Maldives government has announced a ban on Israeli passport holders, citing solidarity with Gaza. This is because of Israel’s ongoing war there, in which it has killed more than 36,400 Palestinians, most of them children and women, since October last year. Mohamed Muizzu, president of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, declared the ban wi...
Doha, Qatar – AFP Mediator Qatar said Tuesday it was waiting for a “clear position” from Israel on a proposed Gaza cease-fire and prisoner release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden. “We have yet to see a very clear position from the Israeli government towards the principles laid out by Biden,” foreign minist...
Beirut, Lebanon – AFP Lebanese official media said Israeli strikes on a car and a motorcycle in the country’s south killed two people Monday. Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since October last year. “An enemy drone strike targeted a motorcycle in Naqura,” a coastal town near ...
Rafah, Palestinian Territories – AFP Fresh strikes by Israel across the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday killed at least 19 Palestinians, as mediators urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce and prisoner swap deal outlined by US President Joe Biden. Since Biden spoke at the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [&he...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel has accepted most of the broad outlines of a proposed prisoner swap and cease-fire deal announced late last week by US President Joe Biden, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported Sunday. The state broadcaster said the Palestinian group Hamas announced that it would respond positively to the proposal. It said the th...
Rome, Italy — AFP Daily life has become “apocalyptic” in southern Gaza since Israel moved into the city of Rafah, the UN’s food agency said Friday. “The exodus that we’ve seen in the past 20 days or so out of Rafah has been an awesome and horrific experience for many, many people,” Matthew Hollingworth...
Singapore, Singapore – AFP Indonesia is ready to send “significant peacekeeping forces” as well as medical personnel to Gaza if Hamas accepts a new cease-fire proposal, President-elect Prabowo Subianto has said. President Joe Biden announced the Israeli roadmap to permanent peace in Gaza on Friday, as Israeli troops pushed in...
JERUSALEM (AA) – The families of Israelis held by Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza said on Saturday that the proposal announced by President Joe Biden for a cease-fire gives them hope of finally getting their relatives back. “Biden’s speech offers us real hope for the first time to get our sons back, but Netanyahu may [&hell...
Nicosia, Cyprus — AFP Cyprus has said that humanitarian aid shipped to Gaza is being stored using a floating mechanism after the US-built pier was damaged. “No aid was sent today, but the one (shipment) that left two days ago is now being stored using a floating mechanism until the dock is fully repaired,” said government [&h...
ANKARA (AA) – The European Union has decided to disburse €16 million ($17.3 million) to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). “The Commission has today processed a second tranche of assistance of €25 million for the Palestinian Authority to contribute to the payment of salaries and pensions of Palestinian civil servants and dis...
