Latest news with #Hamastan
Kuwait Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Hamas gets ‘final' truce proposal as Zionists murder 142
GAZA: Hamas said on Wednesday it was studying what US President Donald Trump called a 'final' ceasefire proposal for Gaza but that the Zionist entity must pull out of the enclave, and Zionist leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be eliminated. Trump said on Tuesday the Zionist entity had agreed to the conditions needed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after a meeting between his representatives and Zionist officials. Gaza health authorities said Zionist gunfire and military strikes had killed at least 142 Palestinians in northern and southern areas in the past 24 hours, and the Zionist military ordered more evacuations late on Tuesday. Among those killed was Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, in an airstrike that has also killed his wife and five children, medics said. In a statement, Hamas said it was studying new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar but that it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and a Zionist pullout from Gaza. Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump's announcement. 'There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a 'Hamastan'. We're not going back to that. It's over,' Netanyahu told a meeting. The two sides' statements reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached. 'I hope it would work this time, even if for two months, it would save thousands of innocent lives,' Kamal, a resident of Gaza City, said by phone. Others questioned whether Trump's statements would deliver long-term peace. 'We hope he is serious like he was serious during the (Zionist)-Iranian war when he said the war should stop, and it stopped,' said Adnan Al-Assar, a resident of Khan Yunis in Gaza's south. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the Zionist entity was 'serious in our will' to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire. 'There are some positive signs. I don't want to say more than that right now. But our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible,' he said while visiting Estonia. Zionist opposition leader Yair Lapid posted that his party could provide a safety net if any cabinet members opposed a deal, effectively pledging not to back a no-confidence motion in parliament that could topple the government. '(The Zionist entity) has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,' Trump posted on Tuesday, without specifying the conditions. A source close to Hamas said its leaders were expected to debate the proposal and seek clarifications from mediators before giving an official response. On the ground in southern Gaza, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five members of the same family were killed in a Zionist air strike on Wednesday that hit a tent housing displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area. Despite being declared a safe zone by the Zionist entity in Dec 2023, Al-Mawasi has been hit by repeated Zionist strikes. AFP footage from the area showed makeshift tents blown apart as Palestinians picked through the wreckage trying to salvage what was left of their belongings. One man held a pack of nappies, asking: 'Is this a weapon?' 'They came here thinking it was a safe area and they were killed... What did they do?' said another resident, Maha Abu Rizq, against a backdrop of destruction. AFP footage from nearby Khan Yunis city showed infants covered in blood being rushed into Nasser Hospital. One man carrying a child whose face was smeared with blood screamed: 'Children, children!' Some appeared terrified while others lay still on hospital beds in bloodied bandages and clothes as medics treated them. Further north, Bassal said four people from the same family were killed in a predawn Zionist air strike on a house in Gaza City, and another five in a drone strike on a house in the central Deir el-Balah area. Bassal later reported seven killed in a strike in Gaza City, five more killed by Zionist army fire near an aid distribution site close to the southern city of Rafah, and a further death following Zionist fire near an aid site in the center of the territory. They are the latest in a string of deadly incidents that have hit people waiting for food. Bassal said a further four people were killed in an air strike on a tent for displaced people southwest of Gaza City and two in an air strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood. The Zionist military campaign has killed at least 57,012 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. – Agencies
The Age
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Age
‘Everything will turn to dust': As Gaza crumbles, its fate lies knotted to that of one man
