Israeli | Pakistan

GAZA - Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least six people, including a child, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, health officials in the Palestinian enclave said.

Lebanon says 3,912 killed in Israeli attacks since March 2; Israel reports 36 deaths, including civilians

United States Vice President JD Vance on Thursday issued a rare rebuke of Israel during a White House press briefing, criticising Israeli lawmakers who had opposed the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran. Under the deal, the two sides have agreed on a framework to end the war, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a 60-day timeline for further talks. Vance’s comments come amid rising tensions between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance told reporters. “Anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation.” Talking about the MoU itself, the vice president noted that Iran will “have to perform” and honour its end of the deal. “If they don’t perform as we’ve said before, they don’t get any of the bene...

European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar exchanged words on X after Kallas reportedly compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to South Africa’s apartheid-era policies. Saar said he was severing “all contact” with the EU official after Kallas posted that the EU remains committed to a constructive relationship with Israel. In a post on X addressed to Saar, the EU’s top diplomat said: “I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively.” Kallas added that the EU remains committed to the two-state solution and has reiterated that the bloc has condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In a post on social media, Saar said Kallas had reportedly “compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime” during a visit to Mexico and that as a result he was severing contact until she retracted the comments. In subsequent posts on X, the Israeli ...

Since Sunday morning, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza, says medics

Call came after the Israeli army reported a drone attack from Lebanon targeting military positions in northern Israel

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March have killed nearly 3,700 people

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on a military vehicle in southern Lebanon killed three soldiers, the Lebanese military said on Saturday, laying bare Israel’s continued aggression just days after the countries discussed a conditional truce during talks in the United States. Israel has launched an invasion into Lebanon, claiming it seeks to root out Hezbollah, which engaged in the wider Middle East war by launching retaliatory missiles against Israeli forces in response to US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader. Meanwhile, Lebanon has vowed that it will disarm Hezbollah over time, but has also denounced Israel’s invasion, accusing it of employing scorched-earth tactics to drive civilians out of southern towns and villages. In the latest incident, the Lebanese army said two officers and a soldier were killed in a strike on a military vehicle on the road between Khardali and Nabatieh. Tehran rejects claims it is using Lebanon as ‘bargaining chip’, urges Beirut to focus on ‘real foe’ Hezbollah dubbed the a...

Islamabad - The Foreign Ministers of the group of eight Arab-Islamic states have condemned in the strongest terms the continued incursions by extremist Israeli settlers, into Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Haram Al-Sharif, under the protection of the Israeli forces, as well as the raising of the Israeli flag within its courtyards.

Pakistan, along with seven other Muslim countries, on Tuesday condemned the “continued incursions by extremist Israeli settlers into Al Aqsa Mosque” in the strongest terms, calling for an immediate cessation of all such provocative practices. According to a joint statement released by the Foreign Office (FO), the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates condemned “in the strongest terms the continued incursions by extremist Israeli settlers, into Al Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli forces, as well as the raising of the Israeli flag within its courtyards”. “They stress that these provocative and unacceptable actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, the relevant United Nations resolutions, and the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. The FO added that the foreign ministers reaffirmed their “categorical rejection” of any attempts to alter the historical and legal ...

Strikes hit five towns despite ceasefire; US deploys F-22s, refueling aircraft at Israeli bases, airports

Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July, with Israel, some US lawmakers and business groups opposing the move, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said on Tuesday. Ireland’s government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s war on Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli settlements in October 2024. The legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians who aimed to extend the ban also to the services trade, on one side, and international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other. Sources told Reuters last October that the bill was set to be limited to goods. Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed that last week and said widening the scope to services was neither “implementable” nor “viable”. Limiting the bill to goods only will impact just a handful of products imported from Israeli-occupied territories, such as fruit that are worth just €200,000 ($234,660) a year, Ireland’s Central Statistics Of...

Pakistan, along with seven other nations, condemned on Sunday the “appalling, degrading, and unacceptable actions of extremist Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir” against participants in the Gaza-bound flotilla while they were in Israeli detention. Last week, Israel’s far-right national security minister posted a video on showing the detained activists kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground, sparking international condemnation. The video, shared on X by the firebrand minister, was published after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels at sea and began detaining hundreds of foreign activists at the southern port of Ashdod. The footage also shows Ben Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists. Later, the flotilla’s organisers said the activists were subjected to abuse in Israeli custody, with several hospitalised for injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape. On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, ...

