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☆ Hamas Official: ‘We’re Not Obstinate’ in Cease-Fire Talks on Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For nearly two decades, Hamas has been in charge of governing Gaza, overseeing its border crossings, schools and hospitals. But after nine months of a ruinous war with Israel, the militant group is now expressing readiness to give up civilian governance in Gaza, albeit without dismantling its military wing. The overture by Hamas, while most likely a nonstarter for Israel, is meant to signal to the international community Hamas’s apparent readiness to make some concessions to enable the rebuilding of Gaza. It also arrives against the backdrop of ongoing cease-fire negotiations, in which Hamas has shown some flexibility on the language in a proposed deal. “First and foremost, we want the Palestinian people in Gaza to recover from this war,” Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said in an interview at an unmarked building in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Persons: Husam Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, Doha

☆ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reverses on key Israeli concession in ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Jerusalem CNN —Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reneged on a key Israeli concession in ceasefire negotiations, demanding that armed men be barred from returning to northern Gaza during an eventual ceasefire, an Israeli source familiar with the talks told CNN. Israel had previously agreed to allow Palestinians fully unrestricted access to northern Gaza during an eventual ceasefire, but the Israeli Prime Minister told his negotiating team this week to demand that armed men be barred from northern Gaza as part of any ceasefire and hostage deal, the source said. The new demand could potentially upend progress in hostage negotiations and raises further questions about Netanyahu’s commitment to Israel’s own proposal for a deal that has become the basis for detailed negotiations. Israel had said it wouldn’t end the war until all hostages are freed and Hamas is eliminated. CNN has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for comment.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, ” Israel, CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim, Ibrahim Dahman, Eugenia Yosef, Tim Lister Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israeli, CNN, Qatari, Doha, Prime Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, Israel, ”

☆ Israel-Hamas war: Rescued hostage details psychological abuse during eight months of Hamas captivity
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Christian Edwards | Bianna Golodryga | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —When the Gaza sunshine was at its hottest, Andrey Kozlov said the Hamas fighters would cover him with blankets, leaving him to stew in his sweat. When they pulled the blindfold from his eyes, they said they would kill him and film his murder. The 27-year-old said he suffered intense psychological – and some physical – abuse at the hands of Hamas. He cannot bring himself to describe all that happened to him and the two other hostages he was kept with during his eight months of captivity in Gaza. “Yes they were.”For that reason, Kozlov implored Israeli officials to “try to understand how we [the hostages] felt all this time.

Persons: Andrey Kozlov, Kozlov, “, Israel, Noa Argamani, Abed Khaled, Reuters Kozlov, ”, –, Almog Meir Jan, Shlomi Ziv, – “, ” –, Kozlov – “, ” Kozlov, Marko Djurica, pushups ”, ‘, Itai Pessach, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Nova, Hamas, West Bank, ”, Reuters, Qatari, Doha Locations: Gaza, Russian, Israel, Russia, Nuseirat, ”

☆ No music, no Western-style haircuts: UN report details life in Afghanistan under Taliban’s moral enforcers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Lex Harvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Listening to music, smoking hookah, and getting a Western-style haircut are all punishable acts under the suffocating rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to a new UN report. The Taliban’s so-called morality police have curtailed human rights – disproportionately targeting women and girls – creating a “climate of fear and intimidation,” said the report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published Tuesday. Moreover, the report said, the Taliban’s instructions are issued in a variety of formats – often only verbally – and are inconsistently and unpredictably enforced. However, reports from Afghanistan suggest the Taliban’s repressive control over women has led to a sharp rise in suicide attempts. Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty ImagesMedia is heavily restricted, and residents live in a surveillance state, the report added.

Persons: ”, Majid Saeedi, Ebrahim Noroozi, Bernat, Ahmad, Ahmad Sahel Arman, “, Rosemary DiCarlo Organizations: CNN, UN, legislating, Taliban, ”, Getty, Media Locations: Afghanistan, Zaranj, Afghanistan's Nimroz, Kabul, Afghan, Ahmad Sahel, AFP, Qatar, Doha

☆ Developments in Gaza ceasefire talks raise hopes but challenges persist. Here’s what to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Last week, a US official told CNN that a framework agreement is “in place” and talks resumed Friday in Doha. Hatem Khaled/ReutersOn Thursday, a senior US administration told CNN that the framework for a deal is “now in place,” following a call between Biden and Netanyahu. Hamas has long demanded that Israel agree to a permanent ceasefire before signing any deal, which Israel has so far refused. Netanyahu also said there will be “no return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip,” the statement said. “If the Americans are still optimistic (after Netanyahu’s Sunday statement), then they are really living in La La land,” Baskin told CNN.

