Sudan ceasefire talks start despite army no-show

Update A man holds a placard during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)
A man holds a placard during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 15 August 2024
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Sudan ceasefire talks start despite army no-show

A man holds a placard during a demonstration on the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks, in Geneva, on August 14, 2024. (AFP)
  • Perriello earlier warned the army that “the world is watching” as it stays away
  • Without the SAF, other attendees will press on with the talks’ agenda

GENEVA: US-sponsored talks on securing a ceasefire in the devastating conflict in Sudan kicked off in Switzerland on Wednesday, despite the Sudanese government staying away.
War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese army under General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The talks are being convened by Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan, who said after the opening session that it was “high time for the guns to be silenced.”
The talks, which could last up to 10 days, are being held behind closed doors in an undisclosed location in Switzerland.

In a joint statement, Saudi Arabia, the US, Switzerland, the UAE, Egypt, the African Union and the United Nations said on first day of talks that diplomatic efforts aim to achieve ceasefire in Sudan and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The efforts are “in compliance with the results of the previous Jeddah talks, other endeavors, and international humanitarian law,” the statement read.

While the RSF delegation is taking part, the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) are unhappy with the format arranged by Washington.
“We have stressed that they have a responsibility to be there, and we’ll continue to make that clear,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said of the Sudanese army.
Patel, speaking to reporters in Washington, said that the United States felt it needed to do all it can to address “one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world.”
Perriello earlier warned the army that “the world is watching” as it stays away.
The talks are co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations acting as a steering group.
Without the SAF, other attendees will press on with the talks’ agenda.
“Our focus is to move forward to achieve a cessation of hostilities, enhance humanitarian access and establish enforcement mechanisms that deliver concrete results,” Perriello said.
The brutal conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The fighting has forced one in five people to flee their homes, while tens of thousands have died.
More than 25 million across the country — more than half its population — face acute hunger.
Vittorio Oppizzi, Sudan program manager for the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said both parties had “manipulated” humanitarian access, in violation of international law.
He told reporters MSF was well used to operating in conflict zones, and safe and unhindered access “should not be dependent on a cessation to hostility or a solution to the conflict.”

With AFP


Lebanese PM reviews security measures at Beirut airport

Lebanese PM reviews security measures at Beirut airport
Updated 25 sec ago
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Lebanese PM reviews security measures at Beirut airport

Lebanese PM reviews security measures at Beirut airport
  • UNIFIL forces announce discovery of more than 225 weapon caches south of Litani River

BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made an unexpected visit to Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Tuesday to review flight and safety measures.

The premier highlighted his commitment to maintaining the facility as a bright gateway for Lebanon to the world.

Salam, accompanied by Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny, held a meeting with airport security chief Brig. Gen. Fadi Kfoury and other officials.

According to Salam’s media office, the airport officials briefed him “on the measures implemented to enhance security and safety at the airport, facilitate the entry and exit of travelers, expedite transit operations, reduce waiting times and improve the overall travel experience.”

The visit fulfilled a request by the ambassadors of Gulf countries to Lebanon, who held a meeting with Salam last week to encourage the return of Gulf tourists to Lebanon.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun concluded his visit to Kuwait on Monday, which included discussions with Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace. The emir highlighted Kuwait’s commitment to strengthening Lebanese-Gulf and Arab relations.

Lebanon has a historic opportunity to define its future and overcome all past challenges, he said.

According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, the Kuwaiti emir expressed “Kuwait’s satisfaction with the results of the meeting of the ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with the Lebanese prime minister, which discussed the return of GCC citizens to Lebanon.”

Al-Sabah also praised the security cooperation between the two countries and condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Meanwhile, UNIFIL forces on Monday announced the discovery of more than 225 weapon caches south of the Litani River.

All weapons were transferred to Lebanese military authorities.

A UNIFIL statement said that the Lebanese Armed Forces have reestablished a presence at more than 120 permanent positions throughout southern Lebanon with peacekeeping support.

However, complete border deployment remains hindered by Israel’s “military presence on Lebanese territory.”


Gaza rescuers says Israeli strikes kill 28 near hospital

Gaza rescuers says Israeli strikes kill 28 near hospital
Updated 35 min 3 sec ago
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Gaza rescuers says Israeli strikes kill 28 near hospital

Gaza rescuers says Israeli strikes kill 28 near hospital
  • Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said “according to our crews on the ground, 28 martyrs have been recovered from the area“
  • The Israeli military said in a statement that they had struck “Hamas terrorists”

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said that Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 28 people in the area surrounding the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, where the Israeli military said it hit a Hamas “command and control center.”

