DEVELOPING | Israeli official says Hamas demand for end to war 'thwarting' truce efforts

Israeli official says Hamas demand for end to war 'thwarting' truce efforts

A top Israeli official said Saturday that Hamas's continued demand for a lasting ceasefire in the war in Gaza was stymying prospects of reaching a truce.

"So far, Hamas has not given up its demand to end the war, thus thwarting the possibility of reaching an agreement," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official rejected reports that Israel had agreed to end the war as part of a deal to free the hostages held by Gaza militants.

The official said suggestions Israel was prepared to allow mediators to provide Hamas with guarantees of an end to the war were also "not accurate".

The official's comments came after Hamas negotiators returned to Egypt on Saturday to give their response to a proposed pause in the nearly seven-month war.

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been waiting for Hamas to respond to a proposal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, according to details released by Britain.

Despite months of shuttle diplomacy between the warring parties, the mediators have been unable to broker a new truce like the week-long ceasefire that saw 105 hostages released last November, the Israelis among them in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.

- AFP 

'Progress' in Gaza truce talks but Israel still set on Rafah ground attack

A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas is in the Egyptian capital for truce and captive-release negotiations, with sources saying that some progress has been made.

However, sticking points remain, including Israel’s insistence on launching a ground invasion into Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.

The Hamas team arrived in Cairo on Saturday to meet mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States regarding a proposal that would halt Israel’s war on Gaza for 40 days and exchange captives for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by the United Kingdom.

Hamas negotiators arrive in Cairo for Gaza truce talks, CIA chief also present

Hamas negotiators arrived in Cairo on Saturday for intensified talks on a possible Gaza truce that would see the return to Israel of some hostages, a Hamas official told Reuters, with the CIA director already present for the indirect diplomacy.

Egypt's state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV channel also confirmed the arrival of the Hamas delegation in Cairo.

"The results today will be different. We have reached an agreement over many points, and a few point remain," one Egyptian security source told Reuters.

A Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation efforts sounded cautious optimism."Things look better this time but whether an agreement is on hand would depend on whether Israel has offered what it takes for that to happen," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

The Hamas delegation arrived from the Palestinian Islamist movement's headquarters in Qatar, which, along with Egypt, has tried to mediate a follow-up to a brief November ceasefire.

Washington - which, like other Western powers and Israel, brands Hamas a terrorist group - has urged it to enter a deal.

The talks have stumbled, however, over Hamas' long-standing demand for a commitment to end the almost seven-month-old offensive by Israel, which insists that after any truce it would resume operations designed to disarm and dismantle the faction.

- Reuters 

US campus protests wane after crackdowns, Biden rebuke

Pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked US campuses for weeks were more muted Friday after a series of clashes with police, mass arrests and a stern White House directive to restore order.

Police in Manhattan cleared an encampment at New York University after sunrise, with video posted to social media by an official showing protesters exiting their tents and dispersing when ordered to do so.T

he scene appeared relatively calm compared to crackdowns at other campuses around the country -- and some worldwide -- where protests over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza have multiplied in recent weeks.

University administrators, who have tried to balance the right to protest and complaints of violence and hate speech, have increasingly called on police to clear out the demonstrators ahead of year-end exams and graduation ceremonies.At the University of Chicago, the school's president said talks with protesters on a compromise had failed and indicated that the university might intervene in an encampment there as a result.

The news came the same day that dozens of American flag-wielding counter-protesters showed up and confronted the school's pro-Palestinian group, but police separated the two sides, local media reported.

More than 2,000 arrests have been made in the past two weeks across the United States, some during violent confrontations with police, giving rise to accusations of use of excessive force.

President Joe Biden, who has faced pressure from all political sides over the conflict in Gaza, gave his first expansive remarks on the protests Thursday, saying that "order must prevail."

- AFP

Hamas 'only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire': Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas was the only holdup to a Gaza ceasefire as the militants prepared to send a delegation back to Cairo on Saturday for talks.

"We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages," Blinken said late Friday.

"The reality in this moment is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas."

Blinken pointed to difficulties in negotiating with Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist group and does not engage with directly and which Israel has vowed to eliminate.

"The leaders of Hamas that we're indirectly engaged with -- through the Qataris, through the Egyptians -- are, of course, living outside of Gaza," Blinken said.

