ISLAMABAD: Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, their second day of operations there after a local resident killed two people in Israel. &quot;The IDF (Israeli army) is operating forcefully against terror hubs in the village of Qabatiya... accompanied by a lockdown and a complete cordon around the locality,&quot; Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement published by his office on Saturday. &quot;We will continue to pursue an uncompromising offensive policy against Palestinian terror,&quot; he added. Bilal Hunaisha, a resident of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank, said the town &quot;is being subjected to collective punishment by the Israeli occupation&quot;. &quot;As you can see, they blocked the way to my house and I am no longer able to move around,&quot; he told AFP, pointing to a pile of rubble obstructing the road. In the attack on Friday a 34-year-old Palestinian man killed two people in northern Israel. The assailant, who had been working illegally in Israel, had used his employer&#39;s vehicle to ram into a 68-year-old man and then stabbed an 18-year-old girl to death, according to Israeli police. A few hours later, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet domestic security agency began operating in Qabatiya. They searched the perpetrator&#39;s house and questioned suspects, the army said. On Saturday, the army&#39;s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the reinforcement of troops deployed in the area. &quot;This period is characterized by lone attackers and individuals staying illegally in (Israel). Enforcement against those who transport and employ them must be strengthened and improved,&quot; he said, according to an army statement. &quot;At the same time, we must continue to enhance our capabilities to identify and thwart these attackers.&quot; Qabatiya resident Muhannad Zakarneh told AFP that the army arrested him at home at 6 am &quot;for no obvious reasons&quot; and kept him handcuffed for hours. &quot;When I asked what my charge was, there was no response,&quot; he said. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that besides blocking entrances and conducting interrogations and home searches, Israeli forces also took over a school and used it as a &quot;detention and interrogation center&quot;. Since the start of the war ON Gaza, at least 38 people, including two foreigners, have been killed inside Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. During the same period, violence has also surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry. According to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the same period in the West Bank.

Middle East

Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on Qabatiya village in the West Bank after two Israelis were killed.

Israel seals off Palestinian village after deadly attack

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: An Israeli reservist soldier ran over a Palestinian man while he was praying by the roadside, according to footage broadcast by CNN.&nbsp;The incident, which has been widely reported by international media citing Reuters, shows the man being struck as he prayed, sparking condemnation and raising questions over the conduct of Israeli security personnel in the occupied territories.&nbsp;In a statement, the Israeli military said it had received footage showing an armed individual running over a Palestinian man, adding that the driver was a reservist whose military service had since been terminated.&nbsp;The military said the reservist acted in severe violation of his authority and that his weapon had been confiscated.&nbsp;Israeli media reported that the reservist was placed under house arrest following the incident.&nbsp;The Palestinian man was taken to hospital for medical checks after the incident, as per media reports.&nbsp;In a separate incident, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces on Friday fatally shot a Palestinian man east of Gaza City. The victim, identified as Uday al-Maqadma, was reportedly sitting near the entrance of a school when Israeli forces opened fire. He was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.&nbsp;Wafa said the killing comes amid continued Israeli military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids, arrests and use of live fire since the start of the war.&nbsp;Palestinian health officials say dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank during these operations, which Israeli authorities describe as security measures targeting militants.&nbsp;The agency also reported that two Palestinians were shot dead earlier this week in Gaza City&rsquo;s Shujaiya neighborhood during Israeli military activity in the area.

The footage, shared by CNN, shows the man being struck as he prayed, sparking condemnation and raising questions over the conduct of Israeli security personnel in the occupied territories.

