Latest news with #Kfir
New York Post
28-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Israeli hostages 'abandoned' by Netanyahu, claim relatives marking 600 days
The remaining 58 Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas 600 days ago have been 'abandoned' and 'forgotten' by their government, their anguished relatives have claimed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also accused of having 'failed' on the day of the attacks and every day since by Ofri Bibas, aunt of hostage Kfir, who was 10 months old when he was killed in captivity. 'Prime Minister, you failed on that day and have failed for the last 600 days. You didn't take responsibility and won't investigate what happened,' said Bibas, whose sister — Kfir's mother — was also taken captive but later freed, at the press conference, as reported by The Times of Israel. Her comments at a press conference held in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to mark the grim anniversary, directed at Netanyahu, referred to the Israeli leader's refusal to set up an official inquiry into the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 others. 6 Relatives of the remaining Israeli hostages have accused the government of abandoning them. REUTERS 'So many soldiers gave their lives. Wars have to end with diplomacy. How many more soldiers and hostages have to die for this to end?' Bibas added. Relatives of the remaining 58 hostages accused the Israeli government of abandoning those in the IDF who had fought for their country before being kidnapped by Hamas militants. 'I want to turn here to every mother and father: Imagine standing next to me, giving everything for the state and the homeland, but being abandoned and forgotten. It can unfortunately happen to every one of us,' Anat Angrest, whose son Matan was kidnapped from a burning IDF tank, said at the press conference. 6 Freed hostage Arbel Yahoud (yellow hat), called on Netanyahu to step up his efforts to free the remaining 58 hostages. Getty Images Many more Israelis will refuse to serve in the IDF or even abandon their citizenship, she warned. 'This is not just my war, or the war of the Angrest family, or of 58 families,' she said. 6 Protesters have gathered across Israel to mark 600 days since the Oct. 7 attacks. AFP via Getty Images Relatives of Israeli casualties in previous conflicts with Hamas also slammed what they saw as the inaction of Netanyahu as they addressed the press from the Hostages Forum offices in Tel Aviv. One of the speakers, Leah Goldin, lost her son Hadar in the conflict in Gaza in 2014, but Hamas has still not returned his body. 6 A large message of protest was drawn on the sand in Tel Aviv close to the US Embassy branch. AFP via Getty Images 'Hadar was abandoned. It was seen as a private matter of the Goldin family. Now there are 58 more Hadar Goldins in Gaza. This is a national issue,' Leah said. Furious protests have been held across Israel to mark 600 days since the October 7 attacks, with many demanding a new hostage deal or even fresh elections in the country. 6 Relatives of the surviving hostages as well as former hostages gathered for a press conference in Tel Aviv. Getty Images Starting at 6:29 a.m., the exact time Hamas launched its attacks, protesters gathered across the country to form a yellow bow visible from above as a symbol of solidarity with the hostages. Near the US Embassy branch in Tel Aviv, the numbers 58 and 600, along with the words 'Save Them Now,' were spelled out in the sand. 6 The ongoing conflict in Gaza has resulted in thousands of deaths, but 58 hostages remain in Hamas captivity. AFP via Getty Images Yellow balloons were released in the unofficially renamed Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where protesters in matching T-shirts gathered. One of the freed hostages, Arbel Yehoud, 29, praised President Trump for having 'opened the door' for her to be freed, but called on Netanyahu's government to step up its efforts to help those still in captivity. 'I was there. I know exactly what the hostages are going through,' Yehoud said. 'I call on the Israeli nation and its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Trump opened the door, Edan [Alexander] went out, and this door has to stay open until all come home.'
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colombia to buy Swedish fighter jets to replace aging Israeli aircraft
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia said Thursday it will buy up to 24 fighter jets from Swedish company Saab to replace aging Israeli aircraft whose maintenance has become complicated after the South American nation broke diplomatic ties with Israel over its war with Hamas. Colombia's Aerospace Force chief commander, Carlos Fernando Silva, said Thursday they are still working on the details of the contract with Saab, so in the end the number of planes could be less than 24. Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson confirmed on X that negotiations are under way. Colombia has 22 Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets purchased in the late 1980s, and any maintenance can only be done by an Israeli firm. Those aircrafts were used in several attacks on remote guerrilla camps that debilitated the then-Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The offensives helped push the rebel group into peace talks that resulted in its disarmament in 2016. Although the new purchase plans were announced amid a lack of diplomatic relations with Israel, the last three governments in Colombia already had cited intentions to replace the Kfir jets. The administration of current President Gustavo Petro started reviewing specific offers from countries like France, the United States and Sweden. The Aerospace Force chief commander said that the Kfir planes will continue to operate for now. Once the new contract is finalized, the old planes will be replaced as the new ones arrive. The Swedish ambassador to Colombia, Helena Storm, said that this announcement shows the good bilateral relations between the two countries. Colombia announced in 2024 that it was breaking diplomatic relations with Israel over the Israel-Hamas war, as part of an escalation of tensions between the governments. Petro has described Israel's siege of Gaza as 'genocide.'
