Smoke rises in the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, November 8, 2023.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Israel signals future role in Gaza as war with Hamas enters second month
As the Israeli military campaign against Hamas entered its second month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered the clearest indication to date about what Israel has planned for the war's aftermath, warning that Israel will need to oversee the security of the Gaza Strip once the fighting is over.
His plan, if enacted, would appear to stop short of a full reoccupation of Gaza -- a move that the United States and others have warned against. He provided few details about the postwar plan and said the security situation would be "for an indefinite period."
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US President Biden confirms asking Netanyahu to ‘pause’ fighting in Gaza
A White House spokesperson previously said the two leaders discussed the potential for "tactical pauses" in fighting in Gaza for humanitarian reasons and possible hostage releases during their conversation on Monday.
Netanyahu rejected request by Joe Biden for three-day pause to help free hostages
Reports Times of Israel
Arab Israeli lawmaker denounces Hamas' October 7 attack, says Hamas’ actions 'do not represent Arab society, nor the Palestinian people'
Reports Haaretz
'There will be no entry of fuel or workers, and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,' says Netanyahu
Spectator Index Reports
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Credit: Reuters Photo
IDF strikes Hezbollah weapons depot in southern Lebanon
Spectator Index Reports
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that army forces are deployed “in the heart of the Gaza City” amid an ongoing military offensive in Palestinian territory
Anadolu English Reports
Saudi Arabia will host summits of Arab, African and Islamic countries to discuss Gaza conflict
The Reuters news agency is reporting that Saudi Arabia will host summits of Arab, Islamic and African nations in coming days to discuss Israel’s war on Gaza.
“We will see, this week, in the next few days Saudi Arabia convening an emergency Arab summit in Riyadh,” Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.
“You will see Saudi Arabia convening an Africa-Saudi summit in Riyadh, and in a few days you will see Saudi Arabia convening an Islamic summit,” he said.
“In the short term, the objective of bringing these three summits and other gatherings under the leadership of Saudi Arabia would be to drive towards peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
Red Cross says convoy fired on in Gaza city
The International Committee of the Red Cross said one of its humanitarian convoys in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, came under fire Tuesday, damaging two trucks and wounding a driver as aid workers tried to deliver desperately needed medical supplies to health care facilities.
“These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work,” William Schomburg, the leader of the Red Cross operation in Gaza, said in a statement. “We are here to bring urgent assistance to civilians in need. Ensuring that vital aid can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.”
The Red Cross said the convoy that came under fire included five trucks and two other vehicles that were taking supplies to Al Quds hospital operated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a local partner of the Red Cross.
NYT Reports
More than 200 German nationals leave Gaza: Minister
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has confirmed that more than 200 German nationals and their family members have left the Gaza Strip.
In a post on social media, Baerbock thanked Egypt for its assistance in helping the Germans leave the bombarded coastal enclave.
Al Jazeera Reports
Four killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza’s Jabalia
According to Al Jazeera report, the strike hit a house in the Jabalia refugee camp located in the northernmost part of the Gaza Strip.
In recent days, Jabalia saw a series of massive bombings that saw scores of people killed.
Israeli night raid under way in West Bank’s Aqaba
Israeli forces launched a raid early on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank’s town of Aqaba.
Israeli security forces conduct raid in Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem
Spectator Index Reports
UN agency says all bakeries in northern Gaza have now closed due to 'lack of fuel, water and wheat flour'
Palestinians queue to buy bread, amid shortages of food supplies and fuel, in Khan Younis
Credit: Reuters Photo
Hamas demands UN pressure on Israel to restore Gaza water supply
In a statement, the Palestinian group called the Israeli suspension of water supply to the enclave as a “crime against humanity that leads to genocide.”
“The (Israeli) occupation cut off all water supplies to the Gaza Strip … which forced citizens to drink unsafe water after the occupation bombed the remaining water tanks with American missiles and aircraft,” Hamas said in a statement.
It called on the UN and international parties “to stop this crime against humanity that leads to genocide and to work immediately to restore water supplies.”
Anadolu English Reports
A child stands next to containers, as Palestinians collect water, amid a lack of clean and drinking water, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 5, 2023.
Credit: Reuters Photo
International Red Cross says 'deeply troubled' by attacks on humanitarian convoy
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it’s “deeply troubled” that its humanitarian convoy of five trucks and two ICRC vehicles carrying lifesaving medical supplies to health facilities in Gaza City came under fire on Tuesday.
“These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work,” said William Schomburg, head of the ICRC delegation in Gaza.
“We are here to bring urgent assistance to civilians in need. Ensuring that vital assistance can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.”
Children carry banners and flags during a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in front of the Red Cross offices in Beirut, Lebanon
Credit: Reuters Photo
9 killed in strike on Jabalia refugee camp, reports Palestinian media
Israeli raids have continued overnight & early morning in the occupied West Bank’s Aqaba, Qalqilya and Balata areas
Quds News Network Report
A gunman stands as mourners attend the funeral of Palestinian militants who were killed in an Israeli raid, in Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 7,2023.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Gunmen stand as mourners attend the funeral of Palestinian militants who were killed in an Israeli raid, in Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 7,2023.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Israeli forces storm Birzeit University
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces conducted a raid on Birzeit University on Wednesday morning. The university guards were reportedly instructed to open the doors as six military vehicles entered the campus. Birzeit University, located in the occupied West Bank, is a prominent educational institution that operates independently from the Palestinian Authority (PA). The university has a history of active student engagement, which often mirrors the broader political landscape in Palestine. In response to escalated attacks by Israeli forces, the university council transitioned to online learning on October 9, as reported by Wafa.
