Gaza – News Stories About Gaza - Page 33

Johnston Tells of 'Appalling,' 'Terrifying' Ordeal

Jul 4, 2007 10:00 PM CDT

Johnston Tells of 'Appalling,' 'Terrifying' Ordeal

Freed BBC reporter describes kidnapping

(Newser) - Alan Johnston's 16 weeks in captivity were an "appalling" experience that made him feel "buried alive," the BBC reporter tells the Evening Times of Glasgow. Johnston, freed yesterday, said he dreamed of freedom "but always woke up in that room." In Jerusalem yesterday after being...

Johnston Release Boosts Hamas

Jul 4, 2007 8:40 AM CDT

Johnston Release Boosts Hamas

Freeing BBC reporter is attempt to send message

(Newser) - Alan Johnston's release after 12 weeks in captivity was used by Hamas today to separate itself from the al-Qaeda-inspired kidnappers, and to assert its ability to secure order in Gaza, the BBC reports. The freed reporter was taken to the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, who was outsted as...

BBC Reporter Freed in Gaza

Jul 4, 2007 4:28 AM CDT

BBC Reporter Freed in Gaza

Alan Johnston handed over to Hamas after 114 days in captivity

(Newser) - Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter held by an Islamist faction in Gaza for 114 days, was released early today, saying it was "fantastic" to be free. The reporter was handed over to officials of Hamas, now in control of the Gaza Strip, by his captors, a militant splinter group...

Hamas Brings Peace to Gaza
—at Gunpoint

Jul 3, 2007 7:44 AM CDT

Hamas Brings Peace to Gaza —at Gunpoint

Civil army rules the streets with show of force, but no law

(Newser) - Two weeks of Hamas rule have brought calm to Gaza—beaches are crowded, streets are choked with cars and donkey carts—but it is order delivered at the point of a gun. The Executive Force, Hamas's civil army, has seized control, bringing overwhelming force to bear on drug-dealers and clan...

Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry

Jun 29, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry

Food is hard to come by for Palestinians in Hamas-controlled region

(Newser) - Fuel shortages have become familiar, and now food staples like flour and sugar are increasingly hard to come by in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Aid agencies are doing their best to forestall an impending humanitarian crisis, the Globe and Mail reports, but with the main commercial crossing from Israel closed...

Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission

Jun 28, 2007 5:18 AM CDT

Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission

Former Brit chief 'not honest, not helpful'

(Newser) - Hamas, the Palestinian group now in control of Gaza, blasted Tony Blair's appointment as a Mideast peace envoy yesterday, characterizing the former British prime minister as "not honest and not helpful," and a puppet of the US and Israel, the BBC reports. Blair's new role, formalized hours after...

Israel to Release 250 Fatah Prisoners

Jun 25, 2007 4:58 PM CDT

Israel to Release 250 Fatah Prisoners

PM Olmert makes pledge at summit with Arab leaders

(Newser) - Israel plans to free 250 Fatah members as part of an international push to shore up Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Washington Post reports.The announcement came at the close of a summit at a Red Sea resort, where Mideast leaders gathered to talk about dealing with Hamas in the...

Hamas Releases Audio of
Israeli Soldier

Jun 25, 2007 9:49 AM CDT

Hamas Releases Audio of Israeli Soldier

A year after capture, Cpl. Gilad Shalit says his health is failing

(Newser) - In the first proof that he is alive a year after capture, Hamas militants today released an audio recording of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier seized in a cross-border raid near the Gaza strip. In the message posted on the group's web site, Shalit said a year in prison is...

Captors Threaten to
Kill Kidnapped BBC Reporter

Jun 25, 2007 7:15 AM CDT

Captors Threaten to Kill Kidnapped BBC Reporter

Video shows Johnston wearing explosive belt

(Newser) - A newly released video shows kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston wearing an explosive belt that his captors say will be detonated if a rescue attempt is made. The video deflates hope that Hamas would be able to negotiate Johnston's release after taking control of the chaotic Gaza strip. Johnston's family...

Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit

Jun 21, 2007 6:21 PM CDT

Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit

Abbas and Olmert to meet in effort to isolate Hamas

(Newser) - Alarmed by the Hamas takeover in Gaza, Egypt will host a summit Monday, bringing together the Western-backed Palestinian president and the Israeli PM, along with Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, Reuters reports. The move is a show of support for the moderate Mamoud Abbas-led emergency government, and an effort to isolate...

