Category Archives: Israel

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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Hundreds arrested as US Jews protest against Israel’s Gaza assault

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Protesters in Washington demand ceasefire, marking rift in community as Anti-Defamation League condemns demonstration

Leftwing Jewish activists campaigned against Israel’s bombardment and blockade of Gaza this week in Washington, culminating in protests that have seen hundreds arrested for civil disobedience outside the White House and Congress.

But groups like the Anti-Defamation League have dismissed the actions as unrepresentative of fellow Jews, signalling a growing rift in the community as the war in the Middle East continues to claim thousands of lives.

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Israeli military discussing alternatives to full Gaza invasion with US, says Biden

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US officials warn that a ground assault could bring conflict with Hezbollah and risk a two-front war

Joe Biden has said that the US and Israeli militaries are discussing alternatives to the full invasion of Gaza widely expected since the Hamas attack on 7 October.

On the flight back to Washington after a day of talks in Israel, Biden was asked about the prospect of a large-scale ground assault by the 300,000-strong Israeli force arrayed along the border.

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Aid convoy set to enter Gaza a ‘drop in the ocean of need’ says WHO

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Twenty trucks preparing to enter Gaza through Rafah crossing, but Israel says aid will halt if seized by Hamas

Aid agencies have warned that the help set to arrive in Gaza could be too little too late for many of the territory’s desperate population, as preparations were being made for a small convoy of lorries carrying humanitarian aid to enter Gaza on Friday, under a deal between the US, Israel and Egypt.

The US president, Joe Biden, brokered an agreement during his one-day visit to Israel on Wednesday for an initial convoy of 20 trucks to pass through the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza on Friday. Under conditions demanded by the Israelis, further consignments of relief supplies would be dependent on whether the first delivery was distributed without Hamas involvement.

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Israel defence minister tells troops they will soon see Gaza – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. You can find the latest Israel-Hamas war news and updates here.

Egypt and Jordan flank Israel on opposite sides and share borders with Gaza and the occupied West Bank, respectively. Both have have been reticent to allow displaced Palestinians in.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi made his toughest remarks yet on Wednesday, saying the current war was not just aimed at fighting Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, “but also an attempt to push the civilian inhabitants to … migrate to Egypt.” He warned this could wreck peace in the region.

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Australians told ‘do not travel’ to Lebanon – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

No move on paying super to people on paid parental leave

But so far, the government has not moved on paying superannuation to parents (mostly women) on paid parental leave.

Super, of course, is really important and it’s something we would very much like to look to in the future when the budget can afford it. But this is a very big step forward, the current arrangements, but we’ll continue to look around superannuation into the future and consider it in each budget context.

I think with the reserved period as well, we’re going to see an increase in shared care, both parents taking some time out, which is really, really important if we want to get a more equal burden of, you know, of that share of care.

So that is really important as well.

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Albanese government accused of ‘deep division’ and ‘confusion’ over Israel-Hamas conflict stance

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Sussan Ley’s comments come after Labor MPs including Ed Husic and Anne Aly break ranks to condemn Israel’s blockade on Gaza

Sussan Ley has accused the Albanese government of “deep division” and “confusion” over its official stance toward the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The science minister, Ed Husic, said on Thursday morning he was concerned Palestinians were being “collectively punished for Hamas’s barbarism” in the besieged Gaza Strip, with the death toll rising to more than 3,000.

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Rishi Sunak arrives in Israel for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu

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PM left London on Wednesday evening and plans to visit other countries in the region for further discussions

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel for talks with its leaders, and will later travel to other countries in the region for further discussions, Downing Street has announced.

The prime minister left London on Wednesday evening, and was scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the country’s president, Isaac Herzog.

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Sydney pro-Palestine rally to go ahead on Saturday despite premier’s concern over ‘bad faith actors’

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Chris Minns says he believes protesters do not want ‘hate speech within their march’ but final decision on event is up to NSW police

Saturday’s planned pro-Palestine march through the streets of Sydney will go ahead unless police launch an 11th-hour legal challenge amid rising concern about unrest.

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said a final decision on the event would be up to the police while warning the government had been briefed by senior officers who had expressed concern about the event due to “changed circumstances”.

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Australian ministers say Palestinians are being ‘collectively punished’ for Hamas barbarism

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Ed Husic backed by fellow Labor frontbencher Anne Aly who says Israel ‘could be investigated’ for alleged war crimes

Palestinians are being “collectively punished for Hamas’s barbarism”, senior federal minister Ed Husic has said, in the strongest condemnation yet of Israel’s reprisals in Gaza by a member of the Australian government.

Fellow Labor frontbencher Anne Aly immediately backed Husic saying it was “difficult to argue” that Palestinians, including 1,000 children who had been killed, were not being “collectively punished”. Aly, the early childhood education minister, suggested Israel could be investigated over whether it had committed war crimes.

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Biden tells Israel not to ‘repeat mistakes’ made by US after 9/11

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President reaffirmed US support but urged Israel not to be ‘consumed by rage’ as Netanyahu promises to allow aid into Gaza

Joe Biden has appealed to Israel not to be “consumed” by rage in its response to the attack by Hamas, as the US president pledged stalwart support for Israel for its self-defence and the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to allow aid into Gaza via Egypt.

Speaking in Tel Aviv towards the end of his one-day visit to the region, which did not include any meetings with leaders from the Arab world, Biden compared Israel’s predicament after the massacre of more than 1,300 of its citizens to the US’s crisis 22 years ago after the 9/11 attacks. His country had “sought and got justice”, but also “made mistakes”, he said.

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