Hamas says it will free Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander
It is part of efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and allow humanitarian aid to enter the besieged enclave, the Palestinian militant group said.
More: 'Occupation': Israel readies plan to seize all of Gaza, officials say
Another official, the exiled Gaza Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, said efforts to facilitate the release have been jointly carried out by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.
"The movement affirms its readiness to immediately start intensive negotiations and make serious efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war, exchange prisoners in an agreed-upon manner," Hayya added.
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South Wales Guardian
43 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
US special envoy Witkoff visits food distribution centre in Gaza
International experts warned this week that a 'worst-case scenario of famine' is playing out in Gaza. Israel's near 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2.0 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people. Envoy Steve Witkoff and the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, which has been almost completely destroyed and is now a largely depopulated Israeli military zone. Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while heading to such aid sites since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office. Israel and GHF say they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated. In a report issued on Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said GHF was at the heart of a 'flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' Mr Witkoff posted on X that he had spent more than five hours inside Gaza in order to gain 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza'. He did not request any meetings with UN officials in Gaza during his visit, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters. UN agencies have provided aid throughout Gaza since the start of the war, when conditions allow. Chapin Fay, a spokesperson for GHF, said the visit reflected Mr Trump's understanding of the stakes and that 'feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority'. The group said it has delivered over 100 million meals since it began operations in May. All four of the group's sites established in May are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid. More 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli fire since May while seeking aid in the territory, most near the GHF sites but also near United Nations aid convoys, the UN human rights office said last month. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said on Friday they received the bodies of 13 people who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that US officials visited. GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent shootings had occurred near UN aid convoys. Mr Witkoff's visit comes a week after US officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. Mr Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages. The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on October 7 2023 and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including about 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Families criticise Starmer and say hostages ‘will rot in Hamas dungeons'
Hostages held captive in Gaza will continue to 'rot in Hamas dungeons' under Sir Keir Starmer's plan to bring peace to the Middle East. Lawyers representing the relatives of British people who were held by Hamas and those who had been murdered said the prime minister's peace plan would harm the remaining hostages in Gaza. Adam Wagner KC and Adam Rose, acting for the seven British families of hostages in Gaza, said four of the families met with senior Foreign Office officials on Thursday evening. In a statement, they said that British recognition of a Palestinian state if Israel and Hamas failed to reach a ceasefire by September would 'disincentivise Hamas from agreeing a deal'. They asked: 'Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?'. They said the families had 'held out some hope that the policy could not be as they feared and that since the UK had chosen to impose conditions on recognition, those conditions would also be on Hamas, as otherwise they would essentially be rewarded for continuing to commit war crimes, including hostage taking and encouraged to continue that path'. But that 'it was clear from the meeting last night that the British government's policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them'. Wagner and Rose claimed the release or otherwise of hostages would 'play no part' in the decision ministers will make in September and added: 'In other words, the 'vision for peace', which the UK is pursuing and which the families heard much about last night, may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons, just as British and British-linked hostages Emily Damari and Eli Sharabi did before them.' Starmer said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allowed more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. While he also called for Hamas to immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', he did not explicitly say these conditions would factor into a decision on whether recognition would go ahead. The US accused Starmer, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and President Macron of France of being 'clumsy' by saying they would recognise a Palestinian state before all hostages were released. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said recognition of Palestine as a state was 'irrelevant' and told Fox News Radio: 'The UK is like, well, 'if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. So if I'm Hamas, I say, 'you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire.' If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September.' The British families want the government to 'confirm that without the hostages being released, there can be no peace, and that this will be an important part of its decision as to whether to proceed with recognition and its current plan'. Starmer said this week that 'I've been absolutely clear and steadfast that we must have the remaining hostages released, that's been our position throughout'. However, Damari, a British-Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas, accused him of 'not standing on the right side of history' and said she was 'deeply saddened' by his decision. The families of Damari and Sharabi were among those who met with the Foreign Office. Also present were relatives of Nadav Popplewell, who died while held captive, as well as those of Oded Lifshitz, who also died, and Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released. The government said: 'We have announced our intention to recognise Palestine in September to protect the viability of the two-state solution. The first step in that process must be a ceasefire and there is no question about that. 'Our demands on Hamas have not changed. For there to be any chance of peace, the hostages must be released. Hamas must lay down its weapons and commit to having no future role in the governance of Gaza. 'We must also see significant progress on the ground including the supply of humanitarian support and for Israel to rule out annexations in the West Bank, and a commitment to a long-term sustainable peace. We will make an assessment ahead of UNGA (the United Nations general assembly) on how far both Israel and Hamas have met the steps we set out. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.' President Trump had also expressed his 'displeasure and disagreement' with Starmer over the promise to recognise a Palestinian state. The US president, who had previously suggested he was relaxed about the prospect, even though he disagreed, hardened his stance after more countries said they would recognise Palestine. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump had expressed his 'displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada'. She told reporters: 'He feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages.' Dame Diana Johnson, the crime and policing minister, said there would be an assessment in September on whether the British government will recognise a Palestinian state. Asked if hostages being released would be a condition of that, she told Times Radio: 'Neither side has a veto on what the British government choose to do in September. And that will be an assessment that will be taking place in September. 'The prime minister has set out what he expects from Israel. Obviously, that's a democratically elected government, very different to Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation.' She said: 'We need to actually have the ceasefire, and then move on to trying to re-establish that peace process and the establishment of what my party and I think generally is accepted, a two-state solution.'
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
CHRIS HUGHES: ‘Israeli top negotiator convinced me peace in Middle East is still possible'
Gershon Baskin has endured sleepless nights as he battled for his uncompromising view that a two state solution can be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians He has for decades braved the fury of the Israeli right-wing over his relentless determination to help peace with Palestinians. Uncompromising in his view that it and a two state solution can be achieved he has promoted this vision tirelessly for over half a century. Even when he mourned his murdered wife's cousin at his graveside he steeled himself for the battle to put aside his anger and keep the campaign going. Gershon Baskin has endured sleepless nights and relentless days travelling in and out of Gaza, the West Bank, listening to people who may have been his natural enemy. And yet despite all of this when I finally meet him I encounter a kindly, gently spoken, scholarly person who I suspect could persuade anyone of his dream. Gershon is not a preacher and does not patronise, patiently allowing you to catch up with him as he tells you fascinating tales of meetings, sometimes tense, with Hamas leaders. READ MORE: WW3 fears as Vladimir Putin is trying to 'justify a Russia war with NATO' It is commonplace in Israel but his depth of knowledge on the history and tragedy of the region is impressive and told in an animated way. It is possible to see how he has dodged the mindless hatred and dogma between many on both sides, to smoothly persuade, reason and chicane around the difficulties of dealing with the extreme. Through him it is possible to see that there can be a voice of reason and mend the schism that this war has further torn between Israel and those who may thrive in a future Palestinian state. His cause is a decent and profoundly felt one and for a two state solution to be the future one day it will rest on the shoulders of people like him. I have tried to meet and interview him for some time but it never worked out- and having done so now, much of my doubt that peace can be achieved any time soon has softened.
