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☆ Oil dips as investors eye Israel-Gaza truce talks, U.S. Fed policy review
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An oil pump jack is seen in the Loco Hills region, New Mexico, U.S., April 6, 2023. Oil edged down in early trade on Tuesday after Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks in Cairo helped quell market fears of an expanded conflict in the Middle East, while worries about the outlook for U.S. interest rates weighed on the market. The delegation was expected to report back within two days, two Egyptian security sources said. On the economic front, investors are on watch this week for the U.S. Federal Reserve's May 1 policy review, with stubborn inflation pushing out market expectations for any rate cuts, which could bolster the U.S. dollar and hamper oil demand. Some investors are cautiously pricing a higher probability that the Fed could hike interest rates by a quarter percentage point this year and next as inflation and the labor market remain resilient.

Persons: Israel, Yemen's, Yahya Sarea Organizations: Brent, U.S . West Texas, Qatari, Suez, MSC Orion, U.S, U.S . Federal, U.S . Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Israel, Cairo, Gaza, Rafah, Iran, U.S .

☆ Images show US military building floating pier off Gaza. Pentagon says it will cost $320 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Helen Regan | Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Construction of the temporary pier began at sea last week and the images show crew from several military vessels building the platform. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Monday the pier will cost the US about $320 million. The temporary pier is intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Instead, the Israel Defense Forces will partner with the US military to anchor the causeway to the shore in Gaza “on day one,” the military official said. A working-level Israeli delegation of intelligence agencies and military officials is expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, the Israeli source and another Israeli official said.

Persons: Sabrina Singh, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Israel Organizations: CNN, United States Central Command, Planet Labs, Pentagon, Gaza . U.S . Central Command, U.S . Central Command, Israel Defense Forces, British Navy, Royal Navy, Food Programme, USAID, United Nations, PBC CNN, Integrated Locations: Gaza, Gaza . U.S, ”, Cardigan, Cyprus, British, Gaza’s Rafah, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Cairo

☆ Hamas to consider ceasefire-hostage release proposal that Israeli sources say could avert Rafah invasion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Becky Anderson | Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A working-level Israeli delegation of Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israeli military officials is expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, the Israeli source and another Israeli official said. Hamas has insisted that a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza should be part of the agreement. But Israeli sources have characterized the latest Egyptian effort to broker a deal as the last chance to avert that offensive. “The only chance to stop Rafah is a deal,” the Israeli source familiar with the negotiations said. Twenty people, including at least one infant and a toddler, died following an Israeli airstrike over Rafah, Gaza, overnight into Monday, according to hospital officials.

Persons: Shin Bet, Yahya Sinwar, Antony Blinken, ”, Børge Brende, “, Sameh Shoukry, Israel, ” Shoukry, Blinken, John Kirby, Biden, we’ve, “ They’ve, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Mahmmoud Basal, Hijazi Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, CNN, Mossad, Hamas, Economic, White, National Security Council, US, ABC, Israeli, Gaza Civil Locations: Riyadh, Jerusalem, Egypt, Israel, Gaza, Rafah, United States, Cairo, Saudi, “, Israeli, Rafah “, Gaza City

☆ Middle East Crisis Blinken Is Set to Meet With Top Middle East Diplomats on War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, three weeks after telling him that he could rethink U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. An administration official said that about three-quarters of Mr. Biden’s nearly hourlong call to Mr. Netanyahu focused on the possible cease-fire and hostages deal. The two leaders also discussed hostage videos released by Hamas last week, including those showing two hostages with American citizenship. Israel, heeding pleas by Mr. Biden for restraint, fired back only a token counterattack, and both sides have indicated they want to avoid further escalation. With the immediate threat of a wider war seemingly fading, Mr. Biden and his team could shift their attention back to Gaza.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony J, Blinken, “ That’s, John F, Kirby, Biden’s, Netanyahu, Israel, Mr, Biden “, “, Bernie Sanders, ”, Yahya Sinwar, ” Edward Wong Organizations: Israel, Hamas, State Department, Mr, Economic, White, ABC, Biden, American, ”, CNN, “, U.S Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Washington, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jordan, Israel, ”, U.S, Vermont, “ State, Iran

