5 h. ago Can J.D. Vance’s visit to Israel cement Gaza’s fragile ceasefire?

US Vice-President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday to shore up the fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that has teetered over the past few days following a burst of deadly violence and questions over how to move forward with the plan for cementing a long-term peace. Also on Tuesday, Israel said it has identified the body of a hostage that was released by Palestinian militants overnight, while the chief Hamas negotiator said the group remains determined to implement the ceasefire...

Politics

31 h. ago Trump’s envoys arrive in Israel as Gaza ceasefire teeters after deadly strikes

The top US envoys to the Middle East conflict arrived in Israel on Monday to inspect progress on the Gaza plan after weekend violence threatened to wreck the hard-won ceasefire. Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza for aid shipments, a security official and a humanitarian source said, after it was closed briefly on Sunday following the killing of two Israeli soldiers. In response, Israel carried out dozens of strikes targeting Hamas across Gaza, accusing the militant group...

Events

41 h. ago Israel says ceasefire and aid to resume after wave of strikes kill 26 in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Sunday a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of air strikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month’s US-brokered truce. Aid into the enclave was set to resume on Monday following US pressure, an Israeli security source said, shortly after Israel announced a halt in supplies in response to what it said was a “blatant” violation by Hamas of the truce. The Israeli...

Events

41 h. ago Hong Kong exchange sees further growth ahead for record ETF market

Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) expects its exchange-traded fund (ETF) market to continue growing after hitting record turnover and new listings this year, according to a senior executive. Average daily turnover in ETFs doubled to a record HK$37.8 billion (US$4.8 billion) in the first nine months, as the exchange’s 225 ETFs drew an increasing number of investors from mainland China, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. ETFs are listed index funds that track the performance...

Politics

67 h. ago Hamas is planning attack on Gaza civilians in violation of ceasefire, US warns

The US State Department said Saturday that it has “credible reports” that Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. If the attack takes place, it “would constitute a direct and grave violation” of the agreement forged by US President Donald Trump to end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, the statement said. No further details were disclosed about the potential attack. ”Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the...

Events

68 h. ago Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed, Israeli PM says

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages. Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza. Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Massive job’ ahead to rebuild ruined Gaza, UN aid chief says

The United Nations’ aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring basic necessities in the devastated Gaza Strip on Saturday, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more human remains. In a short convoy of white UN jeeps, relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team wound their way through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to inspect a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still...

Politics

3 d. ago Iran says no longer bound by ‘restrictions’ on nuclear programme as deal ends

Iran on Saturday said it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”. The 2015 deal – signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme. But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington...

Events

3 d. ago Hamas sends Israel another hostage’s body, vows to return the rest

Hamas handed over to Israel the remains of one more hostage on Friday night, after insisting it was committed to returning all the dead captives still unaccounted for under Gaza’s ruins after two years of war. “Israel received, via the Red Cross, the coffin of a deceased hostage who was returned” to its security forces in Gaza and would be identified at a medical analysis centre in Israel, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. Under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas...

Politics

4 d. ago Hamas and Israel’s Gaza ceasefire hangs by a thread as Trump warns of war

Hamas moved on Friday to shore up its brittle ceasefire agreement with Israel by reaffirming its commitment to the terms of the deal that includes a pledge to hand over the remains of all dead Israeli hostages. The militant group’s statement released in the early hours on Friday follows a dire warning from US President Donald Trump that he would approve Israel to resume the war if Hamas doesn’t live up to its end of the deal and return all the hostages’ bodies. Hamas, however, maintains that...

Events

4 d. ago Opinion | Trump’s approach to Middle East diplomacy won’t work with China

Opinion | Trump’s approach to Middle East diplomacy won’t work with China  The Washington Post

Politics

4 d. ago As fragile Gaza ceasefire holds, world powers plan stabilisation force

France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, were working to finalise a UN Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday. With a shaky US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holding, planning has begun for an international force to stabilise security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US advisers said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Paris, French Foreign Ministry...

Events

4 d. ago Hong Kong FinTech Week expects investment ‘action’, InvestHK says

Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025 in November aims to be an all-in-one marketplace for global cutting-edge technologies, with international buyers from areas including the Middle East and Global South coming to the city to shop for opportunities, according to senior InvestHK officials. Last year’s event was almost like a “study trip” for some delegations, according to King Leung, head of financial services and fintech at the government agency, which is responsible for attracting foreign direct...

Economics

4 d. ago Trump threatens to ‘go in and kill’ Hamas if Gaza killings continue

US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to “go in and kill” Hamas if it keeps killing people in Gaza, in an apparent reference to recent shootings of Palestinian civilians following a ceasefire deal with Israel. Trump’s comments come just days after he said that the Hamas shootings – which include public executions – “didn’t bother me much” and described them as killings of gang members. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go...

Events

4 d. ago Trump threatens to ‘go in and kill’ Hamas if Gaza bloodshed continues

US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Hamas “we will have no choice but to go in and kill them” if internal bloodshed persists in Gaza. The grim warning from Trump came after he previously played down the internal violence in the territory since a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect last week in the two-year war. Trump later clarified he would not send US troops into Gaza after launching the threat against Hamas. “It’s not going to be us,” Trump said in an...

Events

5 d. ago Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations, Rafah border reopening in limbo

Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire. A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its...

Politics

5 d. ago Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations, Rafah reopening in limbo

Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire. A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its...

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Not a chance’: experts dismiss Trump’s Gaza peace declaration as temporary fix

Far from being a historic deal to end war in the Middle East as claimed by US President Donald Trump, the Gaza peace declaration has only established a bloc of regional countries that will work with Washington for now to stabilise the region, observers say. Composed of Egypt, Arab monarchies led by Saudi Arabia, and Nato member Turkey, this “Axis of Stabilisation” in the making will continue to diplomatically engage Iran and its “Axis of Resistance” allies, including Hamas, to reduce the risk of...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump and Israel warn of resumed fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not respect deal

Israel’s defence minister threatened on Wednesday to resume fighting if Hamas does not honour the terms of a US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza. The statement from Defence Minister Israel Katz’s office came after Hamas handed over the remains of two more deceased hostages, and said it would be unable to retrieve any more bodies from the ruins of Gaza without specialised equipment. Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, the Palestinian...

Events

6 d. ago Aid resumes in Gaza with Rafah crossing set to reopen after hostage body dispute

Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday, and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and freed all living hostages held by Hamas. However, the...

Events