Persons: ”, ” Israel, Israel, ” Gershon Baskin, Baskin, Joe Biden, “, who’ve, Khan Younis, Hatem Khaled, Biden, Netanyahu, –, Donald Trump, Yair Lapid, ” Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Ilan Rosenberg, Reuters Baskin, ” Baskin Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Reuters, Sunday, Trump, “ Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Doha, Cairo, ”, Egypt, Israeli, Rafah, Jerusalem, La La

☆ Talks on Gaza Cease-Fire Revive After Weeks of Deadlock
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli negotiators traveled to the Gulf nation of Qatar on Friday for the first time in weeks to restart contacts over a cease-fire deal that would end the war in Gaza, following weeks of deadlock in the negotiations. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the meeting as a preliminary discussion with more substantive talks to follow. David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence service, led the Israeli delegation to Doha, the Qatari capital, where he was set to meet with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister. Cease-fire negotiations had been stalled for weeks until Wednesday, when Hamas announced that it had exchanged some ideas with mediators on a new way forward. Both U.S. and Israeli officials said the revised Hamas position could allow for an agreement, but cautioned that a protracted and difficult series of deliberations lay ahead nonetheless.

Persons: David Barnea, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Organizations: Doha, Hamas, U.S Locations: Gulf, Qatar, Gaza, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani

☆ US Navy Super Hornets armed with SM-6s, a warship missile newly tested in combat, have been spotted in the Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewUS Navy fighter aircraft have been spotted in the Pacific carrying an air-launched version of a powerful ship-fired interceptor missile that only recently debuted in combat. A US Navy spokesperson told Naval News that "the SM-6 Air Launched Configuration (ALC) was developed as part of the SM-6 family of missiles and is operationally deployed in the Navy today." CSIS also notes that "its tri-mission capability also presents opportunities for the Navy to arrange more efficient weapon loadouts onboard its guided missile ships." AdvertisementThe missiles observed on Navy aircraft at RIMPAC can be seen sporting AIM-174B designations, indicating that they are an air-to-air variant. AdvertisementExtended air-to-air range missiles in a new role could help the Navy plug gaps in countering long-range missiles that China is fielding, especially should Washington and Beijing clash some day.

Persons: —, Carl Vinson, Isaiah Williams, Navy Carlos Del Toro, pBur3mhRQs, 0L2bNLgTUi —, Justin Bronk, Derek Kelley, Bronk Organizations: Service, Navy, Pacific, Business, US Navy, Naval, Hornets, Nimitz, Hickam, RIM, Combat, Hornet, for Strategic, International Studies, Defense, Observers, U.S . Navy, 0L2bNLgTUi — Doha, Royal United Services Institute, Biden, American Navy, AIM Locations: Iran, China, Gulf, Aden, @Doha104p3, Washington, Beijing

The administration and other Western governments are scrambling to keep up with the mounting danger ISIS-K poses. Before this year, U.S. and other Western officials believed ISIS-K had the intent but not the ability to orchestrate attacks abroad. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Europe since 2004. ISIS-K also launched a major attack in Iran this year that killed dozens, and other plots were disrupted in Europe. The Taliban sees ISIS-K as a threat to its rule and has launched a series of attacks on the group.

Organizations: Biden, U.S ., Moscow's, Moscow's Crocus City Hall, ISIS, Embassy, Taliban, White House National Security Council Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S, Moscow's Crocus, Europe, Iran, Africa, Khorasan, Washington, United States, Doha

Rights groups are furious the Taliban meeting is going ahead without Afghan women, and say it legitimizes Afghanistan’s leaders and fails to hold them to account for grave injustices. Whatever we had, we spent it,” Arzo’s brother Ahamad, a 27-year-old journalist under threat from the Taliban due to his occupation, told CNN in November. Arzo told CNN what drove her suicide attempt. Pakistan’s policy on “illegal foreigners” is no different to that of other nations, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told CNN. CNNArzo doesn’t want a life like that for herself, her sister, or the women and girls still in Afghanistan.

