Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Australian ministers say Palestinians are being ‘collectively punished’ for Hamas barbarism

Posted on by

Ed Husic backed by fellow Labor frontbencher Anne Aly who says Israel ‘could be investigated’ for alleged war crimes

Palestinians are being “collectively punished for Hamas’s barbarism”, senior federal minister Ed Husic has said, in the strongest condemnation yet of Israel’s reprisals in Gaza by a member of the Australian government.

Fellow Labor frontbencher Anne Aly immediately backed Husic saying it was “difficult to argue” that Palestinians, including 1,000 children who had been killed, were not being “collectively punished”. Aly, the early childhood education minister, suggested Israel could be investigated over whether it had committed war crimes.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Mohamed Salah makes donation and calls for aid to be allowed into Gaza

Posted on by
  • Striker said to have made significant donation
  • ‘The people of Gaza need food and supplies urgently’

Mohamed Salah has appealed for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza after making a donation to help those affected by Israeli air strikes.

The Egypt and Liverpool striker, one of the highest-profile Muslim footballers in the world, made the donation to the Egyptian Red Crescent on Sunday. The amount was undisclosed but is said to be significant.

Continue reading...

Biden tells Israel not to ‘repeat mistakes’ made by US after 9/11

Posted on by

President reaffirmed US support but urged Israel not to be ‘consumed by rage’ as Netanyahu promises to allow aid into Gaza

Joe Biden has appealed to Israel not to be “consumed” by rage in its response to the attack by Hamas, as the US president pledged stalwart support for Israel for its self-defence and the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to allow aid into Gaza via Egypt.

Speaking in Tel Aviv towards the end of his one-day visit to the region, which did not include any meetings with leaders from the Arab world, Biden compared Israel’s predicament after the massacre of more than 1,300 of its citizens to the US’s crisis 22 years ago after the 9/11 attacks. His country had “sought and got justice”, but also “made mistakes”, he said.

Continue reading...

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

The UN Security Council scheduled the vote on a resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict for Wednesday morning.

The resolution initially condemned “the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas” on Israel as well as all violence against civilians, while calling for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver desperately needed aid to millions in Gaza.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak urges MPs not to rush to judgment over Gaza hospital blast

Posted on by

Sunak says British intelligence is working at pace to ‘get to the bottom’ of explosion at al-Ahli hospital

Rishi Sunak has urged MPs not to rush to judgment over the blast at a hospital in Gaza, as he was repeatedly urged by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, to remind Israel to respect international law.

Sunak said British intelligence was working at pace to analyse evidence and “to get to the bottom” of the explosion al-Ahli hospital, which was reported to have killed hundreds of civilians.

Continue reading...

Israel faces blame from regional allies over Gaza hospital deaths

Posted on by

Several Arab states condemn Israel for explosion, which it blames on failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Israel is using media and diplomatic channels to try to convince leaders of Arab countries that Tuesday’s blast at a Gaza hospital was caused by a misfiring jihadist missile, after even its regional allies rushed to blame it for the explosion.

Tuesday’s explosion, which killed hundreds, was blamed by Palestinian officials on an Israeli airstrike. Israel said it was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which denied blame.

Continue reading...

More protests expected across Middle East after Gaza hospital blast

Posted on by

Hezbollah calls for ‘day of rage’ as both sides in war continue to trade blame for deadly explosion

Further furious rallies and protests are expected across the Middle East and north Africa on Wednesday after the blast at a Gaza hospital that left hundreds dead and injured.

Hamas has blamed Tuesday’s explosion at al-Ahli Arab hospital on an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military says the hospital was hit by a rocket barrage launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which has denied responsibility.

Continue reading...

Biden backs Israel’s stance on deadly blast at Gaza hospital

Posted on by

US president tells Benjamin Netanyahu evidence suggests ‘the other team’ is responsible for Tuesday night explosion

Joe Biden has backed Israel’s stance on the devastating blast at a Gaza hospital during a one-day visit to Israel intended to mitigate the humanitarian impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict and prevent it escalating into a regional war.

In remarks to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president said the evidence he had seen suggested it was “the other team” that was responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday night, which caused hundreds of casualties.

Continue reading...

‘They believed it was safe’: death toll rising after blast at Gaza hospital

Posted on by

Health officials say blast killed hundreds as footage shows fire engulfing medical centre owned by Anglican church

Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in a massive explosion at a crowded hospital in Gaza City, in the biggest single loss of life in the blockaded territory in all the five wars between Hamas and Israel since the militants took over the strip in 2007.

The Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said at least 500 people were killed on Tuesday night in what it said was an Israeli airstrike on al-Ahli al-Arabi, also known as the Baptist hospital. A spokesperson for the Gaza civil defence put the number of killed at about 300.

Continue reading...

Nice suspend Youcef Atal for social media post on Israel-Hamas war

Posted on by
  • Club suspend defender Atal ‘until further notice’
  • El Ghazi also suspended by Mainz for pro-Palestinian post

Youcef Atal was suspended by Nice for a social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Ligue 1 club said on Wednesday.