"The ultimate decision-makers are the folks who are actually in Gaza itself with whom none of us have direct contact."Blinken was addressing a dinner at the McCain Institute's Sedona Forum in Arizona two days after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders on his latest visit to the Middle East.

Ahead of his talks with Blinken, Netanyahu vowed to push ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah to root out Hamas regardless of the outcome of negotiations for a temporary ceasefire that would involve the release of hostages.

President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly warned Netanyahu's government against moving on Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians have taken shelter after fleeing the Israeli assault in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Blinken said that Israel, which counts on the United States for military and diplomatic support, has yet to present "a credible plan to genuinely protect the civilians who are in harm's way" in Rafah.

"Absent such a plan, we can't support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what's acceptable," Blinken said.

- AFP

Israeli PM trying to derail Gaza truce deal - Hamas

A top Hamas official accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of trying to derail a proposed Gaza truce and hostage release deal with his threats to keep fighting the Palestinian militant group.

"Netanyahu was the obstructionist of all previous rounds of dialogue... and it is clear that he still is," senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP by telephone.

Foreign mediators have waited for a Hamas response to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, which its chief Ismail Haniyeh has said the group was considering in a "positive spirit".

A major stumbling block has been that, while Hamas has demanded a lasting ceasefire, Netanyahu has vowed to crush its remaining fighters in the far-southern city of Rafah, which is packed with displaced civilians.

-AFP

ICC demands end to threats against court amid Gaza war probe

The prosecutor's office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the "administration of justice" by the world's permanent war crimes court.

The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement on Friday that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials must cease immediately.

While the prosecutor's statement did not mention Israel, it was issued after Israeli and US officials had warned of consequences against the ICC if it issued arrest warrants over Israel's war on Gaza.

"The Office seeks to engage constructively with all stakeholders whenever such dialogue is consistent with its mandate under the Rome Statute to act independently and impartially," Khan's office said.

"That independence and impartiality is undermined, however, when individuals threaten to retaliate against the Court or against Court personnel should the Office, in fulfillment of its mandate, make decisions about investigations or cases falling within its jurisdiction."

It added that the Rome Statute, which outlines the ICC's structure and areas of jurisdiction, prohibits threats against the court and its officials.

Aljazeera

Police clear pro-Gaza sit-in at top Paris university

Police on Friday entered the Sciences Po university in Paris to remove dozens of students staging a pro-Gaza sit-in in the entrance hall, AFP journalists saw, as protests fire political debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

One student, who identified himself as a representative of the Palestine Committee named Hicham, said university authorities had given the group 20 minutes to leave before the forcible evacuation because of "exams to be held from Monday".

"The chief of police deployed law enforcement to evacuate the Sciences Po site... 91 people were removed without incident," the Paris police headquarters said.

Bastien, 22, told AFP he and other protesters had been peacefully brought out in groups of 10 by officers.

But another student, Lucas, working towards a master's degree, said "some were dragged and others gripped by the head or shoulders".

Administrators had closed Sciences Po's main buildings on Friday in response to the sit-in and called for remote classes instead.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's office said such protests would be dealt with using "total rigour", adding that 23 university sites had been "evacuated" on Thursday.

Some students were still at the end of the blocked street after the building was cleared, chanting "we're still here, even if Sciences Po doesn't want us" and "long live the Palestinian people's struggle".

-AFP

'Show solidarity': Pro-Palestinian protesters camp across Australian universities

Hundreds of people protesting Israel's war in Gaza rallied at one of Australia's top universities on Friday demanding it divest from companies with ties to Israel, in a movement inspired by the student occupations sweeping US campuses.

Pro-Palestinian activists set up an encampment last week outside the sandstone main hall at University of Sydney, one of Australia's largest tertiary institutions.

Similar camps have sprung up at universities in Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities.

Unlike in the US, where police have forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges, protest sites in Australia have been peaceful with scant police presence.

On Friday, protesters rallied to demand University of Sydney divest from companies with ties to Israel, echoing calls from students in the US, Canada and France.

'Positive spirit': Hamas will 'soon' send delegation to Egypt to complete ceasefire negotiations

 Hamas says it is considering in a "positive spirit" a Gaza truce deal. At the same time, the UN warned rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory would require efforts not seen since World War II.

