24/03/2025

MONDAY | MAR 24, 2025

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Hamas political leader, wife killed

o Israel presses on ground offensive

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation warning on X for residents in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah in the south of the strip, saying the military was launching an onslaught there to eradicate “terrorist organisations”. In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of assassinating Bardaweel, who it said was praying along with his wife when an Israeli missile struck their tent shelter in Khan Younis. “His blood, that of his wife and martyrs, will remain fuelling the battle of liberation and independence. The criminal enemy will not break our determination and will,” said the group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity. He has said the aim of the new campaign is to force the group to give up remaining hostages. Hamas de facto government head Essam Addalees and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were among those killed by Israeli strikes on Tuesday, in addition to several other officials. Health officials said at least 400 people, more than half of them women and children, were killed on Tuesday. Palestinian medics said an Israeli plane bombed a house in Rafah, wounding several people. Hamas has accused Israel of breaking the terms of the January

CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel yesterday, officials of the group said, as residents reported an escalation in Israel’s six-day-old military campaign. Media reported the airstrike on Khan Younis killed Bardaweel, a member of the group’s political office, and his wife. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. Taher Al-Nono, the media adviser of the Hamas leadership, mourned Bardaweel’s death in a post on his Facebook page. After two months of relative calm in the war that began more than 17 months ago, Gazans were again fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new all-out air and ground campaign on Tuesday against Hamas. Explosions echoed throughout the north, central and southern Gaza Strip early yesterday, as Israeli planes hit several targets in those areas in what witnesses said was an escalation of the attack that began on Tuesday. At least 30 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah and Khan Younis so far yesterday, health authorities said. Those killed included three municipal employees, medics said.

Palestinians inspect the site where an airstrike killed Bardaweel and his wife in Khan Younis yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

ceasefire agreement by refusing to begin negotiations for an end to the war and a withdrawal of its troops from Gaza. But Hamas has said it is still willing to negotiate and was studying “bridging” proposals from US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The return to the airstrikes and

ground have devastated Gaza has drawn calls for a ceasefire from Arab and European countries. Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement calling on Israel to restore access for humanitarian aid. Israel has blocked the entry of goods into Gaza and Netanyahu’s operations that

foreign policy adviser, Ophir Falk, accused Hamas of taking aid for its own use, a charge Hamas has previously denied. The Israeli military offensive has killed more than 49,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities and devastated much of the coastal enclave. – Reuters

Pope to return to Vatican after hospitalisation VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis is to return to his residence in the Vatican after his doctors said that was the best place for him to recover following a five-week hospitalisation for pneumonia. The 88-year-old head of the pope’s reign, and the fourth since his election in 2013. The increasingly fragile state if this seems strange, is the worst place to recover because it’s where one can contract more infections.” The doctor said “the pope

Russia hopes for ‘progress’ at Saudi talks MOSCOW: Russia is hoping to achieve “some progress” at talks in Saudi Arabia today, a Russian negotiator told state media before the United States meets delegations from both Ukraine and Russia in a bid to halt the three-year conflict. Moscow has rejected a joint US-Ukraine proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, suggesting instead halting aerial strikes on energy facilities. Despite that offer, both sides have continued to launch aerial attacks in the run-up to the negotiations. US negotiators will meet separately with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia today, in what US envoy Keith Kellogg described as “shuttle diplomacy” between hotel rooms. Despite the flurry of diplomacy and push from US President Donald Trump, a breakthrough has so far proved elusive. “We hope to achieve at least some progress,” Russian senator Grigory Karasin, who will lead the Russian delegation, told the Zvezda TV channel. He said he and fellow negotiator, FSB advisor Sergey Beseda would take a “combative and constructive” mood into the talks. A senior Ukrainian official said a day earlier that Kyiv hopes to secure agreement “at least” on a partial ceasefire covering attacks on energy, infrastructure and at sea. Kyiv is sending its defence minister to the negotiations. “We are going with the mood to fight for the solution of at least one issue,” Karasin told Zvezda, which is owned by Russia’s Defence Ministry. Russia’s choice of negotiators for the talks has raised questions. Both are outside of traditional diplomatic decision-making institutions such as the Kremlin, Foreign Ministry or Defence Ministry. Karasin is a career diplomat who now sits in Russia’s upper house of parliament, while Beseda is a long-time FSB officer and now an advisor to the security service’s director. – AFP

over who might lead the busy schedule of religious events leading up to Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar. The pope has missed the Angelus prayers, normally recited by the pontiff every Sunday, for five straight weeks. When asked on Monday by reporters about Francis resigning, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin replied: “No, no, no, absolutely not.” Catholics and others worldwide have been praying for the pope’s speedy recovery. Many have been leaving flowers, candles and notes for Francis outside the Gemelli hospital. – AFP sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. A year later, Tehran started breaching the pact’s curbs on Tehran’s nuclear programme and has far surpassed its limits. Months of indirect talks between Tehran and Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden to revive the 2015 nuclear deal failed. “In my opinion, the 2015 pact in its current form cannot be revived. It would not be in our interest because our nuclear situation has advanced significantly and we can no longer return to previous conditions,” Araqchi said. – Reuters

of his health has spurred speculation about whether Francis could opt to step down and make way for a successor, as his predecessor Benedict XVI had done. The pope’s doctors, speaking to reporters at Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, said Francis was doing better. The Vatican on Wednesday had said he was now breathing without having to use an oxygen mask. But Alfieri said: “Further progress will take place at his home, because a hospital, even

will leave and return to Saint Martha’s House” in the Vatican, where Francis has his residential suite. However Alfieri dismissed the possibility of Francis quickly getting back to his regular duties. “Convalescence, by definition, is a period of rest. So it is clear that during the convalescence period he will not be able to take on his daily usual appointments.” Questions therefore remain

Catholic Church was “very happy” to hear his health had improved sufficiently for him to leave the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, one of the doctors, Sergio Alfieri, said on Saturday. But the pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, still faced a recovery period of “at least two months”, Alfieri cautioned. His hospitalisation since that date was the longest of the

US must change approach for negotiations, says Iran DUBAI: Talks with the US are impossible unless Washington changes its pressure policy, the Iranian foreign minister said yesterday, as Iran prepares to respond to President Donald Trump’s letter proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal. Trump said earlier this saying negotiating with the Trump administration would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran”. However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Tehran would soon reply to both the letter’s “threats and opportunities”. While leaving the door open rounds of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales since Trump’s return to the White House. “Under these conditions, it is no longer possible to enter into talks with America. Unless certain approaches change,” Araqchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media. “When we say no to

month that he had sent the letter to Iran’s top authority, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal”. Khamenei rejected the US offer for talks as “a deception”,

negotiations with the US, it stems from a history and experience,” he said, referring to Trump’s withdrawal from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers in his first term. After ditching the nuclear pact in 2018, Trump reimposed

for a nuclear pact with Tehran, Trump has reinstated the “maximum pressure” campaign he applied in his first term as president, including efforts to drive down the country’s oil exports to zero. The US has issued four