Live Updates: Hamas to lay down arms if two-state solution implemented: Report

Thursday, April 25, 2024

05:50 GMT — Hamas to lay down arms if two-state solution implemented: Report

A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press that the group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and transform into a political party if a two-state solution is implemented.

The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of ceasefire talks.

Al-Hayya said Hamas wants form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank. He also said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions".

04:17 GMT — US engages ballistic missile, UAVs launched from Yemen

The US engaged an anti-ship ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicles launched from areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi group, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

"At 11:51 a.m. (Sanaa time) on April 24, a coalition vessel successfully engaged one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas in Yemen over the Gulf of Aden.

"The ASBM was likely targeting the MV Yorktown, a US-flagged, owned and operated vessel with 18 US and four Greek crew members," CENTCOM said on X.

04:37 GMT — 34 arrested during pro-Palestine protest at University of Texas camps

The number of pro-Palestine protestors who were arrested during a demonstration at the University of Texas has risen to 34, authorities said.

"As of 9 p.m., 34 arrests have been made by law enforcement on the UT Austin campus related to today’s protest," said the Texas Department of Public Safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

Among the arrested was a FOX 7 Austin photographer who was filming the demonstration by the students on the UT Austin campus.

04:15 GMT — World Central Kitchen workers killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza will be honored at memorial

A memorial at the National Cathedral in Washington will honour the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza earlier this month.

José Andrés, the celebrity chef and philanthropist behind the Washington-based World Central Kitchen disaster relief group, is expected to speak at the celebration of life service, and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma will perform, organizers said.

The Biden administration said Thursday that Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, and US Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell would be among senior administration figures attending.

03:41 GMT — Ben-Gvir evacuated from building besieged by Israeli protesters

Israeli police have evacuated extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from a building in West Jerusalem that was surrounded by protesters, including families of captives in besieged Gaza.

Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that hundreds of protesters gathered in the area near the building where far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and extremist rabbi Bentzi Gopstein accompanied Ben-Gvir.

The police evacuated the notorious minister from the scene after its officers secured him.

03:13 GMT — Israeli officials admit failure of campaign to halt UNRWA funding

Top officials in Israel have acknowledged the failure of an Israeli campaign against international funding for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees [UNRWA], Israel's Haaretz daily reported.

"Several countries have announced over the past few weeks that they will renew the funding to UNRWA, which they froze at the start of the Gaza war in the wake of Israeli claims that the organisation was cooperating with [the Palestinian group] Hamas and that some of its employees had actively participated in the October 7 attack," said the daily.

"In recent days, the Israeli campaign against UNRWA has received a series of blows, including an announcement by Germany, one of Israel's main supporters, of its intention to resume funding for the agency, which it froze last January."

02:52 GMT — Israeli council anticipates possible arrest warrant for Netanyahu

The Israeli National Security Council has held secret discussions on the possibility of international arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, a local media outlet reported.

Israel's Channel 13 reported that the discussions took place "in anticipation of the possibility of international arrest warrants being issued in the coming days against senior officials in Israel."

"According to the information and indications available to senior officials in Israel, there is a possibility that the International Court of Justice in The Hague will issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Halevi," the channel added.

02:20 GMT — Casualties as Israel strikes Gaza's crammed Rafah city

Israel has launched multiple air strikes on besieged Gaza's southern city of Rafah, killing at least three people, according to local sources.

Over 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in the city to escape Israel's carnage elsewhere in the blockaded enclave.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said Israel was "moving ahead" with its plans for a ground invasion on Rafah but gave no timeline.

02:14 GMT — Netanyahu calls US campus protests 'anti-Semitic'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on American college campuses, falsely claiming that protests are anti-Semitic and comparing them to the lead-up to the Holocaust.

In a video statement, Netanyahu claimed that "anti-Semitic mobs have taken over leading universities."

"This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s," he alleged.

02:00 — Israel strikes two towns in southern Lebanon

Israel has struck the towns of Hula and Maroun in al-Ras in southern Lebanon.

Since October 7, at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes and shelling, according to an AFP news agency tally.

For our live updates from Wednesday, April 24, click here.