Category Archives: Israel

Chicago religious leaders urge peace after killing of six-year-old Muslim boy

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Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders shook hands, talked and prayed together after killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume

Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders shook hands, talked and prayed together as they gathered in Chicago to urge unity across divides and denounce hate, while the region continued to reel from the savage killing of a six-year-old Palestinian American boy in an alleged hate crime.

Imams and rabbis had already attended the funeral earlier in the week of Wadea Al-Fayoume, who had only recently celebrated his sixth birthday with his family in Plainfield, on the outskirts of Chicago, when the landlord, shouting Islamophobic curses, stabbed the boy and his mother last weekend.

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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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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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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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‘A lot of pain’: Europe’s Jews fear rising antisemitism after Hamas attack

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Protection of Jewish sites increased in towns and cities across continent after outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas

In the usually bustling “Little Jerusalem” area of Sarcelles, north of Paris, the popular falafel and grill restaurant was eerily quiet. “People are not going out,” said Jérémy, the 33-year-old restaurant owner. Lunchtime and evening crowds are common in one of the largest Jewish communities on the Paris outskirts. But many thought it wiser to stay at home, fearing a growing number of antisemitic incidents in France and across Europe since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza.

In France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, police recorded more than 320 physical acts of antisemitism, and made more than 180 arrests, in the first 10 days of the war.

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‘I was helpless’: Nepali survivors of Hamas attack in Israel haunted by trauma

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Ten Nepali students died at kibbutz, leaving families for whom they were breadwinners bereft

Dhanbahadur Chaudhari now dreams of rivers of blood. Although he returned home to Nepal this week, flashes of the scenes he left behind in Israel won’t leave him alone, and for days he has barely been able to sleep.

Chaudhari, 25, was among almost 50 students from Nepal who were staying on a kibbutz in Alumim, the border area between Israel and Gaza, when it came under attack from Hamas militants on 7 October. Since the current conflict broke out that day, at least 4,200 people have died in Israel and Palestine.

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Israel security officials signal readiness for ground offensive into Gaza

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Senior official vows assault will ‘eliminate Hamas from the roots … everything should go away’

Israel security officials have signalled their readiness to embark on a ground offensive into Gaza that they say will be far more comprehensive and ferocious than any previous conflict with Hamas.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, visited troops on the Gaza border on Thursday, telling them: “You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come.”

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Instagram apologises for adding ‘terrorist’ to some Palestinian user profiles

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Parent company Meta says bug caused ‘inappropriate’ auto-translations and was now fixed while employee says it pushed ‘a lot of people over the edge’

Meta has apologised after inserting the word “terrorist” into the profile bios of some Palestinian Instagram users, in what the company says was a bug in auto-translation.

The issue, which was first reported by 404media, affected users with the word “Palestinian” written in English on their profile, the Palestinian flag emoji and the word “alhamdulillah” written in Arabic. When auto-translated to English the phrase read: “Praise be to god, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.”

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Rishi Sunak holds ‘productive’ talks with Saudi Arabia after Israel visit

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British PM flew to Saudi Arabia after Netanyahu stressed Israel’s need for ‘continuous’ UK support in war with Hamas

Rishi Sunak has urged Saudi Arabia to use its influence to support stability in the Middle East after flying there following talks in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu, who told him his country was counting on the UK’s “continuous support” in what will be a long war with Hamas.

Britain wanted Israel “to win”, the prime minister told his Israeli counterpart during a joint press conference in Jerusalem following talks that were part of diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and prevent a wider regional conflict.

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Joe Biden’s warning to Israel is a nod to US failures in the ‘war on terror’

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The US response to 9/11 was dogged by a threat posed by an ill-defined enemy, which led to human rights abuses associated with Guantánamo

When Joe Biden, the US president, spoke to Israelis during his brief visit this week, he said he and “many Americans” understood “their shock, pain and rage”.

Then he added a warning. “Justice must be done. But I caution this – while you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.”

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