☆ Biden to Confer With Netanyahu on a Possible Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Peter Baker | More About Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden plans to speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday to discuss the prospects of a possible cease-fire deal to obtain the release of some of the remaining hostages held since the Hamas-led terrorist attack of Oct. 7, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the plan. Mr. Biden’s call with the prime minister is set to come just hours after Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken left Washington for his latest trip to the Middle East. Mr. Blinken will start in Saudi Arabia, where he will see Egyptian and Qatari officials who have served as intermediaries with Hamas in the cease-fire and hostage talks, which have stalled in recent weeks. The call also comes three weeks after Mr. Biden told Mr. Netanyahu that he would rethink his support for Israel’s war unless the country did more to facilitate the delivery of food and other supplies to Gaza and limit civilian casualties. Since then, humanitarian aid to Gaza has increased substantially, and Biden advisers credit Israel with responding to the president’s demands, though U.S. officials acknowledge that the aid is still not as much as is needed.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony J, Blinken, Netanyahu Organizations: Israel, State Department, Saudi, Economic Locations: Washington, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Gaza, U.S

☆ Hamas Says It Is Reviewing Israeli Proposal on Cease-Fire Deal.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hamas said on Saturday that it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, a move that comes amid efforts to break a deadlock in the talks between the armed group and Israel. In a statement, Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said the group had received an Israeli response to a proposal it delivered to Egyptian and Qatari mediators two weeks ago. Mr. al-Hayya did not provide any details included in the Israeli proposal, but he said Hamas would respond to it after the group finished studying it. Hamas has demanded a permanent cease-fire, whereas Israel has expressed openness to a temporary pause. Hamas officials have said Palestinians should be able to go back en masse, while Israeli officials have said Israel wants to put limits on who can return, where and how.

Persons: Khalil al, Hayya, Israel Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will visit Israel next week, an Israeli official said on Friday, as talks on a cease-fire deal have stalled and tensions have risen between Israel and the United States over the treatment of civilians in the war. The Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said talks with Mr. Blinken would center on the remaining hostages held in Gaza and an impending Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Mr. Blinken last visited Israel in March, when he warned that its plans to invade Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, would pose severe risks to the population. Since then, the Biden administration has continued to raise concerns about the planned incursion, saying it should not be carried out without a credible plan to protect civilians. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has vowed to press ahead with the invasion, saying it is necessary to eliminate Hamas battalions in the city.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Blinken’s Organizations: Israeli, United Locations: Israel, United States, Gaza, Rafah

☆ Hamas officials say group willing to disarm if Palestinian state is established
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Abbas Allawati | Abbas Al Lawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Palestinian militant group has long called for the Jewish state to be destroyed. Basem Naim, an Istanbul-based member of Hamas’ political bureau, told CNN on Thursday that the group would agree to disarm if an independent Palestinian state was established. Hamas has traditionally rejected a two-state solution that would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel and has instead advocated the creation of a Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine that today encompasses Israel, the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. Barghouti said Hamas indicated as far back as 2007, when it led a Palestinian national unity government, that it is willing to accept a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha that Hamas is willing to function solely as a political party once a Palestinian state is created, citing meetings between the group and Turkish officials.

Persons: Basem Naim, Al Qassam, ”, Mustafa Barghouti, Efraim Inbar, Israel ”, Israel “, Netanyahu, Khalil al, Hayya, ” Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hayyah, Barghouti, Naim, Hakan Fidan, “ Organizations: CNN, Palestinian, Hamas, Israel, West Bank, Palestinian National Initiative, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, Associated Press, AP, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Oslo Accords, Turkish, Qatari Locations: Israel, Gaza, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Palestinian, Palestine, East Jerusalem, United States, Israeli, Oslo, Doha, Turkish