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that “according to our crews on the ground, 28 martyrs have been recovered from the area” surrounding the hospital in the south of the Palestinian territory.

Ahmad Radwan, civil defense media officer in the southern Gaza Strip, had previously put the initial toll at seven dead and 30 injured “following the occupation’s bombing of the vicinity and courtyard of the European Hospital.”

The Israeli military said in a statement that they had struck “Hamas terrorists in a command and control center located in an underground terrorist infrastructure site beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis.”

“The Hamas terrorist organization continues to use hospitals in the Gaza Strip for terrorist activity, demonstrating its cynical and brutal use of the civilian population in the hospital and its surroundings,” it added.

“It was an utterly catastrophic scene,” Amro Tabash, a local photojournalist, told AFP.

“Everyone inside the hospital — patients and wounded alike — was running in fear, some on crutches, others screaming for their children, while others were being dragged on beds,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants “operating from within a command and control center” at Nasser Hospital, also in Khan Yunis.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the strike killed two people and wounded several others.

Bassal said that “the Israeli army bombed the surgery building at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis at dawn on Tuesday, killing journalist Hassan Aslih.”

The Israeli military had previously accused Aslih of participating in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, which was triggered by the Palestinian group’s 2023 attack.


Israeli authorities release 9 Gazan detainees 

Israeli authorities release 9 Gazan detainees 
Updated 55 min 32 sec ago
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Israeli authorities release 9 Gazan detainees 

Israeli authorities release 9 Gazan detainees 
  • Since October 2023, Israel has arrested more than 10,700 Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and inside Israel
  • The number of those arrested in the Gaza Strip is estimated to be in the thousands

LONDON: Israeli authorities released nine Palestinian detainees from Gaza among the thousands arrested during military actions in the enclave since late 2023.

Israel has arrested more than 10,700 Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and inside Israel since October 2023. The number of those arrested in the Gaza Strip is estimated to be in the thousands, according to the Wafa news agency. However, Israel’s prison authority acknowledged that until April, there were 1,747 prisoners from the Gaza Strip in its jails.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, two organizations monitoring prisoners’ conditions, have consistently accused Israel of implementing torture practices against Palestinians in detention, including starvation, medical negligence, solitary confinement and abuse.

At least 66 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Among those who died, 40 were from the Gaza Strip.

Since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories in 1967, 303 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody, with 75 bodies still being held by Israel.


17 Palestinian children return to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordan

17 Palestinian children return to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordan
Updated 13 May 2025
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17 Palestinian children return to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordan

17 Palestinian children return to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordan
  • The nation’s ‘Medical Corridor’ initiative aims to alleviate humanitarian suffering of Palestinians amid war in Gaza
  • 12 other children from Gaza continue to receive medical treatment at Jordanian hospitals

LONDON: Seventeen Palestinian children and their families crossed the King Hussein Bridge on Tuesday on their way back to the Gaza Strip after receiving medical treatment at hospitals in Jordan.

Their care was provided as part of the country’s “Medical Corridor” initiative, which provides urgent medical aid for people from the coastal territory in coordination with the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. The children were part of the first group of evacuees brought from Gaza on March 4.

All 17 fully recovered after receiving specialized medical care, the Jordan News Agency reported. Twelve others are still being treated in Jordanian hospitals.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which began in October 2023. According to a UNICEF report, about 15,000 children have died during the conflict, more than 34,000 have been injured, and nearly 1 million displaced.

The Medical Corridor is one of several Jordanian initiatives that aim to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Others include the deployment of field hospitals, humanitarian convoys carrying medical and food aid, a mobile bakery, and the evacuations of children and the wounded.


Netanyahu says there is ‘no way’ Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated

Netanyahu says there is ‘no way’ Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated
Updated 13 May 2025
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Netanyahu says there is ‘no way’ Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated

Netanyahu says there is ‘no way’ Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated
  • Netanyahu said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force
  • “There will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza, even if a deal is reached to release more hostages.

His comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas released the last living American hostage on Monday in a gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region but skipping Israel.

They pointed to a potentially widening rift between Netanyahu and Trump, who had expressed hope that Monday’s release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander would be a step toward ending the 19-month war.

In comments released by his office Tuesday from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day, Netanyahu said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.”

Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary, the prime minister said. If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages, “we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said. “We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.”

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The dispute over whether to end the conflict has been the main obstacle in negotiations going back more than a year.

Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with as many as 23 of them said to be alive, although authorities have expressed concern about the condition of three of them. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that started the war were freed in ceasefire deals.