Israel's prime minister faced growing pressure Saturday after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a proposed agreement to end the fighting in Gaza, with many Israelis urging Benjamin Netanyahu to embrace the deal but far-right allies threatening to collapse his government if he does.
Netanyahu called a permanent cease-fire in Gaza a "nonstarter" until long-standing conditions for ending the war are met, appearing to undermine the proposal that Biden described as an Israeli one.
Full StoryQatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators have called on Israel and Hamas to "finalise" the truce deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, as Israeli forces pounded Rafah in southern Gaza.
Fighting has raged in the besieged Gaza Strip since Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire.
Full StoryCongressional leaders have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver an address a the Capitol, a show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite mounting political divisions over Israel's military assault on Gaza.
The invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, has been in the works for some time. No date for the speech was set.
Full StoryU.S. President Joe Biden overnight said that Israel has offered a new roadmap towards a permanent peace in Gaza, urging Hamas to accept the surprise deal as it was "time for this war to end."
In his first major address outlining a solution to the conflict, Biden said the three-phase proposal starts with a six-week complete ceasefire that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.
Full StoryThe humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip is not getting to civilians in need, the United Nations said Friday, urging Israel to fulfil its legal obligations.
"The aid that is getting in is not getting to the people, and that's a major problem," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA, told a media briefing in Geneva.
Full StoryYemen's Houthi rebels on Friday threatened to escalate attacks on shipping in response to overnight strikes by United States and Britain, which Houthi media said had killed 16 people.
"The American-British aggression will not prevent us from continuing our military operations in support of Palestine," Huthi official Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti said on social media platform X, adding the rebels would "meet escalation with escalation".
Full StorySpain rejects "restrictions" that Israel plans to impose on the activities of its consulate in Jerusalem in response to Madrid's recognition of a Palestinian state, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Friday.
"This morning we sent a note verbale to the Israeli government in which we reject any restriction on the normal activity of the Spanish consulate general in Jerusalem, as its status is guaranteed by international law," he said during an interview with radio Onda Cero.
Full StoryIsraeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz’s centrist party has called for a vote to dissolve the parliament in an attempt to force early elections.
Thursday's announcement deepens a divide in Israel’s leadership more than seven months into a war. But it appears unlikely to threaten the current parliament. Even to put the request on the agenda requires majority consent from parliament, which would need at least five members of the governing coalition to defect and vote in favor.
Full StorySlovenia’s government has endorsed a motion to recognize a Palestinian state and asked the parliament to do the same.
The decision by Slovenia’s government comes just two days after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognized a Palestinian state, a move that was condemned by Israel.
Full StoryDefense experts who have reviewed debris images from an Israeli airstrike that ignited a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians questioned why Israel did not use smaller, more precise weapons when so many civilians were nearby. They said the bombs used were likely U.S.-made.
The strikes, targeting Hamas operatives, killed as many as 45 people sheltering in a temporary displacement camp near the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday and have drawn international condemnation.
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