A man looks at posters showing pictures of hostages taken by Hamas and missing people waiting to come home, following a deadly infiltration of Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel October 28, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar AwadIsrael-Hamas War, Day 22 Highlights: Hamas’ armed wing spokesperson on Saturday said that the group would only release all the hostages it has if Israel freed all Palestinian prisoners. Hamas can also hold talks over a “partial” agreement over the captives, he added. Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, in a video speech also said that Hamas was about to reach an agreement with Israel over the hostages held by the Palestinian militant faction but Israel had “stalled” on that possibility.
Hamas said on Saturday its militants in Gaza were ready to confront Israeli attacks with ‘full force’ after Israel’s military widened its air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave, Reuters reported. The Palestinian militant group reported clashes between its fighters and Israeli troops near the Israeli border following Israel’s escalated attacks in Gaza.
Israel confirmed on Saturday morning that its troops, deployed the previous night, remained present on the ground. It intensified its bombardment overnight on the Gaza Strip, knocking out internet and communication services in the besieged territory, and isolating its 2.3 million residents from both internal and external communication. This action created a virtual information blackout, as the military announced its plans to ‘expand’ ground operations in the region. Meanwhile, India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict, seeking to halt hostilities and ensure unobstructed humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Saturday that Israel had recalled some of its diplomatic envoys to Turkey because of 'grave statements' made by Ankara.
'Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey,' Cohen said in a post on the social media site X.
He did not give any further details. (Reuters)
amas was about to reach an agreement with Israel over the hostages held by the Palestinian militant faction but Israel had "stalled" on that possibility, a spokesman for the group's armed wing said on Saturday.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, also said in a video speech the group would only release all the hostages it has if Israel freed all Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas can also hold talks over a "partial" agreement over the captives, he added. (Reuters)
Israel Hamas War: Hamas declared its readiness to confront Israeli attacks with full force as Israel escalated its air and ground operations in Gaza. Clashes between Hamas militants and Israeli troops were reported near the border. Israel confirmed the presence of its troops on the ground and intensified its bombardment, leading to a blackout of internet and communication services in Gaza, isolating its 2.3 million residents. This move created a virtual information blackout as the Israeli military announced plans to expand its ground operations in the region.
India chose to abstain from a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution for an immediate truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict, which was passed with 120 votes in favor and 14 against. India had previously supported an amendment naming Hamas, proposed by Canada but it failed to gain the necessary support. This abstention reflects India's cautious approach to the Gaza conflict.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told a massive pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul that Israel was an occupier, and repeated his stance about Hamas not being a terrorist organisation.
"I reiterate that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation. Israel was very offended by this. (...) Israel is an occupier, Erdogan speaks clearly because Turkey does not owe you anything," he told hundreds of thousands of supporters. (Reuters)
Hundreds of protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war streamed into Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan on Friday, in one of the largest protests the city has seen since the start of the conflict three weeks ago.
The demonstration, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, came as Israel ramped up its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The protesters filled the train station, chanting “Cease fire now” and “Let Gaza live.” Most wore black shirts that read “Not in our name.” A police officer estimated that there were as many as 1,000 protesters. (Read More)
Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, will provide connectivity to humanitarian groups in Gaza, the billionaire entrepreneur announced on Saturday.
Musk was responding to a question from US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, who expressed her concern over the internet blackout in the territory amid the ongoing Israeli airstrikes.
AOC posted on X, a social media platform, that cutting off communication to 2.2 million people in Gaza was “unacceptable” and endangered the lives of journalists, medical workers, aid workers, and civilians. (Read More)
Responding to US leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's post on X, in which she criticised the cutting off of internet and communication services in the Gaza Strip, Elon Musk said that 'Starlink would support connectivity to internationally recognised aid organisations in Gaza.'
Starlink is a project by SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, to provide high-speed internet access to anywhere on the planet using a constellation of thousands of satellites.
In an intensified bombardment on Friday night, Israel knocked out internet and communication services in the Gaza Strip, isolating its 2.3 million residents from both internal and external communication. This action created a virtual information blackout, as the military announced its plans to ‘expand’ ground operations in the region. The cutoff resulted in an inability to ascertain casualties from strikes and gather information on ground incursions.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 377 people have been killed since Israel expanded its large ground offensive on Friday evening.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra told reporters Saturday that Israel has “totally paralyzed” the health network in Gaza by cutting off internet and cellular service.“Israel has turned Gaza into pieces of fire,” al-Qedra said, adding that the bombardment is the most intense since October 7.
