35 h. ago ‘Stolen too soon’: Nepal mourns hero hostage returned from Gaza after ceasefire

Nepal’s interim prime minister on Monday draped a national flag over the coffin of returned Gaza hostage Bipin Joshi, released under the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. “Bipin is a son of all Nepali mothers,” Sushila Karki said at a ceremony held at the airport in Kathmandu, after his body was flown back to the capital from Tel Aviv. “The name Bipin will be immortal, no one can forget him for his bravery and the hardships he had to face.” Joshi, an agriculture student who was 22 when...

Events

5 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

5 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

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

7 d. ago Trump says Hamas must disarm or be disarmed, perhaps violently

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had communicated to Hamas that the militant group must disarm or it will be forced to. On Monday, Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees under a ceasefire deal brokered by Trump, but Hamas has not publicly committed to putting down its weapons. “If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently,” Trump said during a meeting at the...

Politics

7 d. ago Trump threatens to violently disarm Hamas as Gaza ceasefire is tested

Hamas handed over more bodies of deceased hostages to Israel on Tuesday, one sign of progress after a number of apparent setbacks in the day since US President Donald Trump touted his plan to end the Gaza war. The bodies were returned after Israel announced it would cut in half the number of humanitarian aid trucks allowed into Gaza in a move to punish Hamas for what Israel called the militant group’s violation of its agreement to transfer remains under the ceasefire deal reached last...

Events

7 d. ago ‘History shows otherwise’: Anwar casts doubts about Gaza ceasefire deal

As US President Donald Trump continues to hail the peace plan to end the Israel-Gaza conflict, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged caution, saying he was not invited to the ceasefire signing ceremony in Egypt due to his concerns over the deal’s details and its durability. On Monday, Israel began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the first phase of the deal, while Hamas militants released 20 surviving Israeli hostages kidnapped during its assault on southern Israel...

Events

7 d. ago The true test of Gaza peace begins after momentous ceasefire deal

On Monday, the fragile ceasefire in Gaza led to freedom for Israeli hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It was the culmination of a long and tortuous process - but it may, in the end, have been the easier part. The coming weeks, months and years would require more than just rebuilding from the devastation that has left much of Gaza in ruins. Key details of the peace plan may remain unsettled. Granular details would need to be negotiated to keep the plan moving...

Events

8 d. ago Trump to meet Zelensky as Ukraine hopes for peace deal after Gaza ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he would meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, where the two would discuss Ukraine’s air defence and long-range strike capabilities. The two leaders spoke on both Saturday and Sunday amid intensifying discussions about the potential provision of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv, and a Ukrainian delegation led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is scheduled to visit Washington before the Friday meeting. Kyiv has been...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump says ‘nightmare’ for Israelis, Palestinians over, sparking Gaza peace hope

US President Donald Trump hailed an end to a “painful nightmare” in a speech to Israel’s parliament on Monday, as the last surviving hostages returned home from Gaza and a group of Palestinian prisoners were freed under a ceasefire deal he spearheaded. The US president’s lightning visit came ahead of a summit on Gaza in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, with Trump departing Israel just hours after he had arrived. “From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war,...

Politics

9 d. ago US envoy calls UK minister ‘delusional’ for Gaza ceasefire ‘key role’ claim

The US ambassador to Israel has called UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson “delusional” for claiming the UK played a “key role” in securing the ceasefire in Gaza. The minister earlier on Sunday defended Britain’s contribution to peace efforts “behind the scenes” while acknowledging the “critical” work had been carried out by the White House. Mike Huckabee, who was part of US President Donald Trump’s negotiating team for the peace deal, appeared to mock Phillipson’s assertion in a post on...

Politics

9 d. ago ‘Delusional’: US ambassador mocks UK minister’s claim of ‘key role’ in Gaza deal

The US ambassador to Israel has called UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson “delusional” for claiming the UK played a “key role” in securing the ceasefire in Gaza. The minister earlier on Sunday defended Britain’s contribution to peace efforts “behind the scenes” while acknowledging the “critical” work had been carried out by the White House. Mike Huckabee, who was part of US President Donald Trump’s negotiating team for the peace deal, appeared to mock Phillipson’s assertion in a post on...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump sets off for the Middle East to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump headed off on a high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying “the war is over” in Gaza. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, Agence France-Presse reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also aboard the plane, the White House said. “This is going to be a very special time,” Trump told reporters. “Everybody’s very excited about this moment in...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump says ‘war is over’ as he heads to Middle East to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump headed off on a high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying “the war is over” in Gaza. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, Agence France-Presse reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also aboard the plane, the White House said. “This is going to be a very special time,” Trump told reporters. “Everybody’s very excited about this moment in...

Events

9 d. ago Trump says Gaza ‘war is over’ as he heads to Middle East on high

The war in Gaza has ended and the Middle East is going to “normalise”, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday as he flew to Israel, which was waiting for Hamas to release Israeli hostages as world leaders were gathering to discuss the next steps toward peace. “The war is over, you understand that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began a flight from Washington to Israel. Asked about prospects for the region, Trump said: “I think it’s going to normalise”. A ceasefire between...

Politics

9 d. ago Netanyahu calls for Israel to unite after imminent hostage release

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged controversy over his handling of the Gaza ceasefire deal on Sunday but called for the imminent release of hostages to be a moment of unity. “This is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy, because tomorrow our children will return to our borders,” Netanyahu said, quoting a biblical verse. “Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path – a path of rebuilding, a path of healing and, I hope, a path of united hearts,” he said,...

Politics

9 d. ago Netanyahu calls for Israel to unite as Gaza hostages set for release

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged controversy over his handling of the Gaza ceasefire deal on Sunday but called for the imminent release of hostages to be a moment of unity. “This is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy, because tomorrow our children will return to our borders,” Netanyahu said, quoting a biblical verse. “Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path – a path of rebuilding, a path of healing and, I hope, a path of united hearts,” he said,...

Politics

9 d. ago End to hunger? Gaza aid to increase as ceasefire deal brings hope

Preparations were underway on Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating two-year-long war. The Israeli defence body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, Cogat, said that the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip is expected to increase on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement. Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza on Sunday. The trucks...

Events

1 week ago Israel air strikes in Lebanon continue despite Gaza ceasefire deal

Israel carried out intense air strikes on southern Lebanon early on Saturday, killing one person, wounding seven and briefly cutting a highway that linked Beirut with southern parts of the country, the Health Ministry said. The predawn air strikes on the village of Msayleh struck a place that sold heavy machinery, destroying a large number of vehicles. A vehicle carrying vegetables that happened to be passing by at the time of the strikes was hit, killing one person and wounding another,...

Events

1 week ago ‘Nothing left’: Palestinians return to rubble in Gaza as truce takes effect

Tens of thousands of Palestinians headed back to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip on Friday as a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect in a deal that raised hopes for ending the Israel-Hamas war. All the remaining hostages were set to be released within days. Questions remain over who will govern Gaza as Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm, as called for in US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended...

Politics