Category: 2. Middle East

Khalil Al-Hayya, head of Hamas in Gaza, said on Sunday evening that there is no point in continuing negotiations while the siege and starvation continue to claim lives in the Strip. He stressed that allowing immediate entry of aid would be a serious sign of commitment to the talks.

His comments came as Hamas had already expressed its “astonishment” late Thursday–Friday at statements made by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff about the Gaza ceasefire talks….

The Houthis in Yemen threatened on Sunday evening to begin targeting any ships belonging to companies that cooperate with Israeli ports.

The Houthis’ spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement that the ships would be targeted regardless of the flag they fly.

“We warn all companies against cooperating with Israeli ports; otherwise the ships will be targeted—regardless of their destination—wherever they arrive, or within range of our missiles and…

By Andrea Shalal

EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump will host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in western Scotland on Monday for talks expected to range from their recent bilateral trade deal to the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza, the two governments said.

Trump, riding high after announcing a huge trade agreement with the European Union late on Sunday, said he expected Starmer would also be pleased.

“The prime minister of the UK, while he’s not…

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Dozens of ministers will gather at the United Nations on Monday for a delayed conference to work toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but the U.S. and Israel are boycotting the event.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly decided in September last year that such a conference would be held in 2025. Hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, the conference was postponed in June after Israel attacked Iran.

The conference aims to lay…

A towel draped over his head, Hamza Jabbari sets bags of plastic bottles onto a scale. He is among Tunisia’s “barbechas”, informal plastic recyclers whose increasing numbers reflect the country’s economic — and migratory — woes.

The 40-something-year-old said he starts the day off at dawn, hunching over bins and hunting for plastic before the rubbish trucks and other plastic collectors come.

“It’s the most accessible work in Tunisia when there are no job offers,” Jabbari said, weighing a…

France and Saudi Arabia will lead the charge starting Monday to revive the moribund push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at a UN conference in New York.

Days before the July 28-30 conference, to be co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would formally recognize the State of Palestine in September.

Paris’s decision “will breathe new life into a conference that seemed destined to irrelevance,” said Richard Gowan, an analyst…

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Sunday that some movement restrictions appeared to have been eased by Israel in Gaza on Sunday after Israel decided to “support a one-week scale-up of aid.”

Fletcher said in a statement that initial reports indicate that more than 100 truckloads of aid were collected from crossings to be transported into Gaza.

“This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health…

(Reuters) -The exiled head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Sunday ceasefire negotiations with Israel were “meaningless under continued blockade and starvation”.

“The immediate and dignified delivery of food and medicine to our people is the only serious and genuine indication of whether continuing the negotiations is worthwhile,” he said in a recorded speech.

(Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nidal Al-Mughrabi)

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations food aid agency needs quick approvals by Israel for its trucks to move into Gaza if it is to take advantage of Israel’s planned humanitarian pauses in fighting, a senior World Food Programme official said on Sunday.

Facing growing global condemnation as the World Health Organization said mass starvation had taken hold in Gaza, Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of the enclave and…