Author: Gulf News Week
The first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement has dramatically reduced Israeli attacks in southern Gaza, where Palestinians are readjusting.Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – For the first time in a long time, Palestinian mother Wiam al-Masri can clearly recognise the cries of her infant son, Samih, who is not yet two months old. His soft wailing rises in the quiet air of al-Mawasi, in southern Khan Younis, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump to end the Gaza war – largely halting Israeli air and artillery strikes…
Analysts say Trump is the centrepiece of the Gaza ceasefire, but he will likely have to ‘hold Netanyahu’s feet to the fire’ to end war.Washington, DC, United States – In announcing the Gaza ceasefire deal, Hamas praised United States President Donald Trump in one sentence and called on him to compel Israel to live up to its obligations under the agreement in the next.Trump has presented the ceasefire breakthrough, which he called “momentous”, as his own. And both the Palestinians and Israelis have given him credit for the deal.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Palestinians in Gaza worry and…
Negotiations over Hamas’s disarmament may emerge as a key obstacle to securing a permanent end to Israel’s war on Gaza.Israel and Hamas may have agreed to the first phase of a United States-backed ceasefire deal, but contentious differences between the two sides still remain, particularly when it comes to the fate of the Palestinian group’s weapons.Israel has long insisted that Hamas surrender all of its weapons if its two-year war on Gaza is to end, as well as demanding that the group relinquish governance of the Palestinian enclave and dissolve itself as an organisation.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1…
Western leaders now claim credit for ‘peace’, but Gaza’s survival belongs to its people alone.On November 7, 2023, children stood before cameras at al-Shifa Hospital and spoke in English, not their mother tongue, but in the language of those they thought might save them. “We want to live, we want peace, we want to judge the killers of children,” one boy said. “We want medicine, food and education. We want to live as other children live.” Even then, barely a month into the genocide, they had no clean drinking water, no food and no medicine. They begged in the colonisers’…
After two years of war on Gaza, Israelis struggle to believe that the conflict may have finally ended.Across Israeli society, the reaction to the news of a Gaza ceasefire deal has been almost uniform: Joy.In Tel Aviv, the families of those taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 celebrated on Thursday after the announcement. And a man dressed as United States President Donald Trump – who played a large part in brokering the deal – carried Israeli and US flags and posed for photographs with smiling passersby.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How Gaza…
Hope battles with distrust as Palestinians in Gaza wait for Israel to implement the ceasefire. Here’s what they said.Deir el-Balah, Gaza – A cautious relief seems to hover over central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah as people stand outside their tents, talking to each other about the ceasefire that is set to come into force after approval by the Israeli cabinet.Some people are celebrating, while others are worrying that this respite will prove brief and incomplete, like past ceasefires that Israel violated.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Map of Gaza shows how Israeli forces will withdraw under ceasefire deallist 2…
In the first phase of the ceasefire plan, Israel will remain in control of nearly 60 percent of the Gaza Strip.In the early hours of Wednesday morning in Gaza, United States President Donald Trump announced that Hamas and Israel had agreed on the first phase of his ceasefire and captive-exchange plan.In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated : “ALL the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line.”The “agreed upon line” refers to a vague map shared by Trump on October 4, showing an initial Israeli withdrawal zone…
Protection of political, economic and commercial interests has led to FIFA’s ‘double standards’ in countering anti-Israel protests and calls for sanctions, say experts.Israel will resume its qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026 this coming weekend amid widespread public protests and growing demands for football’s governing body to sanction the country over its genocide in Gaza.Despite the widespread opposition, Israel’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers – against Norway on Saturday and Italy on Tuesday – will go ahead as scheduled after FIFA sidestepped the issue by saying it cannot “solve geopolitical problems”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Ban…
Ceasefire to go into effect within 24 hours of Israel’s cabinet ratifying the deal tonight, says Israeli government.Israel’s government has confirmed signing the final draft of an agreement on phase one of a ceasefire deal with Hamas aimed at ending the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in two years.Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Thursday the signing took place earlier that morning in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, following three days of intensive negotiations in the city.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump announces Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: What we know and what’s…
The Gaza ceasefire deal, based on Trump’s 20-point plan, aims to free prisoners and captives in the first phase.US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan that aims to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.This plan seeks to end Israel’s war that has dragged on for two years, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, with thousands more lost under the rubble and presumed dead.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4What kind of future does Gaza face, if Israel ends its war on it?list 2 of…