The World Food Programme (WFP) will support distribution of aid from the pier following weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the organization said Saturday. The US role in the effort has been complex, with the military carrying out a high-stakes construction mission in a warzone and diplomats helping to organize a dangerous and highly politicized aid distribution operation. US military and commercial ships will be able to transport aid to the US military pier, a defense official said, but only the US military will be allowed access to the causeway. “Everyone is wary of being too close to the IDF” for both security and political reasons, one humanitarian official told CNN. Fogbow is willing to use the US military pier to get aid onto shore, the sources said, but also won’t need to use it in order to carry out its operations.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, CNN –, ”, Joe Biden, “, Bashar al Masri, Masri, Scott Paul, ” Paul, Kerem Shalom, ” Fogbow, Cameron Hume, Fogbow, Paul Organizations: CNN, UN, Food Programme, US, Israel Defense Forces, WFP, United Nations, Food, Palestinian, Palestine Development, Investment Company, IDF, Oxfam, Maritime Humanitarian Aid Foundation, Qatari, Fogbow Locations: Gaza, American, Israel, Cyprus, Israel’s, Palestinian, Rafah, Kerem, Geneva, Algeria, South Africa, Indonesia, Qatar, Gaza’s

☆ Qatar re-evaluates key mediator role in Middle East conflict on concerns of ‘political exploitation’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by Qatari officials upon his arrival in Doha, Qatar, Friday Oct. 13, 2023. Qatar is reconsidering its role as cease-fire broker between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Gulf state's prime minister said, expressing concerns that Doha's mediation has been subject to "political exploitation." In a late-Wednesday statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani "lamented the political exploitation by some politicians with narrow interests, marketing their electoral campaigns through the defamation of Qatar's role." Since October, the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip has been ravaged by a retaliatory war campaign carried out by Israel. "Hamas has also sought to use its intermediary Qatar – which has long helped finance, back, and house the terrorist organization – to exact greater concessions from Israel.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Steny Hoyer, Hoyer Organizations: Hamas, Gulf state's Locations: Doha, Qatar, Israel, Palestinian, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Maryland, Hamas, Gaza

☆ Why Qatar is unlikely to withdraw from the Gaza hostage-ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Qatar hosts Hamas’ political office, but it is also home to a 10,000-troop US military base. Experts say it is unlikely Qatar will end its mediation role. Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani gives a press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Doha on Wednesday. And on Monday, Democratic US Congressman Steny Hoyer accused Qatar of “blocking” progress in the talks. The Gulf state was also a Major Non-NATO Ally, as well as key energy supplier to Western states.

Persons: Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, ” Al Thani, “, ”, Anna Jacobs, “ They’ve, ” Jacobs, Daniel Shek, ” Shek, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Karim Jaafar, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Majid Al Ansari, Netanyahu, James Comer, General Merrick Garland, Steny Hoyer, Jacobs, Joe Biden, NATO Ally Organizations: UAE CNN, Foreign, United States Congress, US, Qatar, Group, CNN, ”, Qatar's, Turkish, Wednesday, Qatari, Hamas, Washington DC, Democratic, Al Udeid, Al Udeid Air Base, NATO Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Israel, Qatar, Doha, United States, Washington, Egypt, Gaza, Gulf, Brussels, Israeli, ” Qatar, Thani, AFP, Qatari, Al Udeid Air

☆ C.I.A. Director Blames Hamas for Stalled Peace Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Negotiations for a cease-fire and the release of Israeli hostages have stalled because Hamas rejected the latest proposal put forth by Israel, Qatar and Egypt, the C.I.A. director said Thursday, putting the blame for a lack of progress in talks squarely on the group that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. director and lead American negotiator, traveled to Cairo and pushed what he called “a far-reaching proposal” that Egyptian and Qatari negotiators took to Hamas. While Mr. Burns did not describe the details of that proposal, he said that so far Hamas has not accepted it. “It was a deep disappointment to get a negative reaction from Hamas,” said Mr. Burns, speaking at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

