An investigation by the Israeli military has found that the actions of their forces on the ground likely influenced the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August by Hamas. It said the "ground activities in the area, although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence on the terrorists' decision to murder the six hostages".

Israel and Hamas on Wednesday accused each other of obstructing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel withdrew its negotiators from the talks the previous day. Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the refusal by the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas to hand over a list of the names of the hostages it still holds is hindering progress in the negotiations.

Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions while Israel's government said Hamas was reneging on agreements that had already been reached.

Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile was the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah - he was assassinated in Beirut in September as Israel dramatically escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah, with which it had been trading near daily cross-border fire since the day after the 7 October attacks.

JERUSALEM: The Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday (Dec 25) over failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.

Israel assassinated Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran last summer, Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed. The comments by Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has acknowledged killing Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Tehran in July.

Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday over their failure to conclude a cease-fire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in recent days. Hamas said that Israel had laid down further conditions, while Israeli Prime ...

The two sides are inching closer to a deal that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza. However, talks have come close before, only to collapse.

Hamas and Israel traded accusation on Wednesday over delays in finalising a ceasefire and hostage release deal, after both had reported progress in the latest round of Gaza truce talks. Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar,

The past year brought thousands of deaths, regional conflict, indictments and accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide. But Benjamin Netanyahu ends it having transformed his standing in Israel.