KHAN YUNIS: In southern Gaza, aid workers are meticulously assembling fiberglass homes meant to shelter thousands of Palestinians still displaced six months after a ceasefire started between Israel and Hamas. Nearly two million people in Gaza are living in makeshift shelters, and the humanitarian situation remains dire, according to aid agencies.The fiberglass units are designed to offer a modicum of relief &mdash; homes with slightly more comfort than a tent vulnerable to the coastal winds that hit Gaza. Alessandro Markic, head of the United Nations Development Programme office in Gaza, initiated the plan. He said families &ldquo;are facing extremely difficult conditions.&rdquo; Roughly 4,000 units are planned in the Al-Mohararat area, west of Khan Younis. Workers assemble walls, install small windows, and lay roofs for families who try to settle in with rugs and cushions inside. &ldquo;These are very basic and temporary solutions, while we continue to plan for recovery and reconstruction,&rdquo; Markic said. The homes, he added, &ldquo;provide more dignity, privacy, and protection during the winter.&rdquo; Some Gazans were visibly relieved to have an alternative to the tents where most displaced people continue to live. Nasma Sharab has moved into one unit with her sons, and affirmed it was &ldquo;better&rdquo; than a tent. The fiberglass homes &ldquo;don&rsquo;t constantly blow away in the wind,&rdquo; she said. But, she added, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s a temporary solution while we wait for reconstruction to begin and for people to be able to go back to their homes.&rdquo; Among those who remain in a tent is Ali Abu Nahl, in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, after being displaced to the center and south of the territory with his children and grandchildren. His house was destroyed during the devastating conflict that erupted with the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been half a year since the bombing stopped, but in Gaza, the war doesn&rsquo;t end when the strikes stop,&rdquo; he said.

Middle East

Six months after a ceasefire, displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis are moving into fiberglass shelters built by aid workers, offering modest protection from harsh conditions while thousands still await reconstruction, stability, and a return to permanent homes.

In Gaza, fiberglass homes aim to offer more ‘dignity’ for displaced

RAMALLAH: Israel has approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media reports and the watchdog Peace Now, which said the decision was taken &quot;secretly&quot; in early April. &quot;The security cabinet secretly decided to establish 34 new settlements,&quot; Peace Now said in a statement released late on Thursday.The 34 settlements come on top of 68 others already approved since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s right-wing government came to power in 2022. The decision has not been officially published by any government body, and the defence ministry, in charge of settlements in the occupied West Bank, declined to respond to AFP&#39;s questions. &quot;We are not addressing this issue,&quot; a spokesperson for the ministry told AFP. According to news channel i24News, 10 of the 34 settlements are already existing outposts, which are illegal under Israeli law, but will now be retroactively legalised under the decision. The remaining 24 are yet to be built. All settlements are illegal under international law. News website Ynet reported that military chief Eyal Zamir warned during the security cabinet meeting that took place on April 1 that the army could &quot;collapse&quot; because of increasing demands on its manpower. That included the legalisation of dozens of outposts, granting them official settlement status and therefore for protection from Israeli troops. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis now live there in settlements, among some three million Palestinians. Settlement expansion has been a policy under successive Israeli governments since 1967, but has accelerated significantly under the current Netanyahu-led coalition, widely regarded as one of the most right-wing in Israel&#39;s history. Rights groups say approvals of new settlements, land seizures and settler violence have further increased since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Israel has approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media reports and the watchdog Peace Now, which said the decision was taken "secretly" in early April.

Israel approves 34 new West Bank settlements

GAZA CITY: A Gaza hospital said clashes and Israeli airstrikes killed at least 10 people on Monday near a school sheltering displaced people in the center of the Palestinian territory. The incident is the latest to shake a fragile US-backed ceasefire that has been in place since October 10 and has largely halted the war between Israel and Hamas. &quot;At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured, including six in critical condition, by Israeli shelling and clashes east of Al-Maghazi camp&quot; in the center of the territory, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said in a statement. Gaza&#39;s civil defense agency confirmed the death toll. A Palestinian witness told AFP that the violence began with clashes between gunmen from an anti-Hamas militia, allegedly backed by Israel, and some residents in the school who were backed by Hamas fighters. The anti-Hamas gunmen had come to arrest some residents, the witness said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. &quot;Clashes broke out when residents and Hamas members tried to confront the (anti-Hamas) militiamen,&quot; he said. &quot;Shortly after, Israeli forces bombed the area near the school and also opened heavy fire,&quot; he said. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It remains unclear how many of the victims were killed by airstrikes and how many died in the clashes. Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of violating the truce. Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Gaza during the ceasefire, targeting what it says are Hamas fighters. Since the ceasefire began, at least 723 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza&#39;s health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures reliable. The Israeli military says it has lost five soldiers in Gaza during the same period.