Persons: ”, Arzo, Javed Iqbal, ” Richard Bennett, Zabihullah Mujahid, “, Richard Bennett, weren’t, – they’ll, They’re, Mahsa, Ahamad, Doctors, Arzo’s, CNN Arzo hadn’t, ” Mahsa, they’ve, can’t, Moniza Kakar, Rain, Kakar, Abbas, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Baloch, hadn’t, ” Amanullah, He’s, Amanullah, he’s, CNN Arzo, Heather Barr, ” Barr, “ It’s, Bennett, she’ll, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Lifeline, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Befrienders Worldwide, Pakistan CNN —, United Nations, Human Rights, UN, Security, “ ACC ”, Afghan, ACC, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign, “, Taliban, Human Rights Watch, International Court of Justice, Criminal Court, ICC Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, Pakistani, Afghanistan, CNN Pakistan, Doha, Qatar, Afghan, Kabul, Islamabad, –, Soviet, ”, Canada, Israel, Gaza

☆ Why Women Must Be Invited to Shape Afghanistan’s Future - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Richard Bennett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I met with a group of 11th-grade math students who told me about their hopes for the future. “I don’t want to end up trapped at home and condemned to a domestic life,” one female student told me. Now, among the many other challenges facing girls and women under the Taliban’s rule, a mental health crisis has gripped the country. Now, more than 1,000 days later, school remains off limits for girls older than 12, and restrictions on education have expanded to universities. The Taliban now say education is “an internal matter,” and it remains unclear when — or if — schools will reopen to girls.

Persons: “, ”, — Organizations: United Nations, Taliban Locations: Afghanistan, United, Doha, Qatar

☆ Help! Qatar Airways Denied Us Boarding Because of a Broken Link.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Seth Kugel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

When China finally reopened to tourists in 2023, we got visas and booked a July flight to Beijing via Doha on Qatar Airways, paying about $1,400 total. The link on the Qatar Airways website was broken, but I confirmed online and with friends who had recently traveled to China that I could fill it out upon arrival. At the airport, Qatar Airways disagreed, and when I once again couldn’t get the form to work, we were denied boarding. Qatar Airways mostly refunded the tickets — we received $1,185 — but refused to admit it was wrong. In your situation, your itinerary had you going through Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha, meaning those behind you in line in Jordan were probably headed to dozens of countries, all with their own rules.

Persons: couldn’t, Jordan Dear Elizabeth, ”, Max Tremaine Organizations: United Nations, Qatar Airways, Royal, China Southern, Sherpa, Qatar Airways ’ Locations: American, Jordan, China, Beijing, Doha, Istanbul, Royal Jordanian, Elizabeth, Amman, New York, London, Dutch, Bangladesh, Cairo, Australian, Kyrgyzstan

CNN —Roba Abu Jibba looked shell-shocked as the doctor delivered his news: She couldn’t have the operation she desperately wanted. “I came here, and now they said I won’t be able to get a prosthetic,” she told CNN between sobs. The Israeli military told CNN they carried out “a precise strike” after their troops came under fire from that location. Looking back at that night, Abu Jibba told CNN that she blamed both Israel and Palestinian militants for what happened to her family. Her aunt who accompanied her to Qatar told CNN the young woman now prefers solitude, and rarely goes outside.

Persons: Roba Abu Jibba, “, ”, ” Abu Jibba, Abu Jibba, Mohammed, ’ ”, Gazans, CNN “, “ I’m, there’s Organizations: CNN, sobs, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian, Qatar, Ministry of Health, Hamas, Research, Nurses Locations: Gaza, Doha, Qatari, Israel, Qatar, Gaza City, Rafah, Egypt, “

☆ Singapore won best first-class airline in the world for its exclusive hotel-like Airbus A380 suite. Here's what it's like inside.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore Airlines won the 2024 Skytrax award for the world's best first-class service. The airline's Airbus A380 planes sport a hotel-like suites that can convert into double rooms. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . It fought Doha-based competitor Qatar Airways for Skytrax's 2024 title of world's best airline, winning in 2023 but losing to Qatar this year. However, one Skytrax awards category Singapore has consistently won since 2018 is Best First Class for the hotel-like suites on its Airbus A380s.

