Israel | Pakistan

Israel deported on Sunday two foreign activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla, in what a rights group representing them described as a “punitive attack” on a civilian mission. Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of Greece on April 30. The pair were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released. “Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, from the provocation flotilla, were deported today from Israel” following an investigation, the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X on Sunday. Israel would “not allow any breach” of the blockade on Gaza, it added. Spain, Brazil and the United Nations had all called for the men’s swift release. On Wednesday, an Israeli court rejected an appeal contesting the pair’s detention. “From their abduction in international waters to thei...

Israel will release two foreign activists taken off a Gaza-bound flotilla from detention on Saturday before handing them to immigration authorities ahead of their deportation, the rights group representing them said. Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla that was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of Greece on April 30. The pair were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released. “Today, the Shabak Israeli intelligence agency informed Adalah’s legal team that Global Sumud Flotilla activists and leaders Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek would be released from Israeli detention today, Saturday,” the rights group Adalah said in a statement. “They will be handed to Israel’s immigration authorities later today and kept in custody pending their deportation,” it added. Adalah said it was closely monito...

WASHINGTON: Nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers have urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to end Washington’s longstanding ambiguity over Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons programme, arguing that such secrecy has become untenable during the ongoing war on Iran. Israel is widely believed to be in possession of nuclear weapons, though it neither acknowledges nor denies having a nuclear arsenal. In a May 4 letter addressed to Secretary Rubio, the lawmakers said the US was “currently engaged in a war against Iran, a conflict with nuclear dimensions that the administration has not adequately addressed with Congress or the American public”. The move is led by Congressman Joaquin Castro, a senior Democratic lawmaker from Texas who has served in the US House of Representatives since 2013 and is known for his work on foreign policy and intelligence-related issues, including his tenure on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In a post on the social media platform X on Thursday, Castro said, “For nearly six decades, the US...

Doctors Without Borders on Thursday accused Israel of having deliberately restricted food and aid in Gaza, creating a “manufactured malnutrition crisis” with particularly devastating impacts on infants and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The report also examined the harm done by the US- and Israeli-backed private organisation set up last year to largely replace UN distribution of aid in Gaza. The medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, based its case on an analysis of the situation between late 2024 and early 2026 at four health facilities it supports in the Gaza Strip. That analysis showed significantly higher levels of prematurity and mortality among infants born to malnourished mothers, and spikes in miscarriages, it said. MSF linked these outcomes with Israel’s blockade of essential goods and attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities. “Insecurity, displacement, restrictions on aid, and limited access to food and medical care have had devastating consequences for maternal...

Israel struck Beirut on Wednesday for the first time since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last month, with Israel claiming it targeted a commander of the group’s elite Radwan force in the city’s southern suburbs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the action in a joint statement. Israeli media reported that the commander was killed in the strike, but there was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military or Hezbollah. The Lebanon ceasefire has underpinned a broader US-Iran truce, with a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon being a key Iranian demand. As Iran and the US say they are drawing closer to a deal to halt their conflict, the strikes threaten the ceasefire that halted Israeli attacks on Beirut. Israeli troops have remained in areas south of the Litani River and strikes continued in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has responded by firing and launching armed drones towards Israeli soldiers. Israel earlier on Wednesday called for residents to eva...

An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign activists taken from a Gaza-bound flotilla by six days, a lawyer representing them said. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last week. The extension is to allow police more time to interrogate them, the pair’s lawyer said. The two, held in a prison in Ashkelon, were among dozens of activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Greece early on Thursday. The other detained activists were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released. The representatives of Avila and Abu Keshek have accused Israeli authorities of abusing the two men, who have been on hunger strike for the past six days. The flotilla’s vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid...

