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Hamas warns of hostage risk amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza. Escalating conflict follows October attack, leading to rising civilian casualties.

Hamas Warns Israel Amid Intensifying Conflicts

Amid rising tensions, Hamas threatens hostages' lives if Israel continues air strikes on Gaza, following their October attack with significant casualties reported.

Hamas warns of hostage risk amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza

Hamas threatens hostages' lives if Israel pursues military offensives. Escalating air strikes disrupt fragile peace, raising civilian casualties.

Palestinian operator group Hamas warned on Wednesday that hostages may be killed if Israel attempts to retrieve them by force and air strikes continue in the Gaza Strip.
The group said in a statement that it was "doing everything possible to keep the occupation's captives alive, but the random Zionist (Israeli) bombardment is endangering their lives".
"Every time the occupation attempts to retrieve its captives by force, it ends up bringing them back in coffins," it said.
Israel restarted intense air strikes across the densely populated Gaza Strip last week followed by ground operations, shattering the relative calm afforded by a January ceasefire with Hamas.
Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza, at least 830 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The war was sparked by the operator group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 50,183 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have resulted in significant casualties, complicating ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas amid ongoing hostilities.

Massive Airstrikes in Gaza: Hundreds Dead

The latest Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed over 400 people, intensifying the conflict as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas face significant challenges.

Massive Israeli airstrikes in Gaza leave hundreds dead

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza result in over 400 deaths, reviving tensions as ceasefire discussions stall amid conflicting demands from Israel and Hamas.

At least 413 individuals, predominantly children, women, and the elderly, were killed in Gaza on Tuesday following extensive Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas positions.
This is the deadliest attack in the region since the ceasefire initiated on January 19.
The strikes, conducted during the holy month of Ramadan, also left around 150 people injured, as per Gaza's civil defense agency. Explosions rocked northern Gaza, Gaza City, and central and southern areas, including Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah.
Among the deceased is Mahmud Abu Watfa, a senior Hamas official overseeing police and internal security in Gaza City.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on the platform X that they were executing comprehensive operations against "terror targets" associated with Hamas, following directives from the political leadership.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office justified the strikes, attributing them to Hamas&rsquo; persistent refusal to release hostages and their rejection of proposals mediated by U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Consequently, schools in regions neighboring Gaza have been closed as a precaution.
"The IDF is engaging targets of Hamas terrorists throughout Gaza to achieve the war objectives set by our political leaders, including the release of all hostages," stated an official post by the IDF on X. The statement indicated that Israel would escalate military actions against Hamas.
Hamas criticized Netanyahu's decision, claiming it endangers the lives of hostages, using the ongoing conflict to divert attention from internal issues.
A Hamas official asserted, "Netanyahu's decision is effectively a death sentence for the hostages."
In a subsequent statement, Hamas accused Netanyahu of violating the ceasefire agreement, endangering prisoners to an uncertain outcome.
The White House confirmed that Israel had consulted the Trump administration prior to the attacks.
Ceasefire talks face impasse
Negotiations for a truce have hit a deadlock, with Israel advocating for an extension of the first phase of a proposed three-stage ceasefire, while Hamas insists on proceeding to the second phase, scheduled for March 2. Israel's proposal conditions include the complete demilitarization of Gaza and the removal of Hamas from power&mdash;a stance they have maintained since 2007.
Hamas recently proposed releasing American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander along with four hostage bodies, in exchange for initiating second-phase talks. Israel countered by accusing Hamas of manipulating the families of hostages.
During the initial ceasefire phase, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages, including five bodies, along with five Thai nationals, in exchange for approximately 1,800 Palestinian prisoners. However, about 59 hostages remain captive.
The only previous truce in the ongoing conflict occurred in November 2023, lasting one week, during which hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
The conflict, originating from Hamas's cross-border assault into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of 251 hostages. The ensuing Israeli military response has claimed over 48,000 Palestinian lives and left more than 112,000 injured.

The UN accuses Israel of genocidal actions in Gaza, targeting healthcare services. This report highlights serious human rights violations needing global attention.

UN Alleges Genocidal Acts by Israel in Gaza

The UN accuses Israel of committing genocidal acts in Gaza by targeting reproductive healthcare facilities, prompting international concern over potential war crimes.

UN accuses Israel of genocidal acts in Gaza's healthcare destruction

The UN accuses Israel of genocidal actions in Gaza, focusing on healthcare facility destruction and systematic reproductive capacity reduction.

A United Nations investigation concluded Thursday that Israel carried out "genocidal" acts in Gaza through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities.
The UN Commission of Inquiry said Israel had "intentionally attacked and destroyed" the Palestinian territory's main fertility centre, and had simultaneously imposed a siege and blocked aid including medication for ensuring safe pregnancies, deliveries and neonatal care.
"Israel categorically rejects the unfounded allegations," its mission in Geneva said in a statement.
The commission found that Israeli authorities "have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare", it said in a statement.
It said this amounted to "two categories of genocidal acts" during Israel's offensive in Gaza, launched after the attacks by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The United Nations' genocide convention defines that crime as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
Of its five categories, the inquiry said the two implicating Israel were "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction" and "imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group".
"These violations have not only caused severe immediate physical and mental harm and suffering to women and girls, but irreversible long-term effects on the mental health and reproductive and fertility prospects of Palestinians as a group," the commission's chair Navi Pillay said in a statement.
The three-person Independent International Commission of Inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 to investigate alleged international law violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Pillay, a former UN rights chief, served as a judge on the International Criminal Court and presided over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Israel accused the commission of advancing a "predetermined and biased political agenda... in a shameless attempt to incriminate the Israel Defence Forces".
Destruction of IVF clinic The report said maternity hospitals and wards had been systematically destroyed in Gaza, along with the Al-Basma IVF Centre, the territory's main in-vitro fertility clinic.
It said Al-Basma was shelled in December 2023, reportedly destroying around 4,000 embryos at a clinic that served 2,000 to 3,000 patients a month.
The commission found that the Israeli Security Forces intentionally attacked and destroyed the clinic, including all the reproductive material stored for the future conception of Palestinians.
The commission found no credible evidence that the building was used for military purposes.
It concluded that the destruction "was a measure intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza, which is a genocidal act".
Furthermore, the report said the wider harm to pregnant, lactating and new mothers in Gaza was on an "unprecedented scale", with an irreversible impact on the reproductive prospects of Gazans.
Such underlying acts "amount to crimes against humanity" and deliberately trying to destroy the Palestinians as a group, the commission concluded.
'Extermination' The report came after the commission conducted public hearings in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday, hearing from victims and witnesses of sexual violence.
It concluded that Israel had targeted civilian women and girls directly, "acts that constitute the crime against humanity of murder and the war crime of wilful killing".
Women and girls have also died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth due to the conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities impacting access to reproductive health care, "acts that amount to the crime against humanity of extermination", it added.
The commission added that forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, as well as sexual assault, comprise part of the Israeli Security Forces' "standard operating procedures" toward Palestinians.