Persons: — Organizations: Singapore Airlines, Airbus, Service, Qatar Airways, Qatar, Singapore, Business Locations: Doha

☆ Afghanistan enjoys historic run to T20 World Cup semifinals: ‘Cricket is the only source of happiness back home’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Ben Morse | Masoud Popalzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Afghanistan fans celebrate the team's win against Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup. Gurbaz is the leading run scorer at the T20 World Cup. “That Afghanistan team got into the semis for the first time,” the 25-year-old told the International Cricket Council (ICC) website. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”Khan (middle) celebrates the dismissal of India's Rishabh Pant at the T20 World Cup. And in a statement posted online, the Afghanistan Cricket Board expressed its “disappointment” towards Australia’s decision and “reiterates its stance on neutral and politics-free cricket across the globe.”

Persons: – couldn’t, Ashraf Ghani, Mullah Amir Muttaqi, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah, Rashid Khan, ” Khan, cramp, Jonathan Trott, Ricardo Mazalan, Raees Ahmadzai, Khan –, Mohammad Nabi, Hashmatullah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ramon Espinosa, Trott, Khan, Nabi, Noor Ahmad –, bamboozled, Gurbaz, “, ”, India's Rishabh Pant, Randy Brooks, Barney Ronay, Suhail Shaheen, ” Shaheen Organizations: CNN, Pakistan, Afghanistan Cricket Board, Bangladesh, AFP, Getty, Australia, Afghan national cricket team, International Cricket Council, ICC, Afghanistan, United, Guardian, ACB, FIFA, International Olympic Committee Locations: Australia, Afghanistan, Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, “, AFP, Taliban, United States, Doha

☆ Wombat walker: Australia needs help looking after its cutest residents
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

East Coast Natureworld in Tasmania, Australia, is hiring a “wombat walker” who will help keep these fuzzy marsupials in peak physical condition. Tasmania is also looking for a volunteer paranormal investigator to spend a day (or night …) checking out a spooky abandoned asylum. Now, travelers are looking at Norway and Sweden in the summer while checking out flights for Greece in the cooler fall and spring. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon alights from a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft. But New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon isn’t just any ordinary traveler.

Persons: ”, Petros Giannakouris, Sarah Hamouda, Christopher Luxon alights, Andrew Kutan, grumbling, Christopher Luxon isn’t, Luxon, Michelle Wibowo, Simon Jacobs, Edamame Sheeran, Benedict Cucumberbatch, it’s Organizations: CNN, Zealand, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Getty, Air New Zealand –, Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia Locations: Dubai, East Coast, Tasmania, Australia, Athens, Greece, Italy, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden, AFP, Japan, Air, Doha, South Korea, Matera

☆ Passengers say they were stuck on grounded Qatar Airways plane for hours amid Greek heatwave
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Dozens of passengers who boarded a Qatar Airways plane in Athens, Greece on Monday expected to be on their way to their destination – Doha, Qatar – relatively quickly. Instead, they found themselves trapped inside a grounded plane for more than three hours, according to passenger Garth Collins, who posted about his experience on Instagram. In a video posted by Collins, passengers can be seen standing up from their seats and in the aisles of the plane, fanning themselves and fellow passengers with paper. Zeiher told 7News that she received “zero information” from Qatar Airways, so she decided to rebook her onward flight to Australia through Emirates. According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, flight QR204 was supposed to leave Athens International Airport at 1:55 p.m. local time.

