Netanyahu Signals Cease-Fire Deal Could Be Shaping Up as Deaths Top 39,000

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Netanyahu Signals Cease-Fire Deal Could Be Shaping Up as Deaths Top 39,000

July 23, 2024

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardments in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that a cease-fire deal that would free dozens of hostages in Gaza could be taking shape. Netanyahu is in Washington, where he is to address Congress.

The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of part of a crowded area in the Gaza Strip it had designated a humanitarian zone,. The Health Ministry in Gaza says over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the nine-month war.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States are pushing Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would stop the fighting and free remaining hostages. Netanyahu’s office has said a negotiating team will be sent to continue talks Thursday.

In China, Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a declaration on forming a unity government and ending a long rift. But previous declarations have failed, including a similar deal in 2011.

Here’s the latest:

Israeli raid in a Palestinian city in the West Bank kills 5, including 3 militants
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces raided a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank killing at least five people, including three militants, the Israeli military, Hamas and the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said two women were among the dead.

The military said a drone struck militants in the area of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem overnight, killing Ashraf Nafa, who the military called a local senior Hamas operative. It said another alleged militant, Mohammed Awad, was also killed, and said both had been behind attacks on Israeli soldiers. The Israeli statement did not mention the women.

Hamas identified Nafa as a member and said two other militants with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, including Awad, were also killed.

For several years, the Israeli military has been carrying out near nightly raids in the West Bank that intensified when the war in Gaza erupted. The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing violence, many of them in clashes with Israeli soldiers but others while throwing stones or protesting. People not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis have been on the rise in the territory.

Albania’s Opposition Protests and Demands a Caretaker Cabinet

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Opposition supporters in Albania protested again Monday, demanding that the government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker Cabinet before next year’s parliamentary election.

Fearful Residents Flee Tampa Bay Region as Hurricane Milton Takes Aim at Florida Coast

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Fearful Florida residents streamed out of the Tampa Bay region Tuesday ahead of what could be a once-in-a-century direct hit from Hurricane Milton, as crews worked furiously to prevent furniture, appliances and other waterlogged wreckage from the last big storm from becoming deadly projectiles in this one.

Cyprus Breached Right of 2 Syrian Cousins to Seek Asylum, European Court Says

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Europe’s top human rights court ruled on Tuesday that Cyprus violated the right of two Syrian nationals to seek asylum in the island nation after keeping them, and more than two dozen other people, aboard a boat at sea for two days before sending them back to Lebanon.

Voters in the US Don’t Directly Elect the President. Sometimes that can Undermine the Popular Will

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Award-Winning Greek Actor Thanos Tokakis Discusses Acting and the Film Industry

NEW YORK – On the occasion of the New York Greek Film Expo 2024, the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the Hellenic Film Society USA (HFS), presented a fascinating discussion with award-winning Greek actor, writer, and this year’s New York Greek Film Expo host Thanos Tokakis.

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