Latest Israel-Hamas war news and Gaza conflict updates
Foreign Minister of Britain, Germany and France are expected to attend the WEF meeting along with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, WEF President Borge Brende told a news conference. “There is now some new momentum in the negotiations on the issue of hostages and a possible way out of the impasse that we face in Gaza,” he said.
In March, Blinken visited the country to discuss a plan to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel as a path to a two-state solution supported by the United States.
Blinken’s visit comes amid renewed pressure for a deal with Hamas, which last week released videos of three hostages, including a US citizen. The latest video released on Saturday shows US-born Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47, who were taken hostage on October 7 after Hamas killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel and more than 250 others. Was kidnapped. Earlier in the week, another video featured US-Israeli citizen Harsh Goldberg-Polin.
The released footage has increased pressure on Israel to negotiate a deal for his release.
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A pro-Palestine protest took place outside the White House correspondents dinner on SaturdayProtesters outside the Washington Hilton are calling themselves slain journalists from Gaza. They laid out press jackets to mark those killed in the enclave and flew a Palestinian flag out of a window at the venue.
More than 600 people have been arrested at campuses across the United States to demonstrations over the Israel–Gaza war, as university leaders struggle to balance protesters’ freedom of speech with the need to keep campuses safe and welcoming. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein said late Saturday night on x That he, his campaign manager and deputy campaign manager were arrested at Washington University in St. Louis.
Activists organizing an aid flotilla for Gaza said on Saturday that their mission had been canceled Guinea-Bissau authorities withdrew their country’s flag from two of the three ships. The flotilla was scheduled to depart from a port near Istanbul on Friday after several delays. Activists said in a statement on Thursday that the Guinea-Bissau International Ship Registry requested a last-minute inspection and described the decision to remove the flags as “blatantly political”.
At least 34,388 people have been killed and 77,437 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says the majority of those killed have been women and children. Israel estimates that Hamas’ October 7 attack killed about 1,200 people, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 261 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.