
Israel FM says Golan to ‘remain part of' Israel in any Syria peace deal
JERUSALEM: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday that the occupied Golan Heights 'will remain part of' Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria.
'In any peace agreement, the Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,' Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem, referring to the territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations.
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Arab News
22 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israeli official to visit White House as Gaza truce calls mount
WASHINGTON: A senior Israeli official will hold talks at the White House this week as Donald Trump presses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Gaza war, the US president's spokeswoman said. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer's visit comes after Trump said he hoped for a truce in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory within a week, and called on Israel to 'make the deal in Gaza.' 'I know that is in Washington this week to meet with senior officials here at the White House,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. The White House is also working on a date for Netanyahu to visit soon, in what would be his third trip to Washington since Trump returned to power in January. 'I do know he has expressed interest in coming to Washington and meeting with the president, and we are working on a date for that,' Leavitt added. The spokeswoman said Trump's 'priority' was to 'end this brutal war in Gaza,' with the end of Israel's 12-day war with Iran providing a window of opportunity for a deal. 'It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end,' Leavitt added. The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Of these, 49 are still believed to be held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 56,531 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.


Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites, says ‘lessons learned'
GAZA: The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians were harmed at aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, saying that new instructions had been issued to Israeli forces following 'lessons learned.' Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid. 'Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned,' the Israeli military said in a statement. It said incidents in which Gaza civilians were harmed were under review. A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. But many Gazans say they have to walk for hours to reach the sites, meaning they must start traveling well before dawn if they are to stand any chance of receiving food. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a US-backed aid operation in Gaza is 'inherently unsafe,' adding: 'It is killing people.' Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the GHF, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarising aid and forcing displacement. 'Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarised zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people, Guterres told reporters. Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said its military never targets civilians and accused the UN of 'doing everything it can' to oppose the GHF aid operation. 'In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations,' it posted on X. A GHF spokesperson said on Friday there had been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the Palestinian militants deny. The war erupted after Hamas-led militants in Gaza took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in an October 7, 2023 attack, Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.


Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump doubles down on Iran as Gaza war continues
In this episode of W News Extra, presented by Leigh-Ann Gerrans, we report on President Donald Trump saying he's neither offering Iran anything nor engaging in talks, while repeating his claim that US strikes earlier this month 'totally obliterated' Iran's nuclear facilities. We also bring updates from the war in Gaza, where Israeli forces continue to kill Palestinians amid renewed hopes for a truce following the Iran-Israel ceasefire. Guests: Dr Elie Al Hindy – Professor of International Relations