Latest news with #Ceasefire
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages.
Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks have dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes, health officials say One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead laying on the ground, according to footage shared by the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Ahmed Mhana, who said he was waiting on a coastal road for aid trucks, said the crowd was struck twice by Israeli aircraft. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire — including calls to give up power and disarm. Heavy explosions heard in area that avoided major fighting In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which previously has not seen major ground operations or widespread devastation, Palestinians reported heavy explosions from strikes and tank shelling overnight. 'It was non-stop,' Ayman Aby Hassan said. 'We felt that the area was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.' The man, who is in his 40s, fled an area in the southwestern side of Deir al-Balah that was invaded by the military earlier this week. He headed to the Muwasi area near the sea. The Israeli military ordered evacuations from parts of the city earlier this week. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Church leaders witnessed an 'almost totally destroyed' Gaza In Jerusalem, top church leaders called on the international community to help bring an end to the war in Gaza after making a rare visit to the conflict-ridden territory last week. Their visit came a day after Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell in an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident. 'It is time to end this nonsense, end the war,' Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters. Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays. Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III said they witnessed a Gaza that was 'almost totally destroyed.' They said they saw older people, women and boys 'totally starved and hungry' and called for urgent humanitarian aid. 'Every hour without food, water, medicine, and shelter causes deep harm.' Pizzaballa said. 'It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.' Israel has greatly reduced the amount of aid being let into Gaza and aid that does enter is often met by chaos and violence at distribution points. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Jerusalem. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Al Arabiya
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Syrian government says fighting in Sweida halted after tribal forces pull out
Fighting in Syria's Sweida 'halted' on Sunday, the government said, after the southern city was recaptured by Druze fighters and state forces redeployed to the region where scores have been killed in sectarian violence. Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention. Sweida was 'evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighborhoods were halted,' Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a post on Telegram. Israel had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze civilians during their brief deployment in the southern province. Scores have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the government, Israel and armed tribes from other parts of Syria. Earlier Saturday, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them. But in the evening, Bassem Fakhr, spokesman for the Men of Dignity, one of the two largest Druze armed groups, told AFP there was 'no Bedouin presence in the city.' Fighting nonetheless persisted in other parts of Sweida province, even as the Druze regained control of their city following days of fierce battle with armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria. The deal between the government and Israel had been announced by Washington early Saturday. US pointman on Syria Tom Barrack said President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'have agreed to a ceasefire' negotiated by the United States. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent extremists from entering and 'carrying out massacres,' in a post on X. He also urged the Syrian government to 'hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.' Barrack, who is the US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of al-Sharaa, as well as neighboring Jordan. Barrack later held a meeting in Amman with the Syrian and Jordanian top diplomats, during which they 'agreed on practical steps to support Syria in implementing the agreement,' the US envoy said in a later post on X. Al-Sharaa followed up on the US announcement with a televised speech in which he announced an immediate ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. 'The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country... We condemn all crimes committed' in Sweida, he said. The president paid tribute to the 'important role played by the United States, which again showed its support for Syria in these difficult circumstances and its concern for the country's stability.' Syria's Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa on Saturday evening said that after the first phase of the ceasefire, which began on Saturday and involved the deployment of security forces to the province, a second phase would see the opening of humanitarian corridors. According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced least 87,000 people.
Reuters
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Zelenskiy says Ukraine, Russia to hold peace talks in Turkey on Wednesday
July 21 (Reuters) - Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia - the first in seven weeks - are planned for Wednesday in Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy quoted a senior Kyiv official as saying on Monday. Zelenskiy appealed earlier in the day for greater momentum in negotiations. Russia's state TASS news agency quoted a source in Turkey as saying the talks would take place on Wednesday. The RIA news agency, also quoting a source, said they would take place over two days, Thursday and Friday. The Kremlin said it was waiting for confirmation of the date of the talks but said the two sides were "diametrically opposed" in their positions on how to end the war. Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that he spoke with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, on Monday in preparation for a prisoner exchange and another meeting with Russia in Turkey. "Umerov reported that the meeting is planned for Wednesday. More details will follow tomorrow," Zelenskiy said. Umerov, previously defence minister, was appointed to his current role last week and headed the first two rounds of talks with Russia. Ukraine has backed U.S. calls for an immediate ceasefire. Moscow says certain arrangements must be put in place before a ceasefire can be introduced. Russian forces have launched sustained attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, including missiles and hundreds of drones on Monday night that killed two people and injured 15. Ukraine has also launched long-range drone attacks. Zelenskiy said: "The agenda from our side is clear: the return of prisoners of war, the return of children abducted by Russia, and the preparation of a leaders' meeting." Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is under increasing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to show progress towards ending the conflict, turned down a previous challenge from Zelenskiy to meet him in person. Putin has said he does not see Zelenskiy as a legitimate leader because Ukraine, which is under martial law, did not hold new elections when his five-year mandate expired last year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "There is our draft memorandum, there is a draft memorandum that has been handed over by the Ukrainian side. There is to be an exchange of views and talks on these two drafts, which are diametrically opposed so far." Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2, that led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers. But the two sides have made no breakthrough towards a ceasefire or a settlement to end almost three and a half years of war. The Kremlin says Ukraine must abandon four regions Moscow says have been incorporated into Russia. Trump said last week he would impose new sanctions in 50 days on Russia and countries that buy its exports if there is no deal before then to end the conflict. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking in Kyiv after talks with Zelenskiy, noted Russia's refusal to implement an immediate ceasefire as well as its "maximalist" demands. "Discussions must begin, but on a basis that respects the interests of both parties, because diplomacy is not submission," he told a news conference. "And diplomacy begins with meetings at the level of heads of state and government, something Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly called for." Barrot said he favoured devising an even tougher sanctions package if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire.
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP
LONDON: Former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry has called on the UK government to recognize an independent Palestinian state. Thornberry told the BBC on Monday that there needs to be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a long-term political solution to the crisis. 'The only way through this is for there to be an Israeli state that's safe and secure, alongside a Palestinian state that's recognized,' she told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' program. Thornberry, who heads the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, was speaking following the state visit of Emmanuel Macron to London. France's president, whose country will co-host an international conference on Palestine at the UN, told British MPs that a two-state solution is the 'only way' forward. The UK is expected to attend the conference. Thornberry said the UK and France 'are the two parties to that ancient treaty more than 100 years ago, the secret Sykes-Picot agreement that carved up the Middle East in the first place. 'I think there is some kind of political significance to those two countries coming together again.' She added: 'If we recognize a Palestinian state, I think we show ourselves to be a country that wants to be involved, that wants to be an honest broker, that wants to be a force for good, and we think a way forward is two states and we've always thought that.' The war in Gaza has been raging since October 2023, with health authorities in the Palestinian enclave saying around 60,000 people have died. Thornberry said: 'Too many people have been killed. There has to be peace. Peace can only be achieved through political conversation, through negotiations.' The UK Foreign Office has refused to be drawn on when or if the government will recognize a Palestinian state, but Thornberry said: 'It's just a question of when.' She added that the UK needs to use its relationship with the US to move the situation on Palestinian statehood forward, and clarify to Israel that continued settlement expansion in the West Bank is illegal, and individuals responsible would be sanctioned. 'We've been a force for good when it comes to Ukraine, but I do think we should also be saying to (US) President (Donald) Trump: 'We need you. You have the power of 100 presidents. You can do what all the other presidents couldn't do,'' Thornberry said. 'But the Israelis have to come onboard, and they can't continue just to say no and not have any credible alternative.'
