GAZA: Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas on Thursday pledged to launch an investigation into rocket fire at Israel the previous day, in an apparent bid to calm fears of a new war.
Israeli children returned to schools near the border with the Palestinian territory that had been closed on Wednesday after the pre-dawn rocket fire from Gaza badly damaged a family home in the southern city of Beersheba.
But the risk of a new war, whether through miscalculation or design, remained.
Three children had a narrow escape after their mother moved them into the safe room, as much of the rest of the house was destroyed, the army said.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for a decade, issued a joint statement with its ally Islamic Jihad publicly disavowing the rocket fire.
But Israel rejected their denial, saying they were the only groups armed with rockets of a range sufficient to reach Beersheba — 40 kilometers (25 miles) away — and the sea off Tel Aviv — 70 kilometers (45 miles).
Israel in any case holds Hamas responsible, as Gaza’s de factor ruler, for all fire from the territory regardless of who launches it.
“There are security service investigations in Gaza to uncover who is behind the rocket fire and there will be harsh measures against those (found guilty),” senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP.
He said the rocket fire “aimed to sabotage Egyptian efforts” to broker a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel, which have fought three wars since 2008.
A video published by Hamas’s military wing on Thursday showed militants preparing rockets for launch, with the caption: “Read us correctly, a mistake would not benefit,” written in Hebrew.
Near daily protests along the border since March 30 against Israel’s crippling 11-year blockade of the impoverished enclave have sparked repeated clashes with the army.
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, while one Israeli soldier has been shot dead.
Wednesday’s rocket fire triggered retaliatory Israeli air strikes that killed one suspected militant and raised fears of a new escalation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a meeting of the security cabinet lasting several hours on Wednesday evening.
But no statement was released afterwards and Israeli media reported that ministers had failed to agree on how to respond to the rocket fire and the persistent protests.
The mass circulation Yediot Aharonot newspaper said the swift action of the mother in Beersheba to protect her family had probably prevented a new war.
“If the rocket attack had resulted in casualties, the political echelon’s manoeuvring room would have been reduced to zero, and Israel would have launched, just like it did four years ago, a military operation that it neither wants nor which it believes will be effective.”
Hamas seized control of Gaza from loyalists of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in a near civil war in 2007 and the split has made peace negotiations with Israel harder.
Egypt and the UN have been seeking to broker an agreement that would see Israel relax its blockade of Gaza in exchange for a prolonged period of calm from Hamas.
Abbas’s Fatah movement opposes any such deal, saying it amounts to a recognition of Islamist control in Gaza.
Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel had been expected in Gaza on Thursday for his first visit since taking up the post in January, fueling talk of a deal.
Hamas official Naim said the minister was forced to postpone because of a timetabling problem.
But an Egyptian delegation led by senior intelligence official Ayman Badea did travel to Gaza and met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniya.
An Egyptian official told AFP they were still hopeful of achieving a long-term deal to restore calm.
Egypt is one of only two Arab states to have official relations with Israel and plays a key role in indirect negotiations between the Jewish state and Hamas.
Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a political analyst in Gaza, said those who fired the rockets wanted to prevent the Egyptian minister’s visit and “stop reconciliation and a truce.”
Fringe Islamist groups opposed to Hamas have previously fired rockets. Suspicion could also fall on factions within Hamas and Islamic Jihad opposed to a truce deal.
Hamas pledges Gaza rocket fire probe as calm returns
Hamas pledges Gaza rocket fire probe as calm returns
- Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for a decade, issued a joint statement with its ally Islamic Jihad publicly disavowing the rocket fire
- The risk of a new war, whether through miscalculation or design, remained
Trump Middle East envoy predicts ‘good things’ to announce on Gaza hostages before inauguration
- “Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” Witkoff said
- “I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president“
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as US president on Jan. 20.
“Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” Witkoff said at a Trump press conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
Doha has been hosting negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war that would include freeing hostages that Hamas abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Doha is capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, which along with Egypt and the US has been mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff said that if he did not travel back to Doha on Tuesday night, he would head there on Wednesday night.
“I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” Witkoff said.
Trump, a Republican who will succeed Democratic President Joe Biden, repeated his threat that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release the hostages by the time he takes office.
“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” he said.
Hamas-led Islamist militants killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 101 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.
Israel’s subsequent campaign against Hamas has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced nearly all of the population in Hamas-ruled Gaza and reduced much of its territory to rubble.
Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave
- Community leaders demand a stop to ongoing forced Israeli displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza
- Confirm the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole representative of the Palestinian people
LONDON: Clan leaders in Gaza City and northern Gaza called for the Palestinian Authority to govern the coastal enclave in a rare public statement this week.
Prominent clan leaders in the Gaza Strip have requested President Mahmoud Abbas take charge of Gaza’s affairs, which have been affected by Israel’s war in the enclave and clashes between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces since October 2023.
