The largest telecommunications provider in Gaza, Palestine Telecommunication Company, or Paltel, on Wednesday said that there is another “complete interruption of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip.”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Paltel wrote, “We regret to announce a complete interruption of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip, due to international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again.”
أهلنا الكرام في الوطن الحبيب،
نأسف للإعلان عن انقطاع كامل لكافة خدمات الاتصالات والإنترنت مع قطاع غزة، وذلك بسبب تعرض المسارات الدولية والتي تم إعادة وصلها سابقاً للفصل مرة اخرى.
Last week, Gaza suffered a major communication blackout after strikes from Israel hit internet and phone services in the region.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike in a densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza has left several dead and has caused catastrophic damage according to eyewitnesses in the region.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has claimed that the strike in the Jabalya refugee camp killed Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari who was one of the leaders involved in attacking Israel on October 7.
Hamas, on the other hand, has denied the presence of any of its leaders in the area, spokesperson Hazem Qassem said.
On October 27, Israel launched its ground operation in Gaza, deploying tanks bulldozers, infantrymen and combat engineer units into the Strip.
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Despite Israel’s opposition to the court, Israeli families of those killed and kidnapped on October 7th made an appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday, requesting that the court order an investigation into the killings and abductions.
Yael Vias Gvirsman, an international lawyer based in Tel Aviv, filed a so-called “article 15 communication” with the ICC prosecutor on behalf of the families of over 34 victims of the Hamas attacks, including hostages, missing persons, and people killed.
Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is headquartered in The Hague.
The submission calls on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to concentrate his inquiry on Hamas’s activities in southern Israel on October 7, particularly the forced disappearances that the court considers to be a crime against humanity.
Any claimed crimes falling under its purview that are committed by Palestinians on Israeli territory or on Palestinian territory are already the subject of an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court.
After the Palestinian authorities enrolled in the court in 2015 and were granted UN observer state status, ICC judges decided in 2021 that the court has jurisdiction.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister at the time, referred to the ruling as a “perversion of justice”.
Being a court of last resort, the ICC can only intervene if one of its 124 member states refuses or is unable to bring charges against those accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.
(With agency inputs)
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U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stated on Tuesday that unless the US continued to back Kyiv, Russia would succeed in Ukraine.
In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed President Joe Biden’s request for $106 billion to support his audacious plans for border security, Israel, and Ukraine.
“I can guarantee that without our support (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be successful,” Austin said during the hearing.
“If we pull the rug out from under them now, Putin will only get stronger and he will be successful in doing what he wants to do.”
Biden asked for $61.4 billion for Ukraine, claiming that aiding US allies is essential to maintaining national security. Of that amount, roughly half would be used to restock American weaponry that had been depleted by earlier support.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Congress has already approved $113 billion for the country. According to the White House, there is not enough money to keep sending weapons from American stockpiles to Ukrainian forces battling Russia.
Biden’s most recent budget plan appears to have no clear direction going forward. Democrats and many Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives firmly support Biden’s approach of uniting aid to Ukraine with backing for Israel.
However, the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives, backed by some party members in the Senate, are against merging the two issues.
Austin stated that while the Biden administration wished for Ukraine to carry on with operations into the winter, Kyiv would not be able to do so if they were forced to halt due to a lack of support from the United States.
Russia has increased its force around the destroyed city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and has shifted its troops from defence to offence, according to military officials in Kiev on Monday. However, Ukraine has been preparing to repel the attacks.
(With agency inputs)
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At the start of a trial on Monday, an advocacy group attorney argued that Donald Trump ought to be barred from Colorado’s ballot in the following year’s election due to his having “incited a violent mob” in Washington on January 6, 2021.
A Washington-based lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics is a test case to determine whether the U.S. Constitution’s rarely invoked Civil War-era provision prohibiting individuals who have participated in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office can stop Trump from becoming president once more.
“Trump incited a violent mob to attack our Capitol, to stop the peaceful transition of power,” said Eric Olson, an advocate group’s lawyer and representative of voters, during the trial’s opening remarks, which took place during a week in Colorado District Court.
Prior to the unrest on January 6, the then-president Trump spent weeks disseminating unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud in the wake of his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the November 2020 election and urging his followers to demonstrate in Washington. Following that, he exhorted them to march on the US Capitol, where Congress was formally announcing Biden’s victory. He didn’t ask the rioters to leave until after hours of violence.
Scott Gesler, a Trump attorney, refuted claims that the candidate incited violence among his followers and stated that it would be dangerous to remove him from office on the basis of “legal theories that have never been embraced by a state or federal court.”
In his opening statement, Gesler told the court, “People should be able to run for office and shouldn’t be punished for their speech.”
Nonpartisan election observers believe that Colorado is safely Democratic, so President Biden is predicted to win the state even if Trump is not on the ballot.
