Brit in Gaza describes desperate scene at Rafah crossing
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An Israeli airstrike on a United Nations-run school in a refugee camp in northern Gaza killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more on Saturday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, as a new round of missiles destroyed the northern region of the enclave.
Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said at least 15 people were killed and another 54 were wounded following a strike on al-Fakhoora School in the Jabalia refugee camp this morning.
The Israeli military said that according to a preliminary inquiry it had not targeted the location “but the explosion may have been a result of IDF fire aimed at another target. The circumstances of the incident are under review”.
Juliette Touma, director of communication for the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said: “At least one strike hit the schoolyard where there were tents for displaced families. Another strike hit inside the school where women were baking bread.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said another strike hit a building near the entrance of the Al-Quds Hospital emergency ward just after 2pm local time, injuring dozens in the process.
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1699155893Blinken says ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said a ceasefire from Israel will allow Hamas militants to regroup and carry out more attacks on its rivals.
“It is our view now that a ceasefire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on 7 October,” he said, adding that humanitarian pauses can be critical in protecting civilians, getting aid in and getting foreign nationals out, “while still enabling Israel to achieve its objective, the defeat of Hamas”.
The top US official added that Israel had to take “every possible measure” to prevent civilian casualties in the enclave.
Mr Blinken met his counterparts from Egypt and Jordan as the group agreed on the need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza, but a clear point of division emerged on the question of a possible ceasefire.
Though the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers urged an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Mr Blinken took the position that that would be counterproductive and made clear the furthest he would go was supporting a humanitarian pause to give time for humanitarian supplies to be delivered and getting civilians out of Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly demanded that northern Gaza’s remaining residents flee south, and yesterday it offered a three-hour window for residents to do so. The head of the government media office in Gaza, Salama Maarouf, said no one went south because the Israeli military had damaged the road.
Arpan Rai5 November 2023 03:44
1699154483Israeli protesters call on Netanyahu to resign
Thousands of Israelis are protesting outside Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in central Jerusalem, calling on the Israeli leader to resign in the wake of the bloody 7 October Hamas rampage that sparked the latest Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Netanyahu has so far refused to take responsibility for the attack, in which several thousand Hamas militants burst into Israel and killed over 1,400 people and took some 240 hostages back to Gaza. He says officials, including himself, will have to give answers to the public, but only after the war.
Israel has carried out weeks of airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian health officials saying over 9,000 people were killed in the fighting.
During last night’s protest, demonstrators called on Mr Netanyahu to step down and called for the return of the hostages. They also held a moment of silence for victims of the attack and those in captivity.
“Where were you in Kfar Azza,” chanted the protesters, referring to one of the Israeli border communities that was overrun by Hamas.
“I came here to rescue the country,” said Nava Hefetz, a rabbi and human rights activist, who attended the protest.
Arpan Rai5 November 2023 03:21
1699153293Rescuers dig through destroyed homes to find airstrike survivors
Firefighters sprayed jets of water across twisted metal and jumbled concrete as flames roared from homes destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the Jabaliya refugee camp.
The escalating bombardment comes as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the initial target of its offensive to crush Hamas.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were killed or wounded in the strike late Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip.
Rescuers shouted to each other as they tried to pull people from the wreckage.
Associated Press showed a man, barefoot and with blood soaking through his clothes, being carried on a stretcher through the concrete skeleton of a damaged building.
“Careful, careful!” someone called out as they staggered across the rubble. Others used a bed sheet to haul a dead body from the scene. Inside a bouncing ambulance bouncing driving away, a rescuer wearing black latex gloves patted the head of a young boy cradled in his lap. A man screamed off-camera.
Arpan Rai5 November 2023 03:01
1699152578Israeli bombing kills 51, mostly children and women in Gaza’s Maghazi camp
At least 51 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and scores wounded in an Israeli bombardment of Gaza’s Maghazi camp last night, reported Palestinian news agency WAFA.
A large number of people were killed, said Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, without giving an exact figure.
