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☆ Oil to post weekly gain as Israel bombs southern Gaza city after rejecting Hamas ceasefire offer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 21, 2023, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment in the Palestinian territory amid ongoing battles with the Palestinian Hamas militant group. Oil prices are poised to post a weekly again as hopes for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war appeared to fade. Crude prices inched higher Friday with the West Texas Intermediate contract for March last up 7 cents to trade at $76.29 a barrel. Israel is pressing ahead with its war in Gaza, bombarding the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas' proposed terms for a ceasefire. And the U.S. killed a senior militant leader in a drone strike in Baghdad this week, raising tensions with the government of Iraq, a major oil producer.

Persons: Brent, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Hamas, West Texas Intermediate Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Baghdad, Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli forces detained two young adult American brothers and their Canadian father in in Gaza in an overnight raid on their home in the besieged Palestinian territory, relatives of the men said. The two American brothers, their Canadian citizen father, a mentally disabled uncle and two other adult male relatives were taken away by the Israelis, and remain missing, Elagha said. State Department spokespeople in Washington had no immediate comment on the reported detention of the American brothers. The Alagha brothers' family says they are among those who have been unable to get their names on the exit lists. In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, a 46-year-old Palestinian American woman, Samaher Esmail, was taken from her home on Monday and detained.

Persons: Borak Alagha, Hashem Alagha, Cousin Yasmeen Elagha, Khan Younis, Elagha, Antony Blinken, Israel, Samaher Esmail Organizations: WASHINGTON, Embassy, Northwestern University, Department, Hamas, State Department, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, U.S, Jerusalem, Washington, Chicago, Israel, Khan, a.m, Egypt

☆ Palestinian Authority to Pay Reduced Salaries as Israel Blocks Funds
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Ali SawaftaRAMALLAH (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday it will pay public sector workers 60% of their December salaries this week as it grapples with the longrunning fallout of Israel's refusal to transfer tax funds earmarked for Gaza. Funding to the Palestinian Authority, the body which exercises limited governance in the occupied West Bank, has been severely restricted by the months-long dispute over transferring tax revenues Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians. Although Gaza is controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority continues to fund essential areas of the blockaded enclave's budget including paying the salaries of health workers. The dispute over the Palestinian Authority budget coincides with a separate dispute over funding to UNWRA, the United Nations agency which pays for emergency relief for Palestinians. Much of the UNWRA budget has been cut off since Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 Gaza workers of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: Ali Sawafta, Mohammad Shtayyeh, Bezalel Smotrich, Smotrich, Shtayyeh, Antony Blinken, James Mackenzie, Christina Fincher Organizations: Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Palestinian, Israeli, Hamas, U.S, United Nations, Israel, International Court of Justice Locations: Ali Sawafta RAMALLAH, Gaza, Israel

☆ Where is Hind? Calls for answers more than a week after rescuers go missing trying to save trapped 6-year-old
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Demands for answers are mounting over the fate of 6-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who became trapped in a car with her dead relatives after it came under Israeli fire in Gaza more than a week ago. “We need to know what has happened to Hind and the PRCS ambulance team,” the PRCS said in their latest statement on X early Tuesday. “So many wonderful things can happen in a week, but for those waiting for news or for information a week is anguish. We’re in the car, the tank is right next to us,” Layan screams, amid intense gunfire in the background. Alone, terrified and trapped in the car with the bodies of her relatives around her, Hind made a desperate call for help.

