Tag: Gaza

•Netanyahu urges regional countries to expel Hamas

The foreign ministries of Russia and China have sharply critiqued the U.S.-drafted resolution on Gaza, which passed a United Nations Security Council vote on Monday, arguing the measure is too vague and inconsistent with international law.

The Security Council on Monday voted in favor of a resolution in support of the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan, which provides a framework for stabilizing and rebuilding Gaza after nearly two years of war between Israel and Hamas. The measure passed with no votes against, with only permanent members Russia and China abstaining.

China’s foreign ministry explained its abstention early Tuesday, arguing the U.S. resolution was far too vague and raised more questions than it answered. Specifically, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the resolution fails to reflect principles such as a “two-state solution” or “Palestinians governing Palestine.”

“China will maintain a constructive and responsible approach, continue to support the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, and make relentless efforts for the full, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement.

The resolution does include language referencing an independent Palestinian state. However, it promises that only once Gaza is rebuilt and the Palestinian Authority has reformed itself can a “pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” be opened.

Russia echoed China’s explanation for its abstention on Tuesday, asserting that any plan aiming to achieve lasting peace in the region must address the two-state solution concretely. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s representative at the U.N. Security Council, said this is particularly important as Israel loudly rejects calls for the creation of a Palestinian State.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the weekend, restated his government’s opposition to an independent Palestinian state, despite reportedly agreeing to the wording of the U.S.-backed resolution.

Nebenzia also pointed out some of the security dangers posed by the lack of clarity in the resolution.

 “Neither is there any clarity in the draft regarding the timelines for the transfer of control over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA), nor any certainty vis-à-vis the Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force (ISF), which, judging by the text of the resolution adopted today by the Council, will be able to act absolutely autonomously, without any regard for Ramallah’s position and opinion,” he wrote in a statement.

Nebenzia said the resolution would further separate Gaza from the West Bank and is “reminiscent of colonial practices.”

The abstentions come amid international speculation over the makeup and timeline for an International Stabilization Force. President Trump’s Gaza peace plan creates an ISF made up of European and Arab troops that would have the authority to disarm resistance groups such as Hamas in Gaza and would be tasked with keeping the peace.

It remains unclear which nations will contribute to the ISF and how long such a force would be expected to stay in Gaza.

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Thirteen of the Security Council’s 15 member states voted yes, while China and Russia abstained.

But, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the U.N. Security Council endorsed Trump’s plan.

Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan during a White House visit in late September. However, his latest remarks appear to show that there are differences with the United States on the path forward. Hamas has also objected to parts of the plan.

Diplomats say privately that entrenched positions on both the Israeli and Hamas sides have made it difficult to advance the plan, which lacks specific timelines or enforcement mechanisms. Still, it has received strong international backing.

Netanyahu published a series of posts on X in response to the U.N. vote. In one post, he applauded Trump and in another wrote the Israeli government believes the plan would lead to peace and prosperity because it calls for the “full demilitarisation, disarmament, and deradicalisation of Gaza”.

“Israel extends its hand in peace and prosperity to all of our neighbors” and calls on neighbouring countries to “join us in expelling Hamas and its supporters from the region,” he said.

United States (U.S.) envoys met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday aiming to corral Israel and Hamas to get the Gaza ceasefire plan back on track after an explosion of violence over the weekend that threatened to derail the week-old truce.

Israel and Hamas have both recommitted to the ceasefire plan pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump since Sunday’s flare-up in which a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers prompted an Israeli bombardment killing at least 28 people in Gaza.

However, with even the first stages of the truce shaken by repeated flashes of violence, including yesterday, it is far from clear whether the U.S. will be able to keep pressure on the two sides and maintain momentum to end the conflict.

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The U.S. envoys, Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, were expected to push to shore up the truce and then start talks on the next, more difficult, phase of the 20-step plan during their visit.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance was also due to visit Israel on Tuesday, with Netanyahu saying the pair would discuss regional challenges and opportunities.