When Hamas released the American-Israeli mother-daughter pair of Judith and Natalie Raanan on October 20, one of the first things that US officials did was to thank Qatar.
“I again want to thank the government of Qatar for playing a very important role in getting them out,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on October 22. A day later, Hamas released two more hostages — again, with Qatar playing middleman.
A tiny gas-rich country on the Persian Gulf, Qatar is a close ally of the United States and crucial to its military strategy in the region. At the same time, it is also known to share close ties with Hamas. (Read More)
Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes have continued to rise dramatically in London since the Israel-Hamas conflict intensified earlier this month, with Scotland Yard gearing up for another set of protests on the streets of London on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police said it had recorded 408 antisemitic offences against Britain's Jewish communities this month, compared to 28 in the same period last year, and Islamophobic hate crime was up from 65 offences in October 2022 to 174 so far this month.
The police force has made 75 arrests linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict and its counterterrorism officers are investigating 10 potential breaches of terrorism laws. (PTI)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday warned against any expansion of the conflict in Gaza, saying the region risked becoming a "ticking time bomb".
He also said his country's sovereignty should be respected after drones were intercepted after entering Egyptian air space on Friday.
"Regardless of where it comes from, I have warned of the expansion of the conflict. The region will becoming a ticking time bomb that impacts us all," Sisi said, speaking at a conference.
"Egypt is a sovereign country and its sovereignty and position should be respected ... Egypt is a strong country and it is untouchable," he added. Sisi held a peace summit last Saturday and has called for aid to be allowed into Gaza, the release of hostages, and a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. (Reuters)
India abstained in a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict on Friday (October 27). The resolution, which does not contain the words ‘Hamas’ and ‘hostage’, was carried with 120 votes in favour and 14 against.
Before this vote, an amendment to the text proposed by Canada, naming Hamas, was rejected because it failed to get the support of two-thirds of members present and voting. India voted in favour of this amendment, along with 86 other nations.
India’s abstention in the vote exemplified the balancing act it has adopted on the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. Here are four broad takeaways from the proceedings at the UNGA, and India’s response — broken down into specific components. (Read More)
Israel's military said on Saturday it had stopped a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones and the Lebanese authorities issued precautionary guidance in case it has to evacuate Beirut airport, as border tensions climb.
The Israeli army and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon have exchanged fire on a daily basis since the start of the Gaza conflict three weeks ago, the biggest flare-up on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since the two sides fought a war in 2006.
The conflict in Gaza, where Israel has stepped up its ground offensive, has raised fears that fighting could expand more widely in the region, including the flashpoint Lebanese border.
Israel’s military says one of its drones struck a “terrorist cell” in Lebanon that tried launching anti-tank missiles at Israel. (Reuters)
Hamas pledged to confront Israeli attacks with "full force" after Israel's military widened its air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave, suggesting on Saturday that a long promised ground offensive had begun.
Israel said on Saturday morning its troops, sent in on Friday night, were still in the field, without elaborating. The country had earlier made only brief sorties into Gaza during three weeks of bombardment to root out Hamas militants, who it said had killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7.
"The forces are still in the field and continuing the war," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news briefing on Saturday morning.
Gaza was under an almost complete blackout, with internet and phone services cut for more than 12 hours by Saturday morning. Telecoms firms and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it was the result of Israeli bombardments. (Reuters)
The UN health agency and various aid organisations on Saturday reported ongoing difficulties in communicating with their teams in the blockaded Gaza Strip amid the relentless Israeli air and land attacks. Tedros Adhanom, the director of the World Health Organization, highlighted that the communication blackout has rendered it “impossible for ambulances to reach the injured.
India abstained in a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict on Friday (October 27). The resolution, which does not contain the words ‘Hamas’ and ‘hostage’, was carried with 120 votes in favour and 14 against.
Before this vote, an amendment to the text proposed by Canada, naming Hamas, was rejected because it failed to get the support of two-thirds of members present and voting. India voted in favour of this amendment, along with 86 other nations.
India’s abstention in the vote exemplified the balancing act it has adopted on the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. Here are four broad takeaways from the proceedings at the UNGA, and India’s response — broken down into specific components.
The head of Hamas' aerial unit, Asem Abu Rakaba, was killed in an overnight airstrike, Israel Defence Forces said.
Rakaba was responsible for overseeing Hamas' drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, paragliders, aerial detection systems, and air defences.
