Ruckus in Israeli court as hearings begin on Netanyahu bid to sack spy chief
Jerusalem, Israel Reuters Israel’s Supreme Court began a hearing on Tuesday into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to sack the head of the domestic intelligence service amid an uproar from shouting protesters that forced the judges to clear the court. Netanyahu’s move to sack Shin Bet head Ronen Bar last month was blocked by the […]
Tightening grip: Israel controls 50 per cent of Gaza after razing land to expand its buffer zone
SAM MEDNICK, of Associated Press, reports on Israel’s expanding footprint in Gaza…
Israel mourns Bibas family as Hamas signals breakthrough on hostages
Rishon Lezion, Israel/Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israelis mourned the family that symbolised the trauma their country suffered in the Hamas-led attack of 7th October, 2023, as the Palestinian militant group agreed to free the last hostage bodies included in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Hamas said the bodies of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad […]
Israeli military says body released by Hamas is not of a hostage
Updated: 11:25am (AEDT) Jerusalem Reuters The Israeli military said on Friday that one of the bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any of the hostages held in Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating an already shaking ceasefire. Two of the bodies were identified as infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, while a […]
Freed hostages bring signs of life from depths of Gaza tunnels
Jerusalem Reuters Families of some Israeli hostages in Gaza have received signs of life from their loved ones for the first time in more than a year via captives who have been freed over the past weeks in the ceasefire deal with Hamas. The messages, along with reports of their harsh conditions in captivity, have […]
Hamas frees three hostages, Israel begins releasing Palestinians
Gaza/Jerusalem/Cairo, Egypt Reuters Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday handed over three Israeli hostages whose gaunt appearance shocked Israelis, and Israel began freeing dozens of Palestinians in the latest stage of a ceasefire aimed at ending the war in Gaza. Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri during the […]
Explainer – Why Trump’s proposal on Gaza is ringing alarm bells in the region
Reuters President Donald Trump’s plan for the United States to take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically touches on one the most sensitive issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Trump’s plans are likely to heighten fears among Palestinians in Gaza, which had a pre-war population of around 2.3 million, of being driven out […]
Following release: After the initial ecstasy of freedom, released hostages face a long road to recovery
MELANIE LIDMAN, of Associated Press, reports on the long recovery former hostages face after their release…
A mother’s anguish: One son to be freed from Gaza, another left behind
Kfar Sava, Israel Reuters News that Israel and Hamas have reached a hostage release deal after 15 months of war in Gaza is bittersweet for Ruth Strum – one of her sons is expected to be freed, but a second will be left behind in captivity for now. “It is not easy for a mother […]
UN torture expert visits Israeli scenes of 7th October Hamas attack
Kibbutz Beeri, Israel Reuters The United Nations’ senior expert on torture visited the Israeli kibbutz communities attacked on 7th October, 2023, for the first time on Wednesday to offer support to families of Israelis abducted by Hamas fighters to the Gaza Strip. Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman […]