Category Archives: Israel

Australia politics live: Albanese accuses Ley of lack of respect for Indigenous voice campaigners in fiery question time

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Albanese highlights ‘concerning’ Coalition voice rhetoric as Dutton targets PM over treaty and truth telling. Follow the day’s news live

‘We’re holding a thorough consultation process,’ Jacinta Allan says

Under the proposal, a government minister will appoint commissioners, though the Greens-chaired integrity and oversight committee will have the power to veto candidates.

A new parliamentary ethics committee

Improvements to mechanisms relating to public interest disclosures about MPs

Updates to the MP code of conduct

We’re holding a thorough consultation process to ensure we achieve the highest standards of conduct and integrity of MPs in all aspects of their work for Victorians.

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

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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:

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Hundreds of Israeli bodies remain unidentified 10 days after Hamas attack

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Jewish groups rally at White House urging Biden to push for Gaza ceasefire

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At least 30 people reportedly arrested, with protestors accusing Israeli government of planning genocide

Leftwing US Jewish groups gathered outside the White House on Monday to urge the Biden administration to pressure Israel into dropping its plans for a military invasion of Gaza and instead declare an immediate ceasefire.

Accusing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of planning “genocide”, several hundred volunteers from campaign groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace chanted slogans, carried placards and sang ancient Jewish songs in protest of what they said was an immoral response to the deadly assault on 7 October by the Palestinian group Hamas that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.

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Progressive Democrats bring resolution calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war

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Thirteen lawmakers call on Biden administration to facilitate de-escalation and send humanitarian aid into Gaza

A group of prominent progressive US lawmakers introduced a resolution on Monday calling for a ceasefire in the fast-escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas that has resulted in a death toll in the thousands, as fears grow that the war could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

The two-page resolution, brought by 13 Democratic members of Congress, urges the Biden administration to “immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire to urgently end the current violence” as well as to “promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza”.

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Israel and Colombia in ferocious diplomatic spat over Hamas war

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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.

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

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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”.

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

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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.

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Tory MP Peter Bone should be suspended for six weeks for bullying and sexual misconduct, says report – UK politics live

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Commons will vote on suspension recommended by independent expert panel after investigation

Peter Bone has issued a statement saying that the bullying and sexual misconduct claims about him made by a former employed, that have led to the IEP recommending a six-week suspension, are false and without foundation. He says the complainant did not raise them at the time and only submitted a complaint years after they had left.

As I have maintained throughout these proceedings, none of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place. They are false and untrue claims. They are without foundation.

The allegations by an ex-employee refer to events of more than 10 years ago that spanned no more than a few months. The complainant first made the allegations years after they left my employment. They did not raise them at any time during their employment, either in writing or verbally with me, nor with their line managers …

I am also firmly of the opinion that on this occasion the independent complaints and grievance scheme investigation was flawed, procedurally unfair and didn’t comply with its own rules and regulations. It is my belief that they have operated outside of the powers given to them by parliament and I am currently discussing with lawyers what action could and should be taken.

The commissioner found the following allegations proved:

Allegation 1: Mr Bone “verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” the complainant, and this was bullying.

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Israel denies report of ceasefire in southern Gaza

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Hamas official also reportedly denies temporary ceasefire is in place – and says border crossing to Egypt remains closed

The Israeli government has denied having agreed a ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow humanitarian aid in and for some people to leave.

The office of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a one-line statement on Monday morning, saying: “There is no ceasefire.” A Hamas official, Izzat El Reshiq, also told the Reuters news agency the border crossing at Rafah between Egypt and Gaza remained closed and denied a temporary ceasefire was in place.

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Australian parliament unites to condemn hate speech including antisemitism and Islamophobia

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PM says Hamas should be condemned for committing ‘mass murder on a horrific scale’ while Greens warn of ‘looming humanitarian crisis’

The Australian parliament has united to condemn “all forms of hate speech” including antisemitism and Islamophobia, with the prime minister declaring that the country must not succumb to the “forces of division”.

As the death toll mounted in Israel and Gaza and concerns grew about spillover tensions in Australia, Anthony Albanese said Hamas should be unequivocally condemned for committing “mass murder on a horrific scale”.

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Friends of woman killed in Israeli kibbutz pledge to rebuild community

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‘Peace and love are more powerful than terror,’ say friends of 23-year-old Dorin Atias

The friends of a 23-year-old killed in a kibbutz after seeking refuge from the massacre at a music festival last Saturday plan to rebuild the community as a sign that “peace and love are more powerful than terror”.

Dorin Atias was due to start a shift as a bartender at 7am at the Supernova festival but decided to arrive earlier to get some dancing in before her work started.

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White House seeks weapons package for Israel amid ‘real risk of escalation’

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National security adviser says deployment of USS Eisenhower is to send message that ‘no group should seek to exploit the situation’

Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan toured the US Sunday morning shows to sell White House policy on the conflict between Israel and Hamas as Israeli forces massed on the border ahead of an expected ground incursion into Gaza amid a deepening humanitarian crisis there and fears over the conflict spreading.

Responding to an Axios report that Iran warned Israel through the United Nations that it will intervene if the Israeli operation in Gaza continues, Sullivan told ABC’s “This Week” that he could not confirm it.

But, he said, the US is “concerned” about the conflict spreading. “We see a real risk of escalation on the northern border and that is why President Biden has been so clear and so forceful in saying that no state and no group should seek to exploit the situation to their advantage or should escalate the conflict.”

The deployment of the USS Eisenhower from the US to the region is “to give additional capacity to respond to any contingency and also to send a clear message of deterrence that no one should get involved in this, no one should escalate this”, he added.

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Hamas holding up to 10 Britons hostage in Gaza, says foreign secretary

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James Cleverly says updated figure of those captured in attack on Israel is ‘not an unreasonable estimate’

Up to 10 Britons are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said, higher than previous informal estimates.

Israel estimates that 126 people from different countries are being held hostage, with reports previously suggesting six of those taken were British. Up to 17 British people, including children, are thought to be dead or missing since the conflict began last weekend.

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Israel-Hamas war: Biden says Gaza occupation would be ‘big mistake’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Follow live updates from the Israel-Hamas war in our new blog here

Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defence” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza”, China’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.

Wang Yi’s remarks – made on a call to his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Saturday – came as Israel appeared poised for a ground offensive in Gaza against Hamas, Agence France-Presse reports

It should listen earnestly to the calls of the international community and the UN secretary general, and cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza.

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Israel confirms 155 people being held hostage by Hamas

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Among the hostages are an 83-year-old Israeli journalist who was taken from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz

The Israeli military has confirmed 155 people who are being held as hostages by Hamas following its deadly attack on 7 October.

Among the hostages are an 83-year-old Israeli journalist who was taken from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz with his 85-year-old partner, who had worked for decades for peace and the recognition of Palestinian rights.

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