Hamas says Netanyahu's remarks on full Gaza control are ‘a coup' amid ceasefire talks
Netanyahu's plans to expand Israel's Gaza offensive show his aim is to sacrifice Israel's own hostages to serve his personal interests, Hamas added in its statement.
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Arab News
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- Arab News
Gaza civil defense says 18 killed across territory
GAZA: Gaza's civil defense agency said at least 18 people were killed across the Palestinian territory on Saturday, including civilians who were waiting to collect aid. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least six people were killed and 30 wounded after Israeli troops targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central Gaza. The spokesman said strikes hit areas elsewhere in central Gaza, resulting in multiple casualties. He later added that a drone attack near the southern city of Khan Yunis killed at least three people and injured several others. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense and the Israeli military. Thousands of Palestinians congregate daily near food distribution points in Gaza, including four managed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Since launching in late May, its operations have been marred by almost-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect aid. Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies into Gaza since the start of the war nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential supplies, including medicine and fuel, which hospitals require to power their generators. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to secure a ceasefire to bring the territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants. But early Friday, the Israeli security cabinet approved plans to launch major operations to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of outrage across the globe. Despite the backlash and rumors of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision. In a post on social media late Friday, he said 'we are not going to occupy Gaza — we are going to free Gaza from Hamas.' The Palestinian militant group, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war, has slammed the plan to expand the fighting as a 'new war crime.' Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, figures the UN says are reliable. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Al Arabiya
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- Al Arabiya
Iran will block Trump-brokered corridor in Caucasus, adviser to Iranian leader says
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Al Arabiya
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Turkey says Muslim countries must be united against Israel's Gaza takeover plan
Muslim nations must act in unison and rally international opposition against Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday after talks in Egypt. Regional powers Egypt and Turkey both condemned the plan on Friday. Ankara has said it marked a new phase in what it called Israel's genocidal and expansionist policies, while calling for global measures to stop the plan's implementation. Israel rejects such description of its actions in Gaza. Speaking at a joint press conference in El Alamein with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, after also meeting Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Fidan said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had been called to an emergency meeting. Fidan said Israel's policy aimed to force Palestinians out of their lands through hunger and that it aimed to permanently invade Gaza, adding there was no justifiable excuse for nations to continue supporting Israel. Israel denies having a policy of starvation in Gaza, and says Palestinian militant group Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in its October 2023 attack, could end the war by surrendering. 'What is happening today is a very dangerous development... not only for the Palestinian people or neighbouring countries,' Abdelatty said, adding that Israel's plans were 'inadmissible.' Abdelatty said there was full coordination with Turkey on Gaza, and referred to a statement issued on Saturday by the OIC Ministerial Committee condemning Israel's plan. The OIC committee said Israel's plan marked 'a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, a flagrant violation of international law, and an attempt to entrench the illegal occupation,' warning that it would 'obliterate any opportunity for peace.' Mediating teams from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been working for months to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The OIC urged world powers and the United Nations Security Council to 'assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities and to take urgent action to stop' Israel's Gaza City plan, while ensuring immediate accountability for what it called Israeli violations of international law.