After months of stop-start negotiations, Hamas has sounded an optimistic tone about the latest hostages-for-ceasefire proposal, raising hopes an agreement may soon be reached - even as medics in the besieged strip reported fresh strikes on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah on Friday.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group will "soon" send a delegation to Egypt to complete ongoing ceasefire discussions with a deal that "realises the demands of our people".

Israel confirms death of hostage held in Gaza

An Israeli man held hostage in Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attack has been confirmed dead, the government said early Friday.

Dror Or, 49, was killed and his body was held in Gaza since 7 October, said the Be'eri kibbutz where he had lived. It was one of the communities hardest hit in the Hamas attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.

His wife Yonat was killed in the initial assault while two of their three children, Noam and Alma, aged 17 and 13, were abducted and then freed in November as part of a ceasefire and hostages-for- prisoners swap deal between Israel and Hamas.

"We are heartbroken to share that Dror Or who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, had been confirmed as murdered and his body is being held in Gaza," the Israeli government said on X. The two children and their brother Yahli are now orphans, it added.

The government did not say how it learned of the death of Or.

This man's death was announced as mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt are waiting for Hamas's response to a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release.

In late November, during a week-long ceasefire, 105 hostages were released, including 80 Israelis and people from other countries, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held by Israel.

The war started with Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1 170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel estimates that 129 captives seized by militants during their attack remain in Gaza. The military says 35 of them are dead, including Or.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34 596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

- AFP

Israeli strikes injure 8 Syrian soldiers: ministry

Syria's defence ministry on Friday said eight soldiers had been injured in Israeli air strikes near Damascus.

On Thursday night, "the Israeli enemy launched air strikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a site near Damascus... injuring eight soldiers," the ministry said in a statement.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes but has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Israel had struck a government building in the Damascus countryside that has been used by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group since 2014.

The Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the outbreak of a civil war in its northern neighbour in 2011, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters.

But the strikes increased after Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, when the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group launched a deadly attack against Israel.

On April 19, Israeli strikes targeted a Syrian army position in the country's south, Syria's government and the Observatory said, as US media reported Israel had hit Iran.

Overnight on April 13, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel in an unprecedented attack that came in retaliation for a deadly strike -- widely blamed on Israel -- on Tehran's consulate in Damascus.

Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions more since it erupted in March 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

- AFP

Turkey is breaking deals by blocking Israeli trade, minister complains

Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

"This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements," Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X.

Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Turkey had stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing two Turkish officials.

The Turkish presidency, foreign and trade ministries were not immediately available for comment.

- Reuters

US says Israel should prevent attacks on aid convoys

 Israel should prevent further attacks on aid convoys bound for Gaza after Israeli settlers attacked a shipment from Jordan, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday, who also called Hamas actions to divert aid "unacceptable."

-Reuters

Prominent Gaza doctor dies in Israeli prison

A senior Palestinian doctor died in an Israeli prison after more than four months of detention, two Palestinian prisoner associations said on Thursday, blaming Israel for his death.

The associations said in a joint statement that Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility, had been detained by Israeli forces while temporarily working at Al-Awada Hospital in north Gaza.

They called his death an "assassination" and said his body remained in Israeli custody.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that the prison service had declared Bursh dead on 19 April, saying that he had been detained for national security reasons in Ofer prison. The spokesperson did not comment on the cause of death.

-Reuters

Biden says 'order must prevail' on US campuses amid protests

US President Joe Biden insisted on Thursday that "order must prevail" on college campuses after weeks of turmoil, clashes with police and mass arrests involving student protests against Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

Biden, who until now had remained tight-lipped on the student unrest, spoke just hours after hundreds of police moved in to forcibly clear a sprawling encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, tearing down barriers and detaining dozens of protestors.

For weeks, authorities on campuses from New York to California have tried to thread the needle between the right to protest and complaints of violence and hate speech, resulting in hundreds of arrests and chaos as university terms end.

"We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent," Biden, who has faced criticism from all sides of the political spectrum over the demonstrations, said in a televised statement from the White House.

"But neither are we a lawless country. We're a civil society, and order must prevail," he added.

Earlier, UCLA students clad in white helmets linked arms and formed a line facing off against officers, who were detaining protesters and leading them away.

Police used flashbangs to disperse the crowds gathered outside the encampment who chanted "Let them go!" as helicopters hovered overhead.

Officers blocked stairs accessing the site, with students dressed in yellow jackets and serving as medics telling AFP they were being largely prevented from reaching the area.