Persons: William J, Burns, C.I.A, ”, George W, “ Organizations: Hamas, Qatari, Bush Presidential Center, Sunday Locations: Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Cairo, Dallas, Gaza

☆ Gulf markets dip in sign of investor concern after Iran attacks Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Saudi broker monitors the stock market at the Arab National Bank in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 11, 2019. Gulf markets were down slightly on Sunday, providing an early indication of investor reaction to Iran's unprecedented attack on Israeli territory. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 1.8% in early trading while the main Qatari index was down 1.6%, with Gulf lender QNB leading losses. Iran's retaliatory drone and missile attack in response to a suspected Israeli air strike raises the threat of wider regional conflict. Israel reported modest damage, but the key for investors will be how the conflict unfolds from here.

Persons: Brian Jacobson Organizations: Arab National Bank, Wealth Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Tel, Israel, Milwaukee , Wisconsin

☆ Qatar Airlines avoids Australian lawsuit over forced invasive examinations of women
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Qatar Airways has avoided a lawsuit over an incident in which a number of female passengers were forced to undergo invasive medical examinations, after an Australian federal court dismissed the case Wednesday. On October 2, 2020, 13 Australian women were transiting through Doha airport in Qatar on their way to Sydney when they were taken off their Qatar Airways plane by members of the Qatari security services and subjected to physical examinations in ambulances on the airport tarmac. CNN has contacted Qatar Airways for comment. However, the judge also ruled that the women could file a revised complaint against MATAR, the Qatar Airways subsidiary. “The decision to allow QATAR Airways and the Civil Aviation Authority out of the proceedings is being carefully reviewed and if there is a proper basis an appeal will be quickly filed,” Sturzaker said in a statement.

Persons: John Halley of, ”, Halley, MATAR, Damian Sturzaker, ” Sturzaker, ” Halley, Scott Morrison Organizations: CNN — Qatar Airways, Qatar Airways, Qatar Ministry of Interior, CNN, Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Court, MOI, Sydney, Marque Lawyers, QATAR Airways, Civil Aviation Authority Locations: Doha, Qatar, Sydney, MOI, Sydney , New South Wales, State, Australia

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Rafah invasion, ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

In a statement published early Tuesday, Hamas said the latest deal proposed by Israel does not meet their demands. Hamas said it received the proposal through Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators. While Hamas said it appreciated the effort, the group said Israel “remains stubborn and has not responded to any of the demands of our people and our resistance.”But Hamas maintained it is “keen to reach an agreement that puts an end to the aggression against our people.”The group said its leaders would review the proposal and would eventually inform the mediators of their response. Over the weekend in Cairo, CIA Director Bill Burns presented the new proposal which includes pushing Israel to release a higher number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the expected 40 Israeli hostages who would be freed during the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal.

Persons: Israel “, Bill Burns Organizations: Qatari, CIA, Israel Locations: Israel, Cairo

☆ Hamas says Israeli proposal fails to meet Palestinian demands, but is under review
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hamas said on Tuesday that an Israeli proposal on a ceasefire in their war in Gaza did not meet the demands of Palestinian militant factions, but it would study the offer further and deliver its response to mediators. Other airstrikes were reported in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Rafah in the far south. "The movement (Hamas) is interested in reaching an agreement that puts an end to the aggression on our people. Despite that, the Israeli position remains intransigent and it didn't meet any of the demands of our people and our resistance," Hamas said in a statement following the latest ceasefire proposal. It said it would review the proposal further and go back to the mediators with its response.

Persons: Nusseirat, Al, Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency William Burns Organizations: Hamas, Residents, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Cairo, Al, Al Aqsa, Deir al

☆ CIA director presented new proposal for Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials, along with Burns, were in Cairo over the weekend for the negotiations. So far, Israel has rejected the Hamas demands an unrestricted return of Gazans to the north and the redeployment of IDF troops away from central Gaza. Israel has insisted on inspections of Palestinians moving north, a diplomat familiar with the talks told CNN. Mediators have been trying for months to seal an agreement between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Ansari said mediators are waiting for replies from Hamas and Israel over proposals from different parties, including the United States.

