GAZA -- Hamas will not change its positions and demands for the Gaza ceasefire talks after Israel targeted its negotiation team in the Qatari capital Doha, the Palestinian movement said on Thursday.
"We reiterate that this heinous crime will not succeed in changing our firm positions and clear demands to stop the aggression against our people, the complete withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, a genuine exchange of prisoners, relief for our people, and reconstruction," senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement. (Gaza-Hamas-Ceasefire)
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JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday that "there will never be a Palestinian state" as he signed an agreement to fast-track construction in the contentious E1 area of the occupied West Bank, a project the international community has long warned could shatter prospects for Palestinian statehood.
The land, a corridor east of Jerusalem between the city and the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, is seen as especially sensitive because construction there would sever East Jerusalem from the northern West Bank, undermining territorial contiguity for a future Palestinian state. (Israel-Netanyahu-Palestinian State)
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KHARTOUM -- Sudan's army said on Thursday it has taken control of the strategic city of Bara in North Kordofan state after months of fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"The forces have entered the city of Bara ... and cleansed it," the army spokesman's office said in a statement, vowing to press on "step by step" until the country is rid of militias and mercenaries.
An eyewitness in Bara told Xinhua that the city had seen heavy battles since Wednesday morning, and that by midday Thursday the army had taken control of its main neighborhoods and key facilities. (Sudan-Army-Bara City)
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SANAA -- Yemen's Houthi group said on Thursday it has launched a "hypersonic ballistic missile" and three drones toward Israel, while the Israeli military said it intercepted two threats with no damage reported.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement on the group's al-Masirah TV that the missile and one drone targeted unspecified sites in Israel's Negev desert, while two other drones were aimed at Ramon Airport in the southern city of Eilat. He described the attacks as "successful." (Yemen-Houthis-Israel) ■