However, Netanyahu appeared to have a differing interpretation, dismissing the intelligence warnings by asserting that Hamas was "deterred."

Shin Bet Warned of Hamas Threats to Israel

Shin Bet warned Israel of Hamas threats months before October attack

However, Netanyahu appeared to have a differing interpretation, dismissing the intelligence warnings by asserting that Hamas was "deterred."

Hamas's attack on Israeli territories near the Gaza Strip on October 7 was not without warning, according to Israel's internal agency, Shin Bet, which disclosed that it had alerted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the potential threat at least five months prior.
The agency reported that despite recognizing the militant group's intentions, it did not correctly gauge the scale, timing, or location of the eventual assault, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 Israelis.
Ronen Bar, Shin Bet's chief and head of the General Security Service (GSS), reportedly cautioned Netanyahu, describing Hamas as a "challenge at its doorstep" and advised Israel to prepare for a preemptive response, as detailed by Haaretz.
However, Netanyahu appeared to have a differing interpretation, dismissing the intelligence warnings by asserting that Hamas was "deterred."
The Guardian's coverage of an eight-page summary of the agency's report suggests that Israel's "policy of quiet" toward Hamas contributed to the deadly October event.
The document criticizes Netanyahu's acceptance of Qatari financial support to Gaza, which allegedly aimed to keep Palestinians divided by empowering Hamas over the Palestinian Authority.
In response to the report, the Israeli government criticized Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, arguing that the agency's findings did not accurately reflect the severity of its shortcomings.
A statement from Netanyahu's circle accused Bar of a substantial failure to address the Hamas threat, further claiming that Shin Bet had believed Hamas preferred to maintain a low profile.
The government argued that Bar had not only recommended civilian concessions but also thought Hamas was seeking stability with economic incentives, as mentioned in an October 3 document.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Hamas, urging the release of hostages and return of those killed.
Posting on his Truth Social platform after meeting with freed hostages, Trump demanded immediate action, threatening further destruction otherwise.
The warning followed Israel's decision to stop the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza.
Although not all details were clear, it was understood that aid supplies had been disrupted.
Tensions lingered as the first phase of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire concluded, with Israel's prime minister's office threatening "additional consequences" should Hamas reject the US proposal for extending the ceasefire.

Previously director of the defence ministry, Zamir will replace outgoing chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halev, who resigned admitting he failed to fulfil his mandate.

Eyal Zamir: New Israeli Armed Forces Chief

Eyal Zamir: New Armed Forces Chief of Israel

Previously director of the defence ministry, Zamir will replace outgoing chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halev, who resigned admitting he failed to fulfil his mandate.

Former tank commander Eyal Zamir will on Wednesday become Israel's new armed forces chief, inheriting the task at a crucial time for the military after it acknowledged its "complete failure" to prevent Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
Previously director of the defence ministry, Zamir will replace outgoing chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halev, who resigned admitting he failed to fulfil his mandate.
Zamir, 59, is being sworn in at a sensitive time in Israel's war with Hamas, with the ceasefire that took effect on January 19 hanging in the balance.
Announcing his appointment last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had high hopes that Zamir would help achieve Israel's goal of "absolute victory" against Hamas.
Zamir will also take over operations in the occupied West Bank, where the military has deployed tanks in recent weeks for the first time in 20 years.
His appointment also comes at a moment of high tension for Israel with its arch-foe Iran.
Zamir wrote in a 2022 policy paper for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that Israel needed to adopt a tougher approach in order to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Pushing for greater cooperation with the United States against what he called the "Iran axis", Zamir advocated "offensive action" in order to guarantee success.
His position on Iran mirrors that of Netanyahu, who recently said that Israel plans to "finish the job against Iran's terror axis".
Zamir, who led key operations during the second Palestinian intifada or uprising, served as Netanyahu's military secretary from 2012 to 2015.
He is the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel Defence and Security Forum .
In contrast to Halevi, who avoided the spotlight, Zamir comes across as a powerful figure.
At a defence ministry event a day after his appointment, Zamir, a father of three, was quoted as saying that 2025 would be "a year of continued fighting".
"The war has demonstrated that we must be self-reliant," he said.
As head of the defence ministry, Zamir is credited with some of Israel's biggest and most significant defence procurements.
"He understands very well what big wars are all about and how to fight them," said Amir Avivi, a former Israeli general who now runs a network for former security officials.
'Strict'
Zamir cuts a powerful frame, his burly build sending a clear message that he means business.
Avivi, who has known Zamir for more than 20 years and spent a year with him at the Israeli College for National Security, described him as being "mission-oriented", "detail-oriented" and "strict".
He said Zamir has a "deep understanding" of the Gaza front and even authored "a very detailed plan to conquer all of Gaza" while serving as head of Southern Command from 2015 to 2018.
Saying he had spoken with Zamir since his appointment, Avivi added: "I think he has a very clear understanding that he was chosen for one thing -- to bring total victory to Israel on all fronts."
Jonathan Conricus, a former Israeli army spokesman who served with Zamir, also said the incoming chief would have to "navigate strategic challenges of the most sensitive nature", including restoring public trust.
Born in Israel's southernmost city Eilat, Zamir, whose paternal grandfather immigrated from Yemen and whose mother's family arrived from Syria, joined the military in 1984.
Unlike previous chiefs of staff, who served in the distinguished paratroopers' unit or in the Golani infantry brigade, Zamir began his career in the Armoured Corps.
He served through the first and second intifadas holding senior combat and command roles.
In 2002, he led a brigade that captured the refugee camp adjacent to the West Bank city of Jenin, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy.
The army laid siege to the camp for more than a month amid fierce fighting that saw hundreds of homes levelled, and 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers killed.
Zamir was later appointed head of the army's southern command, where he led efforts to cut off Hamas tunnels.
From 2018 to 2021, he served as deputy chief of staff under Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, tasked with implementing the military's multi-year plan.

