[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Sharma Ji]

right on cue

Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya

Details are murky and no final agreement has been reached, but the plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libyan leadership.

www.nbcnews.com

@Lulldapull

 

[Saif]

Arab leaders toughen denunciations of Israel as it ramps up Gaza bombing

Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad called on Saturday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, accusing Israel in starker language of trying to drive the Palestinians out of the enclave altogether after it ramped up its bombing campaign. Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians since Thursday i

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Arab leaders toughen denunciations of Israel as it ramps up Gaza bombing
REUTERS
Published :
May 17, 2025 21:05
Updated :
May 17, 2025 21:05

Arab leaders pose for a group photo on the day of the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. Photo : Hadi Mizban/Pool via REUTERS

Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad called on Saturday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, accusing Israel in starker language of trying to drive the Palestinians out of the enclave altogether after it ramped up its bombing campaign.

Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians since Thursday in one of the deadliest waves of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March, even as US President Donald Trump wrapped up a Middle East tour on Friday.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, whose country is one of the main mediators in Gaza peace talks, described Israel's actions as "systematic crimes" aimed at "obliterating and annihilating" the Palestinians and "ending their existence in the Gaza Strip".

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the summit's host, said Israel was engaged in genocide.

UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the summit, said "nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".

After a six-week ceasefire, Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza and resumed its military campaign in March. It blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which Hamas denies.

Israel's declared goal is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages.

The military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, pushing nearly all its 2.3 million inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel faces growing international pressure to resume ceasefire talks and allow food and medical supplies into Gaza. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher asked the Security Council this week if it would act to "prevent genocide".

Iraq's prime minister announced the creation of a fund to help reconstruct Arab states after war, with an initial pledge of $20 million each for Gaza and Lebanon, where swathes of the south were destroyed last year in an Israeli campaign against the Hezbollah group.​

 

[Saif]

Italy's Tajani tells Israel to halt Gaza offensive

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Saturday urged Israel to stop its military offensive in Gaza, saying that Palestinian civilians must no longer pay the price of war. "We have to tell the Israeli government 'that's enough'," Tajani said in a statement. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Italy's Tajani tells Israel to halt Gaza offensive
REUTERS
Published :
May 17, 2025 21:00
Updated :
May 17, 2025 21:00

Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press following talks of the "Weimar+" group focused on Ukraine and the future of European security at Lancaster House in London, on May 12, 2025. Photo : ADRIAN DENNIS/Pool via REUTERS/Files

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Saturday urged Israel to stop its military offensive in Gaza, saying that Palestinian civilians must no longer pay the price of war.

"We have to tell the Israeli government 'that's enough'," Tajani said in a statement.

The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.

"We no longer want to see the Palestinian population suffer. Stop the attacks, let's secure a ceasefire, free the hostages, but leave in peace a people who are victims of Hamas," he added.

His remarks followed an announcement by Israel's military that it was mobilizing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as Palestinian health authorities said at least 146 people had been killed in the past 24 hours in continuing Israeli airstrikes.

Tajani's comments reflect growing international disquiet over Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza, which began after Hamas militants launched a deadly cross-border assault on Israel on Oct 7 and took about 250 people hostage.

Israel's military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, pushing nearly all its 2 million inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

Tajani is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome later on Saturday.

The Italian government has been one of Israel's most vocal supporters within Europe, but unease is building over the devastation being wrought on Gaza.​

 

[Saif]

Gaza ceasefire talks resume as Israeli assault kills hundreds in 72 hours

Israel and Hamas resumed ceasefire talks on Saturday in Qatar, both sides said, even as Israeli forces ramped up a bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of people over 72 hours, and mobilised for a massive new ground assault. Palestinian health authorities said at least 146 people had been con

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Gaza ceasefire talks resume as Israeli assault kills hundreds in 72 hours
REUTERS
Published :
May 17, 2025 20:32
Updated :
May 17, 2025 20:32

A general view of destruction in North Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, May 17, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel and Hamas resumed ceasefire talks on Saturday in Qatar, both sides said, even as Israeli forces ramped up a bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of people over 72 hours, and mobilised for a massive new ground assault.