Trump’s opponents are putting their plan to prevent him from being on state ballots to the test. Similar lawsuits filed against Trump in Michigan and Minnesota are from advocacy groups. The first case to go to trial is the Colorado one.
The crowd at the Capitol reacted in real time to Trump’s tweets and became more violent, according to testimony given on Monday by Danny Hodges, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department who was hurt during the attack.
According to Hodges, the throng began “punching, kicking, and pushing” him before dousing him in pepper spray and stomping him beneath a police shield.
Opinion polls indicate that Trump is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in what is anticipated to be a rematch with Biden the following year. The “absurd” lawsuit and others like it, according to Trump’s campaign, are “stretching the law beyond recognition.”
(With agency inputs)
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Authorities in the state of Guerrero announced on Monday that the death toll from Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm that devastated the Mexican Pacific resort city of Acapulco last week, has risen to almost 100.
With winds reaching 165 mph (266 kph) on Wednesday, Otis severely damaged Acapulco, causing flooding, tearing off roofs from houses, hotels, and other businesses, submerging cars, and cutting off communication as well as road and aviation connections.
As the city’s nearly 900,000 inhabitants grew more and more in need of food and water, looting started.
Guerrero, the home state of Acapulco, has 45 confirmed deaths and 47 unaccounted-for deaths, according to governor Evelyn Salgado, who cited data from state prosecutors.
48 people were reported dead on Sunday afternoon by Mexico’s federal civil protection authorities. Of them, 43 were found dead in Acapulco and five in the neighbouring town of Coyuca de Benitez.
According to Guerrero’s administration, among the deceased are a Canadian, a British, and an American citizen.
Concerned that authorities were not doing enough, fishermen and crew members on tourist yachts gathered at Playa Honda in Acapulco on Sunday afternoon to search for missing friends and coworkers.
Fisherman Luis Alberto Medina said he was looking for six employees of the harbour.
“It was truly awful,” Medina remarked. “We’ve already found the bodies of others.”
Estimates of the hurricane’s damage run as high as $15 billion. Mexico has dispatched about 17,000 military personnel to Acapulco to maintain law and order and assist in distributing tonnes of food and supplies.
(With agency inputs)
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Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, denounced as “cruel psychological propaganda” a video that Hamas released on Monday, depicting three of the hostages taken by the Islamist organisation on October 7.
In the video, three women—Yelena Trupanob, Danielle Aloni, and Rimon Kirsht, according to Netanyahu—are seen sitting next to each other against a blank wall, with Aloni shouting at the prime minister.
She demanded an agreement to secure their release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, accusing Netanyahu of failing to protect Israeli citizens during the deadly Hamas attack and of failing to get them back home.
“You were supposed to free all of us. You committed to free us all. But instead we are carrying your political, security, military, diplomatic failure,” she said.
In a statement, Netanyahu repeated a pledge to make every effort to bring the hostages home.
“Abducted by Hamas, which is committing war crimes, I embrace you. Our hearts are with you and with the other captives. We are doing everything to bring home all the captives and the missing,” he said.
At 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), the families of the women were scheduled to hold a press conference.
The brief video is the second hostage message that Hamas has released; the first was a clip of French-Israeli woman Mia Schem, 21, which was made public on October 17.
Israeli officials claim that during the attack, which resulted in at least 1,400 deaths, Hamas gunmen captured at least 239 hostages, both Israeli and foreign.
The ground operation in Gaza, which was started by Israeli forces last week after a heavy campaign of airstrikes that, according to Palestinian authorities, killed over 8,000 people, has been complicated by the hostages’ presence.
Although four hostages have been freed thus far, it appears that attempts to secure further releases through back channels facilitated by Qatar have been suspended since the commencement of the ground operation.
(With agency inputs)
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Israel has appeared to have intensified efforts on its ground assault in Gaza. On Monday, Palestinians in northern Gaza woke up to fierce air and artillery strikes as Israeli forces backed by tanks pressed into the enclave.
As per reports in Palestinian media, Israeli air strikes hit areas near Gaza City’s Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals, and Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli forces in a border area east of the city of Khan Younis.
Neither Hamas nor the Israeli military have made any comments on the fighting early on Monday.
The bombardments came hours after Israel released images of battle tanks on the Palestinian enclave’s western coast, signalling a potential effort to surround Gaza’s main city two days after the Israeli government ordered expanded ground incursions across its eastern border.
Some of the unverified pictures posted online also appeared to show Israeli soldiers waving an Israeli flag deep inside Gaza.
Israel’s self-declared “second phase” of a three-week war against Iranian-backed Hamas militants has largely been kept from public view, with forces moving under darkness and a telecommunications blackout cutting off Palestinians.
The phone and internet cuts appeared to ease on Sunday, but telecoms provider Paltel said that Israeli air strikes again had knocked out internet and phone service in parts of the enclave’s northern sections, where Hamas has command centres. The outages have severely hampered rescue operations for casualties of Israeli barrages.