Israel has warned it will resume military operations in Gaza if hostages are not released by Saturday. Hamas has postponed the next hostage exchange, accusing Israel of violating the truce agreement.

Israel threatens to resume 'intense fighting' in Gaza if hostages not released by Saturday

Israel has warned it will resume military operations in Gaza if hostages are not released by Saturday. Hamas has postponed the next hostage exchange, accusing Israel of violating the truce agreement.

Israel threatened Tuesday to resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.
Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.
But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was "committed to the ceasefire".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated".
His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that "hell" would break loose if Hamas failed to release "all" Israeli hostages by Saturday.
The president proposed taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million residents.
"If all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday 12 o'clock... I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out," Trump said.
He reaffirmed his deadline while hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday.
King Abdullah said on social media he "reiterated Jordan's steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians", adding it was "the unified Arab position".
Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump's remark "further complicates matters".
"Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties," he told AFP.
Egypt, a US ally which borders Gaza, said Tuesday it plans to "present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction" of the Palestinian territory which ensures residents remain on their land.
 - 'Gates of hell' -
Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and "avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza".
Yemen's Huthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have attacked Israel throughout the war in support of the Palestinians, said they were "ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza".
Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to "open the gates of hell" if Israel doesn't get back "all the hostages... by Saturday".
The far-right politician demanded the "full occupation of the Gaza Strip" and an end to all humanitarian aid.
The Israeli military said it has reinforced its troops, while hostage families rallied outside Netanyahu's office in support of the ceasefire.
"There is a deal. Go for it!" said Zahiro, whose uncle Avraham Munder died in captivity.
In Gaza, resident Adnan Qassem was praying "the ceasefire holds".
"The ruling faction in Israel wants war, and I believe there is also a faction within Hamas that wants war," said the 60-year-old from Deir el-Balah.
 - 'Humanitarian catastrophe' -
Trump's latest threat came hours after Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the hostage release scheduled for Saturday was postponed.
It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans at the weekend.
But the group said "the door remains open" for the release to go ahead "once the occupation complies".
The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,219 people in the territory, figures the UN considers reliable.
A UN report issued on Tuesday said that more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the devastated territory.

US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for investigating alleged war crimes by American and Israeli officials. The move follows ICC arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Donald Trump sanctions ICC for 'illegitimate' Israel, US probes

US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for investigating alleged war crimes by American and Israeli officials. The move follows ICC arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on the International Criminal Court Thursday for "illegitimate and baseless" investigations targeting America and its ally Israel, the White House said.
Trump signed an executive order saying the court in The Hague had "abused its power" by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.
He ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's investigations.
The names of the individuals were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Trump had targeted the court's prosecutor.
Trump's order said the tribunal had engaged in "llegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel," referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.
Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.
There was no immediate reaction from the ICC.
But the Netherlands, the court's host country, said it "regrets" Trump's sanctions order.
"The court's work is essential in the fight against impunity," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on X.
The sanctions are a show of support after Netanyahu's visit to the White House, during which Trump unveiled a plan for the United States to "take over" Gaza and move Palestinians to other Middle Eastern countries.
The UN and legal experts have said Trump's plan would be illegal under international law. Forcible displacement is also a crime under the ICC's governing Rome Statute.
 - 'Criminal responsibility' -
Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas' military chief Mohammed Deif -- whom Israel says is dead.
The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare during the Gaza war, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
Netanyahu has acused the court of anti-Semitism.
During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC's then-prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials and staff in 2020.
Describing it as a "kangaroo court," his then-administration made the move after Gambian-born Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan.
While his order at the time did not name Israel, Trump administration officials said they were also angered by Bensouda's opening of a probe into the situation in the Palestinian territories in 2019.
President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions soon after taking office in 2021.
Prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the United States from the Afghan investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.
Biden strongly condemned the "outrageous" warrant against Netanyahu in November.
The US House passed a bill last month to sanction the ICC, but Senate Democrats blocked it last week, saying the bill could backfire on US allies and firms.
But Democrats have also expressed anger at the sanctions on Netanyahu.

Israel's Defence Minister orders military to prepare for voluntary relocation of Palestinians from Gaza. The proposal has sparked strong opposition from Palestinian leaders and international bodies.

Israel orders army to plan to let Palestinians leave Gaza

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Israel's Defence Minister orders military to prepare for voluntary relocation of Palestinians from Gaza. The proposal has sparked strong opposition from Palestinian leaders and international bodies.
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Israel's defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for "voluntary" departures from the Gaza Strip, after US President Donald Trump proposed moving Palestinians out of the territory.
The idea sparked uproar from leaders in the Middle East and beyond. On Wednesday, the Trump administration appeared to walk back some of the suggestions.
Hours later, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to formulate a plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza, which has been ravaged by more than a year of war.
"I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents," Katz said, adding that they could go "to any country willing to accept them".
"The plan will include exit options through land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air," he added, branding Trump's plan as "bold".
Trump announced his proposal to audible gasps on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit him since his inauguration.
The United Nations warned that any forced displacement of Palestinians would be "tantamount to ethnic cleansing".
Trump insisted "everybody loves" the plan, saying it would involve the United States taking over Gaza, though he offered few details on how more than two million Palestinians would be removed.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it," he said.
His administration later appeared to backtrack, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying any transfer of Gazans would be temporary, while the White House denied any commitment to sending US troops.
 - 'Greatest friend' -
Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel's "greatest friend" and, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, called the proposal "remarkable".
"I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone."
He suggested Palestinians would not necessarily leave permanently.
"They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back, but you have to rebuild Gaza."
Katz said Trump's plan "could create broad opportunities for Gaza residents who wish to leave, help them integrate optimally in host countries, and also facilitate the advancement of reconstruction programs for a demilitarised, threat-free Gaza".
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich -- who has repeatedly expressed support for Trump's proposal to relocate Gazans, and who vowed Wednesday to "definitively bury" the idea of a Palestinian state -- said he welcomed Katz's move.
Much of the Gaza Strip has been levelled by the war sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country's history, but Palestinians residing in the coastal territory have vowed not to leave.
For them, any attempt to push them out of Gaza recalls the "Nakba", or "catastrophe" -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.
"They can do whatever they want, but we will remain steadfast in our homeland," said 41-year-old Gazan Ahmed Halasa.
Israelis in Jerusalem largely welcomed Trump's proposal, though some doubted it could be carried out.
"I really like what he said, but in my wildest dreams... it's hard for me to believe it will happen, but who knows," said 65-year-old Refael.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted Palestinians to only be "temporarily relocated" out of Gaza.
"It's not a liveable place for any human being," she said.
Trump, who also suggested he might visit Gaza, appeared to imply it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.
 - 'Serious violation' -
Even before Tuesday's announcements, Trump had suggested residents of Gaza should move to Egypt and Jordan, both of which have flatly rejected any resettlement of Palestinians on their territory.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal, calling it a "serious violation" of international law and insisting that "legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised "the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people... to simply live as human beings in their own land".
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when asked about Trump's plan, said: "Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing."
Hamas, which took sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it "racist" and "aggressive".
Israel's military offensive in response to Hamas's attack has left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, hospitals and most civil infrastructure.
Human Rights Watch said the destruction of Gaza "reflects a calculated Israeli policy to make parts of the strip unliveable".
Trump's plan "would move the US from being complicit in war crimes to direct perpetration of atrocities", said Lama Fakih, an HRW regional director.
In a bid to address the dire humanitarian situation, aid has been rushed into the territory since a fragile ceasefire took hold on January 19.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that more than 10,000 aid trucks had crossed into Gaza since the truce went into effect, calling it "a massive surge".