Italian prosecutors have opened an unlawful detention investigation following a raid by Israeli forces on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, Italian media reported on Monday. The probe was opened following complaints received over the detention last week of Spanish citizen Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, who were on an Italian-flagged vessel. An Israeli court on Sunday extended for two days the detention of the two activists who were taken to Israel for questioning. The two were on a flotilla of more than 50 vessels that left France, Spain and Italy, aiming to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and bring supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory. They were intercepted in international waters off Greece on Thursday, with Israel saying it had removed some 175 activists. Avila and Abu Keshek were taken to Israel for questioning, while the other activists were released. The Israeli operation was widely criticised, particularly by Italy and Spain. The Rome prosecutor’s office opened a similar investigation...

An Israeli court on Sunday extended for two days the detention of two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla, who were brought to Israel for questioning, a rights group representing them said. The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and bring supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory. They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday, with Israel saying it had removed some 175 activists — two of whom were taken to Israel for questioning. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon on Sunday. AFP footage showed the pair being escorted into the courtroom, with Avila walking with his hands behind his back and Abu Keshek’s feet in shackles. “The court extended their detention by two days,” Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at the rights group Adalah, told AFP. Adalah said the state attorney had prese...

Israel has approved the purchase of two new combat squadrons of advanced fighter aircraft from Lockheed Martin and Boeing as part of a long-term military expansion plan aimed at strengthening its air superiority and readiness against regional threats.

Israel gave final approval for a plan to purchase two new combat squadrons of F-35 and F-15IA advanced fighter aircraft from Lockheed Martin and Boeing in a deal worth tens of billions of dollars, the defence ministry said on Sunday. The deal, approved by Israel’s Ministerial Committee on Procurement, is a first step in a 350 billion shekel ($119 billion) plan to bolster Israel’s military and “strengthen readiness ahead of a demanding decade for Israeli security,” it said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said much of this expanded defence budget will be to produce munitions in Israel and not be dependent on foreign countries. Israel, he noted, will also develop “groundbreaking” aircraft. The ministry added that the new squadrons will serve as a cornerstone of the military’s long-term force development, addressing regional threats and preserving Israel’s strategic air superiority. “Alongside immediate wartime procurement needs, we have a responsibility to act now to secure the Israeli Defence Forces’ militar...

Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were brought to Israel for questioning, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces this week. Saif Abu Keshek, from Spain, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, were in Israel and would “be transferred for questioning by law enforcement authorities”, the ministry said on X, adding that the two activists were affiliated with an organisation sanctioned by the US Treasury. The ministry said the activists were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group Washington has accused of “clandestinely acting on behalf of Hamas”. In January, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the group, which it said was involved in organising Gaza-bound civilian flotillas that aimed to break Israel’s sea blockade on the Palestinian territory. Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was a leading member of PCPA and Avila, also linked to the organisation, was “suspected of illegal activity”. “Both wil...

Israel and Lebanon extended a shaky ceasefire by three weeks, President Donald Trump said on Thursday, as the United States remained at a standstill in negotiations with Iran to end the Middle East war. Trump announced the truce extension as he met with ambassadors of the two countries and despite recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon and fresh rocket fire from Hezbollah, which was not part of the talks in Washington. “I think there’s a very good chance of having peace. I think it should be an easy one,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. The initial truce had been set to expire on Sunday. Still, the US president said earlier he was in no rush to end the war with Iran, adding that “the clock is ticking” for the Islamic republic as a third American aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East. Iranian media reported blasts over the capital Tehran, a first since the ceasefire in the Middle East war came into effect two weeks ago. It was not clear what caused the explosions, though an Israeli security source told AFP ...

Indonesia on Wednesday accused Israel of flying a “propaganda” banner over the ruins of a hospital that had been built in Gaza with Indonesian funding. The Indonesia Hospital, in the north of the Gaza Strip near the fortified border with Israel, was opened in late 2015 after Indonesia’s Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, a humanitarian NGO, raised approximately $7.3 million in donations for its construction, according to state news agency Antara. It has since been destroyed, and Jakarta on Wednesday objected to the raising of a banner over the ruins that alluded to Israel’s 12-day “Rising Lion” military operation against Iran last year. “The use of military symbols and propaganda over the ruins of a destroyed hospital, especially when linked to a specific military operation, is a highly provocative act and cannot be justified,” the foreign ministry said in a statement posted on X. “This act is an insult to a humanitarian facility built from the solidarity of the Indonesian people for the Palestinian people.”...