The reported strikes near hospitals came after the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday that it had received warnings from Israeli authorities to immediately evacuate al-Quds hospital, where some 14,000 people have sought shelter.
Israel has accused Hamas of locating command centres and other military infrastructure in Gaza hospitals, something the group denies.
Palestinian officials said around 50,000 people had also taken shelter in Shifa Hospital, adding that they were concerned about ongoing Israeli threats to the facility.
Israel has tightened its blockade and bombarded Gaza since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border into Israel on Oct. 7. Israeli authorities say the militants killed some 1,400 people and took at least 239 hostages.
CALLS FOR A PAUSE
The stepped-up attacks by Israel coincided with a mounting international outcry for a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid in.
Qatar-mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued on Sunday, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters, and included discussions about the possible release of hostages.
Hamas wants a five-day humanitarian pause in Israel’s operations to allow aid and fuel into the besieged Gaza Strip in return for the release of all civilian hostages held by the militants, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
More than half the hostages held by Hamas have foreign passports from 25 countries, including 54 Thai nationals, according to the Israeli government.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council is due to be briefed on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The 15-member body has unsuccessfully voted fours times in the past two weeks on draft resolutions that aimed to take action on the war, but the 193-member U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday to call for an immediate humanitarian truce.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call to protect civilians in Gaza and to “immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian aid” to the besieged costal enclave, the White House said.
Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi committed to the significant acceleration of assistance flowing into Gaza beginning Sunday, the White House said separately.
Colonel Elad Goren of COGAT, the Israeli Defence Ministry agency that coordinates with the Palestinians, said Israel will allow a dramatic increase in aid to Gaza in coming days and Palestinian civilians should head to a “humanitarian zone” in the south of the tiny territory.
Medical authorities in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 2.3 million people, said on Sunday 8,005 people – including 3,324 minors – had been killed.
The Hamas-run Gaza government’s media office said 116 medics and 35 journalists have been killed since the conflict erupted.
Reuters was unable to independently verify these figures.
Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas, a task that it described as necessitating protracted ground assaults in, around and under Gaza City, where the militants have an extensive subterranean bunker network.
There are fears too of regional overspill to the Gaza war, including in Lebanon where the Israeli army and Iranian-backed Hezbollah group have been exchanging fire.
The conflict has prompted large demonstrations worldwide in support of the Palestinians. On Sunday several thousand people rallied in Beirut to show solidarity with Gaza.
Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters on Sunday stormed Russia’s Dagestan airport in Makhachkala where a plane from Israel had just arrived, forcing Russian security forces to close the airport and divert flights while removing the demonstrators. The incident prompted Israel to urge Moscow to protect Israelis and Jews in Russia.
With inputs from Reuters
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Israel has entered into the second phase of war against Hamas as it pledged to continue its “large scale, significant strikes” in pursuit of the Palestinian terror group responsible for the October 7 carnage.
Talking to his troops on the Gaza border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the military is solely focused on “dismantling Hamas.”
“The IDF is now focused on only one thing: victory, dismantling Hamas, hitting as many enemy commanders as possible, as many enemy fighters as possible, and as much enemy infrastructure as possible,” Halevi said.
He further said, “We are at war, you understand that from day one. It will be a long process and we are now at the stage where we are hitting the enemy hard, also inside the Gaza Strip.”
FACT: “The IDF is focused right now on one thing—victory and dismantling Hamas.”
This is how the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, fortifies the soldiers of the IDF Artillery Corps. pic.twitter.com/qGokguNue3
Since the start of Israel-Hamas war, around 8,000 people in Gaza have been killed — nearly half of them children. Also, over 22,000 have been wounded in the regions.
In Israel, at least 1,400 people were killed and 239 people are believed to have been kidnapped into Gaza.
Biden holds emergency phone call with Netanyahu
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden held an emergency phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge Israel to work to protect lives of civilians as it retailates for Hamas' onslaught earlier this month.
According to a White House summary of the exchange, Biden, during the call, with Netanyahu said Israel has the right to defend itself, but that it must do so "in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians.”
Both the leaders also discussed how they could track down and free more than 200 hostages in Gaza held by Hamas during its October 7 raid, as well as the need to “immediately and significantly” boost the flow of humanitarian aid into the embattled Gaza Strip, the Biden administration said.
With inputs from agencies
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A organisation advocating on behalf of the families stated on Saturday that since the IDF increased ground attacks within the Palestinian region, the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been filled with anxiety for their loved ones.
“This night was the most terrible of all nights … against the backdrop of the major IDF (Israel Defense Forces) operation in the Strip,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
It said that the Palestinian civilians and the captives held by Hamas were both under intense bombardment and that their relatives were filled with “anxiety, frustration” about the possibility that their safety might be further jeopardised by Israel’s eagerly anticipated ground assault.
Bennet Netanyahu, the prime minister, had meetings with several of the families. He stated that freeing the hostages was a “integral” component of the military’s objectives in a video that his office published. The key is pressure. The odds increase with increasing pressure,” he stated.
