Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Israeli prime minister’s office says the opening of the Karem Abu Salem crossing will allow Israel to permit the entry of 200 trucks of aid per day, agreed upon in a temporary ceasefire deal brokered and implemented last month. Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt could only facilitate the entry of 100 trucks per day, Israel said. “We welcome this significant step,” said Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, adding that he was informed of the decision before departing Israel. “President Biden raised this issue in recent phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and it was an important topic…

Ayman Safadi says if the Oslo Accords of the 1990s were implemented, then the situation today would be very different – but the Jordanian foreign minister said Israel “reneged on its commitments”. “The Oslo Accords were made on the basis on the land-for-peace formula. Israel is no longer committed to the … formula,” he said from the foreign ministers’ meeting in Norway. The accords, he said, were meant to be a “short transition to a Palestinian state”. Instead, the Israeli occupation is being “consolidated”, he told reporters. “The priority at the moment is to stop this aggression, stop the killing,…

Abudaqa joined Al Jazeera in June 2004, working as a cameraman and editor. He was injured while on duty alongside fellow Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh in an Israeli attack at Farhana School in the centre of the city of Khan Younis. Dahdouh was able to reach a hospital, but Abudaqa was unable to be transferred due to widespread destruction in southern Gaza. Abudaqa, born in 1978, was the father of three boys and a girl. He was a resident of the town of Abasan al-Kabira near Khan Younis. Source: AlJazeera

The 26th Saudi relief plane, operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, arrived at El-Arish International Airport in Egypt on Thursday.The plane carried various relief supplies, including 24 tons of medical and shelter materials, to be transported to the Palestinian people in Gaza.The assistance comes as part of the fundraising campaign to aid the Palestinian people in the enclave. It reflects Saudi Arabia’s longstanding commitment to standing with the Palestinian people during times of crisis. Source: Arab News

The Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday slammed Israeli soldiers who performed Jewish rituals inside a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin. “We strongly condemn the provocations of Israeli soldiers who stormed the Jenin Refugee Camp, and disrespected sanctity of a place of worship by entering the mosque,” Oncu Keceli said on X. “In East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where tensions are running extremely high due to settler terror and heavy pressure and attacks by Israeli security forces against Palestinians, we expect attacks on Muslim holy places to be ended immediately and those who perpetrate these provocations…

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron during his visit to London, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. The two sides discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and surrounding areas, and the need to take the necessary steps for a ceasefire and to ensure the violence does not spread, the ministry said in a statement. Prince Faisal stressed the importance of the international community, especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the UK, intensifying efforts aimed at a ceasefire, as well as providing secure relief corridors…

The United Nations strongly rebuked the desecration of a mosque in the occupied West Bank, following a circulated video showcasing Israeli soldiers engaging in Jewish rituals within the Muslim religious space. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, expressed firm disapproval, stating, “The desecration of religious sites should not be tolerated and is against common decency, to say the least. Religious sites need to be respected and cannot be perverted in one way or another.” The condemnation comes in response to a video shared by Israel’s far-right minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, revealing Israeli soldiers performing Jewish rituals during a raid in…

Deputy Foreign Ministers of Iran and China converged in Beijing to discuss the urgent need to halt ongoing attacks in Gaza and evaluate progress in the negotiations concerning Iran’s sanctions, underscoring shared concerns. The discussions between Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani and Ma Zhaoxu, the Vice Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, as reported by the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, centered on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Iranian nuclear issue, and various international and regional concerns of mutual significance. Both parties stressed the immediate cessation of attacks in Gaza…

Indonesia plans to send a hospital ship to Gaza to provide medical aid for victims of the war, the Navy’s chief of staff, Admiral Muhammad Ali, said. The ship, the KRI Dr Radjiman Wedyodiningrat (992), is currently docked in Jakarta awaiting clearance from Egypt to enter its waters and will set up a field hospital close to Gaza. Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and specialist in Indo-Pacific naval affairs, said that such missions involve complex planning and execution during wartime. “Depending on its exact location, there’ll be a certain level…

The US administration believes that the days of Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar are numbered, a high-ranking US administration official said. When asked whether Sinwar was Israel’s main target in the ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip, the official replied: “Sinwar is the military leader of Hamas. I think it’s safe to say that his days are numbered.” “I also think it’s safe to say it doesn’t matter how long that takes,” he said during an online briefing on US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to Israel. Source: Tass