Persons: Hind Rajab, Hind, ”, ” Hind, “, ” Layan, Layan, Jaafar Ashtiyeh, PRCS, Yousef Zieno, Ahmed Almadhoun –, Rana Al, I’m, Yousef, Ahmed, Hind’s, Wissam Hamada, …, ” Wissam, Hind Hamada, Wissam Organizations: CNN, Palestine Red Crescent Society, ” CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Red, Getty, Health Ministry, Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDF, of Health, “ Locations: Gaza, Palestine, Israeli, AFP, Rana, Al, Israel

☆ No Attack Detected on Iraq's Al-Harir Air Base Hosting US Forces -Security Sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO (Reuters) -No attack on the al-Harir air base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq was detected on Saturday, three security sources told Reuters, shortly after Islamic Resistance in Iraq militants claimed to have targeted the base. On Friday, the U.S. military launched airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and the militias it backs, in retaliation for last weekend's drone attack in northeastern Jordan that killed three U.S. troops. Since the Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza began in October, the U.S. military has come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones. (Reporting by Timour Azhari and Enas Alashray; editing by Mark Heinrich)Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

Persons: Timour Azhari, Mark Heinrich, Thomson Organizations: Reuters, Iraq, U.S ., Revolutionary Guard, Thomson Reuters Locations: CAIRO, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Gaza

☆ Palestinians are eating grass and drinking polluted water as famine looms across Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Sana Noor Haq | Rosa Rahimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“They are weak now, they always have diarrhea, their faces are yellow,” El Jamara, whose family was displaced from northern Gaza, told CNN on January 9. “Unfortunately, many relatives and friends are still in the northern Gaza Strip, suffering a lot,” Hamouda, a father-of-three, told CNN. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are “absolutely critical” for physical growth and cognitive development, Inglis told CNN. “It is not enough to meet my family’s needs at all,” the student, who is sheltering in a tent in Rafah, told CNN. “We simply don’t have enough, and we cannot keep up with the overwhelming needs of people on the ground,” she told CNN.

Persons: CNN — Hanadi Gamal Saed El Jamara, El Jamara, Arif Husain, Martin Griffiths, “, ”, El, Mohammed Hamouda, Odeh Al, Haw, Hamouda, Yahya Hassouna, Israel, ” Hamouda, Jabalya, Gihan, Baz, ” El Baz, Hoor, Hazem Saeed Al, Mohammed Hamouda Hamouda, Abu Youssef Al, Rebecca Inglis, Inglis, Shadi Bleha, Khan Younis, OCHA, Mohammed Hamouda Juliette Touma, Naizi Organizations: CNN, Food Programme, Integrated Food Security, UN, of Health, “, Getty, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, Najjar Hospital, UNICEF, World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund, WFP, OCHA, World, Al Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Egypt, “, Gaza City, AFP, East, Britain, Al, Territories, Deir al, Balah

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Three American service members were killed and “many” were wounded in a drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday. U.S. Central Command said 25 service members were injured the attack in addition to the three killed. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSome 3,000 American troops typically are stationed in Jordan. The attack on Jordan marks the first targeting American troops in Jordan during the war and the first to result in the loss of American lives. ___Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan and Jon Gambrell in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Muhannad Mubaidin, Lloyd Austin, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Karine Jean, Pierre said, ”, Bassem Mroue, Omar Akour, Jon Gambrell Organizations: COLUMBIA, American, West Bank, . Central Command, Defense, White, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Hamas, Associated Press Locations: Jordan, Syrian, Iran, U.S, Iranian, Israel, Gaza, United States, Jordanian, Syria, Jordan . U.S, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Red, Columbia , South Carolina, Western, Jerusalem, Palestine, Beirut, Amman

South Africa has accused Israel of genocide and asked the world court in The Hague, Netherlands, to impose interim measures as the case proceeds. Israel has denied committing genocide and asked the court to throw out the case, which the panel of 17 judges refused to do. — How genocide officially became a crime, and why South Africa is accusing Israel of committing it. South Africa requested interim steps since the proceedings could take several years. The world court is delivering its preliminary decisions in a genocide case that South Africa brought against Israel.