"He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts," IDF said in a post on X.
Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said Saturday, news agency AP reported. This signals a further escalation in Israel's campaign to crush the territory's ruling militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago.
In an intensified bombardment on Friday night, Israel knocked out internet and communication services in the Gaza Strip, isolating its 2.3 million residents from both internal and external communication. This action created a virtual information blackout, as the military announced its plans to ‘expand’ ground operations in the region. The cutoff resulted in an inability to ascertain casualties from strikes and gather information on ground incursions. The military’s announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza.
? During a live satellite TV broadcast from Gaza on Saturday morning, an Al Jazeera reporter characterised the internet and phone communication disruption as 'catastrophic' for rescue operations after a night of intense Israeli bombardment. With ambulance services unreachable, Palestinians resorted to using their cars to transport the deceased and injured to hospitals, as outlined by the correspondent.
? The Red Crescent Society said it had lost contact with its Gaza operations room and its teams operating there, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the Hamas-run government informed that rescue crews were unable to receive emergency calls.
? Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) also expressed concern about the inability to reach certain Palestinian colleagues. The organisation is especially worried about the safety and well-being of patients, medical personnel, and the numerous families seeking refuge at Al Shifa hospital and other healthcare centers.
? The head of the UN Children's Fund UNICEF, Catherine Russell, said her agency too could no longer communicate with staff in Gaza, as per Reuters.
The number of Palestinian fatalities in Gaza has surpassed 7,300, with over 60% of those casualties being minors and women, as reported by the territory’s Health Ministry.
A blockade on Gaza has meant dwindling supplies, and the UN warned that its aid operation helping hundreds of thousands of people was “crumbling” amid near-depleted fuel, news agency AP reported.
Meanwhile, over 1,400 people were slain in Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas, as per the Israeli government. At least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza.
It is ironic that Israel is calling on the world to condemn Hamas terrorism when Zionist terrorism, involving several future Prime Ministers of Israel, was at the heart of the Zionist movement from at least the early 1940s. Even more ironically, its media voice was a newspaper called Hamaas, meaning “Resistance” in both Arabic and Hebrew. It was the mouthpiece of the terrorist group Lehi (a Hebrew acronym for Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) led by Abraham Stern whose later breakaway faction came to be called the Stern Gang. Perhaps the most notorious member of the Stern Gang was Menachem Begin, destined to become Prime Minister of Israel (1977-1983).
The Zionist terrorists sought and obtained the collaboration of Haganah, the official armed wing of the Zionist forces, described by Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary in the late 1930s, as “a Jewish army” designed to secure “eventual Jewish military supremacy in Palestine”. They also obtained the cooperation and collaboration of Palmach, a wing comprising the “crack forces” of Haganah, composed mainly of “Jews from the east who looked and spoke like Arabs”, and specially trained for terrorism, sabotage and ruthless assassination. Palmach’s numbers included Yigal Allon, another future PM of Israel, the infamous Moshe Dayan, future Defence Minister of the country, as well as Itzhak Shamir, a future Speaker of the Israeli Knesset. These groups were conjoined with the most determined terrorist group of all, Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organisation, generally known as “Irgun”), the terrorist wing of the Revisionist Party that opposed the Jewish Agency that was deemed by the British Mandatory authorities to be the majority representative of the Yishuv (Hebrew for the Jewish immigrants into Palestine). In the final stages of the struggle for the State of Israel, the activities of these groups were coordinated by Tenuat Hameri Ha’ivri (Jewish Resistance Movement), the “single agency which would control the common fight”. This was done with the blessings of the hitherto non-violent Jewish Agency run by David Ben-Gurion, the first PM, and Golda Meir, the second PM of Israel.
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The evening rush hour on Friday saw a gathering of numerous demonstrators clad in black T-shirts at New York City's renowned Grand Central Terminal. Their objective was to advocate for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Hamas said on Saturday its militants in Gaza were ready to confront Israeli attacks with 'full force' after Israel's military widened its air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave, Reuters reported.
The Palestinian militant group reported clashes between its fighters and Israeli troops near the Israeli border following Israel's escalated attacks in Gaza.
As of early Saturday morning, the internet and phone service cutoff—attributed by telecom firms and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to Israeli bombardments—had persisted for over 10 hours.
In an intensified bombardment on Friday night, Israel knocked out internet and communication services in the Gaza Strip, isolating its 2.3 million residents from both internal and external communication. This action created a virtual information blackout, as the military announced its plans to 'expand' ground operations in the region.
