Latest news with #Hamas-led
Euronews
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Emmanuel Macron on 'crusade against the Jewish state,' Israel says
Israel's Foreign Ministry has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being on a "crusade against the Jewish state," after he urged the international community to harden its stance towards Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza doesn't improve. "There is no humanitarian blockade. This is a blatant lie," the ministry said, defending its control over the flow of aid into the enclave. "But instead of putting pressure on jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt his national holiday will be October 7," the statement said, referring to the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. During a three-hour televised interview earlier in May, Macron said Europe should consider sanctioning Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are thought to be now facing starvation. "What he's doing is shameful," Macron said of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the interview on TF1 television. Those remarks sparked an immediate rebuke from Netanyahu, who said Macron "once again chose to stand" with Hamas. After a previous ceasefire with Hamas collapsed in March, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, with no aid allowed into the Strip for almost three months. That situation has eased slightly in recent days but aid organisations still warn of widespread hunger and imminent famine across most of Gaza. Just over a week ago, the UK government said it was suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and had introduced new sanctions on settlements in the West Bank as Westminster ramped up its criticism of the ongoing military operation in Gaza. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's existing trade agreement with Israel remains in effect but the government couldn't continue discussions with an administration pursuing what he called "egregious" policies in the two territories. "I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel," Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament in London. Those remarks followed a joint condemnation he issued on 19 May with Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that marked one of the most significant criticisms by close allies of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the West Bank. The three leaders threatened to take "concrete actions" if the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not cease its renewed military offensive and significantly lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. And on 26 May, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a rare criticism of Israel and its plans to take control of most of Gaza, stating he "no longer understands" the end goal. "The Israeli government must not do anything that even its best friends are no longer willing to accept," said Merz at the WDR Europaforum in Berlin. "What the Israeli army is now doing in the Gaza Strip, I frankly no longer understand with what goal," he added. The war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 58, of whom two thirds are believed to still be alive. A subsequent Israeli offensive has to date killed at least 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Euronews
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Video. Tel Aviv protests demand return of Gaza hostages and end to war
Crowds gathered at Rabin Square before marching down Ben Gurion Boulevard, chanting and waving banners. Organised by a prominent pro-democracy group, the demonstration is the latest in a series of weekly rallies targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. Protesters say not enough is being done to secure the release of hostages taken during the 7 October Hamas-led attack, which sparked the ongoing conflict. More than 54,200 people have been killed and over 123,400 wounded since fighting began, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.
RTÉ News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
FF TD Cathal Crowe clears up comparison of Israel to Britain
During a Dáil debate on Wednesday, Clare Fianna Fáil TD, Cathal Crowe criticised Israel's "eye-for-an-eye approach" in the aftermath of the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, and compared it to Britian's approach to Ireland. Yesterday, after a wave of criticism, he apologised. He discusses the incident with Gavin Jennings.
Hindustan Times
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Key moments involving Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
-A U.S. plan for Gaza has revived hopes for securing the release of the remaining 58 hostages Hamas holds in Gaza, 21 of whom are still believed to be alive. Following are some key moments of the hostage crisis: 2023 October 7 - Hamas-led gunmen storm into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 Israeli and foreign hostages, according to Israeli tallies. October 20 - Hamas releases two Israeli-American hostages. October 23 - Hamas releases two elderly Israeli hostages. October 30 - Israeli forces rescue an Israeli soldier who had been kidnapped on Oct. 7. November 21 - Israel and Hamas announce a truce, which will last seven days, to exchange hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians jailed in Israel, and let in more aid. Around half the hostages - women, children and foreigners - are released in return for 240 Palestinian women and teenage prisoners and detainees, before war resumes on December 1. Talks on a new ceasefire take place over the following months, but do not succeed. Israel says it wants only a temporary pause to free more hostages; Hamas says it will free them only as part of a permanent deal to end the war. December 15 - Israeli forces mistakenly kill three Israeli hostages in Gaza. The incident prompts some of the strongest criticism within Israel of the conduct of the war. 2024 Throughout the