Hamas says it won't disarm unless independent Palestinian state 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.
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Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
Netanyahu says he wants Israel to take military control of all of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel intends to take military control of all of Gaza, despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating almost two-year-old war in the Palestinian enclave. "We intend to," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News when asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory. "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body." He said that Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it. Netanyahu made his comments to Fox News before the outcome of a meeting he was due to have on Thursday with a small group of senior ministers to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza. The security cabinet session follows a meeting this week with the head of the military, which Israeli officials have described as tense, saying the military chief had pushed back on expanding the campaign. Opinion polls show that most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas-led Palestinian militants. Netanyahu's government has insisted on total victory over Hamas, which ignited the war with its deadly October 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza. The idea, pushed especially by far-right ministers in Netanyahu's coalition, of Israeli forces thrusting into areas they do not already hold in the enclave has generated alarm in Israel. The mother of one hostage urged people on Thursday to take to the streets to voice their opposition to expanding the campaign. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents captives held in Gaza, urged military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to oppose widening the war and the government to accept a deal that would bring the war to an end and free the remaining hostages. Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives were achieved. Israeli leaders have long insisted that Hamas be disarmed and have no future role in a demilitarised Gaza and that the hostages be freed. The UN has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza "deeply alarming" if true. There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive. Most of those freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen some more hostages released collapsed in July. A senior Palestinian official said Hamas had told Arab mediators that an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza would lead to a resumption in ceasefire negotiations. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of seizing aid to hand out to its fighters and to sell in Gazan markets to finance its operations, accusations that the militant group denies. Videos released last week of two living hostages showed them emaciated and frail, stirring international condemnation. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only fragmented parts, insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war. Israel says the group has no intention of going through with promises to give up power afterwards. Multiple displacements The Israeli military says it controls about 75 per cent of Gaza. Most of Gaza's population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times over the past 22 months and aid groups are warning that the enclave's residents are on the verge of famine. "Where should we go? We have been displaced and humiliated enough," said Aya Mohammad, 30, who, after repeated displacement, has returned with her family to their community in Gaza City. "You know what displacement is? Does the world know? It means your dignity is wiped out, you become a homeless beggar, searching for food, water and medicine," she told Reuters. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, nearly half of them have been children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Rabeeha Jamal, 65, a mother of six, has remained in her house in Gaza despite warnings in the past from the Israeli military to leave. For now, she said she intends to stay. "Not until they force us, if the tanks roll in, otherwise, I will not go running in the street to be killed later," she said, calling for an end to the war. "We don't have anywhere to go." Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement, but he also faces internal pressure from within his coalition to continue the war. Some far-right allies in his government have advocated a full occupation of Gaza and for Israel to re-establish settlements there, two decades after it withdrew. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told reporters Wednesday that he hoped the government would approve the military taking control over the rest of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages taken to Gaza in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's assault on Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry, which said 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire across the enclave in the past 24 hours.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Netanyahu seeks full control of Gaza under Israeli plan to force half its population south
Israel plans to push half of the population of Gaza to the south of the territory as part of a new campaign to fully reoccupy the enclave, a source told The National. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel intends to retake control of Gaza before turning it over to "civilian governance", as he prepared to meet his security cabinet to discuss war plans on Thursday. Mr Netanyahu said reoccupation would "ensure our security" and "enable the population to be free" of Hamas rule in Gaza. "We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That's not possible with Hamas." The expected move comes as concern grows within Israel and abroad that a comprehensive military campaign would dash ceasefire talks, kill more Palestinians and endanger hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Israel plans to 'gradually' send four to five divisions for the campaign, the source added. Reoccupying Gaza in its entirety will need an estimated force of 25,000 to strike into main urban areas, military experts say. The Israeli military is widely reported to be against the plans in large part for the strain it would put on the army, which is buckling under the pressure of more than 670 days at war. Army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said troops "will continue to express our position without fear". Israeli media said Mr Netanyahu was meeting his security cabinet on Thursday evening to discuss the plans. A Hamas official warned on Thursday that an expansion of the war would destroy any remaining prospects for a political resolution. "It is Hamas that has continuously pushed for the success of a ceasefire deal, and expanding the war will also destroy prospects for a political solution, one that won't bring Israel security, even at the regional level,' they said. 'Every additional day of this war is a testament to Netanyahu's political failure. Withdrawal and de-escalation would cost him politically. So instead, he fuels the conflict to shore up far-right support and keep his coalition alive.' The Israeli source did not elaborate on how long the operation is expected to take, but Israeli media reports say about five months. Israeli outlet Channel 12 reported that the operation would start with an invasion of Gaza city. Israel was expected on Thursday to approve the plan. As talk of an invasion of Gaza city intensifies, one resident, Mahmoud Al Burbar, 40, said he has yet to decide whether to flee again after being displaced five times already during the war. 'I'm exhausted – mentally, physically. This could be just another tactic to pressure for a ceasefire, I try to tell myself,' the father of two told The National. 'I don't know where to go. The last time I left the city, the experience was bitter. I returned to find destruction. I honestly don't know if I'll leave this time. It all depends on how large the operation will be.' Wa'ad Abu Zaher, 31, also from Gaza city, said an Israeli invasion 'could absolutely be implemented' because destruction means 'it's easier for them to enter its centre now'. The city has been damaged by Israeli air strikes throughout the war. 'Even if the occupation is temporary, they'll do it for the sake of claiming a military achievement,' said Ms Abu Zaher, who is also unsure whether to flee. 'Leaving is hard. I already left my home once. When I returned, it was destroyed, but its smell was enough for me to stay.' At least 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war with Hamas and other factions, authorities in Gaza say. Most of the enclave's 2.3 million residents have been displaced, many more than once, and large swathes of its built-up areas have been razed. At least 193 people have now died of starvation – 96 of them children – under Israel's blockade of the coastal territory, Gaza health authorities say. Major losses The plan has been condemned across Israeli society, mainly because of the risks it could pose to hostages. Most of the captives have been released through deals with the militant group Hamas, with military rescue operations proving far more hazardous. In August last year, six hostages were killed by their captors as Israeli troops closed in. In December 2023, Israeli soldiers killed three hostages, mistaking them for enemy combatants. The Hamas source urged the administration of US President Donald Trump to 'stop granting Israel carte blanche on military operations and territorial occupation, if it wants its mediation efforts to carry any weight' Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the 'direction in which the Cabinet and the Israeli government are heading will lead to all the hostages dying of hunger, beatings and torture'. A forum representing most of the families of Israeli hostages was holding a demonstration outside the cabinet meeting, calling on the public to join an 'outcry and call to stop the catastrophic decision to occupy" Gaza. Military officials also fear the move will lead to major losses, public broadcaster Kan reported, with 'dozens' of soldiers killed. Israel's military chief, Lt Gen Zamir, is widely reported to be against the reoccupation, chiefly because of exhaustion and low army morale. 'We will continue to express our position without fear – in a professional, independent, and substantive manner … We are not dealing with theory — we are dealing with matters of life and death, in the defence of the country,' Mr Zamir said on Thursday in remarks released by the army. Israel is also under massive international pressure to ease a hunger crisis in Gaza. UN officials have reported modest progress in bringing food and supplies into Gaza but say far more is still needed. 'After months of killing, starvation, and destruction, today we finally had feta cheese,' Mr Al Burbar said. 'Away from the threats and the anticipation of a new military operation, we savoured something so ordinary … it felt like a miracle.' Ms Abu Zaher said it was a moment of 'celebration' after she enjoyed her first cup of tea with sugar in three months. But she is not optimistic about the coming days. Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip began in 1967 after it seized the territory from Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war. For nearly four decades, Israel maintained military control over Gaza and established illegal settlements. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza under then-prime minister Ariel Sharon's 'disengagement plan'. All Israeli settlers left and the military dismantled its bases and departed the territory. However, while the withdrawal ended Israel's ground presence, Israel retained control over Gaza's airspace, coastline and borders, leading the UN and international legal bodies to continue considering Gaza as occupied territory under international law. Another Gaza city resident, Amira Nassar, 28, recently returned to her home in the Al Zaytoun area to find it burnt to the ground. 'All my memories, my books, everything I owned, it's all gone. They stole my life,' she told The National. 'I don't care about anything now.' She refuses the idea of fleeing south. 'I'd rather die than flee. The only thing I still have is that I'm in Gaza. If they take that away from me, there's nothing left to live for.'
