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Israeli military vehicles operate on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout image released May 7, 2024, by the Israel Defense Forces. ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS Jerusalem — An Israeli tank brigade took control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, as Israel moved forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife's edge. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

The Israeli military announces that troops are currently striking and operating against Hamas sites “in a targeted manner” in eastern Rafah. The IDF says it will provide further information on the operation soon. The announcement comes after Palestinian media reported a series of strikes in the area, where the IDF earlier called for civilians to evacuate.

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Israel is deciding its next steps after Iran's retaliatory attack as fears grow of a wider war in the Middle East.What to know An Israeli response to Iran's retaliatory attack may be “imminent,” a source told NBC News. The comments came as Israel weighed its next steps and after a meeting of the country’s war Cabinet today. The two countries clashed at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, with Tehran insisting it does not seek further escalation after launching the barrage of 300 drones and missiles, but warning of more "decisive" strikes in retaliation to any Israeli...

Suez traffic is down 28% in the past 10 days. Also, the commercial Suez Canal traffic reportedly downed almost 60% since the Houthi attacks began in response to the Israeli war on Gaza. Short-term rates for container shipping between Asia, Europe, and the US are climbing on reduced capacity caused by the ongoing threats to cargo vessels in the Red Sea. The spot rate for shipping goods in a 40-foot container from Asia to northern Europe now tops $4,000, a 173% jump from just before the diversions started in mid-December, Freightos.com, a cargo booking and payment platform, said late Wednesday....

Moshe Feiglin, Israeli politician and activist, spoke to Israel National News – Arutz Sheva about his decision to leave the Likud, the current IDF achievements, and the sacrifice of our soldiers. “What we see is the spirit and heroism of this generation of soldiers. We have never seen this in the past. We have seen tremendous heroism during all the wars since 1948, but what we are seeing now, we have never seen before. Personally, it gives me tremendous hope for this country. I know that we are going to win. There's no doubt about it. The problem we have...

The three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip were carrying a stick with a makeshift white flag at the time of the incident, an Israeli military spokesperson said, according to Reuters, Spanish news agency EFE and Israeli media. The incident happened in an area of intense combat where Hamas militants operate in civilian attire and use deception tactics, he said. The hostages were aged 25 to 28 years. The soldier who shot at the hostages believed the men were moving toward him as an attempt by the Palestinian Islamist...

Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Israeli hostages in northern Gaza after misidentifying them as threats, the Israel Defense Forces said. “During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a news briefing on Friday. “During searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, a suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased,” Hagari added. “Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli...

The Druze are an Israeli minority community of roughly 150,000 in number, comprising roughly two per cent of the country’s population — and they’re a living counterpoint to the commonly-levelled accusation that Israel is an apartheid state. Ethnically and linguistically Arabic, the Druze are Abrahamic monotheists who first emerged around the 11th century after branching off from Shia Islam. Worldwide, they now total about one million. The Israeli population is quite concentrated, with 98 per cent living in 19 villages in the northern regions. Druze tend to be fiercely loyal to their home states. Speaking to the National Post last...

President Biden apologized to some prominent Muslim-American leaders for publicly questioning the Palestinian death toll being reported by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, a new report says. Biden huddled with five Muslim American leaders the day after his Oct. 25 comments about reported Gaza deaths roiled the Islamic community, vowing to “do better.” During the meeting, which was initially planned for 30 minutes but lasted more than twice as long, Biden heard the leaders describe individuals they knew who were personally affected by the conflict. “I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself,” Biden told the group, the Washington Post reported.

National security adviser Jack Sullivan warned on Sunday that the “risk” of the Israel-Hamas war escalating into a wider regional conflict is “real,” vowing the U.S. will continue to respond to attacks from Iran proxies to deter the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.Asked on ABC News’s “This Week,” about what’s expected if Iran-backed groups continue attacks on U.S. forces, Sullivan said, “The president has been very straightforward on this — if American troops are attacked by Iran and its proxies, we will respond. We did respond if attacks continue, will respond, and I think the Iranians understand...

