IBTN Iran, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon News

Trump’s ethnic cleansing idea unlikely to come to fruition: Analysis

Monday, January 27, 2025  
US President Trump’s idea of the mass expulsion of Palestinians in Gaza to Jordan and Egypt is unlikely to ever happen, says Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani.

"Even if he applies pressure on Jordan and Egypt, I think their leaderships will recognise the price of going along with Trump is going to be much greater than the price of resisting him – in terms of the survival of their leaderships for participating in something like this," Rabbani told Al Jazeera, referring to Trump’s plan as "ethnic cleansing".

"This isn’t going to happen because Israel is not going to succeed in ethnically cleansing the Gaza Strip after a war, after having failed to do so during a war."

When former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken went on a tour of Arab states to promote this idea late last year, he was met with a "blanket refusal", Rabbani added.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu is feeling the heat from his coalition partners over the ceasefire deal who view the Israeli leader as succumbing to US demands, the analyst said.
“I think there’s a kind of a mix of personal, political and ideological factors at play. But ultimately, I think the key relationship to look at here is not that between Netanyahu and his coalition partners, or between Israelis and Palestinians, but between Washington and Israel – because Washington is the one calling the shots, and Israel has no choice but to comply.”

Israel and Hamas have agreed on a ceasefire deal to halt war: Qatari PM

Jan 16, 2025  
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have announced that mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza have succeeded.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani made the announcement, saying that the deal will lead to the release of Israeli captives and surging humanitarian aid to Gaza.

ICC sanctions bill sends message of support to Israel from US Congress: Al Jazeera

Friday, Jan 10, 2025  
Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports live from Washington, DC, providing updates on the proposed legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials.

Patty Culhane notes that the bill is expected to pass into law, attributing this development to the ICC's charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Oxfam’s Mahmoud al-Saqqa warns of critical food shortage, limited aid amid Israeli strikes on Gaza

Sunday, October 27, 2024
Oxfam's Gaza food security and livelihood leader, Mahmoud al-Saqqa, joined Al Jazeera from Deir el-Bala, discussing the escalating humanitarian crisis. Al-Saqqa outlined severe shortages of food, medicine, and essentials, worsened by Israeli bombardments and border closures.

He highlighted that more than 90% of Gaza's population now faces acute food insecurity, and children are increasingly malnourished. Aid entry has been minimal, particularly into northern Gaza, where severe restrictions leave residents with few options but displacement.

Al-Saqqa emphasised that humanitarian workers are risking their lives daily, calling for international action against the use of food as a weapon.

Iran’s Khamenei says wrong to downplay Israel’s attack

Sunday, October 27, 2024
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first comments about the ''malignant" Israeli attack on Iran early Saturday in a meeting with the families of the four members of the armed forces who were killed.

The Israelis try to make the impact of the strikes appear larger than reality, but any move inside Iran to make them appear smaller would also be "wrong", he said.

“It would be wrong for us to say that it was nothing and it did not matter,” Khamenei said.

"The calculation error of the Zionist regime must be disrupted. They do not know Iran, its youth, its nation. They have not yet been able to fully comprehend the power, capabilities, initiative and will of the Iranian nation, we must make them understand it."

Khamenei also opened a Hebrew account on X after the Israeli strikes.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar reports from Tehran, Iran.
To discuss this further, we are joined by Menachem Klein, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University, speaking from West Jerusalem.

New tragedies unfolding in northern Gaza as the day progresses: AJE correspondent

Sunday, October 27, 2024  
Israeli forces have killed at least 45 people in two separate attacks on residential buildings in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza.

Dozens more were wounded and Gaza's health ministry is calling one of the strikes a "horrific massacre."

And at least 40 people have either been killed or injured in an attack on Gaza City.

Emergency workers and volunteers came to the scene of the attack on Saturday, after the Israeli military bombed a residential building.

Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Al Khalili went to the scene in Sheikh Radwan.

Palestinians in northern Gaza are struggling to survive with little or no food and water.

The Israeli army has been preventing the entry of humanitarian supplies for the past three weeks.

The UN says it has blocked nearly half of all aid missions into the north, since the beginning of the month.

It has accused the military of carrying out a systematic starvation campaign against Palestinians.

Rosalia Bollen is from UNICEF, and is based in Gaza.
She says the humanitarian crisis there has worsened, with extreme shortages of water, food and medical supplies.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud has the latest developments from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Palestine.

Injuries after truck strikes bus stop in central Israel

Sunday, October 27, 2024  
At least 40 people have been injured some critically after a truck crashed into bus station in Glilot, north of Tel Aviv.
There are reports that several people are trapped under the bus.

Israeli media says the driver was shot.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom has more from Jordan's capital, Amman, because the Israeli government has banned Al Jazeera from reporting inside Israel and in the occupied West Bank.

Abed Abou Shhade is a journalist based in Jaffa.

Israeli forces raid Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, detain staff and patients

Sunday, October 27, 2024  
Israeli forces have raided Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza—one of the last functioning medical facilities in the north of the strip. They detained staff, patients, and destroyed much of the facility. The World Health Organization says it has now re-established contact with its staff after losing communication during the siege.

Al Jazeera’s Michael Appel reports.

Israeli raid leaves north Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital in ruins

Sunday, October 27, 2024  
Israeli soldiers have withdrawn after raiding Kamal Adwan Hospital in besieged northern Gaza, leaving catastrophic damage and death in their wake.

New horrific massacre by Israeli forces in north Gaza

Saturday, October 26, 2024  
The Health Ministry says one apartment block was destroyed in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya town. Palestinians are trapped under the debris after Israeli air strikes and rescue operations are continuing. The attack is a “horrific massacre”, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum joins live for the latest update.

Will Iran respond to Israel's latest attack?

Saturday, October 26, 2024  
Israel launched air strikes against several Iranian military targets early on Saturday.

It said it was in response to what Israel called months of continuous attacks from Iran.

While, Tehran said the damage was limited. Israel has stepped up its attacks against Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Iran. Now, the Iranian leadership is threatening to retaliate.  But could this cycle of violence lead to a broader regional conflict?

Presenter: Cyril Vanier
Guests:
Yossi Beilin - Former Israeli Minister of Justice who initiated negotiations at the Oslo Peace Accords.
Mohammad Marandi - Professor of American Studies at the University of Tehran.  
Roxane Farmanfarmaian - Professor of Modern Middle East Politics at the University of Cambridge.