And there are. In securing US involvement in last month's strikes on Iran, Israel has managed to further weaken and isolate Hamas, an Iranian proxy, beyond the wrecked cities and towns of Gaza. 'This has to be the window to use the leverage that's been created to drive towards the end of the war and getting all the hostages home,' former US Pentagon official and ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told the Israeli journalist Neria Kraus on Tuesday. 'Iran is weaker than it's ever been, exposed in ways it has never been before – that should be leveraged, and I think can be leveraged, to get Hamas to be more flexible on the terms of the hostage deals.' That same day Trump issued another social media declaration, saying that Israel had 'agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War'. Hamas confirmed it was considering the proposal. Tellingly, though, in its statement the terrorist group emphasised that it wants a US commitment that the ceasefire would lead to a permanent end to the war. This position has been a sticking point in previous rounds of negotiations, with Israel determined that the war should not end before it achieves what it views as a complete victory. This would include a return of all remaining hostages and the removal of Hamas from Gaza. 'There will not be a Hamas,' said Netanyahu at a public meeting on Wednesday. 'There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over. We will free all our hostages.' Observers within Israel note that there is more in play than the competing demands of Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu is also concerned with his own political future and the personal legal threats he faces. Rhynold believes Netanhayu sees the maintenance of power not only as goal in its own right, but as a shield against prosecution, and that this will have an impact on peace negotiations. To maintain power Netanyahu must balance the demands of the parliamentary coalition he has stitched together, which includes not only his own right-wing Likud party, but members of far right and Orthodox parties. 'I don't think he can distinguish between what's good for him and what's good for the state of Israel. He just thinks whatever's good for him is good for the state of Israel.' Rhynold believes that even if Netanyahu could secure a comprehensive enough victory in Gaza to allow him to consider a peace deal, supported by the majority of voters, he might still perceive a political threat within his coalition. This could be an incentive for him to draw out negotiations. There is an irony here. As Rhynold notes Netanyahu built a strategy of tacitly supporting Hamas before the war in order to divide Palestinian power blocs. As the politics plays out the carnage in Gaza has only intensified. In January Israel banned the United Nations' lead relief agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, from operating and between March and May it blocked all food aid to Gaza in an effort to force Hamas to negotiate, driving more than 2 million people towards starvation. Last month the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private organisation backed by the US and Israel took over food relief operations. GHF is now led by the American evangelical leader and businessman Johnnie Moore Jr, who once praised Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, saying, 'The USA will take full responsibility for [the] future of Gaza, giving everyone hope and a future.' GHF has limited distribution to four sites, rather than the hundreds the UN had used. Those sites soon became killing zones, with the IDF firing machine guns and mortars at starving civilians gathering at the sites before they opened. According to a report by Haartz last Friday, which quotes multiple unnamed IDF soldiers, some senior offices gave orders to shoot. One soldier described how civilians were shot as they approached the distribution centres in the pre-dawn darkness, and when they sought to flee. Netanyahu has denied the report. 'These are malicious falsehoods designed to defame the IDF [Israel Defence Forces], the most moral military in the world,' he said. AP has reported that American contractors guarding aid distribution sites are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food. 'There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,' a contractor said. According to the UN over 410 people were killed at GHF food distribution sites by June 24, while local health authorities say 600 have now been killed and more than 4000 wounded. Israeli airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza late on Wednesday and on Thursday, including 45 who were seeking humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday according to a Washington Post report. It describes families weeping over the bodies from a strike that hit a tent camp during the night as displaced people slept in southern Gaza. At least 13 members of a single family were killed, including at least six children under 12, reports the Post. 'My children, my children … my beloved,' wailed Intisar Abu Assi, sobbing over the bodies of her son and daughters and their young children, says the report. Loading Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington, DC, on Monday as part of Trump's intensifying efforts to secure a ceasefire, though his government appears determined to maintain its assaults in Gaza as a potential peace deal nears. 'We'll do to Gaza City and the central camps what we did to Rafah. Everything will turn to dust,' a senior Israeli official told Axios. 'It's not our preferred option, but if there's no movement towards a hostage deal, we won't have any other choice.'