In a protest outside Israel’s defence headquarters in Tel Aviv, dozens gathered carrying pictures of the captives, chanting “return them now”.
Meirav Leshem Gonen stated that any military operation must take into account the fate of their loved ones who have been detained incommunicado for three weeks. Romi is the daughter who is thought to have been abducted from the Nova music festival site.
“We are scared, we are worried, where are they? What’s happening with them? Who is taking care of them? We heard yesterday about the tanks gong in and we are all concerned,” she said.
She described the meeting with Netanyahu as challenging and stated that the families thought there would be widespread public support for a swap deal that would see all Palestinian prisoners in Israel released in exchange for all the hostages.
Since the horrific attack on October 7 by Hamas, which attacked army outposts and civilian communities in the area and killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip, which is under the leadership of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
During its operations, Hamas brought more than 200 hostages—including children—back into Gaza. It has so far only published four, and on Thursday it claimed that another fifty people had died as a result of Israeli bombing.
Palestinian health officials report that over 7,000 Palestinians, including about 3,000 children, have died in the previous three weeks as a result of Israel’s airstrikes and artillery fire, which have destroyed huge areas of Gaza.
Without providing further details, Israel stated on Saturday that it had increased ground operations inside Gaza during the night, while the Strip was experiencing internet and power outages, and that its forces were still engaged in combat there.
More over half of the prisoners seized by Hamas hold foreign passports from 25 different countries, Israel claimed on Wednesday. Numerous people were thought to have held dual Israeli citizenship.
It is thought that the hostages are concealed in the Gaza Strip, perhaps in a maze of tunnels that Hamas has constructed.
(With agency inputs)
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With more bombs fired by Israeli jets and indications that a long-awaited ground offensive against Hamas terrorists controlling the Palestinian enclave was about to begin, Gaza’s besieged citizens had very little communication with the outside world on Saturday.
Israel claimed that forces it had sent in on Friday night were still in the field, whereas in the preceding three weeks of bombing to destroy Hamas, which it claimed had murdered 1,400 Israelis in an attack on October 7, it had only done fleet sorties.
“We attacked above the ground and under ground, we attacked terror operatives of all ranks, everywhere,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
Israel is ordering the 2.3 million residents of Gaza to evacuate the northern area, where it claims Hamas is hiding behind residential buildings, even though there is currently no sign of a huge ground invasion. Bombs are also destroying homes in the south of the heavily populated area, according to Palestinians, who claim that nowhere is secure.
Since Friday night, practically all phone and internet services have been unavailable in Gaza; Israel is at fault, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. A request for response was not immediately answered by the Israeli military.
Aid organisations report that Gazans, who are completely cut off from Israel, are experiencing a humanitarian crisis. Since Israel started bombing the area, 7,650 Palestinians have died, according to health officials there.
He and other relief organisations said they were unable to get in touch with their employees; nonetheless, an audio message was disseminated by an official from the International Committees of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Gaza.
According to William Schomburg, medical professionals were handling personal tragedies in addition to working nonstop shifts.
“I spoke to one doctor who had lost his brother and cousin the night before,” he told the BBC broadcaster in a clip the ICRC posted on X.
The World Health Organization’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, claimed that the blackout was making it difficult for people to find safe haven and was hindering the evacuation of patients and ambulances.
(With agency inputs)
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As part of their attempts to modernise their forces, South Korean and American soldiers conducted combined future warfare drills this week that involved drones, an unmanned vehicle, and wearing laser sensors, the Seoul army said on Saturday.
The training took place during the annual Hoguk fall exercises, which are conducted by the South Korean military to enhance its ability to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
Built in the Korea Combat Training Centre in the eastern city of Inje, the mock-up town resembled Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and more than 120 soldiers from both sides joined forces to battle against a well-trained enemy team.
The soldiers were outfitted with multiple integrated laser engagement systems (MILES), which simulate real-world fighting using lasers, as part of the drills that also employed a variety of cutting-edge weaponry systems designed to strengthen future combat capabilities.
In addition to firing assault rifles, multiple drones were flown for reconnaissance, while South Korea sent a multifunctional unmanned vehicle to transport injured soldiers.
The unmanned assets and the MILES equipment, according to Choi Jeong-Il, a captain of the South Korean army’s 25th Infantry Division, also known as the TIGER brigade, helped identify enemies and estimate the casualties among the allied troops.
“We were able to confirm the enemy’s movements using the drones, and hit them with the cutting-edge strike equipment, which allowed us to maximise the results of the operation while minimising damage to our forces,” he said.
First Lieutenant Derek Chen of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team said the exercises provided a “eye-opening experience” and the equipment would be useful in upcoming combat missions.
The TIGER brigade was established by the South Korean army last year as a test unit for drones with artificial intelligence capabilities and highly mobile combat vehicles. It aims to transform all combat units based on that model by 2040.