Israeli reservist rams vehicle into praying Palestinian man

GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Saturday said more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted more than two years ago.&nbsp;The milestone comes as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire largely holds, but with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms of the deal.&nbsp;In a statement, Gaza&#39;s health ministry said the death toll from the war had risen to 70,100.&nbsp;The ministry said that since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, 354 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire.&nbsp;Two bodies arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 48 hours, the ministry said, one of which had been recovered from beneath the rubble.&nbsp;It noted that the spike from the last death toll was due to the fact that the data relating to 299 bodies had been processed and approved by the authorities.&nbsp;Despite the ceasefire, the Palestinian territory remains in a deep humanitarian crisis.&nbsp;The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas&#39;s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.&nbsp;On that day, militants abducted 251 people into Gaza.&nbsp;At the start of the latest ceasefire, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.&nbsp;Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 26 dead hostages.&nbsp;In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.

Gaza’s health ministry reports over 70,000 deaths since the Israel-Hamas war began, as a fragile ceasefire holds amid violations. Hostage and prisoner exchanges continue, but Gaza faces a severe humanitarian crisis despite reduced fighting.

Death toll from Gaza war surpasses 70,000: health ministry

JENIN: The Israeli army and police said on Thursday they were investigating the circumstances in which two Palestinians were shot dead in the occupied West Bank while seemingly surrendering to Israeli forces. The incident in Jenin in the northern West Bank, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, was filmed from several angles, including by AFP. The Palestinian Authority named the two men killed as 37-year-old Yussef Ali Asa&#39;sa and 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Billah Mahmud Abdullah. It said they were killed in a &quot;brutal&quot; summary execution and condemned the incident as a &quot;war crime.&quot; Israel&#39;s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir swiftly backed the forces who opened fire, saying: &quot;Terrorists must die!&quot; Blood-soaked floorVideos circulating on social media and on television channels showed two men emerging from a building with their arms raised, surrounded by Israeli forces. They were then seen lying on the ground before being directed back inside the building. Gunshots rang out, and the two men were seen lying on the ground. AFP footage showed the two men exiting the building, then entering it again before the shots were fired. A building between the camera and the scene partially obscured the image. Troops were later seen removing a body. AFP pictures from the scene showed the blood-soaked floor of a building. People helped to clear up the damaged site afterwards, moving sheets of corrugated metal. In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the police &mdash; which oversees the border guard unit &mdash; said they attempted to apprehend &quot;wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces.&quot; They said they &quot;enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited. &quot;Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects. &quot;The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.&quot;&nbsp; &#39;Apparent summary execution&#39; The killing of two Palestinians shot dead in the West Bank while seemingly surrendering to Israeli forces was an &quot;apparent summary execution,&quot; the United Nations said Friday. &quot;We are appalled at the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in yet another apparent summary execution,&quot; UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, calling for &quot;independent, prompt and effective investigations into the killings of Palestinians.&quot; &#39;Brutal field execution&#39;Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The Palestinian Authority&#39;s health ministry said the two men were &quot;shot dead by Israeli forces in the Jabal Abu Dhahir area in the city of Jenin,&quot; adding that their bodies were being held by Israeli forces. The foreign ministry in Ramallah said it &quot;strongly condemns the brutal field execution carried out by the Israeli occupation army against two Palestinian youths,&quot; calling it a &quot;deliberate Israeli war crime.&quot; It urged the international community to take &quot;immediate action to stop the Israeli killing machine, deter these crimes, and impose urgent international protection mechanisms for the Palestinian people.&quot; The Palestinian group Hamas called it a &quot;cold-blooded execution of two unarmed Palestinian youths.&quot; Meanwhile, Ben Gvir offered his total backing to the Israeli forces involved. &quot;I fully support the border guard members and Israeli army soldiers who shot at wanted terrorists who emerged from a building in Jenin,&quot; he said on X. &quot;The forces acted exactly as expected of them &mdash; terrorists must die!&quot; &#39;Dehumanisation&#39;Israeli human rights group B&#39;Tselem said the two men were killed &quot;while posing no threat.&quot; &quot;The execution documented today is the result of an accelerated process of dehumanisation of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime,&quot; said B&#39;Tselem&#39;s executive director, Yuli Novak. Violence in the West Bank has soared since Palestinian group Hamas&#39;s October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. It has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas coming into effect last month. Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures. At least 44 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.

