Former US president Donald Trump warned Israel in an interview that it was losing support over the war in Gaza. The comments from Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee to take on President Joe Biden in November's US election, came as Washington abstained at a UNSC vote calling for an immediate...

"The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel's assault on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group," Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, concluded in a report.

All 14 other members voted in favor of the resolution which "demands an immediate ceasefire" for Ramadan. The resolution calls for the truce to lead to a "lasting, sustainable ceasefire" and demands that Hamas and other groups free hostages.

Christian families from Gaza have found refuge inside the church with the memory of two women killed in December by Israeli fire there still fresh in their minds.

Last Friday, the Security Council voted on a draft submitted by the United States that called for an "immediate" ceasefire linked to the release of hostages. China and Russia vetoed the resolution, criticizing it for stopping short of explicitly demanding Israel halt its campaign.

Antonio Guterres repeated his call for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" to alleviate "the plight of Palestinian children, women and men struggling to survive the nightmare in Gaza during a press conference in Cairo. On Saturday, the UN chief had visited the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES – The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday that Israeli forces were besieging two hospitals in southern Gaza, days after the army began targeting Hamas in and around the territory's biggest medical center. Israel has mounted several raids at and near hospitals in Gaza since the war began...

Guterres urged an end to the "non-stop nightmare" endured by Gaza's 2.4 million people in a visit to the Egyptian border. He said "horror and starvation stalk the people of Gaza. Any further onslaught will make everything worse. Worse for Palestinian civilians, for the hostages, for all people of the...

The Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned and operated Huang Pu issued a distress call but did not request assistance, US Central Command said. The rebels, who control much of Yemen's Red Sea coast, have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes on shipping over the past four months, actions they say are in...

Cairo, Egypt-- UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his counterpart from Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met in Cairo to discuss the close bonds between the two countries and ways to expand them further. The two leaders explored opportunities for further collaboration within the framework of the strategic...

Israel has been launching air strikes deeper into Lebanese territory for several weeks against Hizbollah positions, heightening the threat of open warfare and an expansion of the conflict in Gaza. However, the strike at al-Osseira, some 100 kms from the Israeli-Lebanese border, ended a period of relative calm that had...

Jerusalem--A top Israeli commander has said troops will continue their operation at Gaza's largest hospital Al-Shifa until the last Hamas fighter is "in their hands". Israeli forces launched the operation in and around Al-Shifa hospital on Monday, saying senior Hamas operatives were based at the sprawling compound. Days of heavy...

An official from the Palestinian resistance group with knowledge of the talks said that there is a deep divergence in positions in the negotiations between Hamas and Israel. The official said that Israel wanted to reach a temporary ceasefire "so that it can resume its aggression against our people."

Rafah, Egypt - UN chief Antonio Guterres, on a visit to the doorstep of Gaza, on Saturday said the world has seen enough of the war's horrors and appealed for a ceasefire to allow in more aid. "Palestinians in Gaza -- children, women, men -- remain stuck in a non-stop nightmare,"...

Palestinian Territories - The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli fire on Saturday killed nine people and wounded dozens more as they were waiting at an aid distribution point in the territory's north. "At least nine martyrs and dozens injured by Israeli occupation army tank fire and shells. They...

JERUSALEM - Israel's foreign minister said on Saturday the United Nations had become an "anti-Israeli body" under Antonio Guterres, after the UN chief called for a ceasefire on a visit to Gaza's border. International outrage over the heavy civilian toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel battles Hamas fighters,...

On Saturday, UN chief Guterres plans to meet with aid workers on the Egyptian side of Rafah, just across the border from the Gazan city where 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge. International efforts to pause the almost six months of fighting have grown increasingly desperate, with the Hamas-run health...

Beirut, Lebanon - A UN official on Friday appealed for about $4 billion in humanitarian assistance for Syria, warning funding was almost non-existent and that lack of support would push more Syrians to emigrate. Syria's war, which began 13 years ago with the repression of anti-government protests, has killed more than...

Israel plans to send troops into Gaza's Rafah even without US support, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Antony Blinken, as Washington failed to pass a UN resolution on an "immediate" ceasefire. Almost six months of Israeli bombardment since Hamas's October 7 attack has brought Gaza to its knees with many...

The draft resolution, seen by AFP, "demands an immediate ceasefire" for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan that leads "to a permanent sustainable ceasefire" respected by all sides. It also demands both the "immediate and unconditional" release of Israeli hostages.

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared as "state lands" the area in the northern Jordan Valley. Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said the size of the seized area is the largest since 1993's Oslo Accords, and that "2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land".

Adelaide, Australia--Britain and Australia declared the need for an "immediate cessation of fighting" in Gaza, as diplomatic pressure built on Israel Friday to ditch a planned ground assault on the southern city of Rafah. After a meeting of Australian and UK foreign and defence ministers in Adelaide, the allies issued a...

The Israeli prime minister's office said that Benjamin Netanyahu approved an Israeli delegation led by Mossad head David Barnea to go to Qatar" on Friday. Barnea was in Doha Monday but flew back home after talks were restarted following failed efforts to secure a truce before the holy month of...

"Palestine Red Crescent ambulance teams have just transported an 18-year-old young man who was killed by the Israeli occupation forces in Nur Shams camp," the group said on X, formerly Twitter, adding his death brought the toll to four.

