DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

A Hamas leader said Thursday that the group would soon send a delegation to Cairo to “complete ongoing discussions” on a cease-fire deal for the war in the Gaza Strip, raising hopes of progress in the stalled efforts for a truce. The latest cease-fire proposal, which has been forcefully pushed by the Biden administration in recent days, comes after nearly seven devastating months of war. The deal would include a weekslong temporary truce — the exact duration is unclear — and the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. It would also allow the return of civilians to the largely depopulated northern part of Gaza, and enable increased delivery of aid to the territory. Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’s political wing, said the group was studying the latest proposal from Israel, which includes some Israeli concessions, with a “positive spirit.” A Hamas delegation will go to Egypt soon to seek a deal that “realizes our people’s demands and ends the aggression,” according to a statement by the group.

Persons: Biden, Ismail Haniyeh, ”, “ Locations: Cairo, “, Gaza, Israel, Egypt

On a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken put the onus squarely on Hamas to accept the proposal. But Israeli officials have said, consistently and emphatically, that the offensive will take place. The number of Palestinians Israel is offering to free in exchange is unclear. More than 100 were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November, and Israeli officials say they believe that more than 30 — possibly many more — are dead. Gazan health officials say that Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion have killed more than 34,000 people, and injured far more.

Persons: Osama Hamdan, Al Manar, —, Antony J, Blinken, wouldn’t, ”, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Hamdan, Biden, Netanyahu’s, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, Washington, Gaza, Lebanese, Israel, United States, Qatar, Egypt, Rafah, masse

☆ Israel’s Claim of Killing ‘Half’ of Hezbollah Commanders in Southern Lebanon Draws Skepticism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Euan Ward | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel’s defense minister has said that the country’s military has eliminated half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon. But analysts doubt whether Israel’s increasing use of targeted killings would weaken the militant group. “Half of the Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated,” Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said during a visit on Wednesday to Israeli troops along the northern border with Lebanon. “The other half are in hiding,” he added, without providing a specific number or evidence of his claim. A Hezbollah official and a senior Lebanese intelligence official, both of whom spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive subject, denied Mr. Gallant’s numbers on Thursday.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, ”, Israel’s Organizations: Hezbollah Locations: Lebanon, Israel, Lebanese

☆ Hezbollah Claims Drone Attack 10 Miles Inside Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Euan Ward | More About Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed that it had made its deepest attack into Israel since October, striking with aerial drones north of the city of Acre and setting off sirens across the country’s northern coastline. In the latest strike, it said it had launched a drone attack on an Israeli military barracks roughly 10 miles from the Lebanese border. The Israeli military said that fighter jets had targeted “military structures” in the area where Hezbollah were operating, according to a statement. The drone attack in Israel came after targeted killings by Israel of two Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, both of whom the Israeli military claimed were involved in Hezbollah’s aerial operations. Last week, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a drone and missile attack into northern Israel that left one soldier dead and 16 soldiers and two civilians injured, in one of the group’s most damaging attacks in Israel in recent months.

Persons: “, Hwaida Saad, Johnatan Reiss, Arijeta Lajka Organizations: Hezbollah, The New York Times Locations: Lebanese, Israel, Acre, Gaza, Hanin, Lebanon

Hezbollah militants fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday, in what they said was retaliation for an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon overnight. The militants’ barrage came as pro-Palestinian protesters turned up the pressure on the government in neighboring Jordan to sever ties with Israel. It also came as the United States said a previously canceled meeting with an Israeli delegation in Washington to discuss a planned offensive into the southern Gazan city of Rafah would be rescheduled. For months, Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group based in Lebanon, has traded fire with Israeli forces across the border, and on Wednesday, the Israeli military said its forces had targeted a “significant terrorist operative” near the town of al-Habbariyeh in southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, which said the Israeli strike had hit an emergency medical center and killed seven paramedics, denounced it as “unacceptable.”

