Ukraine authorities order mass evacuations from around devastated Kupiansk
Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of families from dozens of villages near the devastated northeastern city of Kupiansk, citing a “w...
Israel prepared on Thursday to receive the bodies of Kfir Bibas, a nine-month-old baby, and his four-year-old brother, Ariel, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Their deaths have become a tragic symbol of the suffering caused by the attack.
Palestinian militant groups said the bodies of the two children, their mother, Shiri Bibas, and another hostage, Oded Lifschitz, would be handed over as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. The agreement, arranged last month with the help of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, has allowed both sides to exchange hostages and prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "a very difficult day for Israel. An upsetting day, a day of grief."
The Bibas family was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near Gaza, when Hamas fighters attacked on October 7. The children’s father, Yarden Bibas, was also taken hostage.
In November 2023, Hamas claimed the children and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israeli authorities never confirmed their deaths. Even as the exchange was about to happen, some Israelis still hoped they were alive.
"Shiri and the kids became a symbol," said Yiftach Cohen, a resident of Nir Oz, a village that lost about a quarter of its people in the attack, either killed or kidnapped. "I still hope they will be alive."
Yarden Bibas was released earlier in a hostage exchange, but his family says their "journey is not over" until they know for sure what happened to the children and their mother.
This is the first time the bodies of hostages will be returned under the ceasefire agreement. DNA tests will be done to confirm the identities of the remains.
Even though both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire, the deal, which started on January 19, has continued, allowing more hostage exchanges.
Netanyahu has faced criticism from far-right politicians in his government for accepting the deal. Some in Israel believe it helps Hamas and lets the group stay in control of Gaza.
However, public support for the ceasefire is strong, with thousands of Israelis protesting to demand the government continue hostage talks until all captives are released.
On Saturday, six more living hostages will be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors held by Israel.
Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas released 33 hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees in the first phase.
So far, 19 Israeli hostages have been freed, along with five Thai nationals, who were unexpectedly released.
Talks for the next phase of the ceasefire are expected to focus on the release of about 60 more hostages, though less than half are believed to be alive. The deal could also involve Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza to bring an end to the war.
A final agreement is uncertain, as Israel and Hamas remain divided over who will control Gaza. Israel has said that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority should govern the territory.
The situation has become even more complicated after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested moving Palestinians out of Gaza. Critics say this would amount to forced displacement and have condemned Trump’s idea of turning Gaza into a waterfront property under U.S. control.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Hamas handed over more bodies of deceased hostages to Israel on Tuesday (14 October), one sign of progress after a number of apparent setbacks in the day since U.S. President Donald Trump touted his plan to end the Gaza war.
The Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen is continuing a three-nation tour of the South Caucasus, visiting Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia between 13 and 15 October.
The presidential administration in Kyrgyzstan has initiated a public discussion on a draft law proposing amendments to the Constitution that would reintroduce the death penalty.
Elina Valtonen, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, welcomed the joint decision by Azerbaijan and Armenia to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group, voicing optimism that the process would conclude by December 2025.
The United Kingdom has completely lifted its arms embargo on Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to a written statement by Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty, published on the UK Parliament’s website.
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