Israel intercepts missile fired from Yemen
'Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF,' the Israeli military reported on Telegram.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
21 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hamas Rejects Trump Remarks on Gaza Talks Breakdown
Hamas officials expressed surprise on Saturday at US President Donald Trump's accusation that the group "didn't really want" a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza. Trump made the allegation of Friday a day after Israel and the United States quit indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar that had lasted nearly three weeks. "Trump's remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files," Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP. "So far, we have not been informed of any issues regarding the files under discussion in the indirect ceasefire negotiations", he added Nunu, who is close to Hamas's most senior political officials, said he was "surprised" that Israel and the United States had left the talks. Announcing the recall of US mediators on Thursday, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not "acting in good faith". Though not part of the Hamas negotiating team, Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq insisted the group had shown "flexibility" in the talks. "The American statements deliberately ignore the real obstructionist to all agreements, Netanyahu's government, which continues to put obstacles, deceive and evade commitments," he said. Both Hamas officials called on the United States to be more even-handed in its role as mediator in the quest for a ceasefire after more than 21 months of fighting. "We call for an end to the US bias in favour of Netanyahu, who is obstructing any agreement", Nunu said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
21 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Gunfire and Strikes Kill at Least 42 in Gaza as Many of the Dead Sought Aid
Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 42 people in Gaza overnight and into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service, as starvation deaths continued and ceasefire talks appear to have stalled. Gunfire killed at least a dozen people waiting for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel in the north, said staff at Shifa hospital, where bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd "in response to an immediate threat" and it was not aware of any casualties. A witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from aid trucks, but as they got close, they realized it was Israel's tanks. That's when the army started firing, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle was among those killed. "We went because there is no food ... and nothing was distributed," he said. Elsewhere, those killed in strikes included four people in an apartment building in Gaza City, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. Another Israeli strike killed at least eight people, including four children, in the crowded tent camp of Muwasi in the city of Khan Younis in the south, according to the Nasser hospital, which received the bodies. Also in Khan Younis, Israeli forces opened fire and killed at least nine people trying to get aid entering Gaza through the Morag corridor, according to the hospital's morgue records. There was no immediate comment from Israel's military. Stalled ceasefire talks Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas were at a standstill after the US and Israel recalled negotiating teams on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering "alternative options" to ceasefire talks. A Hamas official, however, said negotiations were expected to resume next week and described the recall of the Israeli and US delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which mediate alongside the United States, called the pause temporary and said talks would resume. They did not say when. "Our loved ones do not have time for another round of negotiations, and they will not survive another partial deal," said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of hostage Avraham Munder, one of 50 still in Gaza from Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Mor spoke at a weekly rally in Tel Aviv. Children starving to death The United Nations and experts say Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine. And now children with no preexisting conditions have begun to starve to death. "We only want enough food to end our hunger," said Wael Shaaban at a charity kitchen in Gaza City as he tried to feed his family of six. While Israel's army says it's allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. The Hamas-run police had provided security for safe aid delivery, but it has been unable to operate after being targeted by airstrikes. Israel on Saturday said over 250 trucks carrying aid from the UN and other organizations entered Gaza this week. About 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March. The Zikim shootings came days after at least 80 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the crossing, one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in the war. Israel faces growing international pressure. More than two dozen Western-aligned countries and over 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticizing Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near the new aid sites run by an American contractor, the UN human rights office says. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food. "Stand for Gaza, for silence is a crime, and indifference is a betrayal of humanity," said Father Issa Thaljieh, a Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, as religious figures and the mayor gathered to call for prayers to end the war. Turning to airdrops, with a warning For the first time in months, Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by neighboring Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops mainly will be food and milk formula. Britain plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said Saturday. The office did not give details. But the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, warned on social media that airdrops are "expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians" and won't reverse the increasing starvation or prevent aid diversion. More than 59,700 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between fighters and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Leaders
31 minutes ago
- Leaders
UK, France, Germany Urge Israel to End Gaza's Humanitarian Catastrophe
Britain, France and Germany are currently pressing on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and put an immediate end to a 'humanitarian catastrophe,' according to The Associated Press. Urgent Call This move came after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. On Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would hold an 'emergency call' with France and Germany to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace,' he said in a statement on Thursday. The joint statement, issued after a call between Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, urged for an immediate ceasefire and said that 'withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.' The three leaders also stressed their readiness to take more steps to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that ensures lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region. Macron's Surprise Announcement Crucially, Macron's unexpected announcement revealed some differences among the European allies concerning how to end the Israel-Hamas war that has started in October 2023. The E3 supports the establishment of a Palestinian state in principle. However, Germany is not planning to recognize the Palestinian state in the short term, according to Reuters. A German government spokesperson said on Friday that his country's top priority now is to make 'long-overdue progress' towards a two-state solution. Germany's position on Israel in the context of the Gaza war is deeply shaped by its sense of special responsibility to atone for the Holocaust, during which six million European Jews were killed under Hitler's regime between 1933 and 1945. Mounting Pressure in UK As for the UK, the British PM has been facing mounting pressure to officially recognize Palestinian statehood, both from opposition lawmakers and from members of his own Labour Party government. British MP Jeremy Corbyn has recently unveiled an independent 'Gaza tribunal' to investigate the UK's involvement in Israeli genocide in Gaza, according to Arab News. The Independent MP, who was the former Labour Party leader, has been criticizing Israeli military operation in Gaza since October 2023. On June 4, Corbyn introduced a bill into the UK House of Commons urging the government to establish an independent inquiry into UK's complicity in Israeli war in Gaza, including the supply of weapons, surveillance aircraft and use of Royal Air Force bases. Independent Gaza Tribunal However, the bill was rejected at its second reading earlier this month. As a result, Corbyn announced that he would hold a Gaza tribunal in September as 'the public deserves to know the full scale of their government's complicity in genocide.' The British government has been facing increasing pressure from MPs, including many from its own Labour Party, to take a decisive step against Israel. Call for Palestinian State Recognition Approximately 60 British Labour MPs have recently urged the UK government to immediately recognize the Palestinian state and halt what they labeled as 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza, according to The Guardian. A group of centrist and left-wing MPs write a letter this week to the Foreign Secretary David Lammy asking him to act immediately to stop Israel's reported plan to establish a so-called 'humanitarian city' of tents in the ruins of Rafah, in southern Gaza. 'By not recognizing [Palestine] as a state, we undermine our own policy of a two-state solution and set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,' the letter said. The MPs also described the plan as 'ethnic cleansing' warning that such a move means the forcible transfer of civilians and the erasure of Palestinian presence as well. It is with great urgency and concern that we are writing to you regarding the Israeli Defense Minister's announcement on Monday of his plans to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah without allowing them to leave,' the letter added. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 137,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Related Topics: Gaza Talks at Crossroads: US Pulls Negotiators as Mediators Report Progress Canada Condemns Israel over Gaza's 'Humanitarian Disaster' UK to Hold Urgent Talks with France, Germany over Gaza War Short link : Post Views: 34
