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Hamas seeks ceasefire guarantees as scores more killed in Gaza

Hamas seeks ceasefire guarantees as scores more killed in Gaza

Daily Maverick8 hours ago
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire deal and hostage deal appeared high, nearly 21 months since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
On the ground, intensified Israeli strikes across Gaza continued unabated, killing at least 59 people on Thursday, according to health authorities in the territory.
Efforts for a Gaza truce have gathered steam after the U.S. secured a ceasefire to end a 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war.
Hamas is seeking clear guarantees that the ceasefire will eventually lead to the war's end, the source close to the group said. Two Israeli officials said that those details were still being worked out.
Ending the war has been the main sticking point in repeated rounds of failed negotiations.
A separate source familiar with the matter said that Israel was expecting Hamas' response by Friday and that if it was positive, an Israeli delegation would join indirect talks to cement the deal. It was unclear whether those would be held in Egypt or Qatar, the two countries that have been mediating talks.
The proposal includes the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 more in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, sources say. Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.
A senior Israeli official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said preparations were in place to approve a ceasefire deal even as the premier heads to Washington to meet Trump on Monday.
'READINESS TO ADVANCE'
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who sits on Netanyahu's security cabinet, told news website Ynet that there was 'definitely readiness to advance a deal.'
In Gaza, however, there was little sign of relief. At least 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a school in Gaza City where displaced families were sheltering, according to medics.
'Suddenly, we found the tent collapsing over us and a fire burning. We don't know what happened,' one witness, Wafaa Al-Arqan, told Reuters. 'What can we do? Is it fair that all these children burned?'
According to medics at Nasser hospital farther south, at least 20 people were killed by Israeli fire en route to an aid distribution site.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports and that its forces were taking precautions to mitigate harm to civilians as it battled Palestinian militants throughout Gaza.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while displacing most of the population of more than 2 million, triggering widespread hunger and leaving much of the territory in ruins.
Israel says it won't end the war while Hamas is still armed and ruling Gaza. Hamas, severely weakened, says it won't lay down its weapons but is willing to release all the hostages still in Gaza if Israel ends the war.
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UN report names 48 multinational corporations allegedly profiting from Palestinian occupation
UN report names 48 multinational corporations allegedly profiting from Palestinian occupation

IOL News

time2 hours ago

  • IOL News

UN report names 48 multinational corporations allegedly profiting from Palestinian occupation