The cutoff resulted in an inability to ascertain casualties from strikes and gather information on ground incursions. The military’s announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza.
India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict, seeking to halt hostilities and ensure unobstructed humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.
During the resumed 10th Emergency Special Session of the UNGA, 193 member nations participated in a vote on the draft resolution submitted by Jordan and co-sponsored by over 40 countries. The resolution, named “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations,” received significant support, being adopted with 120 nations voting in favor, 14 against, and 45 abstentions.
Before the resolution was brought to a vote in the General Assembly, a proposed amendment to the text was put forward by Canada, co-sponsored by the US, for consideration by the 193-member body.
The amendment proposed by Canada asked for inserting a paragraph in the resolution that would state that the general assembly “unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting on 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages, demands the safety, well-being and humane treatment of the hostages in compliance with international law, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release”.
India, among 87 other nations, supported the amendment, while 55 member states opposed it, and 23 abstained. The draft amendment could not be adopted, having failed to obtain a two-third majority of members present and voting.
When Hamas released the American-Israeli mother-daughter pair of Judith and Natalie Raanan on October 20, one of the first things that US officials did was to thank Qatar.
“I again want to thank the government of Qatar for playing a very important role in getting them out,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on October 22. A day later, Hamas released two more hostages — again, with Qatar playing middleman. A tiny gas-rich country on the Persian Gulf, Qatar is a close ally of the United States and crucial to its military strategy in the region. At the same time, it is also known to share close ties with Hamas. Read More
An official of the militant Hamas group conditioned the release of hostages in Gaza to a ceasefire in Israel's bombardment of the Palestinian enclave, launched after a deadly rampage into southern Israel nearly three weeks ago.
Israel says it is preparing a ground invasion, but has been urged by the US and Arab countries to delay an operation that would multiply the number of civilian casualties in the densely populated coastal strip and might ignite a wider conflict.
The Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted a member of a Hamas delegation visiting Moscow as saying time was needed to locate all those abducted by various Palestinian factions in the Hamas attack on October 7. "They seized dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them," Abu Hamid said. He said Hamas, which has freed four hostages so far, had made clear it intended to release "civilian prisoners". (Reuters)
Since its inception in 1948, Israel, against seemingly insurmountable odds, has evolved into the premier military force in the Middle East. Israel's success in a series of wars against its Arab neighbours, and later, against Palestinian liberation organisations, can be attributed in part to the strong friendships it has formed with Western powers. Chief amongst those allies were Britain and France, and now, the United States. Click Here to read why the West supports Israel
Hamas officials visiting Moscow were quoted by Russian media on Friday as saying the militant group viewed all its hostages as Israelis, whatever additional passports they held, and could not release any of them until Israel agreed to a ceasefire.
Hamas Politburo member Abu Marzouk told state news agency RIA that Russia, the United States, France, Spain, Italy and many others had appealed for the release of their nationals from among more than 200 hostages that Hamas seized in a cross-border rampage into Israel on October 7. He said Hamas viewed Moscow's request "more positively and attentively than the others, given the character of our relations with Russia".
RIA quoted him as saying that Hamas did not view its captives as Russian, French or American. "All those captured, for us, are Israelis, although there is an appeal to their original citizenship in the hope this will save them," he said.
Another member of the delegation, Abu Hamid, told Kommersant newspaper that Hamas needed time to locate all those taken to Gaza by various Palestinian factions in the Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1,400 people. (Reuters)
Israeli security forces stopped young Palestinians from reaching Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, requiring them to say Muslim prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City, before letting several thousand elder worshippers enter under continued tight curbs.
The authority in charge, the Jerusalem Islamic Endowments Department, said 5,000 worshippers performed Friday prayers at the holy site. That compares to about 50,000 on average prior to Hamas militants' October 7 attacks on Israel. Large numbers of Israeli police kept guard around Al-Aqsa on a hill known to Jews as Har ha-Bayit or Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif or The Noble Sanctuary.
Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam.
Russia on Friday defended its decision to invite a Hamas delegation to Moscow against strong Israeli criticism, saying it was necessary to maintain contacts with all sides in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Israel, which has vowed to wipe out Hamas in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,400 people, has described the decision as "deplorable" and urged Moscow to expel the delegation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Hamas delegation had met with representatives of Russia's foreign ministry but not with President Vladimir Putin or Kremlin officials.
