Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went on a PR offensive this week to counter Israeli warnings that a ceasefire imposed by Moscow in Syria is enabling Iran and its terror proxy, Hezbollah, to amass fighters and weapons near the Jewish state’s northern border in preparation for a future war.
A senior Israeli official has issued a warning to Russia that the Israeli military will bomb Syrian President Bashar Assad’s palace in Damascus if Russia allows Iran to make military advances in Syria.
Secrets talks over ‘safe zones’ in Syria were held between Israel, the United States and Russia in early July, Haaretz reported Wednesday.
The major players involved in the long-running Syrian conflict have agreed to a cease-fire set to begin at midnight on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier in the day.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hope to meet by Thursday to find a way to boost the deteriorating ceasefire in Syria.
President Obama said Sunday at an international summit that America stands with France in its pursuit of those who committed the ‘horrific’ terror attacks in Paris and met informally with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prime Minister Netanyahu met in secret with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan before the Gaza ceasefire was announced Tuesday.
As a ceasefire has been holding overnight, Hamas claimed victory in the recent conflict as Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said Palestinians would build their own airport and seaport without asking for anyone’s permission to prepare for the “project of liberation” of all of Palestine.
Israeli and Palestinian delegations restarted indirect talks in Cairo over the weekend, however Israeli officials were skeptical a truce could be reached by Monday’s midnight deadline. Over the weekend, Hamas threatened a “war of attrition” if its demands were not met. Meanwhile, Israel threatened “harsh strikes” if Hamas broke the ceasefire with any type of fire against the Jewish state and Israeli officials said “quiet and security’ will be restored ‘one way or another.’
As Operation Protective Edge enters its fifth week, Israel and Hamas have agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a 72-hour ceasefire beginning Tuesday morning.
After U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry failed in bringing a ceasefire to the region, U.S. President Barack Obama called and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu to agree to a ceasefire late Sunday night as Operation Protective Edge enters its 21st day. Since the beginning of the operation, 2,538 rockets have been fired into Israel. The death toll in Gaza move above 1,000, while the Israel Defense Forces have lost 43 soldiers.
Israel accepted a Egyptian proposed ceasefire that went into effect at 9 AM, while Hamas’ armed wing rejected the offer completely saying it was “surrender.” If the ceasefire does not hold, Israel vowed to respond in force. Over the seven days of Operation Protective Edge, Israel has struck over 1,500 terrorist related targets in the Gaza Strip.
Worthy News’ up to date blog covering Operation Pillar of Defense with detailed accounts, pictures, and videos.
A frail 79-year-old Irish Catholic priest, who was released after one month of captivity in the Philippines, denied Friday, November 13, that an Islamic rebel group had kidnapped him.
The militant group Hamas has rejected a cease fire with Israel and Iran said the country has no “right to exist,” after Israeli forces killed a Hamas minister and struck a United Nations compound in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected a European Union request for a 48-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying Israel will uphold its commitment to provide basic foodstuffs and medicines to the residents of the Hamas-controlled region.
(ADDS MORE DETAILS, HAMAS REACTION)
Israel is halting its military operations for three hours a day beginning Wednesday, January 7, for three hours each day, to allow humanitarian aid to enter into Gaza, Israeli officials said.
At least 40 people were killed and over 50 injured when the Israeli Air Force struck a United Nations-run school in the Gaza Strip in what it said was a response to repeated mortar and rocket attacks from militants of the Hamas group.
Signs that Hamas has isolated itself in the world have merged from two fronts. Iran, on Tuesday, pledged that Hezbollah will not open a front against Israel along Israel’s northern border. Israel had been concerned that Hezbollah, in an act of solidarity with Hamas, might initiate a war along the Lebanese border; thus, dividing Israel’s attention and its forces.
Alarm bells echo around the world as Israel continues a major ground offensive it says is aimed at ending rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip fired by the militant group Hamas into Israel. Envoys of the European Union, including Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenburg along with the EU’s external relations commissioner and Schwarzenburg’s French and Swedish counterparts were due to hold talks in the region Monday, January 5.