In another part of the encampment, students carrying umbrellas, helmets and plastic shields squared off against police in mostly tense silence, with sporadic chants of "Free Palestine!" and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!"

-AFP

Hamas studying Gaza truce proposal 'in positive spirit' - Palestinian militant group chief

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Thursday the Palestinian militant group was studying a proposal for a truce in the nearly seven-month war raging in Gaza with a "positive spirit".

In a call to Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, Haniyeh said he "appreciated the role played by Egypt, and stressed the positive spirit of the movement in studying the ceasefire proposal", according to a statement on Hamas's official website.

-AFP

Palestinian security force kills Islamic Jihad gunman in rare internal clash

Palestinian security officers killed a gunman in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a rare intra-Palestinian clash whose circumstances were disputed and which the fighter's faction described as an Israeli-style "assassination".

Palestinian Authority security services spokesperson Talak Dweikat said a force sent to patrol Tulkarm overnight came under fire and shot back, hitting the gunman. He died from his wounds in hospital.

Videos circulated online, and which Reuters was not immediately able to confirm, showed a car being hit by gunfire.

A local armed group, the Tulkarm and Nour Shams Camp Brigades, claimed the dead man, Ahmed Abu al-Foul, as its member with affiliation to the largely militant group Islamic Jihad.

Al-Foul was "treacherously ... targeted in his car" without provocation, the brigades said in a statement. "This crime is just like any assassination by Israeli special forces."

President Mahmoud Abbas' PA wields limited self-rule in the West Bank, and sometimes coordinates security with Israel.

Parts of the territory have drifted into chaos and poverty, with the PA and Israel trading blame, especially since ties have been further strained by Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Hamas, an Islamic Jihad ally which rules the Gaza Strip and has chafed at Abbas' strategy of seeking diplomatic accommodation with Israel, denounced "the attacks by the PA’s security forces on our people and our resistance fighters".

Palestinian security forces and gunmen have exchanged gunfire several times in the last year, but deaths are rare.

- Reuters

34 596 Palestinians killed in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct.7, Gaza health ministry says

At least 34 596 Palestinians have been killed and 77 816 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the health ministry in the enclave said in a statement on Thursday.

- Reuters

Iran slaps sanctions on US, UK over Israel support

Iran announced on Thursday sanctions on several American and British individuals and entities for supporting Israel in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Islamic republic, the regional arch-foe of Israel, unveiled the punitive measures in a statement from its foreign ministry.

Colombia severs ties with Israel for having a government 'that is genocidal'

President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday Colombia will sever diplomatic ties with Israel, whose government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he described as "genocidal" in its war in Gaza.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) diplomatic relations with the state of Israel will be severed... for having a government, for having a president that is genocidal," Petro, a harsh critic of the devastating war against Hamas, told a May Day rally in Bogota.

'Citizens of Israel are entitled to answers' says it state auditor

Israel's state auditor on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the armed forces to cooperate with an official investigation into how Hamas was able to stage the 7 October attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said in the early days of the war that he intended to investigate the events around the attack, the deadliest single day in the country's 75-year history.

In December, he said his office would "leave no stone unturned" as it looks into the "multisystem failures" leading up to, during and after the attack, and that most of his office's audit plans for 2024 would focus on the probe.

"After more than six months of war, the citizens of Israel are entitled to answers regarding all those responsible for the failure - and the State Comptroller is determined to provide them," Englman wrote in letters to Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, according to a Facebook post by his office.

The Prime Minister's Office rejected Englman's accusations and said it was fully cooperating with the Comptroller's office, adding that it had learned about the Comptroller's letter from media reports.

"All requests were answered in full, including every question concerning the prime minister, even though the teams of the Prime Minister's Office have been working around the clock on war issues," the statement from the office said.

Israel's Kan public broadcaster reported that, in his letters, the state comptroller said the Prime Minister's Office and the security cabinet were not fully cooperating with his office, leading to delays in the audit.

The report said the National Security Council had restricted access to documents written up to two years before the outbreak of the war.

- Reuters

34 568 Palestinians killed, more than 77 000 injured in Gaza  

The Gaza Health Ministry says 34 568 Palestinians have been killed and 77 765 injured since Israel's military offensive began after the 7 October Hamas attack.  

Hamas killed 1 200 people and abducting 250 others in its 7 October assault on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.  