Persons: ” Organizations: Lebanon’s Ministry of Health Locations: Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, United States, Washington, Gazan, Rafah, Iranian, al, Lebanon’s

☆ Middle East Crisis Hezbollah and Israel Trade Fire Across Lebanon Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Remarks by Mr. Gallant and Mr. Austin before the meeting underscored the divide. Image People recovering items from their homes after Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday. Speaking with reporters after his meeting with Mr. Austin, Mr. Gallant said Israel would not be deterred in its war aims. And Mr. Gallant said he and Mr. Austin talked about the urgency of efforts to recover more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas and the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “We discussed the humanitarian efforts in Gaza — not only in terms of bringing the aid in but the real issue of distribution,” Mr. Gallant said.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, Lloyd J, Austin III, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gallant, Austin, Mr, ”, Mohammed Salem, Israel, Gallant —, William J, Burns, —, Netanyahu, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Angela Weiss, Burns — Organizations: U.S ., Pentagon, ., Reuters, senior Defense Department, Biden, Apache, Hamas, Mr, . Security, Agence France Locations: Gaza, Rafah, U.S, Washington, Egypt, Israel, ”

☆ Gaza Begins Ramadan With No Cease-Fire
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

International hopes at reaching a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan were dashed on Sunday, hours before Palestinians and other Muslims were to begin the month of daytime fasting, as Hamas repeated demands for a comprehensive cease-fire, which Israel has rejected. Egypt, Qatar and the United States had sought to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas before the start of Ramadan on Monday, and there had been optimism for a last-minute deal that would allow for the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. But weeks of indirect negotiations have stalled, and a top Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a televised speech on Sunday that Hamas wanted an agreement that would end the war, guarantee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, return displaced Palestinians to their homes and provide for the humanitarian needs of Gazans. Israel “wants to get its prisoners back and then resume the war on our people,” he said. Some Palestinians in Gaza have criticized Hamas, arguing the group was holding up negotiations in order to press Israel into freeing more Palestinian prisoners.

Persons: Israel, Ismail Haniyeh, Israel “, ”, Haniyeh Organizations: United States, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Egypt, Qatar, United, Israel, Gazans

A top Hamas official on Wednesday appeared to raise the stakes for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying the militant group was ready to continue fighting and calling on Palestinians to defy Israeli restrictions and march to the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to pray at the start of Ramadan. That creates the prospect of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces around the mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam and a longtime flashpoint in relations with Israel. Israel has restricted access to the Aqsa mosque for West Bank Palestinians, and it has severely limited movement within the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, declined on Wednesday to comment on Mr. Haniyeh’s call for a march to the mosque, which is part of a 35-acre site that is also holy for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount. “I would just say, as it pertains to Al Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, consistent with past practice and that’ll continue to be our position,” Mr. Miller said.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Ramadan, Matthew Miller, Haniyeh’s, “, Al Aqsa, ” Mr, Miller Organizations: West Bank, West Bank Palestinians, State Department Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Islam

Basem Naim, a Hamas spokesman, said in a text message that the militant group had yet to formally receive “any new proposals” since senior Israeli officials met with Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators in Paris last week to advance a possible deal. Another Hamas official, Ahmad Abdelhadi, said that the group was sticking to its demand that Israel agree to a long-term cease-fire and that leaks about the talks were designed to pressure Hamas to soften its position. Qatar, a key mediator in the talks, also expressed caution on Tuesday, saying it could not comment on Mr. Biden’s view that negotiators were nearing an agreement. “The efforts are ongoing; all the parties are conducting regular meetings,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry, told reporters in Doha. “But for now, while we certainly hope it will be achieved as soon as possible, we don’t have anything in our hands so as to comment on that deadline.”

Persons: Israel, Biden, Basem Naim, Ahmad Abdelhadi, ” Mr, Abdelhadi, ” Majed al, Ansari, ” Organizations: Hamas, Qatari Locations: Gaza, Paris, Israel, Lebanese, Qatar, Doha

Israeli airstrikes inside Lebanon on targets associated with the Hezbollah militia hit deeper than any in recent years on Monday, targeting an area close to the Syrian border. The Israeli military said that its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah air defenses in the Bekaa Valley, about 60 miles from the Israeli border. It said that the strikes were in response to a surface-to-air missile attack that downed an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. At least two Hezbollah fighters were killed in the Israeli airstrikes and at least six other people were wounded, according to Bachir Khodor, mayor of the nearby city of Baalbek. The fighting has displaced more than 150,000 people on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border and left hundreds dead.