Persons: Garth Collins, Collins, Michael Mosley, Jennie Zeiher, Joe, Zeiher, ‘, ” Zeiher, ”, 7News, QR204 Organizations: CNN, Qatar Airways, –, Athens International Airport, 7News, Doha’s Hamad International Airport, Athens International Locations: Athens, Greece, – Doha, Qatar, British, Symi, ATH, Doha, Melbourne, Australia, Emirates, DOH

Beirut, Lebanon CNN —The fate of the 120 remaining hostages in Gaza is crucial to any deal to end the protracted and bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas. But a senior Hamas official has told CNN that “no one has an idea” how many of them are alive, and that any deal to release them must include guarantees of a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. People walk among debris, aftermath of Israeli strikes at the area, where Israeli hostages were rescued on Saturday, in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, on Sunday, June 9. Hamas' Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar attends a meeting with members of Palestinian groups in Gaza City on April 13, 2022. Israel believes that more than 70 hostages of the more than 100 who are still held in Gaza to be alive.

Persons: Osama Hamdan, Yahya Sinwar, Antony Blinken, Sinwar, Hamdan, Joe Biden, Blinken, ” Blinken, Abed Khaled, ”, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu “, Jack Guez, ” Sinwar, Ali Jadallah, Netanyahu, “, … Organizations: Lebanon CNN, Hamas, CNN, NBC, ”, Wednesday, United Nations Security, Reuters, White, Israel Defense Forces, European Union, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Israel, Wall, IDF Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, Lebanese, Doha, Israeli, Jerusalem, AFP, United Kingdom, Hamas, Gaza City, American

☆ Top US diplomat says Hamas is moving the goalposts on a cease-fire
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Hamas wants to change the terms of a US-backed ceasefire proposal, says Antony Blinken. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe US-led plan for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has hit another stumbling block — and the US says Hamas is to blame. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the militant group has made new demands, moving the goalposts on a proposed cease-fire to end the 8-month-long war. Blinken told reporters from Doha on Wednesday that Hamas has not agreed to a US-backed ceasefire proposal because it wants to make "numerous changes," despite the deal being "virtually identical" to one Hamas had previously accepted.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, — Organizations: Service, Doha, Hamas, Business Locations: Israel, Gaza

“Hamas could have answered with a single word – yes,” he said. “It’s time for the haggling to stop and a ceasefire to start. Hamas submitted its reply to the multi-phased ceasefire and hostage release proposal to mediators on Tuesday. According to a senior State Department official, Blinken, who was in Amman at the time, dispatched two of the senior staff traveling with him to retrieve Hamas’ response from Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, who was also in the Jordanian capital. Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, described their response as “responsible, serious and positive.”CNN’s Becky Anderson, Hamdi Alkhshali and Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.

Persons: Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, ”, “ Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jake Sullivan, ’, Israel, Blinken, Abbas Kamel, ” CNN’s Becky Anderson, Hamdi Alkhshali, Benjamin Brown Organizations: CNN, US National, UN, State Department, Egyptian Locations: Gaza, Doha, Israel, ”, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Amman, Jordanian, Izzat

CNN —Sardinia, Italy (CNN) – Uruguay at the 1950 World Cup. Cameroon at the 1990 World Cup. Lewandowski celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C match against Saudi Arabia at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on November 26, 2022. “I think we are playing good football [and] we know that we are not the favourites in the group stage. “They were fighting [a] similar situation before the World Cup and they were so close and now they did it,” he said.

Persons: Robert Lewandowski, CNN’s Sport’s Amanda Davies, Valeriy Bondar, Adam Nurkiewicz, Fernando Santos, –, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Alex Caparros, who’ll, “, ”, Austria –, Lewandowski, Andrej Isakovic, Boris Streubel, Gerd Müller’s, He’ll, Kylian, wasn’t, ’, he’ll, Andriy Shevchenko, Joosep Martinson, you’ve Organizations: CNN, –, Cameroon, Globe Soccer, Stadion Narodowy, La Liga, FC Barcelona, Real Sociedad, Estadi, Wales, France, eventual, Portugal, Saudi, Education City, Getty, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Bayern, League, Austria, Kylian Mbappé’s, Champions League, Ukrainian, PGE, Russia, Qatar, Sergiy, Iceland, Romania Locations: Sardinia, Italy, – Uruguay, Greece, Poland, Ukraine, Warsaw, Europe, Michał, Moldova, Albania, Barcelona, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Al, Doha, AFP, Dortmund, Berlin, German, Poland’s, Kylian Mbappé’s France, Russia, Slovakia, Belgium