Persons: Israel, NETANYAHU, ISRAEL, JERUSALEM, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ”, “, Judge Joan E, Donoghue, Aharon Barak, Joan E, ” Donoghue, Osama Hamdan, Hamdan, Al, Khan Younis, Gaza’s, Khan, Ashraf al, Qidra, “ Israel, Naledi Pandor, Antony Blinken, Matthew Miller, Blinken, ” Miller Organizations: Gaza, International Court of Justice, Health Ministry, Hamas, UN, Court of, HAGUE, Israel, International Court, Justice, INTERNATIONAL, Court of Justice, ISRAEL THE, United Nations ’, FIRE, West Bank, Palestinian, Palestinian Foreign Ministry, DEIR, Associated Press, ’ Hospital, Brigades, MINISTRY, SOUTH, Hague, United, State Department . State Department Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, South Africa, The Hague, Netherlands, Egypt, Georgia, U.S, Red, israel, Israeli, HAGUE, Africa, GAZA, ISRAEL THE HAGUE, HAMAS, FIRE RAMALLAH, West, Al Aqsa, Deir, Khan, ISRAEL, RAFAH, SOUTH AFRICA, South

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — From Berlin to London and Limassol to Karachi, thousands of people took to the streets Sunday to mark the 100th day of Israel’s war with Hamas. Opposing demonstrations either demanded the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas or called for a cease-fire in Gaza. In the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, tens of thousands waved Palestinian flags or wore the keffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf, to express their solidarity with Palestinians in a rally organized by the country’s largest religious political party, Jamaat-e-Islami. The party’s Karachi chief, Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, called on the U.S. to stop backing Israel and compensate Palestinians for their losses. Protesters in London held posters with photos and the words “100 days in hell” to express their solidarity with Israel.

Persons: Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, Israel, ” Rehman, Ishrat Zahid, ”, Ayelet Svatitzky, “, ’ ’, Nadav Popplewell, Channah Peri, Peri, Roi Popplewell, Akrotiri, Osman Delibas, Delibas, Pope Francis, ____, Hadjicostis, Christophe Ena, Andrew Wilks, Frances D'Emilio Organizations: Hamas, Islami, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Protesters, Israel, Palestine, ” Protesters, RAF, British, British Ministry of Defense, Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation, . Foundation, Anadolu, Associated, Associated Press Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Berlin, London, Limassol, Karachi, Gaza, Pakistani, Israel, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, ”, Cyprus, British, Yemen, Britain, Egypt, Turkey, Istanbul, Iraq, Kurdish, St, Ukraine, Palestine, Rome

☆ OpenAI eases stance on the use of ChatGPT for military purposes
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

As part of the update, it eased restrictions on military use of its technology. In an unannounced update to its usage policies on January 10, OpenAI lifted a broad ban on using its technology for "military and warfare." On January 10, OpenAI rolled out its GPT Store , a marketplace for users to share and browse customized versions of ChatGPT known as "GPTs." AdvertisementSome AI experts worry that OpenAI's policy rewrite is too generalized, especially when AI technology is already being used in the conflict in Gaza. The Israeli military said it used AI to pinpoint targets to bomb inside the Palestinian territory.

Persons: —, OpenAI, OpenAI's, Sarah Myers West Organizations: Service, OpenAI, Business, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Gaza

☆ Israel bombards southern Gaza as residents fear new ground offensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke rising from buildings after being hit by Israeli strikes, as battles resume between Israel and Hamas militants, on December 1, 2023. Israeli war planes and artillery bombarded the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, hitting mosques, homes and close to a hospital, after the collapse of a truce in the nearly two-month-old war between Israel and Hamas militants. The conflict broke out on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants crossed into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in a rampage against kibbutzim and other communities. More than 200 hostages were taken back into Gaza. Israel responded with a bombing campaign and ground offensive in the north which has destroyed large areas of Gaza in what has become the bloodiest episode of the decades-long wider Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Persons: Khan Younis, Robert Mardini, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Gaza, Hamas, Residents, Nasser, Cross, Reuters, Crescent, Palestinian Locations: Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Khan, Dubai, Rafah, Qatar

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel pounded targets in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, intensifying a renewed offensive that followed a weeklong truce with Hamas and giving rise to renewed concerns about civilian casualties. It divides the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered, haphazardly drawn parcels, sometimes across roads or blocks, and asks residents to learn the number of their location in case of an eventual evacuation. During the truce, Israel freed 240 Palestinians from its prisons. After the end of the truce, militants in Gaza resumed firing rockets into Israel, and fighting broke out between Israel and Hezbollah militants operating along its northern border with Lebanon. Israel says 77 of its soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive in northern Gaza.

