Category Archives: Israel-Gaza war

Creation of Palestinian state is only way to peace, EU foreign policy chief says – as it happened

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Josep Borrell wants European-Arab initiative to revive a peace process, with the ultimate aim being a two-state solution

The World Health Organization and the United Nations have made a new delivery of medical supplies to southern Gaza, the WHO director-general has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the shipment included eight refrigerators, eight solar panels, and clean delivery kits to supports 66 births as well as medicines and supplies to enable surgeries. He added that it would support 142,000 people requiring care.

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More than 1,000 ‘distressing’ social media posts removed at Australian government’s request during Gaza war

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Figures show rise in incidents of online extremism and violent content, partly fuelled by Israel-Gaza conflict

More than 1,000 violent and extremist posts have been taken down from social media at the federal government’s request since 7 October following an increase in referrals brought on in part by the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

It follows a warning by the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, in the days following Hamas’s 7 October attacks in southern Israel that it was the job of social media companies to “prevent the spread of distressing violent and terrorist content”.

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Hundreds block off Westminster Bridge in call for Gaza ceasefire

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Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of Palestine

Hundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year.

Elsewhere on Saturday, there were protests in Belfast and Dublin.

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US and EU launch twin diplomatic mission to calm tensions in Middle East

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Escalation of violence comes as US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Europe’s Josep Borrell begin tours of the region

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The most senior diplomats from the US and the EU launched a dual diplomatic offensive in the Middle East on Saturday aimed at calming tensions that threaten chaos and wider conflict across the region.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, began a five-day tour of the region with meetings in Turkey and the EU’s most senior diplomat Josep Borrell, visited the Lebanese capital Beirut.

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UN warns Gaza is now ‘uninhabitable’ as war continues

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Humanitarian chief fears ‘famine is around the corner’ with 85% of population displaced and more than 20,000 dead

The UN humanitarian chief has described Gaza as “uninhabitable” three months into Israel’s war with Hamas, warning that famine was looming and a public health disaster unfolding.

In a grim assessment of the devastating impact of Israel’s military response to the horrific Hamas attacks on 7 October, Martin Griffiths said that Gaza’s 2.3 million people face “daily threats to their very existence” while the world just watches.

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Israel tries to appease US with proposals for Gaza as Blinken heads to Middle East

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Washington wants concessions from the Netanyahu administration, as critics say plans lack detail or commitment

Israeli officials are scrambling to head off mounting frustration in Washington in the run-up to a potentially difficult meeting between the top US diplomat and Benjamin Netanyahu by offering a series of policy proposals on Gaza that critics say lack detail or commitment.

The US has offered staunch support to Israel since the outbreak of its war with Hamas three months ago but is anxious to secure some concessions from Netanyahu to lower regional tensions and help avert a wider conflict in the Middle East.

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Hezbollah chief says response to killing of senior Hamas official is ‘inevitable’

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Hassan Nasrallah says assassination in Beirut has changed nature of his group’s conflict with Israel, raising fears of escalation

The assassination of one of Hamas’s most senior officials in Beirut has changed the nature of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, has said, adding that a response is “inevitable”.

In a second nationally televised address within three days, Nasrallah said that all of Lebanon would be “exposed” if there was no response from his group to the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, further heightening fears of a dangerous escalation in the conflict, even as Israel said its military was ready for any eventuality.

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Israel could keep security control of Gaza after Hamas defeat, says defence minister

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Yoav Gallant’s proposal suggests Palestinians would run day to day administration of territory

The Israeli defence minister has suggested that Israel would keep security control of Gaza after Hamas has been defeated with an undefined, Israeli-guided Palestinian body running day to day administration and the US, European Union and regional partners taking responsibility for the reconstruction of the territory.

Yoav Gallant revealed the plan to media on Thursday before a visit by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and after growing pressure from the US for Israel to make proposals for postwar scenarios.

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Unauthorised Jewish settlements surge in occupied West Bank, says watchdog – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Our full report on the latest developments in the Middle East is here and all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

The German government is monitoring the situation on the border between Israel and Lebanon, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday, as the country’s top diplomat prepares to travel to the Middle East for talks.

The spokesperson said:

The risk of escalation is unfortunately very real.

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Opposition says Australia should not support South Africa’s ‘unbalanced’ genocide case against Israel

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Albanese yet to reveal government’s stance on South Africa’s case in international court of justice but Coalition says Australia must support Israel’s right to defend itself

The opposition has urged the Albanese government to rule out any support for what it says is South Africa’s “unbalanced” case against Israel at the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ).

The “unprecedented” case brought by South Africa at the beginning of the year will be heard in The Hague on 11 and 12 January with the potential for a provisional ruling within weeks. It accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has called the allegations “a despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the ICJ and urged the court to reject it.

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Bombs, boat sinkings and assassinations: is the Middle East descending into war?

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Beyond the conflict in Gaza it has been a violent few weeks in the wider Middle East, from attacks on shipping in the Red Sea to bomb blasts in Iran and a killing by drone in Beirut. Julian Borger explains what may happen next

Iran suffered the worst terrorist attack in the history of the Islamic Republic this week when dozens of people were killed in two bomb blasts in the city of Kerman. In Beirut a drone attack in a suburban area killed a senior Hamas commander, and in the Red Sea the US navy shot down two anti-ship missiles and sunk three small boats after responding to distress calls from a container ship that was attacked twice by Houthi rebels.

The Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, talks to Hannah Moore about the significance and possible consequences of these events and examines their potential to trigger a regional war. He says there is increasing appetite in Israel for further conflict with Hezbollah at the Lebanese border, and growing rhetoric that a direct war with Iran – which backs Hezbollah and the Houthi movement – is inevitable. Can international leaders do enough to calm tensions in the region?

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US strike kills Iran-backed militia leader in Baghdad as regional tensions rise

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Two killed and five wounded, militia officials say, amid fears war in Gaza could spill into surrounding countries

The US military has carried out an airstrike in Baghdad against a high-ranking Iraqi militia commander who it blames for attacks against US forces in the country, killing him and another person, a US official told Reuters.

The US official said the strike hit a vehicle in the capital on Thursday. It targeted a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, the official said, without naming the person.

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Netanyahu seeks ‘fundamental change’ on Lebanon border – as it happened

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This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the latest developments in the Middle East here and all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here.

The Times of Israel is carrying some quotes from a relative of one of the hostages seized from Israel by Hamas who later died during a failed resuce attempt by the Israeli military. Merav Barkai described the situation as “incredibly sad and difficult”.

Citing her appearance on 103 FM radio, it reports the aunt of Sahar Baruch said:

When we received the notification that he had been killed, it could have been a different notification. This was a rescue attempt; we were so close to being there. We were scared from the beginning that there would be a military attempt to rescue him and it would end this way. It’s incredibly sad and difficult. Hostages were freed, people left there alive, we felt like we were close, just a step away from that embrace.

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‘A circle of death’: Nova festival survivor recalls 25km barefoot escape from Hamas

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Nadav Hanan describes encountering multiple Hamas squads on 7 October when 360 young Israelis were murdered

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Nadav Hanan was at the smaller of the dance stages at the Nova dance festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked.

It was the beginning of an extended nightmare for the 27-year-old that saw him zigzag more than 25km of rough ground barefoot, surviving seven ambushes by Hamas attackers along the route to safety.

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Grassroots Labor members urge Australia to back South Africa’s case against Israel at UN court

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Rank-and-file members say joining the ICJ case accusing Israel of genocide would send a ‘powerful signal to the world’

Rank-and-file Labor party members are urging the Albanese government to intervene in and support South Africa’s case against Israel at the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ), pointing to Australia’s previous support of Ukraine in a similar case against Russia.

The first hearing in The Hague is set for 11 and 12 January with a provisional ruling possible within weeks. Israel has responded to the allegations and urged the ICJ to reject it.

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Stakes high as South Africa brings claim of genocidal intent against Israel

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Israel’s decision to defend itself at the international court of justice will make it harder for it to brush aside any adverse finding

South Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that seemed implausible a fortnight ago.

Crack legal teams are being assembled, countries are issuing statements in support of South Africa, and Israel has said it will defend itself in court, reversing a decades-old policy of boycotting the UN’s top court and its 15 elected judges.

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US soldier’s family rescued from Gaza in secret operation – report

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The mother and uncle of Ragi A Sckak were taken from Gaza in an operation coordinated by the US, Israel and Egypt, according to a US official

The mother and uncle of a US service member were rescued from the fighting in Gaza in a secret operation coordinated by the US, Israel, Egypt and others, according to a US official speaking to the Associated Press.

It is the only known operation of its kind to extract American citizens and their close family members during the months of devastating ground fighting and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

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Mossad chief says Israel is committed to finding and killing all Hamas leaders

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Comments by David Barnea follow assassination of Hamas deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon

The head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service has vowed to track down and kill all Hamas leaders responsible for attacking Israel, less than a day after a drone strike in Lebanon killed the militant organisation’s second most senior official.

David Barnea said on Wednesday the Mossad was “committed to settling the score with the murderers who descended upon the Gaza envelope” on 7 October and with those who planned the attacks.

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Israeli public figures accuse judiciary of ignoring incitement to genocide in Gaza

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Letter to attorney general and state prosecutor demands action to stop ‘explicit calls to commit atrocious crimes’

A group of prominent Israelis has accused the country’s judicial authorities of ignoring “extensive and blatant” incitement to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza by influential public figures.

In a letter to the attorney general and state prosecutors, they demand action to stop the normalisation of language that breaks both Israeli and international law.

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Local Hezbollah official and two other members reportedly killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon on Wednesday – as it happened

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Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy has said that the death of an IDF soldier overnight has brought the total number of losses for the Israeli army to 509 since 7 October.

At least 174 of those have died inside Gaza during Israel’s ground operation there. The overall casualty figure from 7 October – including civilians – was about 1,200 people killed, revised down from an initial estimate of 1,400.

In Khan Younis, intensive battles against terrorist operatives are continuing. IDF ground troops identified a terrorist that attempted to plant an explosive device on a tank, and directed an IDF aircraft to strike the terrorist and three additional terrorists in the area. Furthermore, in Khan Younis, an IDF fighter jet struck an Islamic Jihad weapons production complex.

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