August 12, 2025 4:19 PM

Israel bombards Gaza City overnight; Hamas leader due in Cairo in bid to salvage ceasefire talks

Israeli planes and tanks kept bombarding eastern areas of Gaza City overnight, killing at least 11 people, witnesses and medics said on Tuesday, with Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya due in Cairo for talks to revive a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan. The latest round of indirect talks in Qatar ended in deadlock in late July with Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas trading blame over the lack of progress on a U.S. proposal for a 60-day truce and hostage release deal. Israel has since said it wil...

August 12, 2025 11:00 AM

Israel’s Gaza City offensive may be weeks away, leaving time for ceasefire

Israel's new offensive in Gaza City could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a ceasefire, officials say, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would get underway "fairly quickly" and end the war with Hamas' defeat. Two officials who were at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve the plan told Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from affected areas may only be completed by the start of October, giving time for a deal to be pursued. The plan raised interna...

August 11, 2025 10:50 AM

Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader

Israel's military said it killed an Al Jazeera journalist it accused of being a Hamas cell leader in a Gaza airstrike on Sunday, but rights advocates said he had been targeted for his frontline reporting on the Gaza war and Israel's claim lacked evidence. Anas Al Sharif, 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in a strike on a tent near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other peo...

August 11, 2025 10:47 AM

Australia to recognise Palestinian state at United Nations in September

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at next month's United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, a move that adds to international pressure on Israel after similar announcements from France, Britain and Canada. "Australia will recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in September, to contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages," ...

August 6, 2025 10:47 AM

UN alarmed by reports about possible expansion of Israeli Gaza operations

The United Nations on Tuesday called reports about a possible decision to expand Israel's military operations throughout the Gaza Strip "deeply alarming" if true. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told a U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza that such a move "would risk catastrophic consequences ... and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza. "International law is clear in the regard; Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the fut...

August 6, 2025 12:46 PM

Trump declines to say if he supports or opposes potential Gaza takeover by Israel

U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say whether he supported or opposed a potential military takeover of Gaza by Israel and said his administration's focus was on increasing food access to the Palestinian enclave under assault from Washington's ally. KEY QUOTES "I know that we are there now trying to get people fed," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "As far as the rest of it, I really can't say. That's going to be pretty much up to Israel." Trump said Israel and Arab states were going to ...

August 5, 2025 10:01 AM

Israel to decide next steps in Gaza after ceasefire talks collapse

Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel's next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option. Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the...

August 3, 2025 3:19 PM

Iran’s army chief says Israeli threats remain, state media say

The commander-in-chief of Iran's military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state media. In June, Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the so-called 12-day war, in which Tehran retaliated against Israel with several barrages of missiles and drones. "A 1% threat must be perceived as a 100% threat. We should not underestimate the enemy and consider its threats as over," Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news...

August 3, 2025 10:51 AM

US envoy tells Israeli hostage families he is working on plan to end Gaza War

U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told families of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered. Steve Witkoff is visiting Israel as its government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a recording ...

August 1, 2025 5:21 PM

France starts airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza

France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it urged Israel to allow full access to the area which it said was slipping into famine. "Faced with the absolute urgency, we have just conducted a food airdrop operation in Gaza. Thank you to our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, and to our military personnel for their commitment," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media platform X. "Airdrops are not enough. Israel must open full hum...