The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full U.N. member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the U.N. Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”, Reuters reported. The assembly adopted a resolution with 143 votes in favor and 9 against, while 25 countries abstained. It…
CAIRO: Talks aimed at agreeing the terms of a truce in the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza resumed in Cairo Wednesday “with all sides present,” Egyptian media reported.“Truce negotiations have resumed in Cairo today with all sides present,” Egypt’s AlQahera News, which is close to the intelligence services, reported, citing a “senior…
The World Food Program is one of the many humanitarian groups trying to get aid into Gaza The chief of the United Nations’ food program has warned of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas. “There is famine, full-blown famine in the north and it’s…
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas was the only holdup to a Gaza ceasefire as the militants prepared to send a delegation back to Cairo on Saturday for talks.“We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages,” Blinken said late…
GAZA: The United Nations said Thursday that the post-war reconstruction of Gaza would require an international effort unseen since the aftermath of World War II, estimating it could cost up to $40 billion. It came as Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh struck an optimistic tone over a possible truce and captive release deal for Gaza, after weeks…
A gang of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attacked two humanitarian aid convoys on Wednesday traveling from Jordan to Gaza, the Jordanian government said. Israel earlier reopened the sole crossing on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, allowing aid trucks to pass through the Erez checkpoint following US demands to…
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Monday for his country’s “genuinely tireless efforts” in Gaza. Blinken’s remarks came during a joint ministerial meeting in Riyadh between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the U.S. over the latest developments in the region, especially in Gaza. “I want to thank the chair…
Trucks bringing both bodies and detainees from Israel back to Gaza through the main crossing point of Kerem Shalom regularly hold up aid deliveries, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday.A deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza has raised pressure on Israel to boost supplies into the enclave to curb disease…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam.Netanyahu’s comments came hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in…
The United States has concluded that five Israeli security force units committed serious human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank before the Hamas attack in October, the State Department said Monday.Israel has taken remedial measures with four of these units, making US sanctions less likely. Consultations are under way with Israel over the…
