Hamas in talks with US about ceasefire and aid entry in Gaza, says senior Palestinian official
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Brazil to join South Africa's Gaza genocide case against Israel at ICJ
BRASILIA, July 23 (Reuters) - Brazil is finalizing its submission to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel's actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. South Africa filed a case in 2023 asking the ICJ to declare that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention. The case argues that in its war against Hamas militants Israel's military actions go beyond targeting Hamas alone by attacking civilians, with strikes on schools, hospitals, camps, and shelters. Other countries – including Spain, Turkey, and Colombia – have also sought to join the case against Israel. In its statement, the Brazilian government accused Israel of violations of international law "such as the annexation of territories by force" and expressed "deep indignation" at violence suffered by the civilian population. Israel denies deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians, saying its sole interest is to annihilate Hamas. Lawyers for Israel have dismissed South Africa's case as an abuse of the genocide convention. The Israeli embassy in Brasilia did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Brazil's National Israeli association CONIB said in a statement in response to Wednesday's decision that "the breaking of Brazil's long-standing friendship and partnership with Israel is a misguided move that proves the extremism of our foreign policy." Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has long been an outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, but Wednesday's decision carries added significance amid heightened tensions between Brazil and Israel's ally the United States. The Trump administration announced 50% tariffs on all Brazilian goods this month. A diplomat familiar with the thinking of the Lula administration told Reuters that Brazil does not believe its decision to join South Africa's case will impact its relationship with Washington, however. The United States has opposed South Africa's genocide case under both former President Joe Biden and Trump. In February, Trump signed an executive order to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, citing in part its ICJ case.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Hamas leader's wife ‘smuggled from Gaza tunnels to Turkey'
The wife of the architect of the October 7 massacre was smuggled out of Gaza and remarried in Turkey, it has been reported. Samar Muhammad Abu Zamar, the wife of Yahya Sinwar, slipped out of the enclave using a fake passport and carrying significant amounts of cash, sources in Gaza told Ynet, an Israeli news website. She married again a few months after Sinwar, Hamas's military commander, was killed by Israeli troops in October 2024, the news outlet reported. Sources said her wedding and resettlement in Turkey were organised by Fathi Hammad, a Hamas political bureau member who has been linked to attempts to hide terror operatives and their families. In 2024, footage was released showing Abu Zamar walking through a Hamas tunnel, clutching what appeared to be a designer handbag, hours before the October 7 attacks. Although officially unconfirmed, the story has been widely reported in Israel. Hamas, which styles itself as the primary force of Palestinian resistance to Israel, has repeatedly been accused of drawing strength from the suffering of ordinary Gazans who cannot leave the territory. Ynet reported an Israeli security official as saying that both Abu Zamar and Najwa Sinwar, the wife of Mohammed Sinwar, who took command of Hamas after his brother was killed, left Gaza via Rafah. 'She's no longer here – she crossed through the Rafah border using a fake passport,' a source said of Abu Zamar, saying the escape required 'high-level coordination, logistical support, and large sums of money that regular Gazans don't have'. The women are believed to have escaped via a smuggling network that Hamas has long had in place to evacuate its leaders' families. The report comes amid increasing resentment from Palestinians towards Hamas after 19 months of war. Pictures and videos showing senior members of the group living comfortable lifestyles elsewhere in the Middle East have also fuelled criticism. One Gazan civilian said: 'They send their children to study in Turkey and Qatar—and send ours to the grave. 'What makes them different from any corrupt ruler in the Arab world? 'They only look after themselves.' Hamas is now believed to be under the command of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the only senior commander from October 7 still alive. Hostage negotiations are believed to have been hampered by difficulty in communicating with what is left of Hamas's military structure in the Strip.
Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Aid groups warn of starvation in Gaza as deadly Israeli strikes continue
More than 100 charity and human rights groups have said that Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip towards starvation. The organisations raised their concerns as Israeli strikes killed another 21 people overnight, according to local health officials. Meanwhile, the US administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough. Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and offensive, launched in response to Hamas's attack on October 7 2023. Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security. People in #Gaza, including UNRWA staff, are fainting due to starvation and severe hunger. People including children are dying from severe malnutrition. People are being starved. UNRWA alone has thousands of trucks in neighbouring countries waiting to enter Gaza – banned by… — UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025 Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to recover all the captives and continue the war until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed. In an open letter, 115 organisations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'. It blamed Israeli restrictions and 'massacres' at aid distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated. 'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation and death,' the letter said. Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism and accused the groups of 'echoing Hamas's propaganda'. It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks to enter Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May, and that more than 700 are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the United Nations. That is an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500-600 trucks a day the UN says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. The UN says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing fighting, and a breakdown of law and order. An alternative system established by Israel and an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy. An official familiar with ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas said Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was travelling to Rome to meet Mr Witkoff on Thursday to discuss the state of the talks. US officials said Mr Witkoff planned to head to Europe this week. The State Department spokesperson said he was headed to the Middle East in a sign that momentum may be building towards a deal. The evolving deal, which is still being hammered out, is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce. "Silencing voices. As if banning international media is not enough. Humanitarian workers are also banned when they report on atrocities committed in #Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory. The denial of a visa to our colleague from @OCHAopt is the latest in… — UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2025 Israel has continued to carry out waves of daily air strikes against what it says are militant targets but which often kill women and children. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. Strikes overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 21 people, more than half of them women and children, according to local health officials. One of the strikes hit a house in Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included six children and two women, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant, and that the incident was under review because of reports of civilian casualties. Another strike hit an apartment in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said. A third strike hit a tent in Gaza City late Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said. In central Gaza, a strike in a densely populated part of the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed eight people and wounded 57, according to Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack, and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
