Ramallah: A Palestinian prisoners advocacy group said Israeli authorities would release 110 prisoners, including 30 minors, on Thursday as part of an exchange under a Gaza ceasefire deal agreed with Hamas. “Tomorrow, 110 Palestinian prisoners are to be released,” the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said in a statement, referring to the third exchange of hostages and … Read more
Washington: Legislation that would have imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court in protest of its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister was blocked in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The chamber voted 54-45 in favor of the bill, meaning the measure, which had already passed the Republican-majority … Read more
Jerusalem: Eight of the hostages due for release in the first phase of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas are dead, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Monday. “The families have been informed of the situation of their relatives,” Mencer told reporters, without providing the names of the victims. That means that of the … Read more
Jerusalem: Masses of Palestinians, who were displaced by months of war, began moving towards the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday after Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages. The breakthrough preserves a fragile truce deal aimed at ending the more than 15-month conflict, which … Read more
Jerusalem: US President Donald Trump on Saturday floated the idea that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinians from Gaza, where Israel’s military actions have killed tens of thousands and created a dire humanitarian situation. The idea was welcomed by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, but Palestinian groups including Islamic Jihad and Hamas vowed … Read more
Jerusalem: Palestine-based Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday as part of the second hostage release of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag were serving as observers at the Nahal Oz army base on the border with Gaza on 7 October, 202, when Hamas attacked Israel and … Read more
Palestinian Territories: A fragile truce aimed at ending the war in Gaza entered its second week on Sunday, after four Israeli hostages and around 200 Palestinian prisoners were released to joyful scenes. While Israel and Hamas completed on Saturday their second hostage-prisoner swap under the ceasefire deal, a last-minute dispute blocked the expected return of … Read more
Al Jazeera network has aired unseen footage of Yahya Sinwar – under whose leadership Hamas had carried out its 2023 attack – three months after he was killed during an Israeli operation in Gaza. The footage shows Sinwar on Gaza battlefields, directing military operations in the Rafah area. The Palestinian leader is seen wearing a … Read more
United Nations: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must end operations and leave all its “premises” in Jerusalem by January 30, Israel’s UN ambassador said Friday, affirming timelines set out in controversial Israeli legislation. Defying international concern, Israeli lawmakers have passed a law that bars the agency, UNRWA, from operating in Israel and east Jerusalem, … Read more
Palestinian Territories: Hamas on Friday said it would release the following day four Israeli women soldiers held hostage since October 7, 2023, in a second exchange under a ceasefire deal that has halted the Gaza war. Israel confirmed it had received the list of names of the captives, and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum … Read more
Washington: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to reiterate Washington’s support for its ally, and the two also discussed Iran and Israeli hostages in Gaza, the State Department said. The call was Rubio’s first with Israel since the administration of Republican President Donald Trump took office … Read more