Latest news with #OperationGideon'sChariots'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel's Netanyahu says 'it appears' Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed
Israel has likely killed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a press conference on Wednesday. Sinwar is the current head of the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He took over from his brother, Yahya Sinwar, in October 2024 after he was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza. "We eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists," Netanyahu said, adding of Hamas targets, "We eliminated the leaders of the murderers Deif, Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and it appears we also eliminated Mohammed Sinwar." MORE: Gaza ceasefire talks have not led anywhere, Qatari PM says Netanyahu spoke of the ongoing military operation in Gaza, saying the strip will be under Israel's control at the end of the war. "Our forces are seizing more and more territory in Gaza. At the end of the move, all areas of the Strip will be under Israeli security control," he said. "I am ready to end the war on clear terms that will ensure Israel's security -- all the hostages returned home, Hamas lays down its weapons, its leadership is overthrown, Gaza is completely demilitarized and the Trump plan is implemented," Netanyahu said. "Anyone who calls on us to stop the war before these goals are achieved is calling on us to leave Hamas in power," he added. On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces announced the start of a new "extensive ground operation" in Gaza called "Operation Gideon's Chariots." The announcement comes as the IDF has intensified airstrikes in Gaza, including a strike targeting Hamas leaders on May 13 near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The IDF said in a statement that "over 670 Hamas terror targets" were struck and "dozens of terrorists" were "eliminated." MORE: IDF announces start of 'Operation Gideon's Chariots' Gaza ground offensive The statement added that IDF troops had "dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites above and below ground, and are currently being deployed in key positions within Gaza." Netanyahu's security cabinet approved the plans for the operation on May 5. It will include a "broad attack that includes the displacement of most of the population of the Gaza Strip," an IDF spokesperson said at the time. Israeli forces plan to remain in Gaza after the operation is complete, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on May 7. Israel's Netanyahu says 'it appears' Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed originally appeared on
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctor details Gaza famine: 'We're not asking for miracles. We're asking for food'
After almost three months of a total aid blockade in Gaza and intensified attacks from Israel, children are suffering the most severe consequences, a local doctor says, from death and injuries to starvation. A senior Palestinian pediatric doctor described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as "unbelievable," witnessing children dying from hunger and preventable injuries, scenes he said he had studied in textbooks, but never imagined seeing in real life. In an interview with ABC News this week, Dr. Ahmmed Al-Farra, head of pediatrics and maternity in Gaza's Nasser Medical Complex, said hospitals are collapsing across the region. No public hospitals are operating in the north of the strip and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, once the largest hospital in southern Gaza, has repeatedly been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. MORE: IDF announces start of 'Operation Gideon's Chariots' Gaza ground offensive Al-Farra said that many patients have died on the operating table due to a lack of essential equipment and medication. "If a patient in North Gaza has chest pain or is injured, he will lose his life," said Al-Farra. "All the hospitals there are gone: Shifa, Kamal Adwan, the Indonesian Hospital. Destroyed or inoperable." He paints a devastating picture of life in Gaza, over 19 months into the war. "We're seeing children with marasmus -- skin and bone," he said. "Some are just 40% of their expected weight. Severe malnutrition, no protein, no vitamins." Marasmus is a form of severe malnutrition characterized by protein-energy deficiency, caused by insufficient calorie intake leading to severe fat and muscle loss, according to the National Institutes of Health. While it can occur in anyone with severe malnutrition, it usually occurs in children. Siwar Ashour, a child in Gaza, was born small, but was a relatively healthy baby six months ago, according to Al-Farra. But today, she is acutely malnourished and fighting for her life in the Nasser Hospital, the doctor said. The facility has been repeatedly bombed by Israel, including attacks on Monday. Israel Defense Forces officials say they are targeting terrorists hiding there. Siwar is bound in plastic, according to Al-Farra. The doctor says her weight loss is so severe that she can no longer regulate her own body temperature. And at 6 months old, she weighs just over 7 pounds. That is less than half the weight of an average American baby girl, according to the Centers for Disease Control. "If she does not take the suitable formula of milk, unfortunately, she will not survive," Al-Farra said. MORE: Gaza ceasefire talks have not led anywhere, Qatari PM says Nearly 500,000 people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger, according to a report released by 17 UN agencies and NGOs. Israeli officials have disputed the agency's