Latest: US special envoy Witkoff due in Gaza on Friday
Egypt and Hamas locked in row as Gaza's plight grows more desperate
UAE welcomes international push for broader recognition of State of Palestine
At least 60,249 Palestinians killed and 147,089 wounded since Gaza war began
US sanctions Palestinian officials in 'revenge' for seeking statehood
Bartering returns to Gaza as hungry locals swap flour, lentils and shampoo
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
US envoy Witkoff GHF's aid site visit denounced as 'PR stunt'
On Friday, US envoy Steve Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited an aid site in southern Gaza run by the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. At least 859 Palestinians have been gunned down by Israeli soldiers while attempting to receive aid parcels at the distribution points. Witkoff said the purpose of the trip was to give Trump "a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza". 'Incredible feat!' Huckabee said in a post on X on Friday, after touring GHF's operations and speaking to "folks on the ground". Palestinians denounced the visit as a PR stunt. 'It was a PR stunt, a controlled visit supervised and dictated by the Israeli military,' Ellie Burgos, an American critical care nurse volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told NBC News. 'What they saw was not the reality.' Amer Khayrat, a father of two who lives in Gaza City, told the BBC: "What Gaza needs isn't another envoy with a press team. We need the siege lifted, the bombing stopped and the blind American support for this war brought to an end." Scott Paul, Oxfam's Americas director of peace and security, told the BBC that Witkoff and Huckabee would have been "confronted by scenes of countless Palestinian children and their families on the brink of starvation displaced in flattened communities outside their convoy windows". "This must be what finally spurs the US to use its full influence to put an end to this catastrophe before we pass the point of no return," he added. On Saturday, Witkoff met with families of Israeli captives held in Gaza in Tel Aviv, as hundreds took to the streets to demand a ceasefire deal, the Israeli daily Haaretz is reporting. The visit shortly followed footage of emaciated Israeli captives, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski published by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Witkoff assured the families that US will push for a single hostage deal. In a recording of the meeting, Witkoff can be heard saying that "Hamas has said that they are prepared to be demilitarised" and that "multiple Arab governments are now demanding Hamas demilitarise". "We are very, very close to a solution to end this war," he said, adding that "we don't believe that Hamas speaks for the people ... We believe that they have very little political support". Hamas responded with a statement saying : "We reiterate that resistance and disarmament are a national and legal right as long as the occupation continues. "This right is recognised in international treaties and norms, and cannot be waived except upon the achievement of all our national rights, foremost among them the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital."
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Hamas says it won't disarm unless independent Palestinian state established
Hamas said on Saturday that it would not lay down arms unless an independent Palestinian state is established. In a statement, the Palestinian movement said its "armed resistance... cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights, foremost among them the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital". In a statement on Thursday, Hamas said it was ready to "immediately re-engage in negotiations once aid reaches those in need and the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza are brought to an end", while Israeli sources indicated that the framework for a partial deal may be abandoned. Last week, the United States and Israel unexpectedly withdrew from ceasefire talks with Hamas, despite what mediators described as significant progress towards an agreement. According to the Times of Israel, both an Arab diplomat and a source involved in the mediation said that Hamas negotiators in Doha had made it clear they would not return to the negotiating table unless the starvation crisis in Gaza was resolved. In Israel, a senior official speaking at a media briefing said that 'there will be no more partial deals', signalling a shift in the country's negotiating stance. Echoing this position, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told a far-right conference that the complete disarmament and exile of Hamas, along with the return of all captives, is the 'only acceptable deal'. These latest remarks suggest that Israel has abandoned the previously discussed phased ceasefire framework and is now working with the United States to pursue a comprehensive agreement.
The National
7 hours ago
- The National
US, UK, France and allies condemn Iran for plots to 'kill, kidnap and harass' journalists, dissidents and Jews
The US and more than a dozen of its allies, including the UK and France, have condemned what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services targeting individuals in Europe and North America. 'We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,' the countries said. The statement, issued by Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US, called on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop such illegal activities. They said Iranian intelligence services were increasingly collaborating with international criminal organisations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America. 'This is unacceptable,' the statement said. 'We consider these types of attacks, regardless of the target, as violations of our sovereignty.' The statement called on Iranian authorities 'to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in our respective territories'. In October, Reuters reported that Iran was behind a wave of attempted assassinations and abductions across Europe and the US. The UK says it has disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots to kidnap or kill people in the country since 2022, including British citizens and others Tehran views as threats. The British government announced in March that it would require the Iranian state to register all political influence activities, citing increasingly aggressive behaviour by Tehran's intelligence services. In May, Tehran summoned the British charge d'affaires following the arrest of Iranian citizens on spying charges, triggering a reciprocal gesture in London. British police arrested seven Iranian citizens in two separate operations. Three men were charged last week with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service. British intelligence officials said this month that Iran is hosting the headquarters of al Qaeda, giving the terrorist leadership a lifeline after years of setbacks. 'The transactional arrangement between Iran and the senior leadership of al Qaeda is concerning,' Parliament's security and intelligence committee reported. 'Being based in Iran has allowed [al Qaeda] to retain some oversight of franchises internationally, creating a complex intelligence landscape, as Iran is a less accessible environment for the West than other parts of the Middle East – which, in turn, may have increased the [al Qaeda] threat.' Washington has accused Iran of attempting to orchestrate assassination attempts on US soil. A foreign citizen was charged in November with involvement in a plot, allegedly ordered by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to assassinate US President Donald Trump. Also last year, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani man with ties to Iran in a murder-for-hire scheme whose targets were believed to be Mr Trump and other US political figures. And several people, including an Iranian intelligence officer, were charged last year with attempting to kidnap or kill Masih Alinejad, a US-based activist and journalist who is an outspoken critic of Tehran.
