Skip next section Israel-linked tanker seized off coast of Yemen — reportsNovember 26, 2023
Israel-linked tanker seized off coast of Yemen — reportsA tanker with links to an Israeli-affiliated company has been seized off the coast of Yemen, according to reports citing a US defense official.
“There are indications that […] armed individuals seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden November 26. US and coalition forces are in the vicinity and we are closely monitoring the situation,” the official told the AFP news agency.
AFP cited maritime security firm Ambrey as saying that “US naval forces are engaged in the situation” following the incident involving the vessel, which it reports is owned and managed by a UK-based, Israeli-linked company.
The AP news agency has reported that the vessel was Liberian-flagged and managed by Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.
While it’s not immediately clear who is behind the seizure of the vessel, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels had previously threatened to attack the tanker if it did not divert to the port of Hodeida, the maritime security firm is reported to have said.
The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have threatened to target Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and have also launched drone and missile attacks toward Israel since October.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZSYASkip next section Steinmeier arrives in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli counterpartNovember 26, 2023
Steinmeier arrives in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli counterpartGerman President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has landed in Israel for a two-day visit, in a sign of solidarity with the Middle East nation following the Hamas attacks.
Steinmeier is accompanied by his wife, Elke Büdenbender, and German parliamentary speaker Bärbel Bas.
The German delegation was invited by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is close friends with Steinmeier.
In a video message on Saturday ahead of the trip, the German president restated Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas.
However, he also called for compliance with humanitarian rules, adding that every precaution to get civilians out of the line of fire was necessary.
“That is what is required under international humanitarian law, and that is what we Germans also expect,” he said.
Steinmeier spoke out again in favor of a two-state solution in the long term, in which Israelis and Palestinians could live peacefully side by side.
He was critical that the opportunity for this solution had been missed due to Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Steinmeier’s Middle East trip will also include stops in Oman and Qatar.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZSXESkip next section Pope welcomes Israel-Hamas truceNovember 26, 2023
Pope welcomes Israel-Hamas truceThe pope gave his Sunday blessing remotely as he recovers from the fluImage: Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo/picture alliance After some hostages were freed by Hamas, Pope Francis said Sunday he welcomed the temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and prayed for further releases.
“Today we thank God because there is finally a truce between Israel and Palestine and some hostages have been freed,” the pope said in a statement.
“We pray that they all may be [freed] as rapidly as possible and that more humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza and that they insist on dialogue,” the 86-year-old added.
A colleague read the statement as the pope recited Sunday’s Angelus prayer from his residence rather than the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square due to health issues. The pope himself described it as an “inflammation in the lungs” after his aides said he was suffering from a mild flu.
Under the four-day pause in fighting, brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, Hamas has agreed to free 50 hostages in exchange for the release by Israel of 150 Palestinian prisoners.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZSUKSkip next section Hamas military wing says northern brigade commander killedNovember 26, 2023
Hamas military wing says northern brigade commander killedThe armed wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigade, said in a statement on Sunday that four of its military commanders had died in the Gaza Strip.
This included the commander of its northern Gaza brigade, Ahmad Al-Ghandour, it said in a statement published on Telegram.
The militant group did not say where or when he was killed.
Al-Ghandour is the highest-ranking member of the Al-Qassam Brigade thought to have been killed in Israel’s retaliation in Gaza since Hamas’ October 7 attack.
He had survived at least three Israeli attempts to kill him, going back to 2002, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an advocacy group based in Washington.
Hamas’ military wing also said three other senior officers had been killed. One of them, Ayman Siyyam, was previously reported in Israeli media to be in charge of Al-Qassam Brigade’s rocket-firing units.
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https://p.dw.com/p/4ZSCGSkip next section Palestinians report several dead in West BankNovember 26, 2023
Palestinians report several dead in West BankIsraeli forces operating in the occupied West Bank killed at least eight Palestinians over the weekend, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said that five were killed in the militant stronghold Jenin, while three others were killed in separate areas of the West Bank since Saturday morning.