US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over Gaza and resettle its population faces widespread rejection from Palestinians, Middle East leaders, and international governments.

Trump bid to take over Gaza, relocate Palestinians faces backlash

US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over Gaza and resettle its population faces widespread rejection from Palestinians, Middle East leaders, and international governments.

US President Donald Trump's shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people faced a resounding rejection from Palestinians, Middle East leaders and governments around the world on Wednesday.
Trump made his announcement to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.
In a proposal that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-battered enclave "unbelievable" by removing unexploded bombs and rubble, and economically redeveloping it.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it," he said.
He said there was support from the "highest leadership" in the Middle East for his idea, but hours later, the leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Turkey, China, Britain, France and Germany hit back.
Netanyahu, however, welcomed the idea, saying it could "change history" and was worth "paying attention to".
Suggesting "long-term ownership" by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it "the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent."
Hamas, which seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it "racist".
The group said the proposal to "occupy" the territory was "aggressive to our people and cause, won't serve stability in the region and will only put oil on the fire".
Much of Gaza was levelled in a 15-month war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, and Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing a ceasefire agreement that took effect last month.
 - 'Miserable existence' -
While Netanyahu's visit to the White House was billed to focus on a second phase of the truce, it quickly turned into the revelation of a proposal that would, if implemented, completely transform the Middle East.
Trump, who also floated travelling to Gaza, appeared to suggest it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.
"It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have... lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there," he said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal, saying that "legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable" and that it would constitute a "serious violation" of international law.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said that deporting people from occupied territory was "strictly prohibited" under international law.
It is not the first time that Trump has suggested Palestinians should move from Gaza. In recent days, he has cited Egypt and Jordan as possible destinations, but people from the territory have said they want to stay.
"We create dignity because we are the dignity here, and we say in short to Trump and Netanyahu, Palestine is not for sale," 24-year-old Gazan Ahmed al-Minawi said.
For Palestinians, any attempts to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba", or catastrophe -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.
Israelis in Jerusalem welcomed Trump's proposal, though some did not believe it could be achieved.
"I really like what he said, but in my wildest dreams (I doubt) if it happens, I don't believe it, it's hard for me to believe it will happen, but who knows, God knows," said Refael, a 65-year-old massage therapist.
Trump was vague on the details, but hinted that it could require US boots on the ground in one of the most volatile places on earth "if necessary".
Egypt and Jordan have rejected any resettlement from Gaza, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty calling on Wednesday for a swift reconstruction "without the Palestinians leaving".
 - 'Winning the war' -
In Washington, Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel's "greatest friend" and praised his "willingness to think outside the box".
The Israeli premier would not rule out a return to hostilities with Hamas, or with its other foes in the region including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran.
"We will end the war by winning the war," Netanyahu said, while vowing to secure the return of all hostages held in Gaza.
He voiced confidence that a deal with regional rival Saudi Arabia to normalise relations was "going to happen".
But Saudi Arabia said it would not formalise ties with Israel without a Palestinian state, while rejecting any "attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land".
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also lashed out, saying that relocating Palestinians was something "neither we nor the region can accept".
"They must be allowed home," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. "They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Gaza "belongs to the Palestinians", while Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: "We are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza."
The Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire sees 90 Palestinian prisoners released and three Israeli hostages reunited with their families. 

Israeli hostages, Palestinian detainees freed on first Gaza truce exchange

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire sees 90 Palestinian prisoners released and three Israeli hostages reunited with their families.&nbsp;

Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Monday after Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages, completing the first exchange under a long-awaited truce aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in Gaza.
The three hostages released Sunday, all women, were reunited with their families and taken to hospital in central Israel where a doctor said they were in stable condition.
Hours later in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian prisoners released by Israel left Ofer prison on buses at around 1:00 am (2300 GMT Sunday), with jubilant crowds celebrating their arrival in the nearby town of Beitunia.
As the ceasefire took effect on Sunday morning, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.
In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, heading to an apocalyptic landscape piled with rubble and destroyed buildings.
"We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it's our home," said Rana Mohsen, 43, back in Jabalia.
The initial 42-day truce was brokered by Qatari, US and Egyptian mediators.
It is meant to enable a surge of sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as more Israeli hostages are released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody, Israeli forces leave some areas and the parties negotiate the terms of a permanent ceasefire.
 - Reunited -
The three Israeli ex-hostages, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, were taken back to Israel by security forces after Hamas fighters handed them over to the Red Cross in a bustling square in Gaza City, surrounded by a sea of people, including gunmen.
"After 471 days Emily is finally home," said her mother Mandy Damari, but "for too many other families the impossible wait continues".
Steinbrecher's family said in a statement that "our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today".
In central Tel Aviv, there was elation among the crowd who had waited for hours for the news of their release.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group hailed their return as "a beacon of light", while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had emerged "from darkness".
During this initial truce, 33 Israeli hostages, 31 of whom were taken by militants during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, are due to be returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.
Of those, more than 230 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis are slated for deportation, according to a list made public by Israeli authorities. Two Hamas officials said the prisoners would be deported mainly to Qatar or Turkey.
The Israel Prison Service confirmed the release of 90 prisoners early Monday.
In Beitunia, near Ofer prison, crowds cheered and chanted as buses carrying the freed inmates arrived, with some climbing atop and unfurling a Hamas flag. Others set off fireworks.
"All the prisoners being released today feel like family to us. They are part of us, even if they're not blood relatives," Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, told AFP.
The next hostage-prisoner swap would take place on Saturday, a senior Hamas official told AFP.
 - 'Nothing left' -
Minutes after the truce began, the United Nations said the first trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid had entered the Palestinian territory.
"It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.
It came into effect nearly three hours later than scheduled, and during the delay, Gaza rescuers said Israeli bombardment killed 19 people.
Thousands of Palestinians carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen going home on Sunday, after the war displaced the vast majority of Gazans, in many cases more than once.
Returning Jabalia resident Walid Abu Jiab said he found "massive, unprecedented destruction", with "nothing left" in Gaza's war-battered north.
In Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, Umm Hasan al-Buzom, 70, said she would even "crawl my way back home" if needed.
"But we can't return for fear that the (Israeli) occupation forces might shoot at us."
Aid workers say northern Gaza was particularly hard hit, and lacked all essentials including food, shelter and water.
The World Health Organization said it was ready to pour aid into Gaza but that it would need "systematic access" across the territory to do so.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said on X that "restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction".
 - 'Commitment' -
Another UN agency, the World Food Programme, said it was moving full throttle to get food to as many Gazans as possible.
"We're trying to reach a million people within the shortest possible time," the WFP's deputy executive director, Carl Skau, told AFP.
Before the war, Gaza's population stood at 2.4 million people.
On the eve of the truce, Netanyahu called the first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had US support to return to the war if necessary.
Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said its adherence to the truce would be "contingent on the enemy's commitment".
The war's only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas's October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Of the 251 people taken hostage, 91 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The truce took effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term as US president.
Trump, who claimed credit for the ceasefire deal, said on US television network NBC that he had told Netanyahu the war "has to end".

Israel’s security cabinet is set to review a ceasefire agreement that includes a hostage exchange with Hamas and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israeli cabinet to meet on ceasefire after PM says hostage deal finalised

Israel&rsquo;s security cabinet is set to review a ceasefire agreement that includes a hostage exchange with Hamas and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel's security cabinet was set to meet Friday after final details of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal were ironed out, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, with the United States "confident" the truce would begin as planned this weekend.
If approved by Israel's cabinet, the ceasefire agreement would take effect Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.
Away from the diplomacy, Israeli strikes killed dozens of people, Gaza rescuers said Thursday, while Israel's military reported hitting about 50 targets across the territory over the past day.
Netanyahu's office had accused Hamas on Thursday of reneging on key parts of the agreement to extort last-minute concessions -- an allegation Hamas denied.
His office said early Friday a "deal to release the hostages" had been reached and he had ordered the political-security cabinet to meet later in the day.
"The government will then convene to approve the deal," it added.
At least two cabinet members have voiced opposition to the ceasefire, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying that he and his party colleagues would quit the government -- but not the ruling coalition -- if it approved the "irresponsible" deal.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also opposes the truce, calling it a "dangerous deal".
But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been involved in months of mediation efforts, said Thursday he believed the ceasefire would go ahead on schedule.
"I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday," he said.
&nbsp;
- Continued strikes -
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory after the deal was announced on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds since then.
Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, warned that Israeli strikes were risking the lives of hostages due to be freed under the deal, and could turn their "freedom... into a tragedy".
The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,788 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
&nbsp;
- Mixed feelings -
The ceasefire agreement followed intensified efforts from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States, after months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history.
If finalised, it would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who claimed credit for the agreement.
"If we weren't involved in this deal, the deal would've never happened," Trump said in an interview Thursday.
Envoys from both the Trump team and the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden were present at the latest negotiations, with a senior Biden official saying the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.
In Israel and Gaza, there were celebrations welcoming the truce deal, but also anguish.
Saeed Alloush, who lives in north Gaza, said he and his loved ones were "waiting for the truce and were happy", until overnight strikes killed many of his relatives.
"It was the happiest night since October 7" until "we received the news of the martyrdom of 40 people from the Alloush family", he said.
In Tel Aviv, pensioner Simon Patya said he felt "great joy" that some hostages would return alive, but also "great sorrow for those who are returning in bags, and that will be a very strong blow, morally".
&nbsp;
- 'Permanent end' -
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, announcing the agreement on Wednesday, said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released, including women, "children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded".
Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", he said.
Biden said the second phase of the agreement could bring a "permanent end to the war".
He added the deal would "surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families".
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also underscored the "importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid" into Gaza.
Cairo said it was ready to host an international conference on reconstruction in Gaza, where the United Nations has said it would take more than a decade to rebuild civilian infrastructure.
In a statement Thursday, G7 leaders called the ceasefire deal "a significant development" and urged Israel and Hamas to work on its "full implementation."
The World Health Organization's representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, said Thursday that at least $10 billion would probably be needed over the next five to seven years to rebuild Gaza's devastated health system alone.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to start later this month, welcomed the ceasefire deal.
"What's needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

Heartbreaking airstrikes in Gaza leave 24 dead, including children, amidst extended conflict. Qatar mediates potential ceasefire in hopes of peace.

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 24 Palestinians, say rescuers

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza result in 24 fatalities, affecting many civilians. Efforts led by Qatar may bring ceasefire soon amidst prolonged conflict.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill 24 Palestinians, including children and teenagers. The attacks targeted homes, shelters, and refugee camps. The Israeli military confirms strikes on Hamas militants, amid ongoing conflict.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed at least 24 people, according to Gaza's civil defense agency. The casualties include a seven-year-old boy and three teenagers, as well as individuals displaced by the conflict. The violence is part of the ongoing 15-month war between Israel and Hamas, following an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed over 1,200 people.
Israel's military stated that the strikes targeted Hamas militants and were "precise." In the last 24 hours, more than 50 targets were hit across Gaza. One of the strikes hit a family home in Deir el-Balah, while another targeted a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, killing seven and injuring several others. A third strike in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp killed six people and injured seven.
The ongoing conflict has claimed over 46,000 lives in Gaza, mostly civilians, while ceasefire negotiations continue. Qatar, acting as a truce mediator, indicated that talks for a ceasefire and the release of hostages were in their "final stages."

