Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Trapped by debt: migrant workers in Israel unable to escape conflict

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Foreign workers in Israel often have to pay exorbitant ‘placement fees’ to secure work in the country, which has left many of them with too much debt to leave

Migrant workers in Israel have said that they are unable to return home to their families after the 7 October attacks as they are trapped in debt from the high recruitment fees they had to pay for their jobs.

It is understood that at least 50 migrant workers died in Israel during the attacks by the Hamas militant group; 30 Thai nationals, four Filipinos and 10 Nepalis are so far known to have been killed, according to government and media reports. There are reportedly more than 100,000 foreign workers in Israel, with the majority working as caregivers, as well as in agriculture and construction.

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Plan for UK to host thousands of Gaza refugees drawn up by charities

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Groups urge government to introduce emergency family reunion scheme modelled on initiative for Ukrainians

A blueprint setting out how Britain could provide refuge to thousands of Palestinians from Gaza has been drawn up by a coalition of charities and groups.

Organisations including the Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Doctors of the World, Helen Bamber Foundation and City of Sanctuary have raised concerns about the conflict worsening the Palestinian refugee crisis.

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‘An atmosphere of fear’: free speech under threat in Israel, activists say

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Jewish and Arab Israelis detained, fired from jobs and even attacked for expressing sentiments interpreted as pro-Hamas

Two activists from a Jewish-Arab peace movement were recently detained in Israel for putting up posters with a message that the police deemed to be offensive. The message was: “Jews and Arabs, we will get through this together.”

The activists, members of Standing Together, had their posters confiscated, as well as T-shirts printed with peace slogans in Hebrew and Arabic.

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Missing 16-year-old British girl was killed in Hamas attack, family says

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Noiya Sharabi confirmed dead along with sister, Yahel, and mother, Lianne, after raid on Israeli kibbutz

A 16-year-old British girl who went missing after Hamas targeted an Israeli kibbutz was murdered during the attack along with her sister and mother, her family have said.

Noiya Sharabi was feared kidnapped after the 7 October attack on Be’eri kibbutz in which her 13-year-old sister and mother were killed. However, on Sunday her family told the BBC that she too had been murdered.

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Pressure grows on Israel to negotiate release of Gaza hostages

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Families given glimmer of hope by release of two US citizens, but fear time is running out before ground invasion

Pressure has intensified on Israel to negotiate the release of more than 200 people held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, with desperate families begging officials to help free their loved ones before an anticipated ground invasion.

An Israeli military spokesperson announced on Sunday that more than 212 people were held in Gaza, as officials worked to identify and locate those missing after a deadly incursion by Hamas on 7 October.

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Al-Qaida and IS call on followers to strike Israeli, US and Jewish targets

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Israeli military offensive in Gaza offers opportunity to extremist groups in west and Middle East, experts say

Al-Qaida and Islamic State (IS) have called on their followers to strike Israeli, US and Jewish targets, raising the prospect of new terrorist violence in the Middle East or the west.

In a series of statements over the past two weeks, affiliates of al-Qaida congratulated Hamas on its “invasion of Israel”, a reference to the terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, on 7 October.

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Israel-Hamas war: second convoy of as 14 aid trucks enters Gaza – as it happened

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This blog has closed. You can follow the latest news on the Israel-Hamas conflict on our new blog.

At least two workers were killed on Sunday “as a result of Israeli bombardment targeting Syria’s Damascus airport at dawn,” Syria’s general directorate of meteorology said in a statement, Reuters reports.

This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.

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Israel intensifies attacks on north Gaza as WFP says more aid urgently needed

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Israel says anyone in northern Gaza will be considered ‘an accomplice in a terrorist organisation’

Israel has said it is intensifying attacks on northern Gaza and warned that anyone who stayed risked being considered as “an accomplice in a terrorist organisation”, as airstrikes continued on Sunday in the south, where civilians had fled hoping to survive the war.

A second trickle of aid was allowed into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday, but the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the humanitarian situation was now catastrophic for the 2.3 million people trapped inside the territory.

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Strikes on Gaza to increase from today, Israeli spokesperson says – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Our live coverage continues here

The rocket hit in the early hours of Monday morning, not far from where Jamileh Tawfiq had been sheltering with her family – as well as about 25,000 other people – at a UN compound in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The impact saw a plume of smoke rise into the air; news soon came that two families had been killed.

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Aid trucks enter Gaza but UN chief says people need ‘much, much more’

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After visit to Rafah crossing, António Guterres says regular supply of food, water, medicine and fuel needed

The Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza has finally opened to allow in a trickle of aid for the first time in two weeks, after intense negotiations involving the US, Israel, Egypt and the UN.

The shipment of 20 trucks bringing medical supplies, however, offered very limited relief to Gaza’s 2.3 million population, under fire and with barely anything to eat or drink.

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‘I’m doing all I can’: the young Israeli determined to free his captured girlfriend from Gaza

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Noam Alon, whose partner Inbar Haiman was abducted by Hamas in the October 7 attack in Israel, is calling on international leaders to make the safe return of hostages their priority

Two weeks on, Noam Alon still isn’t ready to watch the video that shows his girlfriend, Inbar Haiman, being dragged towards Gaza as a hostage.