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
UAE, Russian Presidents discuss bilateral strategic partnership in Moscow
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, to discuss enhancing the strategic partnership between the two countries, in addition to regional and international issues of common interest. The two leaders met on Thursday at the Kremlin as part of Sheikh Mohamed's official visit to Russia. During the meeting, Sheikh Mohamed and Putin reviewed progress in UAE-Russia cooperation, particularly in the fields of the economy, trade, investment, space, and energy, as well as other areas that serve the development-focused priorities of both countries and reflect their aim to bolster their strategic partnership. Sheikh Mohamed shakes hands with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov as Vladimir Putin presents members of the delegation during a meeting at the Kremlin. Reuters Sheikh Mohamed stated that UAE-Russia relations are based on mutual trust and respect, as well as deep-rooted and constructive engagement spanning more than 50 years. His Highness affirmed the UAE's commitment to building effective partnerships with other countries and enhancing international cooperation to address shared global challenges and foster prosperity and development for all. Sheikh Mohamed and Putin also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. In this regard, His Highness affirmed the UAE's steadfast commitment to strengthening peace and stability while advancing diplomatic solutions both regionally and globally. Sheikh Mohamed being presented Russian local food during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. WAM The two sides also discussed the importance of the Russia-Arab summit, scheduled to be held in October at the direction of His Excellency Putin, in strengthening Russia's relations with the Arab world. Sheikh Mohamed and Putin reviewed developments in the Middle East, underscoring the need to intensify efforts towards achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace based on the two-state solution with the aim of promoting stability and security for all. Vladimir Putin greets members of the UAE delegation as he attends a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed at the Kremlin in Moscow. Reuters His Highness also expressed his appreciation to Putin for facilitating the UAE's mediation concerning the exchange of over 4,000 prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, emphasising the UAE's continued willingness to further advance this humanitarian effort. For his part, Putin welcomed Sheikh Mohamed to Russia, expressing his appreciation for the UAE's ongoing mediation efforts on prisoner exchanges. Sheikh Mohamed and Vladimir Putin speak during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. Reuters Putin stated that Russia attaches great importance to developing its relations with the UAE, noting that the two countries' cooperation continues to grow, especially in the economic and investment fields. Putin hosted a luncheon for His Highness and the accompanying delegation. While arriving earlier at the Kremlin, His Highness the President was received by Putin. The national anthems of both countries were played, and Sheikh Mohamed greeted senior officials lined up to welcome him, while Putin greeted members of the delegation accompanying His Highness. On the sidelines of the visit, the two countries signed the Trade in Services and Investment Agreement (TISIA). The agreement was signed on behalf of the UAE by Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, and on behalf of the Russian side by Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development. The UAE-Russia TISIA complements the Economic Partnership Agreement signed between the UAE and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, in addition to Russia. It provides a special bilateral cooperation framework focusing on services and investment, including in the areas of financial technology, healthcare, transportation, logistics, professional services, and others. Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and Andrey Nikitin, Russian Minister of Transport, also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of land transport. The delegation accompanying His Highness the President attended the talks, including Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President; Ali Bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of Supreme Council for National Security; Dr Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade; Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi, Minister of Investment; Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Adviser to the President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs; Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the President's Office for Strategic Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office; and Dr Mohammed Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Ambassador to the Russian Federation, along with a number of senior officials. The talks were also attended by ministers and senior officials from the Russian side. Sheikh Mohamed departed Moscow at the conclusion of his official visit to Russia, with military aircraft escorting His Highness' plane through Russian airspace. WAM
