Tag Archives: Hamas Militant group

Politics, Regional

US vows to support Gaza ceasefire, warns Hamas of ‘eradication’

Jones Gadama

GAZA-(MaraviPost)-US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Israel, reiterating the US commitment to supporting a Gaza ceasefire while warning Hamas that they will face severe consequences if they fail to comply with the agreement. Speaking in Jerusalem, Vance emphasized that the terms of the 20-point plan are clear: Hamas must disarm.

“If Hamas doesn’t cooperate, then, as the President of the United States has said, Hamas is going to be obliterated,” Vance stated.

However, he declined to set an explicit deadline for compliance, citing the complexity and unpredictability of the situation.

The US is working to establish an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to police Gaza, disarm Hamas, and clear the Strip of all weapons and ammunition. Vance suggested that Gulf Arab forces, with Egypt taking the lead, would likely play a key role in this effort.

Indonesia has offered to send 20,000 troops to participate in the ISF, with other Muslim countries expected to contribute as well.

Notably, the US has ruled out deploying American boots on the ground in Gaza.

“There are not going to be American boots on the ground in Gaza,” Vance said, echoing President Donald Trump’s stance.

The ceasefire remains fragile, with both sides accusing each other of breaches.

Vance’s visit aims to advance the Gaza talks to the second phase of the ceasefire, which would involve more difficult steps, including Hamas’ disarmament.

President Trump has warned that if Hamas doesn’t comply, the group will face severe consequences, tweeting that their end would be “FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!”

Lifestyle

Israeli cabinet approves plans to capture all of the Gaza Strip

Maravi Post Reporter

More hardship in store for the embattled population of Gaza as the Israeli cabinet on Monday approved plans to capture the entire Palestinian enclave and stay there for an unspecified amount of time.

It also calls for hundreds of thousands of people to move to Gaza’s south and would see Israel take over aid deliveries to the devastated territory.

A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he’s “alarmed” by the Israeli decision.

Israel’s army spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said the objective of the operation is to “return our hostages, topple and subdue the Hamas regime”.

“These two goals are intertwined. The operation will include a broad offensive that includes moving a majority of Gaza’s population to protect it in a sterile area from Hamas,” he said.

This would likely amount to their forcible displacement and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Defrin added that the operation would include “continued airstrikes, the elimination of terrorists, and the dismantling of infrastructure”.

Details of the plan were not formally announced, and its exact timing and implementation were not clear.

Its approval came hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

An defence official said the operation would not begin until after US President Donald Trump wraps up his expected visit to the Middle East this month.

The announcement has angered the families of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza, who fear that any extension of the conflict will endanger their loved ones.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on Monday to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, calling for a deal to release the captives.

Israel says 59 hostages remain in Gaza, although about 35 of them are believed to be dead.

Since Israel ended a ceasefire with the Hamas militant group in mid-March, it has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds.

It has captured swathes of territory and now controls roughly 50 per cent of the enclave.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.

Israel’s offensive has displaced more than 90 per cent of Gaza’s population. Palestinian health officials say more than 52,000 people there have been killed, many of them women and children.

The officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/06/82/01/ED_PYR_1406821_20250505181909.mp4
Politics, Regional

Gaza war: Russia invites Hamas, other Palestinian factions for talks

Lloyd M’bwana


MOSCOW-(MaraviPost)-Russia has invited Hamas and other Palestinian factions including Fatah to Moscow for talks on the Israel-Hamas war and other issues in the Middle East, an official said Friday.

Moscow, which for years tried to court good relations with all major players in the region, has grown increasingly critical of Israel and its Western backers amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Russia has invited around a dozen Palestinian groups to Moscow for “inter-Palestinian” talks from February 29, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

“We invited all Palestinian representatives — all political forces that have their positions in different countries, including Syria, Lebanon and other countries in the region,” said Bogdanov, who is President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for the Middle East.

They include Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, alongside representatives of Fatah and the broader Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

At least 28,775 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory military offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Putin has called for a ceasefire and Moscow has repeatedly criticized Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack.

The public statements, combined with Russia’s partnerships with Iran and Hamas, have soured Russian-Israeli relations since the conflict broke out.

Source: Arab News

Politics, Regional

Israel closes Gaza border after mortar attack

Maravi Post Reporter

By BBC

Witnesses said a warehouse in Rafah, at the southern end of Gaza, was set alight by Israeli air strikes

Israel has again closed a major border crossing into Gaza after Palestinian militants fired a barrage of mortars and rockets into southern Israel.

Two people – believed to be Thai agricultural workers – were killed and 10 were injured on the Israeli side.

The crossing had been opened to allow entry to aid lorries from Jordan into Gaza. A separate convoy entered from Egypt.

A UN spokesperson said the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel was a crucial link to get help to those in need.

At least 212 people, including almost 100 women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to its health ministry. In Israel 12 people, including two children, have been killed, its medical service says.

On Tuesday Israel said at least 150 militants were among those killed in Gaza. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the territory, does not give casualty figures for fighters.

Israeli forces again shelled Gaza on Tuesday, the ninth day since the current violence began, while Palestinian militants fired a barrage of mortar shells into Israel.

The UN humanitarian agency Ocha said 52,000 people in Gaza had been displaced, of whom 47,000 had fled to UN schools.

What happened at the border crossing?

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow aid into Gaza. The UN welcomed the decision, but also urged Israel to open the main Erez crossing, so that humanitarian workers, as well as supplies, could get in.

However, as the convoy of aid lorries entered Gaza, Palestinian militants fired mortars at the area. Two Thai nationals working on a farm 14km (nine miles) from the border were killed.

As a result, Israel closed the crossing again.

An Israeli soldier near Erez was slightly injured, the Israeli military said.

Meanwhile at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the only entry point to Gaza not controlled by Israel, a separate convoy of 15 lorries carrying fuel and 18 loaded with food and medicine entered the territory.