Palestinian Authority says men were killed in a "brutal" summary execution and condemns the incident as a "war crime."


Israeli forces shoot dead two Palestinians apparently surrendering in West Bank

CAIRO: Delegations from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, mediators along with the United States of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, met on Tuesday in Cairo to discuss the second phase of the deal, Egyptian state-linked media reported.&nbsp;Al-Qahera News, which has ties to Egyptian intelligence, said the meeting included the Egyptian and Turkish intelligence chiefs alongside the prime minister of Qatar.&nbsp;The delegates discussed working with the US &quot;to ensure the successful implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement&quot; between Israel and Hamas, the channel reported.&nbsp;Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US act as both mediators and guarantors for the Gaza deal, which came into effect on October 10 after two years of war.&nbsp;Their meeting in Cairo came two days after a senior Hamas delegation met with Egyptian spy chief Hassan Rashad to discuss the second phase of the truce.&nbsp;That phase concerns disarming Hamas, establishing a transitional authority and deploying an international stabilisation force of foreign troops to the Gaza Strip.&nbsp;According to Al-Qahera News, Tuesday&#39;s meeting addressed &quot;overcoming obstacles and limiting violations to ensure the ceasefire holds&quot;.&nbsp;Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.&nbsp;According to the Gaza health ministry, Israeli fire has killed more than 300 Palestinians since the truce took hold.&nbsp;The mediators on Tuesday also &quot;agreed to continue strengthening coordination and cooperation with the Civil-Military Coordination Centre&quot; -- the truce monitoring centre set up by the US and its allies in southern Israel.

Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish and US mediators met in Cairo to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, discussing disarmament plans, a transitional authority, and an international stabilisation force amid ongoing truce violations and rising casualties.

Gaza truce mediators in Cairo to discuss second phase: Egyptian Media   

ISLAMABAD: Israel has approved a plan to resettle the entire Bnei Menashe community from India, accelerating settlement expansion with nearly 5,800 members of the group to emigrate by 2030, according to Israeli officials and local media outlets. The proposal, endorsed at a cabinet meeting and submitted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, sets out a two-phase arrival schedule. By the end of 2026, 1,200 people are expected to arrive, with the remaining 4,600 arriving by 2030, according to the Times of Israel. Who are the Bnei Menashe?The Bnei Menashe identify as descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh, regarded as one of Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;lost tribes.&rdquo; For decades, members practiced a form of Judaism mixed with local traditions before seeking formal recognition. Their immigration has taken place in waves, supported largely by private organizations and the state. Resettlement plan and costsUnder the plan, the first phase will cost approximately 90 million shekels ($2.75 million), covering immigration arrangements, conversion, accommodation in absorption centers, Hebrew language training, and integration into education and employment.&nbsp; According to the official Israeli press statement, the Jewish Agency will manage and finance pre-immigration preparation and flights, investing additional funds in support of diaspora communities. Although members of the Bnei Menashe began arriving in the 1990s, Israel formally recognized the group as descendants of a biblical &ldquo;lost tribe&rdquo; only in 2005, when the then-Sephardi chief rabbi issued an endorsement, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Settlement expansion&nbsp;The decision comes as Israel continues significant settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Earlier this month, the Times of Israel reported that tenders for a record number of housing units were published in 2025. A joint statement by Katz and Smotrich described the security cabinet&rsquo;s decision as &ldquo;a step that will change the face of the area and shape the future of settlement for years to come,&rdquo; the Times of Israel reported. &ldquo;The new settlements are all placed within a long-term strategic vision, whose goal is to strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory, to avoid the establishment of a Palestinian state, and to create the basis for future development of settlement in the coming decades,&rdquo; Katz&rsquo;s office said as reported by Times of Israel. In May, the International Center for Transitional Justice, a non-profit human rights group, reported that Israeli ministers said 22 new Jewish settlements had been approved in the West Bank &mdash; the largest expansion in decades.&nbsp; Some settlements already exist as illegal outposts and will now be legalized under Israeli law, while others are newly planned as stated by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. India-Israel tiesThis week, PM Netanyahu said Israel and India were strengthening their strategic partnership following a meeting with India&rsquo;s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Jerusalem. Netanyahu said in a post on X that both sides were advancing investments, innovation and plans for an economic corridor linking India to Europe through Israel. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, announced during the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi, is progressing on schedule, according to its official website. Goyal also met the Israeli president and said Israel&rsquo;s innovation ecosystem, combined with India&rsquo;s scale and talent, could serve as a &ldquo;force multiplier.&rdquo; According to India&rsquo;s Ministry of External Affairs, bilateral trade reached $6.53 billion in FY 2023-24, while investment ties continue to deepen, including India&rsquo;s $1.18 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Israel&#39;s Haifa Port in 2022.

