United States President Barack Obama labelled it a "moment of opportunity"; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, "Both sides and both leaders recognise there may not ever be another chance."
An Invercargill cafe that refused to serve Israeli nationals during the conflict between Israel and Palestine has apologised for its conduct and the matter has now been resolved, the Human Rights Commission said today.
The United States is preparing to donate more than US$900 million for the reconstruction of Gaza, a US official said as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepared to attend a donors conference for the war-ravaged territory next week.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says border crossings with Gaza will not be fully opened until a captured Israeli soldier is freed.
Israeli warplanes have pounded smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, a day after a Palestinian bomb killed an Israeli soldier and the Israeli military vowed to respond harshly to any further attacks.
About 20 protesters stood outside a Turkish cafe in Invercargill today, protesting against owner Mustafa Tekinkaya banning Israeli customers while the bombing of Gaza continues.
About 150 protesters converged on Parliament today to urge the Government to condemn Israel's assault of the Gaza Strip.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Tuesday (US time) he is heading to Gaza. A top priority will be to get all border crossings opened, he said, not only for food and medicine but for desperately needed construction materials which Israel has refused to allow in since Hamas seized power in June 2007.
Families began their desperate search as soon as Israeli soldiers abandoned this devastated refugee camp Sunday, picking by hand through mounds of concrete and steel for the bodies of dead relatives, belongings and even scraps of bombs to sell as recycled aluminum.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid will be needed immediately to help Gaza's 1.4 million people and billions of dollars will be required to rebuild its shattered buildings and infrastructure, the UN humanitarian chief said.
Protesters called for the New Zealand Government to take a stand on Israel's bombing of Gaza as they remembered the victims of the conflict during a peaceful protest in Dunedin on Saturday.
Israeli artillery shells crashed into the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, drawing a sharp protest from the UN chief as he visited Israel to appeal for a truce.
Witnesses say Israeli ground troops are advancing into crowded residential areas of Gaza City and thousands of terrified residents are fleeing their homes.
Egypt and Hamas are close to a deal for a 10-day cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group in Gaza, officials said, as the Palestinians said the death toll from the Israeli offensive passed 1,000.
Venezuela and Bolivia have broken off diplomatic relations with Israel to protest its military offensive in Gaza.
Demonstrators supporting Israel's right to defend itself gathered outside Parliament today, waving Israeli flags and calling on Hamas to end rocket attacks on civilians.
The UN Security Council has called for an "immediate" and "durable" cease-fire in Gaza in a resolution even as fighting between Israel and Hamas rages
Israel says it was shocked and distressed by a senior Vatican cardinal's likening of Gaza under Israel's military offensive to a concentration camp.
Demonstrators outraged by the conflict in the Gaza Strip threw shoes and burned Israeli and United States flags in Auckland today, in a passionate but generally well-behaved protest.
Israel will drive a hard bargain to halt its offensive in the Gaza Strip, with no truce deal likely unless it crushes Hamas' ability to launch rockets and smuggle in weapons.
