Latest news with #HamasHostages
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Trump and Netanyahu to meet in private, away from the press, in talks over Gaza ceasefire
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is due to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, while Israeli officials hold indirect talks with Hamas aimed at reaching a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. Mr Trump said on Sunday there was a good chance such a deal could be reached this week. The right-wing Israeli leader said he believed his discussions with Mr Trump would help advance talks under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. It will be Mr Netanyahu's third White House visit since Mr Trump returned to office in January, and follows the US president's decision last month to bomb Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes. Mr Trump then helped broker a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war. The US president and his top aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war. Mr Netanyahu, who arrived overnight in Washington, was scheduled to meet Mr Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday in preparation for his talks with the president. The two leaders were due to have a private dinner, listed by the White House as closed to the press, instead of formal talks in the Oval Office where Mr Trump has usually hosted Mr Netanyahu and other visiting dignitaries. It was not immediately clear why Mr Trump was taking a lower-key approach with Mr Netanyahu this time. Israel is hoping that the outcome of its conflict with Iran will also pave the way for new diplomatic opportunities in the region. Avi Dichter, an Israeli minister and a member of Mr Netanyahu's security cabinet, said he expected Mr Trump's meeting with the Israeli leader would go beyond Gaza to include the possibility of normalising ties with Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia. 'I think it will first of all be focused on a term we have often used but now has real meaning; a new Middle East,' he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Monday. Ahead of the visit, Mr Netanyahu told reporters he would thank Mr Trump for the US air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and said Israeli negotiators were driving for a deal on Gaza in Doha, Qatar's capital. Israel and Hamas were set to hold a second day of indirect talks in Qatar on Monday. An Israeli official described the atmosphere so far at the Gaza talks, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, as positive. Palestinian officials said that initial meetings on Sunday had ended inconclusively. A second Israeli official said the issue of humanitarian aid had been discussed in Qatar, without providing further details. The U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely. Hamas has long demanded a final end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to halt fighting until all hostages are free and Hamas dismantled. Mr Trump told reporters on Friday it was good that Hamas said it had responded in 'a positive spirit' to a US-brokered 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal, and noted that a deal could be reached this week. Some of Mr Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners oppose ending the fighting but, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the 21-month-old war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire. A ceasefire at the start of this year ended in March, and talks to revive it have so far been fruitless. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and sharply restricted food distribution. 'God willing, a truce would take place,' Mohammed Al Sawalheh, a 30-year-old Palestinian displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza, told Reuters on Sunday after an Israeli air strike overnight. 'We cannot see a truce while people are dying. We want a truce that would stop this bloodshed.' The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates. Mr Trump has been strongly supportive of Mr Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics last month by lashing out at prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges Mr Netanyahu denies. Mr Trump, who has faced his own legal troubles, argued last week that the judicial process would interfere with Mr Netanyahu's ability to conduct talks with Hamas and Iran. Mr Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Mr Netanyahu, lauding the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success. On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran's nuclear program had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere. Trump insisted on Friday that he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, and said Tehran wanted to meet with him. Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Netanyahu Is Set to Meet Trump at White House on July 7
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 7, according to Israeli and US officials, as the administration urges its ally to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. The officials asked not to be identified discussing details that haven't been publicly announced. Earlier Monday, the White House said it was working on a date for the meeting. The meeting date was previously reported by Axios.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Woman, 82, attacked with flamethrower at Israel protest DIES as cops upgrade charges against suspect
An 82-year-old woman injured in the June 1 attack on Boulder protesters supporting the release of Hamas hostages as died, officials said Monday - as they upgraded charges against suspect Mohamed Soliman to murder. He will now face two murder charges in connection with the death of Karen Diamond, who 'died tragically as a result of the severe injuries that she suffered in the attack,' the office of Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a release. 'This horrific attack has now claimed the life of an innocent person who was beloved by her family and friends,' Dougherty said. 'Our hearts are with the Diamond family during this incredibly difficult time.' Soliman, an Egyptian national who'd been living in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children, has also been charged with an additional 66 counts in relation to 14 new victims identified through the ongoing investigation. Soliman has also been charged with a federal hate crime. According to his arrest affidavit, Soliman had been planning the attack for a year - waiting for his teenage daughter to graduate from high school before executing it. She graduated just days before he launched the attack with homemade flamethrowers on a Run For Their Lives event on Boulder's Pearl Street pedestrian mall. Karen Diamond died on June 25 and 'there was a private burial with the family before Shabbat,' Boulder rabbi Marc Soloway wrote in Boulder Jewish News. 'This event and the tragic loss of someone who has given so much of herself over the years to the Bonai community and beyond, has impacted us all and we are sad and horrified,' he wrote. 'We will need to support each other as we process this loss.' She is survived by her husband, two sons and daughters-in-law and five grandsons. The family has appealed for privacy. In addition to the murder charges filed in connection with her death, 'the amended complaint names a total of 29 victims in the attack,' according to the release from the DA's office. 'Of the 29 victims, 13 suffered physical injury during the attack. 'The complaint now contains the 2 counts of first degree murder, 52 counts of attempted first degree murder, 8 counts of first degree assault, 18 counts of attempted first degree assault, 2 counts of using an incendiary device, 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device and one count of animal cruelty.'
