Israel
Israeli war spending in Gaza, Lebanon tops $30 billion in 2024 -Finance Ministry
Israel spent 112 billion shekels ($31 billion) on its military conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon in 2024, the Finance Ministry said in a report on Monday.
The fate of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is "largely a question that is going to be answered" by the leader of the Palestinian militant group, Deputy CIA Director David Cohen said on Wednesday.
A view of Gaza during sunset, Reuters/Ricardo Moraes
The fate of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is "largely a question that is going to be answered" by the leader of the Palestinian militant group, Deputy CIA Director David Cohen said on Wednesday.
Cohen did not refer to Hamas' leader, Yahya Sinwar, by name. The Israelis were showing seriousness in the negotiations, Cohen told an intelligence and national security summit in Washington.
Mediators from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been working to strike a deal between the sides and prevent a broader regional war.
On those efforts, Cohen said: "There may be episodes where people would step back from the brink, but I don't think anybody can be confident that that effort to control escalation is something that ... any party in that region" can control.
Reporting by Jonathan Landay
Israel spent 112 billion shekels ($31 billion) on its military conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon in 2024, the Finance Ministry said in a report on Monday.
Lebanon's Defence Minister Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart Murhaf Abu Qasra agreed on a ceasefire, the Lebanese and Syrian defence ministries said in statements on Monday, as cross-border clashes in the last two days left 10 dead.
The interim government in Damascus will take part on Monday in an annual international conference to gather aid pledges for Syria, facing dire humanitarian problems and an uncertain political transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
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