The findings, presented by Francesca Albanese - the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian - during a media briefing in Geneva on Thursday, accuse these corporations of failing to uphold their legal responsibilities, thereby facilitating a system of exploitative occupation. Image: Supplied The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories has unveiled a report listing up to 48 multinational corporations allegedly complicit in the ongoing war and profiting from the occupation of Palestine. The findings, presented by Francesca Albanese during a media briefing in Geneva on Thursday, accuse these corporations of failing to uphold their legal responsibilities, thereby facilitating a system of exploitative occupation. Albanese's report highlights a troubling landscape where corporations across various sectors—including weapons manufacturers, technology firms, financial institutions, and construction companies—are said to be contributing to what she describes as a 'livestreamed genocide.' The findings underscore a broader complicity, presenting a picture where corporate interests overshadow profound ethical considerations regarding human rights violations in the region. 'These actors have entrenched and expanded Israel's settler-colonial logic of displacement and replacement – and this is not accidental,' Albanese said. 'It is the function of an economy built to dominate, dispossess, and erase Palestinians from their land.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ She emphasised that, instead of using their leverage to oppose human rights abuses, these companies have normalised Israel's oppressive actions as mere economic activities, ignoring the escalating atrocities following the 7 October 2023. The report doesn't just stop at identifying companies; it extends its scope to corporations enabling the infrastructure that supports this occupation. Albanese asserted that numerous firms involved in finance, research, advertising, and legal consulting have played a role in sustaining the settler-colonial regime through the dissemination of bias, narratives, and investment. 'Corporate actors are deeply entwined in the system of occupation, apartheid and genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory,' Albanese said. 'For decades, Israel's repression of Palestinian people has been scaffolded by corporations, fully aware of and yet indifferent to, decades of human rights violations and international crimes.' Among the firms highlighted are technology giants like Alphabet, IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft, accused of providing carceral and surveillance services that fuel the machine of oppression. Meanwhile, arms manufacturers such as Elbit Systems and Lockheed Martin have reportedly supplied Israel with military hardware, including cutting-edge fighter jets and drones, enabling destructive operations. According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 56 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military during its 21-month campaign in Gaza. Albanese's findings correlate with the sentiment that the international community must hold corporations accountable. She drew parallels with South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which had repercussions for corporations embroiled in apartheid. 'The serious, structural and sustained nature of Israel's crimes and violations triggered a prima facie responsibility to disengage — one that many corporations ignored,' she said. 'Corporate fixation on narrow technicalities and isolated violations rather than confronting the structural illegality of their ties to Israel's occupation is disingenuous.' Energy companies were also scrutinised for their roles in perpetuating the Israeli blockade. The report revealed that Israel depends heavily on energy inputs from global corporations, which have their own stakes in maintaining an energy infrastructure that serves the needs of both Israeli settlers and the military, while denying similar resources to Palestinians. It mentioned Swiss-based Glencore plc as among primary suppliers for coal that powers electricity in Israel "Glencore was also involved in shipments from South Africa; these shipments accounted for 15% of Israeli coal imports in 2023 and 2024. By supplying Israel with coal, gas, oil and fuel, companies are contributing to civilian infrastructures that Israel uses to entrench permanent annexation and now weaponizes in the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza," it said. However, Glencore's head of corporate communications, Charles Watenphul, told Business Report that there was no substance in the allegations made in the report. 'We categorically reject all allegations contained in the report and consider them to be without any foundation and legally groundless,' Watenphul said. Albanese called for sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel and for global corporations to be held accountable for 'profiting from genocide' in Gaza. Last month, the Trump administration wrote to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres calling on the UN to remove Albanese, alleging 'virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism' and alleging that she claimed to be an 'international lawyer' but was not licensed to practice law. Albanese is an Italian legal scholar who has been the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. BUSINESS REPORT

Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 69 people
Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 69 people

eNCA

time4 hours ago

  • eNCA

Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 69 people

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What do we know about the latest push for a Gaza truce?
What do we know about the latest push for a Gaza truce?

IOL News

time5 hours ago

  • IOL News

What do we know about the latest push for a Gaza truce?

Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Jabal al-Rihan in the southern Lebanese province of Jezzine. US President Donald Trump this week urged the Palestinian militant group Hamas to seize the opportunity for a 60-day truce in Gaza, saying Israel had agreed to the proposal. After almost 21 months of devastating fighting in the Palestinian territory and following a speedy resolution to Israel's 12-day war with Iran, Trump's exhortations have reignited hopes for a third ceasefire in the Gaza war. But, with familiar obstacles to a truce still in place and an upcoming meeting between Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu critical to the outcome, the likelihood of a deal remains in the balance, analysts say. What's holding up a Hamas response? Efforts to strike a deal in numerous rounds of indirect talks have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention centred on Hamas's calls for an enduring ceasefire in Gaza. In a Wednesday statement, Hamas said it was weighing its response to the new proposal and sought "an agreement that guarantees ending the aggression" as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the entry of aid into the territory. Hugh Lovatt, a Middle East analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said there could be flexibility in Hamas's position if they adopt a "pragmatic understanding that this is as good as they'll get for the foreseeable future". He nonetheless noted that there were "still extremely sizable gaps" on Hamas's demands, including the path to a permanent end to the war, the re-opening of Gaza to humanitarian aid and Israel's withdrawal. "Those will be ultimately the most critical matters in deciding whether that initial 60-day period is put on," he added. Andreas Krieg, a Middle East analyst at King's College London, said Hamas's "deep mistrust of Israel's intentions -- given past ceasefires that collapsed under renewed strikes -- means Hamas would need firm guarantees before agreeing" to a deal. In January, Hamas and Israel agreed to a truce which broke down in March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps and Israel resuming air and ground attacks.

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