The Algerian international, who has been at the Ligue 1 side since 2018, has since deleted the post. He had been on international duty and was summoned to speak with the club as soon as he returned.

Continue reading...

US and UK spy chiefs warn Middle East crisis could raise domestic terror threat

Posted on by

Heads of MI5 and FBI say Jewish communities and other groups may face danger from lone actors, Iran or militants

The heads of MI5 and the FBI have issued an unprecedented joint warning that the threat of a domestic terrorist attack could rise as a result of the crisis in the Middle East.

The counter-terror chiefs said Jewish communities and organisations, as well as other groups, may face a heightened danger from lone actors, Hamas militants and Iran on British or US soil.

Continue reading...

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed. You can find all of our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here.

Japan will provide $10 million in emergency aid for civilians in Gaza, foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa said on Tuesday.

Japan is the current president of the Group of 7 developed nations and Kamikawa said it was monitoring the situation in Gaza “with concern”, adding that Japan expects the situation to be calmed down as soon as possible.

Kamikawa said she was also making final preparations for talks with her Iranian counterpart.

More from that AP analysis now:

Continue reading...

Hundreds feared dead after blast at Gaza hospital as Biden set to fly in

Posted on by

Health ministry run by Hamas says more than 500 were killed, while civil defence official puts figure at above 300

Hundreds of people are reported to have died in a massive explosion at a hospital in Gaza City, on the eve of Joe Biden’s arrival for a visit that was intended to fend off the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and prevent the conflict escalating into a regional war.

The Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, claimed that more than 500 people had been killed an Israeli airstrike on the al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital which, if confirmed, would make it the deadliest single bombing of all the five wars Israel and Hamas have fought over Gaza.

Continue reading...

Hundreds of Israeli bodies remain unidentified 10 days after Hamas attack

Posted on by

Forensic anthropologists say many of the 350 human remains they are examining may never be identified

On a table, a jumble of bones and fragments are laid out carefully, some grey, others charred black. A skeleton hangs at the side of the room for reference.

Three forensic anthropologists peer over them with the intent focus of professionals trying to solve the most tragic of puzzles. Their job is to identify some of the most badly damaged remains of victims of the Hamas massacres of 7 October.

Continue reading...

Australian citizens in Palestine raise fears about Dfat efforts as rescue buses cancelled

Posted on by

Buses had been scheduled to take Palestinian Australians from Ramallah in West Bank to Jordan but they did not go ahead

Palestinian Australians in the West Bank who fear a surge in violence have raised concerns over the Australian government’s efforts to help them escape the region, after rescue buses to Jordan were cancelled.

With no airport in the West Bank, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) had scheduled buses to take Australian citizens from the Palestinian city of Ramallah over the border into Jordan, due to concerns about the ability of these dual nationals to access flights out of Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.

Continue reading...

Hamas releases first hostage video as senior figure says it has ‘what it needs’ to free all Palestinian prisoners

Posted on by

Footage appears to show an injured 21-year-old Israeli woman who was abducted from Supernova festival

Hamas has released a video apparently showing an injured Israeli hostage, as a senior Hamas leader said the militant group “has what it needs” to free all Palestinians in Israel’s jails.

On Monday night, Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam brigades, released for the first time footage of a hostage, who identifies herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem from Shoham, in central Israel.

Continue reading...

Israel and Colombia in ferocious diplomatic spat over Hamas war

Posted on by

Colombia’s president likens Israel’s actions to Nazis as Israel accuses Gustavo Petro of putting Jewish lives in danger

The Israel-Hamas war has sparked a ferocious diplomatic spat between Israel and Colombia, with Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, likening Israel’s actions to those of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis and Israel accusing Petro of putting Jewish lives in danger and encouraging “the horrific acts of Hamas terrorists” with his “hostile and antisemitic statements”.

The row began one day after Hamas’s unprecedented 7 October attacks when Petro used his official X account to denounce what he called “neo-Nazi” efforts to destroy the Palestinian people, freedom and culture.

Continue reading...

China and Russia harden positions on Gaza as war stirs geopolitical tensions

Posted on by

Conflict highlights growing gulf with west, as other big developing powers face difficult diplomatic choices

China and Russia have hardened their positions towards the conflict in Gaza in recent days, as the war between Israel and Hamas aggravates existing geopolitical tensions and underscores the growing gulf between the cold war allies and western powers such as the US, UK and France.

The Chinese foreign minister said over the weekend that Israel’s bombing campaign had gone “beyond the scope of self-defence” and that it “should stop collective punishment of the people of Gaza”.

Continue reading...

Iran warns of ‘pre-emptive action’ as Gaza ground assault looms

Posted on by

This blog is low closed. The latest live updates are here.

Here are some of the latest pictures from Gaza sent through on the wires:

A few hours ago, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus gave an update on the conflict in which he denied that Israel was targeting civilians in Gaza.

Continue reading...