Talks to strike a Gaza truce were expected to resume Sunday after Hamas rejected any deal that failed to end the war in the Palestinian territory and accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of "personally hindering" an agreement. Negotiators seeking to halt the devastating seven-month war have proposed a 40-day pause in the fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain ..read more

When Mohamed Lafi vanished at sea one fateful night, it marked yet another tragedy for a Tunisian town struggling with the exodus of its youth. Mohamed's disappearance adds to the deepening despair in El Hencha, situated just 150 kilometres (90 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa. His sister, Ines, stayed behind, confronting the harsh reality that many families face as their loved ones risk everything in search of a better life in Europe. Mohamed, a 30-year-old taxi driver, left home on the night of January 10 with little more than his mobile phone ..read more

Student protests against the Israeli military assault on Gaza following the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel have spread to several countries. Here is a round-up of the main campaigns. - United States - Demonstrators have gathered on at least 40 US university campuses since April 17, often erecting tent camps to protest at the soaring death toll in the Gaza Strip. Nearly 2,000 people have been detained, according to US media, in demonstrations reminiscent of protests against the Vietnam War ..read more

A senior Hamas official on Saturday said the group would not accept a truce that did not completely end the Gaza war, accusing Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of "personally hindering" a deal. Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Saturday in the latest bid to halt the devastating almost seven-month-old war that has triggered worldwide protests. They were to hear the militant group's response to a proposal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain ..read more

The Israeli army said troops killed five Palestinian "terrorists" barricaded in a building during a 12-hour siege in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. An AFP photographer saw a heavy military deployment in the village of Deir al-Ghusun, near the northern town of Tulkarem. Troops deployed a bulldozer to flatten a building and carried at least one body out of the rubble, the photographer reported. Israeli forces "engaged in an extensive 12-hour counterterrorism operation in the Tulkarem area," the army and the Shin Bet security service said in a joint statement ..read more

Talks resumed in Egypt Saturday aimed at halting months of war in Gaza between Hamas militants and Israel that have triggered protests around the world. Mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States sat down with a Hamas delegation to hear the militant group's response to a proposal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain. Israel has yet to send a delegation to Cairo, with a top official telling AFP that it would do so only if there was "positive movement" on the proposed framework ..read more

Talks were expected to resume Saturday in Egypt aimed at halting months of war in Gaza between Hamas militants and Israel that have triggered widening protests around the world. Mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been waiting for the Palestinian Islamist movement to respond to a proposal that, according to details released by Britain, would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners ..read more

Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank say armed Jewish settlers are increasingly seizing their lands by bringing livestock to so-called shepherding outposts and refusing to leave. One settler arrived recently near sunset on a hilltop near the village of Deir Jarir, wearing a black shirt and a green headscarf, like many Palestinian farmers, they said. "The settlers imitate us in every way," said Abdullah Abu Rahme, a member of a Palestinian anti-settler group, who said the hardliners also employ violence and "throw stones at us and block roads ..read more

Accepting a ceasefire deal with Israel should be a "no-brainer" for Hamas, but the motivations of the militants' elusive Gaza-based leadership remain unclear, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has announced that its delegation will return Saturday to Cairo to resume long-running talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar that would temporarily halt Israel's offensive in return for freeing hostages. "We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages," Blinken said late Friday ..read more

Hamas said its delegation was heading to Cairo on Saturday to resume Gaza truce talks, as the United Nations warned that Israel's threatened assault on the city of Rafah could produce a "bloodbath". Foreign mediators have been waiting for the Palestinian militant group to respond to a proposal to halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners. "The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday ..read more