Israeli prime minister releases statement following visit to scene of strike in which 12 youngsters died
Hundreds of thousands of people have converged on Deir al-Balah, a small city in the centre of the Gaza Strip that is the only major area yet to be stormed, Reuters reports.
Many have been forced there by fighting in the ruins of Khan Younis further south since last week.
Two reported dead as Israeli officials weigh up response to rocket strike blamed on Hezbollah that killed 12 children
Israeli drones struck a remote road in southern Lebanon, underscoring tensions as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised a “harsh” response to the rocket strike on the occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children.
“The state of Israel will not and cannot let this pass. Our response will come, and it will be harsh,” he said during a visit to the remote town of Majdal Shams, a majority Druze village in a region annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Philippe Sands KC says non-binding opinion will nevertheless be seen as ‘authoritative statement of law’
The UK should stop arming Israel in order to comply with the historic advisory opinion by the UN’s top court that member states should not “render aid or assistance” to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, a lawyer who represented Palestine has said.
In a broad and damning ruling published this month, the international court of justice (ICJ), found that Israel’s settlement policies and occupation of the territories were in breach of international law. It also said UN member states were under an obligation to neither recognise the occupation as lawful nor abet it.
Continue reading...Airwars says move is first step in effort to identify every civilian killed during Israeli military campaign
A conflict monitor has named nearly 3,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza in almost 350 separate incidents during the first 17 days of the war – the first step in an exercise aimed at identifying every civilian killed during the Israeli military campaign.
Though the 2,993 victims named are a fraction of the overall death total of 39,000 cited by the Palestinian ministry of health in Gaza, Airwars, the group involved, says the effort shows it is possible to name those killed while a war is ongoing.
Continue reading...Israel warplanes carry out strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, in apparent retaliation for attack on occupied Golan Heights
The Lebanese government has asked the US to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, has told Reuters.
Bou Habib said the US had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Sunday he does not want to see an escalation of conflict.
Continue reading...Palestinian officials say at least 30 killed in strike on school in Deir al-Balah where thousands were seeking shelter
A wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting central and southern Gaza have killed at least 50 people and injured an estimated 200, with one strike hitting a school where thousands were seeking shelter.
Palestinian health ministry officials said at least 30 people were killed in an airstrike on the Khadija school in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Continue reading...The president of Palestine’s National Olympic Committee says he will not shake hands with his Israeli counterpart, or any of their delegation, at Paris 2024 unless they recognise his state’s right to independence.
Jibril Rajoub, who has led calls for Israel’s athletes to be banned from international competition amid the war in Gaza, told the Guardian he would not engage with Yael Arad or her colleagues out of principle if they crossed paths during the Olympics.
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Reuters has the following breaking news line: at least 12 Palestinians were killed on Saturday in an Israeli attack on a school housing displaced people west of Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, Gaza’s civil defence service said.
There has been no comment yet from the Israeli military.
By recognising Palestine, we recognise a sovereign people who cannot have their land stolen by illegal settlements or be subjected to the inhumane bombardment that we are seeing right now.
We need two states living side by side … we recognise the spirit of Palestinians and their dream of self-determination, and it will never be broken.”
Continue reading...Given barely any warning, many people fled with nothing as bombs fell and bullets flew around them
The evacuation order jolted Munadil Abu Younes one morning earlier this week as he scrolled on his phone reading the news. Israeli forces ordered thousands to flee, including from the area where he was sheltering. His eighth displacement was like nothing that had come before.
“Israeli forces told us about the evacuation order as they entered the area,” he said. “We barely had time to collect our things, most people fled without taking anything. During previous evacuation orders they gave us a day or two, but this time we didn’t even have half an hour.”
Continue reading...Amid anger at US vice-president’s call to end Gaza war, many families of hostages held by Hamas agree with her
Members of Israel’s rightwing government have hit back at Kamala Harris over her demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after she met Benjamin Netanyahu during his US visit.
After a brief meeting with the Israeli prime minister, which Harris described as “frank and constructive”, the US vice-president and presidential candidate said it was “time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination”.
Continue reading...Unnamed official says comments should not be interpreted by Hamas that there is a gap between the US and its ally
A spokeswoman for No 10 added – regarding Labour dropping the Tories’ plan to challenge the ICC – that the Government believes very strongly in the separation of powers and the rule of law domestically and internationally.
“I think you would note that the courts have already received a number of submissions on either side, so they are well seized of the arguments to make their independent determinations,” she said.
