to reverse its decision to shelve cooperation with the accused Germany of "explicit support for Israel's unlawful attack on Iran, including safeguarded nuclear sites".Iran has accused the IAEA of siding with Western countries and providing a justification for Israel's June 13-24 airstrikes on Iranian nuclear installations, which began a day after the U.N. agency's board of governors voted to declare Tehran in violation of its obligations under the powers have long suspected that Iran has sought to develop the means to build atomic bombs through its declared civilian atomic energy programme. Iran has repeatedly said it is enriching uranium only for peaceful nuclear inspectors are mandated to ensure compliance with the NPT by seeking to verify that nuclear programmes in treaty countries are not diverted for military law that went into effect on Wednesday mandates that any future inspection of Iranian nuclear sites by the IAEA needs approval by Tehran's Supreme National Security Council."We are aware of these reports. The IAEA is awaiting further official information from Iran," the Vienna-based global nuclear watchdog said in a statement.U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular briefing on Wednesday that Iran needed to cooperate fully with the IAEA without further delay.