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Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu opposes Palestinian state
Published 6 hours agoPublished 6 hours agolast updated 3 hours agolast updated 3 hours ago
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again rejected US calls for a two-state solution. Meanwhile, China has called for an end to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. DW has the latest.
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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya military base
Netanyahu has knocked heads with his closest allies in the US, rejecting calls for a Palestinian stateImage: Ohad Zwigenberg/AFP/Getty Images
Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Netanyahu has rejected US calls for a two-state solution to end the decadeslong conflict
The US has said a Houthi missile fired at a US ship missed its target
China has called for an end to the “harassment” of shipping in the Red Sea
Skip next section Russia hosts Hamas delegation
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Russia hosts Hamas delegation
The Russian Foreign Ministry says a delegation of Hamas group members has visited Moscow.
The ministry said the Russian side had emphasized the need to release hostages.
It said in a statement that Mikhail Bogdanov, a deputy foreign minister, had received Hamas Politburo member Abu Marzouk.
“During the conversation, the focus was on the ongoing confrontation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, against the backdrop of which the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached catastrophic proportions,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The Russian side stressed the need for the speedy release of civilians captured during the attacks of 7 October
2023 and held by Palestinian factions, including three Russian citizens.”
Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States and Israel.
Russia has not designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, but it has condemned Hamas’s October 7 attacks, in which Russian citizens were killed and abducted, as terrorist in nature.
Israel keeps up military pressure on Gaza
02:14
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Skip next section Israel accused of humiliating Gaza detainees
4 hours ago4 hours ago
Israel accused of humiliating Gaza detainees
A UN official has accused Israel of mistreating Palestinian detainees in Gaza.
Ajith Sunghay, an official at the UN Human Rights Office, said he met men who described being held for weeks, beaten and blindfolded.
Some of them were released “only in diapers, without any adequate clothing in cold weather,” he added.
“These are men who were detained by the Israeli security forces in unknown locations for between 30 to 55 days,” Sunghay told reporters in Geneva by video link from Gaza. “So we’re not exactly sure why they were put in diapers and sent out, but they were clearly visibly shocked and even shaken when I met them.”
The official called on Israel to ensure that its treatment of the detainees conforms with international human rights norms.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government.
The Israeli military spokesperson’s office has previously said all Palestinian detainees were treated in accordance with international law.
The detainees were often required to hand over clothes to ensure they were not carrying weapons or explosives, the office said.
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Skip next section Israel says it killed key Palestinian Islamic Jihad figure in Gaza
5 hours ago5 hours ago
Israel says it killed key Palestinian Islamic Jihad figure in Gaza
Israeli soldiers photographed in Gaza, in an image released on January 19Israeli soldiers photographed in Gaza, in an image released on January 19
Israel began its military operation in Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 deadly attacksImage: Israeli Army Handout/REUTERS
Israel said that its forces had killed Wael Abu Fanuna, the deputy head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) information wing, in an air strike.
The PIJ is regarded as one of the most radical militant groups in the Middle East and has vied with Hamas for support in Gaza.
Its militants have repeatedly fired rockets at Israel.
The Israeli military also said its troops were still fighting Hamas militants in the territory on Friday, aided by the air force and naval units off the coast.
Hamas is designated a terror organization by Germany, the US and Israel, among others.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on X, formerly Twitter, that they were continuing its operations in “northern Gaza” and had “eliminated several armed terrorists.”
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Friday that the number of people killed in the enclave since October 7 had reached 24,762, with another 62,108 wounded.
Neither Israel’s report of killing the senior PIJ leader nor the Health Ministry’s death toll figures could be independently verified.
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Skip next section China urges end to attacks on ships in Red Sea
6 hours ago6 hours ago
China urges end to attacks on ships in Red Sea
China called for an end to “harassment” of civilian vessels in the Red Sea following attacks on ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group.
Some shipping firms are avoiding the key waterway, causing trade delays and supply chain issues.
Beijing stressed that the area was an “important international trade route for goods and energy.”
“At the same time, fueling tensions in the Red Sea and heightening security risks in the whole region should be avoided,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference on Friday.
“China calls for a halt to the harassment and attacks on civilian ships to keep global industrial and supply chains unimpeded and safeguard the international trade order,” she added.
“The priority now is to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible to avoid further escalation and prevent the situation from getting out of control.”
Escalating situation in the Red Sea
02:22
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Skip next section Benjamin Netanyahu rejects US call for a Palestinian state
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Benjamin Netanyahu rejects US call for a Palestinian state
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again expressed his opposition to a two-state solution to the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
He said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for future attacks on Israel.
Netanyahu said Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River.”
He added: “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”
“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” he said.
The remarks come after the US, Israel’s closest ally, called for steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“Israel’s prime minister must be able to say ‘no’ when necessary, even to our best friends,” Netanyahu said.
Speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the two-state solution was the best way to protect Israel.
Without a “pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said, Israel would not “get genuine security.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, also speaking in Davos, said that “Israelis lost trust in the peace processes because they could see that terror is glorified by our neighbors.”
Netanyahu has also pushed back against US calls for a winding down of the conflict, saying on Thursday: “We will not be satisfied with anything less than total victory.”
“Victory will take many months,” he added.
Blinken says toll on Gaza civilians ‘far too high’
02:34
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Skip next section Houthis say US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack
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Houthis say US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack
The US military said that an attack on a US-owned tanker by Houthis in Yemen resulted in zero injuries and no damage to the ship.
The Iran-backed group had claimed the attack on Thursday, saying that they had hit the vessel.
US Central Command said that the two anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at the tanker were the third attack on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region in three days.
Attacks by Houthi rebels over the last few weeks have led several major shipping companies to stop using the Red Sea route, adding days to the journey as ships are redirected around Africa.
They say their acts are in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza amid the ongoing war.
The US and UK have responded to the attacks from Yemen’s Houthis by launching their own strikes against rebel targets. The US also added the group back to its terrorism list.