“We consider it necessary to continue our contacts with all parties and, of course, we will continue our dialogue with Israel,” he told reporters. Russia has ties to all the key players in the Middle East, including Israel, Iran, Syria, Hamas, and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority which exercises limited self-rule under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank.
The US on Friday issued a second round of sanctions on the Palestinian group Hamas following its attack this month on Israeli communities, including by targeting a Hamas official in Iran and members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement the measures targeted additional assets in a Hamas investment portfolio and people facilitating sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies.
A Gaza-based entity that Treasury said has served as a conduit for illicit Iranian funds to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group was also targeted, the department said. Iran backs Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East.
"Today's action underscores the United States' commitment to dismantling Hamas's funding networks by deploying our counterterrorism sanctions authorities and working with our global partners to deny Hamas the ability to exploit the international financial system,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the release.
A medical team and 10 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, carrying water, food and medicine, a Palestinian border official told Reuters.
“This Friday morning, a medical delegation consisting of 10 foreign doctors entered, in addition to 10 trucks entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah land crossing, carrying water, food and medicine, bringing the total number of trucks since the beginning of the war to only 84 trucks,” the official said.
Detailed negotiations were taking place with Israel in a bid to secure more humanitarian crossings into the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave, Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in Geneva. Gaza has been hit by unrelenting Israeli air strikes that have killed thousands in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen into southern Israel on October 7. (Reuters)
Another eight trucks carrying food, medicine and water are expected to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday, as per a senior United Nations official. This even as a combination of technical, political and security issues have been hindering deliveries.
"We have gotten in approximately 74 trucks. We're expecting another eight or so today," Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in Geneva.
Hastings said detailed negotiations were taking place with Israel in a bid to secure more humanitarian crossings in the densely populated enclave, which has been hit by unrelenting air strikes that have killed thousands in response to surprise attacks by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7, news agency Reuters reported.
Less than 24 hours after Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh‘s wife and two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, the noted journalist was back in front of the camera to report on the unfolding crisis in Gaza.
“Despite the pain, loss and bleeding wound, we returned …,” he wrote on Instagram, sharing a video thanking everyone who sent condolence messages and explaining his decision to report back to work.
Speaking in Arabic, Al Dahdouh said that he saw it as his duty to get back to work, regardless of the situation. In the video message recorded from a rooftop with Gaza City in the backdrop, smoke is seen rising from the ground behind him as sirens went off. Read more
Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days and struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, the military said Friday, as the war entered its 21st day. On Wednesday (October 25), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel was preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, but stopped short of saying when it would happen.
Publishing names of dead, Gaza’s health ministry said Thursday that over 7,000 Palestinians have died in the ongoing fight between the Israeli military and Hamas group.
Meanwhile, the US military launched airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. “These precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
Here’s a round-up of the top developments so far on Day 21
Israeli forces, with the support of fighter jets and drones, conducted a second ground raid into the besieged territory within two consecutive days. The military said aircraft and artillery bombed targets in Shijaiyah, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City.
This action comes as part of their preparations for what is widely anticipated to be a ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory.
The military said the soldiers exited the territory without suffering any casualties, news agency AP reported.
The Palestinian group in control of Gaza Hamas has stated that it cannot release hostages taken during its attack on Israel until a ceasefire is reached.
A member of a Hamas delegation visiting Moscow, Abu Hamid, explained to the Russian newspaper Kommersant that Hamas requires time to locate and account for all individuals taken from Israel to Gaza by various Palestinian factions during the Hamas attack on October 7, news agency Reuters.
"They seized dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them," Hamid said.
He emphasised the need for a calm environment to successfully complete this task. Additionally, Hamas reported that approximately 50 of the hostages had lost their lives in Israeli air strikes.
Every time the air raid sirens go off in Tel Aviv, the streets become empty — barring perhaps, the lone bemused cat. The nearest shelter could be a strongroom next to a stairwell in a highrise, a bathroom in a public building, or an underground parking lot by the white sand beach.
From the cobblestone lanes of Jerusalem to the shining towers of Tel Aviv, a new generation of Israelis is experiencing siege and war for the first time. The October 7 assault by Hamas came exactly 50 years after the beginning of the Yom Kippur war.
This correspondent spent a week in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, travelled to the border towns of Ashkelon, Sderot, and Ashdod in southern Israel and Ramallah in the West Bank, and spoke to residents of Gaza over the phone. Almost three weeks after the Hamas attack, with Israel raining terrible and relentless punishment on the blockaded Palestinian enclave, here are 10 takeaways from covering a war that threatens to change the Middle East.