☆ Analysis: Hamas gambled on the suffering of civilians in Gaza. Netanyahu played right into it
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

He appeared to justify the deaths of Palestinian civilians as a “necessary sacrifice” according to the messages. In recent weeks, Ireland, Spain, Norway and Portugal, all frustrated Netanyahu won’t agree a peace deal, have formally recognized Palestinian statehood. The war Sinwar started has taken Palestinian suffering to the next level – and Netanyahu has played right into it. Sinwar’s power amid the war seems to be becoming part of the perceived wisdom about Gaza and the war. And if past experience is any measure, he will likely gamble that he can play mind games better than Netanyahu.

Persons: CNN — Yahya Sinwar, –, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sinwar, Israel, Netanyahu, hasn’t, they’d, they’ve, Biden, Netanyahu won’t, belligerence, Antony Blinken, “, Sinn Fein Organizations: CNN, Israel, Wall Street, ICC, Hamas, Democratic, Northern Locations: Israel, United States, Europe, Gaza, Palestinian, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Portugal, Rafah, Doha, Iran, Turkey

☆ Austrian Airlines plane badly damaged by hailstorm during flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Stephanie Halasz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —An Austrian Airlines plane was badly damaged by hail when the airborne jet hit a “thunderstorm cell” Sunday, Austrian Airlines said. A storm cell is an air mass that contains up and down drafts, which can cause turbulence when a plane encounters one. A mayday emergency call was made during the flight, says Austrian. exithamster/X“Airbus A320 aircraft was damaged by hail on yesterday’s flight OS434 from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna. It follows an incident last month upon Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 when a passenger died and more than 70 were injured after the plane hit severe turbulence.

Persons: “ Organizations: CNN, Austrian Airlines, Palma de Mallorca, Social, Airbus, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways Locations: Austrian, Palma, Spain, Vienna, Austria, Doha, Dublin

☆ Israeli airstrike kills dozens sheltering in UN school, Gaza officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Abeer Salman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Jerusalem CNN —At least 39 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in an overnight Israeli airstrike on a United Nations-run school in central Gaza, according to hospital and government authorities in the Palestinian enclave. The school, run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), was housing displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp at the time of the strike, the Gaza government media office said. Authorities at the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said casualties could rise as victims were still being brought to the hospital on Thursday morning. The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the airstrike, which it said targeted a Hamas compound operating inside the school. The attack also came as American, Egyptian and Qatari officials met in Doha to revive negotiations on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Yoav Gallant, “, ” Gallant Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, United Nations, UN, UNRWA, Authorities, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, CNN, Israel’s Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, Al, Aqsa, Doha

Even as the Biden administration renewed its push for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel threatened “very intense”military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. “Whoever thinks he can hurt us and we will respond by sitting on our hands is making a big mistake,” he said, according to the Israeli government. “We are prepared for very intense action in the north.”Against the backdrop of escalating tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border, the C.I.A. director, William J. Burns, met on Wednesday with top Qatari and Egyptian officials in the latest effort to broker a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and free the hostages taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Mr. Burns met in Doha with the Qatari prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the chief of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel, according to an official briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door encounter.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, ”, William J, Burns, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Abbas Kamel Organizations: Qatari, Egypt’s General Intelligence Service Locations: Gaza, Lebanon, Israel, ”, Doha, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

☆ U.S. Counterterrorism Chief Is Stepping Down
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The director of the National Counterterrorism Center will step down next month, Biden administration officials said on Wednesday. The director, Christine S. Abizaid, has served three years as the country’s top counterterrorism official. In recent years, a resurgent China and Russia, as well as the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, have replaced counterterrorism as the country’s main national security priorities. The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, ISIS Khorasan, dramatically demonstrated its expanding reach earlier this year, conducting deadly attacks in Iran and Russia. In addition to supporting Hamas in Gaza, Iran backs extremist groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Persons: Christine S, Abizaid, Al Qaeda Organizations: National Counterterrorism Center, Biden, Islamic State, ISIS Locations: China, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza, Doha, Qatar, Israel, State, Iraq, Syria, Africa, Afghanistan, ISIS Khorasan, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen

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