Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United States announced Sunday it has requested a UN Security Council vote on its draft resolution backing a plan for an “immediate ceasefire with the release of hostages” between Israel and Hamas.Diplomatic sources said the vote is planned for Monday, but has not yet been confirmed by South Korea, which holds the Security Council presidency for the month of June.“Today, the United States called for the Security Council to move toward a vote… supporting the proposal on the table,” said Nate Evans, spokesman for the US delegation, without specifying a vote date.“Council members should not let this opportunity pass…

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded Benny Gantz’s now vacant seat at the war cabinet soon after his resignation was announced. “I have issued a demand to the prime minister … to join the war cabinet,” Ben-Gvir said in a letter posted on X. Ultra-nationalist Jewish Power, headed by Ben-Gvir, holds six seats in parliamen source: AlJazeera

Syria condemned the heinous Israeli massacre that claimed the lives of 274 Palestinians and wounded 698 in Nuseirat camp in Gaza Strip. “The racist Zionist entity and its criminal government continue to commit the most heinous massacres through their blind attack against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which claimed the lives of 274 martyrs and wounded 698 in Nuseirat camp on Saturday,” Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement Sunday. “ Israeli terrorist army committed another horrible massacre against innocent civilians, and there is evidence proving Washington’s complicity in this massacre and in all war crimes committed in Gaza,”…

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called for an end to Israel’s “bloodbath” in Gaza after 274 Palestinians, including children, were killed during a military raid in Nuseirat.“Reports from Gaza of another massacre of civilians are appalling. We condemn this in the strongest terms,” Borrell said in an post on X.“The bloodbath must end immediately,” he added.Borrell also urged US President Joe Biden to implement his recently announced three-stage plan aimed at achieving a ceasefire.Meanwhile, a Biden administration official confirmed to the Washington Post that a US “hostage cell” supported Israeli efforts to free four people held hostage in…

Pope Francis tonight renewed his call for a ceasefire in the war-torn Gaza Strip. during the Angelus prayer, the Pope encouraged the international community to act urgently, by any means necessary, to aid the people of Gaza exhausted by the war. “Humanitarian aid must reach those in need, and no one should prevent it.” The day after tomorrow, there will be an international conference in Jordan on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, convened by the King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, he said. Source: WAFA

Palestinians in Gaza risk facing a cholera outbreak as a result of damage to water infrastructure, the UNRWA chief has said. Philippe Lazzarini made the warning on Sunday during a visit to Berlin aimed at securing new financial support for the agency, Qatar News Agency reported. He highlighted the severe health risks posed by the scarcity of potable water and the shutdown of all water desalination facilities as a result of Israel’s invasion. Earlier in January, Palestine’s Environmental Quality Authority said that Israel’s bombardment has destroyed sewage systems in Gaza, leading to overflow. The Sheikh Radwan pond in Gaza City…

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, delivering a blow to the prime minister who has been celebrating a Pyrrhic Victory in the rare rescue of four Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip. Benny Gantz had been expected to resign on Saturday, but he postponed the announcement for one day due to Nuseirat massacre, and left his post on Sunday.  The retired army general, who has served as minister without portfolio since 2023, is regarded to be the main political rival to Netanyahu. Meanwhile, the White House said on Sunday it expected Netanyahu to agree with the…

The Palestinian community in the German city of Bremen and its suburbs organized a massive demonstration denouncing the occupation massacre in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, and its continued aggression against the entire Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. Thousands of members of the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic communities and German solidarity activists participated in the demonstration, demanding an immediate ceasefire and the entry of food, relief and medical aid and fuel supplies into Gaza. The demonstrators raised Palestinian flags and banners denouncing the Israeli massacres, especially yesterday’s massacre in the Nuseirat camp, condemning…

In April, Haniyeh said that Hamas wants to see Turkey, alongside Egypt, Qatar, and Russia, among the guarantors of security for the Gaza Strip. The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday said that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of the political bureau of the Palestinian movement Hamas, in Doha. “Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Ismail Haniyeh, Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, on the margins of the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Turkiye-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) High-Level Strategic Dialogue, in Doha,” the ministry said on X. During their meeting, the two discussed…

President Mahmoud Abbas expressed during a telephone call with Pope Francis his great appreciation for the role and efforts played by the Pope in supporting endeavors to achieve peace in the region and the entire world. President Abbas stressed the need for the Vatican to continue its efforts for the immediate cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in order to spare civilians the scourges of war. The president affirmed the continuation of efforts with all parties to stop the aggression, bring in aid via all border crossings with Gaza, prevent displacement and ensure…