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti highlights the shocking devastation caused by the LA wildfires, urging people to reflect on the destruction in Gaza, which she attributes to actions by "a rogue Israel government."

Mehbooba Mufti links LA wildfires with Gaza destruction

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti highlights the shocking devastation caused by the LA wildfires, urging people to reflect on the destruction in Gaza, which she attributes to actions by "a rogue Israel government."

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti commented on Friday that the devastation caused by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles should lead to a broader reflection on the destruction in Gaza. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The devastation caused by the recent fires in LA is deeply shocking and serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of environmental negligence. However, this tragedy should also prompt reflection on the destruction in Gaza. While the fires in LA can be seen as a natural&hellip;
&mdash; Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) <a href="https://twitter.com/MehboobaMufti/status/1877620048073990299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Mufti expressed her shock at the LA fires and noted that they serve as a stark reminder of the consequences of environmental negligence. However, she also pointed out that the tragedy in Gaza is not a natural disaster, but the result of actions by "a rogue Israel government," with many in LA, including celebrities, appearing indifferent or complicit.
"Hopefully, the people witnessing the destruction in LA will gain a deeper understanding of the profound impact that comes when homes and lives are torn apart," Mufti, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said in her post on X. Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people, authorities said, as California's National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. Meanwhile, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported on Thursday that 70 people had died in the past 24 hours, pushing the total death toll in the region to 46,006.
In a statement, the ministry added that more than 109,378 individuals had been injured since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began over 15 months ago, following the Palestinian group's attack on October 7, 2023. ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/los-angeles-wildfire-death-toll-reaches-10-national-guard-deployed-1736494227175" target="_blank">Los Angeles wildfire death toll reaches 10, National Guard deployed</a>

The Israeli military confirmed a successful operation in Syria, where over 100 commandos destroyed an Iranian-funded underground missile factory in Masyaf. 

Israeli military dismantles underground missile factory in Syria

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since civil war broke out in 2011, mainly on Iranian-linked targets.

The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that dozens of its troops were flown into Syria in September to destroy an underground missile factory funded by Iran.
The military, which rarely comments on its activities inside Syria, said in a statement that the September 8 raid involved more than 100 Israeli commandos who dismantled the facility in the Masyaf area near the Mediterranean coast.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported at the time that 27 people were killed in the raid. The Israeli military did not disclose any casualty figures.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since civil war broke out in 2011, mainly on Iranian-linked targets.
In a statement on Thursday, the military said the underground factory in Masyaf "included advanced assembly lines designed to manufacture precision-guided missiles and long-range rockets" for Lebanon's Hezbollah "and other Iranian terror proxies in the region".
Troops were flown in by helicopter, "with fire and intelligence-gathering support from aircraft, fighter jets and naval vessels", it said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid underscored Israel's resolve to carry out operations anywhere to defend itself.
"This is one of the most important counteractions we have taken against the Iranian axis's attempts to arm itself in order to harm us, and it demonstrates our determination and audacity to act anywhere to protect ourselves," Netanyahu said in a statement.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said: "This precision-guided missile factory was dug in the side of a mountain underground in the area of Masyaf".
"Most components in fact were sourced from Iran for precision-guided missiles and surface-to-surface missiles."
The factory had the capacity to manufacture hundreds of missiles a year, Shoshani added.
The Observatory said the facility was created and supervised by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Tehran at the time condemned the raid as a "criminal attack".
&nbsp;
- Hundreds of air strikes -
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi, who oversaw the operation, said it was part of "a series of courageous missions" across the Middle East "with the aim of destroying the Iranian axis's missile manufacturing capabilities".
Halevi pointed to other raids in the Gaza Strip, in Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold and on Iranian territory "over the past few months".
"For years, Iran formed a ring of rocket and missile fire around Israel's borders, and we have struck both the ring and its head," he said.
Footage of the raid, released by the military on Thursday, showed soldiers boarding helicopters at a base and later landing at the target inside Syria.
The troops can be seen entering the compound as gunfire echoes in the background. Grainy images later depict soldiers returning to their base.
The military statement said critical machinery and documents found at the factory were brought to Israel for further investigation.
"The soldiers destroyed the compound and safely returned to Israeli territory," it said.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP after the raid that intense air strikes preceded it, destroying a separate "scientific research centre" in Masyaf used for weapons development.
Since Islamist-led rebels toppled Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad on December 8, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian military assets in what it says is a bid to prevent them from falling into hostile hands.
In a move that drew widespread international condemnation, Israel also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights.
On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited the buffer zone and met UN peacekeepers there, a statement from his office said.
"Israel is closely monitoring the situation in Syria, and will not jeopardise its own security. We will not allow another October 7 on any front," Saar added, referring to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered the Gaza war.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of committing "acts of genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and cutting off supplies to civilians, which Israel dismissed as "appalling lies"

HRW accuses Israel of genocide over Gaza water crisis

The HRW report detailed what the group said was the intentional damaging of water and sanitation infrastructure, including solar panels powering treatment plants.