Persons: KHAN YOUNIS, Israel, Antony Blinken, Younis, ”, Emad Hajar, Khan Younis, “, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's, ___ Magdy Organizations: United Nations, Egyptian Foreign Ministry, House, Rescue Committee, Health Ministry, Hamas Locations: Gaza, United States, Dubai, Beit Lahia, Khan, Israel, Egypt, U.S, House ., Palestinian, Lebanon, Cairo, Rising, Bangkok, israel

According to three regional sources, Israel related its plans to its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020. He declined to offer details when asked whether those plans had been raised with international partners, including Arab states. A U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said Israel had "floated" the buffer zone idea without saying to whom. The regional sources compared the Gaza buffer zone plan to the "security zone" Israel once had in south Lebanon. "The buffer zone could make (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's forces a target also in the zone," he said.

Persons: Ronen, Israel, Abu Dhabi, Ophir Falk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanon's, it's, Mohammad Dahlan, Benjamin, Netanyahu's, Samia Nakhoul, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Jonathan Saul, Dan Williams, Aidan Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland, Edmund Blair, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi, Reuters, U.S, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Palestinian Fatah, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Gaza Israel, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, U.S, DUBAI, CAIRO, LONDON, Israel, Riyadh, Arab Turkey, Qatar, Qatari, Turkish, Palestinian, Cairo, Lebanon, PLO, Dubai, London, Jerusalem, Washington

☆ Little food, a beating and lice: What freed Israeli hostages are saying about being held by Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Rachel Clarke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The details below have been compiled from comments by freed hostages to their families, their carers and sometimes to reporters. Under the terms of the deal between Israel and Hamas, most of those released are women, children and foreign workers. Ruth Munder, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after her arrival in Israel on November 24. Emily Hand told her father that they always had breakfast and sometimes lunch or an evening meal. Emily Hand said she was not hit and her father said he believed harsh voices were enough to make her do what was wanted.

Persons: –, It’s, Adina Moshe, Eyal Nouri, “, ” Moshe, Nouri, keener, ” Nouri, Yocheved, Emily, Thomas Hand, Hand, “ It’s, ”, Hila Rotem, Raaya Rotem, ” Hand, “ She’d, Hila, bedclothes, Ruth Munder, Eitan Yahalomi, Deborah Cohen, Omer Lubaton Granot, ” Granot, Lifshitz, Grandmother Ruth Munder, Israel’s vise, ” Munder, ” Adina Moshe, Emily Hand, she’s, Uthai Saengnuan, Eitan, Yair Rotem, it’s, Yar Rotem, ” Chumpron Jirachart, Manee Jirachart, I’ve, Elma Avraham, Hagai Levine, ” Eitan Yahalomi, Efrat Bron, Harlev, ” Bron, ” Israel, CNN’s Rachel Clarke, Joseph Ataman, Wolf Blitzer, Kate Bolduan, Bianna Golodryga, Jessie Gretener, Poppy Harlow, Jacqueline Howard, Lauren Izso, Ed Lavandera, Phil Mattingly, Kocha OIarn, Clarissa Ward Organizations: CNN, Rotem, United Nations ’ Office, Humanitarian Affairs, BFMTV, Israel’s, UN, Sourasky Medical, Israeli Defense Forces, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Atlanta

