BEIRUT: Iran&#39;s foreign minister accused the United States and Israel on Friday of fueling a growing protest movement in the country, while dismissing the possibility of direct foreign military intervention after US warnings over crackdowns on demonstrators.&nbsp;&quot;This is what the Americans and Israelis have stated, that they are directly intervening in the protests in Iran,&quot; said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a visit to Lebanon.&nbsp;&quot;They are trying to transform the peaceful protests into divisive and violent ones,&quot; he said, adding that &quot;regarding the possibility of seeing military intervention against Iran, we believe there is a low possibility of this because their previous attempts were total failures&quot;.

Asia

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of directly intervening in Iran’s protests, claiming they are turning peaceful demonstrations violent, while dismissing the likelihood of any foreign military intervention.

Iran FM says US, Israel 'directly intervening' in protests

JERUSALEM: Israel has said 37 aid organizations will be banned from operating in Gaza from Thursday unless they comply with guidelines requiring detailed information on Palestinian staff, drawing criticism from the United Nations and the European Union.&nbsp;Several NGOs have told AFP the new rules will have a major impact on food and medical shipments to Gaza, at a time when humanitarian organisations say the amount of aid getting in is inadequate to the devastated territory&#39;s needs.&nbsp;Israel&#39;s deadline for NGOs to provide the details expires at midnight on Wednesday.&nbsp;&quot;They refuse to provide lists of their Palestinian employees because they know, just as we know, that some of them are involved in terrorism or linked to Hamas,&quot; spokesman for the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Gilad Zwick told AFP, naming 37 NGOs that had so far failed to meet the new requirements.&nbsp;&quot;I highly doubt that what they haven&#39;t done for 10 months, they will suddenly do in less than 12 hours,&quot; Zwick said. &quot;We certainly won&#39;t accept any cooperation that is just for show, simply to get an extension.&quot;&nbsp;The ministry had said in a statement on Wednesday that the move was part of Israel&#39;s decision to &quot;strengthen and update&quot; regulations governing the activities of international NGOs in the Palestinian territory.&nbsp;A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since October, following a deadly war waged by Israel in response to Hamas&#39;s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.&nbsp;For Israel, it says the new regulation aims to prevent bodies it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.&nbsp;On Tuesday, Israel specified that &quot;acts of de-legitimising Israel&quot; or denial of events surrounding Hamas&#39; October 7 attack would be &quot;grounds for license withdrawal&quot;.&nbsp;Israel has singled out international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), alleging that it had two employees who were members of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas.&nbsp;Apart from MSF, some of the 37 NGOs to be hit with the ban are the Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision International, CARE and Oxfam, according to the list given by Zwick.&nbsp;Guarantee accessOn Wednesday, the United Nations rights chief Volker Turk described Israel&#39;s decision as &quot;outrageous&quot;, calling on states to urgently insist Israel shift course.&nbsp;&quot;Israel&#39;s suspension of numerous aid agencies from Gaza is outrageous,&quot; he said in a statement, warning that &quot;such arbitrary suspensions make an already intolerable situation even worse for the people of Gaza&quot;.&nbsp;The European Union also warned that Israel&#39;s decision would block &quot;life-saving&quot; assistance from reaching Gazans.&nbsp;&quot;The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form,&quot; EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib posted on X.&nbsp;&quot;IHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need,&quot; Lahbib wrote.&nbsp;On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of ten countries, including France and the United Kingdom, had already urged Israel to &quot;guarantee access&quot; to aid in the Gaza Strip, where they said the humanitarian situation remains &quot;catastrophic.&quot;&nbsp;In a territory with 2.2 million inhabitants, &quot;1.3 million people still require urgent shelter support,&quot; the ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said.&nbsp;While a deal for a ceasefire that started on October 10 stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.&nbsp;COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.&nbsp;

Middle East

Israel says it will ban 37 NGOs from Gaza unless they share Palestinian staff details, drawing UN and EU criticism as aid groups warn the move will further restrict food and medical assistance amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Israel to ban 37 aid groups operating in Gaza

