Hamas

May 9, 2024 12:15 PM

US warns Israel that Rafah invasion will jeopardise weapons supply as assault continues

U.S. President Joe Biden vowed publicly for the first time to withhold weapons from Israel if its forces make a major invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza while negotiations in Cairo on a ceasefire plan for the enclave were set to continue on Thursday. "I made it clear that if they go into Rafah, ... I’m not supplying the weapons," Biden, whose administration has repeatedly asked Israel for its plan to protect civilians in Rafah, told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. Biden acknowledged that...

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 ...

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...

April 24, 2024 4:52 PM

Israel gears up for Rafah civilian evacuation ahead of promised assault

Israel has procured tens of thousands of tents for Palestinian civilians it intends to evacuate from Rafah in the coming weeks ahead a promised assault on the city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli sources said on Wednesday. Abutting the Egyptian border, Rafah's population has been swollen by more than a million Palestinians who fled the half-year-old Israeli offensive through the rest of Gaza. Their fate worries Western powers as well as Cairo, which has ruled ou...

April 16, 2024 12:18 PM

Israeli military vows response to Iran attack as calls for restraint mount

Israelis awaited word on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would respond to Iran's first-ever direct attack as international pressure for restraint grew amid fears of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Netanyahu on Monday summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours to weigh a response to Iran's weekend missile and drone attack, a government source said. Military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel would respond. He provided no details. "This launc...

April 13, 2024 11:56 AM

Biden says he expects Iran to attack Israel soon, warns: ‘Don’t’

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel "sooner, rather than later" and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden said simply, "Don't," and he underscored Washington's commitment to defend Israel. "We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," he said. Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of retaliation for...

April 12, 2024 8:50 AM

Former Israeli envoy to India lauds Indian support after Hamas attacks

Former Israeli envoy to India, Daniel Carmon, on Thursday, came out in praise of the Indian government over its support for his country after the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on October 7, last year, saying New Delhi sent out a larder message by putting its weight behind its 'strategic partner'. "The wonderful ties and the strategic relations between India and Israel are well known. And it was only natural and very much appreciated that the government of India made a statement, a very quick...

April 9, 2024 12:01 PM

Hamas: Israeli ceasefire proposal fails to meet demands, under review

Hamas said early on Tuesday Israel's proposal that it received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators did not meet any of the demands of Palestinian factions. However, the group added in a statement it would study the proposal, which it described as “intransigent”, and deliver its response to the mediators. A Hamas official told Reuters on Monday that the group has rejected the Israeli ceasefire proposal made at talks in Cairo, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a date was set ...