Israelis and Palestinians End Dark Year, With No End in Sight to War

A Palestinian man carries the body of a child after it was unearthed from the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on the Zawayda area of the Gaza Strip - AFP
A Palestinian man carries the body of a child after it was unearthed from the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on the Zawayda area of the Gaza Strip - AFP
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Israelis and Palestinians End Dark Year, With No End in Sight to War

A Palestinian man carries the body of a child after it was unearthed from the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on the Zawayda area of the Gaza Strip - AFP
A Palestinian man carries the body of a child after it was unearthed from the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on the Zawayda area of the Gaza Strip - AFP

Israelis and Palestinians end a dark year on Sunday, with no end in sight to the deadliest military offensive on Gaza, triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

There has been no respite from Israel's air raids, artillery fire or ground fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, to the despair of Palestinians surviving the onslaught.

"We were hoping that 2024 would arrive under better auspices and that we would be able to celebrate the new year at home with our families," said Mahmoud Abou Shahma in a camp for displaced people in Rafah, on the Egyptian border.

"We hope that the war will end and that we will be able to return to our homes and live in peace", the 33-year-old from Khan Yunis told AFP.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says the Israeli military campaign has killed at least 21,672 people, mostly women and children -- by far the heaviest death toll of any Israeli operation.

On Sunday the ministry reported numerous deaths in overnight strikes on central Gaza's Zawayda and the nearby Al-Mughazi refugee camp.

The Israeli army says 170 soldiers have been killed in combat inside Gaza.

An Israeli siege imposed after October 7, following years of crippling blockade, has led to dire shortages of food, safe water, fuel and medicine in Gaza, with aid convoys able to offer only sporadic relief.

The UN says more than 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people have fled their homes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the growing threat of infectious diseases and the UN says Gaza is "just weeks away" from famine.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel's war against Hamas will last for "many months" -- until the Palestinian militant group has been eliminated.

"We will guarantee that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," he told a news conference.

As Netanyahu spoke, more than a thousand relatives and supporters of the hostages demonstrated in Tel Aviv to maintain pressure on his government to bring their loved ones home.

"I hope there's going to be another deal, even a partial deal or some will be released. I'm trying to hold on to every shred of hope," said Nir Shafran, 45.

Gal Gilboa-Dalal has been traumatized since the rave he attended with his brother Guy was stormed by Hamas commandos on October 7.

"I was there with him and he was taken away the minute I wasn't with him. So I went with him and I came back without him and it's like time has stopped ever since," he said.

In Khan Yunis, medics at Nasser hospital described severe shortages.

"The hospital is receiving a lot more (patients) than its capacity," doctor Ahmad Abu Mustafa said in footage shared by the WHO.

"The beds are full... and we are basically short on all sorts of medicine supplies."

The fighting has put 23 hospitals and 53 health centers out of service, while 104 ambulances have been destroyed, the health ministry said.

In Zawayda, Palestinians pulled the body of a child from under the rubble on Saturday after an Israeli strike.

"We pulled (out) nine martyrs, who were members of a very peaceful family. Two adjacent houses were targeted," said the area's civil defence director, Rami al-Aidi.

International mediators -- who last month brokered a one-week truce that saw more than 100 hostages released and some aid enter Gaza -- continue in their efforts to secure a new pause in fighting.

US news outlet Axios and Israeli website Ynet, both citing unnamed Israeli officials, reported that Qatari mediators had told Israel that Hamas was prepared to resume talks on new hostage releases in exchange for a ceasefire.

A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian plan proposing renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to Hamas said.

Islamic Jihad, another armed group fighting alongside Hamas, said on Saturday that Palestinian factions were "in the process" of evaluating the Egyptian proposal.

A response will come "within days", the group's chief negotiator, Muhammad al-Hindi, said.

Asked about the negotiations on Saturday, Netanyahu said Hamas had been "giving all kinds of ultimatums that we didn't accept".

"We are seeing a certain shift (but) I don't want to create an expectation."



Where Do Trade Talks Stand in the Rush to Avert Higher US Tariffs?

FILE PHOTO: A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at Hai Phong port, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at Hai Phong port, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo/File Photo
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Where Do Trade Talks Stand in the Rush to Avert Higher US Tariffs?

FILE PHOTO: A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at Hai Phong port, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at Hai Phong port, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo/File Photo

As a Wednesday deadline approaches for steeper US tariffs to hit dozens of economies ranging from the EU to India, trade negotiations with President Donald Trump's administration are coming down to the wire.

The levies taking effect July 9 were announced in April, with the White House citing a lack of "reciprocity" in trade relations. But they were swiftly halted, allowing room for talks.

Days before their reimposition, where do things stand?

EU: 'Ready' for deal

The European Union said it is "ready for a deal" with Washington, with the bloc's trade chief meeting his US counterparts Thursday.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was targeting an "agreement in principle" when it came to the July 9 cutoff, AFP reported.

With no deal, the US tariff on EU goods doubles from the "baseline" of 10 percent to 20 percent -- with Trump previously threatening a 50 percent level.

Vietnam: A pact with uncertainties

Washington and Hanoi unveiled a trade pact Wednesday with much fanfare and few details, but it allowed Vietnam to avoid Trump's initial 46 percent tariff.

Under the agreement, Vietnamese goods face a minimum 20 percent tariff while products made elsewhere face a 40 percent levy -- a clause to restrict "transshipping" by Chinese groups.

But there remain questions on how the higher levy would apply to products using foreign parts.

There is also a risk that Beijing will adopt retaliatory measures, analysts warned.

Japan: Rice, autos at stake

Despite being a close US ally and major source of foreign investment, Japan might not escape Trump's tariff hike.

Tokyo's trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa has made numerous trips to Washington through the end of June.

But Trump recently criticized what he described as Japan's reluctance to open up further to US rice and auto exports.

"I'm not sure we're going to make a deal," Trump said, adding that the country could pay a tariff of "30 percent, 35 percent, or whatever the number is that we determine."

India: A good position

Indian manufacturers and exporters want to believe they can avoid a 26 percent tariff.

Negotiations between both countries have been going well for weeks, and Trump himself suggested at the end of June that a "very big" agreement was imminent.

Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, said the feedback he received "suggests positive developments." But he maintained that the situation was fluid.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stressed that agriculture and dairy products remain "very big red lines."

South Korea: Muted optimism

Seoul, which is already reeling from US tariffs on steel and autos, wants to avert a sweeping 25 percent levy on its other exports.

Cooperation in shipbuilding could be a bargaining chip, but "at this stage, both sides still haven't clearly defined what exactly they want," said new President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday.

"I can't say with confidence that we'll be able to wrap everything up by July 8," he added.

Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan in the wings

Other Asian economies including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, which faces a 49 percent tariff, wait with bated breath.

Indonesia has indicated willingness to boost energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the United States. Bangladesh meanwhile is proposing to buy Boeing planes and step up imports of US agriculture products.

Taiwan, for whom Washington is a vital security partner, faces a 32 percent duty without a pact.

Although both sides have faced bumps along the way, Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said "negotiators from both sides are working diligently" to find a path forward.

Switzerland: Hope for delay

Switzerland's government said Washington has acknowledged it was acting in good faith, and assumes its tariff level will remain at 10 percent on July 9 while negotiations continue.

But without a decision by the president as of the end of June, Switzerland did not rule out that levies could still rise to a promised 31 percent.