Israel Iran War Live Updates: Leaders of 18 nations call on Hamas to release hostages, says White House
Hamas seized the hostages during a shock October 7 attack that sparked the deadliest ever war between it and Israel, which has vowed to eleminate the Palestinian militant group.
"We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens," the leaders said.
Israel estimates 129 of the roughly 250 people abducted during the Hamas attack on October 7 remain in Gaza, including 34 who the military says are dead.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
At least 34,305 people have been killed in Gaza during more than six months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said Thursday. Stay with TOI for live updates
Hamas again raises the possibility of a 2-state compromise
The Palestinian militant group Hamas has said for more than 15 years that it could accept a two-state compromise with Israel — at least, a temporary one. But Hamas has also refused to say that it would recognize Israel or renounce its armed fight against it.
For Israel and many others, especially in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that spurred the latest war in Gaza, that’s proof that Hamas is still irrevocably bent on destroying Israel. The United States and European countries have joined Israel in shunning the militant group they have labeled a terrorist organization.For some observers, Hamas has signaled a potential pragmatism that could open a path to a solution. But the group’s vagueness as it tries to square the circle of its own positions has fueled suspicion.Hamas offers long-term “truces” instead of outright peace.
It has dropped open pledges to destroy Israel but endorses “armed resistance” — and says it will fight for liberation of all “the land of Palestine.”In the latest iteration of its stance, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday the group would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip along the pre-1967-borders.
Though he again spoke of a truce, it was also a rare suggestion that Hamas could dissolve its armed wing.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas after the militants’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the creation of a Palestinian state and, critics say, worked to severely undermine the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority that has recognized Israel.
.jpg)
Israel to begin 'soon' evacuating civilians in Rafah
Israel is expected to "soon" begin evacuating civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned ground attack on Gaza's southernmost city, a state-owned media outlet has reported.The planned evacuation will start "soon", pending final approval by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Israeli Kan TV report.Earlier on Thursday, the country's wartime cabinet and security cabinet convened to discuss a possible assault on Rafah, a city previously considered a "safe zone" from the relentless Israeli bombardments, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have found refuge.The ministers also discussed new attempts to push forward a ceasefire that would secure the release of more than 100 hostages held in Gaza.In late March, Netanyahu announced his approval of attack plans; however, a final execution order remains pending.The United Nations has warned that any ground operation in Rafah would have catastrophic consequences for civilians.
UK slaps fresh sanctions on Iran after Israel attack
The UK on Thursday joined the United States and Canada in announcing a fresh set of sanctions against Iran's drone and missile industries after its recent attack on Israel.
Tehran launched its first direct military assault on Israeli territory in retaliation for an April 1 air strike -- widely blamed on Israel -- that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Damascus.
Iran's large-scale attack involved more than 300 drones and missiles, most of which were shot down by Israel and its allies including Washington and London, causing little damage.
The United States and Britain announced widespread sanctions on Iran last week, targeting individuals and companies involved in the Iranian drone industry.
Satellite photos show new port construction in Gaza Strip for US-led aid operation
The building of a new port in the Gaza Strip ahead of a US military-led operation to bring more desperately needed food and other aid into the besieged enclave as Israel's war on Hamas grinds on is well underway, according to satellite images analysed on Thursday by The Associated Press.
The construction appears to have been moving quickly over the last two weeks, judging from the images, and some officials say the port could become ready as early as a week from now.
The port sits just southwest of Gaza City, which once was the territory's most-populous area before the Israeli ground offensive rolled through, pushing over 1 million people south toward the town of Rafah on the Egyptian border. Its construction comes as Israel faces widespread international criticism over the slow trickle of aid into the area, where the United Nations says at least a quarter of the population sits on the brink of starvation.Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza's Rafah ahead of threatened invasion
Israel stepped up airstrikes on Rafah overnight, killing at least six Palestinians, medics said on Thursday, after saying it would evacuate civilians from the Gaza border city and storm it despite allies' warnings this could cause mass casualties.
In the seventh month of a devastating air and ground war against the Gaza Strip's ruling Islamist group Hamas, Israeli forces also resumed bombarding northern and central areas of the enclave, as well as east of Khan Younis in the south.
Israeli warplanes had hammered the north for a second day on Wednesday, shattering weeks of comparative calm there, and Israel said it was moving forward with plans for an all-out assault on Hamas holdouts in Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt.
Escalating Israeli threats to invade Rafah, the last refuge for around a million civilians who fled Israel's juggernaut further north earlier in the war, have nudged some families to leave for the nearby al-Mawasi coastal area or try to make their way to points further north, residents and witnesses said.
.jfif)
0 Comments