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Everything will turn to dust': As Gaza crumbles, its fate lies knotted to that of one man
And there are. In securing US involvement in last month's strikes on Iran, Israel has managed to further weaken and isolate Hamas, an Iranian proxy, beyond the wrecked cities and towns of Gaza. 'This has to be the window to use the leverage that's been created to drive towards the end of the war and getting all the hostages home,' former US Pentagon official and ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told the Israeli journalist Neria Kraus on Tuesday. 'Iran is weaker than it's ever been, exposed in ways it has never been before – that should be leveraged, and I think can be leveraged, to get Hamas to be more flexible on the terms of the hostage deals.' That same day Trump issued another social media declaration, saying that Israel had 'agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War'. Hamas confirmed it was considering the proposal. Tellingly, though, in its statement the terrorist group emphasised that it wants a US commitment that the ceasefire would lead to a permanent end to the war. This position has been a sticking point in previous rounds of negotiations, with Israel determined that the war should not end before it achieves what it views as a complete victory. This would include a return of all remaining hostages and the removal of Hamas from Gaza. 'There will not be a Hamas,' said Netanyahu at a public meeting on Wednesday. 'There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over. We will free all our hostages.' Observers within Israel note that there is more in play than the competing demands of Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu is also concerned with his own political future and the personal legal threats he faces. Rhynold believes Netanhayu sees the maintenance of power not only as goal in its own right, but as a shield against prosecution, and that this will have an impact on peace negotiations. To maintain power Netanyahu must balance the demands of the parliamentary coalition he has stitched together, which includes not only his own right-wing Likud party, but members of far right and Orthodox parties. 'I don't think he can distinguish between what's good for him and what's good for the state of Israel. He just thinks whatever's good for him is good for the state of Israel.' Rhynold believes that even if Netanyahu could secure a comprehensive enough victory in Gaza to allow him to consider a peace deal, supported by the majority of voters, he might still perceive a political threat within his coalition. This could be an incentive for him to draw out negotiations. There is an irony here. As Rhynold notes Netanyahu built a strategy of tacitly supporting Hamas before the war in order to divide Palestinian power blocs. As the politics plays out the carnage in Gaza has only intensified. In January Israel banned the United Nations' lead relief agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, from operating and between March and May it blocked all food aid to Gaza in an effort to force Hamas to negotiate, driving more than 2 million people towards starvation. Last month the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private organisation backed by the US and Israel took over food relief operations. GHF is now led by the American evangelical leader and businessman Johnnie Moore Jr, who once praised Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, saying, 'The USA will take full responsibility for [the] future of Gaza, giving everyone hope and a future.' GHF has limited distribution to four sites, rather than the hundreds the UN had used. Those sites soon became killing zones, with the IDF firing machine guns and mortars at starving civilians gathering at the sites before they opened. According to a report by Haartz last Friday, which quotes multiple unnamed IDF soldiers, some senior offices gave orders to shoot. One soldier described how civilians were shot as they approached the distribution centres in the pre-dawn darkness, and when they sought to flee. Netanyahu has denied the report. 'These are malicious falsehoods designed to defame the IDF [Israel Defence Forces], the most moral military in the world,' he said. AP has reported that American contractors guarding aid distribution sites are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food. 'There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,' a contractor said. According to the UN over 410 people were killed at GHF food distribution sites by June 24, while local health authorities say 600 have now been killed and more than 4000 wounded. Israeli airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza late on Wednesday and on Thursday, including 45 who were seeking humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday according to a Washington Post report. It describes families weeping over the bodies from a strike that hit a tent camp during the night as displaced people slept in southern Gaza. At least 13 members of a single family were killed, including at least six children under 12, reports the Post. 'My children, my children … my beloved,' wailed Intisar Abu Assi, sobbing over the bodies of her son and daughters and their young children, says the report. Loading Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington, DC, on Monday as part of Trump's intensifying efforts to secure a ceasefire, though his government appears determined to maintain its assaults in Gaza as a potential peace deal nears. 'We'll do to Gaza City and the central camps what we did to Rafah. Everything will turn to dust,' a senior Israeli official told Axios. 'It's not our preferred option, but if there's no movement towards a hostage deal, we won't have any other choice.'
