Gaza | Pakistan

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not planning to join the international stabilisation force for Gaza because it lacks a clear framework, a senior official said on Monday. “The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force,” Emirati presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate forum. The US-coordinated international force has been seen as likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, as well as the UAE. Last week, US President Donald Trump said he expected the force to be in Gaza “very soon”, as a fragile ceasefire holds following two years of war. The oil-rich UAE is one of the few Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term in 2020.

• Hamas returns Israeli prisoner’s body; gets 15 Palestinians’ bodies in return • US coordinates Gaza aid flow but Israel maintains oversight, officials say JERUSALEM: Israeli forces continued to wage deadly assaults across the Palestinian territories and southern Lebanon on Saturday, in a series of air and artillery attacks that violated ceasefire agreements on both fronts. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops shot dead two 16-year-old boys, adding to the mounting number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces. The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah identified the victims as Mohammed Abdullah Moham­med Ateem and Muhammad Rashad Fadl Qasim, both from the village of Judeira. The ministry said Israeli forces were withholding the boys’ bodies. The Israeli military acknowledged the killings, referring to the teenagers as individuals it had “eliminated” — a term frequently employed by Israeli authorities to obscure civilian deaths and dehumanise Palestinians. At the same time, in the besieged St...

• Muslim diplomats parsing US resolution carefully, expect it to ‘evolve’ • Azerbaijan will only send peacekeepers ‘if fighting stops’ WASHINGTON: President Don­ald Trump said on Thursday that he expects a US-coordinated International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to be on the ground in Gaza “very soon”. The multinational force — likely to include troops from Mus­lim countries such as Egypt, Qat­ar, Turkiye, etc — is part of Trump’s post-war governance plan for Gaza. The plan helped lead to a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10, but the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has not abated. “It’s going to be very soon. And Gaza is working out very well,” Trump said at a White House fun­ction with Central Asian leaders. “You haven’t been hearing too much about problems, and I’ll tell you, we’ve had countries that have volunteered if there’s a problem with Hamas.” The force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan. It also will be tas...

The United States gathered intelligence last year that Israel’s military lawyers warned there was evidence that could support war crimes charges against Tel Aviv for its military operations in Gaza reliant on American-supplied weapons, five former US officials said. The previously unreported intelligence, described by the former officials as among the most startling shared with top US policymakers during the war, pointed to doubts within the Israeli military about the legality of its tactics that contrasted sharply with Israel’s public stance defending its actions. Two of the former US officials said the material was not broadly circulated within the government until late in the Biden administration, when it was disseminated more widely ahead of a congressional briefing in December 2024. The intelligence deepened concerns in Washington over Israel’s conduct in a war it said was necessary to eliminate Hamas fighters embedded in civilian infrastructure. There were concerns Israel was intentionally targeting civ...

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday will start negotiations on a US-drafted resolution to endorse President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, said a senior US government official, and authorise a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body and international stabilisation force. The United States formally circulated the draft resolution to the 15 council members late on Wednesday and has said it has regional support from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates for the text. “The message is: if the region is with us on this and the region is with us on how this resolution is constructed, then we believe that the council should be as well,” the senior US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. People gather and shop at a local market in Nuseirat, the central Gaza Strip on October 28. — Reuters/File A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to be adopted. Wh...

Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis on Wednesday said it had received the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners under the US-brokered ceasefire exchange deal. “The tenth batch of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs has arrived at Nasser Medical Complex in the Gaza Strip, numbering 15 martyrs,” the hospital said in a statement, noting that 285 bodies were received under the agreement in total. They were returned in exchange for the latest hostage body handed back from Gaza on Tuesday, that of Israeli-American soldier Itay Chen. Under the terms of the US-brokered agreement in effect since October 10, Israel returns 15 bodies of Palestinians for every body it receives of an Israeli hostage who had been held in Gaza. At the start of the truce, Hamas held 48 hostages in Gaza — 20 alive and 28 deceased. The militants have since released all the surviving captives, as well as 21 of the deceased’s remains. Israel has accused Hamas of dragging its feet in returning the bodies of deceased hostages, whi...

