Latest news with #endthewar
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Israel says it has recovered the bodies of 2 Israeli-American hostages from the Gaza Strip
People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday meanwhile killed at least 13 people, including three local journalists, according to health officials in the territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. 'Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the dear families. Our hearts ache for the most terrible loss. May their memory be blessed,' he said in a statement. Kibbutz Nir Oz announced the deaths of Weinstein, 70, and Haggai, 72, both of whom had Israeli and U.S. citizenship, in December 2023. The military said they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. The army said it recovered the remains of Weinstein and Haggai overnight into Thursday from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. A teacher who helped children and a chef who played jazz The couple were taking an early morning walk near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed across the border and rampaged through several army bases and farming communities. In the early hours of the morning, Weinstein was able to call emergency services and let them know that both she and her husband had been shot, and send a message to her family. Weinstein was born in New York and taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety as a result of rocket fire from Gaza. Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician. 'My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty,' their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and U.S. governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages. The couple were survived by two sons and two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said. Reporters among 13 killed in Israeli strikes At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis overnight, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. It was not immediately clear if the strikes were related to the recovery mission. In Gaza City, three local reporters were killed and six people were wounded in a strike on the courtyard of the al-Ahli Hospital, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It did not immediately identify the journalists or say which outlets they worked for. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports on the strike at al-Ahli. The army says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is embedded in populated areas. Over 180 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the vast majority of them in Gaza, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has said many of those killed in its strikes were militants posing as reporters. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. Ceasefire talks deadlocked The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker another ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended an earlier truce in March and imposed a blockade that has raised fears of famine, despite being eased in recent weeks. But the talks appear to be deadlocked. Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It has offered to hand over power to a politically independent Palestinian committee. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will only agree to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the return of hostages. He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. He has said Israel will maintain control over Gaza indefinitely and will facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries. The Palestinians and much of the international community have rejected such plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion that could violate international law. ___ Melanie Lidman, Natalie Melzer and Wafaa Shurafa, The Associated Press Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed.
Khaleej Times
01-06-2025
- General
- Khaleej Times
Gaza ceasefire: Egypt, Qatar still working on truce between Hamas, Israel
In a joint statement carried by Egypt's Foreign Ministry, the two countries called on all parties to support mediators' efforts to end the war.
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Israel calls on Qatar to ‘stop playing both sides' in Gaza talks
People protest in Tel Aviv, demanding an end to the war and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. (AP pic) CAIRO : Israel called on Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, to 'stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it's on the side of civilisation or if it's on the side of Hamas', the Israeli prime minister's office said on Saturday. Qatar rejected the statements as 'inflammatory'. Despite efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to restore a ceasefire, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal. Israel, which wants the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza, has insisted Hamas must disarm and be excluded from any role in the future governance of the enclave, a condition that Hamas rejects. It has insisted on agreeing a lasting end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces as a condition for a deal that would see a release of the hostages. 'The state of Qatar firmly rejects the inflammatory statements issued by the Israeli prime minister's office, which fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility,' Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari posted on X early on Sunday. Al-Ansari criticised the portrayal of the Gaza conflict as a defence of civilisation, likening it to historical regimes that used 'false narratives to justify crimes against civilians.' In his post, Al-Ansari questioned whether the release of 138 hostages was achieved through military operations or mediation efforts, which he said are being unjustly criticised and undermined. He also cited the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza represented by what he called a suffocating blockade, systematic starvation, denial of medicine and shelter, and the use of humanitarian aid as a tool of political coercion. On Friday, Israel's security cabinet approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Friday, adding to signs that attempts to stop the fighting and return hostages held by Hamas have made no progress. Israel's campaign was triggered by the devastating Hamas attack on Oct 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage. It has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated Gaza where aid groups have warned the Israeli blockade risks a humanitarian disaster.