High-level U.S. diplomacy in the region, with talks also due later  yesterday with Hamas in Egypt, underscores the importance of cementing the ceasefire to Trump, who last week proclaimed “the historic dawn of a new Middle East”.

Yesterday, Palestinian medics said three more people had been killed by Israeli tank fire near the “yellow line” demarcating Israel’s military pullback inside Gaza from the main populated areas. The Israeli military said forces had fired at militants who crossed that line.

The United States and Egypt’s top diplomats at the weekend reviewed preparations for a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh that will bring the two countries’ presidents together with other leaders to discuss implementing the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are expected to lead the summit today, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday discussed arrangements for the gathering, including for “international participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, as well as preparations for the implementation of the first phase of the (ceasefire) deal”.

Alongside the U.S. and Qatar, Egypt has played a key role in mediating talks that eventually led to the latest ceasefire deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to travel to Egypt on Monday to back the deal, the Elysee Palace said, while Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni are also expected to attend.

Delegations from Hamas and Israel have begun indirect talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh on ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza, Egyptian state-linked media reported.

Al-Qahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, said the delegations “are discussing preparing ground conditions for the release of detainees and prisoners”, in line with a proposal from US President Donald Trump to halt hostilities.

“Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working with both sides to establish a mechanism” for the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, they added.

Behind closed doors and under tight security, negotiators will speak through mediators shuttling back and forth, only weeks after Israel tried to kill Hamas’ lead negotiators in a strike on Qatar.

The Hamas delegation, led by top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who survived the attack in Doha, held a meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials before the talks, according to an Egyptian security source.

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This round of negotiations, launched on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, “may last for several days”, said a Palestinian source close to Hamas’ leadership.

“We expect the negotiations to be difficult and complex, given the occupation’s intentions to continue its war of extermination,” he told AFP.

Trump, whose envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected in Egypt, has urged negotiators to “move fast” to end the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continued  yesterday.

At least seven Palestinians were killed in the latest Israeli air strikes, according to Mahmud Basal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency.

AFP footage showed explosions in the Gaza Strip, with plumes of smoke rising over the skyline, even after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel must stop bombing the territory.

Both Hamas and Israel have responded positively to Trump’s proposal, but reaching an agreement on the details is set to be a herculean task.

The plan envisages the disarmament of Hamas, which the militant group is unlikely to accept.

It also provides for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to redeploy troops “deep inside” the territory while securing the release of hostages.

 yesterday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised Trump’s plan, saying it offered “the right path to lasting peace and stability”.

A Palestinian source close to Hamas said it would halt its military operations in parallel with Israel stopping its bombardment and withdrawing its troops from Gaza City.

Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned if the negotiations failed, then the military would “return to fighting” in Gaza.

Militants seized 251 hostages during their October 7, 2023 attack, 47 of whom are still in Gaza. Of those, the Israeli military says 25 are dead.

According to Trump’s plan, in return for the hostages, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences and more than 1700 detainees from Gaza taken during the war.

Hamas has insisted it should have a say in the territory’s future, though Trump’s roadmap stipulates that it and other factions “not have any role in the governance of Gaza”.

Under the proposal, administration of the territory would be taken up by a technocratic body overseen by a transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

“We hope Trump will pressure Netanyahu and force him to stop the war,” said Ahmad Barbakh, from the Al-Mawasi area.

The Ambassador and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine, Muhannad Hamouri, has described the situation in Gaza as an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.

He warned that the enclave is on the brink of total collapse as a result of the ongoing Israeli military campaign and years of blockade.

Hamouri spoke yesterday as Israel entered the first stages of its planned assault on Gaza City after a clash with Hamas and already, it has a hold on the outskirts of the city, Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin told reporters yesterday.

Israel’s military called up tens of thousands of reservists yesterday in preparation for the assault on Gaza City, as the Jewish government supposedly considered a new proposal for a ceasefire after nearly two years of war.

The call-up signals Israel is pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza’s biggest urban centre despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians.

In an interview, Ambassador Hamouri painted a grim picture of life in Gaza under siege. “Entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed, and the population is suffering from starvation, lack of clean water, fuel and medical supplies,” he said.