The United States is seeking approval from the United Nations for the establishment of an International Security Force (ISF) in Gaza with a mandate of at least two years, Axios reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the US sent several UN Security Council (UNSC) members a draft resolution yesterday outlining the establishment of its proposed security force to maintain security in the Palestinian enclave. Axios, which obtained a copy of the draft, said that the resolution was designated “sensitive but unclassified”. It reported that the resolution would give the US and other participating countries a broad mandate to deploy security forces to govern Gaza until the end of 2027, and allowed the possibility of extensions beyond that time. The force would be established “in consultation with the Gaza ‘Board of Peace’”, to be chaired by US President Donald Trump, the publication reported. The Board of Peace is also to remain in place “at least through the end of 2027”. However, a US official told Axios that ...

Pakistan and other Muslim countries on Monday slammed Israeli violations of the fragile Gaza ceasefire and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territory, according to the Foreign Office (FO). Hamas and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement on October 9, agreeing to free the Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of United States President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. Pakistan was one of the eight Arab and Muslim countries to work with Trump on the plan. Despite occasional flare-ups, the fragile truce has been holding in Gaza. The truce, which left thorny issues like the disarmament of Hamas and a timeline for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza unresolved, has been tested by unilateral Israeli bombardment since coming into force. The foreign ministers of Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan — the same countries that met with Trump on Sept 23 on the sidelines of the...

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will depart for Istanbul tomorrow to attend the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers, where the Gaza ceasefire deal will be discussed, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday. “At the invitation of the Turkish foreign minister, the Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will undertake a one-day visit to Istanbul on November 3, 2025 to attend the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers,” the FO statement said. “It may be recalled that Pakistan, along with seven other Arab-Islamic countries, has remained engaged with the peace initiative that led to the signing of the Gaza Peace Agreement in Sharm El-Sheikh,” the statement added. Hamas and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement on October 9, agreeing to free the Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of United States President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. Pakistan was one of the eigh...

Jordan and Germany said on Saturday that an international force expected to support a future Palestinian police in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s post-war governance plan should have a UN mandate. Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, a coalition of mainly Arab and Muslim nations is expected to deploy forces in the Palestinian territory. The so-called international stabilisation force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan, as well as secure border areas and prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas. “We all agree that in order for that stabilisation force to be able to be effective in getting the job done, it has to have a Security Council mandate,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said. Jordan, however, will not be sending its own forces to the Strip. “We’re too close to the issue and we cannot deploy troops in Gaza,” Safadi said, adding his country was nonetheless ready to cooperate with the international force...

The Israeli military attacked the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Friday, killing three people, Palestinian health authorities said, in another test of a fragile ceasefire agreement. Residents reported Israeli shelling and gunfire in northern Gaza on Friday, as Israel continued to bombard areas of the enclave despite saying that it remains committed to a ceasefire brokered by United States President Donald Trump. The Israeli military did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. Another Palestinian died of wounds sustained from previous Israeli shelling, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported. The US-brokered ceasefire, which left thorny issues like the disarmament of Hamas and a timeline for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip unresolved, has been tested by periodic outbreaks of violence since it came into place three weeks ago. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Israel retaliated for the death of an Israeli soldier with bombardments that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people. More bo...

The information ministry on Friday denied “unverified or politically charged claims” by an Indian news channel about Pakistan preparing to dispatch 20,000 troops to Gaza and the country removing the clause from its passports that makes it invalid for travel to Israel. Indian news outlet Republic TV had made the allegations, specifying the number of soldiers Pakistan was planning to send to Gaza “under the supervision of Western countries and Israel.” The channel, according to a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, had also “ridiculously claimed that Pakistan had also removed the ‘Not valid for Israel’ clause from the passport.” In a statement on X, the information ministry referred to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa), reiterating that “Pakistan’s stance on Israel remains unchanged, that is, Islamabad does not recognise Israel, and no military cooperation or engagement exists or is under discussion”. Moreover, the ministry clarified that the passport clause remain...

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has categorically dismissed baseless propaganda aired by an Indian television channel, Republic TV, which falsely alleged that Pakistan was preparing to send 20,000 troops to Gaza under the supervision of Western countries and Israel.