PALM BEACH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, with the US president pushing to move to the next stage of his fragile Gaza truce plan.&nbsp;Netanyahu is also expected to try to shift some focus onto Iran, amid reports he will call for more US strikes on the Islamic republic.&nbsp;The meeting at Trump&#39;s lavish Mar-a-Lago resort the fifth between the two leaders to be held in the United States this year comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire.&nbsp;Trump, who said Netanyahu had asked for the talks, is reportedly keen to announce as soon as January, a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force.&nbsp;The two leaders are to meet at 1 pm (1800 GMT), the White House said.&nbsp;In recent months, Israeli officials and media have expressed concern that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June.&nbsp;But Sina Toossi, a researcher at the Center for International Policy (CIP) in Washington, said Trump&#39;s insistence that US strikes in June destroyed Tehran&#39;s nuclear program had &quot;removed Israel&#39;s most powerful historical justification for US support for war with Iran&quot;.&nbsp;Netanyahu&#39;s new focus on Iran&#39;s missiles is &quot;an effort to manufacture a replacement casus belli,&quot; Toossi told AFP.&nbsp;Iran on Monday denounced the reports as a &quot;psychological operation&quot; against Tehran, emphasizing it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would &quot;result in harsher consequences&quot; for Israel.&nbsp;Phase two has to beginNetanyahu&#39;s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia&#39;s invasion.&nbsp;The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump&#39;s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s global envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner hosted senior officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Miami earlier this month.&nbsp;The timing of the Netanyahu meeting is &quot;very significant,&quot; said Gershon Baskin, the co-head of peacebuilding commission the Alliance for Two States, who has taken part in back-channel negotiations with Hamas.&nbsp;&quot;Phase two has to begin,&quot; he told AFP, adding that &quot;I think the Americans realize that it&#39;s late because Hamas has had too much time to re-establish its presence.&quot;&nbsp;The first phase of the truce deal stipulated that Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, taken during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The group has so far returned all the living captives and the remains of all but one.&nbsp;Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons.&nbsp;An interim authority is meanwhile meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed.&nbsp;Both sides, however, have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.&nbsp;Frustrated with NetanyahuThe Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza &quot;Board of Peace&quot; that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January.&nbsp;But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process.&nbsp;&quot;There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,&quot; said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think-tank Chatham House.&nbsp;&quot;The question is what it&#39;s going to do about it,&quot; he added, &quot;because phase two is right now going nowhere.&quot;&nbsp;Israel is continuing to strike Hamas targets in Gaza, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon despite another ceasefire there. Syria will also be on the agenda.&nbsp;Mekelberg said Netanyahu could be attempting to shift attention from Gaza onto Iran as Israel enters an election year.&nbsp;&quot;Everything is connected to staying in power,&quot; he said of the long-time Israeli premier.

Americas

Netanyahu meets Trump in Florida as the US urges progress on the Gaza ceasefire, while Washington grows frustrated with delays and Netanyahu shifts attention toward Iran as Israel continues military strikes.