Israel’s military said its forces entered the Jenin refugee camp to arrest a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli father and son earlier in the year.
The military made no mention of clashes or deaths in its Sunday statement but said that operations were ongoing in the area.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA wrote that Israeli troops attacked the camp “from several directions” and called for a strike in Jenin on Sunday to commemorate the dead.
The Health Ministry said six others were wounded in Jenin.
Israel had not commented on the other reported deaths elsewhere in the West Bank. There has been an uptick in both Israeli military activity and settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks.
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https://p.dw.com/p/4ZS7WSkip next section Palestinian prisoners return home, some after yearsNovember 26, 2023
Palestinian prisoners return home, some after yearsIsrael released 39 Palestinian prisoners in all on Saturday, under the 3-1 ratio agreed as part of the Qatari-mediated truce with Hamas, which the EU, US and others recognize as a terrorist group.
Some of the Palestinian prisoners were released in east Jerusalem, while the bulk returned home to a hero’s welcome in the occupied West Bank.
In east Jerusalem, Israeli troops eventually drove away journalists who gathered outside the home of Israa Jaabis, who had been imprisoned since 2015 after being convicted of carrying out a bombing attack that wounded an Israeli police officer and left her with severe burns on her face and hands.
A former Palestinain prisoner, Israa Jaabis, embraced her family members at her home on her return late on SaturdayImage: picture alliance/dpa In the West Bank, fireworks were set off and crowds filled the streets to welcome back former prisoners.
Among them was Nurhan Awad, who was 17 in 2016 when she was sentenced to more than 13 years in jail for attempting to stab an Israeli soldier with a pair of scissors.
Another Palestinian former prisoner, Shorouk Dwayyat, who had served roughly half of a 16-year sentence, told Al Jazeera TV: “I feel like I am in a dream, but I hope that the war on Gaza will stop as soon as possible.”
Under the truce deal, Israel has agreed to release a total of 150 Palestinian women and minors imprisoned in Israeli jails.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZS7CSkip next section Israeli families reunite, some only partiallyNovember 26, 2023
Israeli families reunite, some only partiallyRelatives of the Israeli hostages organized a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday eveningImage: Yair Palti/Anadolu/picture allianceAfter a tense delay on Saturday evening, and amid a major demonstration in Tel Aviv calling for all Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas, the second stage of four planned days of exchanges ultimately went through.
One of the 13 Israeli citizens to be released was 21-year-old Maya Regev, who had been at the Supernova music festival when she was kidnapped. Her 18-year-old brother is still being held hostage by Hamas, which her mother alluded to when acknowledging her release.
“My heart is split because my son, Itay, is still in Hamas’ captivity in Gaza,” Mirit Regev said in a statement released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum that’s representing the families.
Israel: Thousands rally to call for release of all hostagesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Three other hostages released on Saturday left a parent still in Hamas captivity.
The youngest hostage to be freed Saturday, 3-year-old Yahel Shoham, was released along with her 8-year-old brother, Nave, and mother, Adi, without the family’s father, Tal Shoham, who remains in Hamas captivity. The family was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
Another hostage, 12-year-old Hila Rotem was released without her mother, Raya.
Rotem was kidnapped on October 7 together with 9-year-old Israeli-Irish dual national Emily Hand, who was also released Saturday.
Hand was initially feared killed in Hamas’ October 7 attack, but was later added to the hostage list.
“We are overjoyed to embrace Emily again, but at the same time, we remember Raya Rotem and all the hostages who have yet to return,” Hand’s family said in a statement.
Irish Taoiseac (or prime minister) Leo Varadkar also welcomed Emily’s release on social media.
Four of the Israeli hostages freed on Saturday were German dual nationals.
Hamas also released four Thai nationals, following on from 10 freed the previous day.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said they were in good health given the circumstances.
“Everyone is glad to be released. Overall, mental health is still good,” he said in a social media post. He also said that they could walk and talk normally, and that they wanted a shower and to contact their families.
