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Israel media say new Gaza deal mooted to free hostages, give Sinwar safe passage

Israel media say new Gaza deal mooted to free hostages, give Sinwar safe passage
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Updated 19 September 2024

Israel media say new Gaza deal mooted to free hostages, give Sinwar safe passage

Israel media say new Gaza deal mooted to free hostages, give Sinwar safe passage
  • The proposal would also call for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a new governance system in Gaza, though no details were provided
  • Hostage envoy Gal Hirsch “presented the plan to the Americans, who were expected to pass it on to unspecified Arab officials“

JERUSALEM: Israeli media reported on Thursday that Israel has proposed a new deal that would see hostages released from Gaza in exchange for safe passage for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the cessation of fighting.
Public broadcaster Kan reported that the proposal would also call for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a new governance system in Gaza, though no details were provided.
The Times of Israel said an Israeli official had confirmed that hostage envoy Gal Hirsch “presented the plan to the Americans, who were expected to pass it on to unspecified Arab officials.”
Asked about the reports by AFP at a press conference on Thursday, government spokesman David Mencer did not specifically address them, instead referring to previous statements calling for the international community to pressure Hamas to make concessions to reach a deal.
“Whoever wants to assist in the effort to release our hostages needs to pressure the murderous Sinwar and not the prime minister of the State of Israel,” he said.
The October 7 attacks that sparked the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Out of 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,272 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations has acknowledged the figures as reliable.

Israeli media reported on Thursday that Israel has proposed a new deal that would see hostages released from Gaza in exchange for safe passage for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the cessation of fighting. (AFP/File)


Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations’ Afghan female staff, report says

Updated 26 sec ago

Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations’ Afghan female staff, report says

Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations’ Afghan female staff, report says
ISLAMABAD: The Taliban are investigating explicit death threats against dozens of Afghan women working for the United Nations, according to a report published Sunday.
In its latest update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the UN mission to the country said that dozens of female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats in May.
The threats came from unidentified individuals related to their work with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, other agencies, funds, and programs, “requiring the UN to implement interim measures to protect their safety,” according to the report.
It said that the Taliban told the UN mission that their personnel were not responsible for the threats. An Interior Ministry investigation is underway, the report said.
Afghan authorities, including the Interior Ministry, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the report or the investigation.
The Taliban barred Afghan women from working at domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations in December 2022, extending this ban to the UN six months later, and then threatening to shut down agencies and groups still employing women.
Humanitarian agencies say the Taliban have hampered or interfered with their operations, allegations denied by authorities.
The UN report is the first official confirmation of death threats against Afghan women working in the sector. The report also highlighted other areas affecting women’s personal freedoms and safety.
In Herat, inspectors from the Vice and Virtue Ministry began requiring women to wear a chador, a full-body cloak covering the head. Dozens of women deemed “not in compliance” were barred from entering markets or using public transportation. Several women were detained until relatives brought them a chador, the report said.
In Uruzgan, women were arrested for wearing a headscarf, a hijab, rather than a burqa.
Women have also been denied access to public areas, in line with laws banning them from such spaces. In Ghor province, police forced several families to leave a recreational area. They warned the families against visiting outdoor picnic sites with women.
In Herat, Vice and Virtue inspectors stopped family groups with women and girls from accessing an open recreational area, only allowing all-male groups.
Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available to comment on the Ghor, Herat and Uruzgan incidents, which the UN said happened in May.
In Kandahar, the Public Health Department instructed female health care workers to be accompanied to work by male guardians with an identification card proving that they were related to the woman by blood or marriage.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the card is specific to Kandahar or will be rolled out across Afghanistan.
“The process to apply for a mahram (male guardian) identification card is reportedly cumbersome and can take up to several weeks as it requires the de facto Department for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and a member of the local community (e.g. malik, imam or village elder) to verify the relationship,” the UN report said.

Over 600 pilgrims hospitalized due to chlorine gas leak in Iraq

Over 600 pilgrims hospitalized due to chlorine gas leak in Iraq
Updated 10 August 2025

Over 600 pilgrims hospitalized due to chlorine gas leak in Iraq

Over 600 pilgrims hospitalized due to chlorine gas leak in Iraq
  • Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road”

KARBALA: More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalized with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said Sunday.
The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the center and south of Iraq respectively.
This year, several million Shiite Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.
There, they will mark the Arbaeen — the 40-day period of mourning during which Shiites commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
In a brief statement, Iraq’s health ministry said “621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala.”
“All have received the necessary care and left hospital in good health,” it said.
Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims meanwhile said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road.”
Much of Iraq’s infrastructure is in disrepair due to decades of conflict and corruption, with adherence to safety standards often lax.
In July, a massive fire at a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut killed more than 60 people, many of whom suffocated in the toilets, according to authorities.