- Reuters

UN calls on Israel to prevent 'human-made famine'  

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday there had been incremental progress toward averting "an entirely preventable, human-made famine" in the northern Gaza Strip, but called on Israel to do more.  

The first shipments of aid directly from Jordan to northern Gaza's newly opened Erez crossing left on Tuesday, goods are also arriving via the port of Ashdod, and a new maritime corridor will be ready in about a week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.  

- Reuters

In Israel, Blinken set to push Netanyahu for sustained aid into Gaza  

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday kicked off a series of meetings with Israeli leaders discussing how to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza while at the same time repeatedly urged Palestinian militant Hamas to accept a deal offer that will release hostages and achieve a ceasefire.  

Following visits to Riyadh and Amman earlier this week, the top US diplomat is now in Israel for the final stop of his wider Middle East tour.  

It is Blinken's seventh visit to the region which was plunged into conflict on 7 October when Hamas attacked Israel.  

- Reuters

'Relentless determination': Blinken in Israel to push for peace  

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's top priority in Israel will be to push the Israeli government to take a set of specific steps so that improvements in the humanitarian aid flow into the densely populated enclave.  

"Even as we're working with relentless determination to get the ceasefire that brings the hostages home, we also have to be focused on people in Gaza for suffering in this crossfire of Hamas' making," Blinken said in remarks at the start of his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.  

"Focused on getting them the assistance they need, the food, and medicine, the water or shelter is also very much on our minds," Blinken said.  

Hamas killed 1 200 people and abducting 250 others in its 7 October assault on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.  

In response, Israel has launched a relentless assault on Gaza, killing more than 34 000 Palestinians, local health authorities say, in a bombardment that has reduced the enclave to a wasteland.  

More than one million people face famine after six months of war, the United Nations has said.  

- Reuters

'Now it's on Hamas': Blinken pushes for truce deal as Israel warns of Rafah offensive

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged Hamas to accept a truce in Gaza, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch a military offensive on Rafah "with or without" a deal.

Turkish national killed by Israel cop after stabbing officer in Jerusalem - police 

A Turkish national stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli police officer in annexed east Jerusalem before being shot dead on Tuesday, police said.

Police said a "terrorist armed with a knife arrived in the Old City of Jerusalem, on the Herod's Gate Ascent street, charged at a border police officer and stabbed him with a knife".

It said another officer at the scene "neutralised the terrorist" and the 34-year-old attacker was later pronounced dead.

"One police officer was injured" in the attack, the statement said, adding he had been "evacuated for medical treatment".

Israeli media, citing a security source, said the Turkish assailant had entered Israel from neighbouring Jordan on Monday as a tourist.

Several deadly knife attacks have taken place across Israel and the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza broke out following Hamas' 7 October attack in southern Israel.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1 170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34 535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.

-AFP

Israeli offensive on Rafah would be 'unbearable escalation' - UN chief

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged Israel against invading southern Gaza's Rafah, after the Israeli prime minister said an offensive would go forward regardless of a pending hostage deal with Hamas.

A military assault on Rafah would "be an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee," the secretary-general told reporters.

-AFP

Israeli military says fired on suspects near border with Egypt

The Israeli military said on Tuesday its forces opened fire on a group of suspects in the area of Mount Harif, around half-way down its border with Egypt, wounding a number of them.

It gave no further details.

-Reuters

ICJ rules against emergency measures over German arms exports to Israel

Judges at the International Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled against issuing emergency orders to stop German arms exports to Israel, adding they remained deeply concerned about conditions in Gaza.

But the Court did also not grant a German request to throw out the case, so it can move forward.

-Reuters

Israel will enter Rafah with or without Gaza hostage deal, Netanyahu says

Israel will carry out an operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of whether or not a ceasefire and hostage release deal is reached, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

"The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

- Reuters

ICJ to rule in Germany 'genocide' case over Gaza

 The United Nations' top court will on Tuesday rule on charges by Nicaragua that Germany is breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention by supplying arms to Israel for the Gaza war.

Nicaragua has hauled Germany before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to demand that judges impose emergency measures to stop Berlin from providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.

More than 34 000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since war broke out in October following a cross-border attack by Hamas that left around 1 170 Israelis dead.

The ICJ in The Hague is scheduled to issue an order at 15:00 (1300 GMT).