“My parents prefer that I don’t see it,” says the 24-year-old art student. “They’ve described every bit of it to me – and they haven’t made it any better or worse than it really is – but I still haven’t watched it. I don’t want it scarred in my mind. I’m trying to keep my mind as positive as I can and to do everything I can to bring her back.”

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Israeli ground assault on Gaza looms as Hamas releases first hostages

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Joe Biden and family voice joy at release of Natalie and Judith Raanan, as Israeli forces pound Gaza Strip, where millions are pinning hopes on aid delivery via Egypt border crossing

The US has said it will keep working to free all Americans seized by Hamas, against the backdrop of an expected ground assault on Gaza, as the first released hostages were reunited with family and Israeli forces pounded Gaza, where millions of people are still awaiting promised aid deliveries.

Late on Friday, after speaking of his joy at the US hostage release, President Joe Biden appeared to agree with a reporter’s suggestion that Israel should delay any ground invasion of the enclave in order to get more hostages out. About 200 remain in captivity, with 10 Americans still unaccounted for.

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The Gaza diplomacy of Biden, Sunak and co seems to be heading for failure

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The US president was empathetic, sharp and subtle, but there are signs that his closest Arab allies are losing patience

Two weeks of non-stop western shuttle diplomacy appear to have reached the brink of failure since, as it stands, the west can only point to 20 aid trucks crossing into Gaza as the visible fruit of its labour. At the same time, Israel’s neighbours are taking to the streets and acts of terrorism are returning to the capitals of Europe.

With more than 4,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis already dead, the only certainty is that Gaza’s depleted healthcare system will collapse if Israel launches a lengthy land invasion to wipe out Hamas.

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US mother and daughter released from Hamas captivity after Qatar brokers deal

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Hostages Judith Raanan and daughter Natalie, 17, taken via Egypt to Israeli army base to be reunited with family

A mother and daughter from Chicago who were seized during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and held hostage in Gaza have been released after Qatar brokered negotiations with the militant group.

Natalie Raanan, 17, and her mother, Judith, 59, were transferred through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, where they were met by Israeli security forces, the office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a statement late on Friday.

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‘Day of rage’ erupts across West Bank after Israeli forces attack refugee camp

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad supporters marched through Nur Shams chanting ‘revenge’ and protested against violence on children

Tensions flared in the West Bank on Friday as angry and sometimes armed confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces took place across the occupied territory after a deadly raid by Israeli troops.

The Palestinian health ministry said 13 people including five children were killed on Thursday in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem. Israeli media said Israeli troops used a drone before engaging in a prolonged gun battle with armed groups in the camp that left civilians and several militants dead.

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Gaza crossing still closed despite pressure from UN and US leaders

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Rafah crossing still closed to aid as Hamas releases two hostages while Israeli airstrikes on territory continue

The humanitarian lifeline into Gaza remained closed on Friday despite a personal visit by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and an agreement to open it brokered by Joe Biden, as Israel continued to pummel the enclave with airstrikes.

The failure to lift the total Israeli blockade further endangered Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people, with the UN forced in many cases to reduce the water ration to one litre a person a day for all uses, compared with the minimum international standard of 15 litres.

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Arabs in Israel face reprisals over online solidarity with Gaza

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Citizens who post on social media in support of Palestinians under bombardment threatened with arrest or sacking

Israeli Arabs or Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have been targeted with arrest, sacking and dismissal over social media posts expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Israeli Arabs, many of whom identify as Palestinian citizens of Israel, have expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s aerial bombing campaign that has so far killed more than 4,000 people in the impoverished territory, the majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Strip.

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Sunak reiterates support for two-state solution in meeting with Abbas

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PM met Palestinian Authority leader in Egypt as part of tour of the region to try to prevent the conflict escalating

Rishi Sunak has held talks in Cairo with the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, where the two men condemned Hamas and the prime minister reiterated the UK’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The leaders agreed on the need for all parties to take steps to protect civilians, and civilian infrastructure, and minimise the loss of innocent lives,” a spokesperson for Sunak said.

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Jewish and Arab Australians channel hopes and fears into help amid Israel-Hamas war

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Some put efforts into humanitarian work while others believe political pressure can limit loss of life

As Arab and Jewish communities in Australia watch Israel prepare to embark on a ground offensive in Gaza they are both fearful and determined to help in any way they can.

For some, the response is humanitarian, supporting volunteer efforts in the Middle East or helping to organise and fund repatriation flights.

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Biden ‘didn’t hear the full question’ on whether Israel should delay Gaza ground assault, White House says – as it happened

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White House says US president was only commenting on whether he wanted to see more hostages released. This blog is now closed

Biden says, “We’re pursuing every avenue to bring hostages home”. He says there is no higher priority.

“We’re facing an inflection point in history,” Biden says as he opens his speech. What we do today will determine outcomes for decades to come, he says.

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