Additionally, the army hosted what it referred to as its first international tournament for future combat, which lasted five days and involved about 300 soldiers from five nations, including Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Britain, and Uzbekistan.
(With agency inputs)
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India has abstained from voting in a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The UN resolution which was passed on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all civilians, the protection of civilians and international institutions, and ensuring the safe passage of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
A total of 120 nations voted in favour of the resolution while 14 countries, including the US and Israel, voted against it.
India abstained from voting on UN General Assembly resolution on the “protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations” on Gaza crisis. The resolution was adopted at the UN General Assembly.
Besides India, countries that abstained included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the UK.
The resolution, however, did not mention Hamas with the US expressing outrage at the “omission”.
Before the resolution on the Israel-Hamas war was passed, the 193-member body considered an amendment proposed by Canada and co-sponsored by the US to the text.
The amendment proposed by Canada asked for inserting a paragraph in the resolution that would state that the general assembly unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting on 7 October 2023.
Israel has rejected the call for a ceasefire in Gaza which has been passed by the United Nations General Assembly, with the country’s foreign minister describing the resolution as “despicable.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “We reject outright the UN General Assembly despicable call for a ceasefire.”
“Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS,” he added.
With inputs from PTI
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The largest telecommunications provider in Gaza says that the Strip is currently ‘blacked out’ as strikes from Israel hit internet and phone services in the region.
“We regret to announce a complete disruption of all communication and internet services with the Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing aggression,” the Palestine Telecommunications Company, known as Paltel.
Meanwhile, the Red Crescent Society said it had completely lost contact with its Gaza operations room and its teams operating there, and the Hamas-run government said rescue crews were unable to receive emergency calls.
Internet monitoring groups told CNN that this is the worst internet blackout that Gaza has witnessed since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
“The heavy bombardment of the past hour has resulted in the destruction of all remaining international paths connecting Gaza to the outside world,” Paltel said on Facebook.
It added, “This destruction is in addition to the paths that were previously destroyed during the ongoing aggression, which has led to the interruption of all communication services from our beloved Gaza Strip.”
A California-based firm that monitors online connectivity globally called Kentik says that it could take days for internet services to get restored in the Gaza Strip owing to the ongoing bombardment and humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari Friday said that the military has “ramped up airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in the last few hours and will continue to carry out ground operations,” adding that Israel will ‘expand’ its activities.
Hamas said on Saturday its militants in Gaza were ready to confront Israeli attacks with “full force” after Israel’s military widened its air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave.
With inputs from agencies
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Israel has rejected the call for a ceasefire in Gaza which has been passed by the United Nations General Assembly, with the country’s foreign minister describing the resolution as “despicable.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “We reject outright the UN General Assembly despicable call for a ceasefire.”
“Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS,” he added.
We reject outright the UN General Assembly despicable call for a ceasefire.
Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS.
The UN resolution which was passed on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all civilians, the protection of civilians and international institutions, and ensuring the safe passage of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
A total of 120 nations voted in favour of the resolution while 14 countries, including the US and Israel, voted against it.
Following its passage, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said, “Today is a day that will go down in infamy. We have all witnessed that the UN no longer holds even one ounce of legitimacy or relevance.”
He added, “The majority of the international community has shown that it prefers to support the defense of Nazi terrorists rather than support the law-abiding state of Israel to defend it civilians.”
Palestine, Hamas welcome resolution
The UNGA resolution, however, drew praise from Hamas and the Palestinian authority.
Hamas said in a statement that it hails the passage of the ceasefire and calls for its immediate implementation.
The Palestinian Authority foreign ministry said, “This vote signals the commitment of a moral majority of the international community to uphold its obligations and the rejection of double standards and politicization of international humanitarian law.”
It added that the “international community has spoken in a clear and united voice against Israel’s ongoing crimes and deliberate violations of international law.”
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After Hamas’ shock attack on Israel, Shimrit Ben Arosh, a mother from an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, drove up to a shooting range in central Kfar Saba for gun license firearms training.
“I have six children, and after the incident of the 7th of October, I understood that I must protect myself. The nights are very frightening, and so I wanted to get a license for a gun, to be safe, to protect my children,” she said.
Aghast at the Hamas killing spree in their southern towns and villages, and worried by the military’s slow response, Israelis are arming themselves in record numbers with the blessing of their government.
Gun stores and shooting ranges have been working overtime to accommodate the sudden demand, with some former advocates of stricter firearms controls among the new clients.
Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip since Hamas’s attack on Israeli communities on October 7, which it says killed some 1,400 people.
On Thursday it said its ground forces had made a big push into Gaza overnight to attack Hamas targets as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was still preparing for a ground invasion that could be one of several.
According to Channel 13 TV, there have been 150,000 applications for gun licenses since the cross-border onslaught – compared to just 42 applications in the same period last year.
