Israeli PM Netanyahu says not certain that Hamas leader killed in strike

Israeli PM Netanyahu says not certain that Hamas leader killed in strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 13 July 2024
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Israeli PM Netanyahu says not certain that Hamas leader killed in strike

Israeli PM Netanyahu says not certain that Hamas leader killed in strike
  • “Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas,” he told a televised news conference
  • Netanyahu said military pressure on Hamas was the best way of reaching an agreement

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was still not clear whether Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and another senior commander were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on Saturday but he vowed to pursue Israel’s war aims to the end.
“Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas,” he told a televised news conference, adding that chances of an agreement to return Israeli hostages would be improved by increasing military pressure on Hamas.
The brief news conference was called after the Israeli military said it had conducted a strike based on what it said was precise intelligence, targeting Deif and senior Hamas commander Rafa Salama in the city of Khan Younis.
Palestinian health officials said the strike killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded as many as 300 in the designated humanitarian zone of Al Mawasi, in the heaviest loss of life in weeks.
The Israeli military said the strike had hit a military compound but said it could not confirm casualty numbers.
Netanyahu, speaking as demonstrators in Tel Aviv demanded more action to bring Israeli and foreign hostages back from Gaza, said that military pressure on Hamas was the best way of reaching an agreement to return the hostages seized by Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7 attack.
He said he would not compromise on Israel’s basic demands for a deal.
“I haven’t moved a millimeter from the framework that President Biden presented,” he said. “But I am also not letting Hamas move a millimeter.”


365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January

365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January
Updated 29 sec ago
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365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January

365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January
  • Some detainees subjected to threats, beatings, investigations
  • Rights group says homes in Jenin, Tulkarem turned into military positions

LONDON: Israeli forces have detained 365 Palestinians in the occupied northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem since mid-January, according to a rights group affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society documented the arrest of 365 people following the Israeli launch of a military campaign in Jenin on Jan. 21, just days after a ceasefire and captives-exchange deal was reached with Hamas in Gaza.

The group said that during 35 days of Israeli operations in the Jenin refugee camp, at least 200 individuals were detained, while in Tulkarem, 165 people were arrested, including children, women and the elderly.

Israeli forces deployed tanks this week to the Jenin refugee camp after displacing nearly 20,000 people, along with another 20,000 Palestinians from Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, and said it planned to keep forces in these areas “for many months.”

The PPS said Israeli forces had turned Palestinian homes in Jenin and Tulkarem into military positions, deployed snipers on the rooftops of buildings and used bulldozers to destroy roads and infrastructure.

Some of those detained were subject to threats, beatings and field investigations, it said.

Since late 2023, nearly 900 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At least 32 Israelis have died from Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations during the same period, according to official figures.


Red Cross says ‘deeply concerned’ with impact of Israeli operation in West Bank

Israeli tanks are deployed during an ongoing army operation in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP)
Israeli tanks are deployed during an ongoing army operation in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP)
Updated 58 min 16 sec ago
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Red Cross says ‘deeply concerned’ with impact of Israeli operation in West Bank

Israeli tanks are deployed during an ongoing army operation in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP)

JERUSALEM: The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed on Monday its concern over the impact of a weeks-long Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank that has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply concerned with the impact of ongoing security operations on the civilian population in Jenin and Tulkarem, Tubas and other locations in northern West Bank,” it said in a statement, adding that “people are struggling to access basic needs such as clean water, food, medical care and shelter.”


Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador

Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador
Updated 24 February 2025
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Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador

Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador
  • Field Marshal Khalifa highlights historic relationship between the kingdoms
  • Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Theyab bin Saqr Al-Nuaimi attended the meeting

LONDON: Field Marshal Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defence Force, reviewed historical and defense ties with Alastair Long, the UK ambassador to Manama.

Several senior military officials from Bahrain attended the meeting, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Theyab bin Saqr Al-Nuaimi and Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, an adviser for financial and technical affairs at General Command.

Khalifa highlighted the historic relationship between Bahrain and the UK during his meeting with Long, and outlined developments in various sectors, according to the Bahrain News Agency.


Morocco foils attacks by cell loyal to Daesh

Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against targets in the country by a cell loyal to Daesh.
Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against targets in the country by a cell loyal to Daesh.
Updated 24 February 2025
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Morocco foils attacks by cell loyal to Daesh

Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against targets in the country by a cell loyal to Daesh.
  • Suspects, arrested in nine cities, had been receiving orders from a Libyan leader of Daesh, the head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations said

RABAT: Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against national and international targets in the country by a 12-member cell loyal to Daesh in the Sahel.
The operation underscores the threat emanating from extremist militancy in the Sahel, as groups linked to Daesh and Al-Qaeda expand activity in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The suspects, arrested in nine different cities, had been receiving orders from a Libyan leader of Daesh, the head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, Habboub Cherkaoui, told reporters.
The suspects, aged 18 to 40, have been radicalized online, Cherkaoui said, adding that most of them had “occasional jobs.”
The group, which branded itself “the Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb Al Aqsa (Morocco),” was planning remotely controlled bomb attacks, he said.
Explosive devices and chemical substances were found during the operation, in addition to a weapons cache including automatic firearms and handguns, in the south-eastern region of Errachidia near the Algerian borders, Cherkaoui said.
The seized weapons and ammunition had been supplied by the Daesh leader via smugglers, he said. The operation “confirms that the African branches of IS tend to internationalize their activities,” Cherkaoui said, adding that the nexus between “terrorist groups and criminal networks is a real threat” to Morocco and Europe.

In recent years, Daesh branches in Africa have recruited more than 130 Moroccan fighters, Cherkaoui said. Since its establishment in 2015, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations has dismantled dozens of militant cells and arrested more than 1,000 suspected extremists.
The last extremist attack in the country was in 2023, when three individuals loyal to Daesh killed a Moroccan policeman in Casablanca.


Egyptian military delegation visits Oman’s top military training college

Egyptian military delegation visits Oman’s top military training college
Updated 24 February 2025
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Egyptian military delegation visits Oman’s top military training college

Egyptian military delegation visits Oman’s top military training college
  • Delegation attended a presentation about Joint Command and Staff College and its curricula

LONDON: An Egyptian military delegation visited the Joint Command and Staff College in Muscat on Monday, reinforcing the strong ties between Oman and Egypt.

The delegation from Egypt’s Military Academy for Postgraduate and Strategic Studies was received by Omani Brig. Saif Hamad Al-Yousefi, commandant of the Joint Command and Staff College, the leading organization responsible for training personnel from the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces in Oman.

The delegation attended a presentation about the college, its curricula, and its educational training programs. Additionally, they toured the college’s facilities and departments, the Oman News Agency reported.

The college has previously hosted military delegations, including those from the Royal Jordanian Command and Staff College and Saudi Arabia’s Command and Staff College of the National Defense University.