Feiz Chihaoui says he was told wife Islam Alashi, Palestinian national with a visa to remain in UK, not entitled to help to leave
The husband of a teacher from Liverpool who is stuck in Gaza has criticised the Foreign Office for failing to help his wife reach safety.
Islam Alashi, who teaches English as a second language, travelled to Gaza in September to visit family. She has been stuck there amid Israeli bombardment since the conflict with Hamas began on 7 October.
Continue reading...Daniel Hagari’s comments come amid mounting concerns about Israeli plans to expand military operations where people have sought refuge from fighting
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has urged leaders of developing nations to unite in the face of growing challenges due to the Israel-Hamas war as he convened a virtual summit of more than 100 countries.
“This is the time when the countries of the global south should unite for the greater global good,” Modi said in a speech, referring to developing nations.
Continue reading...Israeli military expansion seen as likely alongside acute shortages of of food and water
The UN has said Gaza’s civilians face the “immediate possibility” of starvation, amid mounting concerns about Israeli plans to expand military operations in parts of the south where people have sought refuge from fighting.
Fuel shortages on Friday halted aid shipments and blacked out communications across the strip. The UN said its trucks could not move and it could not coordinate deliveries. Palestinian network operators said they could no longer power the phone and internet systems.
Continue reading...Hamas says three fighters died, while Israeli military says it killed at least five, as tensions rise
Israeli security forces have mounted a major raid in the city of Jenin, destroying roads and killing between three and five Hamas militants in the latest instance of surging violence across the occupied West Bank.
Hamas said three of its fighters died in the overnight raid, which began late on Thursday night and lasted about eight hours. Israeli military officials said their forces had killed at least five.
Continue reading...Groups behind ceasefire protests attended by hundreds of thousands say there will be events across UK
More than 100 pro-Palestine events demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are due to take place across the UK this weekend, but there will be no large-scale national march in London, according to organisers.
Organisers of the pro-Palestine marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to London’s streets have planned smaller action in villages, towns and cities rather than holding a national march in the capital this Saturday, citing the challenges of coordinating weekly national protests and growing support across the country. The next large national march in central London would be held on 25 November, they said.
Continue reading...Critics say Labour leader missed chance to sound more sympathetic to Palestinian suffering and accept that a Gaza ceasefire call was implied
For the last few weeks, Keir Starmer has been trying to avoid a confrontation with his party over Gaza. With dozens of MPs preparing to rebel and vote for the Scottish National party’s amendment calling for a ceasefire in the region, the Labour leader and his top team held a series of difficult meetings as they tried to thrash out a compromise.
The rebels suggested Labour submitted an amendment of their own, which Starmer agreed to. But they were also desperate for him to use the word “ceasefire”, and on that point he refused to budge.
Continue reading...Yehudit Weiss, abducted from Be’eri kibbutz by Hamas, found dead in building next to hospital after raid
The Israeli military has recovered the body of an Israeli hostage from a building near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, as soldiers continued to search the hospital complex after Wednesday’s early morning raid.
Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old woman, was abducted from the Be’eri kibbutz by Hamas militants during their attack on southern Israel on 7 October, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 taken hostage. She had been undergoing cancer treatment.
Continue reading...Israeli military also claims to have uncovered a vehicle with weapons belonging to the group
The Israeli military said late on Thursday that it uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft and a vehicle with weapons at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital complex.
“In the Shifa hospital, IDF [Israel Defense Forces] troops found an operational tunnel shaft and a vehicle containing a large number of weapons,” the military said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Labour leader is target of growing anger in party over how he has handled vote on Israel-Hamas war
Keir Starmer faces more resignations from Labour’s frontbench if he does not shift his policy on Gaza, amid growing anger in the party over how he has handled the vote on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Labour leader suffered the biggest rebellion of his tenure on Wednesday night as 10 frontbenchers resigned or were sacked from his team after voting for a Scottish National party motion that called for a ceasefire.
Continue reading...Ceasefire Now Coalition says 90 activists injured by police using violent tactics to break up protest outside DNC headquarters
Protesters against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza were locked in a battle of words with Washington police on Thursday after accusing officers of violently breaking up a demonstration on Capitol Hill that organisers insist was peaceful.
Leaders of the Ceasefire Now Coalition said 90 of their activists were injured in confrontations that took place after they staged a candlelit vigil outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...Josep Borrell says ‘one horror does not justify another’ and calls for unconditional release of hostages
The EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has urged Israel not to be “consumed by rage” in its response to the Hamas attacks of 7 October as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, acknowledged splits in Europe on the conflict.
Speaking from Kibbutz Be’eri – where at least 85 of the 1,200 people killed that day died and from where about 30 of the more than 240 were kidnapped – Borrell said “Israel must be defended”, but, “one horror does not justify another: innocent civilians, including thousands of children, have died in recent weeks.
Continue reading...Western officials continue to ask searching questions about future strategy as diplomatic pressure mounts
• US wasn’t always Israel’s strongest ally – what changed and why?
On the surface, Joe Biden gave Israel a clear green light to continue its military campaign in Gaza on Wednesday night, and endorsed its claim that Hamas has been using the al-Shifa hospital as a command and control headquarters.
His remarks in San Francisco after a meeting with Xi Jinping will delight Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
Continue reading...Flyer campaign raises fears war could spread to areas IDF previously said were safe
Israel has dropped leaflets into southern Gaza telling Palestinian civilians to leave four towns on the eastern edge of Khan Younis, raising fears that its war against Hamas could spread to areas it previously said were safe.
The flyers told civilians in Bani Shuhaila, Khuza’a, Abassan and al-Qarara that anyone in the vicinity of militants or their positions was “putting his life in danger”, local people told Reuters.
Continue reading...All communications are down in Gaza because of lack of fuel, UNRWA says; Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza has been completely shut down
Thai Muslim politicians said they had received assurances from Hamas that all of the Thai hostages being held would be among those released if mediators succeed in brokering a truce in Gaza, Reuters reports.
The Islamist militants took an estimated 240 people hostage on 7 October, and Thailand’s foreign ministry says 25 Thais were among those abducted, and 39 were among those killed that day.
Any ceasefire either three days or five days … Hamas will release hostages, including all Thais being held, which they promised.
This could be in less than 10 days or in the next two to three days.
Continue reading...US president says Hamas has said it will not stop attacking Israel and said Israeli forces had switched from aerial bombardment to more targeted operations
Joe Biden has presented an unapologetic defence of his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that Hamas presented a continuing threat to Israel and that Israeli forces were seeking to avoid civilian casualties.
After a summit meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco, Biden told reporters on Wednesday night that Hamas had pledged to continue its attacks on Israel.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 people gather in the rain, shutting down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard
Hundreds of demonstrators in Los Angeles shut down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon in a protest demanding Joe Biden and US lawmakers call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
In the heart of Hollywood, along the palm tree-lined streets near Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and the Walk of Fame, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs – “not in our name” and “let Gaza live”. More than 1,000 people gathered in the rain, including a group that staged a sit-in at the intersection with flowers in hand and shirts reading “Jews say ceasefire now” as tourists watched.
Continue reading...Resolution calls for release of hostages held by Hamas and for humanitarian corridors across the Gaza Strip
Six weeks after the start of the war in Gaza, the UN security council has come together to back a resolution calling for “urgent extended humanitarian pauses for [a] sufficient number of days to allow aid access” to the embattled territory.
The vote late on Wednesday overcame an impasse which saw four unsuccessful attempts to adopt a resolution.
Continue reading...This blog has closed. You can read all our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here and our latest full report here
Here is the Israeli announcement from early on Wednesday morning announcing that it was carrying out an operation inside al-Shifa hospital.
The IDF said on its english-language account on X:
Operational Update: IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information and an operational necessity. The IDF is conducting a ground operation in Gaza to defeat Hamas and rescue our hostages. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the civilians in Gaza.
The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians being used by Hamas as human shields.
In recent weeks, the IDF has publicly warned time and again that Hamas’ continued military use of the Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status under international law, and enabled ample time to stop this unlawful abuse of the hospital.
Yesterday, the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours. Unfortunately, they did not.
The IDF has also facilitated wide-scale evacuations of the hospital and maintained regular dialogue with hospital authorities. We call upon all Hamas terrorists present in the hospital to surrender.
International pressure grows for proof of Hamas HQ at al-Shifa as military operation continues
Turkey has led international diplomatic condemnation of Israel after its troops entered the Shifa hospital complex in Gaza, as the UN and aid agencies expressed concern about the impact of the Israeli operation on staff and patients.
Speaking in parliament, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, described Israel as a “terror state” that was committing war crimes and violating international law in Gaza, and he repeated his view that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation.
Continue reading...Head of the World Health Organization calls decision to send troops into hospital ‘totally unacceptable’
Israeli soldiers were inside Gaza’s largest hospital on Wednesday after an early morning raid that drew fierce condemnation from the head of the World Health Organization, who called it “totally unacceptable”.
The decision to send troops into al-Shifa hospital marked an escalation of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, amid increased calls for a ceasefire. Witnesses reported seeing tanks and masked soldiers in the grounds of the hospital around 3am as patients and civilians remained trapped inside.
Continue reading...