Ceasefire Under Threat? Iran Doubts Israel's Commitment, Says ‘Finger On The Trigger…'
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News18
an hour ago
- News18
Israels top general: Next phase of war against Hamas to begin soon
Tel Aviv [Israel], August 17 (ANI/TPS): The 'next phase" of Israel's war against Hamas will soon begin, Israel's top soldier said during a field tour of Gaza on Sunday.'Today we are approving the plan for the next phase of the war. Just as in the recent operations in Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza, we will continue to reshape the security reality," said Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israel Defense Forces' Chief of Staff.'We will act with a sophisticated, balanced, and responsible strategy. The IDF will deploy all its capabilities, on land, in the air, and at sea, in order to strike Hamas decisively," Zamir vowed.'The current campaign is not a pinpoint one; it is just another layer in a long-term and planned strategy, with a multi-front vision to strike all components of the axis, and first and foremost Iran," he approved the Gaza City operation plan on remarks came amid nationwide demonstrations, organized by families of hostages and supported by companies and universities, demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the return of all 50 hostages. Some Israeli officials warn the Gaza City offensive could endanger hostages and hinder any ceasefire strike, coordinated by the October Council together with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, began at 6:29 a.m.–the exact time Hamas launched its assault on October 7, 2023. Demonstrations erupted at intersections across the country, with protesters distributing yellow ribbons, the symbol of the hostages. Organizers said they expected nearly one million people to pass through Tel Aviv's Hostage Square during the day, and tens of thousands more to rally at hundreds of other the army is moving forward. The Israel Defense Forces was due to begin transferring tents and shelter equipment into southern Gaza on Sunday to house hundreds of thousands of civilians expected to be displaced ahead of an offensive to seize Gaza comments also came on the heels of Israeli airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The IDF confirmed that it struck 'energy infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime" near Yemen's capital, Sana'a, in an early morning Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks in recent weeks, launching at least seven ballistic missiles and seven drones since July 21, when Israel last carried out a 1,200 people were killed and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead. (ANI/TPS)
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Beyond recognition: The challenges of creating a new Palestinian state are so formidable, is it even possible?
Geographical complexities of a future state Second is the issue of a future border between a Palestinian state and Israel. The demarcations of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem are not internationally recognised borders. Rather, they are the ceasefire lines, known as the 'Green Line', from the 1948 War that saw the creation of Israel. However, in the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula (since returned), and Syria's Golan Heights. And successive Israeli governments have used the construction of settlements in the occupied territories, alongside expansive infrastructure, to create new 'facts on the ground'. Israel solidifies its hold on this territory by designating it as 'state land', meaning it no longer recognises Palestinian ownership, further inhibiting the possibility of a future Palestinian state. For example, according to research by Israeli professor Neve Gordon, Jerusalem's municipal boundaries covered approximately seven square kilometres before 1967. Since then, Israeli settlement construction has expanded its eastern boundaries, so it now now covers about 70 square km. Israel also uses its Separation Wall or Barrier, which runs for around 700km through the West Bank and East Jerusalem, to further expropriate Palestinian territory. According to a 2013 book by researchers Ariella Azoulay and Adi Ophir, the wall is part of the Israeli government's policy of cleansing Israeli space of any Palestinian presence. It breaks up contiguous Palestinian urban and rural spaces, cutting off some 150 Palestinian communities from their farmland and pastureland. The barrier is reinforced by other methods of separation, such as checkpoints, earth mounds, roadblocks, trenches, road gates and barriers, and earth walls. Then there is the complex geography of Israel's occupation in the West Bank. Under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, the West Bank was divided into three areas, labelled Area A, Area B and Area C. In Area A, which consists of 18% of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority exercises majority control. Area B is under joint Israeli-Palestinian authority. Area C, which comprises 60% of the West Bank, is under full Israeli control. Administrative control was meant to be gradually transferred to Palestinian control under the Oslo Accords, but this never happened. Areas A and B are today separated into many small divisions that remain isolated from one another due to Israeli control over Area C. This deliberate ghettoisation creates separate rules, laws and norms in the West Bank that are intended to prevent freedom of movement between the Palestinian zones and inhibit the realisation of a Palestinian state.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Syrian President says unifying country 'should not be with blood'
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa [Muhammad al-Jolani] has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war "should not be with blood", rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south. His remarks, released by state TV on Sunday (August 17, 2025), came as hundreds demonstrated in south Syria's Sweida province, denouncing sectarian violence last month and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province. "We still have another battle ahead of us to unify Syria, and it should not be with blood and military force... it should be through some kind of understanding because Syria is tired of war," Mr. Sharaa said during a dialogue session involving notables from the northwest province of Idlib and other senior officials. "I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons... this matter is impossible," he said according to a recording of the meeting, distributed overnight by state media. "Some parties seek to gain power through regional power, Israel or others. This is also extremely difficult and cannot be implemented," he said. At the protest in Sweida, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag and called for self-determination for the region. A week of bloodshed in Sweida began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces, with Israel also carrying out strikes. Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions. Mr. Sharaa said that Sweida "witnessed many violations from all sides... some members of the security forces and army in Syria also carried out some violations". The state is required "to hold all perpetrators of violations to account", whatever their affiliation, he added. "Israel is intervening directly in Sweida, seeking to implement policies aimed at weakening the state in general or finding excuses to interfere in ongoing policies in the southern region," Mr. Sharaa said. Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it has acted to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarisation of southern Syria. Syria's new authorities are also in talks with a semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that runs swathes of the country's north and northeast and has called for decentralisation, which Damascus has rejected. Implementation of a March 10 deal on integrating the Kurds' semi-autonomous civil and military institutions into the state has been held up by differences between the parties. "We are now discussing the mechanisms for implementation" of the deal, Mr. Sharaa said.