Netanyahu to meet Trump in Florida for talks on Gaza, Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the leader of the opposition in India&rsquo;s West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday called for Bangladesh to be &ldquo;taught a lesson,&rdquo; invoking Israel&rsquo;s military campaign in Gaza, while leading a protest in Kolkata. &ldquo;A lesson should be taught [to Bangladesh]. Like Israel taught in Gaza,&rdquo; Adhikari said while marching to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission alongside party leaders and seers, according to the Times of India. TRT World later shared the video footage of the incident on their official Instagram page.&nbsp; <div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSx8cdSgXw-/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=592&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2F3092#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A3366212.0999999996%2C%22ls%22%3A554.7000000001863%2C%22le%22%3A654.3000000007451%7D" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="1023" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> The comments referenced Israel&rsquo;s ongoing war in Gaza, which has drawn widespread international scrutiny. Israel&rsquo;s military campaign has killed over 70,000 Palestinians and injured 179,100 since October 7, 2023, according to Gaza&rsquo;s Health Ministry. Earlier this year, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel is responsible for genocide in Gaza, resulting in mass civilian casualties, the deliberate starvation of the population, the collapse of health and education systems, and violations of binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice. Adhikari also linked his remarks to India&rsquo;s recent confrontation with Pakistan. &ldquo;Our country&rsquo;s 100 crore Hindus; the government is being run in the interest of Hindus. A lesson should be taught. Like we taught Pakistan during Operation Sindoor,&rdquo; he said, according to the Times of India. India&rsquo;s ruling party rivals condemned the language. The Trinamool Congress wrote on X that the Bharatiya Janata Party had &ldquo;perfected hate and intolerance into an art form,&rdquo; accusing Adhikari of making incendiary and extremist remarks. The controversy unfolded amid renewed political debate in India over the outcome of the May conflict with Pakistan. Earlier this month, senior Indian Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had said India was &ldquo;completely defeated&rdquo; during the fighting, claiming the &ldquo;entire Indian Air Force&rdquo; was grounded. &ldquo;On the very first day, we faced a complete defeat,&rdquo; Chavan said while addressing a meeting of party workers in Pune. After another Bharatiya Janata Party politician, Subrahmanyam Swamy, claimed that Pakistan had downed five Indian aircraft during the escalation, India&rsquo;s top military commander acknowledged losses. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue that India had suffered &ldquo;some losses.&rdquo; According to Indian media, US&nbsp;President Donald Trump has at least 25 times cited claims that five to eight &ldquo;brand new, beautiful&rdquo; aircraft were shot down during the Pakistan-India May conflict.

India

A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the leader of the opposition in India’s West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday called for Bangladesh to be 'taught a lesson,' invoking Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, while leading a protest in Kolkata.

Indian BJP leader says Bangladesh should be taught a lesson 'like Israel did in Gaza'

TEHRAN: Iran insisted on Monday that its missile program was defensive in nature and designed to dissuade attack, while adding that the existence of its arsenal was not up for debate.&nbsp;Israel had presented Iran&#39;s ballistic missiles, along with its nuclear program, as the two main threats it sought to neutralize during the 12-day war the foes fought in June.&nbsp;&quot;Iran&#39;s missile program was developed to defend Iran&#39;s territory, not for negotiation,&quot; foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press conference.&nbsp;&quot;Therefore, Iran&#39;s defense capabilities, designed to deter aggressors from any thought of attacking Iran, are not a matter that could be talked about.&quot;&nbsp;Iran&#39;s ballistic capabilities put Israel within striking distance. After Israel&#39;s unprecedented attacks that sparked the war in June, Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drones launched at Israeli cities.&nbsp;According to US broadcaster NBC, Israel is growing increasingly concerned that Iran is seeking to rebuild and expand its missile production following the war. It may seek to attack it again to curtail those efforts.&nbsp;Over the course of the recent war, Israel struck military sites, nuclear facilities, and residential areas, killing more than 1,000 people.&nbsp;Israel reported more than 50 Iranian missile strikes inside its territory that killed 28 people.&nbsp;The US briefly joined its ally in striking Iran&#39;s nuclear facilities before declaring a ceasefire.&nbsp;Iran once procured much of its weaponry from the United States, but following the break in diplomatic relations after its 1979 Islamic revolution, it had to develop its own domestic arms industry.

Iran says its missile program is defensive and not open to talks. It rejected Israeli claims after June’s war, which saw missile exchanges, heavy casualties, and brief US strikes before a ceasefire.