Nicaragua targeted Germany rather than Israel's main ally, the United States, because Washington did not recognise the ICJ's jurisdiction in the case, Managua's lawyers have said.

They say Israel is in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

- AFP

Biden urges Egypt and Qatar 'to exert all efforts' to secure Gaza ceasefire, hostage deal

US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to "exert all efforts" towards securing the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said.

Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a truce in the Palestinian territory, which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack by Hamas against Israel on 7 October.

Representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Hamas met Monday in Cairo, with the Palestinian Islamist group expected to respond to a proposal for a second truce in Gaza, coupled with a fresh release of hostages.

In nearly identical statements, the White House said Biden spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in separate phone calls and discussed "the deal now on the table."

Yemen's Houthis say they attacked two vessels, two US destroyers

Yemen's Houthis targeted two US destroyers and the vessel CYCLADES in the Red Sea as well as the MSC Orion in the Indian Ocean, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech early on Tuesday.

Houthi forces have staged attacks on shipping lanes for months in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza war.

- Reuters

Columbia protestors refuse to leave

Student protestors at Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted at US colleges, said Monday they would not budge until the school met their demands, defying an ultimatum to disperse or face suspension.

Police arrested around 275 people on four separate campuses across the United States over the weekend, with the White House calling on the demonstrations to remain peaceful.

Authorities at Columbia in New York issued a statement on Monday saying the protestors' encampment must be cleared, and adding that the university would not divest financial holdings linked to Israel -- a key demand of demonstrators.

But student protestors pushed back, vowing to defend their camp on the prestigious institution's main lawn.

"These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34 000 Palestinians," said a statement, read out by a student at a press conference.

- AFP

US found five Israeli military units responsible for gross violations of human rights before current Gaza conflict

The US State Department found five units of the Israeli military responsible for gross violations of human rights in incidents that took place outside of Gaza before conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, the State Department said.

Four of the units have effectively remediated the violations, while Israel has submitted additional information regarding the fifth unit and the US is continuing conversations with the government, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

-Reuters

Israel kills at least 30 Palestinians in Rafah, new Gaza ceasefire talks expected in Cairo

Israeli airstrikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed at least 25 Palestinians and wounded many others, medics said on Monday, as leaders of Hamas arrived in Cairo for a new round of truce talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

In Gaza City, in the north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes struck two houses, killing at least four people and wounding several people, health officials said. The strike on the other house killed two brothers, they added.

The strikes on Rafah, where almost half of Gaza's 2.3 million population have sought refuge from months of Israeli bombardment, unfolded hours before Egypt was expected to host leaders of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to discuss prospects for a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Asked about the overnight airstrikes on Rafah, an Israeli military (IDF) spokesperson said fighter jets had "struck terror targets where terrorists were operating within a civilian area in southern Gaza", declining to give details.

"The IDF will continue to foil terrorist activity and protect Israeli civilians in accordance with international law," the spokesperson said.

-Reuters

US, Egypt 'hopeful' of Gaza truce as envoys meet in Cairo

US top diplomat Antony Blinken said on Monday he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept the latest proposal for a long-sought Gaza truce and hostage release deal as negotiators from the Palestinian group were due in Egypt.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, and a recent flurry of diplomacy appeared to suggest a new push towards halting the fighting.

Talks "are taking place in Cairo today [Monday]", said Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian intelligence services.

It was not clear whether the Hamas delegation had already arrived, but Qatari mediators were also in Cairo according to a source with knowledge of the talks.

A senior Hamas official said on Sunday the Palestinian militant group had no "major issues" with the most recent truce plan.

-AFP

34 488 Palestinians killed and 77 643 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since 7 October - Gaza health ministry

At least 34 488 Palestinians have been killed and 77 643 were injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, a statement by Gaza's health ministry said on Monday.

Some 34 were killed and 68 injured in the last 24 hours, the statement added.

- Reuters

Hamas armed wing says it targeted Israeli military position from south Lebanon

Hamas' al Qassam Brigades said on Monday they had targeted an Israeli military position with a salvo of missiles from south Lebanon, according to a post on their telegram channel.

- Reuters

White House urges 'peaceful' pro-Palestinian campus protests after hundreds arrested

The White House insisted Sunday that pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked US universities in recent weeks must remain peaceful, after police arrested around 275 people on four separate campuses over the weekend.

