The changes state that any conventional attack on Russia, aided by a nuclear power, could be considered to be a joint attack
world3 days ago
Cautious hopes were building Tuesday for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal as Hamas said it was studying the latest proposal and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was due to head back to Israel.
The Palestinian militant group whose October 7 attack started the Gaza war said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the release of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.
The group, whose envoys returned from Cairo talks to their base in Qatar, would "discuss the ideas and the proposal," said a Hamas source, adding that "we are keen to respond as quickly as possible".
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Sources in Egypt — a key mediator alongside the United States and Qatar — told Al-Qahera News, a site linked to Egyptian intelligence services, that Hamas envoys were due to "return with a written response".
Washington, Israel's top ally, has heightened pressure on all sides to reach a ceasefire — a message pushed by Blinken, who was on his seventh Middle East crisis tour since the war broke out.
Blinken, who arrived in Jordan from Saudi Arabia and was later heading to Israel for talks with its leaders on Wednesday, described Israel's offer as "extraordinarily generous" and urged Hamas to "decide quickly".
Washington has strongly backed its ally but also pressured it to refrain from a ground invasion of Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah, which is packed with displaced civilians, and to do more to protect the territory's 2.4 million people.
President Joe Biden — facing strong criticism abroad and rising fury on US university campuses — urged the Egyptian and Qatari leaders Monday "to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas".
Biden called this "the only obstacle" to securing relief for civilians who have been trapped for almost seven months in the bloodiest Gaza war.
Anger about the unprecedented Palestinian suffering has sparked weeks of large-scale protests at universities across the United States and elsewhere, including in France.
New York's Columbia University, the epicentre of the protest movement, began suspending student demonstrators on Monday after they defied an ultimatum to disperse.
As diplomacy continued, Israel kept up its bombardment that has caused a spiralling civilian death toll, flattened swathes of Gaza and pushed its people to the brink of famine.
An AFP correspondent reported several air strikes in Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Rafah as well as overnight artillery shelling.
Gaza's civil defence agency said it had recovered six bodies from a building in Gaza City and was searching for more.
The Israeli military said "fighter jets struck a number of terror targets in central Gaza, including a weapons storage facility".
"Two terrorists were identified advancing toward the troops in the area, and an IDF aircraft quickly struck and eliminated the terrorists," it said.
Palestinians in Rafah mourned the latest victims as children were being pulled out from the rubble of a building.
"Civilian individuals with no ties to Hamas or any other group were struck by a rocket, torn apart," said Umm Louay Masri.
At Rafah's Al-Najjar hospital, grief-stricken relatives jostled over the dead, whose bodies were shrouded in white.
"We demand the entire world call for a lasting truce," said one bereaved relative, Abu Taha.
The war started after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Hamas also took some 250 hostages. Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 believed to be dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
ALSO READ:
The changes state that any conventional attack on Russia, aided by a nuclear power, could be considered to be a joint attack
world3 days ago
The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make 'recess appointments'
world4 days ago
Police allege the offences took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims; the youngest was 17 at the time of the offence
world4 days ago
The two countries have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea
world4 days ago
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Narendra Modi in Abuja on Sunday
world4 days ago
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world5 days ago
The suspects would be interrogated jointly with the Shin Bet internal security agency, police said
world5 days ago