Israel

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 ...

February 19, 2025 12:41 PM

Lebanese search for dead in devastated villages as Israel withdraws

Residents of south Lebanon returned to devastated villages on Tuesday, searching for the bodies of relatives killed in last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of the territory. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would complete its withdrawal from the south on Tuesday to meet a deadline set under a U.S.-backed ceasefire, but that it would temporarily remain in five points needed for its security. Hezbollah, which was badly pummelled in th...

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 10, 2025 9:07 AM

Trump wants US to own Gaza, suggests Middle East states aid in reconstruction

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is committed to buying and owning Gaza, but could allow sections of the war-ravaged land to be rebuilt by other states in the Middle East. “I'm committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.” Trump made his remar...

February 7, 2025 10:01 AM

Trump says Israel would hand over Gaza after fighting is over, no US troops needed

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave's population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no U.S. troops would be needed on the ground. A day after worldwide condemnation of Trump's announcement that he aimed to take over and develop the Gaza Strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East", Israel ordered its army to prepare to allow the "voluntary departure" of Gaza Palestinians. Trump, w...

February 6, 2025 10:24 AM

After US, Israel withdraws participation from UN Human Rights Council

A day after US President Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, has said that Israel would also join the US in its decision not to participate in the UNHRC. Sa'ar on Wednesday expressed Israel's support for Trump's decision, calling it a step in the right direction. In a post on X on Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Minister said, "Israel welcomes President Trump's decision not to parti...

February 6, 2025 8:46 AM

Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements

President Donald Trump's top aides staunchly defended his push to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza and have the U.S. take over the war-ruined enclave, but they also backed away from elements of his proposal in the face of international condemnation. A longtime New York property developer, Trump drew rebukes on Wednesday from world powers Russia, China and Germany, which said it would foster "new suffering and new hatred." Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright. Bare...

February 5, 2025 8:58 AM

Trump says U.S. wants to take over Gaza Strip

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere, moves that would shatter decades of U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump unveiled his surprise plan, without providing specifics, at a joint press conference on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement followed Trump's shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement...

January 31, 2025 2:57 PM

Israel targets Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, accuses group of ceasefire breach

The Israeli military said on Friday it struck several Hezbollah targets overnight in the Bekaa Valley and along the Syrian-Lebanese border. The army said the targets include a facility used for underground weapons development and another associated with the smuggling of arms into Lebanon. On Thursday, Israel said it intercepted a surveillance drone launched by Hezbollah calling it "a breach of the ceasefire agreement" between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in lat...

January 27, 2025 8:01 PM

Israeli air strike kills two militants in West Bank, Hamas says

An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinian militants in the city of Tulkarm on Monday, Hamas said, underscoring Israel's renewed focus on armed groups in the occupied West Bank since the start of the ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, said the two killed on Monday were members of its armed wing. Witnesses in the city said a raid was underway but there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that tw...