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara have decamped to the luxury mansion with a deep nuclear bunker, amid growing public anger towards the country’s leaders. The gated mansion in a Jerusalem mansion, owned by US billionaire Simon Falic, comes with high-level security. It will offer the PM an escape from mounting rage among Israeli citizens who are angry about how Hamas fighters were able to breach Israel’s borders, brutally murder 1,400 men, women and children and grab 220 hostages in the October 7 attacks. It is not the first time the couple have stayed at the tycoon’s...

New satellite images of Gaza show the extent of the destruction caused by Israel's intense aerial bombardment of the territory over the past three weeks. The pictures, released by Maxar Technologies, compare detailed images captured from space earlier this week with images from before the recent conflict began. They show three areas in the north of Gaza where aerial attacks have left dozens of tower blocks completely destroyed or badly damaged as well as large areas of tightly packed buildings reduced to piles of grey rubble.

On Tuesday evening a rocket reportedly hit the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza causing a massive explosion and resulting in the deaths of allegedly several hundred Palestinians. The Palestinians, Islamic Jihad terror group and Western media immediately blamed Israel for the explosion. This comes ten days after the largest slaughter of Jews since World War II. Over 1,300 Jews were massacred by Hamas and another 200 Jews were taken hostage back to Gaza on October 7. The international media immediately blamed Israel for the rocket attack “on the hospital.” But it now appears the story was fake news. Masks Won’t...

RUSSIAN STANCE ON ISRAEL The Russian president has reportedly not called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the weekend, and did not release a message of support or condolences following the attacks on Saturday. UKRAINE STANCE ON ISRAEL: Zelensky, meanwhile, has repeatedly affirmed his country’s support for Israel, comparing Hamas’s attacks over the weekend to Russia’s conduct during the war. “The only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel, and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine,” Zelensky said during a speech to NATO on Monday. He later told a French television station that he...

The most serious outburst of bloodshed since a 2014 war took on many of the hallmarks of the destructive 50-day battle, with hundreds killed with no end in sight, as rockets rained down on Gaza and Israel battered the territory with airstrikes.Palls of grey smoke rose in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes destroyed two apartment buildings and pounded the insurgent group's numerous military sites, including the central police complex.In Israel, barrages of hundreds of missiles launched by Gaza's Hamas rulers and other militants at times overwhelmed missile defences, causing air raid sirens and blasts to reverberate through Tel Aviv and other...

At least 44 Palestinians were killed by "Israeli actions" while sheltering at seven UN schools during last summer's war in Gaza, a UN inquiry has found. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he deplored the deaths and stressed that UN facilities were "inviolable". The inquiry also found that three empty UN schools were used by Palestinian militants to store weapons, and that in two cases they likely fired from them. The 50-day conflict claimed the lives of more than 2,260 people. At least 2,189 were Palestinians, including more than 1,486 civilians, according to the UN. On the Israeli side, 67...

As Israeli operations against Hamas wind down, here are seven insights into the month-long conflict: Missile shield: The superb performance of Iron Dome, the protective system that shot down nearly every Hamas rocket threatening life or property, has major military implications for Israel and the world. Its success signals that “Star Wars” (as opponents maliciously dubbed it upon introduction in 1983) can indeed provide protection from short-range and also presumably from long-range rockets and missiles, potentially changing the future of warfare. Tunnels: Tunneling behind enemy lines is hardly a new tactic; historically, it has had success, such as the 1917...

Ziad Abu Halool says he is tired of seeing his neighborhood destroyed. He’s tired of having no running water for 10 days, no electricity for even longer. He’s tired of watching Hamas and other Palestinian militants fire rockets into Israel from his neighborhood — and tired of praying that Israeli retaliation won’t obliterate his house. So, after more than a month of war and devastation, Abu Halool speaks words that once seemed unthinkable: He says that although he despises Israel, he also blames Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for his woes. They have “committed many mistakes,” said Abu Halool,...

If body-counts and destroyed weaponry are the main criteria for victory, Israel is the clear winner in the latest confrontation with Hamas. There’s no doubt that Israel could conquer the entire Gaza Strip and completely wipe out Hamas’s military apparatus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chosen not to do so and now enjoys his highest approval ratings ever. But counting bodies is not the most important criterion in deciding who should be declared the victor. Much more important is comparing each side’s goals before the fighting and what they have achieved. Seen in this light, Hamas won.