Freed Israeli hostage says dog was ‘moral support’ in Hamas captivity

JERUSALEM: Freed Israeli hostage Mia Leimberg credited her pet dog Bella with providing “moral support” during the weeks she spent in captivity in the hands of Gaza militants.
Leimberg, her mother Gabriela and her aunt Clara Marman were among the Israeli hostages released by Hamas and its allies under a temporary truce deal before it fell apart on Friday.


Senior UN official denounces ‘blatant disregard’ in Israel-Hamas war after many UN sites are hit

BEIRUT: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told The Associated Press on Wednesday there is no safe haven in besieged Gaza for civilians — not even in UN shelters and so-called “safe zones” designated by Israel.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, said in an interview with the AP that since the outbreak if the Israel-Hamas war, more than 80 UN facilities in the Gaza Strip have been hit.


UK’s Sunak tells Netanyahu in call of disappointment at new fighting in Gaza

LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in Gaza in a call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, his office said in a readout.
“The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. He expressed disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in Gaza, which had allowed hostages to be released,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.


Israel forces move into Gaza’s second-largest city

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israel said Tuesday that its troops had entered Gaza’s second-largest city as intensified bombardment sent streams of ambulances and cars racing to hospitals with wounded and dead Palestinians, including children, in a bloody new phase of the war.


US sales of Palestinian keffiyehs soar, even as wearers targeted

WASHINGTON: A growing number of Americans are donning the keffiyeh, the distinctive patterned scarf that’s closely linked with Palestinians, to demand a ceasefire to Israel’s attacks on Gaza or to signal their support for Palestinians.
Sales of the scarves have jumped since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, US distributors say, even as keffiyehs have been forcibly removed by security forces at some protests and wearers report being targeted for verbal and physical abuse.