figures and say their warnings have been wrong in the past. Detailing the only option that his colleagues have in hospitals to fight the severe malnutrition in children, Al-Farra said that Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, has managed to provide small amounts of emergency baby formula, known as F-75 and F-100, to treat acute malnutrition in babies. The doctor, however, said children's conditions often deteriorate again after being discharged from the hospital. "We give the children a bit of formula -- F-75, F-100 -- from MSF, just in the hospital," he explained. "They get a little better, and then we have to send them home, because we need the bed for the next child. But outside, there's no food, no milk, no protein. They come back a week later, worse than before." Al-Farra also highlighted the widespread hunger afflicting Palestinians of all ages and all walks of life in Gaza, now 11 weeks into Israel's ban on humanitarian aid entering the strip. Even as a doctor with a relatively stable income, he said he has gone without fresh meat, chicken and fish for over three months. "I haven't had any chicken or meat protein in the past three months. ... If this is my reality, imagine what it's like for the people in the streets," he said. Following repeated international warnings on the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israel allowed five trucks of aid to enter the territory on Monday, according to COGAT, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. A top Israeli official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the aid trucks contained flour, baby food, medical supplies and staples for central kitchens in Gaza. Israel says they imposed the humanitarian aid blockade on March 2 to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. The temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ended on March 1. The ceasefire fully collapsed on March 18 when Israel resumed military operations in Gaza. MORE: Gaza crisis 'beyond atrocious' as IDF operations intensify, UN chief says Israel on Sunday agreed to allow a 'basic' amount of food into Gaza, saying it didn't want a 'starvation crisis.' Israel allowed 100 aid trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday, UN OCHA Deputy Spokesperson Jens Laerke said. But no aid has been distributed in Gaza yet, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during his daily briefing from UN Headquarters in New York Tuesday. The amount of aid was described as "a drop in the ocean" by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, UNOCHA. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the decision to allow in aid came after pressure from U.S. lawmakers. MORE: Gaza's entire population faces 'critical' levels of hunger: Report The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorist fighters entered Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages. There are still 58 hostages held captive by Hamas, 20 of whom are presumed to be alive. Hamas is believed to be holding the bodies of four Americans. The war has taken a large toll on Palestinians, with over 53,000 killed since October 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. While statistics do not distinguish between military and non-military casualties, women and children make up tens of thousands of this number, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Highlighting the dire situation of the survivors of the war in Gaza, especially children, Al-Farra pleaded for immediate aid coming into the strip. "We're not asking for miracles. We're asking for food, for medicine," he said. "They are not numbers on paper -- they are human beings created by God. They have the right to survive." ABC News' Lama Hasan, Samy Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller contributed to this report Doctor details Gaza famine: 'We're not asking for miracles. We're asking for food' originally appeared on
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gaza ceasefire talks have not led anywhere, Qatari PM says
The recent Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar have not led anywhere yet, the Qatari prime minister said Tuesday, citing a "fundamental gap" between the two parties, Israel and Hamas. "One party is looking for a partial deal that might or have the possibility to lead to a comprehensive deal and the other party is looking just for a one-off deal and to end the war and to get all the hostages out," Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a press briefing Tuesday. "And we couldn't bridge this fundamental gap with whatever proposals we have provided." Rounds of negotiations have been ongoing in Doha over the past couple of weeks, he said. Hamas claimed Tuesday that Israel has not been serious about the negotiations, saying in a statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is extending his delegation's stay in Doha on a day-to-day basis without engaging in any serious negotiations, and no real talks have taken place since last Saturday." The Israeli Prime Minister's Office claimed Tuesday that Hamas is refusing the American proposal for the return of the hostages. "After approximately one week of intensive contacts in Doha, the senior members of the negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations; the working echelon will -- at present -- remain in Doha," the office said. MORE: IDF announces start of 'Operation Gideon's Chariots' Gaza ground offensive The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Sunday that the Israeli negotiation team is working to "exhaust every chance of a deal," including one that would include "the release of all hostages, the expulsion of Hamas terrorists [from Gaza], and the disarmament of the Strip." Amid the ceasefire talks, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday the start of a new "extensive ground operation" throughout northern and southern Gaza. The escalation has been met with condemnation from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada, who called on Israel in a joint statement on Monday to stop its military operations and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, otherwise they "will take further concrete actions in response." U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy subsequently announced Tuesday that the U.K. has suspended negotiations with Israel on a new free trade agreement and will impose sanctions on West Bank settlers, saying, "Despite our efforts, this Israeli government's egregious actions and rhetoric have continued." MORE: Gaza crisis 'beyond atrocious' as IDF operations intensify, UN chief says Netanyahu had pushed back against the joint statement in a statement on X on Monday, saying that by "asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed," the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are "offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities." "The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarized. No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won't," Netanyahu said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also brushed off the U.K.'s announcements on the free trade talks and sanctions on Tuesday, saying, "External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction." Gaza ceasefire talks have not led anywhere, Qatari PM says originally appeared on
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gaza ceasefire talks have not led anywhere, Qatari PM says
The recent Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar have not led anywhere yet, the Qatari prime minister said Tuesday, citing a "fundamental gap" between the two parties, Israel and Hamas. "One party is looking for a partial deal that might or have the possibility to lead to a comprehensive deal and the other party is looking just for a one-off deal and to end the war and to get all the hostages out," Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a press briefing Tuesday. "And we couldn't bridge this fundamental gap with whatever proposals we have provided." Rounds of negotiations have been ongoing in Doha over the past couple of weeks, he said. Hamas claimed Tuesday that Israel has not been serious about the negotiations, saying in a statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is extending his delegation's stay in Doha on a day-to-day basis without engaging in any serious negotiations, and no real talks have taken place since last Saturday." The Israeli Prime Minister's Office claimed Tuesday that Hamas is refusing the American proposal for the return of the hostages. "After approximately one week of intensive contacts in Doha, the senior members of the negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations; the working echelon will -- at present -- remain in Doha," the office said. MORE: IDF announces start of 'Operation Gideon's Chariots' Gaza ground offensive The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Sunday that the Israeli negotiation team is working to "exhaust every chance of a deal," including one that would include "the release of all hostages, the expulsion of Hamas terrorists [from Gaza], and the disarmament of the Strip." Amid the ceasefire talks, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday the start of a new "extensive ground operation" throughout northern and southern Gaza. The escalation has been met with condemnation from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada, who called on Israel in a joint statement on Monday to stop its military operations and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, otherwise they "will take further concrete actions in response." U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy subsequently announced Tuesday that the U.K. has suspended negotiations with Israel on a new free trade agreement and will impose sanctions on West Bank settlers, saying, "Despite our efforts, this Israeli government's egregious actions and rhetoric have continued." MORE: Gaza crisis 'beyond atrocious' as IDF operations intensify, UN chief says Netanyahu had pushed back against the joint statement in a statement on X on Monday, saying that by "asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed," the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are "offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities." "The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarized. No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won't," Netanyahu said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also brushed off the U.K.'s announcements on the free trade talks and sanctions on Tuesday, saying, "External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction." Gaza ceasefire talks have not led anywhere, Qatari PM says originally appeared on
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Israel cornered? Trump makes big Gaza move after ‘abandoning' Netanyahu
The United States has reportedly unveiled a new ceasefire initiative for Gaza, pressing Israel and Hamas to accept a revised truce and hostage-prisoner swap as Israel's 'Operation Gideon's Chariots' intensifies. White House envoy Steve Witkoff presented both sides with a proposal that offers a 45- to 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, with language signaling the truce could transition into a permanent end to the war. Watch for more