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the foreign minister and the military on Monday condemned the desecration of a crucifix after it was smashed by an Israeli soldier in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. A photo that emerged online over the weekend shows a soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross. It was posted by Younis Tirawi, who describes himself as a Palestinian reporter and has also posted images of Israeli soldiers’ misconduct in Gaza. Reuters verified the location of the image as Debel, one of the few villages in southern Lebanon where residents remained through an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah that began on March 2. The cross was part of a small shrine in the garden of a family living on the edge of the village, said Fadi Falfel, a priest in Debel. “One of the Israeli soldiers broke the cross and did this horrible thing, this desecration of our holy symbols,” he said. Netanyahu said that the soldier’s actions went against Jewish ...

Twelve countries, including Pakistan, on Saturday expressed “their strongest condemnation” at Israel’s announcement of appointing a diplomatic representative to Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, according to a joint statement shared by the Foreign Office (FO). The statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria, Palestine, Türkiye, Indonesia, Pakistan and Kuwait. Israel appointed on Wednesday its first ambassador to Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland. Michael Lotem was appointed as a non-resident ambassador to Somaliland, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement issued on Saturday by the FO said that Israel’s action was “considered a flagrant violation of the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia”. According to the statement, the ministers reaffirmed their “unequivocal rejection of all unilateral measures that undermine the unity of states or infringe upon their sove...

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday accused Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire “more land”. “Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land,” Fidan told the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking in English at a panel discussion, Fidan said Israel had created an “illusion” internationally by portraying itself as acting purely in its own defence. “It has become very clear, especially in recent years, that it is more than that,” he said. From Palestinian lands including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and now extending towards Lebanon and Syria, Israel was pursuing “an onward occupation and expansionism in the region,” Fidan said. “I think this has to stop,” the Turkish FM added. “Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region … is to let the other countries enjoy their own security, and territorial in...

A 10-day ceasefire deal agreed between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday while US President Donald Trump said he was trying to set up the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries. The ceasefire was announced by Trump on Thursday. Israel has been carrying out deadly attacks in Lebanon against the backdrop of a now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran. The war spilled into Lebanon on March 2, with an attack by Hezbollah against Israel. Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since and forced more than 1.2 million ​to flee, Lebanese authorities say. Israel says Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March ​2. Trump announced the agreement between the two sides on a ceasefire in a Truth Social post, saying that he had “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countri...

ISLAMABAD - Pressure on Israel over its military campaign in Lebanon intensified on Tuesday, as Italy suspended defense ties, Spain issued a blunt legal rebuke, and China called for respect for Lebanese sovereignty.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations following talks in Washington on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had hailed as a “historic opportunity” for peace. The two countries have technically been at war for decades, and Tuesday’s talks have been vehemently opposed by Hezbollah, which announced that it had fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns just as the meeting was getting under way. The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing it could derail the two-week ceasefire in Washington’s war with Iran after talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough. Tuesday’s meeting in Washington, the first high-level direct talks since 1993, was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States. “This is a historic opportunity,” Rubio said as he welcomed the ambassadors, acknowledging the “decades of history” complicating the process. “The hope today is that we can outline a fra...

Dozens of protesters were detained by police in New York City on Monday during demonstrations calling for the blocking of arms sales to Israel and an end to US military support for its ally. Demonstrators included the anti-war group Jewish Voice for Peace, which said around 90 people were detained. Among those detained was whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a former US Army soldier and WikiLeaks source. The New York City Police Department said there were “multiple” arrests but did not provide a number. Clips from the protests showed a crowd gathering near the offices of US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleague, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Protesters chanted slogans like “stop the bombs”, “end the killings”, and “free Palestine” while expressing opposition to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and Israel’s assault on Gaza. The protesters also chanted “let Gaza live”, “let Iran live” and “let Lebanon live”. The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran res...