One-month pause in Gaza fighting now a focus of hostage release talks, sources say

IDF says over 100 Hamas operatives killed in Khan Younis area today, troops find largest underground weapons production site to date * Hezbollah, Iranian ‘asset’ hit in Lebanon By REUTERS and TOI STAFFToday, 11:54 pm  5 Israel and Hamas broadly agree in principle that an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners could take place during a month-long […]

Does Iran really believe Israel wants regional war?

Does Iran really believe Israel wants regional war? Iran has publicly accused Israel of seeking an “all-out war” in the Middle East. But how does the Iranian regime truly feel? By SETH J. FRANTZMAN JANUARY 23, 2024 23:58   Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony […]

Report: Israel and Hamas mulling exchange deal during one-month truce in Gaza

Reuters reporting that Israel offered to end the war if Sinwar and five other Hamas leaders leave Gaza. Hamas rejected the proposal. Israel National News   Jan 24, 2024, 12:40 AM (GMT+2)   Yahya SinwarAttia Muhammed/Flash 90 Israel and Hamas broadly agree in principle that an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian Arab prisoners could take […]

Iran sternly warned US against attacks on Yemen: FM

https://img9.irna.ir/d/r2/2024/01/23/1/170884359_180p.mp4?ts=1705978385673 New York, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says Iran has warned the US that its decision to launch joint attacks with the UK against Yemen is a strategic mistake. He made the comment in response to a question by IRNA’s correspondent to New York on Monday local time after the end of […]

Egypt warns Israel that attempt to take over ‘Philadelphi Route’ will damage ties

Head of Egyptian state info service denounces accusations of arms smuggling as ‘lies,’ accuses Israeli government of trying to escape from ‘its successive failures’ in the Gaza war By TOI STAFF and AGENCIESToday, 4:22 am   A shepherd leads a flock of sheep in Rafah near the border with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on January 16, […]

Borrell threatens Israel on two-state solution, as EU begins road map talks

“I don’t think we should talk about the Middle East peace process anymore,” Borrell told reporters. “We should start talking specifically about the two-state-solution.” RINA BASSIST JANUARY 22, 2024 20:19 JANUARY 23, 2024 00:48  European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday called for an international peace conference to draft a road map for […]

Saudi Arabia’s top envoy: No recognizing Israel without path to Palestinian state

Prince Faisal bin Farhan tells CNN the kingdom isn’t interested in rebuilding Gaza only to return to pre-Oct. 7 status quo in a way that sets up another round of fighting By AP and TOI STAFFToday, 12:24 pm   Screen capture from video of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan during an interview with CNN, January 21, […]

US, UK, European officials said pushing Israel to let more Gaza aid enter via Ashdod

NY Times says security cabinet quietly approved shipments of flour via port, but kept decision under wraps amid public pressure over hostages held by Hamas By TOI STAFFToday, 12:50 pm   Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after crossing the terminal border from Egypt, on January 17, 2024. (AFP) Israel is […]

UN chief calls Israel’s refusal of two-state solution ‘totally unacceptable’

January 22, 2024 Guterres made no mention of consistent polling showing most Palestinians don’t favor a two-state solution. By Mike Wagenheim, JNS Without mentioning Benjamin Netanyahu by name, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres took aim at the Israeli premier on Sunday. On Shabbat, Netanyahu issued a statement suggesting that Israeli security needs are incompatible with Palestinian […]

Netanyahu rejects Hamas conditions for war end, hostage release deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (file photo: AP) Israel Palestine Conflict   Published: 21 January ,2024: 09:31 PM GSTUpdated: 21 January ,2024: 11:39 PM GST Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end […]

While Iran’s recent strikes show weakness, its threat of escalation is working

Under attack on its own soil, Tehran had to hit back directly rather than via proxy; though that didn’t scare Israel, Pakistan, or Islamic State, Washington is a different matter By LAZAR BERMAN  Today, 10:13 am   Head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami speaks during a funeral procession carrying the remains of […]

Netanyahu: No full Palestinian state, no ‘surrender’ in exchange for Gaza hostages

PM pushes back on White House vision of pathway to two-state solution and reports of a grand bargain that would end war, though he doesn’t rule out demilitarized Palestinian state By LAZAR BERMAN  Today, 11:55 pm Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a video statement, January 19, 2024. (screenshot) As US President Joe Biden’s administration […]

Airstrike targets car in south Lebanon — reports

Today, 1:55 pm   A car was hit in a suspected drone strike in Kafra in south Lebanon, Lebanese media reports. The village is part of the Bint Jbeil district, a Hezbollah stronghold. Large parts of Bint Jbeil were destroyed during the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.

Hamas rejects Moscow’s request to release hostages ‘captured’ during Oct 7 attacks

Mousa Abu Marzook responds on the dual nationals, claiming ‘Israel attributes foreign citizenship to hostages and pretends they are no longer Israeli’ i24NEWS Hamas deputy chairman Mousa Abu Marzook rejected the possibility of freeing the last hostages holding Russian nationality, after heading a delegation of the terrorist organization to Moscow over the weekend. “Hamas doesn’t […]