Israel on Thursday faced accusations of "acts of genocide" in Gaza, a charge it denounced as full of "lies", while a medical charity said the devastation caused in the Palestinian territory showed "signs of ethnic cleansing".
They are the latest in a series of similar accusations levelled against Israel -- and denied by the country -- during its 14-month war against Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
In a new report focused specifically on water, New York-based Human Rights Watch detailed what it called deliberate efforts by Israeli authorities "of a systematic nature" to deprive Gazans of water, which had "likely caused thousands of deaths... and will likely continue to cause deaths".
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Since then, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 45,129 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
"Human Rights Watch is once more spreading its blood libels in order to promote its anti-Israel propaganda," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Since the beginning of the war, Israel has facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite operating under constant attacks" from Hamas.
&nbsp;
- Israel says supplies ensured -
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, denied using water as a "weapon".
It said three water lines from Israel "are active, supplying an average of 107 litres per person in northern Gaza, 34 litres per person in central Gaza, and 20 litres per person in southern Gaza.
"According to international standards, conflict zones require 15 litres of water per person daily," COGAT said.
In a separate report released on Thursday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accused Israel of causing widespread devastation in Gaza and noted "signs of ethnic cleansing" in the north of the Palestinian territory.
Israel in early October began a major military operation in Gaza's north, which it said aimed to prevent Hamas from regrouping there.
In a statement, MSF Secretary General Christopher Lockyear said what his medical teams have seen in Gaza "is consistent with the descriptions provided by an increasing number of legal experts and organisations concluding that genocide is taking place".
Lockyear said "signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation -&mdash; including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment -- are undeniable."
Israel did not offer an immediate response to MSF's accusation.
The HRW report detailed what the group said was the intentional damaging of water and sanitation infrastructure, as well as the blocking of fuel for generators.
The report concluded that in doing so, "Israeli authorities intentionally inflicted on the Palestinian population in Gaza 'conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.'"
This, it said, amounted to the war crime of "extermination" and to "acts of genocide".
&nbsp;
- 'Malnourished and dehydrated' -
Israel's foreign ministry said that, in addition to water pipelines, it has also ensured that "water pumping and desalination facilities... remain operational".
HRW stopped short of saying Israel was committing outright "genocide".
Under international law, proving genocide requires evidence of specific intent, which experts say is very difficult.
HRW pointed to a statement by then-defence minister Yoav Gallant as suggestive of Israel's intent. In October 2023, he declared a "complete siege" and said: "No electricity, no food, no water, no gas -- it's all closed."
Israel is facing a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice last December, arguing that the war in Gaza breached the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, an accusation Israel has strongly denied.
In November the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for Gallant, and also for Mohammed Deif, military chief of Hamas.
Israel told the court it will appeal the warrants.
The HRW report, drawn up over nearly a year, is based on interviews with dozens of Gazans, staff at water and sanitation facilities, medics and aid workers, as well as satellite imagery, photographs, videos and data analysis.
The lack of water left Gazans vulnerable to water-borne diseases and complications, such as infected wounds and the inability to heal due to dehydration, HRW said.
One emergency room nurse cited in the report said they were forced to decide "not to resuscitate children who were severely malnourished and dehydrated".
In early December Amnesty International accused Israel of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza.
That came after a United Nations special committee in November said Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide. An HRW report at the same time said Israel's displacement of Gazans amounts to a "crime against humanity".
Israel dismissed each of these accusations as false.

Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in separate operations in Tulkarem and Balata refugee camps in the West Bank. Violence has intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

Six Palestinians Killed in Israeli Operations in West Bank

The ministry of health in Ramallah announced Thursday that four Palestinians were killed and three were injured "as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp", in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian officials said Israeli forces killed six people in operations in two refugee camps in the occupied West Bank Thursday.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was looking into the reported deaths.
The ministry of health in Ramallah announced Thursday that four Palestinians were killed and three were injured "as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp", in the northern West Bank.
Earlier Thursday, the ministry said two Palestinians were killed in a raid in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.
One of the dead was 80-year-old Halima Abu Leil, according to the ministry, which said she was fatally shot in the chest and leg.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed her death after transporting her to the hospital.
The ministry also announced the death of a 25-year-old man in the same raid. His passing was confirmed by the Red Crescent.
The Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of firing at its ambulances, "obstructing the delivery of humanitarian and medical services inside the camp".
Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the war in Gaza began on October 7 last year, following Hamas's attack on Israel.
Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 803 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
In the same period, Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of at least 24 Israelis in the West Bank, based on Israeli official data.
Israel has maintained an occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Israeli forces withdrew from a south Lebanon town, replaced by Lebanese troops under a ceasefire deal, CENTCOM reported Wednesday.

First Israeli Withdrawal From Lebanon Under Ceasefire

The Israeli military meanwhile said its 7th Brigade had "concluded their mission in Khiam in southern Lebanon."

Israeli forces conducted a first withdrawal from a town in south Lebanon and were replaced by the Lebanese military under a ceasefire deal, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday.
The command's leader General Erik Kurilla "was present at the implementation and monitoring headquarters today during the ongoing first Israeli Defense Forces withdrawal and Lebanese Armed Forces replacement in Al-Khiam, Lebanon, as part of the (ceasefire) agreement," CENTCOM said in a statement.
"This is an important first step in the implementation of a lasting cessation of hostilities and lays the foundation for continued progress," the statement quoted Kurilla as saying.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the stationing of troops "in the Khiam and Marjayoun areas today represents a fundamental step towards strengthening the army's deployment in the south, in implementation of the ceasefire decision."
"We salute the army's efforts" toward establishing "stability in the south," Mikati said in a post on X.
The Israeli military meanwhile said its 7th Brigade had "concluded their mission in Khiam in southern Lebanon."
"In accordance with the ceasefire understandings and with the coordination of the United States, soldiers of the Lebanese Armed Forces are being deployed in the area together" with UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in the area, the Israeli statement said.
The Pentagon later said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and told him the United States was working with its partners to support the ceasefire.
Austin "emphasized that the ceasefire... has the potential to create the conditions to restore lasting calm and enable residents on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border to return safely to their homes," the US readout said.
Israel stepped up its military campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas, following the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
As part of the agreement, the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.
Hezbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

A war monitor said on Tuesday that Israel had conducted 300 strikes on Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, adding that the raids had "destroyed the most important military sites" in the country.

Israel conducted 300 strikes on Syria since Assad's fall

A war monitor said on Tuesday that Israel had conducted 300 strikes on Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, adding that the raids had "destroyed the most important military sites" in the country.