Asia

Israel has approved a plan to resettle the entire Bnei Menashe community from India, accelerating settlement expansion with nearly 5,800 members of the group to emigrate by 2030, according to Israeli officials and local media outlets.

Israel to resettle thousands from India's Jewish tribe ‘Bnei Menashe’ 

JERUSALEM: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US- and Israeli-backed private organization that provided aid for Palestinians in Gaza but was criticized by the UN, said on Monday it was ending its mission.&nbsp;&quot;The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) today announced the successful completion of its emergency mission in Gaza after delivering more than 187 million free meals directly to civilians living in Gaza,&quot; the group said in a statement.&nbsp;GHF was tasked with managing aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip in May, effectively supplanting the UN after Israel placed tight restrictions on international aid agencies.&nbsp;Those agencies were highly critical of the GHF, which managed four distribution centres in the Gaza Strip, while the UN system it replaced had 400.&nbsp;In August, a UN-mandated expert panel alleged that under the GHF aid was &quot;exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas&quot; and United Nations special rapporteurs called for it to be disbanded.&nbsp;Hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid from GHF distribution sites, according to the UN human rights office.&nbsp;The foundation said in its statement on Monday that it had been in talks with other international humanitarian organisations and with the Civil-Military Coordination Centre, a task force set up by the US and its allies in southern Israel to monitor the truce in Gaza.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s clear they will be adopting and expanding the model GHF piloted,&quot; the group&#39;s executive director, John Acree, said, according to the statement.&nbsp;The US State Department thanked GHF for its humanitarian work and its contribution to reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.&nbsp;&quot;GHF&#39;s model, in which Hamas could no longer loot and profit from stealing aid, played a huge role in getting Hamas to the table and achieving a ceasefire. We thank them for all that they provided to Gazans,&quot; Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the US State Department, wrote on X.&nbsp;In reaction to the announcement of GHF&#39;s closure, a spokesman for Hamas said the organisation should be held accountable for the harm it caused to Palestinians.&nbsp;&quot;We call upon all international human rights organisations to ensure that it does not escape accountability after causing the death and injury of thousands of Gazans and covering up the starvation policy practised by the (Israeli) government,&quot; Hazem Qassem wrote on his Telegram channel.&nbsp;A US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel came into effect on Oct. 10.&nbsp;It is the first phase in what international mediators hope will be a process to end the war and kickstart reconstruction in Gaza.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ended its controversial mission after delivering millions of meals in Gaza. Critics, including UN experts, accused it of aiding military agendas and causing harm, while the US praised its role in securing a ceasefire.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announces end of its mission

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia condemned on Wednesday a visit by Israel&#39;s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa compound, a disputed area in occupied east Jerusalem home to Islam&#39;s third-holiest site that is also Judaism&#39;s holiest place. Riyadh voiced its &quot;condemnation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli officials and settlers under the protection of the occupation forces, reiterating its strongest condemnation of the continued attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque,&quot; the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa compound, calling it a provocative “storming” under military protection and denouncing repeated Israeli violations against the sanctity of Islam’s third-holiest site.

Articles tagged with "Israeli Occupation"