Netanyahu

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 12, 2025 1:05 AM

Netanyahu says Israel will end Gaza ceasefire if hostages not returned on Saturday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that if Hamas did not release Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday a fragile ceasefire in Gaza would end and the Israeli army would resume its offensive in the Palestinian enclave until the militant group is defeated. "In light of Hamas' announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, last night I ordered the IDF to gather forces inside and around the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said, speaking after a meeti...

February 7, 2025 6:08 PM

Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court

U.S. President Donald Trump has authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel, drawing condemnation - but also some praise - abroad. The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals. Trump's move, on Thursday, coincided with a visit ...

February 6, 2025 9:58 AM

Netanyahu praises Trump plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday there was nothing wrong in Donald Trump's idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza after the U.S. president's proposal drew international criticism. Rights groups have condemned as ethnic cleansing Trump's suggestion the previous day that Palestinians in the enclave should be permanently displaced, while also proposing a U.S. takeover of Gaza. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu did not explicitly talk about Trump's idea of the ...

February 3, 2025 1:13 PM

Israel’s Netanyahu heads for Washington to renew connection with Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel on Sunday for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he hopes will reset relations with Washington after tensions with the previous administration over the Gaza war. Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration last month, leaves with a six-week ceasefire in Gaza still holding and negotiations aimed at a second phase expected to begin this week. "The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of...

December 23, 2024 11:57 AM

Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue acting against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order, and called on Israelis to be steadfast. "Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran's axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis," he said in a video statement a day after a missile fired from Yemen fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing a number of mild injuries. On Thursday, Isr...

December 20, 2024 11:04 AM

Israel’s Netanyahu eyes Iran after triumphs over Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria

2025 will be a year of reckoning for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country's arch foe Iran. The veteran Israeli leader is set to cement his strategic goals: tightening his military control over Gaza, thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions and capitalising on the dismantling of Tehran's allies -- Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Assad's collapse, the elimination of the top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and the destructi...

November 11, 2024 10:20 AM

Israeli PM Netanyahu admits Israel’s role in Hezbollah pager, walkie-talkie attacks

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time during Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, admitted that Israel was behind the attacks on Hezbollah's pager and walkie-talkies, which killed at least 39 people and wounded over 3,000, as reported by The Times of Israel. The attacks, carried out on September 17 and 18, targeted thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members across Lebanon and Syria. "The pager operation and the elimination of Hezboll...

November 6, 2024 9:22 AM

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu fires defence minister over ‘lack of trust’

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant citing lack of trust, Times of Israel reported. Gallant, who was a longtime rival from within the Likud Party, will be replaced by Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Minister without Portfolio Gideon Sa'ar will replace Katz, as per Times of Israel. Times of Israel quoted a statement from the Prime Minister's Office which stated that Netanyahu informed Gallant that his tenure as the Defence Minister would end "4...

October 18, 2024 3:37 PM

Netanyahu promises more war, dashing peace hopes after Hamas leader killed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's promises to press on with Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon dashed hopes on Friday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might help end more than a year of escalating conflict in the Middle East. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah meanwhile vowed to escalate fighting against Israel and its backer Iran said "the spirit of resistance" would be strengthened by the death of its Palestinian ally Sinwar in Gaza. Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, att...