Pope Leo XIV Calls for 'End to All Wars' during Angelus Prayer
"The 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has reawakened through the world the necessary rejection of war as a way to resolve conflicts," said Pope Leo.
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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
European leaders to hold online talks with Trump on Ukraine ahead of Putin summit
European leaders will hold online talks with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, hoping to convince him to respect Ukraine's interests when he discusses the war with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as the French, British and other European leaders and the heads of the EU and NATO to an afternoon video conference. They are then expected to talk to Trump and Vice President JD Vance in a second round of the conference call. The Trump-Putin meeting on Friday -- their first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over three years ago -- is so far planned to go ahead without Zelenskyy. This has fueled fears Kyiv could be forced into painful concessions, including over land. EU leaders stressed on Tuesday 'the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny,' adding that 'international borders must not be changed by force.' Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters Tuesday, ruled out withdrawing troops from the Donbas region which Moscow claims. Merz's office said the conference call would discuss 'further options to exert pressure on Russia' and 'preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.' The talks would include leaders from 'Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the US president and his deputy,' Berlin said on Monday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Merz are then also set to hold a round of talks of the so-called Coalition of the Willing of Ukraine's military backers. 'Difficult' battles Trump on Monday played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska but said he expected 'constructive conversations' with Putin. 'This is really a feel-out meeting a little bit,' Trump said at the White House, but he also added that eventually 'there'll be some swapping, there'll be some changes in land.' Russia, as a prerequisite to a peace settlement, has demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of several regions claimed by Moscow, commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Ukraine has said it would never recognize Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. Ukraine said Tuesday it was engaged in 'difficult' battles with Russian forces after Moscow had made rapid advances in a narrow but important section of the front line in the country's east. Zelenskyy said on social media that 'we see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations.'
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Netanyahu says will ‘allow' Palestinians to leave Gaza amid Israel's push for control
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday revived calls to 'allow' Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory. Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community. Netanyahu defended his war policies in a rare interview with Israeli media, broadcast shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce. The premier told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that 'we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave.' 'Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want,' he said, citing refugee outflows during wars in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan. In the Gaza Strip, Israel for years has tightly controlled the borders and barred many from leaving. 'We will allow this, first of all within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well,' Netanyahu said. For Palestinians, any effort to force them off their land would recall the 'Nakba,' or catastrophe -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948. Netanyahu has endorsed Trump's suggestion this year to expel Gaza's more than two million people to Egypt and Jordan, while far-right Israeli ministers have called for their 'voluntary' departure. Cairo talks Israel's plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July. Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced that Cairo was 'working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans,' aiming for 'a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions.' Hamas said in a statement early Wednesday that a delegation of its leadership had arrived in Cairo for 'preliminary talks' with Egyptian officials. A Palestinian source earlier told AFP that the mediators were working 'to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal' that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza 'in one batch.' Netanyahu said in his interview he would oppose the staggered release of hostages, and instead would 'want to return all of them as part of an end to the war -- but under our conditions.' Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year. News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defense agency said Israel has intensified its air strikes on Gaza City in recent days, following the security cabinet's decision to expand the war there. Intensified strikes Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter the area, but civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday that air raids had already begun increasing over the past three days. Israel is 'intensifying its bombardment' using 'bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction,' he said. Bassal said that Israeli strikes across the territory, including on Gaza City, killed at least 33 people on Tuesday. 'The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes,' said Majed al-Hosary, a resident of Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood. An Israeli air strike on Sunday killed four Al Jazeera employees and two freelance reporters outside a Gaza City hospital, with Israel accusing one of the slain correspondents of being a Hamas militant. Israel has faced mounting criticism over the war on Gaza. UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in. Netanyahu is under mounting domestic pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks -- 49 people including 27 the Israeli military says are dead -- as well as over his plans to expand the war. Israel has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza, whose toll the United Nations considers reliable.
Al Arabiya
11 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Iran says it detained 21,000 suspects during June war with Israel
Iran's police said they detained 21,000 people during the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June, state media reported on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Gen. Saeed Montazeralmahdi said the arrests were based on public reports, adding that the detentions showed 'high awareness and participation of people in providing security.' He said more than 260 people were suspected of spying and another 172 were arrested for illegal filming. Over 1,000 checkpoints were set up nationwide during the conflict, which took place from June 13 to 24. This is the first time Iran has provided a total figure for arrests during the war. In recent weeks, authorities have occasionally reported detentions on espionage charges. Since late June, Iran has executed seven men convicted of spying for Israel, raising concerns among activists of a possible wave of executions. Israel carried out waves of airstrikes on Iran during the conflict, killing nearly 1,100 people, including several military commanders. Retaliatory Iranian strikes killed 28 people in Israel.