☆ Fact Check: Palestinian official flag in 1939 did not show Star of David
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The image of the flag, which is half white and half blue with the Star of David in its centre, is spreading on Facebook (archived) with claims that it shows the official 1939 Palestinian flag. “The 1939 flag of Palestine shows that it was recognized as a Jewish entity even then,” one Facebook account wrote (archived). According to academics who spoke to Reuters, the flag seen in circulating images is not an official flag of historical Palestine. An example of a mandate-era official flag from 1946 can be seen on the British Imperial War Museums website. The official flag of mandate Palestine in 1939, during which Palestine was administered by Britain as a League of Nations Mandate, was a Union Jack.

Persons: David, Shay Hazkani, Joseph, Rebecca Meyerhoff, Jack, ”, Salim Tamari, Tamari, Sharif Hussein, Derek Penslar, William Lee Frost, “, Union Jack, Penlsar, Tamir Sorek, Read Organizations: Zionist, Palestinian, Jewish, Star, Larousse, Reuters, Center for Jewish Studies, University of Maryland, League of Nations, Institute of Palestine Studies, Birzeit University, British, Harvard University, Union, Penn State University, Society, International Affairs, Britain, League of Nations Mandate, Thomson Locations: Palestine, Larousse French, Israel, Ottoman Empire, Union

☆ UN commission to investigate Hamas sexual violence, appeal for evidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The commission could struggle to gather sufficient evidence to support future charges if access is not granted. Israeli authorities have already opened their own investigation into sexual violence during the most deadly attack on Israel in its history, including rape, after evidence emerged pointing to sexual crimes, such as victims found disrobed and mutilated. Evidence about sexual violence includes testimonies given to Reuters since Oct. 7 by first responders at the sites of the attacks as well as military reservists who tended to the bodies in the identification process. It is about to release a public "call for submissions" for evidence on Hamas' sexual violence, said Pillay, who is a former U.N. human rights chief and International Criminal Court judge. "I was very impressed with the deputy prosecutor's (Nazhat Shameem Khan) emphasis on how seriously she wishes to investigate the incidents of sexual violence, the complaints coming from Israel," she said.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, I'm, Pillay, Issam Abdallah, Israel, Emma Farge, Stephanie Van Den Berg, Emily Rose, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Criminal, Human Rights, International, ICC, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Israeli, Geneva, Washington, Hague, Jerusalem

We were shocked to see our homes, our streets, our lands, our yards and everything demolished," said Gihad Nabil, who was recently married and had been living in Abu Ta'imah with his wife. We don't need this truce, we need a complete ceasefire," he said, likening what he was seeing to an earthquake zone. Abdelrahman Abu Ta'imah, a member of the clan that gave the area its name, searched through his bombed-out apartment, pulling clothes and a pink mattress from the debris. Israel says it targets Hamas infrastructure, and accuses Hamas of putting civilians in harm's way by using them as human shields. But Abu Ta'imah said a short truce was not enough and he longed for a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Persons: Mohammed Salem, KHAN YOUNIS, Abu Ta'imah, Gaza's Khan Younis, Gihad Nabil, Nabil, Israel, Antonio Guterres, Khan Younis, we've, Estelle Shirbon, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Khan, Gaza, Abu, Gaza's, Egypt

☆ Donkey Cart Ride Shows Scale of Destruction in Gaza's Khan Younis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

Unfortunately it takes us three to four hours to reach Khan Younis," said Najar, speaking on the back of the cart. The slower pace gives a clear view of a city scarred by war, with the white donkey trotting past one scene of destruction after another. The destruction in Khan Younis in the south is not as extreme as in Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza that have borne the brunt of Israel's military campaign. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an assault on Gaza that has killed more than 15,000 people, four in ten of them children, according to health officials there. "They didn't leave a tree or a stone," he said, appealing to God to bring the war to an end.