A report by the United Nations’ special rapporteur on Palestine has revealed that 63 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, were complicit in Israel’s two-year genocide in the Gaza Strip, it emerged on Wednesday. The report, written by Francesca Albanese and available with Dawn.com, notes that Israel’s actions were not carried out in isolation, but with the aid of “third states”. “The genocide in Gaza was not committed in isolation, but as part of a system of global complicity,” the report stated. “Rather than ensuring that Israel respects the basic human rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people, powerful third states — perpetuating colonial and racial-capitalist practices that should have long been consigned to history — have allowed violent practices to become an everyday reality.” The report adds that foreign countries facilitating Israel and shielding it from accountability have enabled Tel Aviv to “embed its regime of settler-colonial apartheid in the occup...

Pakistan on Wednesday called for the immediate cessation of Gaza ceasefire violations by Israel after the latter’s strike on the Palestinian enclave killed more than 100 people. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 104 people were killed after Israel carried out air strikes on the Palestinian territory yesterday, accusing Hamas of violating the truce by killing a soldier, which the group denied. The renewed Israeli bombardment prompted strong condemnation from Pakistan, one of the eight Muslim countries that worked with the United States on President Donald Trump’s peace plan. “Pakistan strongly condemns the renewed attacks by the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. “These actions constitute a clear and flagrant violation of international law, as well as a breach of the recently concluded peace agreement,” the FO said, warning that such “aggressive measures by the Israeli occupation forces threaten to undermine the i...

United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday “nothing” would jeopardise the ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel carried out air strikes on the Palestinian territory accusing Hamas of violating the truce, which the group denied. Gaza’s civil defence agency said that Israeli attacks had killed at least 50 people, including 22 children, and wounded around 200. “At least 50 killed, including 22 children and a number of women and children, as a result of the ongoing Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since last night,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency, told AFP. Around 200 people were wounded “in a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”, he said, calling the situation in Gaza “catastrophic and terrifying”. Trump defended Israel’s actions on Wednesday, saying it “should hit back” if Israeli soldiers were killed, but added that “nothing’s going to jeopardise” to truce. “They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back,” Trump told reporters on Air Force...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said that a decision on sending Pakistani troops for the Gaza peace force was still being finalised and “it is in process”. A cornerstone of the US-brokered Gaza Peace Agreement is the establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), composed mainly of troops from Muslim-majority countries. According to officials close to the discussions, an announcement is expected soon from the federal government regarding the decision. Officials familiar with the deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said discussions within the government and military establishment were at an “advanced stage”. According to them, the tone of internal consultations suggests that Islamabad is inclined to take part in the mission. Questioned whether any such move was in the offing or not in an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Asif said: “This thing has to be finalised [and] it is in process. The government will take a dec...

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday strongly rejected Indian media reports alleging that Pakistani officials held secret meetings with the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad to discuss sending troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force.

The information ministry on Tuesday rubbished what it said was a “completely fabricated” report about an alleged meeting of the Pakistani leadership with the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency and Israel’s Mossad that would see Pakistan sending troops to Gaza for a peace force. A cornerstone of the US-brokered Gaza Peace Agreement is the establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), composed mainly of troops from Muslim-majority countries. According to officials close to the discussions, an announcement is expected soon from the federal government regarding the decision. Officials familiar with the deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said discussions within the government and military establishment were at an “advanced stage”. According to them, the tone of internal consultations suggests that Islamabad is inclined to take part in the mission. Earlier today, Indian news outlet First Post reported that per CNN-News 18, top intelligence source...

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington does not view yesterday’s strike carried out by Israel in Gaza as a violation of a US-backed ceasefire, terming it an act of “self-defence”. Israel claimed it struck a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group on Saturday, accusing the individual of planning to attack Israeli troops. However, Islamic Jihad denied it was planning an attack. Speaking aboard US President Donald Trump’s plane during a trip to Asia, Rubio said: “We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire.” The US top diplomat added that Israel has not surrendered its right to self-defence as part of the agreement brokered by Washington, Egypt and Qatar that saw Hamas release the remaining living hostages held in Gaza this month. “They have the right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that,” Rubio insisted. Rubio said the ceasefire in Gaza, which remains in force between Israel and Hamas just over two years since the confli...