Starmer calls for ‘agreement without delay’ on peace plan in Gaza Politics Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Hamas’ partial acceptance of a peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump as a “significant step forwards” and called for an “agreement without delay”. Hamas said it has accepted elements of the plan to end the nearly two-year war, including being willing to release the hostages and hand [...]
Iran retaliates after Israeli strikes target nuclear programme and military News Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, after a series of Israeli attacks on the heart of Tehran’s nuclear programme and armed forces. Israel’s assault used planes as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, according to officials, to assault key facilities [...]
Israel launches military operation in Gaza to pressure Hamas to release hostages Politics The Israeli government said it has launched a new military operation in the Gaza Strip to increase the pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Defence minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots is under way and is being led with “great force” by Israel’s army. The announcement comes after days of intensive strikes [...]
Israeli cabinet ministers to vote on whether to expand Gaza fighting May 4, 2025 Israeli cabinet ministers are meeting to vote on whether to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip, as the army began to call up thousands of reserve soldiers, officials said. Plans to escalate fighting in Gaza more than 18 months after the war erupted come as a humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens. As part [...]
Netanyahu says Israel has ‘no choice’ but to continue fighting in Gaza April 20, 2025 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has “no choice” but to continue fighting in Gaza and will not end the war before destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and ensuring that the territory will not present a threat to Israel. The prime minister also repeated his vow to make sure Iran never gets a nuclear [...]
Iran rejects direct negotiations with US after Donald Trump letter March 30, 2025 Tehran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to a letter from Donald Trump over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, the president of Iran has said. The remarks from Masoud Pezeshkian represented the first official acknowledgement of how Iran responded to Trump’s letter. It also suggests that tensions may further rise between Tehran [...]
Israel halts all aid into Gaza as it demands Hamas accepts new ceasefire plan March 2, 2025 Israel has stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and warned of “additional consequences” if Hamas does not accept a new proposal for an extension of the first phase of the fragile ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the truce and said its decision to cut off aid [...]
Hamas releases three more Israeli hostages for dozens of Palestinian prisoners February 8, 2025 Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli civilian men they held for the past 16 months on Saturday, and Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners, as part of an agreement that has paused the war in the Gaza Strip. Before a crowd of hundreds, armed Hamas fighters led Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and [...]
Starmer welcomes ‘wonderful and long-overdue’ news of hostages’ release January 19, 2025 Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the “wonderful and long-overdue” news that three hostages including British citizen Emily Damari have been released by Hamas. British-Israeli Ms Damari was freed on Sunday, at the start of a ceasefire deal with Israel which secured the phased release of those in captivity as well as a pause [...]
Ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to begin on Sunday morning January 18, 2025 The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect in less than 24 hours, said Qatar’s foreign ministry. In a post on X, Qatar’s foreign minister Majid al-Ansari, said the ceasefire will go into effect at 8.30am (0630 GMT) on Sunday. He advised people to exercise caution when the agreement goes into effect and [...]