Continue reading...Delegates expect event to pass only what insiders consider the ‘bare minimum’ on recognition motions
Senior Labor figures are attempting to prevent an outbreak of discontent at this weekend’s New South Wales state conference, with delegates expecting the event to pass only what insiders consider the “bare minimum” on recognition motions.
Despite strong pushes from Labor branches and grassroots members for a strong statement on the recognition of Palestine and sanctions on the Israeli government, sources say the party is focused on avoiding a show of disunity.
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Continue reading...Democratic presidential contender strikes tough tone in public remarks following meeting with Israeli prime minister on US visit
Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pressed Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on the “dire” humanitarian situation in Gaza in talks that she described as frank, adding “I will not be silent.”
In comments that were closely watched for signs of a shift from Joe Biden’s policy approach, the US vice-president said after the meeting: “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.”
Continue reading...Netanyahu meets Biden to discuss end to nine-month war in Gaza and has separate meeting with Kamala Harris
White House officials said Israel and Hamas were “closer now than we’ve been before” to reaching a ceasefire deal as Benjamin Netanyahu met Joe Biden on Thursday to discuss an end to the nine-month conflict in Gaza.
The talks at the White House came amid unprecedented political turmoil in the US and domestic pressure on the Israeli prime minster to rescue the dozens of hostages still being held captive after Hamas’s 7 October attack. Netanyahu also met the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, who is likely to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate for November’s election.
Continue reading...Labor is ‘carefully considering’ the ICJ findings on the occupied Palestinian territories – and soon it will have to give its view
It’s the bombshell legal ruling that made it politically impossible for the Australian government to continue to delay imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers.
While much of the Australian media were focused on the latest twists in the US presidential election, the international court of justice delivered sweeping findings against Israel’s conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories, ratcheting up pressure on all governments to take a firmer line.
Continue reading...Penny Wong says settler violence in West Bank includes ‘beatings, sexual assault and torture’ as she announces Magnitsky-style sanctions
Australia has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israelis and a youth group who Canberra says have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says Israel has received a lot of support globally, urging its government to “recognise the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community”. She says settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and a “significant obstacle to peace in the Middle East”.
Continue reading...We factcheck the Israeli prime minister’s statements about letting aid trucks into Gaza, safeguarding civilians and negotiations with Hamas
Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was filled with combative remarks, as well as claims about the war in Gaza, now almost in its tenth month.
Israel’s assault on the territory was triggered by the 7 October Hamas attacks on southern Israel, and has so far killed more than 39,000 people, with thousands more believed to be buried underneath the rubble.
Continue reading...Sole Palestinian American in Congress protests as other progressives call for Israel arms embargo and Gaza ceasefire
Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit and address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday was met with a personal protest in the chamber by the sole Palestinian American member of Congress, while some lawmakers gave the Israeli prime minister a standing ovation, others stayed away, and demonstrations by thousands of protesters took place outside.
The Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib, a leading progressive Democrat and fiercely outspoken opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza, held up a sign that said “war criminal” as Netanyahu was speaking. She also wore a Palestinian flag pin and a keffiyeh, the black and white scarf that has been linked with the Palestinian struggle for over half a century.
Continue reading...At least 39,145 Palestinians killed and 90,257 wounded since 7 October, Palestinian health ministry says
In case you missed it, leaders from Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions have agreed after three days of talks in Beijing to form a national unity government at an unspecified point in the future, in a move that has bolstered China’s status as a global mediator, particularly in the Middle East.
The “Beijing declaration”, signed by 14 Palestinian factions, also represents a significant step forward in negotiations between the groups, although it is light on detail about how to actually achieve Palestinian unification.
We blocked all entrances to the Foreign Office, completely shutting down access to the building until the police started violently dragging people across the pavement on Whitehall.
We disrupted the department in solidarity with the Palestinian people and with civil servants who are raising concerns about being forced to carry out unlawful acts, which no worker should ever be asked to do.
Continue reading...Nasser hospital director pleas for medical supplies and says staff cannot save influx of patients as IDF continues assault
Doctors in the largest hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis pleaded for supplies from a facility overwhelmed by wounded people, as Israeli airstrikes, artillery fire and fighting on the streets continued for a second day.
“There’s no space for more patients. There’s no space in the operating theatres. There is a lack of medical supplies, so we cannot save our patients,” Mohammed Zaqout, the director of Nasser hospital, told AFP.
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