Australian foreign minister joins UK, Germany and France in condemning comments made by Bezalel Smotrich and repeats calls for ceasefire
Deliberately starving civilians is a war crime, foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has said, joining international condemnation of comments made by the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
On Wednesday, Smotrich suggested that deliberately starving people in Gaza might be “justified and moral”.
Continue reading...The diverted money was from $25m allocated for Palestinian, Muslim and other communities affected by Israel-Gaza war
Palestinian advocates say it is “incredibly frustrating” to find out that an Australian government department suggested diverting some promised funding for communities affected by the Israel-Gaza war to media organisations for factchecking.
The government announced last October that it would “support Australian communities affected by the Hamas attacks on Israel and ongoing conflict”, including “$25m to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Inc (ECAJ) and $25m to Australian Palestinian, Muslim and other communities affected by the conflict”.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Israel-Gaza war coverage here
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has said the bloc “joins Egypt, Qatar & the US in their call for concluding, without delay, the ceasefire & hostages release deal.”
“We reiterate our full support to their mediation to put an end to the unbearable cycle of suffering,” he said, adding that “the deal will also pave the way for regional de-escalation.”
Continue reading...Joint statement says framework agreement is ‘on the table’ and there are no excuses ‘from any party for further delay’
The leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar have called on Israel and Hamas to resume urgent negotiations to finalise a ceasefire and hostage release deal, saying there were no excuses “from any party for further delay”.
The three countries, which have been trying to mediate a deal, said in a joint statement the talks could take place in either Doha or Cairo on 15 August, adding that it was “time to bring immediate relief both to the longsuffering people of Gaza as well as the longsuffering hostages and their families”.
Continue reading...Harris expresses openness to discussing Israel-Gaza stance with movement leaders, who are torn over Walz as VP pick
Leaders of the “uncommitted” campaign spoke with Kamala Harris and her newly announced running mate, the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, before a rally in Detroit on Wednesday to discuss their calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel.
Harris “shared her sympathies and expressed an openness to a meeting with the Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo”, the organization said in a statement.
Continue reading...EU, UK and France urge Israel’s government to distance itself from comments by its finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich
The EU, France and UK have condemned a senior Israeli minister for suggesting it might be “justified and moral” to starve people in Gaza.
The comments from Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, in which he said “no one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages”, sparked international outrage.
Continue reading...Member of progressive ‘Squad’ says her loss has freed her to openly challenge Aipac
Representative Cori Bush has warned the pro-Israel lobby “to be afraid” after it poured millions of dollars into defeating the prominent member of the “Squad” of progressive Democrats in Tuesday’s primary election in St Louis.
Bush said her loss to St Louis county prosecutor Wesley Bell after the hardline American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) targeted her for opposition to Israel’s attack on Gaza had freed her to openly challenge the powerful pressure group, which has vowed to spend $100m to influence US elections this year in favour of Israel.
Continue reading...Antony Blinken says US has been ‘engaged in intense diplomacy’ as the region braces for attacks from Iran and its allies
It has just gone 2pm in Jerusalem. If you’re just joining us, here are the day’s developments:
The United States has communicated to Iran and Israel that conflict in the Middle East must not escalate, secretary of state Antony Blinken said. The Middle East is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies after last week’s killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli military has issued new evacuation orders for an area in northern Gaza that was heavily bombed at the start of the war some 10 months ago. The IDF said it would respond to a Hamas rocket attack from the Beit Hanoun area the day before and urged residents to relocate to Gaza City, large areas of which have been destroyed.
More than 39,677 Palestinians have been killed and 91,645 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement on Wednesday.
Protesters have disrupted an Israeli supreme court hearing about a shadowy military facility where Israel has held Palestinian detainees throughout the war in Gaza. The protesters yelled “Shame!” as the attorney for a number of Israeli human rights groups argued that the Sde Teiman facility should be closed permanently over repeated allegations of detainee abuse. An Associated Press investigation into the facility, as well as others by rights groups, found detainees endured abysmal conditions there.
Continue reading...St Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell defeated Missouri’s first Black female member of Congress with about 51% of the vote
A prominent member of the progressive “Squad” in Congress, Cori Bush, has lost her Democratic primary in St Louis after pro-Israel pressure groups spent millions of dollars to unseat her over criticisms of Israel’s war on Gaza.
St Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell defeated Missouri’s first Black female member of Congress with about 51% of the vote. Bush took about 46%.
Continue reading...Australia-US talks also turn to Middle East conflict as representatives ramp up calls for Gaza ceasefire
The US says it plans “more frequent” deployments of bomber aircraft to Australia amid concerns over China’s “dangerous and escalatory behaviour” in the region.
