21 h. ago Israeli military says it controls nearly half of Gaza City in push for takeover

Israel controls 40 per cent of Gaza City, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, as its bombardment forced more Palestinians from their homes there, while thousands of residents defied Israeli orders to leave, remaining behind in the ruins in the path of Israel’s latest advance. Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire across the enclave had killed at least 53 people on Thursday, mostly in Gaza City, where Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and were a few kilometres from...

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48 h. ago ‘A million people’ expected to flee as Israel prepares to seize Gaza City

Israel estimates that its imminent offensive on Gaza City would displace one million Palestinians, a senior military official said on Wednesday, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens killed across the territory. In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli protesters took to the streets to call for a truce and hostage release deal after nearly two years of war. Israel’s military has been building up its forces for the planned operation to seize Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest...

Politics

64 h. ago Paraded mainland China weaponry shows Beijing’s focus on Taiwan: analysts

The latest weapons systems featured in China’s Victory Day parade have shown Beijing’s sharp focus on safeguarding its sovereign integrity over Taiwan and its capability to defend against any attempt to break away, analysts observed. Although Taiwan was not directly mentioned in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote address on Wednesday, it is often used by military observers as a yardstick to measure the People’s Liberation Army’s capabilities and progress. The cutting-edge weapons showcased...

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3 d. ago Thousands of reservists report for duty as Israel begins new Gaza offensive

Tens of thousands of reservists started to report for duty on Tuesday ahead of a new Israeli offensive in Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to speed up, despite warnings from senior ranks. Israeli Army Radio said that some 40,000 would report for duty on Tuesday for the Gaza City offensive, as the military prepares logistically for their intake. Israel’s security cabinet, chaired by Netanyahu, approved a plan last month to expand the campaign in Gaza with the aim of taking...

Politics

3 d. ago Belgium to recognise Palestinian state, adding to global pressure on Israel

Belgium will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Tuesday, adding to international pressure on Israel after similar moves by Australia, Britain, Canada and France. Under mounting global criticism for its war in Gaza, Israel has been angered by the pledges to formally recognise a Palestinian state at a summit during this month’s UN event. Belgium will join the signatories of the New York Declaration, paving the way for a two-state...

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4 d. ago ‘Gaza not for sale’: Hamas condemns Trump’s plan for US takeover

Hamas denounced on Monday a plan reportedly being considered by US President Donald Trump for the United States to take control of the devastated Gaza Strip and for its population to be relocated. Almost two years since Israel began its campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants’ October 7, 2023 attack, swathes of the Palestinian territory have been reduced to rubble and the vast majority of its population has been displaced at least once. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the White House...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘Gaza not for sale’: Hamas denounces reported plan for US takeover

Hamas denounced on Monday a plan reportedly being considered by US President Donald Trump for the United States to take control of the devastated Gaza Strip and for its population to be relocated. Almost two years since Israel began its campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants’ October 7, 2023 attack, swathes of the Palestinian territory have been reduced to rubble and the vast majority of its population has been displaced at least once. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the White House...

Politics

4 d. ago Gaza aid flotilla departs Barcelona again after storms delayed departure

A Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and pro-Palestinian activists including environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg departed Barcelona again on Monday, several hours after winds forced it to return to the Spanish port, according to Agence France-Presse journalists at the scene. Around 20 vessels left the Spanish city on Sunday aiming to “open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people” amid the Israel-Gaza war, said the Global Sumud Flotilla –...

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4 d. ago Flotilla headed to Gaza leaves Barcelona for second time after storm delay

A flotilla carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Gaza left Barcelona’s port on Monday for a second time after the vessels were forced to return a day earlier because of bad weather. The Global Sumud Flotilla had departed on Sunday under much fanfare only to return a few hours later after a storm hit parts of Spain overnight. Facing winds of more than 56km/h (35mph), some of the smaller boats taking part in the mission would have been at risk, organisers said. It was not immediately clear...

