GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, May 4, 2024 (AFP) – A senior Hamas official on Saturday said the group would not accept a truce that did not completely end the Gaza war, accusing Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of “personally hindering” a deal. Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Saturday in the latest bid to halt the devastating almost seven-month-old war that has triggered worldwide protests. They were to hear the […]
Tag: ceasefire
Embracing hostage families, Blinken urges Hamas to accept ‘very strong’ deal
TEL AVIV, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Hamas to accept a “very strong” ceasefire-for-hostages offer as he vowed to put a priority on families seeking to reunite with loved ones. In rare scenes for the top US diplomat, who has faced furore at home and abroad over President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in its campaign against Hamas, Blinken was greeted outside his Tel Aviv hotel […]
Israel’s Netanyahu approves new Gaza ceasefire talks
By Adel Zaanoun with Joshua Melvin in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, March 29, 2024 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Friday new talks on a Gaza ceasefire, a day after the world’s top court ordered Israel to ensure urgent humanitarian aid reaches people in the Palestinian territory. But despite a binding United Nations Security Council resolution this week demanding an “immediate ceasefire”, fighting continued Friday, including around hospitals. Regional fallout from the […]
Blinken embarks on Israel visit urging ‘prompt’ ceasefire in Gaza conflict
By Adel Zaanoun with Leon Bruneau in Cairo GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Israel Friday to press for a truce in Gaza, ahead of a key UN Security Council vote on a US draft resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire. Israel’s main backer the United States announced it would submit for a vote on Friday a draft to the Security Council on the need […]
Biden says has ‘hope’ for Gaza ceasefire by next Monday
NEW YORK, Feb 26, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden said Monday he hoped a ceasefire in Gaza could start by the beginning of next week. Amid a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, France and elsewhere have acted as go-betweens for Israel and Hamas, seeking a halt to the fighting and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. A deal could also include the […]
Qatar says efforts to renew Israel-Hamas truce ‘continuing’
DOHA, Dec 10, 2023 (AFP) – Mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new Gaza ceasefire despite ongoing Israeli bombardment that is “narrowing the window” for a successful outcome, Qatar’s prime minister said Sunday. “Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum more than two months into the Israel-Hamas war. Qatar was a […]
Israel denies reports of any ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza: PM office
JERUSALEM, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Monday denied reports of any temporary Gaza ceasefire to allow foreign nationals to flee the enclave to neighbouring Egypt. However, the army pledged to refrain from striking routes within Gaza designated for evacuating people from the enclave’s north to the south during a limited time window, from 8:00am to noon (0500 GMT to 0900 GMT). Media reports had said Israel, Egypt and […]
Sporadic shelling as combat eases after Sudan ceasefire
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Sporadic artillery fire still echoed in Sudan’s capital Tuesday but residents said fighting had calmed following a US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire, raising faint hopes in the embattled city. In the sixth week of war, witnesses reported a relative calm had taken hold, both in greater Khartoum and in the Darfur region’s cities of Nyala and El Geneina, which have been among the other main battlegrounds. “We have not heard shelling in […]
Gaza clears rubble, buries dead as truce with Israel holds
by Sakher Abou El Oun with Yasmin Zaher in Jerusalem Agence France Presse Shell-shocked Gazans on Monday sifted through the rubble of three days of deadly fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants as a truce held and life slowly returned to normal. An Egypt-brokered ceasefire reached late Sunday ended the intense fighting that killed 46 people including 16 children and wounded 360 in the enclave, according to Gaza’s health ministry, updating an earlier […]
‘Fragile’ Gaza truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad holds
by Mai Yaghi with Peter Martell in Jerusalem Agence France Presse GAZA CITY (AFP) — A “fragile” Egypt-brokered truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza appeared to be holding early Monday, raising hopes that the recent intense conflict that has left at least 44 Palestinians dead, including 15 children, has ended. The truce, which officially started at 11:30 pm (2030 GMT) Sunday night, aims to stem the worst fighting in Gaza since […]
UN chief in Moscow says he wants Ukraine ceasefire ‘as soon as possible’
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to Moscow Tuesday that he was looking to find ways to stop the fighting in Ukraine as quickly as possible. “We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialogue, create the conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, create the conditions for a peaceful solution,” Guterres said at the start of talks with Russian […]
Ceasefire to let Mariupol residents evacuate: Russian defence ministry
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s defence ministry announced a ceasefire Saturday to allow residents of two Ukrainian cities that were surrounded by Russian forces, including the strategic port city of Mariupol, to evacuate. “Today, March 5, from 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), the Russian side declares a regime of silence and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha,” it said. The ministry clarified that the location of the […]