Daughter of Israeli hostage still held by Hamas speaks to DWTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZS3PSkip next section Qatari mediator hopes for truce extensionNovember 26, 2023
Qatari mediator hopes for truce extensionQatar’s government is hoping to extend the truce it mediated between Israel and the Islamist Hamas group beyond the four days currently agreed.
“What we are hoping for is that the momentum that has carried from the releases of these two days and from this agreement of four days will allow us to extend the truce beyond these four days and therefore get into more serious discussions about the rest of the hostages,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told US broadcaster CNN.
Despite a delay on Saturday, a second captive exchange between the two sides went ahead late at night, with another 13 Israeli citizens returned by Hamas, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.
The current four-day deal foresees 50 Israelis, including dual nationals, being returned in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel had also said when the agreement was reached that it would be open to extending the truce in exchange for the release of more hostages if Hamas was interested.
Qatar: Adept but controversial broker in Israel-Hamas warTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZS3ISkip next section Israel says it received new list of hostages November 26, 2023
Israel says it received new list of hostages The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it has received a a new list of hostages expected to be released on Sunday.
Netanyahu’s office said the list was being checked by security officials, and families of the hostages on the list had been informed.
In a statement on social media, Netanyahu warned the media to “exercise appropriate caution” and “refrain from spreading rumors and unofficial information,” ahead of the planned exchange.
First hostages reunite with families after Hamas releaseTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
It would be the third group of hostages to be freed by Hamas under a deal that calls for a four-day pause in fighting, along with the release of 50 hostages held captive in Gaza for 150 Palestinian prisoners being detained in Israel.
Hamas had held up the the second round of exchanges on Saturday after accusing Israel of violating the terms of the truce by not allowing aid into Gaza. Israeli denied the accusation.
However, mediators in Qatar later announced that issue had been settled, and Hamas released 17 hostages late Saturday night, including 13 Israelis and four Thai citizens. In return, Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners.
Six of the 13 Israelis released were women and seven were children and teenagers.
On Friday, Hamas released the first group of 24 Israeli and foreign hostages. In total so far, 26 Israeli civilians and 15 foreign nationals have been freed by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for 78 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Hamas is designated by the EU, US and Israel, among others, as a terrorist organization.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZS0BSkip next section UN says more than 200 aid trucks sent to GazaNovember 26, 2023
UN says more than 200 aid trucks sent to GazaThe UN said that 61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food and water were able to deliver goods to northern Gaza, as the pause in fighting allows more aid to enter the blockaded coastal territory.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also said that another 200 trucks had been sent to the Gaza Strip from Nitzana, Israel, with 187 of them having cleared the border by early Saturday evening.
Eleven ambulances, three coaches, and a flatbed were sent to al-Shifa hospital, site of heavy fighting in recent days, “to assist with evacuations,” the statement said.
Cease-fire brings respite for Gaza’s civilian populationTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
The organization welcomed the truce and the ability to deliver more goods to Gaza, voicing hope that the current four-day deal might be extended.
“The longer the pause lasts, the more aid humanitarian agencies will be able to send in and across Gaza,” it said, also thanking the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Egyptian Red Crescent for their assistance.
The UN had said that 137 of its trucks were able to enter Gaza on Friday, the first day of the truce.
“We welcome the release of more hostages today and renew our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” the OCHA said.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ZS32Skip next section Germans among second group of hostages released from Gaza November 26, 2023
Germans among second group of hostages released from Gaza Four German dual nationals were among those released by Hamas militants on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X.
“I am thinking of them and of those who are still in the hands of Hamas,” Baerbock said in a post on social media.
“We are working with all our might to ensure that they too will soon be free,” she said.
Four German-Israeli nationals were also among those released in the first batch of hostages released on Friday.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is also set to visit Israel on Sunday as part of a two-day tour in the Middle East.
German FM Baerbock speaks to DWTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
msh,sri,rm/wmr (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)
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