He added that scores of people with severe injuries were lying on the ground of a hospital’s emergency ward.
Maghazi is located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip.
Arpan Rai5 November 2023 02:49
1699149600US and Arab partners disagree on the need for a cease-fire as Israeli airstrikes kill more civilians
The United States and Arab partners disagreed on Saturday on the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military strikes killed civilians at a United Nations shelter and a hospital, and Israel said the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers were “encountering the full force” of its troops. Large columns of smoke rose as Israel‘s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the target of its offensive to crush Hamas. The Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 9,400 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in nearly a month of war, and that number is likely to rise as the assault continues. “Anyone in Gaza City is risking their life,” Israel‘s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said. US secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan a day after talks in Israel with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted there could be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released. Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said Arab countries want an immediate cease-fire, saying “the whole region is sinking in a sea of hatred that will define generations to come.” Mr Blinken, however, said “it is our view now that a cease-fire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7.”
He said humanitarian pauses can be critical in protecting civilians, getting aid in and getting foreign nationals out, “while still enabling Israel to achieve its objective, the defeat of Hamas.”
Anthony Blinken dismissed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza
(Reuters)
Tom Watling5 November 2023 02:00
1699146000Families of hostages in Gaza call for their release ‘now’
Thousands of people have joined a demonstration in Tel Aviv organized by families of some 240 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.
“Now!” the crowd chanted repeatedly, calling for hostages to be freed without delay after nearly a month in captivity. Many held pictures of the hostages, who include children and older people.
Hadas Kalderon of Kibbutz Nir Oz whose two children were kidnapped, ages 16 and 12, called for a cease-fire in exchange for the return of the hostages.
Hamas militants abducted the hostages in an Oct. 7 cross-border raid that triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war. The plight of the hostages and their families has captured the nation’s attention.
Ella Ben-Ami, a 23-year-old Israeli whose parents were abducted, said she held Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible.
She called for a halt in all humanitarian aid to Gaza until the hostages are freed.
Tom Watling5 November 2023 01:00
1699142400Biden says progression made with humanitarian pause in Gaza
US president Joe Biden has said progress is being made regarding a humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza.
When asked by reporters whether any progress has been made on the prospect of a humanitarian pause, Mr Biden said “yes”.
US president Joe Biden has said progress is being made regarding a humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza
( 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Tom Watling5 November 2023 00:00
1699135219Protesters mass outside Israeli PM Netanyahu’s house as anger grows
Police held back protesters outside the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, amid widespread anger at the failures that led to last month’s deadly attack by Hamas gunmen on communities around the Gaza Strip.
Waving blue and white Israeli flags and chanting “Jail now!”, a crowd in the hundreds pushed through police barriers around Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.
The protest, which coincided with a poll showing more than three quarters of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign, underlined the growing public fury at their political and security leaders.
Netanyahu has so far not accepted personal responsibility for the failures that allowed the surprise assault which saw hundreds of Hamas gunmen storm into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking at least 240 hostage.
As the initial shock has faded, public anger has grown, with many families of the hostages held in Gaza bitterly critical of the government response and calling for their relatives to be brought home.
In Tel Aviv, thousands demonstrated, waving flags and holding photographs of some of the captives in Gaza and posters with slogans like “Release the hostages now at all costs” while crowds chanted, “bring them home now”.
Tom Watling4 November 2023 22:00
1699132819Schools and hospitals hit by strikes as Israel snubs US warnings with increased attacks in Gaza
You can read the full report by international correspondent Bel Trew below.
Tom Watling4 November 2023 21:20
1699131266Hamas armed wing: More than 60 hostages are missing due to Israeli airstrikes
The armed wing of Palestinian militant faction Hamas said on Saturday that more than 60 hostages were missing because of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Late last month, Hamas said an estimated 50 captives held by the group were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said on Hamas’ telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israel hostages were trapped under the rubble.
“It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza,” he said.
Tom Watling4 November 2023 20:54