Some signatories include Yahya Ayub Al-Kafarnah, chief of Gaza’s northern clans; Zakaria Jahshan, coordinator of the Christian denominations; and Mohammed Al-Masry, former mayor of Beit Lahia municipality, along with many other community leaders, dignitaries, and Mukhtars.
They urged the PA to lead the Gaza Strip, connect it to the West Bank geographically, and stop the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza by Israel.
They confirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad are a part of, will continue to be the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.
The community leaders urged the PA to exercise pressure on Arab and Western countries to “force the Israeli government to stop its war of genocide ... and secure an immediate ceasefire,” the WAFA press agency reported.
Mediated and indirect talks between Hamas and Israel to secure an exchange of captives and a truce have been ongoing for months, but without success.
At least 45,000 Palestinians have died during the war in Gaza, and around 11,000 are missing under the rubble of bombed or damaged buildings, with 100,000 people having left the enclave.
The Gaza Strip’s population had decreased by 6 percent in 2024, according to recent data by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.
UAE FM discusses humanitarian crisis in Gaza with Israeli counterpart
- Sheikh Abdullah emphasized the need for concerted efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire and prevent the expansion of conflict in the region
DUBAI: The UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan received his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Emirates News Agency reported.
The meeting addressed the latest developments in the region, particularly the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, WAM said.
Discussions also covered regional and international efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable ceasefire in the enclave.
Sheikh Abdullah emphasized the need for concerted efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire and prevent the expansion of conflict in the region. He said that the priority is to end tension and violence, protect civilian lives, and make every effort to facilitate the flow of urgent humanitarian aid.
The foreign minister said the Middle East was experiencing unprecedented tension and instability, and requires international efforts to end extremism, tension, and escalating violence.
He reiterated the UAE’s support for the mediation efforts of Qatar, Egypt, and the US to broker a prisoner exchange agreement that could lead to a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the safe and sustainable delivery of adequate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
Sheikh Abdullah reaffirmed the UAE’s unwavering commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, highlighting the country’s longstanding solidarity with Palestinians over the decades.
Lebanon prime minister to visit Syria soon: minister
- Lebanese politicians have been divided over ties with Damascus, especially after Hezbollah fighters fought alongside Bashar Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister is to visit Damascus “soon,” the information minister said on Tuesday — the first such visit since militants seized power in Syria last month.
“There will be a visit to Syria soon, headed by Prime Minister (Najib) Mikati,” Ziad Makary told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Last week, Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens, two security sources from Lebanon told AFP, following what the Lebanese army said was a border skirmish with armed Syrians.
Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID card.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told AFP at the time that Lebanon was working to find a solution with Syria.
The Lebanese army said the border skirmish saw its soldiers clash with armed Syrians after they tried to “close an illegal crossing.” It said five soldiers were wounded.
Lebanon’s eastern border is porous and known for smuggling. It was unclear who the armed Syrians were.
Mikati’s office said at the time that he had a phone call with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, during which they discussed bilateral relations as well as the border skirmishes.
He also said Sharaa had invited him for an official visit.
Lebanese politicians have been divided over ties with Damascus, especially after Hezbollah fighters fought alongside Bashar Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem admitted that with Assad’s fall, his group can no longer be supplied militarily through Syria.
Last month, Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa told visiting Lebanese Druze leaders that his country would not negatively interfere in Lebanon and would respect its sovereignty.
For three decades, Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon after intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war.
Syria eventually withdrew its troops in 2005 under international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri.
Palestinian, Jordanian officials condemn ‘greater Israel’ map
- PA urges incoming US administration to halt all provocative Israeli policies
- Jordan says Israel will not undermine its sovereignty
LONDON: Officials from Palestine and Jordan on Tuesday condemned an Israeli map that claimed Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese territories as part of so-called “greater Israel.”
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, described the map shared by Israeli social media accounts this week as a blatant violation of all international resolutions and laws, the WAFA news agency reported.
He said that Israeli occupation policies, attacks by illegal settlers and the relentless storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound require “an urgent international stance to stop what the Palestinian people are being subjected to from war and destruction.”
Abu Rudeineh urged the incoming US administration to halt all Israeli policies that undermine security and peace in the Middle East.
Parts of Jordan were included in the Israeli map. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry described the document as “provocative and baseless,” and that it “falsely claims that it is an Israeli historical map.”
The ministry said that Israeli actions and remarks based on racism would neither undermine Jordan’s sovereignty nor change the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
It added that the Israeli government must “immediately cease these provocative actions and stop the reckless statements made by Israeli officials, which are only fueling tensions and contributing to the instability of the region.”
The ministry said that publishing the map coincided with “racist statements” made by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the annexation of the Occupied West Bank and the construction of illegal settlements in Gaza, Petra news agency reported.
In March 2023, Smotrich spoke at an event in Paris and stood next to a map of “greater Israel” that depicted Jordan as part of his country.