"Of course, we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself... but at the same time, it's imperative that the civilians who are in harm's way and who are suffering so terribly -– that we focus on them, that we make them a priority, protecting the civilians, getting them...

Doha, Qatar - Qatar and Turkey announced partnership in reuniting wounded Palestinians from the Gaza Strip with their relatives in Doha. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a number of the wounded are receiving treatment in Turkey, while their relatives undergoing treatment in Qatar. The reunification will enable the...

Blinken is due to travel on to Egypt, which neighbors Gaza and whose envoys have been involved in previous mediation efforts. In Jeddah and Cairo, Blinken will discuss efforts to reach an "immediate ceasefire agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages", State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Police recorded 8,500 crimes and misdemeanors "committed because of the ethnicity, nationality, supposed race or religion" of the victim across 2023, the interior ministry's statistics service (SSMSI) said. Men, people aged between 25 and 54, and citizens of African countries were especially targeted, it added.

Ismail Haniyeh said that the Israeli actions at Al-Shifa Medical Complex "confirm their intent to obstruct the recovery of life in Gaza and dismantle essential aspects of human existence." He said deliberate targeting of government officials in Gaza illustrates "their efforts to sow chaos".

"The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure," UN human rights chief Volker Turk said.

Blinken will hold talks with Saudi leaders in Jeddah on Wednesday before travelling to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian authorities, spokesman Matthew Miller said from the Philippines, where Blinken is touring. -This will be Blinken's sixth trip to the Middle East since the start of the war.

United States Central Command forces operated "in self-defense" when they engaged and destroyed the anti-ship missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas, CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X, the former Twitter.

Varadkar has been one of Europe's most critical leaders over Israel's campaign in Gaza, which began when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on the southern part of the country.

Oxfam said in a report that Israel continued to "systematically and deliberately block and undermine any meaningful international humanitarian response" in the Palestinian territory. It alleged that Israel was defying an order by the ICJ in January to boost aid in Gaza, and was failing its legal responsibility to protect...

Al-Shifa is the Gaza Strip's largest hospital. The Israeli army had in November last year carried out an operation in the complex, sparking an international outcry. Witnesses in Gaza City told AFP the Al-Rimal neighborhood, where Al-Shifa is located, had been hit by air strikes.

JERUSALEM – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday called for a deal to free hostages held in war-ravaged Gaza accompanied by a "longer-lasting ceasefire", as warring parties geared up for more talks. "We need a hostage deal with a longer-lasting ceasefire," Scholz said during a joint press appearance in Jerusalem...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to send ground forces into Gaza's southern Rafah city. The right-wing premier, whose security and war cabinets were also due to discuss latest international efforts towards a truce deal, stressed that "no amount of international pressure will stop us from realizing all the goals...

Cairo, Egypt -- The European Union, which is seeking to stem the inflow of irregular migrants, announced Sunday a 7.4 billion euro ($8 billion) package of loans, grants and energy cooperation deals with cash-strapped Egypt. It will include billions in loans over coming years and aims to step up Egyptian energy...

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the military's "plans for action in Rafah", according to a statement Friday, which gave no details or a timeline. The United Nations and the United States have also repeatedly warned against such a military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's military campaign against Gaza has killed at least 31,553 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. In Rafah, where the majority of Gaza's 2.4 million people have sought refuge, more bloodshed is feared after Israeli prime minister's office said he had approved plans for...

According to Cyprus foreign ministry spokesperson, the ship will depart for Gaza today even as US charity World Central Kitchen said that the Jennifer had been loaded with 240 tonnes of food but that rough weather made it hard to predict when it would set sail for the Gaza Strip.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels discussed "expanding confrontations and encircling" Israel in a meeting in Lebanon with Hamas and other Palestinian factions, a Houthi official told AFP. Houthi attacks on Red Sea ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas war have disrupted global trade, actions the rebels say are in solidarity...

Palestinian Territories - Displaced by Israeli bombardment, the Tabatibi family gathered in central Gaza to eat together during the first Friday night of Ramadan, a scene that soon turned into a bloodbath. An air strike hit the building where they were staying as women prepared the pre-fasting meal, killing 36...

Ramallah, Palestinian Territories - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party hit back at criticism by Hamas and other factions over his appointment of a new prime minister they said could deepen divisions as the war with Israel in Gaza rages. Abbas appointed Mohammed Mustafa, a long-trusted adviser on economic affairs, as...

A US charity said its team in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip had finished unloading the first maritime aid shipment to reach the besieged territory. "All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza," World Central Kitchen said in a statement, noting that the aid was "almost 200...

Netanyahu "approved the plans for action in Rafah," his office said in a statement, without giving details or a timeline. Rafah is the last major population center yet to be subjected to a ground assault during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which was triggered by the fighters' unprecedented attack...

The war began October 7 when a surprise attack by Hamas resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 31,490 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry.

During the proposed truce, Gaza militants would release about 42 hostages seized during the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. The official said that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would...

An Israeli official said that the UN should coordinate more convoys if it wants to see more aid in north Gaza. The official said 99 percent of aid trucks sent to Gaza were "approved", pushing back on reports by the UN and NGOs that cumbersome Israeli inspections are blocking food...

Washington, US - The United States sanctioned three Israeli settlers and two farming outposts on Thursday, accusing them of being involved in "undermining stability in the West Bank." The move marks the second time this year that Washington has sanctioned Israeli settlers, as it looks to respond to the rise in...