Incident is the latest to shake a fragile US-backed ceasefire that has been in place since October 10 and has largely halted the war between Israel and Hamas; since the ceasefire began, at least 723 Palestinians have been killed.

Gaza hospital says clashes, Israeli strikes kill 10

RIYADH: Islamic nations, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Indonesia, lambasted on Thursday the approval of a death penalty bill for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, saying the move threatens &quot;regional stability&quot;. Foreign ministers released the statement from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. &quot;This legislation constitutes a dangerous escalation, particularly given its discriminatory application against Palestinian prisoners, and stressed that such measures risk further exacerbating tensions and undermining regional stability,&quot; the joint statement read. Under the law passed by Israel&#39;s parliament late on Monday, Palestinians convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as &quot;acts of terrorism&quot; will face the death penalty&nbsp;as a default sentence. The United Nations and European Union have criticized the law, while the United States came out in support of &quot;Israel&#39;s sovereign right to determine its own laws&quot;. Because Palestinians in the territory are automatically tried in Israeli military courts, the measure effectively creates a separate and harsher legal track. In Israeli civilian courts, the law allows for either death or life imprisonment for those convicted of killing with the intent to harm the state.

FILE: From left to right: Syria's President Bashar Assad, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, as they follow Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Front R) and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi (Back R)

Asia

Europe

"This legislation constitutes a dangerous escalation, particularly given its discriminatory application against Palestinian prisoners, and such measures risk further exacerbating tensions and undermining regional stability," the joint statement released by Islamic nations read.

Islamic states condemn Israel over death penalty law

UNITED NATIONS: The Gaza envoy for US President Donald Trump&#39;s new &quot;Board of Peace&quot; initiative urged UN Security Council members to pressure Hamas to disarm, as part of a ceasefire to end over two years of war. &quot;I ask the council members to use all means at their disposal to urge Hamas and all Palestinian factions to accept this framework without delay,&quot; said Nickolay Mladenov, a veteran Bulgarian diplomat named the board&#39;s high representative for Gaza. &quot;Every hour, every day wasted carries a human cost and further erodes the process for credible and lasting peace,&quot; he told a Security Council meeting on the Palestinian conflict. Trump&#39;s administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza. In January, Washington said it was moving into the second phase of the peace plan that calls for the disarmament of Hamas. It also calls for the gradual retreat of Israeli forces and the deployment of an international stabilizing force. But despite the reduced violence, Israeli strikes have at times continued, resulting in hundreds of deaths since the ceasefire, and Hamas has refused to disarm under conditions it says are imposed by Israel. &quot;The laying down of arms by militant groups would represent a decisive break from cycles of violence that have defined life in Gaza for decades,&quot; Mladenov said. Trump&#39;s Board of Peace has promised a wave of reconstruction and investment aid for Gaza in case of a lasting truce. Since then, at least 72,000 people have died in Gaza in an Israeli military offensive, according to the territory&#39;s health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. Also at the meeting, the UN Resident Coordinator Office&#39;s deputy special coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Ramiz Alakbarov, warned of a &quot;heightened level of violence in the West Bank.&quot; Violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank risks &quot;further displacing Palestinian communities,&quot; he said.

A Palestinian man gestures as he stands in the remains of a burnt-out home following a reported attack by Israeli settlers in the village of Deir al-Hatab, east of the city of Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on March 23, 2026 (AFP).

Americas

The Gaza envoy for US President Donald Trump's new "Board of Peace" initiative urged UN Security Council members to pressure Hamas to disarm, as part of a ceasefire to end over two years of war.

Trump's 'Board of Peace' Gaza envoy urges Hamas to disarm 'without delay'

JERUSALEM: Israel said it would reopen a crossing into Gaza on Tuesday to allow for the &quot;gradual entry of humanitarian aid&quot; into the territory. The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed on Saturday when Israel and the United States began striking Iran, which sparked reprisals from Tehran. The decision to reopen it was made &quot;in accordance with a security assessment,&quot; said COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. The Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing sits at the intersection between the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt. Israel on Saturday announced the closure of all crossing points into Gaza as a &quot;security&quot; measure, including Rafah on the border between the Palestinian territory and Egypt. The Rafah crossing, the only gateway for Gazans to the outside world that does not pass through Israel, had reopened for the movement of people on February 2, nearly two years after Israeli forces seized control of it during the war with Hamas. US President Donald Trump warned Monday that his attack on Iran could extend longer than a month, as the war spread with Israel bombarding Lebanon while Tehran targeted Israel and Gulf countries that host US bases.

