Category Archives: Palestinian Territories

Israeli ground offensive in Gaza faces physical and political risks

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Military has might on its side but Hamas is prepared and the humanitarian fallout could prove costly

Israel is poised to launch a ground offensive into the northern half of Gaza, an attack that, for all the country’s military superiority, is fraught with uncertainty and whose potential humanitarian consequences are grim.

The military called up 300,000 reservists on Monday to add to its 170,000-strong standing army and has been massing them near the Gaza border. Hamas, it is estimated, can count on 30,000 fighters, perhaps a tenth of the likely invasion force, and it has neither the tanks nor the air power available to the attackers.

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Don’t avoid discussing Hamas-Israel conflict with children, say experts

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Ignoring tricky questions could drive young people on to the internet, where disinformation proliferates

As difficult as it might be, carers should not avoid discussing the Hamas-Israel conflict with children, experts have said. Doing so, they warn, could drive young people on to the internet where disturbing disinformation and images are easily found.

“Don’t avoid difficult questions,” said Emma Citron, a consultant clinical psychologist with extensive experience of working with children. “If those questions are in the heads of our young people, it’s our job to give them a balanced and reassuring – but also an honest – account.”

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Tens of thousands rally around the world in support of Israel and Palestinians

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Jewish and Palestinian communities take to the streets as police increase presence around schools, synagogues and mosques

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across the Middle East and in parts of Asia, Europe and the United States in support of Palestinians and condemnation of Israel as it intensified its strikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attacks a week ago.

Elsewhere, Jewish communities in the US, France and other countries held rallies on Friday in solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack from Gaza, the deadliest killing spree against Israeli civilians in the country’s 75-year history.

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Palestinians flee northern Gaza before expected Israeli ground invasion

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Thousands pack into cars and trucks or leave on foot after Israel told them to go, as violence flares in East Jerusalem and West Bank

Thousands of people have been fleeing to the southern half of Gaza before an expected ground invasion of the blockaded strip as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict descends into its bloodiest period in decades.

The UN says it estimates “tens of thousands” of people have fled their homes and moved south, adding that more than 400,000 Palestinians in Gaza were already internally displaced before Israel’s military issued an order to evacuate.

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US families of Hamas attack victims tell of ‘total horror’

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At least 22 Americans have died and 14 are missing – and officials are scrambling to determine whether the latter are still alive

As US officials work to determine the whereabouts of 14 US citizens unaccounted for since last Saturday’s deadly Hamas assault on Israel, US families of the dead or missing are describing their loss.

At least 22 Americans are known to have died in last Saturday’s attacks, and officials have said they are working to determine whether those missing have been killed or taken hostage.

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Blinken urges Israel to avoid civilian deaths and wants safe zones in Gaza

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Top US diplomat tours Arab states in effort to avoid wider war over expected Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip

The US’s most senior diplomat has urged Israel to take every possible precaution to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza as he called for the establishment in the territory of safe zones where shelter, food, water and medical supplies can be provided.

“We have urged the Israelis to use every possible precaution to avoid harm to civilians,” the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said. “We recognise many Palestinian families in Gaza are suffering through no fault of their own and that Palestinian civilians have lost their lives.”

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Australia news live: Minns says NSW police response to pro-Palestine rally will be ‘reasonable and proportionate’; voice referendum latest updates

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Follow today’s news live, including the latest updates on the voice referendum

A strong no vote could hold back reforms in Indigenous affairs, Wyatt says

Ken Wyatt said he doesn’t think the government has made a mistake deciding against legislating the voice if the referendum is defeated, but he fears what a strong no vote will mean for the future of Indigenous affairs:

We’ve got to respect what Australians are saying if there is an overwhelming no majority …

The fear I have now is with a strong no, whether the government will become reticent to be adventurous on doing significant reforms in the future in the Aboriginal affairs portfolio, and on programs and policies that could reshape the landscape of Aboriginal affairs and the way in which Aboriginal people access the plethora of services that we all take for granted across this nation as our inherent right.

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UN says tens of thousands have fled south in Gaza after Israel’s evacuation order – as it happened

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More than 400,000 in Gaza were already internally displaced before Israel’s evacuation order, UN humanitarian office says

“This is chaos, no one understands what to do,” said Inas Hamdan, an officer at the UN Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza City told an Associated Press reporter while she grabbed whatever she could throw into her bags as the panicked shouts of her relatives could be heard around her.

She said all the UN staff in Gaza City and northern Gaza had been told to evacuate south to Rafah.

The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza city, from their homes, southwards, for their own safety and protection, and to move to the area south of wadi Gaza, the river Gaza, as shown on the map.

The Hamas terrorist organisation waged a war against the state of Israel, and Gaza City is an area where military operations are taking place. This evacuation is for your own safety. You will be able to return to Gaza city only when another announcement permitting it is made. Do not approach the area of the security fence of Israel. Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza city, inside tunnels, underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent civilians who are using you as human shields.

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Gaza residents told to move south as Israel prepares for expected ground assault

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UN says Israeli military has given 1.1 million Gaza residents 24 hours to move amid warnings it could cause ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’

Israel’s military has delivered sweeping evacuation orders for almost half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people ahead of an expected ground offensive aiming to eradicate the Hamas militant group after its unprecedented assault on Israel, UN officials said.