A recent poll published on Friday revealed that almost half of Israelis want to hold off on any invasion of Gaza.
When asked whether the military should swiftly escalate to a substantial ground offensive, 29% of respondents were in favour, while 49% said "it would be better to wait", news agency Reuters reported.
Additionally, 22% of those surveyed remained undecided on the matter. These findings diverge from a previous poll conducted on October 19, which reported 65% support for a significant ground offensive.
US President Joe Biden and his team have shifted their stance on the Israel-Hamas crisis in recent days. While they maintain that Israel has the right and responsibility to defend itself following the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, there has been an increasing focus on the protection of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
This change in tone is attributed to the rapidly rising Palestinian casualty count, the challenges in freeing hostages held by Hamas, and growing international pressure and outcry from Arab nations, European allies, and some Americans.
The Biden administration now supports a humanitarian pause in Israel's attacks and is concentrating on delivering aid to Palestinians based on the evolving situation on the ground in Gaza and discussions with countries worldwide.
The unexpected explosion of the Israel-Palestine conflict has raised questions about the potential overstretch in American grand strategy. Put simply, can the US walk, whistle and chew gum at the same time? Can Washington determine outcomes in simultaneous wars in Europe, the Middle East and Asia amidst the growing strategic collaboration between Beijing and Moscow and Tehran’s capacity to create trouble? Is the US public ready to support expansive military commitments around the world?
In recent years, Russia and China have convinced themselves that the West is in terminal decline and American primacy in the global order could be challenged. The US, however, has demonstrated that it has enough capability to counter the Russian and Chinese challenges in Europe and Asia.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to a rallying effect in Europe. Two traditionally neutral nations, Finland and Sweden, joined NATO and Europe doubled down to back Ukraine. Over the last two years, the US has made impressive gains in Asia. These include encouraging Japan to ramp up its defence expenditure to counter China, promoting normalisation of ties between Tokyo and Seoul, renewing defence cooperation with the Philippines, signing a strategic partnership agreement with Communist Vietnam, unveiling the AUKUS partnership with Australia and the UK, strengthening the Quad, and enhancing bilateral ties with India. Above all, the US has expanded its military support for Taiwan and is raising the costs of a potential Chinese invasion.
Read on
The US military carried out strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and groups it backs, the Pentagon said on Thursday, in response to a spate of attacks against US forces in both Iraq and Syria.
As tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas conflict, US and coalition troops have been attacked at least 19 times in Iraq and in Syria by Iran-backed forces in the past week. A total of 21 US forces have suffered minor injuries, the vast majority of them traumatic brain injuries.
“These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. Read more
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the question of whether to implement humanitarian pauses or ceasefire agreements in the Hamas-administered coastal enclave will be addressed in the 193-member UN General Assembly on Friday. This issue was raised in a draft resolution put forward by Arab states, which calls for a ceasefire.
Unlike the Security Council, where recent resolutions on providing aid to Gaza were unsuccessful due to veto powers, the General Assembly doesn't have any member with veto authority. While resolutions passed in the General Assembly are non-binding, they do carry significant political weight.
"To say that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic is an understatement. Everything that is needed to sustain life is missing or dwindling by the hour in Gaza," said Mamadou Sow, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross' regional delegation.
The Israeli bombardment of Gaza has left over 613,000 people estimated to be homeless, and they are currently being provided shelter by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Israel announced on Friday that its fighter jets had conducted airstrikes targeting three senior Hamas operatives belonging to the Daraj Tuffah Battalion, which is part of the Gaza City Brigade.
Israel stated that these three commanders had played a significant role in the attack on Israel that occurred on October 7, Reuters reported.There has been no official statement from Hamas regarding this matter.
Additionally, reports from Hamas-affiliated media indicated clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops in at least two areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday. In the central area of Al-Bureij, Israeli military vehicles were reported to have entered, and troops engaged in clashes with militants near the border. In the southern border area near the town of Rafah, there were reports of Hamas militants exchanging fire with Israeli troops.However, Reuters has not been able to immediately confirm these reports.
President Joe Biden Thursday held a meeting at the White House with the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson, and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss President Biden's request for an allocation of nearly $106 billion to address national security needs, with a focus on supporting Israel and Ukraine.
Johnson said House Republicans would first bring a separate bill to provide $14.5 billion in aid to Israel, but they need more information about the Biden administration's Ukraine strategy, news agency AP reported. “We must stand with our important ally in the Middle East and that's Israel,” he said.