Hamas

April 8, 2025 1:33 PM

Trump says US, Iran set for direct nuclear talks; Tehran says they will be indirect

President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but Iran's foreign minister said the discussions in Oman would be indirect. In a further sign of the difficult path to any deal between the two geopolitical foes, Trump issued a stark warning that if the talks were unsuccessful, "Iran is going to be in great danger." Iran had pushed back against Trump's demands in recent weeks that it dire...

April 7, 2025 9:36 AM

Hamas fires rockets at Israeli cities, Israel issues evacuation orders in Gaza

Palestinian militant group Hamas said it fired a barrage of rockets at cities in Israel's south on Sunday in response to Israeli "massacres" of civilians in Gaza. Israel's military said about 10 projectiles were fired, but most were successfully intercepted. Israel's Channel 12 reported a direct hit in the southern city of Ashkelon. Israeli emergency services said they were treating one person for shrapnel injuries, and teams were en route to locations of fallen rockets. Smashed car windows an...

April 2, 2025 5:42 PM

Israel to seize parts of Gaza as military operation expands

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population. In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said evacuations would take place from areas where there was fighting, while urging Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war. He said the operation would clear out militants and infrastruc...

April 2, 2025 2:03 PM

Israel to expand Gaza military operation with large-scale evacuations

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population. Israeli leaders have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, the militant group that has controlled the enclave since 2007, and the expanded operation appeared at least partly aimed at increasing civilian pressure on its leaders. In a statement, Defence Mini...

March 20, 2025 9:18 AM

After airstrikes, Israel says it has launched new ground operation in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers. The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January. The Israeli military said its operati...

March 10, 2025 1:34 PM

Hamas says talks with US focused on release of American hostage in Gaza

Meetings between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days focused on the release of an American-Israeli dual national being held by the militant group in Gaza, a senior Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday. Taher Al-Nono, political adviser to the leader of the Palestinian group, confirmed the unprecedented, direct talks with Washington in the Qatari capital over the past week. "Several meetings have already taken place in Doha, focusing on releasing one of the dua...

March 6, 2025 9:04 AM

Trump warns Hamas as US holds unprecedented talks for Gaza hostages

The United States broke a longstanding diplomatic taboo by holding secret talks with Hamas on securing the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza, Reuters reported on Wednesday, while President Donald Trump warned of "hell to pay" should the Palestinian militant group not comply. U.S. hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler has the authority to talk directly with Hamas, the White House said when asked about the discussions, which broke with a decades-old policy against negotiating with groups that th...

February 27, 2025 3:42 PM

Hamas says it’s ready for more ceasefire talks after prisoner exchange

Militant group Hamas said on Thursday it was ready to begin talks on the second phase of a ceasefire in Gaza after several hundred Palestinians were released from Israeli jails overnight in return for the bodies of four Israeli hostages. It was the final exchange of the six-week first phase of a ceasefire that came into effect on January 19 in the war in Gaza. Talks have yet to begin on a second phase, meant to lead ultimately to a permanent end to the war that began in October, 2023 when Hama...

February 21, 2025 12:55 PM

Israeli military says body released by Hamas is not of a hostage

The Israeli military said on Friday that one of the bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any of the hostages held in Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating an already shaking ceasefire. Two of the bodies were identified as infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, while a third body that was supposed to be their mother, Shiri, was found not to match with any hostage and remained unidentified, the military said. "This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organi...

February 20, 2025 1:51 PM

Hamas hands over bodies of youngest Gaza hostages taken from Israel

Hamas handed over the bodies on Thursday of Israeli infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken by Hamas in their October 7, 2023 attack and among the most potent symbols of the trauma inflicted that day. Red Cross vehicles drove away from the handover site in the Gaza Strip with four black coffins that had been placed on a stage. Each of the caskets had a small picture of the hostages. Hamas handed over the bodies of the two ...