Persons: Bill Burns, Burns, Cairo “, Benjamin Netanyahu, he’d, ” Netanyahu, “, Majed Al, Ansari, hasn’t, ” Ansari Organizations: CNN, CIA, Israel, Egypt’s Intelligence Service, US, “, Hamas, BBC Locations: Israel, Gaza, Cairo, Egypt, Rafah, United States

☆ In Threatening Israel, Biden Hopes to Avoid a Rupture
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By the time President Biden hung up the phone, he had finally delivered the threat he had refused to make for months: Israel had to change course, he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or the United States would take action. But as the conversation ended on Thursday, aides to Mr. Biden said, the president had reason to hope that the message had gotten through and that he would not have to carry out his threat after all. During the call, Mr. Biden outlined several specific commitments he wanted Israel to make to avoid losing his support for the war against Hamas. Rather than pushing back, according to people informed about the call, Mr. Netanyahu promised that he would announce more humanitarian aid for Gaza within hours and signaled that he would respond to Mr. Biden’s other demands in days to come. director, and Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries in Cairo to try again to broker a temporary cease-fire.

Persons: Biden, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, William J, Burns Organizations: White Locations: United States, Gaza, Israel, Cairo

CNN —Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to shut down news network Al Jazeera following the passage Monday of a sweeping law allowing the government to ban foreign networks perceived as posing a threat to national security. Rights groups condemned the move to shutter Al Jazeera and the law’s potential implications. In a statement the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was “deeply concerned” by the new legislation. The White House also called reports of the move to shutter Al Jazeera “concerning.”“The United States supports the critically important work journalists around the world do. Fighting between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 when Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israel.

Persons: CNN —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ”, Jazeera, Monday, –, Al, “, ” Al, Carlos Martínez de la Serna, Omar Shakir, Karine Jean, Pierre Organizations: CNN, CNN — Israel’s, Al, Qatari, IDF, Israeli Defense Forces, Protect Journalists, Jazeera, United States, Hamas, Ministry of Health Locations: Al Jazeera, Gaza, Israel, ” Al Jazeera, Qatari, Jazeera, Palestine

The video was broadcast earlier this week by the Al Jazeera television network. Al Jazeera said at least two of the three men seen in the blurry videos were waving white flags before being shot at. Al Jazeera said both shootings took place close to each other on a beachfront southwest of Gaza City. Palestinians and human rights groups say the Israeli military has used disproportionate or indiscriminate force in its Gaza offensive, leading to heavy civilian casualties. They say that even when such killings are caught on video, military investigations rarely result in indictments of the soldiers involved.

Persons: Al Jazeera Organizations: JERUSALEM, Al, Health Ministry, Hamas Locations: Al Jazeera, Gaza, Israeli, Al, Gaza City, Israel, israel

☆ Israeli police arrest relatives of Gaza hostages during Tel Aviv protest
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Lauren Izso | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Two relatives of Israeli hostages abducted on October 7 were arrested during a protest outside the defense ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv Tuesday evening, according to one of the groups that participated. Israeli police in a statement said they cleared the protesters from Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway where they were blocking traffic. A representative from the Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement that was involved in the demonstrations said in an update that two of the four arrested were relatives of hostages. CNN has reached out to the Hostage Families Forum, which represents the captives’ families and has held protests at the site. A man sits in a cage with portraits of 47-year-old Israeli hostage Elad Katzir, in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 26, 2024.