Palestinian health authorities said at least 146 people had been confirmed killed in the third day of Israel's latest bombing campaign, one of the deadliest waves of strikes since a ceasefire collapsed in March. Many hundreds more wounded were being treated in hospital, and countless others were still buried under rubble.

Israel says it is mobilising to seize more ground in Gaza in a new campaign dubbed "Operation Gideon's Chariots", which follows a visit this week to the Middle East by US President Donald Trump. It has halted all supplies entering Gaza since the start of March, leading to rising international concern over the plight of the enclave's 2.3 million residents.

Taher Al-Nono, the media advisor for the Hamas leadership, told Reuters a new round of indirect talks with the Israeli delegation in Doha began on Saturday, discussing all issues "without pre-conditions".

"The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the strip," he added.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also said in a statement that negotiations on a deal to release Israeli hostages held by Hamas had resumed in Doha. He noted that the talks had started without Israel first agreeing to a ceasefire or to lift its blockade.

Israel's military said it was conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops with the aim of achieving "operational control" in parts of Gaza.

Gaza health authorities said most of those killed on Saturday were in towns on the northern edge of the enclave, including Beit Lahiya and the Jabalia refugee camp, as well as in the southern city of Khan Younis. They said 459 people had been injured.

Israeli forces had told people to leave the northern areas on Friday.

"Northern Gaza is witnessing a systematic campaign of extermination," Hamas said in a statement, calling on Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad to take practical steps to stop the aggression and ensure the delivery of aid.

FAMINE LOOMS

Talks since March have failed to restore a truce under which Hamas would release remaining hostages captured in the October, 2023 assault on Israel that precipitated the war. Hamas has long said it would not free them unless Israel ends its campaign; Israel says it will fight on until Hamas is dismantled.

At the Arab League summit, Egypt's President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, whose country mediates Gaza peace talks alongside Qatar, said Israel's actions aimed at "obliterating and annihilating" the Palestinians and "ending their existence in the Gaza Strip".

United Nations experts say famine now looms in Gaza more than two months after Israel halted all deliveries of supplies. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher asked the Security Council this week if it would act to "prevent genocide".

Israel blames Hamas for the suffering of civilians for operating among them and hijacking aid, which Hamas denies. Israel says enough food reached Gaza during the six-week ceasefire at the start of the year to stave off hunger for now.

On Friday, Trump acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.

A US-backed foundation aims to start distributing aid to Gazans by the end of May using private US security and logistics firms. The UN has said it won't work with the group because it is not impartial, neutral or independent.

Gaza's health system is barely operational with hospitals hit repeatedly by the Israeli military during the 19-month war and medical supplies drying up.

The head of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, Marwan Al-Sultan, said huge numbers of wounded victims of the latest bombing campaign were in critical condition.

"Since midnight, we have received 58 martyrs, while a large number of victims remain under the rubble. The situation inside the hospital is catastrophic," he said on X.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 5 that Israel was planning an expanded, intensive offensive against Hamas as his security cabinet approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

Israel's declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

Its military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, pushing nearly all inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

NBC News reported on Friday, citing five people with knowledge of the matter, that the Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate as many as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya. All major Palestinian political groups reject any such displacement.​

 

[Saif]

Israel expands Gaza offensive to defeat Hamas

Israel’s military launched intensified Gaza operations on Saturday aimed at ‘the defeat of Hamas’, with rescuers in the besieged Palestinian territory reporting at least 10 killed by new Israeli strikes...

www.newagebd.net

Israel expands Gaza offensive to defeat Hamas
Agence France-Presse . Palestinian Territories 17 May, 2025, 23:45

Israel’s military launched intensified Gaza operations on Saturday aimed at ‘the defeat of Hamas’, with rescuers in the besieged Palestinian territory reporting at least 10 killed by new Israeli strikes.

