Israel artist refuses to open Israel pavilion at Venice Biennale pending cease-fire, hostage release

VENICE, Italy — The artist and curators representing Israel at this year’s Venice Biennale announced they won’t open the Israeli pavilion exhibition until there is a cease-fire in Gaza and an agreement to release hostages. Their decision was posted on a sign on the Israeli national pavilion Tuesday, the first day of media previews, just … Read more

Another top donor says it will resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Another top donor to the U.N. agency aiding Palestinians said Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars of support in response to Israeli allegations against the organization. Sweden’s reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was preparing … Read more

U.S. President Joe Biden again tells Netanyahu that Rafah civilians must be protected

President Joe Biden (L) listens to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he joins a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet in Tel Aviv. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday again told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he should not proceed with military action in Rafah without a credible and executable plan to protect … Read more

Live updates | Hamas is expected to respond soon to a proposal that includes hostage releases

A senior Hamas official said Friday the group will respond “very soon” to a proposal that includes extended pauses in Gaza fighting and phased exchanges of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas and other militants in Gaza are holding dozens of hostages, after having abducted about 250 during their deadly Oct. 7 attack … Read more

Movie Review: Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard anchor ‘Memory,’ a thorny drama with a tender heart

Pain and trauma permeate Michel Franco’s new drama “ Memory, ” about two lost souls who find surprising comfort in one another. Both Jessica Chastain’s Sylvia and Peter Sarsgaard’s Saul are hostage to their own minds, though in vastly different ways. Hers haunts her. His is failing rapidly. And neither are entirely trustworthy. “Memory,” expanding … Read more

Bombs batter Gaza Strip after truce collapses

Israeli bombs hit the Gaza Strip Friday morning after a week-long truce with Hamas expired and Israeli forces accused the Palestinian militant group of breaching the terms of their agreement. “Following sirens that sounded in communities near Gaza, the IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted a launch from Gaza,” a post on the Israeli Defense … Read more