Persons: Kan, Elad Katzir, Jack Guez Organizations: CNN, Protesters, Israeli Pro, Hostage, Getty, “ Times, United Nations Security Locations: Tel Aviv, Qatar, Tel, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, AFP, Qatari, Doha

☆ Qatari royal reportedly invested $50 million in pro-Trump news channel Newsmax
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Right-wing news outlet Newsmax received an investment of roughly $50 million from a Qatari royal between 2019 and 2020, the Washington Post reported, citing documents seen by the paper and confirmations from representatives of both Newsmax and the royal investment firm. Former Qatari government official Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani invested in Newsmax through Heritage Advisors, a London-based investment fund that he owned, according to the report. According to the Post's reporting on Tuesday, Newsmax was looking for investors to compete with the likes of Fox News. In a statement cited by The Hill, a Newsmax spokesperson said: "In 2019 Newsmax received a minority investment from a UK-based fund with a Qatari investor that also invested in a company associated with the current Washington Post publisher. The Qatari royal "transferred his stake to a Cayman Islands-based corporate structure," the Post reported, adding that the $50 million investment represented a "significant minority stake."

Persons: George R, Newsmax, Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani, Donald Trump's Organizations: National Rifle Association, Brown Convention, Washington Post, Former Qatari, Heritage Advisors, United Arab, Doha stringently, Fox News, CNBC, Qatari, Dominion Voting Systems Locations: Houston , Texas, Newsmax, London, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatari, Cayman Islands

☆ Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks are ‘stuck but ongoing,’ sources tell CNN
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Alex Marquardt | Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Talks over a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas have reached another stalemate but are not over, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Burns put forward a proposal that was accepted by Israel and sent back to Hamas, the second person and an Israeli official told CNN. “The negotiations are not only centric around the prisoner exchange deal,” Hamas senior official Basem Naeim told CNN on Monday. Those releases would take place during the first phase of a ceasefire, which would be expected to last around six weeks. The senior US officials and Gallant did not reach any agreements on how Israel will move forward with an operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, US and Israeli officials told CNN.

Persons: “, ”, Bill Burns, Burns, Israel, David Barnea, Basem Naeim, “ Israel, Amir Levy, Yahya Sinwar, Matthew Miller, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, William Burns, Anna Moneymaker, ” Miller, Biden, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand Organizations: Hamas, CIA, Doha, Qatari, CNN, Hamas didn’t, National Security, United Nations Security, Central Intelligence Agency, House Intelligence, Cannon, US, Biden Locations: Gaza, Israel, Doha, Qatar, Tel Aviv, Washington , DC, Rafah, Washington, US

☆ Israeli Negotiators Head to Qatar for Cease-Fire Talks, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Adam Rasgon | More About Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli negotiators were traveling to Qatar on Monday to participate in a new round of in-person talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants, according to a senior Israeli official and another official briefed on the negotiations. The Israeli delegation’s trip to Doha, Qatar, comes after Israel and Hamas failed to reach an agreement ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week. The Israeli delegation includes the head of Mossad, the foreign intelligence agency; the director of the Shin Bet, the internal security service; and a representative of the Israeli Army, said the Israeli official. For months, Hamas leaders have been publicly calling for a comprehensive cease-fire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected the demands and indicated that they would be open to only a temporary pause.

Persons: Shin, Israel Organizations: Palestinian, Israeli Army, Hamas Locations: Qatar, Gaza, Israeli, Doha, Israel

☆ Aid Reaches Northern Gaza as Israel and Hamas Consider Truce Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Nidal al-MughrabiCAIRO (Reuters) - Trucks of flour have reached northern Gaza for distribution to areas that have had no aid in four months, Palestinian media reported on Sunday, with famine looming in the enclave and truce talks between Israel and Hamas due to resume in Qatar. A Hamas source said the route was secured by Hamas security personnel. War in Israel and Gaza View All 222 ImagesAid agencies have warned that pockets of Gaza already face famine, with hospitals in the north reporting children dying of malnutrition and dehydration. Hamas killed around 1,200 people in its attack and seized 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has now killed more than 31,500 Palestinians according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.

Persons: Nidal, Beit Hanoun, Israel's, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Olaf Scholz, King Abdullah, Netanyahu, Nidal al, Angus McDowall, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Hamas, Reuters, Qatari, Sunday, Palestinian Locations: CAIRO, Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Gaza City, Beit Lahiya, Israeli, Deir al, Rafah, Egypt, Jordan, QATAR, Doha

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