Middle East Eye Reports
Netanyahu working on false pretense that he is Mr Security, He's Mr Bullshit, ex Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says
According to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Netanyahu has been deeply affected emotionally by the attacks on the 7th of October and that he has been 'working all his life on the false pretense that he is Mr Security. He’s Mr Bullshit', adding that every minute Netanyahu 'is prime minister he is a danger to Israel'.
Spectator Index Reports
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Credit: X/@adnan_syed128
G7 nations in agreement that 2-state solution only path to peace, says Japan FM
Japan's foreign minister says that the G7 countries are in agreement that a two-state solution is the only path to a just and comprehensive peace.
Top diplomats from the G7 leading industrial democracies have announced a unified stance on the Israel-Gaza war after meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel’s right to self-defence and calling for “humanitarian pauses” to speed aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the nations sought to balance criticism of Hamas’s attacks against Israel and a push for “urgent action” to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave in need of food, water, medical care and shelter.
Al Jazeera and Spectator Index Reports
At least 40,000 Palestinians killed and injured since Oct 7
Israel's war on Gaza has killed and injured at least 40,000 people since Oct. 7
• 10,328 people including 4,237 children, 2,719 women, 631 elderly people killed
• 26,000 others injured, more than 3,000 people missing.
Pictures from Israel's attack on Indonesia Hospital in North Gaza strip yesterday
Mourners pray next to the bodies of Palestinians from the Daher family, who were killed by Israel strikes, at Indonesia Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, November 8, 2023
Mourners pray next to the bodies of Palestinians from the Daher family, who were killed by Israel strikes, at Indonesia Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip
Mourners stand next to the bodies of Palestinians from the Daher family, who were killed by Israel strikes, at Indonesia Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip
Pictures from yesterday's attack in Khan Younis
"There is no one left" - says Palestinian who lost three generations of his family in Israeli strike
Credit: Reuters Photo
Palestinian Mohammed Hamdan, who lost 35 family members of three generations in an Israeli air strike, stands on the rubble of his family home that was destroyed in the strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 7, 2023.
Blinken says Israel should not 'reoccupy' Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called on Israel not to reoccupy Gaza once its war with Hamas ends.
Speaking to reporters after G7 foreign ministers held talks in Japan, Blinken said that there should be "no reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict. (AFP)
UK seeks pro-peace Palestinian leadership as soon as possible
A move towards a peace-loving leadership in Palestine is the most desired outcome in the Israel-Hamas conflict, British foreign minister James Cleverly said on Wednesday, reiterating Britain's support for a two-state solution.
"In the short term, it is inevitable that Israel, because they have the troops in Gaza, will need to have a security responsibility," Cleverly said at the G7 summit in Japan. (Reuters)
Gaza ministry says 10,569 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7
People mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 8, 2023.
Credit: Reuters Photo
At least 10,569 Palestinians including 4,324 children, have been killed and 26,457 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Wednesday.
British police came under mounting government pressure on Wednesday to ban a pro-Palestinian rally scheduled to take place in London on the day the country commemorates its war dead. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called the protest against the Israel-Hamas war scheduled for Saturday "provocative and disrespectful". (AFP)
Israel to shun Paris Gaza aid conference: French presidency
Israeli representatives will not participate at a Thursday "humanitarian conference" for Gaza in Paris organised by French President Emmanuel Macron, his office said.
Like other governments, Israel nevertheless has "an interest in the humanitarian situation improving in Gaza", an official in Macron's office, who asked not to be named, told reporters on Wednesday. (AFP)
Credit: Reuters Photo
Palestinian rescuers search for casualties under the rubble of a house hit by an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, November 7, 2023.
Belgium wants sanctions against Israel for Gaza bombings
Belgium's deputy prime minister called on the Belgian government on Wednesday to adopt sanctions against Israel and investigate the bombings of hospitals and refugee camps in Gaza.
“It is time for sanctions against Israel. The rain of bombs is inhumane," deputy prime minister Petra De Sutter told Nieuwsblad newspaper. “It is clear that Israel does not care about the international demands for a ceasefire,” she said. (Reuters)
Italy will send a hospital ship close to the coast of Gaza to help treat victims of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
War on Hamas is 'war of the free world': Israeli FM to EU lawmakers
Israel has no intention of reoccupying Gaza or controlling it for a long time, says senior Israeli official (Reuters)
Hamas says UN agency complicit in 'forced displacement' of Gazans
Hamas on Wednesday accused the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees of "colluding" with Israel in the "forced displacement" of residents of Gaza.
"UNRWA and its officials bear responsibility for this humanitarian catastrophe, in particular the residents of the Gaza (City) area and north of it" who are following instructions to flee, said Salama Maruf, head of the media bureau of Gaza rulers Hamas. (AFP)
Qatar-mediated talks trying to secure release of 10-15 hostages held by Hamas
Negotiations mediated by Qatar, in coordination with the US, are ongoing to secure the release of 10 to 15 hostages held by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in exchange for a 1-2 day humanitarian pause of Israeli hostilities, a source briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Wednesday. (Reuters)
UN rights chief says war crimes committed on both sides of Israel-Hamas conflict
Teddy bears symbolising hostages and missing children are displayed one month on from the October 7th attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Obelisk Monument, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 7, 2023.
Credit: Reuters Photo
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday war crimes had been committed by both Israel and Hamas in the conflict that erupted just over a month ago.
"The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October were heinous, they were war crimes - as is the continued holding of hostages," Volker Turk said at the Rafah crossing in Egypt on the border with Gaza.
"The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians is also a war crime, as is unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians," he added. (Reuters)