Persons: Bachir Khodor Organizations: Mr, Lebanese Locations: Lebanon, Bekaa, Baalbek, Israel, Lebanese

☆ Middle East Crisis Netanyahu Says Israeli Soldiers Will Push Into Crowded Area in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Gaya Gupta | Andrés R. Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

But Mr. Netanyahu, a canny negotiator, avoided specifics in his news conference, leaving things somewhat murky. Without specifying any details of the Hamas proposal, Mr. Netanyahu said “surrender to the ludicrous demands of Hamas” would neither free the more than 100 hostages still in Gaza nor restore Israel’s security. Asked specifically whether Israel had formally rejected the framework, Mr. Netanyahu said: “Based on what they passed to us? Israeli officials say 136 remain in Gaza, including dozens who are believed to be dead. “I address you, Mr. Netanyahu, everything is in your hands.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Antony J, “, ”, Hamas’s, Osama Hamdan, Hamdan, Mr, António Guterres, Guterres, Adina Moshe, “ I’m, Blinken, Hwaida Saad Organizations: U.S, Qatari, Gaza, United Nations, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Beirut, Lebanon, United States, Cairo, Rafah, ” Israel

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken began a diplomatic push in the Middle East on Monday for a deal that would pause the war in the Gaza Strip and release the hostages there, even as a drone struck a military base used by American troops and allied forces in eastern Syria. Mr. Blinken, making his fifth trip to the region since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, met in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the first stop on a trip that will also include meetings in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank. Speaking with the crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Mr. Blinken “underscored the importance of addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and preventing further spread of the conflict,” the State Department said. It added that they discussed “an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Mohammed bin Salman, Blinken “, ” Organizations: West Bank, State Department Locations: Gaza, Syria, Israel, Riyadh, Saudi, Egypt, Qatar

Attacks The map shows five of the seven sites that the U.S. hit with military strikes in Syria and Iraq. The strikes hit more than 85 targets at different locations using more than 125 precision-guided munitions, according to a statement by U.S. Central Command. Two American officials said the United States also conducted cyberoperations against Iranian targets on Friday but declined to provide details. It is clear from statements from the White House, and from Tehran, that neither the United States nor Iran wants a wider war. Striking sites in the Mideast with aircraft launched from the United States and refueled midair is a muscular show of global reach and capability, the official said.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Mr, “, ”, John F, Kirby, Douglas, Sims, Yahya Rasool, That’s, Iran’s, Jordan, Roger Wicker of, William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, Moffett, Sanders, Sergeant Rivers Organizations: Iranian, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, U.S . Central Command, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, ”, Jordan . Middle, Revolutionary Guards, National Security Council, White House, Central Command, White, Pentagon, Dyess Air Force Base, U.S, military’s Joint Staff, Air Force, Iraq’s Armed Forces, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Revolutionary Guards Corps, Administration, Capitol, Biden, Republican, Armed Services Committee, Dover Air Force Base, Army Reserve Locations: United States, Syria, Iraq, East, Jordan, Iran, U.S, Jordan ., Tehran, Texas, Yemen, Israel, Gen, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Delaware

Iran vowed to retaliate, raising fears of even deeper regional turmoil rippling out from the war in Gaza. It was the latest of roughly 140 such rocket and missile strikes against U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria over the past several months. Across the region, a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes risk spinning the conflict into a wider war. In the last week alone, the list of attacks and reprisals has been long and daunting: Iran fired missiles toward Iraq, Syria and Pakistan; Pakistan responded by striking Iranian territory. Turkey hit Kurdish targets in northern Iraq and Syria; Hamas fired rockets toward Israel; Israel continued to pound southern Gaza and struck southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants have fired rockets toward Israel in recent months.

Persons: Israel Organizations: U.S Locations: Iran, Israel, Damascus, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Yemen, Aden, United

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Iran Accuses Israel of Killing 4 Military Advisers in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

President Biden expressed optimism that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel could still consensus. While there was no indication that Mr. Netanyahu would ease his opposition, which is popular with his fragile right-wing political coalition, Mr. Biden expressed optimism that they may yet find consensus. “I think we’ll be able to work something out,” Mr. Biden said. “The prime minister needs to be able to say no, even to our best friends,” Mr. Netanyahu told reporters. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear his concerns about that.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, “, ”, Mr, “ I’ll, ” Mr, Jordan, John F, Kirby, that’s, Netanyahu’s, “ We’re, “ We’ve, Rashida Tlaib, “ It’s Organizations: Israel, White House, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, National Security Council, White, Mr, Hamas, “ Locations: Palestinian, Gaza, Israel, United States, Iran, Jordan, Michigan

☆ Israel-Hamas War U.S. Says It Shot Down Houthi Missile Aimed at Navy Ship
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Vivek Shankar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

They were photographed during an escorted tour with the Israeli military. Image More than 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the war began, according to Gazan health officials. Image Houthi fighters at a protest in Sana, Yemen, on Sunday against U.S.-led airstrikes targeting Houthi military sites. “Nothing’s fair in Gaza,” Mr. Sindawi said in a text message. Although the Israeli military has said it is scaling back its operations in the north, its forces continue to clash with Hamas fighters there.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ”, Netanyahu, ” Mr, Israel ”, Fatima Shbair, Mr, Khaled Abdullah, Hassan Nasrallah, “, ” Philippe Lazzarini, Rajab al, Sindawi, Gabi Siboni, Siboni, Fuad Khuffash, Khuffash, hasn’t, Hamas’s, Herzi Halevi, Marco Longari, Jonathan Dekel, Chen, Sagui, Hwaida Saad, Ameera Harouda, Roni Caryn Rabin, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck, Matthew Mpoke Bigg Organizations: Hamas, Credit, United Nations ’, United, Sunday, U.S, Reuters, United Nations, ., Agence France, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, West Bank, Protesters, Gaza Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, Hague, South Africa, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Red, Sana, Gaza City, Tel, Rafah, Egypt, Nablus, Tel Aviv, Gaza . Credit, American, London , Washington , New York, London, ”, Washington, U.S

☆ Israel-Hamas War U.S. Pushes Israel and Hamas to Restart Talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Andrés R. Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Israel has since resumed its attacks on Hamas, and Mr. Kirby urged it to avoid civilian casualties, while crediting its forces with making efforts to do so. “He’s so naïve; I mean I just lost all confidence in this guy,” Mr. Graham said. “Secretary Austin is telling Israel things that are impossible to achieve.”Mr. Graham said his solution to the hostage impasse would be to threaten Iran, the sponsor of Hamas. “I would go to Iran and say listen, you need to tell Hamas to let these hostages go,” he said. “Qatar has said that Hamas is still at the table,” she said, referring to the Persian Gulf emirate that has served as the intermediary for the talks.

Persons: Israel, “, John F, ”, Kirby, Osama Hamdan, There’s, Biden, Biden’s, Lindsey Graham, Lloyd J, Austin III, Austin, ” Mr, Graham, Mr, Al Qaeda, Pramila Jayapal, Jayapal, ” Hwaida Saad Organizations: Kirby, White House National Security Council, Press, Hamas, Republican, West Bank, CNN’s, Union, “ Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, U.S, Lebanon, Israel, South Carolina, CNN’s “ State, Iraq, Al, we’d, Iran, Washington, United States, Qatar, Persian, “ Israel

Hundreds of Libyans protested on Monday from the devastated eastern city of Derna, demanding the removal of those responsible a week after torrential rains burst two dams and unleashed a catastrophe that killed thousands. Some protesters stood on the muddy, rocky earth that the floods carried through the city center on Sept. 11, washing entire neighborhoods and their inhabitants into the Mediterranean Sea. Others perched on the roof of a mosque that still stood, and a number appeared to be part of relief and rescue efforts, dressed in white biohazard suits and reflective vests. The cries of the protesters were part of a rising chorus of calls to hold leaders across the divided North African country accountable. Specifically, they want an international investigation into the circumstances that led to the bursting of the two dams on the edge of Derna.

Persons: “ Aguila, ”, Aguila Saleh Locations: Derna

☆ As Assad’s Isolation Lifts, Syrian Refugees Fear Pressure to Return Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Early one recent morning, Lebanese soldiers swept through the Bourj Hammoud neighborhood in Beirut, emptying two buildings of the Syrian refugees living in them. They forced them into trucks and drove them to a no-man’s land between the Lebanese and Syrian borders. After days stuck along the border, hundreds of refugees were taken by Syrian forces back to Syria. The family spent their first night back in Syria sleeping on the streets of the capital, Damascus. If the soldiers ever come back, Rasha vowed, she would die before being forced back to Syria again.

Persons: Rasha, ”, “, ‘, they’ve, ’ ”, Bashar al, Assad Locations: Beirut, Syria, Damascus, Lebanon, East

Search resuls for: "Hwaida Saad"

19 mentions found