Author: Gulf News Week
At least 62 Palestinians killed across enclave in Israeli attacks, as two more malnutrition deaths are recorded.At least 62 people have been killed, including 19 who were seeking aid, in Israeli attacks across Gaza, hospital sources told media, and two people died from malnutrition amid growing international outrage over Israel’s conduct in the war. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that at least 115 Palestinians have starved to death in the enclave since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Most of the deaths, which include many children, have been in recent weeks. Israel imposed a total blockade…
Analysts warn Israel seeks pretexts for new conflicts with Iran amid speculation over covert operations.Israel’s leadership views its 12-day war with Iran last month as a success – several Iranian military leaders were killed, Iran’s defensive military capabilities were weakened, and the United States was convinced to take part in a raid on the Iranian nuclear site at Fordow. But while Israeli leaders were quick to claim victory, they emphasised that they were ready to attack again if necessary, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he had “no intention of easing off the gas pedal”. And Israel is already looking…
The E3 nations meeting marks the first since Israel targeted Iran’s key nuclear and military sites in a 12-day war last month.Iran has reaffirmed its right to enrich uranium on the eve of a key meeting with European powers threatening to reimpose nuclear sanctions. Friday’s meeting, set to take place in Istanbul, will bring Iranian officials together with officials from Britain, France and Germany – known as the E3 nations – and will include the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. It will be the first since Israel’s mid-June attack targeting key Iranian nuclear and military sites led to…
Outside US Capitol, rights advocates say Trump and Congress must ‘listen’ to Americans and oppose Israeli atrocities.Washington, DC – Josephine Guilbeau’s voice remained firm as it rose with anger and frustration outside the United States Capitol while she described the Israeli-imposed hunger crisis in Gaza. “The level of evil that it takes to make a decision to starve a baby as a means of war, as a weapon of war – what have we come to as a humanity? What have we come to as a country?” the 17-year US Army veteran said on Thursday. Guilbeau had joined several fellow…
President Emmanuel Macron says France will formally recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly.France will recognise Palestine as a state, President Emmanuel Macron has said. Macron said in a post on X on Thursday that he will formalise the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. “In keeping with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron wrote. “I will solemnly announce this at the United Nations General Assembly in September this year,” he added. The move makes…
US special envoy Steve Witkoff accuses Palestinian group of showing ‘a lack of desire’ to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has said he is cutting short talks aimed at reaching a truce in Israel’s war on Gaza, after the latest proposal from Hamas showed “a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”. Witkoff made the announcement in a statement on Thursday, just hours after the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had also recalled its negotiating team from Qatar amid the latest diplomatic flurry. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. The group…
Surge in air attacks and civilian casualties accompany avowed ‘peace through strength’ strategy as efficacy questioned.Washington, DC – During the first six months of his second term, Donald Trump pushed the limits of US presidential power while aiming to reorient US foreign policy to “America First”. His first months in office have also offered a window into the future of his administration’s approach to war-making, what analysts characterise as an at times contradictory tactic that oscillates between avowed anti-interventionism and quicksilver military attacks, justified as “peace through strength”. While questions remain over whether Trump has indeed pursued a coherent strategy when…
Health Ministry says four killed, 116 others wounded after explosion in Maarat Misrin in the northern Idlib countryside.At least four people have been killed and more than 100 others were wounded in an explosion in Idlib province, northwestern Syria, state news agency SANA reported. In a statement on Thursday, carried by SANA, Syria’s Ministry of Health said that the explosion occurred in the town of Maarat Misrin in the northern Idlib countryside. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. The ministry said that “four people were killed and 116 others were wounded,” according to a preliminary death toll.…
Bombings, starvation and repeated displacement have pushed Gaza’s society to the brink, analysts say.Through its unrelenting war on Gaza, Israel has killed over 59,000 Palestinians, injured 143,000 others, and pushed hundreds of thousands into forced starvation caused by its blockade on the enclave and its militarised distribution system. More than 100 Palestinians have starved to death as a result in recent weeks, 80 of them children. Whatever its ultimate intention, according to analysts, Israel has pushed the people of Gaza to the breaking point. “Israeli policy has left Gaza uninhabitable,” said Derek Summerfield, a United Kingdom-based psychiatrist who has written…
Saudi Arabia has been a major backer of the new Syrian government since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December.Saudi Arabia has said it will invest approximately $3bn in real estate and infrastructure projects in Syria, the latest economic lifeline to help usher in a new chapter in the nation, devastated by a nearly 14-year civil war. The $2.9bn investment is part of a broader $6.4bn in deals, Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday at a conference in Damascus. Saudi Arabia has been a major backer of the new Syrian government, which seized power after rebels toppled longtime ruler…