Ceasefire

February 18, 2025 11:04 PM

Israel to begin negotiations on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal, minister says

Israel will begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, including an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages with Palestinian detainees, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday, adding that Israel demanded a complete demilitarisation of the enclave. Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were supposed to be under way before the first phase ends on March 2, but Qatar said the talks have not officially started yet. A "Hezbollah model" in Gaza would not be ac...

February 17, 2025 6:19 PM

UK offers peacekeeping troops to Ukraine ahead of Paris talks

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has become the first European leader to say he is ready to put peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, making the commitment ahead of an emergency leaders' meeting in Paris to discuss Europe's role in a ceasefire. Starmer's comments underlined a growing realization among European nations that they will likely have to play a larger role in ensuring Ukraine's security as Washington works alone with Russia on a potential end to the three-year conflict. Sweden would con...

January 16, 2025 11:20 AM

“Economic corridor vision from India, Middle East, Europe can now become reality”: Biden on Gaza ceasefire

US President Joe Biden expressed optimism on Wednesday that his vision of an economic corridor linking India, the Middle East, and Europe—first introduced at the G-20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023—could now materialize following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal. Speaking on the agreement, Biden said, "At G-20 in Delhi in September 2023, I rallied key countries behind a vision of an economic corridor from India across the Middle East to Europe. That vision can now become a...

January 8, 2025 3:19 PM

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as US pushes for ceasefire

Israeli military strikes across Gaza killed at least 22 people on Wednesday, Palestinian medics said, as the U.S. stepped up efforts to overcome sticking points between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire to end the war. One of the airstrikes killed at least 10 people in a multi-storey house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday, while another killed five in the nearby Zeitoun suburb, medics said. In Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Pal...

November 26, 2024 5:07 PM

Israel expected to approve ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli official says

Israel looks set to approve a U.S. plan for a ceasefire with Lebanon's Hezbollah on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said, clearing the way for an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war 14 months ago. That optimism was shared by Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib who expressed hope at a G7 meeting in Italy that a ceasefire would be reached by Tuesday night. Israel's security cabinet is expected to convene later on Tuesday to dis...

September 26, 2024 4:40 PM

Israeli foreign minister rejects ceasefire proposal, Lebanon on edge

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected proposals for a ceasefire with Hezbollah after the United States and France called for a 21-day halt in the fighting that has alarmed Lebanon and raised fears of a ground invasion. "There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," he said in a statement on the social media p...

September 26, 2024 9:40 AM

US and allies call for 21-day ceasefire along Israel-Lebanon border after UN talks

The United States, France and several allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border while also expressing support for a ceasefire in Gaza following intense discussions at the United Nations on Wednesday. The ceasefire would apply to the Israel-Lebanon "Blue Line," the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, and would allow the parties to negotiate towards a potential diplomatic resolution of the conflict, a senior Biden administration official said. "We ...

September 9, 2024 10:55 PM

India Calls for Ceasefire, Two-State Solution in Gaza at India-GCC Strategic Dialogue

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from September 8-9, 2024, to attend the first-ever India–GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue. During his visit, Dr. Jaishankar co-chaired the meeting alongside Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, and President of the current session of the GCC Ministerial Council. This was the inaugural meeting between India and the Gulf...