Gaza

May 9, 2024 5:43 PM

Israeli forces mass on Rafah’s outskirts as US warns a major assault could halt arms

Israeli forces massed tanks and opened fire close to built-up areas of Rafah on Thursday, residents said, after U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to withhold weapons from Israel if its forces launch a major invasion of the southern Gaza city. As ceasefire talks continued in Cairo, Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their fighters struck Israeli forces on the eastern outskirts of Rafah, firing anti-tank rockets and mortars at Israeli positions. Residents and medics in Rafah...

May 8, 2024 12:10 PM

US paused shipment of weapons to Israel to head off Rafah invasion-official

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration paused a shipment of weapons to Israel last week in opposition to apparent moves by the Israelis to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. Biden has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian have sought refuge from combat elsewhere in Gaza. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as Israelis leaders seemed ...

NORTHERN GAZA, GAZA - JANUARY 07: A view of the Israel-Gaza border near the Erez border crossing on January 07, 2024 in Northern Gaza. As the IDF have pressed into Gaza as part of their campaign to defeat Hamas, they have highlighted the militant group's extensive tunnel network as emblematic of the way the group embeds itself and its military activity in civilian areas. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

May 7, 2024 5:27 PM

Israel says it has taken control of Gaza side of Rafah Crossing amid truce talks

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had taken operational control of the Palestinian side of Gaza's southern Rafah Crossing, which borders Egypt and has been pivotal for the delivery of aid and exit of injured people in the Gaza war. The military said forces were scanning the area in the morning after launching a ground and air operation in part of eastern Rafah on Monday night, amid diplomatic efforts abroad to achieve a new truce. The Gaza Crossings Authority said in a statement that I...

May 7, 2024 12:03 PM

Gaza ceasefire uncertain, Israel vows to continue Rafah operation

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and pressed ahead with strikes in Rafah while planning to continue negotiations on a deal. The developments in the seven-month-old war came as Israeli forces struck Rafah on Gaza's southern edge from the air and ground and ordered residents to leave parts of the city, which has been a refuge for more than a million displaced Palestinians. Hamas s...

RAFAH, GAZA - MAY 06: A Palestinian man injured after an Israeli attack is being taken to a hospital for treatment in Rafah, Gaza on May 06, 2024. (Photo by Doaa Albaz/Anadolu via Getty Images)

May 6, 2024 11:23 AM

Israel attacks Rafah after Hamas claims responsibility for deadly rocket attack

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in a rocket attack claimed by Hamas armed wing, near the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, where Palestinian health officials said at least 19 people were killed by Israeli fire on Sunday. Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility on Sunday for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza that Israel said killed three of its soldiers. Israel's military said 10 projectiles were launched from Rafah in southern Gaza towards the area of the crossing, which ...

May 3, 2024 5:14 PM

Rafah operation could result in ‘slaughter’, UN official says

An Israeli incursion in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans at risk and be a huge blow to the humanitarian operations of the entire enclave, the U.N. humanitarian office said on Friday. Israel has warned of an operation against Hamas in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where around a million displaced people are crowded together in shelters and makeshift accommodation, having fled months of Israeli bombardments triggered by Hamas fighters' deadly cross-border attack on...

May 3, 2024 1:49 PM

Turkey halts trade with Israel over Gaza crisis

Citing the escalating humanitarian situation in Gaza, Turkey has halted all exports and imports to and from Israel, the Turkish Ministry of Trade announced, as per Al Jazeera's report. "Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products," the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. "Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza." The ...

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is speaking during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, on February 8, 2024, after a meeting with the United Nations Security Council regarding the advancements made on Colombia's 2016 peace process and the new ongoing process. (Photo by Sebastian Barros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

May 2, 2024 10:37 AM

Colombia to break diplomatic relations with Israel, President Petro says

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday he will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its actions in Gaza. Petro has already heavily criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and requested to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. "Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel ... for hav...

April 29, 2024 4:21 PM

Blinken says ‘measurable progress’ on Gaza humanitarian situation

The United States has seen "measurable progress" in the humanitarian situation in Gaza over the past few weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday (April 29), but urged Israel to do more. Speaking at the opening of a US-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh, Blinken said the most effective way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was to achieve a ceasefire. He also said Washington continued efforts to prevent the Gaza war from expanding. The country is the first...

April 29, 2024 11:08 AM

Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia to discuss Israel normalization, post-war Gaza

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop in a broader trip to the Middle East to discuss issues including the governance of Gaza once the war with Israel ends. The top U.S. diplomat heads to Israel later this week, where he is expected to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the concrete and tangible steps U.S. President Joe Biden demanded this month to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. In Riyadh, Blinken is expe...