Israel orders Al Jazeera to close its local operation and seizes some of its equipment

By TIA GOLDENBERG and JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close. The move Sunday escalates a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. Al Jazeera went off Israel’s main satellite and cable providers in the hours after the order. However, its website and multiple online streaming links still operated Sunday. The network has reported the Israeli-Hamas war nonstop since the militants’ initial cross-border attack Oct. 7 and has maintained 24-hour coverage in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s grinding ground offensive that has killed and wounded members of its own staff.