National Post
08-06-2025
- National Post
After antisemetic firebombing, Boulder Jewish Festival focuses on healing and hostage awareness
The group that was attacked last weekend in Boulder, Colorado, while calling for Hamas to release Israeli hostages, will be a central focus of the Boulder Jewish Festival, which kicked off Sunday morning in the same location where the firebombing took place. Article content Organizers of the festival, which is in its 30th year, said they have reimagined the cultural celebration to focus on community healing after a man who yelled 'Free Palestine' threw Molotov cocktails at Run for Their Lives demonstrators, according to law enforcement officials. Article content Article content Authorities have said 15 people and a dog were victims of the attack. Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were in the area and could potentially have been hurt. Article content Article content Run for Their Lives, a global grassroots initiative with 230 chapters, started in October 2023 after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Article content Sunday's festival at the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall will center the group's cause — raising awareness of the 55 people believed to still be in captivity in Gaza. The Boulder chapter walks at the mall every weekend for 18 minutes, the numerical value of the Hebrew word 'chai,' which means 'life.' Article content 'It is going to look very different this year. Run for Their Lives is going to be featured front and center,' said Miri Kornfeld, a Run for Their Lives organizer in Denver. 'The community is looking for a way to come together after an act of violence. People just want to be together, and they want to celebrate who they are.' Article content Article content For those who cannot attend in person, a Livestream will be available for the Boulder Jewish Festival on Sunday, June 8,... Posted by Boulder Jewish Festival on Saturday, June 7, 2025 A group representing families of the Israeli hostages plans to send at least one family to join the Boulder chapter Sunday as it resumes its weekly walks during the festival, Kornfeld said. Art, food and music are also planned. Article content Article content In response to the attack, the Boulder Police Department and the FBI are coordinating to provide increased security at the festival, local synagogues and the Boulder Jewish Community Center. Festival attendees can expect drones, SWAT elements and plainclothes officers in the crowd to increase safety and make people feel at ease, police Chief Stephen Redfearn said. Article content 'Any would-be attacker, anybody that might come there to cause harm, I want them to see that we have a lot of people there, and hopefully that dissuades anyone from doing anything nefarious,' Redfearn said Thursday.
Al Bawaba
30-05-2025
- General
- Al Bawaba
Haaretz: Israelis have killed 20 of its own captives in Gaza
ALBAWABA - According to a recent study by the Israeli daily Haaretz, Israeli military activities since the war's start on October 7, 2023, have murdered at least 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The research highlights the serious repercussions of Israeli bombings conducted without verified information on hostage locations, even though military authorities have repeatedly said that every attempt is being taken to protect the hostages. According to the research, Israeli attacks have put the lives of 54 prisoners in immediate jeopardy. The military often bombarded sites where hostages could be present without first confirming their precise whereabouts. One such instance mentioned was on April 7, 2025, when an Israeli aircraft struck a structure above a tunnel that was housing two hostages, Matan Zangoker and Idan Alexander. After the tunnel partly collapsed, the two barely made it out alive. Despite assertions of having accurate information, the episode revealed serious intelligence shortcomings. According to military insiders, operations go according to schedule if there is no information available on the hostages. "The more strikes we carry out, the more we risk harming the hostages," one insider told Haaretz. By recounting their horrific stories of barely escaping attacks, several former prisoners also disclosed that they were more afraid of Israeli bombs than of Hamas imprisonment. Three captives—Alon Shamriz, Samer Talalka, and Yoav Haim—were shot dead by Israeli soldiers when they came out nude with white flags, thinking they were being freed, according to the report. The troops were not informed that there were prisoners in the region. Another incidence occurred in February when an Israeli attack on a tunnel produced poisonous fumes that caused six captives to suffocate and die in Khan Younis. Yoram Metzger and Yagiv Buchstab were among the deceased. The hostages' families have voiced their indignation at what they see as the military's and government's "systemic negligence." One hostage's mother, Einav Zangoker, denounced the continuous attacks as politically driven acts that disrespect the life of the captives. "While the government bombs possible holding sites, our sons have been left behind for 600 days," she said. The military acknowledged some of the failures, with officials admitting that intelligence about hostage locations is often fleeting and quickly outdated once captives are relocated. One source described the army as effectively 'blind' in many operations, with decisions frequently made before receiving updated intelligence.
