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Netanyahu Doubles Down on Halting Gazans Returning North Till Hostage Released
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Feb. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his decision not to let Gazan residents cross into the northern Gaza Strip until Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud is released from captivity, an official told i24NEWS.
The Israel Defense Forces Arabic spokesperson, Colonel Avichay Adraee, issued an urgent announcement to Gazans on Sunday that warned them not to attempt to travel north of the Netzarim Corridor to reach their homes in the northern Gaza Strip.
Despite the ceasefire agreement stipulating that Israel would allow passage of residents, Hamas was supposed to release Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud on Saturday.
The statement was issued “with the aim of preventing friction and misunderstanding in light of Hamas’s breach of the ceasefire agreement,” Adraee said.
All previous restrictions remain, “especially the prohibition on approaching the Netzarim Corridor until it is announced to be open.”
This restriction will remain in place until the issue of Yehud’s liberation is solved between Israel and mediators.
The decision halted thousands of Gazans, who were seen trying to return north to Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and other parts of northern Gaza.
On Saturday, Hamas released four Israelis, female soldiers who were captured from the Nachal Oz army base on October 7, 2023. Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Naama Levi, and Daniela Gilboa returned without Agam Berger, who was captured alongside them.
The ceasefire agreement stipulates that female civilians will be released first, which includes both Arbel and Shiri Silberman-Bibas. However, statements from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad several months after Bibas’s abduction, along with her children, indicate she may no longer be alive. These fears were reinforced by an IDF statement on Saturday, which said “the heavy concern for the lives of Shiri Bibas and her children does not cancel out the fact that they are civilians who should be among the first released.”
The post Netanyahu Doubles Down on Halting Gazans Returning North Till Hostage Released first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Riding Anti-Trump Wave, Australia’s Albanese Secures 2nd term
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
i24 News – Australia’s Anthony Albanese claimed a second term as prime minister on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives that commentators said was powered by voters’ concerns about the impact of US President Donald Trump.
Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal party, conceded defeat and the loss of his own seat, echoing the fate of Canada’s conservatives and their leader Pierre Poilievre, whose election losses last week were also widely attributed to a Trump backlash.
Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged each other as Albanese claimed victory and said his party would form a majority government.
“Our government will choose the Australian way, because we are proud of who we are and all that we have built together in this country,” Albanese told supporters.
The Australian Electoral Commission website projected Labor would win 81 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, increasing its majority in parliament, with 68% of the vote counted.
The post Riding Anti-Trump Wave, Australia’s Albanese Secures 2nd term first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli PM Netanyahu Postpones Upcoming Visit to Azerbaijan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 16, 2025. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed next week’s visit to Azerbaijan, his office announced on Saturday, in part due to recent developments in Gaza and Syria.
The prime minister’s office also cited “the intense diplomatic and security schedule” and said that the visit would be rescheduled, without announcing a new date.
Netanyahu was to visit Azerbaijan from May 7-11 and was expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev. Israel and Azerbaijan maintain close security and energy ties.
The post Israeli PM Netanyahu Postpones Upcoming Visit to Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel’s military said on Saturday it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the attack, the third of its kind by the Iran-aligned group in 24 hours.
The Israeli military said sirens were activated in a number of areas in Israel after the missile was launched. No casualties or serious damage have been reported from the missile salvos.
The claim of responsibility, announced by the Houthis’ military spokesperson, came amid an intensification of US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
In March, US President Donald Trump ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The deadly strikes on the group have been the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.
The Houthis say their attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping are in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Hamas terrorists and Israel in Gaza.
The group pledged to expand its range of targets in Israel in retaliation for a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza launched in mid-March, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire after the mediated talks on terms for extending it broke down.
The post Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility first appeared on Algemeiner.com.