Fatah Elements Exact Revenge

Jun 21, 2007 11:37 AM CDT

Fatah Elements Exact Revenge

Masked militias defy Abbas, run riot against Hamas loyalists in West Bank

(Newser) - In the week since Hamas staged an armed coup in Gaza, violent reprisals by Fatah-linked rivals have plagued the West Bank. Despite Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas' demands for peace, militants loyal to the PM's group have staged massive looting and kidnapping of the Hamas faithful, including both unarmed supporters and...

Israel Takes Fight to Gaza

Jun 20, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

Israel Takes Fight to Gaza

Four Palestinians dead after Israeli tanks and planes battle enter chaotic strip

(Newser) - Israeli aircraft and tanks attacked locations in Gaza today, killing four militants in their first assault on the strip since Hamas took over. An Israeli aerial strike targeted two rocket launchers in northern Gaza as tanks moved into southern Gaza, sparking a shootout that produced the four casualties.

Gazans Stuck in Israel Tunnel

Jun 19, 2007 5:35 PM CDT

Gazans Stuck in Israel Tunnel

No way out for those trapped in Erez passage en route to West Bank

(Newser) - Hundreds of Gazans hoping to escape Hamas are boxed in a filthy tunnel at a major crossing point with Israel, awaiting safe passage to the calmer West Bank. Israeli authorities are citing security concerns in checking the Palestinians, some of whom were wounded when Hamas attacked the tunnel at the...

Bush, Olmert Meet on Palestine

Jun 19, 2007 8:05 AM CDT

Bush, Olmert Meet on Palestine

Israel considers picking up peace process as US resumes aid

(Newser) - President Bush and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert will convene today to discuss future relations with a newly divided Palestine. The US has resumed aid to Mahmoud Abbas' moderate Fatah government, now balkanized from its militant Hamas rivals, and Olmert has signaled his a potential willingness to push peace negotiations by...

US Must Bolster Fatah to
Defeat Hamas

Jun 18, 2007 8:29 PM CDT

US Must Bolster Fatah to Defeat Hamas

Peace with Israel will have to wait, says columnist

(Newser) - In the wake of Fatah's collapse in Gaza, and the subsequent takeover by Hamas, the US and its Mideast allies should focus on cleaning up corruption-tainted Fatah and making it more responsive to the Palestinian people, argues Dennis Ross in the New Republic. That is the only hope for a...

Israel Plans Attack on Gaza

Jun 18, 2007 4:28 AM CDT

Israel Plans Attack on Gaza

Olmert government making plans for military action to destroy Hamas

(Newser) - The Israeli government is readying its army for an invasion of Gaza, in the wake of Hamas' victory in last week's civil war against Fatah there. The London Times, quoting Israeli military sources, says defense minister apparent Ehud Barak has drawn up plans for an incursion with 20,000 troops,...

Abbas Swears in New Gov't

Jun 17, 2007 2:22 PM CDT

Abbas Swears in New Gov't

Outlaws militant arm of Hamas

(Newser) - Mahmoud Abbas swore in his emergency government today, 3 days after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Salam Fayyad, a former World Bank economist, will head the new government, composed largely of independents. Unsurprisingly, Hamas says it will not recognize Abbas's regime, and declares the original unity government still...

Abbas Names New PM,
Asks for Gov't

Jun 15, 2007 9:59 AM CDT

Abbas Names New PM, Asks for Gov't

During eerie calm in Gaza, rivals claim post; Hamas extends amnesty

(Newser) - Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has asked a former finance minister to form an emergency government, hours after the Hamas-Fatah coalition authority collapsed. Salam Fayyad, an independent legislator, will have to contend with Hamas' Ismail Hayineh, who still lays a claim to the PM's office.

Hamas Executes Captives

Jun 14, 2007 9:30 PM CDT

Hamas Executes Captives

Palestinian Authority on brink of collapse as Fatah 'collaborators' shot

(Newser) - The Palestinian Authority is teetering on collapse after Hamas declared victory in Gaza, executing captured Fatah leaders accused of collaborating with Israel. The Palestinian government was dissolved by President Mahmoud Abbas while Fatah militants in the West Bank ominously rounded up Hamas supporters.

Palestinian Government Falls

Jun 14, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Palestinian Government Falls

Abbas declares state of emergency following Hamas takeover of Gaza

(Newser) - Hamas is in control of the Gaza strip this evening and Palestine's unity government dissolved, in what the moderate Fatah party is calling a coup d'etat. President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency in both the West Bank and Gaza, where the hard-line Islamic group seized control of the...