JERUSALEM — Israeli aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, the first such raids since a shaky cease-fire ended the war with Hamas last month. The airstrikes targeted facilities used by Hamas militants for meetings to plan attacks, the Israeli military...
Blinken off to Mideast to Push Peace Talks After Gaza Truce
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to the Middle East on Monday to press the Israelis, Palestinians and regional players to build on and strengthen last week’s Gaza cease-fire, start an immediate flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and lay the groundwork for an eventual...
After Another War, Displaced in Gaza Face Familiar Plight
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — It took Ramez al-Masri three years to rebuild his home after it was destroyed in a 2014 Israeli offensive. When war returned to the area last week, it took just a few seconds for the house to be flattened again in an Israeli airstrike. The...
Hour-by-Hour: Biden’s Behind-the-Scenes Push for Cease-Fire
The diplomatic flurry was over and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu was on the phone telling President Joe Biden that it appeared the furious fighting between Israel and Hamas was about to end. But Biden remained wary even after the afternoon phone call with the prime minister. Things still could go crosswise...
Israel, Hamas Agree to Cease-Fire to End Bloody 11-Day War
JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas announced a cease-fire Thursday, ending a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel accepted the Egyptian proposal after a late-night meeting of his Security...
Israeli Media: Cabinet Approves Cease-Fire in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Thursday announced a cease-fire to halt an 11-day military operation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. A statement said his Security Cabinet unilaterally approved the Egyptian-mediated proposal. The two sides were still negotiating exactly when it would take...
Israel Unleashes Strikes as Expectations for Truce Rise
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel unleashed another wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several, and Hamas fired more rockets, even as expectations rose that a cease-fire could be reached. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from...
Israel’s Netanyahu ‘Determined’ to Continue Gaza Operation
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to press ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, pushing back against calls from U.S. President Joe Biden to wind down the operation that has left hundreds dead. Netanyahu's tough comments marked the first...
Palestinians Go on Strike as Israel-Hamas Fighting Rages
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories went on strike in a rare collective protest Tuesday as Israeli missiles toppled a building in Gaza and militants in the Hamas-ruled territory fired dozens of rockets that killed two people. The demonstrations and ongoing violence came as...
US Reaches out to Arab Leaders on Israel, Gaza Fighting
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his envoy reached out to Palestinian and regional Arab leaders on Tuesday as attacks between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers raged on, maintaining what the Biden administration is calling its quiet diplomacy while still declining to press for an immediate cease-fire. Blinken, speaking during...