Iran says missile program defensive, non-negotiable

ISLAMABAD: The deadly shooting near Sydney&rsquo;s Bondi Beach has sparked concern in Pakistan after sections of Indian media, followed by some Israeli and Afghan social media accounts, rushed to link the attack to Pakistan despite no confirmation from Australian authorities. Soon after the incident, multiple Indian media outlets circulated the name Naveed Akram, portraying him as a &ldquo;Pakistani attacker.&rdquo; The claim quickly unraveled when a Pakistani-Australian man with the same name publicly denied any connection, calling the allegations false and dangerous. Akram said his photographs were taken from his personal social media accounts and falsely linked to the attacker. &ldquo;That is not me and I have nothing to do with that incident or with that person,&rdquo; he said, stressing that the misinformation has placed his safety at risk. &ldquo;This issue is very serious. I am stressed, scared, and cannot even go outside safely,&rdquo; Akram added, describing the &ldquo;dual trauma&rdquo; caused first by the tragedy itself and then by being falsely identified online. Investigators have tentatively identified one of the attackers, according to Sky News citing three senior law enforcement officials in the US and Australia. New South Wales Police have confirmed that 16 people were killed and 40 remain in hospital following Sunday&rsquo;s shooting. The police added that &ldquo;more information will be made available soon&rdquo; and that Bondi Beach and surrounding roads would remain closed as investigators continue processing the crime scene. Nevertheless, unverified narratives continued to circulate online, with some Indian, Israeli, and Afghan-based accounts attempting to associate the attack with Pakistan. International Relations scholar Ahmad Hassan Al-Arbi noted on X that reports suggested &ldquo;at least one Afghan national may have been involved,&rdquo; while emphasizing that official details remain limited and investigations are ongoing. The rapid spread of unverified claims has renewed concerns over misinformation during crises. Observers note that Indian media, frequently criticized for disinformation, once again amplified an unsubstantiated narrative targeting Pakistan, which was then echoed across aligned online platforms. Islamabad has strongly criticized New Delhi for a recurring pattern of baseless accusations against Pakistan in the aftermath of international security incidents. The Foreign Office has repeatedly called for restraint, responsible reporting, and reliance on verified facts, warning that premature allegations undermine credibility and threaten regional stability. The Pakistan Australian Cultural Association Inc (PACA) also issued a statement expressing shock and grief over the attack, condemning the &ldquo;atrocious and inhumane act of violence and terror&rdquo; at Bondi Beach. PACA extended condolences to the victims and their families, expressed solidarity with Australia&rsquo;s Jewish community, and praised the swift response of emergency services and community members. The association urged all communities to stand together, reject violence, and reaffirm a commitment to peace, compassion, and resilience, offering professional support to those traumatized by the tragedy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Australia. &ldquo;My deepest condolences to the victims of the tragic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach. Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,&rdquo; he said in a post on X. He also conveyed Pakistan&rsquo;s sympathy to the families of the victims and reaffirmed the country&rsquo;s commitment to opposing terrorism globally. <h1 style="line-height: 2;">Australian PM proposes &#39;tougher gun laws&#39;</h1>Australia&#39;s prime minister proposed &quot;tougher gun laws&quot; on Monday a day after gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting targeting a Jewish festival at a Sydney beach. &quot;The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,&quot; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after police confirmed one of the assailants was licensed to hold six firearms. Report about IS links&nbsp;Australia&rsquo;s intelligence service investigated one of the alleged gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting for links to the Islamic State group six years ago, the national broadcaster said Monday, according to AFP. A 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son are accused of opening fire Sunday on a Hanukkah festival at the famed Sydney beach, killing 15 people and wounding more than 40 others. Australian media named the gunmen as Sajid Akram, who was killed in a shootout with police, and his son Naveed Akram, who was in hospital in a critical condition under police guard. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) looked into the son in 2019, according to public broadcaster ABC, which cited an unnamed senior official in the joint counter-terrorism operation investigating the Bondi Beach attack. It said Naveed Akram was believed to be closely connected to an Islamic State member who was arrested in July 2019 and convicted of preparing a terrorist act in Australia. Allegiance to Islamic State&nbsp;The broadcaster said counter-terrorism detectives believed the two Bondi Beach gunmen had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Senior officials reportedly told that the ABC two IS flags were found in the gunmen&#39;s car at the beach. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess told reporters on Sunday that one of the gunmen was &ldquo;known to us but not in an immediate threat perspective&rdquo;. &ldquo;So, obviously we&nbsp;need to look into what happened&nbsp;here,&rdquo; he added. New South Wales police said they could not confirm the ABC report. ASIO said it &ldquo;does not comment on individuals or ongoing investigations&rdquo;.