A war monitor said on Tuesday that Israel had conducted 300 strikes on Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, adding that the raids had "destroyed the most important military sites" in the country.
Assad fled Syria as an Islamist-led rebel alliance swept into the capital Damascus, bringing to an end on Sunday to five decades of brutal rule by his clan.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who headed the offensive that forced Assad out, has begun talks on a transfer of power and vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes.
His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda and is proscribed by many Western governments as a terrorist organisation, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
The fall of Assad, whose clan had zero tolerance for dissent and who maintained a complex web of prisons and detention centres to keep Syrians from straying from the Baath party line, sparked celebrations around the country and in the diaspora all over the world.
Syria's civil war killed 500,000 people and forced half the country to flee their homes, millions of them finding refuge abroad.
The country now faces profound uncertainty after the collapse of a government that had run every aspect of daily life in the image of Assad and his father, from whom the ousted president inherited power.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on Syria since the civil war began in 2011 following Assad's crackdown on a democracy movement.
Since his ouster, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had recorded more than 300 Israeli strikes.
AFP journalists in the capital Damascus heard loud explosions on Tuesday, but could not independently verify the source or scope of the attacks.
&nbsp;
- 'Most important military sites' - &nbsp;
On Monday, Israel said it had struck "remaining chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists".
The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources around Syria, said Israeli strikes had "destroyed the most important military sites in Syria".
The group said the strikes targeted weapons depots, boats from the Assad government's navy, and a research centre that Western countries suspected of having links to chemical weapons production.
Near the port city of Latakia, Israel targeted an air defence facility and damaged Syrian naval ships as well as military warehouses.
In and around the capital Damascus, strikes targeted military installations, research centres and the electronic warfare administration.
With Syria in flux and in the absence of a government authority just two days after Assad's escape, AFP journalists in Damascus were unable to obtain comment from the Syrian side on the Israeli strikes.
Israel, which borders Syria, also sent troops into a buffer zone east of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights after Assad's fall, in what Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described as a "limited and temporary step" for "security reasons".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel for almost 60 years, would perpetually remain part of Israel.
Israel backer the United States said the incursion must be "temporary", after the United Nations said Israel was violating a 1974 deal.
"Israel has said that these actions are temporary to defend its borders. These are not permanent actions, and so ultimately, what we want to see is lasting stability between Israel and Syria, and that means we support all sides upholding the 1974 disengagement agreement," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Lebanon's Hezbollah, which had helped prop up Assad, condemned the strikes late Monday and lambasted Israel for "occupying more land in the Golan Heights".
Hezbollah backer and Israel's arch-foe Iran also condemned the Israeli military's incursion into the buffer zone, calling it a "violation" of law.
After Assad for years deployed all the means at his government's disposal to put down the revolt, including air strikes and even chemical attacks on rebel bastions, it was ultimately a lightning offensive launched on November 27 that took him down.
The rebels started their renewed campaign in northern Syria on the very same day a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war, which killed thousands in Lebanon.
The war saw Israel inflict staggering losses on Hezbollah, which had for years fought in support of Assad's government in Syria, long a conduit of weapons for the militant group from Iran.
&nbsp;
- 'Transfer of power' - &nbsp;
Islamist leader Jolani, who now uses his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, said on Tuesday: "We will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, security and army officers involved in torturing the Syrian people."
"We will offer rewards to anyone who provides information about senior army and security officers involved in war crimes," he said, adding the incoming authorities would seek the return of officials who have fled abroad.
Jolani held talks on Monday with outgoing prime minister Mohammed al-Jalali "to coordinate a transfer of power that guarantees the provision of services" to Syria's people, according to an earlier statement on Telegram.
The ouster of Assad has sparked a frantic search by families of the tens of thousands of people held in the country's network of jails and detention centres.
As they advanced towards Damascus, the rebels released thousands of detainees, but many thousands more remain missing.
A large crowd gathered Monday outside a jail synonymous with the worst atrocities of Assad's rule to search for relatives, many of whom had spent years in the Saydnaya facility outside Damascus, AFP correspondents said.
"I ran like crazy" to get to the prison, said Aida Taha, 65, searching for her brother who was arrested in 2012.
Fadwa Mahmoud, whose husband and son are missing, posted calls for help on social media.
"Where are you, Maher and Abdel Aziz? It's time for me to hear your news. Oh God, please come back," wrote Mahmoud, herself a former detainee.
Crowds of freed prisoners wandered the streets of Damascus, distinguishable by the marks of their ordeal: maimed by torture, weakened by illness and emaciated by hunger.
The United Nations said that whoever ends up in power in Syria must hold the Assad regime to account.
But how the ousted leader might face justice remains unclear, especially after the Kremlin refused on Monday to confirm reports by Russian news agencies that he had fled to Moscow.
Russia played an instrumental role in keeping Assad in power, directly intervening in the war starting in 2015 and providing air cover to the army during the rebellion.

Israeli news agency Ynet News reported Kogan's car was found abandoned and there were signs of struggle. reportedly, Uzber nationals recruited by Iran were involved in the attack and they fled to Turkey.

United Arab Emirates Arrests 3 Suspects In Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan Murder Case

Israeli news agency Ynet News reported Kogan's car was found abandoned and there were signs of struggle. reportedly, Uzber nationals recruited by Iran were involved in the attack and they fled to Turkey.

The United Arab Emirates arrested 3 suspected of their involvement in the murder of Israeli-Moodovan rabbi Zvi Kogan. Kogan vanished in Dubai on November 21, where he also ran a Kosher grocery store. UAE police started an investigation on Rabi's disappearance after his family filed a missing report. &nbsp;Kogan's body was found in the Emirati city of Al-Ain150 km from Dubai. Israeli news agency Ynet News reported Kogan's car was found abandoned and there were signs of struggle. &nbsp;reportedly, Uzber nationals recruited by Iran were involved in the attack and they fled to Turkey.

Israeli air defense reportedly failed to intercept all the projectiles resulting in damage to property inside Israel.

Hezbollah's Record '50 Operations In A Day' Against Israel: Key Cities Hit By Lebanon Group

 Israeli air defense reportedly failed to intercept all the projectiles resulting in damage to property inside Israel.

Israeli air defense reportedly failed to intercept all the projectiles resulting in damage to property inside Israel.

Hezbollah carried a record high of 50 operations in a day against Israel on November 24. The Lebanese group fired over 260 missiles, and drones toward Israel's key areas. Israeli air defense reportedly failed to intercept all the projectiles resulting in damage to property inside Israel.
Hezbollah's attack came after Israeli airstrikes in Beirut killed 29 people and left many more injured. Hezbollah also claimed to have hit Israel's Ashdod naval base with advanced missiles and drones. pertinently, this was the first attack on the Ashdod naval base since Israel-Hezbollah clashes erupted.

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