year, families of hostages lead a campaign to pressure Israel's leaders to secure a deal for the hostages' release. They hold street protests, appear almost daily at parliament, meet with world leaders and are frequently interviewed in the media. February 12 - The Israeli military says it frees two hostages during a raid in Gaza's southern Rafah neighbourhood. June 8 - Israeli forces rescue four hostages held by Hamas in a raid on a residential neighbourhood in Nuseirat, Gaza, in one of the single deadliest Israeli assaults of the war. August 27 - Israeli special forces recover an Israeli hostage from a tunnel in southern Gaza. August 31 - Israel discovers the bodies of six hostages in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. Their deaths spark mass protests in Israel demanding the government enter a hostage deal with Hamas. The six were shot dead by their captors 48-72 hours before being found by Israeli forces, according to Israeli health ministry estimates. December 2 - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip are not released before his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump repeats that threat as talks in Cairo and Doha on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal gain momentum. 2025 January 8 - The Israeli military says the body of Youssef Ziyadne, an Israeli Bedouin hostage, has been found in a tunnel in Gaza. It later says the body of Ziyadne's son Hamza was found alongside him. January 19 - A ceasefire takes effect. In a six-week first phase 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, men over 50 and ill and wounded captives, are to be freed. In return, Israel will free almost 2,000 Palestinians from its jails. In a subsequent phase, the two sides are to negotiate the exchange of remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Later that day, Hamas releases three Israeli women and Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners. January 25 - Hamas releases four Israeli women soldiers. January 30 - Hamas frees two more Israeli women and an 80-year-old hostage, along with five Thai hostages in Gaza. Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners in return, after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds at one of the hostage handover points. February 1 - Hamas hands over Israeli-American Keith Siegel and Israeli-French Ofer Calderon. The group also frees Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir were seized separately from their home near Gaza. February 8 - Hamas releases three Israeli hostages. February 15 - As mediators help avert a collapse of the ceasefire, Hamas releases three hostages including an Israeli American. February 20 - Hamas releases the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were aged 4 years and 9 months when kidnapped, along with an unidentified body that Israel said was not of their mother Shiri Bibas. The group also hands over the body of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when abducted. February 22 - Hamas releases a fourth body, later identified by Israel as Shiri Bibas. The group frees six hostages, two of whom were captured before October 2023. Israel delays the release of more than 600 prisoners and detainees, in what was supposed to be biggest release since the ceasefire deal took effect, citing violations by Hamas. February 26 - After days of impasse, Egyptian mediators secure the handover of the bodies of the final four hostages in the deal's first phase. Israel frees about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. March 1 - The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal expires after six weeks. Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are considered to be alive. May 12 - Hamas hands over Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, believed to be the last surviving U.S. hostage held in Gaza.
NDTV
a day ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Israel Stops Training Women Combat Soldiers Over 'Health Risks'
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has ended a pilot programme under which female soldiers due to health and fitness concerns. The trained women were to serve in "combat mobility units" that deliver equipment and supplies to infantry forces in enemy territory and recover wounded soldiers, but IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Eyal Zamir decided to pull the plug on Thursday (May 29), according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. As per IDF, though the professional performance of females undergoing the combat course was strong and equal to their male counterparts, their "physical and combat fitness levels fell short of the standards required for the role". IDF added that medical data indicated potential health risks for the women if they continued the current training, particularly since its intensity was due to increase. The new pilot programme for female infantry recruits will start next year after the cancellation of the current six-month scheme. Meanwhile, women who had enrolled in the course would be offered other combat opportunities in the military if they wished to continue, or they could switch to office duties if they preferred a change. Military service in the IDF is mandatory for both sexes, barring some exceptions. Women fighters have successfully worked in several special units such as Oketz, which works with dogs, the Yahalom combat engineers, and the 669 rescue unit. Israel-Hamas war Ever since Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern Israeli communities and killed around 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, Tel Aviv has launched an all-out campaign to avenge the losses. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the death of Hamas' Gaza chief, Muhammad Sinwar. Muhammad Sinwar was the brother of former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in a clash with the Israeli military in October 2024. Yahya Sinwar had masterminded the October 7 terrorist attacks.