The stepped-up campaign came amid increasing international concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza which continues to worsen amid an Israeli aid blockade. One of the territory’s last functioning hospitals warned it could no longer treat seriously wounded patients because of shortages and damage from a nearby attack.

It also came as Hamas said a new round of indirect negotiations with Israel ‘without any preconditions’ aimed at ending the war had started in Doha.

Israel’s military called the new operation part of ‘the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the war’s objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas’. It said it had ‘launched extensive strikes and transferred forces to seize control of areas within the Gaza Strip’.

Addressing an Arab League summit in Baghdad, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was ‘alarmed’ at the expansion, adding: ‘We need a permanent ceasefire, now.’

The summit’s final statement urged the international community ‘to exert pressure to end the bloodshed and ensure that urgent humanitarian aid can enter without obstacles’.

Italy urged Israel to stop its military strikes, with foreign minister Antonio Tajani saying: ‘Enough with the attacks.’

The German government said it was ‘deeply concerned’ about the Israeli offensive.

Gaza civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said 10 bodies were brought to hospitals on Saturday morning a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 100 people.

In the central city of Deir el-Balah, displaced Gazans sifted through belongings, some bloodstained, for whatever could be salvaged after overnight strikes hit their tents.

‘We woke up at half past two in the morning to the sound of a loud explosion that shook the entire area,’ said Umm Fadi Quzaat.

‘There was blood and body parts everywhere.’

Israel resumed its Gaza offensive on March 18, ending a two-month truce in the war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday denounced the renewed attacks and what he described as an apparent push to permanently displace Gaza’s inhabitants as being ‘tantamount to ethnic cleansing’.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said Saturday new talks on ending the war had begun in Doha ‘without any preconditions from either side’.

‘Hamas will present its viewpoint on all issues, especially ending the war, [Israel’s] withdrawal and prisoner exchange,’ he added.

Previous negotiations failed to secure a breakthrough, but the talks have been ongoing, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying this week he had told negotiators to head for the Qatari capital.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz credited the intensified campaign with bringing Hamas back to the table—’in contrast to the recalcitrant position they had taken up until that moment’.

Both sides have insisted on certain conditions, with Hamas saying disarmament was a red line and Netanyahu unwilling to agree to a deal that would leave the group intact.

At the Arab League summit, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on leaders to adopt a Palestinian Authority-led plan to end the war under which ‘Hamas would relinquish its control’ of Gaza and ‘hand over its weapons’ to the PA.

The plan would also involve a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, humanitarian aid entering Gaza and an Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip, he said, as well as ‘a political process’ for implementing a two-state solution.

Israel has faced increasing pressure to lift its aid blockade, as UN agencies warn of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.

Marwan Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, said the situation there Saturday was ‘catastrophic after its surroundings were targeted again this morning’.

The hospital was ‘unable to receive any more critical cases’ amid ‘a severe shortage’ of blood units, medicine and supplies, he said.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 3,131 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,272.​

 

[Saif]

Israel declares start of Gaza ground operations, no progress seen in talks

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had begun "extensive ground operations" in northern and southern Gaza, stepping up a new campaign in the enclave where Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least 130 people overnight. Israel made its announcement after sources on both

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Israel declares start of Gaza ground operations, no progress seen in talks
REUTERS
Published :
May 18, 2025 21:14
Updated :
May 18, 2025 21:14

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent camp sheltering displaced people, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, May 18, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had begun "extensive ground operations" in northern and southern Gaza, stepping up a new campaign in the enclave where Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least 130 people overnight.

Israel made its announcement after sources on both sides said there had been no progress in a new round of indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Qatar.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest Doha talks included discussions on a truce and hostage deal as well as a proposal to end the war in return for the exile of Hamas militants and the demilitarisation of the enclave - terms Hamas has previously rejected.

The substance of the statement was in line with previous declarations from Israel, but the timing, as negotiators meet, offered some prospect of flexibility in Israel's position. A senior Israeli official said there had been no progress in the talks so far.