Associated Press
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Colombia to buy Swedish fighter jets to replace aging Israeli aircraft
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia said Thursday it will buy up to 24 fighter jets from Swedish company Saab to replace aging Israeli aircraft whose maintenance has become complicated after the South American nation broke diplomatic ties with Israel over its war with Hamas. Colombia's Aerospace Force chief commander, Carlos Fernando Silva, said Thursday they are still working on the details of the contract with Saab, so in the end the number of planes could be less than 24. Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson confirmed on X that negotiations are under way. Colombia has 22 Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets purchased in the late 1980s, and any maintenance can only be done by an Israeli firm. Those aircrafts were used in several attacks on remote guerrilla camps that debilitated the then-Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The offensives helped push the rebel group into peace talks that resulted in its disarmament in 2016. Although the new purchase plans were announced amid a lack of diplomatic relations with Israel, the last three governments in Colombia already had cited intentions to replace the Kfir jets. The administration of current President Gustavo Petro started reviewing specific offers from countries like France, the United States and Sweden. The Aerospace Force chief commander said that the Kfir planes will continue to operate for now. Once the new contract is finalized, the old planes will be replaced as the new ones arrive. The Swedish ambassador to Colombia, Helena Storm, said that this announcement shows the good bilateral relations between the two countries. Colombia announced in 2024 that it was breaking diplomatic relations with Israel over the Israel-Hamas war, as part of an escalation of tensions between the governments. Petro has described Israel's siege of Gaza as 'genocide.'
Reuters
03-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Colombia plans to buy up to 24 combat aircraft from Saab
BOGOTA, April 3 (Reuters) - Colombia plans to buy 16 to 24 combat aircraft from Sweden's Saab, said on Thursday the commander in charge of the Aerospace Force, Carlos Silva. The officer didn't disclose the purchase plan's value, to be defined in the contract negotiation process. The new fleet of Jas 39 Gripen combat aircraft, will guarantee air superiority and the protection of Colombia's sovereignty and replace the Israeli-made Kfir aircraft purchased in the late 1980s, Silva added.
Reuters
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Colombia to decide which NATO fighter jets to buy within months, minister says
BOGOTA, March 17 (Reuters) - Colombia will decide within months from which NATO country it will purchase fighter jets, new Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said, acknowledging that illegal armed groups have taken advantage of peace efforts to strengthen themselves militarily. Colombia has been looking to replace its fleet of more than 30-year-old Israeli Kfir planes for more than a decade and is considering U.S.-made F-16s, Sweden's Gripen and France's Rafale, Sanchez said in a Sunday interview. "This is an issue of sovereignty. We cannot leave Colombia unprotected in this capacity," said Sanchez, a former air force general who left the military to take up his ministerial post. He would not say how much Colombia will spend on the planes or how many it will buy, but the government said in 2023 it had a $3.65 billion budget to purchase some 16 planes. Armed groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, re-armed members of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Clan del Golfo crime gang have strengthened militarily and expanded territorially amid peace efforts, including negotiations with the government of President Gustavo Petro, Sanchez said. Petro, the country's first leftist president, promised to end a six-decade-long conflict that has killed 450,000 people, but with less than 17 months left in office has yet to ink any accords. Participation in peace talks does not oblige armed groups to stop illegal activities, but Sanchez said continued drug trafficking and illegal mining allowed the groups to increase their fighting power. "They betrayed the Colombian people, they increased their narco-criminal power and it's necessary to fight it," Sanchez said. A potential decision by the United States to cut or suspend military aid would negatively impact operations against "the cancer of drug trafficking," Sanchez said, including efforts to combat cocaine production. Washington for years has been gradually drawing down military aid, but funding from the U.S., including for social programs, still accounts for about $400 million annually. Colombia had the capacity to produce some 2,664 metric tons of cocaine annually in 2023. "If we fracture, we give space to the criminals," Sanchez said, referring to U.S.-Colombia relations and funding for anti-narcotics efforts.