US President Trump warns his attack on Iran can extend longer than a month, as the war spreads with Israel bombarding Lebanon while Tehran targets Israel and Gulf countries that host US bases.



Israel says will reopen a Gaza aid crossing today

GAZA CITY: Gaza&#39;s civil defence ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least five people on Friday. Violence has continued in the Palestinian territory despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, with Israel and Hamas trading accusations of violating the agreement. The civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, told AFP that an air strike in the early hours of Friday morning killed at least two people and seriously injured one in central Gaza. A drone strike in the south of the strip shortly after midnight killed three and injured several more people, the agency added. Under the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, Israeli troops withdrew to positions behind a so-called &quot;Yellow Line&quot;, though they remain in control of more than half of the territory. Gaza&#39;s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities, has previously said at least 601 people had been killed since the truce began. The Israeli military says at least four of its soldiers have been killed in the same period. Media restrictions and limited access in Gaza have prevented AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or freely covering the fighting.

A minimum of 5 Palestinians were killed by the IDF according to Gaza's civil defence

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill at least 5

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza, sprawling more than 350 acres. This was stated in an exclusive report by Guardian published on Thursday, which cited Board of Peace contracting records reviewed by the publication. The report states that the site is envisioned as a military operating base for a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), planned as a multinational military force composed of pledged troops. The ISF is part of the newly created Board of Peace, which is meant to govern Gaza. The Board of Peace is chaired by Donald Trump and led in part by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The plans call for the phased construction of a military outpost that will eventually have a footprint of 1,400 metres by 1,100 metres, ringed by 26 trailer-mounted armored watch towers, a small arms range, bunkers, and a warehouse for military equipment for operations. The entire base will be encircled with barbed wire. The fortification is planned for an arid stretch of flatlands in southern Gaza strewn with saltbush and white broom shrubs, and littered with twisted metal from years of Israeli bombardment. The plans say there is to be a network of bunkers each 6 meters by 4 meters and 2.5 meters tall, with elaborate ventilation systems where soldiers can go for protection. Diana Buttu, a Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and former peace negotiator, called building a military base on Palestinian land without the government&rsquo;s approval an act of occupation, according to the report. &ldquo;Whose permission did they get to build that military base?&rdquo; Officials from US Central Command referred all questions about the military base to the Board of Peace, says the report. According to the Guardian&rsquo;s report, a Trump administration official declined to discuss the military base contract: &ldquo;As the President has said, no US boots will be on the ground. We&rsquo;re not going to discuss leaked documents.&rdquo;

The report states that the site is envisioned as a military operating base for a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), planned as a multinational military force composed of pledged troops. 

Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza: Guardian 

WASHINGTON: FIFA will spearhead a $75 million fund to rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza that were destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Donald Trump and the sport&#39;s governing body said Thursday. Trump made the announcement in Washington at the first meeting of his &quot;Board of Peace,&quot; an amorphous institution that features two dozen of the US president&#39;s close allies and is initially focused on rebuilding the Gaza strip. &quot;I&#39;m also pleased to announce that FIFA will be helping to raise a total of $75 million for projects in Gaza,&quot; said Trump. &quot;And I think they&#39;re soccer related, where you&#39;re doing fields and you&#39;re getting the greatest stars in the world to go there &mdash; people that are bigger stars than you and I, Gianni,&quot; he added, referring to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who was present at the event. &quot;So, it&#39;s really something. We&#39;ll soon be detailing the announcement, and if I can do, I&#39;ll get over there with you,&quot; Trump said. Later Thursday, FIFA issued a statement providing more details, including plans to construct a football academy, a new 20,000-seat national stadium and dozens of pitches. The FIFA communique did not mention Trump&#39;s $75 million figure, and said funds would be raised &quot;from international leaders and institutions.&quot; Infantino has fostered close ties with Trump, awarding him an inaugural FIFA &quot;Peace Prize&quot; at the World Cup draw in December. At Thursday&#39;s meeting, the FIFA president donned a red baseball cap emblazoned with &quot;USA&quot; and &quot;45-47,&quot; the latter a reference to Trump&#39;s two terms in the White House. In FIFA&#39;s statement, Infantino hailed &quot;a landmark partnership agreement that will foster investment into football for the purpose of helping the recovery process in post conflict areas.&quot; The &quot;Board of Peace&quot; came together after the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza. The United States says it is now focused on disarming Hamas &mdash; the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered the massive offensive.

