Frantic efforts behind closed doors led to truce deal

Frantic efforts behind closed doors led to truce deal

• Qatar asked ‘secret cell’ to handle negotiations carefully, says US official • Prisoners expected to be transported through Egypt WASHINGTON: A secret cell headed by the CIA and Mossad chiefs, and multiple contacts between US President Joe Biden and leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt underpinned an “excruciating” five weeks resulting in the truce […]

Dozen killed as Israel hits Gaza’s last major hospital

Dozen killed as Israel hits Gaza’s last major hospital

• Death toll rises above 13,000 • Jordanian field hospital enters besieged enclave • 28 premature babies evacuated GAZA: Israeli tanks surrounded the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza as ground forces fired into the complex, killing at least 12 people, including patients, on Monday. Dozens more were wounded and around 700 people trapped inside the “besieged” […]

Prisoner deal ‘edges closer’ despite fierce fighting in Gaza

Prisoner deal ‘edges closer’ despite fierce fighting in Gaza

• ‘Minor’ challenges to agreement to free some prisoners, says Qatari PM • 31 premature babies evacuated from Al Shifa Hospital • Hamas fighters battle Israeli forces trying to push into Jabalia camp DOHA: Hamas fighters battled Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza’s largest refugee camp on Sunday, but despite the fighting, US, Qatari […]

UN debates reforms to end Security Council’s ‘paralysis’ during crises

UN debates reforms to end Security Council’s ‘paralysis’ during crises

UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly has initiated discussions on Security Council reforms, with Pakistan asserting that the lack of consensus among permanent members hindered the council’s ability to address the Gaza conflict. General Assembly President Dennis Francis also echoed the urgency for reform, amid conflicts raging in Ukraine and Gaza. In the debate that […]

Street combat rages in Gaza as Biden rules out ceasefire

Street combat rages in Gaza as Biden rules out ceasefire

GAZA STRIP: Israeli troops and Hamas were locked in heavy, close-quarters fighting in Gaza City on Thursday, including a 10-hour battle that, Israel claimed, toppled a stronghold of the Palestinian fighters. Hamas fighters, armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and assault rifles, clashed with Israeli soldiers backed by armoured vehicles in the ruins of the besieged […]

China ‘ready’ to improve ties with US

China ‘ready’ to improve ties with US

SINGAPORE: Beijing is ready to hold talks with the United States at “all levels”, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said on Wednesday, ahead of expected summit in San Francisco between leaders Xi Jinping and Joe Biden as they seek to stabilise tense ties by meeting in-person for just the second time in nearly three years. […]

Over 400 evacuated to Egypt from Gaza

Over 400 evacuated to Egypt from Gaza

• As fresh blast hits Jabalia, UN says IDF strikes could be war crimes • 400 Americans are stuck in Gaza • 15 Israeli soldiers killed ISMAILIA: Seventy-six wounded Palestinians and 335 foreigners entered Egypt from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in first such crossing since the Oct 7 Hamas raid that triggered an ongoing […]

Israeli tanks pull back after encountering resistance

Israeli tanks pull back after encountering resistance

GAZA: Israeli forces on Monday attacked Gaza’s main northern city, coming from two sides, as part of a major ground offensive initiated three days earlier. Inside Gaza, the Israeli ground forces fought deadly battles with Hamas fighters. As the Israeli military reported striking over 600 targets with the death toll on the Palestinian side soaring […]

With Israeli boots on the ground, Gaza reels from deadly strikes

With Israeli boots on the ground, Gaza reels from deadly strikes

• Tel Aviv says ‘phase two’ of invasion underway, both ‘above and below ground’ • UN chief warns situation in besieged enclave ‘growing desperate by the hour’ • Biden calls for increased aid; Sullivan says US opposes killing of innocents GAZA STRIP: After days of relentless bombardment from the air, the Israeli army has now […]

Gaza’s voice falls silent as Israel steps up ground assault

Gaza’s voice falls silent as Israel steps up ground assault

• Internet, phone services severed • UN chief warns of ‘avalanche of suffering’ • White House says it now backs ‘humanitarian pause’ to let aid in GAZA: Social media and the internet, the last means of communication the people of the besieged Gaza Strip had with the outside world, was severed on Friday as broadband […]