Israel strikes kill dozens as Gaza death toll soars

GAZA CITY: Israeli strikes killed at least 13 women and children in Gaza on Tuesday, medics said, as the army announced the deaths of two more soldiers in the two-week conflict.

The fatalities, which were among nearly 40 on Tuesday alone, brought the total death toll to more than 600 Palestinians, according to Gaza´s emergency services, and 29 Israelis -- 27 soldiers and two civilians.

A child and three women, one of them pregnant, were killed in two separate Israeli air strikes in Zeitun, in the central Gaza Strip, and Beit Hanun, in the north, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

Gaza bloodbath: Five children die; toll 572

GAZA CITY: The death toll in Gaza rose to 572 on Monday. And the Israeli army said another seven soldiers had been killed in fighting in Gaza, raising the overall Israeli death toll to 27, all but two of them soldiers.

Diplomatic drive intensifies as Gaza death toll reaches to 350

GAZA: Fresh Israeli bombardments killed five people in Gaza Sunday, hiking the death toll from the assault to over 350.Israel pressed its air, sea and ground offensive against the besieged coastal territory.Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal was to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Qatar to discuss an Egyptian-proposed truce on Sunday, and the movement said it had received an invitation to Cairo for ceasefire talks.

Netanyahu slams Erdogan’s words on Israel’s Gaza offensive as ‘anti-Semitic’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned as “anti-Semitic” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s criticism of the latest military operation in Gaza, Israeli newspaper Hareetz reported on July 20.

Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a telephone conversation that Erdogan’s recent remarks, accusing Israel of massacring Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and carrying out war crimes “worse than Hitler” were anti-Semitic, adding that they “desecrated the memory of the Holocaust.”

Egypt proposes ceasefire in -IsraeliPalestinian conflict

Egypt has proposed a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza that would start on Tuesday, ending a week of cross-border warfare, and be followed by talks to prevent further hostilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to convene his decision-making security cabinet on Tuesday to discuss the proposed truce, an Israeli official said.

The official appeared to put a positive spin on the Egyptian initiative, saying Hamas had been weakened military by Israeli air and sea bombardments.

Israel's Largest Offensive in Gaza Strip in 2 Years Kills 25

JERUSALEM - Israel on Tuesday launched its largest offensive in the Gaza Strip in nearly two years, carrying out a blistering aerial assault on scores of targets and killing 25 people in what officials called an open-ended operation aimed at ending weeks of heavy rocket fire. As Gazamilitants unleashed salvos on cities including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel mobilized forces along the border for a possible ground invasion.

Israel finds bodies of three teens in West Bank

JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday confirmed finding the bodies of three teenagers who disappeared in the southern West Bank on June 12, blaming the Hamas movement for their kidnapping and murder.

"During the search for Eyal Ifrach, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Frankel, the IDF discovered 3 bodies near Hebron," the Israeli Army said in a statement on Twitter.

Palestinian teen killed by Israel army in West Bank – medics

Israeli soldiers shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian in overnight clashes in the occupied West Bank as they pressed a hunt for three missing Israeli teenagers, medical sources said Friday.

The teenager was killed in Dura, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, which has been the principal focus of the massive Israeli operation.
Palestinian security forces identified the boy killed as Mohammed Dudin.

Egyptian army issues 48-hour ultimatum

Cairo - The Egyptian army has given the country's politicians a 48 hours ultimatum to resolve the current political stalemate, further emboldening opponents of Mohamed Morsi, the embattled president, and pushing the most populous Arab nation deeper into uncertainty.

The army statement, delivered on state television on Monday, called on political groups to resolve the situation.

"The armed forces repeat their call for the people's demands to be met and give everyone 48 hours as a last chance,” it said.

Morsi rejects Egyptian army's 48-hour ultimatum

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rebuffs army's 48-hour ultimatum to resolve the country's deadly crisis.Morsi supporters criticised the ultimatum as an attempted coup. A group of pro-Morsi parties, calling themselves the “coalition to defend legitimacy,” called for mass protests in support of the president during a late-night press conference.

Egypt opposition to continue mass protests

Group leading millions seeking Morsi ouster call for leader to quit by Tuesday threatening "civil disobedience".

Protesters seeking to force Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi from office are gearing up for a second day of action, after large crowds thronged the streets of Cairo and cities around the country and marched on the presidential palace.

Some preparing for rallies on Monday spent the night in dozens of tents pitched at the capital's central Tahrir Square and the palace, positions organisers say they will hold until Morsi resigns.

Qatar power transfer seen as historic move in Arab world

The smooth and voluntary transfer of  power by HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad  al-Thani is unprecedented in the history of the Arab world, particularly the Gulf region,  Dr Mohamed al-Misfar, professor of political science at Qatar University, said yesterday in a comment on Qatar TV.

He said he had seen that there was a consensus among many politicians, sociologists, mediapersons and university professors in the Gulf region that HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad is an amiable and much loved personality. He also enjoys a deep perspective in discussing all issues of the area.

Twenty two year-old man killed in Turkey protests: report

ANKARA: A 22-year-old man died in a hospital after being shot during anti-government protests in southern Turkey, the NTV television reported Tuesday.

“Abdullah Comert was seriously wounded… after gunfire from an unidentified person,” the station reported, quoting a statement from the local governor’s office in the Hatay province.

He died in hospital on Monday, the private station added.

Afghan FM Spokesman Stresses Expansion of Tehran-Kabul Ties

TEHRAN : Afghan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Janan Mosazai underlined the need for the further expansion of ties and cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan.The Afghan foreign ministry spokesman pointed to the good and friendly relations between Iran and Afghanistan, calling "Iran a very good neighbor".

"Iran has always supported the Afghan government in its campaign against terrorism," Mosazai said.

Iran, Indonesia Sign Trade Agreement

TEHRAN :Iran and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual trade cooperation.

The MoU was signed during a meeting between Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Hamid Safdel and Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs Yuri Octavian Thamrin earlier this week.

Octavian Thamrin, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran on a three-day visit starting on Monday to attend the fifth meeting of Iran-Indonesia Political Consultative Committee.

Obama arrives in Israel amid low expectations

TEL AVIV: US President Barack Obama arrived in Israel on Wednesday without any new peace initiative to offer disillusioned Palestinians and facing deep Israeli doubts over his pledge to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

Making his first official visit here as president, Obama hopes to use the trip to reset his often fraught relations with both the Israelis and Palestinians in a choreographed three-day stay that is high on symbolism but low on expectations.