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Hamas studies Gaza ceasefire proposal labelled 'final' by Trump
Hamas said on Wednesday it was studying what US President Donald Trump called a 'final' ceasefire proposal for Gaza but that Israel must pull out of the enclave, and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be eliminated. Trump said on Tuesday Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after a meeting between his representatives and Israeli officials. In a statement, the Palestinian militant group said it was studying new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar but that it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump's announcement. 'There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a 'Hamastan'. We're not going back to that. It's over,' Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline. The two sides' statements reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached. 'I hope it would work this time, even if for two months, it would save thousands of innocent lives,' Kamal, a resident of Gaza City, said by phone. Others questioned whether Trump's statements would deliver long-term peace. 'We hope he is serious like he was serious during the Israeli-Iranian war when he said the war should stop, and it stopped,' said Adnan Al-Assar, a resident of Khan Younis in Gaza's south. There is growing public pressure on Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move opposed by hardline members of his right-wing ruling coalition. At the same time, US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites in Iran and ceasefire agreed on in last month's 12-day Israel-Iran air war have put pressure on Hamas, which is backed by Tehran. Israeli leaders believe that, with Iran weakened, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel. 'SOME POSITIVE SIGNS' Foreign minister Gideon Saar said Israel was 'serious in our will' to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire. 'There are some positive signs. I don't want to say more than that right now. But our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible,' he said while visiting Estonia. Of 50 hostages held by Hamas, about 20 are believed to be still alive. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid posted that his party could provide a safety net if any cabinet members opposed a deal, effectively pledging not to back a no-confidence motion in parliament that could topple the government. At the end of May, Hamas had said it was seeking amendments to a US-backed ceasefire proposal. Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, said this was 'totally unacceptable'. That proposal involved a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians; Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees the end of the war. 'Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,' Trump posted on Tuesday, without specifying the conditions. A source close to Hamas said its leaders were expected to debate the proposal and seek clarifications from mediators before giving an official response. Gaza health authorities said Israeli gunfire and military strikes had killed at least 139 Palestinians in northern and southern areas in the past 24 hours, and the Israeli military ordered more evacuations late on Tuesday. Among those killed was Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, in an air strike that has also killed his wife and five children, medics said. The Israeli military said it had targeted a 'key terrorist' from Hamas in the Gaza City area. It said it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties and that the military regretted any harm to 'uninvolved individuals' and takes steps to minimise such harm.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Hamas studies Gaza truce after Trump says Israel agreed
Listen to article Hamas said on Wednesday it was studying what US President Donald Trump called a "final" ceasefire proposal for Gaza but that Israel must pull out of the enclave, and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be eliminated. Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after a meeting between his representatives and Israeli officials. In a statement, the Palestinian group said it was studying new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar but that it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. Meanwhile, Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump's announcement. "There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a 'Hamastan'. We're not going back to that. It's over," Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline. The two sides' statements reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached. "I hope it would work this time, even if for two months, it would save thousands of innocent lives," Kamal, a resident of Gaza City, said by phone. Others questioned whether Trump's statements would deliver long-term peace. "We hope he is serious like he was serious during the Israeli-Iranian war when he said the war should stop, and it stopped," said Adnan Al-Assar, a resident of Khan Younis in Gaza's south. There is growing public pressure on Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move opposed by hardline members of his right-wing ruling coalition. Read: At least 27 killed in Gaza City after fresh evacuation orders At the same time, US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites in Iran and ceasefire agreed on in last month's 12-day Israel-Iran air war have put pressure on Hamas, which is backed by Tehran. Israeli leaders believe that, with Iran weakened, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was "serious in our will" to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire. "There are some positive signs. I don't want to say more than that right now. But our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible," he said while visiting Estonia. Of 50 hostages held by Hamas, about 20 are believed to be still alive. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid posted that his party could provide a safety net if any cabinet members opposed a deal, effectively pledging not to back a no-confidence motion in parliament that could topple the government. At the end of May, Hamas had said it was seeking amendments to a US-backed ceasefire proposal. Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, said this was "totally unacceptable." That proposal involved a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians; Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees the end of the war. "Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," Trump posted on Tuesday, without specifying the conditions. A source close to Hamas said its leaders were expected to debate the proposal and seek clarifications from mediators before giving an official response. Gaza health authorities said Israeli gunfire and military strikes had killed at least 139 Palestinians in northern and southern areas in the past 24 hours, and the Israeli military ordered more evacuations late on Tuesday. Among those killed was Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, in an airstrike that has also killed his wife and five children, medics said.
