BRICS ‘condemn the military strikes' against Iran, calls for unconditional Gaza ceasefire
'We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025, which constitute a violation of international law,' leaders said in a summit statement, without naming the United States or Israel by name.
The block also called for negotiators to reach a quick and unconditional ceasefire to end the 22-month-old war in Gaza.
'We exhort the parties to engage in good faith in further negotiations to achieve an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip,' the bloc said as negotiators were to meet in Doha.
The BRICS also called for a 'full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and all other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.'
The bloc's statement came as Gaza truce talks between Israel and Hamas resumed in Doha, and as pressure mounted to end the war, which began with Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
The BRICS gathering includes Israel's arch foe Iran, but also nations like Russia, which have close ties with the country.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House on Monday for talks with US President Donald Trump, who is pushing to end the war and has said he hopes for a ceasefire deal in the coming week.
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Al Arabiya
32 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
US-backed aid group GHF proposed ‘Humanitarian Transit Areas' for Palestinians in Gaza
A controversial US-backed aid group proposed building camps called 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' inside - and possibly outside - Gaza to house the Palestinian population, according to a proposal reviewed by Reuters, outlining its vision of 'replacing Hamas' control over the population in Gaza.' The $2 billion plan, created sometime after February 11 for the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, was submitted to the Trump administration and recently discussed in the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter. The plan, reviewed by Reuters, describes the camps as 'large-scale' and 'voluntary' places where the Gazan population could 'temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.' The Washington Post made a reference to GHF plans to build housing compounds for Palestinian non-combatants in May. A slide deck seen by Reuters goes into granular detail on the 'Humanitarian Transit Zones,' including how they would be implemented and what they would cost. It calls for using the sprawling facilities to 'gain trust with the local population' and to facilitate US President Donald Trump's 'vision for Gaza.' Reuters could not independently determine the status of the plan, who submitted it, or whether it is still under consideration. The aid group, responding to questions from Reuters, denied that it had submitted a proposal and said the slides 'are not a GHF document.' GHF said it had studied 'a range of theoretical options to safely deliver aid in Gaza,' but that it 'is not planning for or implementing Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs).' Rather, the organization said it is solely focused on food distribution in Gaza. A spokesperson for SRS, a for-profit contracting company that works with GHF, told Reuters 'we have had no discussions with GHF about HTAs, and our 'next phase' is feeding more people. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely false and misrepresents the scope of our operations.' The document included the GHF name on the cover and SRS on several slides. Relocation fears On February 4 Trump first publicly said that the US should 'take over' the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as 'the Riviera of the Middle East' after resettling the population of 2.3 million Palestinians elsewhere. Trump's comments angered many Palestinians and humanitarian groups about the possible forced relocation from Gaza. Even if the GHF proposal is no longer under consideration, the idea of moving a large portion of the population into camps will only deepen such worries, several humanitarian experts told Reuters. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The proposal was laid out in a slide presentation that a source said was submitted to the US embassy in Jerusalem earlier this year. The US State Department declined to comment. A senior administration official said, 'nothing of the like is under consideration. Also, no resources are being directed to that end in any way.' The source working on the project said that it had not moved forward due to a lack of funds. Reuters previously reported that GHF had attempted to set up a Swiss bank account from which to solicit donations, but UBS and Goldman Sachs declined to work with the organization. The Israeli Embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza government media office, to told Reuters it 'categorically' rejects the GHF, calling it 'not a relief organization but rather an intelligence and security tool affiliated with the Israeli occupation, operating under a false humanitarian guise.' 'Large-scale' camps The undated slide presentation, which includes photos dated February 11, said that the GHF is 'working to secure' over $2 billion for the project, to 'build, secure and oversee large-scale Humanitarian Transit Areas (HTAs) inside and potentially outside Gaza strip for the population to reside while Gaza is demilitarized and rebuilt.' The Humanitarian Transit Areas described in the slides would be the next phase in an operation that began with GHF opening food distribution sites in the enclave in late May, according to two sources involved in the project. GHF coordinates with the Israeli military and uses private US security and logistics companies to get food aid into Gaza. It is favored by the Trump Administration and Israel to carry out humanitarian efforts in Gaza as opposed to the UN-led system which it says let militants divert aid. Hamas denies this and says Israel is using hunger as a weapon. In June US State Department approved $30 million in funding for the GHF and called on other countries to also support the group. The United Nations has called GHF's operation 'inherently unsafe' and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. The UN human rights office says it has recorded at least 613 killings at GHF aid points and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups including the UN. One slide outlining a timeline said a camp would be operational within 90 days of the launch of the project and that it would house 2,160 people, along with a laundry, restrooms, showers and a school. A source working on the project said that the slide deck is part of a planning process that began last year and envisions a total of eight camps, each one capable of sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The proposal did not specify how the Palestinians would be relocated into the camps, or where the camps could be built outside Gaza, but a map shows arrows pointing to Egypt and Cyprus as well as other points labeled 'Additional Destination?' GHF would 'oversee and regulate all civil activities required for construction, deradicalization and temporary voluntary relocation,' the proposal said. Responding to questions from Reuters, three humanitarian experts expressed alarm over details of the plan to build camps. 'There is no such thing as voluntary displacement amongst a population that has been under constant bombardment for nearly two years and has been cut off from essential aid,' said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of the Refugees International advocacy group and a former senior US Agency for International Development official who reviewed the plan. The source who worked on planning for the camps told Reuters that the intent 'is to take the fear factor away,' enabling Palestinians to 'escape control of Hamas' and providing them 'a safe area to house their families.' The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's retaliatory military assault on the enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, caused a hunger crisis, and displaced nearly Gaza's entire population internally.