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“Hospitals are overwhelmed and operating under extreme conditions, many without electricity. Thousands of families are displaced, living in overcrowded shelters or exposed to the elements, while disease is spreading rapidly due to the collapse of sanitation systems,” the envoy said.

He noted that from the very first day of Israel’s escalation, the Palestinian leadership has been calling for “an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and international protection for civilians.”

Yet, according to him, the world has failed to respond with the urgency the crisis demands.

“The international community has failed to act decisively to stop the atrocities, enforce existing UN resolutions, and hold perpetrators accountable,” he stressed.

“The gap between statements of concern and concrete action remains one of the most critical failures.”

Ambassador Hamouri revealed that over 1.7 million people —nearly 80 percent of Gaza’s population, have been forcibly displaced since the escalation began, most of them surviving in overcrowded shelters or out in the open, with severe shortages of food, water and sanitation. He rejected any attempt to push Palestinians out of Gaza, warning that it would amount to “ethnic cleansing.” At the same time, he urged neighboring countries, in coordination with UN agencies, to provide temporary protection in the event of a humanitarian emergency while guaranteeing the right of return.

On the contentious role of Hamas in the conflict, the envoy argued that the events of October 7 could not be understood outside the wider context of occupation and decades of systematic violations of Palestinian rights. “The suffering of Palestinians is the result of a complex reality shaped by Israeli military action, blockade and occupation which existed long before this escalation,” he explained.

“While we do not condone any action that targets civilians, the disproportionate and indiscriminate response by Israel has been the primary cause of the current humanitarian catastrophe.” He added that the Palestinian leadership has consistently called for the protection of civilians and has engaged with mediators such as Qatar and Egypt to facilitate the release of hostages and detainees.”

Turning to Israeli settlement expansion, Ambassador Hamouri strongly condemned the government’s recent approval of the controversial E1 project and 22 additional settlements in the West Bank. “This is not development, it is annexation by stealth.

“It is a flagrant breach of international law designed to sever the West Bank, erase the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state and entrench a system of dispossession and apartheid. Words of deep concern are no longer enough. The international community must impose immediate political, economic, and legal consequences ,” he said.

He welcomed the growing recognition of Palestine by several countries ahead of the UN General Assembly in September, describing it as a “clear affirmation of our people’s right to self-determination and independence.” Recognition, he said, strengthens Palestine’s diplomatic standing and increases pressure to end the occupation. However, he insisted that it must be followed by “concrete measures to halt Israeli violations, protect our people and ensure that statehood becomes a reality on the ground, not just on paper.”

On legal accountability, Hamouri disclosed that the Palestinian Authority has formally referred multiple cases to the International Criminal Court, citing indiscriminate attacks, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

“We are working closely with human rights organizations and UN agencies to ensure evidence is preserved and that perpetrators are held accountable under international law,” he said.

Laying out the Palestinian leadership’s conditions for a ceasefire, the ambassador stated:  “Our demands are clear and rooted in humanitarian and legal principles: an immediate cessation of all military operations, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and the initiation of a serious political process to end the occupation and ensure Palestinian self-determination.” He acknowledged the ongoing roles of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as crucial mediators, describing them as essential channels for communication.

Ambassador Hamouri’s message was unambiguous: without urgent action, Gaza faces irreversible devastation.

“The international community must act, not just with statements, but with decisive measures to stop the atrocities, lift the blockade, and ensure accountability,” he concluded.

Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests yesterday as thousands of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza aimed to shut down the country with a one-day strike that blocked roads and closed businesses.

Groups representing families of hostages organised the demonstrations as frustration grows in Israel over plans for a new military offensive in some of Gaza’s most populated areas, which many fear could further endanger the remaining hostages. Fifty hostages remain, and 20 of them are believed to still be alive.

“We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages,” protesters chanted in one of the largest and fiercest protests in 22 months of war. Even some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs now call for a deal to end the fighting.

Protesters gathered at dozens of places, including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people.

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“The only way to bring (hostages) back is through a deal, all at once, without games,” former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv. Her boyfriend Ariel Cunio is still being held by Hamas.

