Israel | DD News

June 5, 2024 4:09 PM

Hamas wants Israel to commit to permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza

Hamas cannot agree to any deal unless Israel makes a "clear" commitment to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a senior official from the Palestinian militant group said on Tuesday. Qatar, which alongside the United States and Egypt has been mediating talks between Hamas and Israel, has also urged Israel to provide a clear position that has the backing of its entire government to reach a deal. "We cannot agree to an agreement that doesn't secure, guarantee, and...

June 4, 2024 3:57 PM

Four more Israeli hostages died in Gaza captivity, Israel’s military says

The Israeli military said another four Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 had died in captivity and that their bodies are being held by the Palestinian Islamist group. The four men were identified as Chaim Peri, 80, Yoram Metzger, 80, Amiram Cooper, 84, and Nadav Popplewell, 51. All four were filmed alive in hostage videos posted by Hamas. Hamas said that Popplewell had died of wounds sustained during an Israeli air strike when posting his video last month. Military spokesperson Rea...

June 3, 2024 11:56 AM

Biden’s Gaza plan ‘not a good deal’ but Israel accepts it, says PM Netanyahu aide

An aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work. In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, said Biden's proposal was "a deal we agreed to — it's not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them". "There are a lot of d...

June 1, 2024 7:31 PM

Netanyahu says no Gaza ceasefire until Hamas destroyed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday there could be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas was destroyed, casting doubt on a key part of a truce proposal that U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel itself had made. Biden said on Friday that Israel had proposed a deal involving an initial six-week truce with a partial Israeli military withdrawal and the release of some hostages while the two sides negotiated "a permanent end to hostilities". However, Netanyahu's statemen...

May 31, 2024 6:13 PM

Israeli military says combat in part of north Gaza is over

Israeli forces have ended combat operations in the Jabalia area of north Gaza after destroying more than 10 kilometres of tunnels during days of intense fighting that included over 200 air strikes, the military said on Friday. At the south end of Gaza, Israeli forces pressing an offensive into Rafah found rocket launchers and other weapons as well as tunnel shafts built by Hamas in the city centre, the army said. Tank-led Israeli troops aim to break up Hamas' fighting formations in the city on ...

May 30, 2024 9:19 AM

Israel warns war in Gaza may extend seven more months

An Israeli official cautioned Wednesday that the war in Gaza might persist until the year's end, casting doubt on hopes that the fighting would cease after the military operation against Hamas in Rafah. Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's national security adviser, indicated that 2024 had been designated a "year of combat" by Israel's war cabinet. "We are now in the fifth month of 2024, which means we expect another seven months of fighting to deepen our achievements and achieve our goal of destroying the...

May 29, 2024 10:03 AM

U.S. says latest Rafah deaths won’t change Israel policy, military aid

The Biden administration said on Tuesday it was closely monitoring the probe into a deadly Israeli airstrike it called tragic, but that the recent deaths in Rafah didn't constitute a major ground operation there that crosses any U.S. red lines. "The Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House, when asked about whether the events over the weekend qualified as the type of "death and destruction" U.S. officials h...

September 16, 2024 6:41 PM

Israeli tanks hit evacuation zone west of Rafah, 21 dead, Gaza health officials say

Israeli strikes on a tent camp in an evacuation area west of Rafah killed at least 21 on Tuesday, Gaza health authorities said, and tanks advanced to the centre of the southern Gaza city for the first time after a night of heavy bombardment. Two days after an Israeli airstrike on another camp stirred global condemnation, Gaza emergency services said four tank shells hit a cluster of tents in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area that Israel had advised civilians in Rafah to move to for safety. At least 12...

May 28, 2024 5:24 PM

Ireland officially recognises Palestinian state

Ireland officially recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday, the government said in a statement, defying Israel which had condemned the plan. The government approved the recognition in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning. "The Government recognises Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah," the statement said. "An Ambassador of Ireland to the State of Palestine will be appointed along with a full Embassy of ...

May 28, 2024 11:10 AM

Spain, Ireland, Norway set to recognise Palestinian statehood

Spain, Ireland and Norway will officially recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday, despite an angry reaction from Israel, which has found itself increasingly isolated after seven months of conflict in Gaza. About 144 of the 193 member-states of the United Nations recognise a Palestinian state, including most of the global south, Russia, China and India. Madrid, Dublin and Oslo have painted their decision as a way to accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. ...