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4 d. ago Gazans despair: ‘stay and die, or leave towards nowhere’, as Israel pushes deeper

Israel pushed tanks deeper into Gaza City and detonated explosives-laden vehicles in one suburb as air strikes killed at least 19 people on Monday, Palestinian officials and witnesses said. The reports came as the president of the world’s leading genocide scholars’ association said it had passed a resolution stating the legal criteria have been met to establish that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. There was no immediate response from Israel on the accounts of the Gaza City offensive or on...

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5 d. ago Flotilla leaves Barcelona in biggest attempt yet to break Israel’s Gaza blockade

A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to Gaza on Sunday with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea. This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing...

Politics

5 d. ago Flotilla leaves Barcelona in biggest attempt yet to break blockade of Gaza

A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to Gaza on Sunday with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea. This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing...

Politics

5 d. ago Israel says it killed longtime spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing

The Israeli military announced Sunday that it killed the longtime spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, as the country’s security cabinet met to discuss the expanding offensive in some of Gaza’s most populated areas. There were no plans to discuss negotiations for a ceasefire at the meeting, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz identified the spokesperson as Abu Obeida, the nom de...

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6 d. ago Hamas confirms death of military chief, months after Israeli said it killed him

The Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed on Saturday the death of its Gaza military chief Mohammed Sinwar, a few months after Israel said it killed him in a strike in May. Hamas did not provide details on Sinwar’s death but published pictures of him along with other group leaders, describing them as “martyrs”. Mohammad Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Islamist faction’s chief, who co-masterminded the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and whom Israel had killed in combat...

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6 d. ago Thousands protest against Israeli siege of Gaza near Venice Film Festival

Thousands of people protested on Saturday against Israel’s siege of Gaza on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival, seeking to move the spotlight from movie drama to real-world trauma. Organised by left-wing political groups in northeast Italy, the demonstration began in the early evening a few kilometres from the festival where top Hollywood talent from George Clooney and Julia Roberts to Emma Stone have walked the red carpet in recent days. The protesters, whose numbers Agence France-Presse...

Politics

6 d. ago Israel to slow or stop aid into parts of Gaza soon as offensive expands

Israel will soon slow or halt humanitarian aid into parts of northern Gaza as it expands its offensive attempting to cripple Hamas, an official said on Saturday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that Israel would stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the arrival of aid trucks into the northern part of the strip as it prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents south. Israel on Friday...

Politics

7 d. ago Gaza war: Turkey bars Israeli ships from its ports, restricts airspace

Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports and impose restrictions on some planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday. He provided few details in comments to parliament that appeared to summarise steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement. Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel’s offensive in Gaza and accuses it of committing genocide in...

Politics

7 d. ago Israel declares Gaza City ‘combat zone’, as bodies of 2 hostages recovered

Israel on Friday declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and said it was in the ″initial stages″ of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation. Israel’s military said it suspended midday pauses in fighting, which had allowed food and aid supplies to enter from 10am to 8pm, while also reporting it had recovered the bodies of two hostages and vowed its military offensive would return more. The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its...

Events

9 d. ago Trump holds meeting on Gaza with Tony Blair and Jared Kushner

US President Donald Trump presided over a policy meeting on Israel’s war in Gaza and post-war plans for the Palestinian territory on Wednesday with input from former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Trump Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, a senior White House official said. Trump, top White House officials, Blair and Kushner discussed the hostage crisis, plans to escalate food aid deliveries, post-war plans and more, the official told Reuters. The official described the session as...

Politics

1 week ago Israel military says strikes on Gaza hospital targeted a Hamas camera

The Israeli military said Tuesday that its double strike on a Gaza hospital that killed 20 people targeted what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera. But the first strike killed a cameraman from the Reuters news agency doing a live television shot, according to witnesses and health officials. The military released its initial findings into the strike, offering no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants, including two...

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