Trump says Israel agreed to 60-day Gaza ceasefire, but Israel has not confirmed
02/07/2025
'Society totally collapsing': Civilians in war-torn Gaza 'desperate, they feel alone and abandoned'
Middle East
01/07/2025
Israel is 'strong and powerful': Netanyahu push for regime change in Iran is 'childish and immature'
Middle East
01/07/2025
Deadly Israeli strikes hit seaside cafe, homes and schools in Gaza
Middle East
01/07/2025
Israeli ministers criticise settler attacks in West Bank
Middle East
30/06/2025
Anti-Israel chants spark controversy at the Glastonbury music festival
Middle East
30/06/2025
Irish MEP urges EU to 'hold Israel to the same standards as other nations'
Middle East
29/06/2025
Iranians flee to seek safety in Turkey amid Israeli strikes
Middle East
29/06/2025
At least 71 killed in Israel's attack on Tehran's Evin prison
Middle East
28/06/2025
Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as UN calls for safe access to aid
Middle East
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Hezbollah chief says won't surrender under Israeli threats
His speech came ahead of a visit expected Monday by US envoy Thomas Barrack during which Lebanese authorities are due to respond to a request to disarm Hezbollah by year's end, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This (Israeli) threat will not make us accept surrender," Qassem said in a televised speech to thousands of his supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, during the Shiite Muslim religious commemoration of Ashura. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hezbollah last year that left the Iran-backed group severely weakened have repeatedly vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire that sought to end the hostilities. Qassem, who succeeded longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah after an Israeli strike killed him in September, said the group's fighters would not abandon their arms and asserted that Israel's "aggression" must first stop. Israel has continued to strike Lebanon despite the November ceasefire, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group. Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure in the south, near the Israeli border. 'Not now, not later' Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier. Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic. Qassem said Israel must abide by the ceasefire agreement, "withdraw from the occupied territories, stop its aggression... release the prisoners" detained during last year's war, and that reconstruction in Lebanon must begin. Only then "will we be ready for the second stage, which is to discuss the national security and defence strategy" which includes the issue of group's disarmament, he added. Supporters dressed in black for Ashura marched through Beirut's southern suburbs before his speech, waving Hezbollah banners as well as the Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian flags. Some also carried posters of the slain leader Nasrallah. Hussein Jaber, 28, originally from south Lebanon, said the group's weapons "can't be handed over, not now, not later. Those who think Hezbollah will turn in its arms are ignorant." In his speech, Qassem also said his movement "will not accept normalisation... with the Israeli enemy", after Israel's top diplomat said his government was "interested" in such a move. Lebanon, which is technically still at war with Israel, did not comment. Syria, also mentioned by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, said it was "premature" to discuss normalisation. 'No pilgrims' Shiites in other countries around the region were also marking Ashura, which commemorates the death of the Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in a seventh century battle in modern-day Iraq. Iraq saw the largest commemorations on Sunday, particularly in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. In south Lebanon, hundreds of people participated in commemorations in Nabatiyeh, an area regularly targeted by Israeli strikes. Local resident Ali Mazraani told AFP that there were fewer people than usual "because of the situation in the south and the Israeli strikes that destroyed the market and several areas of the city". In Sunni Muslim majority Syria, several hundred faithful marked Ashura under the protection of security forces at the Sayyida Zeinab shrine south of Damascus, an AFP correspondent said. Syria's Shiite minority has been worried since Sunni Islamists in December toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was backed by Iran. Unlike in previous years, there were no processions in the Sayyida Zeinab area, where pro-Iran groups used to be heavily entrenched before Assad's ouster. "The Syrian state has bolstered its protection at this time," said Jaafar al-Amine, an official at the holy site.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Israeli negotiators due in Qatar for Gaza truce talks
An Israeli delegation was expected in Doha on Sunday, July 6, for talks on a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Netanyahu had earlier announced he was sending a team to Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, though he said that Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire deal included some "unacceptable" demands. Faced with mounting calls to end the war that is nearing its 22 nd month, Netanyahu is due to meet on Monday with US President Donald Trump, who has been making a renewed push to end the fighting. On Saturday, protesters gathered in Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv for a weekly rally demanding the return of hostages still in the Gaza Strip since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Macabit Mayer, the aunt of captives Gali and Ziv Berman, called for a deal "that saves everyone." Hamas said Friday it was ready "to engage immediately and seriously" in negotiations. A statement from Netanyahu's office said that "the changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal... are unacceptable to Israel", while also sending negotiators to discuss "the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to." On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said 14 people were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean Le Monde and Agence France-Presse (AFP) are unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates. 60-day truce Hamas has not publicly detailed its responses to the US-sponsored proposal, which was transmitted by mediators from Qatar and Egypt. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. Since the Hamas attack sparked a massive Israeli offensive with the aim of destroying the group, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in fighting, during which hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The Egyptian foreign ministry said Saturday that top diplomat Badr Abdelatty held a phone call with Washington's main representative in the truce talks, Steve Witkoff, to discuss "preparations for holding indirect meetings between the two parties concerned to reach an agreement." But recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire. The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Friday that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Israeli negotiators due in Qatar for Gaza truce talks
Netanyahu had earlier announced he was sending a team to Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, though he said that Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire deal included some "unacceptable" demands. Faced with mounting calls to end the war that is nearing its 22nd month, Netanyahu is due to meet on Monday with US President Donald Trump, who has been making a renewed push to end the fighting. On Saturday, protesters gathered in Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv for a weekly rally demanding the return of hostages still in the Gaza Strip since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Macabit Mayer, the aunt of captives Gali and Ziv Berman, called for a deal "that saves everyone". Hamas said Friday it was ready "to engage immediately and seriously" in negotiations. A statement from Netanyahu's office said that "the changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal... are unacceptable to Israel", while also sending negotiators to discuss "the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to". On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said 14 people were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates. 60-day truce Hamas has not publicly detailed its responses to the US-sponsored proposal, which was transmitted by mediators from Qatar and Egypt. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. Since the Hamas attack sparked a massive Israeli offensive with the aim of destroying the group, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in fighting, during which hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. But recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire. The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. 'Dying for flour' Karima al-Ras, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, said "we hope that a truce will be announced" to allow in more aid. "People are dying for flour," she said. A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said Friday that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points. The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,338 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable. © 2025 AFP