"We certainly respect the right of peaceful protests," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told ABC's "This Week."

But, he added, "we absolutely condemn the anti-Semitism language that we've heard of late and certainly condemn all the hate speech and the threats of violence out there."

The wave of demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York, but they have since spread rapidly across the country.

US military says it engaged five unmanned drones over Red Sea

The US military said on Sunday it had engaged five unmanned drones over the Red Sea that "presented an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant vessels in the region."

US Central Command did not say in the statement if the drones were destroyed.

- Reuters

At least 13 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah, medical officials say

Israeli air strikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed 13 people and wounded many others, medics said on Monday.

Hamas media outlets put the death toll at 15.

In Gaza City, in the north of the strip, Israeli planes struck two houses, killing and wounding several people, health officials said.

The strikes on Rafah, where over a million people are sheltering from months of Israeli bombardment, came hours before Egypt was expected to host leaders of the Islamist group Hamas to discuss prospects for a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

The war was triggered by an attack by Hamas militants on Israel on 7 October, killing 1 200 and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas, which controls Gaza, in a military operation that has killed more than 34 000 Palestinians, 66 of them in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health authorities. The war has displaced most of the 2.3 million population and laid much of the enclave to waste.

- Reuters

World Central Kitchen to resume Gaza aid after staff deaths in Israeli strike

World Central Kitchen (WCK) said it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, a month after seven workers of the US-based charity were killed in an Israeli air strike.

Prior to halting operations, WCK had distributed more than 43 million meals in Gaza since October, representing by its own accounts 62% of all international NGO aid.

The charity said it had 276 trucks with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing and will also send trucks into Gaza from Jordan.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire," said the charity's chief executive officer Erin Gore.

"We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible."

The 1 April deaths triggered widespread condemnation and demands from Israel's allies, including the US, for an explanation.

Israel said its inquiries had found serious errors and breaches of procedure by its military, dismissing two senior officers and reprimanding senior commanders.

WCK is demanding an independent investigation.

- Reuters

Gaza truce effort builds with Hamas to respond to Israel proposal

Diplomatic efforts intensified on Sunday to reach a long sought-after truce and hostage-release deal in Gaza, as Hamas said it would travel to mediator Egypt to deliver its response to Israel's latest proposal.

The Israeli government has come under intense pressure to reach a ceasefire from its global allies, as well as from protesters within Israel demanding the release of hostages seized by Hamas during their 7 October attack that triggered the war.

A Hamas delegation will arrive in Egypt on Monday to deliver the group's response to Israel's new hostage and truce counterproposal, a senior official of the militant group told AFP.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate a new truce ever since a one-week halt to the fighting in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire - a condition that Israel has rejected.

However the Axios news website, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel's latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the "restoration of sustainable calm" in Gaza after hostages are released.

It is the first time in the nearly seven-month war that Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war, Axios said.

A Hamas source close to the negotiations told AFP that the group "is open to discussing the new proposal positively".

The source added that the group is "keen to reach an agreement that guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (prisoner) exchange and ensuring an end to the siege" in Gaza.

The new hopes of a potential truce came as world leaders and humanitarian groups warned that a looming Israeli invasion of the southernmost city of Rafah would lead to massive civilian causalities.

- AFP

Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 34 454

The health ministry in Gaza said Sunday that at least 34 454 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during nearly seven months of war between Israel and Hamas militants.

The tally includes at least 66 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77 575 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out when Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October.

-AFP

Palestinian President Abbas says only US can stop Israeli assault on Rafah

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said at a conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday that only the United States could stop Israel attacking the border city of Rafah in Gaza, adding he expected an assault in the next days.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on 7 October in which Israel said 1 200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage. More than 34 000 Palestinians have since been killed, according to the Gaza health ministry, and most of the population displaced.

-Reuters

France to make proposals in Lebanon to prevent war between Hezbollah and Israel

 France's foreign minister said that he would make proposals to Lebanese officials on Sunday aimed at easing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel and preventing a war breaking out.

"If I look at the situation today if there was not a war in Gaza, we could be talking about a war in southern Lebanon given the number of strikes and the impact on the area," Stephane Sejourne said after visiting the United Nations peace keeping force in Naqoura, southern Lebanon.

"I will pass messages and make proposals to the authorities here to stabilize this zone and avoid a war."

-Reuters