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Bassam Masoud
For Bassam Masoud's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Gaza on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2024
Israel said to boycott Cairo cease-fire talks over hostage list
In past negotiations Hamas has sought to avoid discussing the well-being of individual hostages until after terms for their release are set.
Smoke rises from inside Gaza on Sunday. Gaza health authorities, which do not differentiate between militants and civilians in their tallies, said on Sunday more than 27,300 Palestinians have been confirmed killed since the Israel-Hamas war began.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
Hamas hounds Israeli forces in main Gaza cities
There has been persistent fighting in Gaza City in the north of the densely populated enclave, and in Khan Younis to the south.
Netanyahu said Israel would not succeed in freeing the remaining hostages held by Hamas without applying military pressure.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 27, 2023
Israel launches more Gaza strikes as Netanyahu says Hamas must be destroyed
Israeli military said its air force carried out a strike against 100 Hamas targets, including tunnel shafts, to assist ground forces in Gazan suburb.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2023
Civilians in Gaza navigating 'human chessboard,' says U.N. official
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the fight against Hamas militants amid international pressure to reduce harm to civilians.
Saeed Al-Shorbaji, the supervisor of Nasser hospital's morgue, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in November. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in early December.
WORLD / Society
Dec 22, 2023
As Gaza death toll hits 20,000, many fear the true count is higher
Only bodies identified or claimed by relatives are included in the official figures, and thousands more are believed to be buried beneath the rubble.
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023
Egypt aims to broker Gaza ceasefire amid Hamas and Israel demands
Chances for a second truce is slim with Hamas demanding a permanent end to Israeli offensive, which Israel has ruled out.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released on Nov. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
U.S.-led force to patrol Red Sea in response to Houthi attacks
Participating countries led by the United States include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.
Damaged buildings following an Israeli air strike on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2023
U.N. urges Gaza cease-fire as divide between Israel and U.S. grows
U.S. President Joe Biden told the longtime ally its "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians was hurting international support.
Palestinian children grieve those killed following Israeli airstrikes, at the Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2023
Palestinians starve as Israel's war on Gaza drives fear of exodus
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes and residents say it is impossible to find refuge or food.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
WORLD / Politics
Dec 8, 2023
U.S. criticizes Israel on Gaza as civilian death toll mounts
Israel says it must wipe out the Hamas militant group and is doing everything possible to get civilians out of harm's way.
A rescuer carries a child as he walks amid the rubble of a school hit during an Israeli strike before the start of a four-day truce in the battles between Israel and Hamas militants, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2023
Gaza truce appears to hold as Israel and Hamas start cease-fire
There were no major reports of bombings, artillery strikes or rocket attacks as Israel and Hamas started a four-day cease-fire in Gaza on Friday.

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan