Canada plans to recognize Palestinian state, raising allies' pressure on Israel
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News18
26 minutes ago
- News18
Putin To Meet US President Next Week; No Talks Planned With Zelenskyy, Says Russian Diplomat
Last Updated: There has been no summit between US and Russian leaders since President Vladimir Putin met former President Joe Biden in Geneva in June 2021. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet his US counterpart next week, said Moscow's deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy on Thursday. He also mentioned that he was unaware of any meeting planned between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'As far as I heard, there are a number of locations, but they agreed to something that they don't want to disclose. The timeline is, I think, next week, but that's again judging from what presidents said themselves," Polyanskiy told reporters. He also added that he did not hear anything about Russia and Ukraine meeting. 'I haven't heard about any meeting planned with President Zelenskiy, but I am not in the loop," he added. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, citing what it described as threats to its national security. However, Kyiv and its Western allies have condemned the move as an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab. While President Trump has vowed to end Russia's war in Ukraine, his promise still remains unfulfilled even seven months after he assumed office as the President. In his comments to reporters, Moscow's deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy also weighed in on the Middle East, condemning any Israeli plans regarding Gaza. 'We think that this is a very bad step in an absolutely wrong direction, and we condemn this kind of action," he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel plans to take full military control of the Gaza Strip, despite mounting international criticism of its nearly two-year-long offensive on the Palestinian enclave, which has triggered a hunger crisis and claimed tens of thousands of lives. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments First Published: August 08, 2025, 06:55 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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Business Standard
33 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Israel plans to destroy Hamas and take over all of Gaza, says Netanyahu
Human Rights Watch called on governments worldwide to suspend arms transfers to Israel after deadly airstrikes on two Palestinian schools-turned-shelters last year AP Tel Aviv Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that to destroy Hamas Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip and eventually transfer its administration to friendly Arab forces, as the Security Cabinet discussed a widening of its 22-month offensive. Asked in an interview with Fox News if Israel would take control of all of Gaza, Netanyahu replied: We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza. The Security Cabinet would still need to approve such a decision. We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter, Netanyahu said in the interview. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. An Israeli official had earlier said the Security Cabinet would hold a lengthy debate and approve an expanded military plan to conquer all or parts of Gaza not yet under Israeli control. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal decision, said that whatever is approved would be implemented gradually to increase pressure on Hamas. In Gaza, where Israel's air and ground war has already killed tens of thousands of people, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and caused severe and widespread hunger, Palestinians braced for further misery. There is nothing left to occupy, said Maysaa al-Heila, who is living in a displacement camp. There is no Gaza left. At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals. A new escalation could deepen Israel's isolation Netanyahu has been meeting this week with advisers to discuss what his office said are ways to further achieve Israel's goals in Gaza after the breakdown of ceasefire talks last month. The Security Cabinet meeting began Thursday evening, according to Israeli media, and was expected to stretch into the night. Israel already controls about 75 per cent of Gaza. Expanding military operations would further isolate Israel internationally, after several of its closest Western allies have called on it to end the war and facilitate more humanitarian aid. In Israel, families of the hostages have called for mass protests Thursday, fearing an escalation could doom their loved ones. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive. Almost two dozen relatives of hostages set sail from southern Israel towards the maritime border with Gaza on Thursday, where they broadcast messages from loudspeakers. Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza, said from the boat that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to satisfy extremists in his governing coalition. Netanyahu's far-right allies want to escalate the war, relocate most of Gaza's population to other countries and reestablish Jewish settlements that were dismantled in 2005. Netanyahu is working only for himself, Cohen said, pleading with the international community to put pressure on the prime minister to stop the war and save his son. Palestinians killed and wounded as they seek food Israel's military offensive has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals who keep and share detailed records. The United Nations and independent experts view the ministry's figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties. Israel has disputed them without offering a toll of its own. Of the 42 people killed on Thursday, at least 13 were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds. Another two were killed on roads leading to nearby sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The military zone, known as the Morag Corridor, is off limits to independent media. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks while heading to GHF sites and in chaotic scenes around UN convoys, most of which are overwhelmed by looters and crowds of hungry people. The UN human rights office, witnesses and health officials have offered similar accounts of the near-daily shootings by Israeli fire going back to May, when Israel lifted a complete 2 1/2 month blockade. The military says it has only fired warning shots when crowds approach its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly stampedes. Israel and GHF face mounting criticism Human Rights Watch called on governments worldwide to suspend arms transfers to Israel after deadly airstrikes on two Palestinian schools-turned-shelters last year. The New York-based rights group said an investigation did not find any evidence of a military target at either school. At least 49 people were killed in the airstrikes that hit the Khadija girls' school in Deir al-Balah on July 27, 2024 and the al-Zeitoun C school in Gaza City on September 21, 2024. Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity known by its French acronym MSF, published a blistering report denouncing the GHF distribution system. This is not aid. It is orchestrated killing, it said. MSF runs two health centres very close to GHF sites in southern Gaza and said it had treated 1,380 people injured near the sites between June 7 and July 20, including 28 people who were dead upon arrival. Of those, at least 147 had suffered gunshot wounds including at least 41 children. MSF said hundreds more suffered physical assault injuries from chaotic scrambles for food at the sites, including head injuries, suffocation, and multiple patients with severely aggravated eyes after being sprayed at close range with pepper spray. It said its health centres were set up for primary care, not mass casualty events, and the cases it saw were only a fraction of the overall casualties connected to GHF sites. It said the more severely wounded are mostly taken directly to hospitals or a nearby Red Cross field hospital, which has independently reported receiving thousands of people wounded by gunshots as they sought aid. The level of mismanagement, chaos and violence at GHF distribution sites amounts to either reckless negligence or a deliberately designed death trap, the report said. GHF said the accusations are both false and disgraceful and accused MSF of amplifying a disinformation campaign orchestrated by Hamas. The US and Israel helped set up the GHF system as an alternative to the UN-run aid delivery system that has sustained Gaza for decades, accusing Hamas of siphoning off assistance. The UN denies any mass diversion by Hamas. It accuses GHF of forcing Palestinians to risk their lives to get food and say it advances Israel's plans for further mass displacement.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Israeli forces uncover missile launchers in Gaza cemetery
Tel Aviv [Israel] August 8 (ANI/TPS): Israeli troops operating in the northern Gaza area of Daraj Tuffah discovered missile launchers and launch canisters hidden in a Palestinian cemetery, the Israel Defense Forces said on also uncovered and dismantled an underground tunnel approximately one kilometre long in the same area, as well as additional missile launchers, pistols and ammunition. (ANI/TPS)
