Hamas 'proceeding with responsibility and rationality' in negotiations
"While we recognise the extent of the blackmail practised by the occupation through committing massacres against our people - in a desperate attempt to extract concessions it has failed to impose at the negotiating table - we affirm that we are proceeding with responsibility and rationality, and with the utmost speed possible, in completing our consultations and communications with Palestinian forces and factions, in order to reach an honourable agreement that leads to stopping the aggression, ending the genocide, and achieving our people's goals of reconstruction," the group said.
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The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
Crypto funds intended for Hamas seized by US
Some $2 million in cryptocurrency assets intended for Hamas has been seized by the US government, according to recently unsealed court forfeiture documents from the US Department of Justice. According to court filings, the digital currency was held in Tether and Binance accounts connected through BuyCash, a 'Gaza-based money transfer business' allegedly involved in helping to finance Hamas. 'Terrorist organisations like Hamas and their affiliates rely on shadowy financial networks to fund their deadly operations,' US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. 'By seizing millions in cryptocurrency, the Justice Department is aggressively dismantling the financial infrastructure of terrorism and refusing to allow our digital currency platforms to become safe havens for terrorist financing.' The court filings allege that a man named Ahmed M M Alaqad, a partial owner of the BuyCash operation, is also suspected of supporting ISIS and Al Qaeda, among other groups. Unsealed court documents accuse him of 'materially supporting Hamas' after the group's attack on Israel in October 2023. According to the DoJ, the specific method of transferring funds via digital assets likely resulted in Hamas previously receiving as much as $4 million. 'These types of money transfers are a classic money laundering technique, as they intend to disguise the nature, location, ownership, and control of the funds being transferred,' read the unsealed court filings. Despite growing enthusiasm for crypto, scepticism still abounds. Unlike fiat currencies, crypto mostly lacks an overall regulatory apparatus and is largely decentralised, making it appealing to groups with nefarious intentions. In May, a man in the US was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison after a court found him guilty of converting $185,000 to cryptocurrency and transferring it to ISIS. In March, an investigation originating from the FBI's field office in New Mexico has led to the seizure of $201,400 in cryptocurrency assets that was intended to finance Hamas.
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
'Hunger has shaken my resolve': AFP journalists document Gaza war amid food shortage
AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that chronic food shortages are affecting their ability to cover Israel's conflict with Hamas militants. Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted. Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying "we have no energy left due to hunger". The United Nations in June condemned what it claimed was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. Witnesses and Gaza's civil defence agency, however, have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, with the UN saying the military had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May. 'We have no energy' Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza. "I've had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones," he said. "I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally. "I've tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail." Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family's home after his own apartment was destroyed. "I'm exhausted from carrying heavy cameras on my shoulders and walking long distances," he said. "We can't even reach coverage sites because we have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food." Qattaa relies on painkillers for a back complaint, but said basic medicines were not available in pharmacies, and the lack of vitamins and nutritious food have added to his difficulties. The constant headaches and dizziness he has suffered due to lack of food and water have also afflicted AFP contributor Khadr Al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, who said he has even collapsed because of it. "Since the war began, I've lost about 30 kilos (66 pounds) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war," he said. "I used to finish news reports and stories quickly. Now I barely manage to complete one report per day due to extreme physical and mental fatigue and near-delirium." Worse, though, was the effect on his family, he said. "They're barely hanging on," he added. 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Working as a journalist in Gaza is to work "under the barrel of a gun", he explained, but added, "The pain of hunger is sharper than the fear of bombing. Hunger robs you of focus, of the ability to think amid the horrors of war." 'Living the catastrophe' The director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Tuesday that Gaza was heading towards "alarming numbers of deaths" due to lack of food, revealing that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the last three days. AFP text journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, said an exhausting "cash crisis" — from exorbitant bank charges and sky-high prices for what food is available — was adding to the issue. Cash withdrawals carry fees of up to 45 percent, said Zanoun, with high prices for fuel — where it is available — making getting around by car impossible, even if the streets were not blocked by rubble. "Prices are outrageous," said Afana. "A kilo of flour sells for 100–150 shekels ($30-45), beyond our ability to buy even one kilo a day. "Rice is 100 shekels, sugar is over 300 shekels, pasta is 80 shekels, a litre of oil is 85–100 shekels, tomatoes 70–100 shekels. Even seasonal fruits now — grapes, figs — cost 100 shekels per kilo. "We can't afford them. I don't even remember how they taste." Afana said she keeps working from a worn-out tent in intense heat that can reach more than 30°C, but going days without food and only some water makes it a struggle. "I move slowly, unlike before," she said. "The danger isn't just the bombing. Hunger is slowly killing our bodies and threatening our ability to carry on. Now, I'm not just reporting the news. I'm living the catastrophe and documenting it at the same time." 'I prefer death over this life' Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on July 8 that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Video journalist Yousef Hassouna, 47, said the loss of colleagues, friends and family had tested him as a human being "in every possible way". But despite "a heavy emptiness", he said he carries on. "Every frame I capture might be the last trace of a life buried beneath the earth," he added. "In this war, life as we know it has become impossible." Zuheir Abu Atileh, 60, worked at AFP's Gaza office, and shared the experience of his journalist colleagues, calling the situation "catastrophic". "I prefer death over this life," he said. "We have no strength left; we're exhausted and collapsing. Enough is enough."
Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israeli minister shares AI video on X showing future Gaza without Palestinians
Gila Gamliel, Israel's science and technology minister, has shared an AI-generated video on X showing post-war Gaza with Palestinians ethnically cleansed from the territory. The video imagines a Trump Tower and other high rise buildings in the Palestinian enclave. It also shows Israelis enjoying food and drinks in markets, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks along the beach with his wife. 'This is what Gaza will look like in the future. Voluntary migration of Gazans only with Trump and Netanyahu. It's us or them,' Gamliel wrote.
