4 h. ago UN Security Council condemns strikes on Qatar – but doesn’t name Israel

The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned strikes on Qatar earlier this week and called for de-escalation, without naming Israel which carried out the attack. The Security Council “underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar”, said the statement, which required the agreement of all 15 council members, including Israel’s ally the United States. The council also “underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar”. On...

Events

7 h. ago Israel’s PM vows there will never be a Palestinian state: ‘This place is ours’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a controversial settlement expansion plan that would cut across land that the Palestinians seek for a state. “There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank where thousands of new housing units would be added. “We will safeguard our heritage, our land, and our security.” Last month, the E1 project, which would...

Politics

14 h. ago Europe’s defence needs threaten push to penalise Israel on Gaza

Amid scenes of destruction and hunger in Gaza and this week’s bombing in Qatar, frustrated European leaders are threatening sanctions on Israel and rethinking ties to their longtime ally. But for all their outrage – including a push for Palestinian statehood and some limited curbs on arms sales – one area they have not touched is Israel’s multibillion-dollar defence industry. European armies are the biggest customers of Israeli-made weapons and defence systems, buying US$8 billion worth last...

Politics

34 h. ago 9 killed as Israel hits Yemen’s Houthis a day after it targeted Hamas in Qatar

Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al-Jawf on Wednesday, with the Houthi health ministry saying it killed nine people and wounded 118 others in an initial toll. The strikes are the latest in a series of attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza. A large plume of grey smoke billowed above Sanaa as the sound of the attacks echoed across the city, controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis for more...

Events

34 h. ago Israel intercepts missile fired by Houthis after deadly strikes on Yemen

Israel’s army said it had intercepted a missile on Thursday fired from Yemen, a day after Israeli forces carried out air strikes there that killed 35 people and wounded more than 130. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the missile attack on Israel. But the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since their Palestinian ally Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several...

Events

36 h. ago Israel will keep targeting Hamas leaders despite anger over Doha strike: consul

If Israel did not kill Hamas leaders in an air strike on Qatar on Tuesday, it would succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said after the operation, raising concerns it would torpedo efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. “Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. They’ll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better,” Yechiel Leiter told Fox News’ Special Report programme late on Tuesday. Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas...

Politics

38 h. ago EU to tighten sanctions as von der Leyen warns on China, defends US ties

As speculation grows that the European Union will team up with the United States to hit China with huge tariffs and secondary sanctions for buying Russian energy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Wednesday to escalate measures on “third countries”. Without naming China directly, von der Leyen used her annual state of the European Union address to call for “more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table”, asserting that “we need more sanctions”. Overnight,...

Events

40 h. ago Beijing condemns Israeli attacks on Doha, urges negotiations

Beijing condemns Israeli attacks on Doha, urges negotiations  yahoo.com

Politics

41 h. ago China condemns Israel strike in Doha, concerned about escalation

China condemns Israel strike in Doha, concerned about escalation  Reuters

Politics

45 h. ago After Israel’s Qatar air strikes, the Gulf questions its US dependence

The Gulf Arab monarchies have been left reeling after the United States, their decades-long security guarantor, seemingly did nothing to prevent Tuesday’s unprecedented Israeli air strikes on Qatar, home to the region’s largest American military base. Describing the attack as a “pivotal moment” for the Gulf, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called for a collective regional response after Israeli jets targeted Hamas negotiators in Doha. The strikes have exposed a...

Politics

52 h. ago Israel strike on Hamas leaders in Doha draws rare rebuke from Trump

US President Donald Trump made a rare public break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the leader’s decision to launch a unilateral attack against Hamas in Qatar “does not advance Israel or America’s goals”. The strike on the militant group’s leadership in Doha, the capital of a US ally, dramatically escalated regional tensions and risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. “This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made...

Politics

60 h. ago Explosions rock Doha as Israeli air strike targets Hamas leadership

Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas’ leadership in Qatar on Tuesday, officials said, further widening its campaign against the militant group as negotiations over ending the war in the Gaza Strip appears stalemated before a new military offensive there. Black smoke rose over the skyline of the Qatari capital, Doha, with authorities there acknowledging the strike. It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the attack, marking the second time the energy-rich nation has been directly...

Events

60 h. ago Explosions rock Doha as Israeli strike targets Hamas leaders

Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of a US ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages. The attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the...

Events

69 h. ago Netanyahu warns ‘leave now’ as Israel intensifies Gaza City bombardment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told residents of Gaza City on Monday to evacuate, as the military ramped up its deadly assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre. Israel has been intensifying its bombardment of the city in preparation for an operation to conquer it, despite repeated entreaties from Western nations and aid agencies to stop. Gaza’s civil defence agency meanwhile said at least 39 people had been killed by Israel, including 25 in Gaza City, on Monday. The...

Events

69 h. ago Israel says to act with ‘great force’ in Gaza City, urging full evacuation

Israel’s military said on Tuesday that it would act with “great force” in Gaza City and told residents to leave as it stepped up its deadly assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a similar warning, as Israel intensified its bombardment in preparation for an operation to seize Gaza City despite global calls to end the war. “To all residents of Gaza City the defence forces are determined to defeat Hamas and will act with great force...

Politics

3 d. ago Spain, Israel ties hit new low after Madrid moves ‘to stop Gaza genocide’

Israel on Monday accused Spain of antisemitism and barred two government ministers from entry after Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez announced measures aimed at stopping what he called “the genocide in Gaza”. The spat marks a new low in relations over the devastating Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory, launched after an unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel in 2023. Sanchez, one of the most virulent critics of Israel’s military campaign, said the nine measures aimed to “stop the genocide...

Politics

3 d. ago UN human rights chief slams Israel’s ‘mass killing’ of Palestinians in Gaza

The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for its “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and “hindering of sufficient life-saving aid”, saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of UN staff had urged him to do. But in his opening address to...

Politics

4 d. ago Israel is not giving Palestinian prisoners enough food, Supreme Court rules

Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday ruled that the government has failed to provide Palestinian security prisoners with adequate food for basic subsistence and ordered authorities to improve their nutrition. The decision was a rare case in which the country’s highest court ruled against the government’s conduct during the nearly two-year war. Since the war began, Israel has seized thousands of people in Gaza that it suspects of links to Hamas. Thousands have also been released without charge, often...

Events

4 d. ago Israeli court says government not giving Palestinian prisoners enough food

In a highly rare exercise of wartime legal restraint, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Sunday that the Israeli government has deprived Palestinian detainees of even a minimum subsistence diet and ordered authorities to increase the amount and improve the quality of food served to deprived Palestinian inmates. Although it is the job of the Supreme Court to advise the government of the legality of its policies, the Israeli judiciary has seldom taken issue with its actions in the 23-month war...

Events

4 d. ago Red Sea cable cuts disrupt internet in parts of Asia, Middle East

Undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea disrupted internet access on Sunday in parts of Asia and the Middle East, experts said, though it was not immediately clear what caused the incident. There has been concern about the cables being targeted in a Red Sea campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis have denied attacking the lines in the past. Microsoft announced via a status website that the...

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