Football

FIFA issues statement providing more details, including plans to construct a football academy, a new 20,000-seat national stadium, dozens of pitches; says funds would be raised "from international leaders and institutions."



FIFA to lead $75m Palestinian soccer rebuilding fund

Pakistan TV Satellite

WASHINGTON DC: Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, said participation in the Board of Peace (BOP) as a founding member would deepen US-Pakistan cooperation, emphasizing that the inaugural BOP meeting is a defining moment in shaping its future framework. The envoy expressed these views in an exclusive interview with Pakistan TV&rsquo;s anchor person Sana Maqbool a day before the highly anticipated Gaza Board of Peace meeting, being attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.&nbsp; The first-of-its-kind meeting, convened at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, aims to define new international dynamics on critical peace issues, particularly Palestine.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2024251240788697394&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=c084efd8f4348f649f0e3a17f370cfd09a458fee&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 649px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>Ambassador Sheikh underscored the historic significance of the Board of Peace, describing it as a defining moment in shaping its future framework. &quot;This meeting of the Board of Peace is actually the first following the signing ceremony in Davos. Since Pakistan has been one of the founder members, and since Pakistan has had a principled position on the issue of Palestine, which actually predates our independent existence, we have been at the forefront of standing up and advocating the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.&quot; He noted that Pakistan&#39;s inclusion among the eight Muslim nation states reflects its steadfast advocacy. He added that Prime Minister Sharif&rsquo;s presence signals commitment at the highest level. &quot;Pakistan being a founding member, Prime Minister&#39;s presence is certainly significant and indicates Pakistan&rsquo;s interest and commitment at the highest level.&quot; A &#39;good looking&#39; phase in US&ndash;Pakistan relationsTurning to bilateral relations, Ambassador Sheikh described the current moment as particularly promising. &quot;Over almost the past eight decades, the relationship has seen its ups and downs, twists and turns, but it has withstood multiple tests of time.&quot; Referring to recent developments, including the India-Pakistan conflict, he stated:&nbsp;&quot;While this relationship has been better in history in terms of the actual situation on ground, I would say that it has never ever been so good looking.&quot; He stressed, however, that positive intent must now translate into action. &quot;It is looking good. We have to make good on it. If last year was the time of improvement in relations, this year is the time for action.&quot; On leadership engagement, he highlighted unprecedented diplomatic momentum. He said, &quot;The leadership&hellip; has come together on a number of occasions, which is the ideal of any diplomatic effort. A personal rapport, a personal chemistry&hellip; is what makes difference.&quot; &nbsp;Economic partnership and investment push&nbsp;Ambassador Sheikh also announced a major upcoming initiative. &quot;We are having an unprecedented Pakistan Investment Conference in Washington DC on the 31st of March&hellip; fully hosted and organised by the United States Chamber of Commerce.&quot; The conference will focus on minerals, energy, and IT sectors and is expected to be the first in a three-part series. Emphasising sustainability, he remarked, &quot;Challenges are a fact of life&hellip; but surmounting challenges is the act of life.&quot; He further stressed that long-term ties must be economically grounded. &quot;A strategic partnership entrenched in economic ties would outlast me as an ambassador&hellip; it would outlast us as a generation,&rdquo; he added. Ambassador Sheikh framed the relationship in strategic terms, saying, &quot;The Pakistan-United States relationship has been a fact of history. It will be&hellip; a very consequential fact of future.&rdquo; With Prime Minister Sharif&rsquo;s visit and the Board of Peace meeting underway, Pakistan appears poised to expand its diplomatic footprint, both in advancing Palestinian advocacy and deepening strategic ties with the United States. Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic position and UN roleHighlighting Pakistan&#39;s geopolitical standing, Ambassador Sheikh pointed to its current position at the United Nations. He said, &quot;Pakistan happens to be on the non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council. We are an elected member and this is the second and final year of our term&hellip; We also have to carry some extra responsibility in terms of taking everybody along.&quot;&nbsp;Addressing criticism from some countries hesitant to join the Board, he said, &quot;The Board is at its nascent stage&hellip; tomorrow&rsquo;s meeting would incrementally lay out perhaps the next few steps and define the contours of not just the way forward but the modus operandi.&quot;

Foreign Affairs

 Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, says participation in the Board of Peace (BOP) as a founding member will deepen US-Pakistan cooperation, emphasizing that the inaugural BOP meeting is a defining moment in shaping its future framework.

Articles tagged with "Gaza,"