France announced on Saturday it had banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entry for a video mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. “From today, Itamar Ben Gvir is banned from entering French territory” after “his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens” who were part of the humanitarian flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. He added that, along with Italy, he was also calling for European Union-level sanctions against the far-right Israeli minister. Ben Gvir’s actions follow a long list of hatred and violence against Palestinians, Barrot wrote. The ban follows a global outcry after Ben Gvir published a video on Wednesday showing the heavy-handed treatment of foreign activists from the flotilla. In the video, dozens of activists are seen forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied. The clip, which was captioned “Welcome to Israel”, also showed Ben-Gvir heckling the activists...

Humanitarian worker Saad Edhi, who was illegally detained by Israeli forces during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters earlier this week, arrived in Karachi on Saturday. Saad was detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with around 100 other members of the humanitarian flotilla, after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean. He landed at Jinnah International Airport today after being deported from Israel to Turkiye on Friday, along with other foreign activists on board the Sumud Flotilla. A large number of supporters and family members gathered at the airport to welcome him home. Video footage showed people showering him with flower petals and placing floral garlands around his neck as chants and cheers filled the arrival area. Many supporters were seen embracing him and expressing relief at his safe return. A day earlier, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Saad — grandson of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi — had arrived safely in Istanbul along w...

New Zealand activist Mousa Taher, who was part of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla, which was attacked and intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, said he was subjected to humiliating treatment and torture after being detained. Activists from the flotilla spoke to Anadolu after arriving at Istanbul Airport aboard three Turkish Airlines flights. Taher said that after previously being detained by Israeli forces in Greece, he travelled first to Istanbul and then to Marmaris before once again setting sail toward Gaza. “The Israeli occupation forces really tortured me this time,” he said. Pointing to injuries on his face and leg, Taher said Israeli soldiers recognised him and addressed him by name because it was his second attempt to join the flotilla. He said that when Israeli forces intercepted the boat he had joined for the second time, they forced him and another activist to strip on board, while other passengers were not subjected to the same treatment. New Zealand activist...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday condemned Israel’s unlawful interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters as well as the arbitrary detention and reported mistreatment of humanitarian workers. The statement came a day after Israel’s far-right national security minister posted a video showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground, sparking international condemnation. In the statement released on Thursday, the FO said, “The government of Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the unlawful interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by Israeli occupying forces in the international waters as well as arbitrary detention and reported mistreatment of humanitarian workers onboard.” The statement said that those detained also reportedly included humanitarian activist Saad Edhi, son of prominent social worker Faisal Edhi and grandson of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi. “Pakistan demands the immediate release of all ...

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Wednesday showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground. The footage, published on Ben Gvir’s X account and captioned “Welcome to Israel”, shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military boat with the Israeli national anthem blaring, and in detention in Israel, where the minister is seen waving an Israeli flag. In the video he shared, he is seen encouraging staff at the detention centre as they push down an activist who had stood up to say “free free Palestine” as he walked by. Saad Edhi, the son of prominent social worker Faisal Edhi and the grandson of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, is reportedly among the activists detained. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Gvir over his handling of the activists, adding that he had ordered the activists’ deportation. “The way minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists ...

Organisers say Israeli forces intercepted ​44 boats in eastern Mediterranean, six boats were still sailing

Saad Edhi, son of prominent social worker Faisal Edhi, was reportedly detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with other members of the Global Sumud Flotilla after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean. The organisers of the flotilla said Israeli forces had intercepted 10 of their boats and that contact had been lost with a total 23 vessels in the eastern Mediterranean. Earlier on Monday, Israel’s foreign ministry posted on X ​that it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”. In a video posted on Edhi’s official Facebook handle, Faisal said that at around 1pm today, “the Gaza aid flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces near Cyprus and its members have been arrested, including Saad Edhi”. He also appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take action following his son’s detention by Israeli forces. “They were arrested in international waters and Israeli forces have no right to do so. Israel has arrested them illegally and their whereabouts are unknown...