Israel's military said it conducted a preliminary wave of strikes on more than 670 Hamas targets in Gaza over the past week to support its ground operation, dubbed "Gideon’s Chariots".

It said it killed dozens of Hamas fighters. Palestinian health authorities say hundreds of people have been killed including many women and children.

Asked about the Doha talks, a Hamas official told Reuters: "Israel's position remains unchanged, they want to release the prisoners (hostages) without a commitment to end the war."

He reiterated that Hamas was proposing releasing all Israeli hostages in return for an end to the war, the pull-out of Israeli troops, an end to a blockade on aid for Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel's declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

The Israeli military campaign has devastated the enclave, pushing nearly all residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli army says intercepted missile fired from Yemen

The Huthi administration said the strikes “will be met with a painful response”, according to the Huthi-run Saba news agency.

en.prothomalo.com

Israeli army says intercepted missile fired from Yemen
AFP Jerusalem
Published: 18 May 2025, 11: 49

Israeli military launch a missile from the Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, from a position in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on 29 May 2018. Photo : AFP

Israeli military launch a missile from the Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, from a position in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on 29 May 2018. Photo : AFP
The Israeli military said Sunday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, where Huthi rebels have been launching strikes on Israel during its war against Hamas.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the Israeli army said in a Telegram post.

The Huthis have regularly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, following an attack on Israel by the Huthis’ Palestinian ally Hamas.


On Friday, Israel bombed the Huthi-held Red Sea ports of Hodeida and Salif following three missile attacks in as many days. It threatened to target the Huthi leadership if the attacks continued.

The Huthi administration said the strikes “will be met with a painful response”, according to the Huthi-run Saba news agency.

The Huthis, who control swathes of Yemen, have launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, saying they act in solidarity with Palestinians.

Their firing on the shipping route drew retaliatory strikes by the United States.

However in early May, the United States sealed a ceasefire with the Huthis that did not include Israel.​

 

[Saif]

WHO chief says 2 million ‘starving’ in Gaza

Two million people are ‘starving’ in the Gaza Strip, with the deliberate blocking of aid driving up the risk of famine, the World Health Organisation chief warned on Monday...

www.newagebd.net

WHO chief says 2 million ‘starving’ in Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 19 May, 2025, 23:18

AFP file photo

Two million people are ‘starving’ in the Gaza Strip, with the deliberate blocking of aid driving up the risk of famine, the World Health Organisation chief warned on Monday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO and other UN agencies stood ready to deliver aid into the Palestinian territory — if and when it is allowed to enter.

Israel has said its blockade since March 2 was aimed at forcing concessions from the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday it was necessary for Israel to prevent a famine in Gaza for ‘diplomatic reasons’ after his government announced it would allow in limited food aid.

‘Two months into the latest blockade, two million people are starving,’ Tedros said, while 1,60,000 metric tonnes of food ‘is blocked at the border just minutes away’.

‘The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food, in the ongoing blockade.’

Speaking at the opening of the annual World Health Assembly, Tedros said that increasing hostilities, evacuation orders, shrinking humanitarian space and the Gaza aid blockade were ‘driving an influx of casualties to a health system that is already on its knees’.

‘People are dying from preventable diseases as medicines wait at the border, while attacks on hospitals deny people care, and deter them from seeking it,’ he said.

Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would ‘take control’ of the whole of Gaza, as the military pressed a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory, which Israel says aims to free hostages and defeat Hamas.

Tedros said that since November 2023, the WHO had supported medical evacuations of more than 7,300 patients, including 617 cancer patients, from the Gaza Strip.

However, more than 10,000 patients still needed medical evacuation out of Gaza, he added.

‘We ask member states to accept more patients, and we ask Israel to allow these evacuations, and to allow urgently-needed food and medicine to enter,’ said Tedros.

‘WHO stands ready, with our UN partners, to move rapidly to deliver it if and when it is allowed to enter.

‘I hope peace will prevail that can transcend generations. War is not the solution.’​