Firearms sales are highly restricted in Israel, and obtaining a civilian firearms license is no easy feat. An application can sometimes take months.
Some survivors of the rampage credit the guns they had near to hand, with which they said they defended their homes until security forces arrived – often after delays of several hours.
The far-right minister for police, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has also described private gun ownership as a precaution against any recurrence of the internal unrest between Israel’s Arab minority and Jewish majority that accompanied the last Gaza war, in 2021.
Netanyahu has said Israel was in an all-out war against Hamas. This included “encouraging civilians and helping civilians to arm themselves for their self-defence,” he said in a televised speech on Wednesday.
The gun licenses – usually for pistols, rather than rifles – once took months to process. They can now be obtained in just days online. Before, it was mostly veterans of military combat units or residents of frontline towns who qualified. Now a year of civilian national service can suffice, the police ministry says.
Arab citizens of Israel, many of whom identify as Palestinian, are generally exempted from mandatory conscription and may not be able to get a license.
Before October 7, the Kfar Saba Shooting Range was holding just one training course per day, now they’re holding three to four daily.
Gil Shemesh, a firearms instructor at the shooting range, said the swelling number of applicants has been overwhelming and includes “people living in dangerous areas, to normal people who just want to protect themselves because they saw what happened.”
The company is hiring new instructors just to keep up, he said.
Gun control advocates say making firearms too freely available raises the risk of accidental shootings, murder and suicide.
“An untrained response in the event of a subjective sense of danger is liable to bring about the needless death of innocents,” said an Israeli advocate group called “Pistol on the Kitchen Table.”
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EU leaders were poised on Thursday to call for pauses in Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket attacks to get humanitarian aid into Gaza after days of wrangling that highlighted divisions within the bloc over the broader Israel-Palestinian conflict.
While EU leaders have strongly condemned Hamas’ attack on Israel, they have struggled to stick to the same message beyond that, with some stressing Israel’s right to self-defence and others emphasising concern about Palestinian civilians.
Those differences were on display again as leaders gathered in Brussels for their first in-person summit since the deadly Oct. 7 assault on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which prompted Israel to bombard and blockade Hamas-run Gaza.
“Israel is a democratic state guided by very humanitarian principles and so we can be certain that the Israeli army will respect the rules that arise from international law in everything it does,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “I have no doubt about that.”
Scholz’s remarks contrasted sharply with comments in recent days by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Charles Michel, the chairman of EU leaders’ summits, who have said that a total blockade of Gaza and attacks on civilian infrastructure already contravene international law.
Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also accused Israel of violating international humanitarian law.
Israel insists it is acting within international law and that its attacks are intended to destroy Hamas, which operates among the civilian population.
Arriving at the summit, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned Israel against starving Gaza.
“Israel has a right to take action and to prevent future attacks. But that is never an excuse for blocking a whole region, for blocking humanitarian aid. It cannot be an excuse to starve a population,” he said.
Ahead of the summit, diplomats spent days debating whether to call for a “humanitarian pause” or “pauses”.
A draft intended as a final summit declaration includes the latter, expressing the leaders’ “gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
It calls for “continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses”.
Countries such as France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Ireland had endorsed calls from the United Nations for a break in the conflict for humanitarian reasons.
But others such as Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria resisted, arguing such a measure could curb Israel’s ability to defend itself and let Hamas regroup, according to diplomats.
The compromise on “pauses” in the plural was meant to signal short breaks in fighting for missions such as hostage releases or aid convoys, rather than a formal ceasefire, diplomats said.
While the EU’s influence on the conflict is modest, the bloc fears that an escalation could have grave consequences for Europe, including a rise in tensions between communities, possible Islamist militant attacks and a flow of refugees.
The crisis erupted with the EU already grappling with the fallout from another war in its immediate neighborhood – the conflict triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the summit by video link and the EU leaders aim to show they will continue to support Ukraine even amidst another major crisis.
Some officials and diplomats have voiced fears that Ukraine may now struggle to get the same political attention and resources from the West, particularly the United States, due to the new crisis in the Middle East.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Beijing is prepared to collaborate with Washington in order to “properly manage differences,” support one another’s advancement, and strive for shared prosperity. He made this claim while citing the influence of US-China relations on global peace and development, according to a report released by the Chinese state media agency Xinhua on Wednesday.
According to Xi, “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation” are the three guiding principles on which China is eager to collaborate with the US.
“As two major countries in the world, whether China and the United States can find a right path of state-to-state interactions bears on world peace and development, and the future of mankind,” Jinping said.
He added, “Based on the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, China is willing to work with the US side to advance mutually beneficial cooperation, properly manage differences, and make joint efforts to tackle global challenges, contribute to each other’s progress, and push for common prosperity so as to deliver benefits to both countries and the whole world”.
Xi praised the National Committee on US-China Relations for its lengthy commitment to fostering exchanges and cooperation between the two nations in a number of fields in a congrats message delivered at the committee’s annual Gala Dinner, according to Xinhua.