Persons: Bassam Masoud, Fadi Shana KHAN YOUNIS, Khan Younis, Mohammed al Najar, Estelle Shirbon, Janet Lawrence Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, Khan, Khuza'a, Gaza City, rampaged, Israel

Senate Democrats are discussing the possibility of attaching conditions to future Israel military aid amid humanitarian concerns in Gaza resulting from the country’s aggressive prosecution of its war against Hamas. “I do think that Israel needs to be more careful in the way it is conducting these operations,” Murphy added. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania told reporters he doesn’t support restrictions, saying that Hamas has to be “eliminated,” necessitating that there be no conditions on military aid to Israel. Senate Republicans were likewise largely opposed to conditions on aid to Israel, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called the idea “ridiculous.”“Our relationship with Israel is the closest national security relationship we have with any country in the world,” McConnell said. “We all support Israel.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Chuck Schumer, ”, Sen, Chris Coons, Bernie Sanders, Netanyahu’s, ” Sanders, Chris Murphy, ” Murphy, Joe Biden, Richard Blumenthal, who’s, ” Blumenthal, John Fetterman of, “, ” Fetterman, Mitch McConnell, ” McConnell, Israel –, “ We’ve, ” Sen, Peter Welch, we’re Organizations: CNN, Senate Republicans, Vermont Democrat, Israel Locations: Israel, Gaza, Chris Coons of Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut, U.S, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

☆ Donations to Hamas-linked charities spike 70% since Oct. 7 attack, Israeli officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Jason Gewirtz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"We saw a 70% increase in money given to Hamas-linked charities," said Uzi Shaya, a former high-ranking officer in Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. Charities suspected of funneling money to Hamas often change their names, too, making them all the more difficult to monitor. Israel's National Bureau of Counter Terror Financing maintains a list of charitable organizations that it accuses of directly aiding Hamas' military. Hard lessonsEnsuring that individual Gazans have economic opportunity without simultaneously funding Hamas militants has proven to be a difficult challenge for Israel. Beyond direct funding, Israel also allowed 18,000 Gazans to enter Israel to work, again hoping that a stable economy would pacify Hamas.

Persons: John Macdougall, Uzi Shaya, Shaya, Din, Akin, Hawala, Israel, Karim Jaafar, Israel haven't, Binance, —, Al, Adel Hana, Fadel Senna Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, AFP, Getty, Israeli Defense and Foreign Ministry, CNBC, Foreign Ministry, Islamic, Bureau of, Qatari Red Crescent, Gaza, Qatar Emiri Air Force, International Airport, Palestinian, Treasury Department Locations: Ramallah, Israel, Gaza, Islamic Jihad, Lebanon, Iran, Hawala, North Sinai, Egypt, U.S, Gaza City, Adel Hana An Israeli, Sderot

"We're closer now than we've been before," White House spokesman John Kirby said of a hostage agreement. The Palestinian militant group Hamas took about 240 hostages during its Oct. 7 rampage into Israel that killed 1,200 people. The Washington Post on Saturday reported a deal had been agreed but the White House and Israel denied that. Hamas' raid on Oct. 7, the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year-old history, prompted Israel to invade the Palestinian territory to target Hamas. Hospital staff denied there were any armed militants on the premises.

Persons: Joseph Campbell, Israel, Joe Biden, We're, we've, John Kirby, Mirjana Spoljaric, Cross, Ismail Haniyeh, United States Michael Herzog, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Thani, Jon, Gaza's, Witnesses, WAFA, Beit Lahia, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Al Shifa, Shifa, U.N, Antonio Guterres, Idres Ali, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Nations, Fund, UNICEF, REUTERS, Red Cross, Indonesian, U.S, Palestinian, International Committee, Reuters, Qatar's, Washington Post, White, House, Press, Gaza's Hamas, Indonesian Hospital, Health, Health Organisation, Israeli Defence Forces, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Qatar, Gaza, GAZA, JERUSALEM, United States, Gaza City, Geneva, Hamas, Israel's, Jakarta, Palestinian, Beit, Gaza's, Egypt