Israel far right presses Netanyahu for decisive win against Hamas

Israel far right presses Netanyahu for decisive win against Hamas
Updated 10 August 2025

Israel far right presses Netanyahu for decisive win against Hamas

Israel far right presses Netanyahu for decisive win against Hamas
  • While thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv Saturday night to protest the cabinet’s decision, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video online, slamming Netanyahu’s decision on Gaza as half hearted
  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: “It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonization. This plan will not endanger the troops”

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far right pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go harder against Hamas, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting Sunday on the premier’s bid to conquer Gaza City.
Twenty-two months into the war in Gaza, Israel is gripped by a yawning divide, pitting those calling for an end of the conflict along with a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see Hamas vanquished once and for all.
The debate has only intensified after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet announced plans Friday to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.
While thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv Saturday night to protest the cabinet’s decision, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video online, slamming Netanyahu’s decision on Gaza as half-hearted.
“The prime minister and the cabinet gave in to weakness. Emotion overcame reason, and they once again chose to do more of the same — launching a military operation whose goal is not decisive victory, but rather to apply limited pressure on Hamas in order to bring about a partial hostage deal,” Smotrich said.
“They decided once again to repeat the same approach, embarking on a military operation that does not aim for a decisive resolution.”
The far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, including Smotrich, have maintained considerable influence in the premier’s coalition government throughout the war — with their support seen as vital to holding at least 61-seats for a parliamentary majority.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: “It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonization. This plan will not endanger the troops.”
In Tel Aviv, demonstrators held up pictures of hostages still in Gaza, calling on the government to secure their release.
“We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place,” Shahar Mor Zahiro, the relative of a slain hostage, told AFP.


Amid the back and forth in Israel, the cabinet’s decision to expand the war in Gaza has touched off a wave of criticism across the globe.
On Sunday, the UN security council is set to meet to discuss the latest development.
Foreign powers, including some of Israel’s allies, have been pushing for a negotiated truce to secure the hostages’ return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Strip following repeated warnings of an unfolding famine taking hold.
Despite the backlash and rumors of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained firm.
In a post on social media late Friday, Netanyahu said “we are not going to occupy Gaza — we are going to free Gaza from Hamas.”
The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a deal after past truces saw hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.
Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel — which triggered the war — resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.


Iraqi prime minister removes paramilitary commanders after deadly clash with police

Iraqi prime minister removes paramilitary commanders after deadly clash with police
Updated 10 August 2025

Iraqi prime minister removes paramilitary commanders after deadly clash with police

Iraqi prime minister removes paramilitary commanders after deadly clash with police
  • Clashes happened after Kataib Hezbollah members tried to stop the installation of a new agricultural directorate head in Baghdad’s Karkh district
  • The former director, who was being replaced after he was implicated in corruption cases, called the militia in a bid to cling to his position

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister approved sweeping disciplinary and legal measures against senior commanders in a paramilitary force after clashes with police at a government facility that left three people dead last month, his office said Saturday.
Gunmen descended on the agricultural directorate in Baghdad’s Karkh district on July 27 and clashed with federal police. The raid came after the former head of the directorate was ousted and a new one appointed.
A government-commissioned investigation found that the former director — who was implicated in corruption cases — had called in members of the Kataib Hezbollah militia to stage the attack, Sabah Al-Numan, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said in a statement Saturday.
Al-Sudani, who also serves as commander in chief of the armed forces, ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the attack.
Kataib Hezbollah is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite, Iran-backed militias that formed to fight the Islamic State extremist group as it rampaged across the country more than a decade ago.
The PMF was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016, but in practice it still operates with significant autonomy. Some groups within the coalition have periodically launched drone attacks on bases housing US troops in Syria.
The Kataib Hezbollah fighters who staged the attack in Karkh were affiliated with the 45th and 46th Brigades of the PMF, the government statement said.
Al-Sudani approved recommendations to remove the commanders of those two brigades, refer all those involved in the raid to the judiciary, and open an investigation into “negligence in leadership and control duties” in the PMF command, it said.
The report also cited structural failings within the PMF, noting the presence of formations that act outside the chain of command.
The relationship between the Iraqi state and the PMF has been a point of tension with the United States as Iraq attempts to balance its relations with Washington and Tehran.
The Iraqi parliament is discussing legislation that would solidify the relationship between the military and the PMF, drawing objections from Washington, which considers some of the armed groups in the coalition, including Kataib Hezbollah, to be terrorist organizations.
In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Al-Sudani defended the proposed legislation, saying it’s part of an effort to ensure that arms are controlled by the state. “Security agencies must operate under laws and be subject to them and be held accountable,” he said.


Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli government move to expand Gaza war

Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli government move to expand Gaza war
Updated 10 August 2025

Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli government move to expand Gaza war

Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli government move to expand Gaza war
  • Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still held captive

TEL AVIV: Thousands took to the streets in Israel’s Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for an end to the war in Gaza, a day after the government vowed to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.


Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still held captive in the Palestinian territory as they called on the government to secure their release.