He also complimented Henry Kissinger, a former US secretary of state, on receiving a prize at the gala.
The Chinese president expressed even more hope that the committee and friends from all walks of life will keep being concerned about and supportive of China-US relations and work to advance the healthy and steady development of bilateral relationships.
According to Xinhua, US President Joe Biden also extended congratulations at the committee’s Gala Dinner.
Notably, disagreements over technology, espionage, economic rivalry, and military might have heated up between the US and China. Several close military encounters in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, a spy balloon incident in February, and current allegations that China has run a spy post in Cuba since at least 2019 are all examples of recent close military encounters.
Citing economic concerns, President Biden had earlier in August referred to Xi’s China as a “ticking time bomb” in a stinging attack on the country. Biden had even referred to Xi as a “dictator” in June.
Beijing condemned both of these statements.
Another significant move made by the Biden administration was to forbid the export of cutting-edge microchips and to restrict US involvement in China’s high-tech sectors.
In an attempt to strengthen ties with China, a number of US officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, have visited China recently.
(With agency inputs)
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Families of the victims urged on Wednesday that in order to stop Islamist extremism from spreading, the international community must stand up against it and take action to guarantee the quick release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants following their attack on southern Israel on October 7.
A family delegation travelled to Rome to negotiate with government officials, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as part of a global initiative to support the liberation of the over 200 hostages.
Following the attack on southern Israel that claimed 1,400 lives, some 222 persons were taken prisoner. Following the liberation of two hostages on Friday who held dual Israeli and American citizenship, Hamas released two Israeli civilian women on Monday.
Over 6,500 people have died in the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas, according to health officials, since Israel started its offensive.
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack claimed the lives of three dual Italian-Israeli citizens: Eviatar Moshe Kipnis and his spouse Lilian Le Havron, who were both inside the main target, the Beeri kibbutz.
After losing his uncle in the same attack, their son Nadav travelled to Italy to demand that all hostages—including some of his family members—be released.
“These people are just civilians who did not deserve any of these traumatic events that happened to them, which are comparable only to the Holocaust,” he said.
“Israel itself can only deal with Hamas as a terrorist organisation, but (Israel) cannot negotiate with them,” he told Reuters, saying states such as Qatar and Egypt would be in the position to put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.
He expressed sadness over the fact that some of the protesters who walked to the streets in Europe to support Palestine supported Hamas at a time when Islamist terror was resurfacing in France and Belgium.
“The narrative that Hamas are fighting for freedom is just false,” he said. “Hamas are fighting other religions.”
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The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that Israeli airstrikes had resulted in the highest 24-hour death toll in Israel’s officially declared two-week-old total siege of the small strip, killing more than 700 Palestinians in Hamas-run Gaza over the previous night.
On Tuesday, following two weeks of Israeli shelling, UN agencies implored “on our knees” for emergency aid to be granted free entry into Gaza, claiming that more than 20 times the amount of current deliveries were required to maintain the Palestinian population.
After a fatal cross-border raid on Israel on October 7, the Israeli military said it had struck over 400 Hamas militant sites and killed scores of the group’s fighters over the course of the night, but added that it would take time to completely dismantle Gaza’s ruling Islamist movement.
French President Emmanuel Macron came to Israel to offer assistance as international charity organisations warned of a humanitarian crisis developing in the small, impoverished strip, one of the world’s most densely populated areas.
Netanyahu was informed by Macron that while France stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel in its conflict with Hamas, it must not engage in “ruleless combat.” As it works to assure people “will no longer live under Hamas tyranny,” Netanyahu said Israel will attempt to protect civilians.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, asked for the protection of civilians in the conflict on Tuesday, expressing worry over “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza.
The World Health Organisation requested “an immediate humanitarian response” in the most recent of several frantic U.N. appeals.
More than 1.4 million Palestinians evacuated their homes for makeshift shelters as a result of Israel’s deadliest bombardment ever, according to doctors in Gaza, and many of those patients are now presenting with symptoms of diseases brought on by overcrowding and subpar hygiene.
Every hospital claims to be out of fuel for their electricity generators, which makes it harder for them to treat the sick and injured.
The bloodiest episode of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades appeared to have little chance of ending anytime soon.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 5,791 Palestinians since October 7, including 2,360 children. It reported that in just the preceding 24 hours, 704 people had died.
It was, according to ministry official Ashraf Al-Qidra, the biggest 24-hour death toll in the two weeks of Israeli airstrikes.
Israeli soldiers and tanks are gathered at the Gaza border, ready for orders to launch an anticipated ground invasion. Fears for the welfare of the captives and militants from Iran who have tunnelled into a densely populated urban area with heavy weapons could complicate the operation.
In reaction to a shocking cross-border Hamas attack into southern Israel, where terrorists massacred over 1,400 people in one day, predominantly civilians, the bombardments were launched.