An end to the conflict does not seem near. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing competing pressures including the potential for mutiny within his coalition.

“Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’ position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,” Netanyahu said, referencing the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and sparked the war.

The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages earlier this year, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called the demonstrations “a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas’ hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.”

The new offensive would require the call-up of thousands of reservists, another concern for many Israelis.

• ’238 reporters murdered by Israeli forces so far ’

The death of the prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday, has prompted condemnation from around the world, as hundreds of mourners carried their bodies through the streets of Gaza City.

Sharif, one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable faces in Gaza, was killed while inside a tent for journalists outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night.

Seven people were killed in the attack, including the Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and the camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, according to the Qatar-based broadcaster.

According to Gaza’s government media office, 238 journalists have been killed by Israel since the war started. But, CPJ said at least 186 journalists had been killed in the Gaza conflict. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists.

In a report released this year, the Watson School of International and Public Affairs’ costs of war project said more journalists had been killed in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam war, the wars in Yugoslavia and the US war in Afghanistan combined.

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Yesterday, the Guardian visited the site where the journalists were killed. Wadi Abu al-Saud, a Palestinian journalist who was near the tent when the Israeli strike occurred on Sunday, said the attack happened at 11.22pm, just after he had finished filming his latest news bulletin.

“I entered the tent opposite theirs, raised my phone to make a call, and then the explosion occurred, Saud said. “A piece of shrapnel hit my phone. I looked back and saw people burning in flames. I tried to extinguish them. Anas and the others had died instantly from the strike.”

In two videos of the aftermath of the strike, Saud can be seen carrying the bodies of those killed. “From now on, I will not continue the coverage,” he said. “I will return to my life as a citizen. The truth has died and the coverage has ended.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) admitted carrying out the attack, claiming Sharif was the leader of a Hamas cell responsible for rocket attacks against Israel – an allegation that Al Jazeera and Sharif had previously dismissed as baseless.

It was the first time during the war that Israel’s military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike.

Pro-Israel advocates on social media hailed the killing of Sharif and posted photos handed out by the IDF of photos the journalist took with the former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, taken before Hamas’s attack on 7 October.

Sara Qudah, the Middle East and north Africa director at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said: “Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom.”

In July, Sharif told CPJ that he lived with the “feeling that I could be bombed and martyred at any moment”.

Reporters Without Borders condemned the “acknowledged murder by the Israeli army” of Sharif in Gaza and called on the international community to intervene.

Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said: “We are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza. Reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law and journalists must be able to report independently without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely.”

The UN human rights office condemned the targeting of the journalists’ tent, saying it was “in grave breach of international humanitarian law”.

Al Jazeera said the attack was “a desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza” and called Sharif “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists”.

People gathered at Sheikh Radwan cemetery in the heart of the Gaza Strip to mourn the journalists, whose bodies lay wrapped in white sheets at al-Shifa hospital before their burial. Friends, colleagues and relatives embraced and consoled one another.

The area where the attack took place was crowded with media workers yesterday, some speaking to cameras or mobile phones, others taking photos.

Islam al-Za’anoun, a news correspondent for Palestine TV and several Arab channels who participated in the funeral, said Sunday’s attack was “a turning point in the world of journalism”.

She said: “Despite all the threats he received and the Israeli media’s incitement against him, al-Sharif continued reporting. Now one question haunts me: Who will be next on the list? Will it be me?”

Bilal Abu Khalifa, a presenter at Al Jazeera, said he had met Sharif four days ago. “He told me he was in danger,” Abu Khalifa said. “I asked him not to go out or appear publicly too often. He gave me a very simple answer: Bilal, I will not leave Gaza except to the sky! I will not leave Gaza even if I am killed. I know I am on the assassination list, but I will continue to expose the crimes of the Israeli army against my people and show the world, and everyone who stands by them, the truth.”

In a final message, which Al Jazeera said had been written on 6 April and which was posted to Sharif’s X account after his death, the reporter said he had “lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.”

He continued: “Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.”