Gaza War | DD News

May 13, 2026 11:12 AM

Eurovision Song Contest gets off to a tense start, overshadowed by Gaza

The Eurovision Song Contest got off to a tense start in Vienna on Tuesday as Israel competed in the first semifinal amid a boycott by five countries over the Gaza war. The contest, traditionally a good-natured celebration of pop music and high camp now in its 70th year, has become mired in crisis over Israel's military offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. The public broadcasters of five countries - Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia - are...

October 13, 2025 4:57 PM

Israel’s Netanyahu won’t attend Egypt summit on ending Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday's summit on ending the Gaza war in Egypt, his office said, after Cairo had earlier announced he would take part. In a statement, Netanyahu's office said he had been invited by U.S. President Donald Trump to participate in the meeting of world leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh but declined "due to the timing's proximity to the beginning of (a Jewish) holiday." "The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his invitation and for his eff...

October 13, 2025 2:58 PM

Hamas deploys fighters as hostages released, in show of strength

Hamas deployed fighters in Gaza on Monday as a release of hostages seized in the October 7 attacks was under way, Reuters footage showed, in an apparent show of strength by the militant group which President Donald Trump says must disarm. Reuters footage showed dozens of Hamas fighters lined up at a hospital in southern Gaza, and an armed man wearing the insignia of the Hamas armed wing, the Qassam Brigades. His shoulder patch identified him as a member of the elite "Shadow Unit", which Hamas s...

October 13, 2025 9:50 PM

Trump says Holy Land at peace as last Israeli hostages swapped for Palestinian detainees

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as U.S. President Donald Trump told Israel's parliament that peace had arrived in the Holy Land. The Israeli military said it had received all hostages confirmed to be alive, after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross. The announcement prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. In Gaza, thousand...

September 29, 2025 10:51 AM

Trump to push proposal for elusive Gaza peace in Netanyahu talks

Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, with the U.S. president pushing a Gaza peace proposal after a slew of Western leaders embraced Palestinian statehood in defiance of American and Israeli opposition. In Netanyahu’s fourth visit since Trump returned to office in January, the right-wing Israeli leader will be looking to shore up his country’s most important relationship as it faces growing international isolation nearly two years int...

September 22, 2025 9:41 AM

United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia recognise Palestine

At the United Nations General Assembly, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia formally recognized the State of Palestine, joining more than 140 countries that have already extended recognition. The decision reflects a major shift in Western diplomacy and comes amid intensifying conflict and humanitarian strain in the Gaza Strip. The announcement coincides with the UN’s 80th session, which includes the High-level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Pal...

September 20, 2025 9:43 AM

UN allows Palestinian President Abbas to speak via video after US denies visa

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Friday to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the annual gathering of world leaders next week via video after the United States said it would not give him a visa to travel to New York. The resolution received 145 votes in favor and five votes against, while six countries abstained. It also allows Abbas and any other high-level Palestinian officials to take part in U.N. meetings or conferences via video over the next year if they are ...

September 8, 2025 3:12 PM

Spain to ban Israel-bound shipping, aircraft carrying weapons from its ports, airspace

Spain will increase pressure on Israel by banning Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from calling at Spanish ports or entering Spanish airspace, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday. Spain will also increase aid to the Palestinian authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and will impose an embargo on goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, he said. "We hope that (the measures...

September 2, 2025 10:14 AM

Belgium to recognise Palestinian state at UN General Assembly

Belgium will recognise a Palestinian state at the U.N. 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 U.N. event. Belgium will join the signatories of the New York Declaration, paving the way for a two-state ...

August 20, 2025 1:42 PM

As Netanyahu expands Gaza war, some reservists grow more disillusioned

As Israel seeks to expand its offensive in Gaza, a measure of how the country's mood has changed in the nearly two-year-old conflict is the discontent evident among some reservists being called up to serve once again. Shortly after the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israelis dropped everything -- honeymoons, studies and new lives abroad -- to rush home and fight. Now, some voice disillusionment with political leaders sending them back into battle...