[1/6] Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 20, 2023. Like many other health facilities in embattled Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations, has ceased operations. At the other end of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, at least 14 Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on houses in the town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, health officials said. Israeli tanks and troops stormed into Gaza late last month and have since seized wide areas of the north and northwest and east around Gaza City, the Israeli military says. Palestinians say Israel's repeated bombardment of southern Gaza renders Israeli promises of safety absurd.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, WAFA, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Gaza's, Beit Lahia, Israel, Yemen's, Houthis, Michael Herzog, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Thani, General Antonio Guterres, Clauda Tanios, James Mackenzie, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, REUTERS, Indonesian, Indonesian Hospital, Gaza's General Authority, Gaza's Hamas, Islamic, Sunday, Qatari, White, Israel, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Egyptian, GAZA, JERUSALEM, Palestinian, Egypt, Gaza City, Beach, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, Beijing, Yemen's Iran, British, United States, Doha, States

☆ Israeli Tanks Reported Near Hospital in Embattled North Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military of the reports from the Indonesian Hospital but the Palestinian news agency WAFA said the facility had been hit by artillery fire. Like many other health facilities in embattled Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations, has ceased operations. At the other end of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, at least 14 Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on houses in the town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, health officials said. Israeli tanks and troops stormed into Gaza late last month and have since seized wide areas of the north and northwest and east around Gaza City, the Israeli military says. Palestinians say Israel's repeated bombardment of southern Gaza renders Israeli promises of safety absurd.

Persons: Clauda Tanios, James Mackenzie, WAFA, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Gaza's, Beit Lahia, Israel, Yemen's, Houthis, Michael Herzog, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Thani, General Antonio Guterres, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Indonesian, Indonesian Hospital, Palestinian, Gaza's General Authority, Gaza's Hamas, Islamic, Sunday, Qatari, White, Hamas, Israel Locations: James Mackenzie GAZA, JERUSALEM, Gaza, Palestinian, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Gaza City, Beach, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, Beijing, Yemen's Iran, British, United States, Doha, States

WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A deal to secure the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants is closer than ever in the Islamist group's war with Israel, a White House official said on Sunday. "What I can say at this point is that some of the outstanding areas of disagreement, in a very complicated, very sensitive negotiation, have been narrowed," Finer told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "I believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time, maybe closer than we have been since the beginning of this process, to getting this deal done," he added. "We're talking about considerably more than 12 (hostages)," Finer told NBC. On Saturday, Israel warned civilians in parts of southern Gaza to relocate as it girds for an offensive from the north.

Persons: Jon, United States Michael Herzog, Israel, David Morgan, Jasper Ward, Leah Douglas, Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot Organizations: White, White House, Washington Post, Press, NBC, Hamas, CBS, Gaza's Health, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, That's

☆ Hamas battles Israeli forces in north Gaza, amid hopes of hostage deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A view of debris of destroyed buildings after Israeli army's airstrike at Nuseirat Refugee Camp as Israel's attacks continue on its 42nd day in Gaza Strip on November 17, 2023. Hamas gunmen battled Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza's largest refugee camp on Sunday and at least 11 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli air strike on a house, medics said, as hopes rose of a deal to free some hostages from the enclave. Reuters reported on Nov. 15 that Qatari mediators had been seeking a deal between Israel and Hamas to exchange 50 hostages in return for a three-day ceasefire, citing an official briefed on the talks. At the time, the official said general outlines had been agreed but Israel was still negotiating details. The civilian death toll in Gaza was "staggering and unacceptable," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday, again appealing for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, United States Michael Herzog, Israel, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Thani, General Antonio Guterres Organizations: The Washington Post, Post, Israeli, Reuters, Sunday, Qatari, Hamas, Israel Locations: Gaza, The, Israel, United States, Doha, States

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