Foreign Affairs

Following deadly attack that killed 16 in Sydney, Pakistani-Australian Naveed Akram says he is falsely linked to the shooter online; condemns misinformation and urges people to stop spreading it.

Bondi shooting sparks false blame campaign against Pakistan

BEIRUT: United Nations peacekeepers said Friday that Israel&#39;s army has built walls in south Lebanon near the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, nearly a year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.&nbsp;In October, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon surveyed &quot;a concrete T-wall erected by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) southwest of Yaroun. The survey confirmed that the wall crossed the Blue Line, rendering more than 4,000 square metres of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the Lebanese people,&quot; UNIFIL.&nbsp;&quot;In November, peacekeepers observed additional T-wall construction in the area. A survey confirmed that a section of wall southeast of Yaroun also crossed the Blue Line,&quot; it added, urging Israel to withdraw.

UN peacekeepers say Israel has built concrete walls in south Lebanon that cross the Blue Line and block Lebanese land, have urged Israel to remove the walls.

UN peacekeepers say Israel built walls inside Lebanon

Reuters

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CAIRO/JERUSALEM: The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Netanyahu&#39;s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Netanyahu&#39;s government and Hamas have been trading blame over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire for days. Late Saturday in Washington, the State Department said it had received &quot;credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.&quot; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The State Department said the planned attack against Palestinian civilians would be a &quot;direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement.&quot; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,&quot; the department said in a statement, without providing further details. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump had said he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal that he brokered. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The militant group has launched a security crackdown in urban areas vacated by Israeli forces, demonstrating its power through public executions and clashes with local armed clans. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dispute over aid, return of bodies&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said Netanyahu&#39;s decision &quot;constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made to the mediators and guarantor parties.&quot; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It also said the continued closure of the Rafah crossing would prevent the entry of equipment needed to search for and locate more hostage bodies under the rubble, and would thus delay the recovery and handover of the remains. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Israel said it received two more bodies late on Saturday, meaning 12 out of 28 bodies have been handed over under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas last week. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with nearly all inhabitants driven from their homes, a global hunger monitor confirming famine and health authorities overwhelmed. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The dispute over the return of bodies, and shipments of life-saving humanitarian aid, underlines the fragility of the ceasefire and still has the potential to upset the deal along with other major issues that are included in U.S. President Donald Trump&#39;s 20-point plan to end the war. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As part of the deal, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had been holding for two years, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Formidable obstacles to peace <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Israel says that Hamas has been too slow to hand over the bodies of deceased hostages it still holds. The militant group says that locating some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will take time. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The deal requires Israel to return 360 bodies of Palestinian militants for the deceased Israeli hostages and so far it has handed over 15 bodies in return for each Israeli body it has received. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rafah has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid into the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After cutting off all supplies for 11 weeks in March, Israel increased aid into Gaza in July, scaling it up further since the ceasefire. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Around 560 metric tons of food had entered Gaza per day on average since the US-brokered truce, but this was still well below the scale of need, according to the UN World Food Programme. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Formidable obstacles to Trump&#39;s plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming and how Gaza will be governed, the make-up of an international &quot;stabilization force&quot; and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.

File Photo - Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.

Israel says Rafah crossing will stay closed until further notice

GAZA: Israel&rsquo;s military said it opened fire on Tuesday to eliminate a threat posed by suspects who approached its forces in the northern Gaza Strip. Health authorities in the enclave said at least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. The military said the suspects had crossed a boundary established for an initial Israeli pullback under a United States&ndash;brokered ceasefire plan, violating the agreement.Gaza&rsquo;s local health authority said Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in two separate incidents across the enclave on Tuesday. On Monday, Hamas released the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees as part of the ceasefire deal. US President Donald Trump declared the end of a two-year war that has reshaped the broader Middle East.

