Netanyahu says Israel considering ‘alternative' means to achieve Gaza goals
JERUSALEM - Israel and its US allies are now considering 'alternative' options to bring their hostages home from Gaza and end the rule of Hamas in the territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 25 , apparently calling an end to ceasefire talks.
The remarks echoed statements made overnight by US envoy Steve Witkoff after Israel and the United States pulled their delegations out of the talks in Doha, mediated by Egypt and Qatar.
Mr Witkoff said Hamas was to blame for an impasse. Mr Netanyahu said Mr Witkoff had got it right, and that Hamas was the obstacle to a deal.
Hamas, which had given its response to a US-backed ceasefire proposal on July 24 , has disputed Mr Witkoff's characterisation of the talks and said the negotiators were making progress.
The proposed ceasefire would have lasted 60 days during which additional aid would be allowed into Gaza, and some of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants there would be freed in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Italy's Meloni: Recognising Palestinian state before it is established may be 'counterproductive'
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts as she speaks to the media at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco/File Photo MILAN - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. "I am very much in favour of the State of Palestine but I am not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it," Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica. "If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't," Meloni added. France's decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. On Friday, Italy's foreign minister said recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with recognition of Israel by the new Palestinian entity. A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey speak to media at Admiralty House during the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in Sydney, Australia July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham/File Photo SYDNEY - Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year. REUTERS
AsiaOne
3 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day despite ceasefire calls, Asia News
SISAKET, Thailand — Fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border extended into a third day and new flashpoints emerged on Saturday (July 26) as both sides sought diplomatic support, saying they had acted in self-defence and calling on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations. At least 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years. The Thai navy said there were clashes in the coastal province of Trat early on Saturday, a new front more than 100km from other conflict points along the long-contested border. The two countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. Thailand's death toll remained at 19 on Saturday, while Cambodian Defence Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata said five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed in the the Kanthralak district of Thailand's Sisaket province, on the border near some of the clashes, hotel worker Chianuwat Thalalai said the town had emptied out. "Nearly everybody's gone, it's almost a deserted city," the 31-year-old told Reuters. "My hotel is still open for some of those nearer to the border area that needs a place to stay." Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting on Friday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July — claims Cambodia has strongly denied — and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning. "Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith," Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media. Decades of disputes Cambodia's defence ministry said Thailand had launched "a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack" on Thursday, and was now mobilising troops and military equipment on the border. "These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Cambodia called for the international community to "condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms" and to prevent an expansion of Thailand's military activities. Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally, telling the Security Council it was "deeply regrettable that Cambodia has deliberately avoided meaningful dialogue and instead sought to internationalise the issue to serve its own political objectives". Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817km land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognised the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach. ALSO READ: Cambodia calls for ceasefire with Thailand, AFP reports