Arab News
42 minutes ago
- Arab News
Houthis claim attack on bulk carrier Magic Seas, which is sinking in Red Sea
DUBAI: Israel's military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by the Houthis, who responded with missile fire targeting Israel. The strikes came after the Houthis attacked a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. On Monday afternoon, they claimed the attack, which saw missiles and explosive-carrying drone boats set the vessel ablaze in the Red Sea. The Magic Seas attack raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could again draw in US and Western forces to the area, particularly after US President Donald Trump's administration targeted the militia in a major airstrike campaign. The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also was traveling to Washington to meet with Trump. Israeli strikes target Houthi-held ports The Israeli military said that it struck Houthi-held ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant. It released footage showing an F-16 launching from Israel for the strike, which came after the Israeli military issued a warning for the area. 'These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies,' the Israeli military said. The Israeli military also said it struck the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle-carrying vessel that the Houthis seized back in November 2023 when they began their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war. 'Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,' the Israeli military said. The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader was affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said that no Israelis were on board. The ship had been operated by a Japanese firm, NYK Line. The Houthis acknowledged the strikes, but offered no damage assessment from the attack. Their military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed its air defense forces 'effectively confronted' the Israelis without offering evidence. Israel has repeatedly attacked Houthi areas in Yemen, including a naval strike in June. Both Israel and the United States have struck ports in the area in the past — including an American attack that killed 74 people in April — but Israel is now acting alone in attacking the rebels as they continue to fire missiles at Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to launch further strikes. 'What's true for Iran is true for Yemen,' Katz said in a statement. 'Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have it cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.' The Houthis then responded with an apparent missile attack on Israel. The Israeli military said that it attempted to intercept the two missiles launched by the Houthis, but they appeared to make impact, though no injuries have been reported. Sirens sounded in the West Bank and along the Dead Sea. Saree on Monday claimed to launch missiles and drones targeting Israel in its attack. 'We are fully prepared for a sustained and prolonged confrontation, to confront hostile warplanes and to counter attempts to break the naval blockade imposed by our armed forces on the enemy,' Saree said. Ship attack forces crew to abandon vessel The attack on the Magic Seas, a bulk carrier heading north to Egypt's Suez Canal, happened about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the Houthis. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, center first said that an armed security team on the vessel had returned fire against an initial attack of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, though the vessel later was struck by projectiles. Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, said that the Magic Seas also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could be a major escalation. It said that two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board. UKMTO said the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel. They were rescued by a passing ship, it added. A European Union anti-piracy patrol in the region, called Operation Atalanta, said that 22 mariners had been on board the Magic Seas. Saree, the Houthi spokesman, claimed the attack and said the rebels used missiles and bomb-carrying drone boats to attack the ship. 'Our operations continue in targeting the depths of the Israeli entity in occupied Palestine, as well as preventing Israeli maritime navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas ... until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege on it is lifted,' Saree said. The Magic Seas' owners didn't respond to a request for comment. Houthi attacks came over the Israel-Hamas war The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks. The Houthis paused attacks until the US launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven't attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Pakistan army chief rejects Indian allegation of Chinese help in May conflict
Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday rejected New Delhi's allegation that his military received active support from longtime ally China in its conflict with India in May. Indian army's deputy chief Lieutenant General Rahul Singh said last week that China gave Islamabad 'live inputs' on key Indian positions. The 'insinuations regarding external support' are 'irresponsible and factually incorrect,' Munir said in an address to graduating officers of the national security and war course in Islamabad, according to an army statement. Pakistani officials have previously dismissed allegations of receiving active support from China in the conflict. Beijing and Islamabad have longstanding close relations, with billions of dollars of Chinese investment in the South Asian nation's energy and infrastructure. India's relationship with China meanwhile was strained after a 2020 border clash that sparked a four-year military standoff, but tensions began to ease after the countries reached a pact to step back in October. India and Pakistan used missiles, drones and artillery fire during the four days of fighting in May - their worst in decades - triggered by an attack in April on tourists in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire. Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack in April.