The order sent panic through civilians and aid workers already struggling under Israeli airstrikes and a blockade.

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Australian government to charter at least two flights for citizens affected by Israel-Hamas war

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Services are in addition to Qantas flights and come amid ‘highly challenging and rapidly changing’ situation

Australia is arranging at least two charter flights to help citizens to flee Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, on top of the two Qantas services already announced.

The Australian government described the situation in the region as “highly challenging and rapidly changing” but said on Friday there had been “no evacuation” of the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv.

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‘We came to thank him and say goodbye’: mourners bury young Briton in quiet, jittery Jerusalem

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As Nathanel Young, 20, was buried, the streets of the divided city remained uneasily empty with both sides fearing reprisals

On a hillside in Jerusalem, hundreds of people stood in near silence at the funeral of a “lone soldier”. Speaking only in whispers or exchanging glances they crammed on to the stone walls that overlooked the line of white gravestones in Israel’s national cemetery on Mount Herzl.

A fearful quiet had descended on the city, with the line of cars snaking up the hillside and the crowds of people finding their way to the cemetery marking the only crowds in a place normally teeming with life.

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US to send more arms to Israel before expected Gaza invasion

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Ground forces are gathering near the border, as UN says that Gaza is dangerously close to running out of food and water

The US pledged to send more arms to Israel on Thursday ahead of an expected ground assault in Gaza against Hamas, as the UN warned food and water supplies were running dangerously low in the blockaded enclave.

As America’s top diplomat flew into Israel following Saturday’s surprise cross-border assault by Hamas, the UK announced it would send two navy ships and would begin surveillance flights in its own show of support.

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Two Jewish schools in London to close over security fears

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Ministers announce £3m extra funding for charity that helps protect Jewish community sites

Two Jewish schools in north-west London are set to close temporarily because of safety fears after the crisis in Israel and Gaza, as ministers announced £3m for a charity that helps protect Jewish community sites.

The extra support for the Community Security Trust (CST) was announced after a roundtable discussion at Downing Street involving ministers, police and the charity, which recorded a quadrupling of antisemitic incidents in the UK since Hamas’s attack on Israel.

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Palestinian death toll passes 1,500 – as it happened

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In previous encounters, says Nebal Farsakh, there would always be some time without airstrikes.

“But now, there is not a single minute. That’s why the casualties keep going up and up,” says Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent.

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European leaders pledge crackdown on antisemitism as incidents rise

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Bans on pro-Hamas celebrations and pro-Palestinian protests announced in several countries amid tensions

Officials across Europe are scrambling to curtail any spillover of tensions from the Israel-Hamas war, with Germany pledging a “zero tolerance” approach to antisemitism and France banning pro-Palestinian protests amid concerns for public order.

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, told parliament on Thursday that while thousands of people had rallied in support of Israel, the country had also seen “disgraceful images on our streets in which the most brutal acts of terror have been celebrated in broad daylight”.

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Biden White House condemns Trump’s ‘dangerous’ Israel-Hamas remarks

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2024 Republican frontrunner called Hezbollah militant group ‘very smart’, prompting a stern reaction from the White House

Joe Biden and Donald Trump continued to clash over the Israel-Hamas war on Thursday as a White House spokesman rebuked the former US president for what he called “dangerous and unhinged” comments about the conflict.

Hamas, an Iran-backed militant group based in Gaza, launched attacks on Israel on Saturday, killing more than 1,000 people and taking more than 100 hostage. Israeli air strikes have subsequently killed more than 1,000 people and significantly worsened the humanitarian situation in Gaza. A ground invasion is thought likely.

Reuters contributed reporting

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FA criticised by Jewish groups over response to Hamas attacks

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  • Silence for all Israel-Palestine victims and no lit Wembley arch
  • Campaign Against Antisemitism says plan ‘utterly shameful’

Leading Jewish groups have hit out at English football’s response to the Hamas attacks in Israel and criticised the Football Association’s refusal to light up the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag.

With the FA believed to be nervous over being seen to favour one of Israel and Palestine, it has decided to hold a period of silence for all victims of the conflict before England host Australia in a friendly on Friday night. On a day when the Premier League broke its silence on the situation, it was announced that the England and Australia players would wear black armbands and that supporters would be prevented from bringing Israeli and Palestinian kits and flags into Wembley.

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Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf tells of war’s impact on in-laws in Gaza

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Yousaf renews calls for UK government to urge ceasefire as he describes his family’s fears for trapped relatives

His mother-in-law in besieged Gaza is running out of drinking water. His brother-in-law, a doctor, is dealing with the horror of trying to identify body parts in a hospital nearby. And his four-year-old daughter, at home in Scotland, can only understand that “granny is afraid of the thunder”.

Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, has described in brutal detail the impact on trapped family members of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response to the shock attacks by Hamas at the weekend.

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What are the rules of war – and how do they apply to the Israel-Gaza conflict?

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International humanitarian law dictates the rules combatants should follow – with a central tenet that ‘civilians should not be targeted’

Amid the horror of the attacks by Hamas on Israel and the response by the Israeli military in Gaza, there have been calls for both sides to abide by international law and accusations of breaches.

So what is the framework of international laws that is supposed to govern war or armed conflicts?

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