Israeli soldiers work on their tanks at a gathering point on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 after Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Ariel 

Israel’s military said it opened fire on Tuesday to eliminate a threat posed by suspects who approached its forces in the northern Gaza Strip. Health authorities in the enclave said at least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.

Israel says it fired on Gaza suspects; six reported killed

Reuters/AP

JERUSALEM/GAZA:&nbsp;The Hamas-run Prisoners Office said&nbsp;on Monday that&nbsp;buses carrying the freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah and in the Gaza Strip. Israel freed more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees after Hamas freed all remaining living hostages held in Gaza under the two sides&rsquo; ceasefire deal. The buses arrived in Ramallah after leaving Ofer prison, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, said the Prisoners Office. At least one bus also crossed into the Gaza Strip, it said. Earlier, Hamas handed over 20 surviving Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of US President Donald Trump&#39;s ceasefire deal. News agencies quoting Israel&rsquo;s public broadcaster reported Hamas had handed over all 20 surviving Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives. Earlier, President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to celebrate the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, an agreement that he declares has effectively ended the war and opened the door to building a durable peace in the Middle East. The moment, however, remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas still in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the plan, which includes the release of Israeli hostages that have been held since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants. With families overjoyed at the impending reunions and Palestinians eager for a surge of humanitarian assistance, Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the region and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. &ldquo;The war is over, OK?&rdquo; Trump told reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One while on his way from Washington DC to Israel. &ldquo;I think people are tired of it,&rdquo; he said, emphasizing that he believed the ceasefire would hold because of that. While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and Hamas. As the war dragged on, demonstrators accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political purposes, even as he accused Hamas of intransigence. Last week, under heavy international pressure and increasing isolation for Israel, the bitter enemies agreed to the ceasefire. With the hostages&rsquo; release, the sense of urgency around the war for many Israelis will be effectively over. While Israel considers the prisoners to be terrorists, Palestinians view them as freedom fighters against Israeli occupation. Israel has warned Palestinians in the West Bank against celebrating after people are released, according to a prisoner&rsquo;s family and a Palestinian official familiar with the plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution. Trump in Israel, Egypt&nbsp;Trump is first visiting Israel, where a White House schedule said he would meet with families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel&rsquo;s parliament. Vice President JD Vance said Trump was likely to meet with newly freed hostages. &ldquo;The war is over,&rdquo; Trump asserted to reporters as he departed, adding he thought the ceasefire would hold. Trump will continue to Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi&#39;s office said he will co-chair a &ldquo;peace summit&rdquo; on Monday with regional and international leaders. Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, will attend, a judge and adviser to Abbas, Mahmoud al-Habbash, told The Associated Press. Netanyahu has rejected any role in postwar Gaza for Abbas, though the US plan leaves the possibility open if the Palestinian Authority undergoes reforms. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Other key questions in the ceasefire deal remain unresolved, including the future governance of Gaza and the funding for a billion-dollar reconstruction process. Israel wants to ensure that the weakened Hamas disarms, and Netanyahu has warned that Israel could do it &ldquo;the hard way.&rdquo; Hamas refuses to disarm and wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza. The Israeli military has withdrawn from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis, and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza&rsquo;s far north, and the wide strip along Gaza&rsquo;s border with Israel. Under the US plan, an international body will govern Gaza, overseeing Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. Hamas has said that Gaza&rsquo;s government should be worked out among Palestinians. The plan calls for an Arab-led international security force in Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy. About 200 US troops are now in Israel to monitor the ceasefire. The plan also mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state, another nonstarter for Netanyahu.

Red Cross buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrive in Ramallah and Gaza; Hamas hands over hostages to the Red Cross; Trump to address Israeli parliament; later, attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt, which aims to strengthen peace in Gaza after two years of devastation by Israel.

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