The announcement after annual talks on Wednesday builds on a long-term trend of increased rotations of American forces to Australia, along with moves to upgrade Australian military bases and pre-position US army equipment in Australia.
Continue reading...Announcement comes after former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in bombing attack last week
Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau, elevating the hardline militant to the group’s top post after the assassination in Tehran of its previous political leader.
Sinwar’s appointment was announced in a brief statement by Hamas on Tuesday that was aired on pro-Hamas Iranian state media channels.
Continue reading...Jean-Pierre Lacroix says peacekeeping force is ‘only liaison channel between Israeli and Lebanese sides’
A United Nations expert on Tuesday condemned Israel’s killing last week of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and cameraman Ramy El Rify in Gaza and urged that the deaths be prosecuted as a war crime.
The two men died in a 31 July airstrike by the Israeli military, which said Al-Ghoul was a Hamas operative who took part in the October attack against Israel.
Continue reading...Judge says phrase ‘denied right of Israel to exist’ but woman’s lawyer says ruling is a defeat for free speech
A Berlin court has convicted a pro-Palestinian activist of condoning a crime for leading a chant of the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” at a rally in the German capital four days after the Hamas attacks on Israel, in what her defence team called a defeat for free speech.
The presiding judge, Birgit Balzer, ordered 22-year-old German-Iranian national Ava Moayeri to pay a €600 (£515) fine on Tuesday, rejecting her argument that she meant only to express support for “peace and justice” in the Middle East by calling out the phrase on a busy street.
Continue reading...UN fires employees from Palestinian refugee agency following internal investigation into their role in the Hamas-led attack on Israel
The UN has fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led 7 October attack against Israel.
The UN secretary general’s office announced the move in a brief statement on Monday. It did not elaborate on the Unrwa staffers’ possible role in the attack. It said the nine included seven staffers who were fired previously over the claims.
Continue reading...Guardian interviews back up report by rights group B’Tselem, which says jails should now be labelled ‘torture camps’
Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation and other abuse of Palestinian prisoners has been normalised across Israel’s jail system, according to Guardian interviews with released prisoners, with mistreatment now so systemic that rights group B’Tselem says it must be considered a policy of “institutionalised abuse”.
Former detainees described abuse ranging from severe beatings and sexual violence to starvation rations, refusal of medical care, and deprivation of basic needs including water, daylight, electricity and sanitation, including soap and sanitary pads for women.
Continue reading...Response from Tehran, which blames Israel for killing of Hamas leader, could risk wider regional conflict
As Israel braces for what appears to be a likely Iranian retaliation, it is almost certain western and regional powers will be drawn in. Overnight, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, briefed his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, discussing according to Israel’s readout “a series of scenarios” and corresponding “defensive and offensive capabilities” should Tehran attack.
Gallant held a similar discussion with the UK defence secretary, John Healey, on Friday, giving the new Labour minister “an operational situation assessment”, Israel said. A day later Britain indicated it was moving military assets into Cyprus to prepare for a possible evacuation of UK nationals from Lebanon. The need for heightened readiness in the Middle East will not be lost on the RAF and its Typhoon pilots stationed at the Akrotiri airbase, either.
Continue reading...US president Joe Biden to meet national security team as fears grow of Iranian attack on Israel
Iran’s foreign ministry has called in ambassadors and heads of missions for a meeting with the country’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, to reiterate Iran’s will to respond to Israel, Reuters reports.
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has spoken with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, about the risk of escalation in the Middle East.
Continue reading...US is attempting to ‘turn the temperature down’ after assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders last week escalate tensions
Joe Biden is set to meet his national security team on Monday to discuss “developments in the Middle East”, the White House has said, as the US deploys extra fighter jets and warships to the region amid growing fears of an Iranian attack on Israel.
Regional tensions have increased after the assassination last week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukur, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Both groups are backed by Iran, which has sworn revenge.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
For more on this, Daniel Hurst looked into the issue yesterday. A spokesperson for the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, had said the government was “firmly committed to minimising harms from online wagering”.
The government continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the recommendations from the online wagering inquiry as we formulate our response.
I hope that’s not the case. I hope the long consultation is because the government’s actually going to do the right thing and make gambling ads history, just like we did with tobacco. We live in hope it’s not too late, but the rumors are not encouraging.
Continue reading...Two schools and a hospital complex struck as Palestinian stabs two Israelis to death in a city near Tel Aviv
Israeli airstrikes hit two schools and a hospital complex in Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, amid reports of heated disagreements between US and Israeli leaders about a possible ceasefire deal.
Inside Israel, a Palestinian stabbed two people to death in a city near Tel Aviv, adding to tensions as the country braces for Iran’s response to the assassinations of key allies this week.
Continue reading...