Senior Hamas official says ceasefire talks ongoing
Hamdan told Al-Araby that Hamas aims to stop Israeli aggression and lift the blockade on Gaza.
He said Hamas will not disarm and added that the recent collapse in negotiations was due to statements made by the Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
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Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Thousands of Israelis rally nationwide to demand end to Gaza war, release of hostages
Thousands of Israelis took part in a nationwide strike on Sunday in support of families of hostages held in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war and release the remaining captives. Demonstrators waved Israeli flags and carried photos of hostages as whistles, horns, and drums echoed at rallies across the country, while some protesters blocked streets and highways, including the main route between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. 'Today, everything stops to remember the highest value: the sanctity of life,' Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, told reporters at a public square in Tel Aviv. Among those who met with families of hostages in Tel Aviv was Israeli Hollywood actress Gal Gadot, known for her role as Wonder Woman and starring in the Fast & the Furious franchise. Ahead of Sunday, some businesses and institutions said they would allow staff to join the nationwide strike, which was called by the hostages' families. While some businesses closed, many also remained open across the country on what is a working day in Israel. Schools are on summer recess and were not affected. A major rally is scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv in the evening. Israeli police said that 38 demonstrators had been detained by 2pm (11am GMT) Some protesters blocking roads scuffled with police, and were carried away by officers. Demonstrations across the country were briefly halted around 4pm local time when air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere, warning of an incoming missile fired from Yemen. The missile was intercepted without incident. On Sunday, Netanyahu told the cabinet: "Those who call today for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas' position and delaying the release of our hostages. They are also ensuring that the horrors of October 7 will repeat themselves over and over again." The prime minister, who leads the country's most right-wing government in history, said his government was determined to implement a decision for the military to seize Gaza City, one of the last major areas of the enclave it does not already control. That decision is widely unpopular among Israelis and many of the hostages' families, who fear an expanded military campaign in Gaza could risk the lives of their loved ones still held captive. There are 50 hostages held in Gaza, of which Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive. "There is no time – not for the lives wasting away in hell, nor for the fallen who may vanish in the ruins of Gaza," said the Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of captives held in Gaza, on Sunday. After nearly two years of war in Gaza, ignited by the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic talks. Negotiations towards a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. The Palestinian group Hamas has said it would only free the remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war, while Netanyahu has vowed that Hamas cannot stay in power. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would soon seize Gaza City. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according to local health officials there. They said on Sunday at least 29 had been killed in the past day. Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel. Over 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then.
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Senior Israel National Cyber Directorate official arrested on suspicion of paedophilia
Israeli media has reported that a senior official in the Israel National Cyber Directorate was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of online paedophilia. According to a report on the Israeli news website Ynet, Tom Alexandrovich, 38, was arrested for questioning by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department during a conference he had attended on behalf of the cyber directorate last week. He was arrested along with seven other suspects as part of "a multi-agency operation targeting child sex predators [which] led to the arrest of eight individuals over the past two weeks", Las Vegas police said in a statement. The suspects, according to local police, "face felony charges of Luring a Child with Computer for Sex Act". The Israel National Cyber Directorate, which is supervised by the Prime Minister's Office, said in response: "The employee informed the Directorate that during his trip to the United States he was questioned by the US authorities on matters not related to work matters, and returned to Israel on the scheduled date of return. "The Directorate has not yet received additional details through the authorised channels. If it receives, the Directorate will act accordingly. "At this stage, in a joint decision, the employee went on leave to deal with the matter until things will become clear." However, Ynet reported that, contrary to the directorate's statement, Las Vegas police documents indicate that Alexandrovich - head of the cyber directorate's technological defence division - was arrested in the US. According to the report, the Israeli senior official was released on $10,000 bail after appearing before a judge. "The documents indicate that Alexandrovich is suspected of seducing a mentally ill child using computer technology to have sex," Ynet said. In response, the Israel National Cyber Directorate added that it "was not involved in any matter related to the bail". Israel Police refused to comment on Alexandrovich's situation after his return to the country, saying: "As a rule, any complaint or information that raises suspicion of committing a criminal offence is examined by the police, and where there is a reasonable basis for suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed, an investigation is opened in accordance with each case and its circumstances. "We do not provide details regarding the existence or non-existence of investigations, and this does not confirm or deny their existence." The case comes after another senior Israeli official was accused of inappropriate behaviour. Israel's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yossi Shelley, was recalled last month after senior Emirati officials complained of inappropriate conduct. Shelley, who served as director general of the Prime Minister's Office before becoming ambassador to the UAE, is considered close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A senior Israeli foreign ministry official told Channel 12 on Saturday that "the subject he talks about all the time in an exaggerated way is prostitutes", adding: "That's what he tells everyone about, that's what he likes to talk about the most." According to the report, Shelley used to go to "dubious places" during his time in the UAE. When Emirati officials sought to coordinate these visits, "Shelley went wild and just attacked the security guards by shouting: 'You won't lock me up.'"
Al Etihad
3 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Egypt rejects Israeli plans to displace Palestinians, warns of legal, regional consequences
17 Aug 2025 17:14 CAIRO (WAM) Egypt has firmly renewed its rejection of any Israeli plans to displace Palestinians from their historical homeland, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, under any pretext—be it forced or condemned all forms of displacement, including those carried out through policies of starvation, land confiscation, settlement expansion, or by making life unlivable for Palestinians in their own a statement issued on Sunday and carried by Middle East News Agency (MENA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Egypt's deep concern over recent reports suggesting that Israel has held consultations with certain countries regarding the potential resettlement of Palestinian refugees from ministry criticised these discussions as part of a broader, rejected Israeli strategy to depopulate Palestinian territories and undermine the Palestinian emphasised that it will not accept, support, or participate in any plans that involve the displacement of Palestinians, calling such proposals a historic injustice that lacks any moral or legal statement urged the international community—particularly peace-supporting nations—to reject complicity in such an "immoral and illegal crime" that would violate the principles of international humanitarian law, constitute a war crime, and amount to ethnic cleansing. It further noted that such actions would blatantly breach the four Geneva Egypt warned of the grave historical and legal consequences that would befall any party involved in or facilitating such displacement. It also stressed the potential for far-reaching political repercussions across the region and beyond if such policies were to proceed.