(With agency inputs)
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The United States stated before the UN on Tuesday that it does not seek a war with Iran, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a warning that if Iran or one of its proxies attacked American personnel anywhere, Washington would respond promptly and forcefully.
Blinken addressed the 15-member U.N. Security Council amid concerns from throughout the world that the conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorists sponsored by Iran in the Gaza Strip could escalate into a larger fight that would involve Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah.
“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake: we will defend our people, we will defend our security – swiftly and decisively.”
As worries about assaults by organisations supported by Iran grow, the U.S. military is taking unprecedented precautions to protect its personnel in the Middle East, officials tell Reuters. In an effort to dissuade Iran and forces with Iranian support, the United States has also dispatched fighter jets, two aircraft carriers, and warships to the region.
Requests for reaction regarding Blinken’s statements were not immediately answered by the Iranian representation to the UN. Later on Tuesday, Iran was scheduled to speak at the Security Council’s Middle East meeting.
“We call on all member states to send a firm, united message to any state or non-state actor that is considering opening another front in this conflict against Israel or who may target Israel’s partners, including the United States: don’t. Don’t throw fuel on the fire,” Blinken said.
Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned reporters at the UN that the threat of the conflict expanding was a “real danger” while standing with his Arab counterparts.
“We’re all doing everything we can to stop it. There’s the threat of this expanding into the West Bank, into Lebanon, into other fronts. None of us want that, we’re all working against that,” he said.
Concerned about “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in the Gaza Strip, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Tuesday for civilians to be safeguarded in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants affiliated with Hamas.
Gaza’s health ministry reported that overnight Israeli airstrikes killed more than 700 Palestinians, marking the greatest 24-hour death toll since Israel started a bombing campaign to annihilate Hamas militants after their lethal Oct. 7 onslaught rocked the nation.
In a “crucial moment like this,” Guterres told the Security Council, it was essential to be clear that conflict has laws, beginning with the fundamental principle of respecting and defending civilians.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said.
“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he added.
Gilad Erdan, the ambassador of Israel to the United Nations, called Guterres’ remarks “shocking.” He demanded Guterres’ urgent resignation in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Eli Cohen, the visiting foreign minister of Israel, announced that he would no longer attend Guterres’ scheduled meeting later on Tuesday.
“I will not meet with the U.N. secretary-general. After Oct. 7 there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world!” Cohen wrote.
(With agency inputs)
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The White House expressed alarm over the possibility for an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza and accused Iran of “actively facilitating” assaults against US outposts in the Middle East.
The conclusions obtained by the United States, France, and Canada are consistent with those of Britain.
“Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and we know that Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases, actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good or for that of Iran,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
“We know Iran’s goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we’re not going to allow them to do that,” Kirby added.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon stated on Monday in response to an increase in attacks in Iraq and Syria by organisations that are thought to be supported by Iran that the US has not received a direct instruction from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to attack US troops in the area.
Since the Israel-Gaza conflict broke out on October 7 when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, US personnel have been frequently threatened by missiles and drones.
“We don’t necessarily see that Iran has explicitly ordered them to take these kinds of attacks,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.
Pressed on the issue, Ryder added: “We haven’t seen a direct order, for example, from the Supreme Leader saying: ‘Go out and do this.'”
Ryder, however, said that the United States ultimately holds Iran responsible for such attacks by militant groups “by virtue of the fact that they are supported by Iran.”
Iranian security officials told Reuters that the Islamic Republic’s plan was for Middle East allies like Hezbollah to launch limited attacks on Israeli and US targets while avoiding a major escalation that would involve Tehran, a precarious balancing act for the Islamic State.
Senior Biden administration officials issued warnings on Sunday, including Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, about the possibility of a dramatic uptick in attacks on American forces in the Middle East and Iran’s efforts to prolong the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Austin sent fresh air defences to the Middle East over the weekend to protect troops.
According to him, the Pentagon will send extra Patriot air defence missile system battalions as well as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to the area.
In an effort to prevent Iran and parties with Iranian support from escalating the battle, the United States has also dispatched warships and fighter jets to the area. In addition, two aircraft carriers and roughly 2,000 Marines would be sent out.
“No one wants to see a wider regional conflict, but we will not hesitate to protect our forces,” Ryder said.
In the most recent incident, two attack drones targeted US forces in Syria on Monday, but they were stopped by base defences without harming anyone.
Last week, US forces engaged numerous drones that were aiming at US troops in Iraq; some of these drones caused minor injuries. Additionally, a US warship destroyed more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles launched by Houthi rebels with Iranian support off the coast of Yemen.
US forces are always on high alert as a result of the rising tensions. A civilian contractor had a heart arrest on Thursday at the Iraqi airbase Al-Asad during a false alert.
(With agency inputs)
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According to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the explosion at a hospital in Gaza City was likely caused by a missile fired from Gaza and not by an Israeli rocket.
“The British government judges that the explosion was likely caused by a missile, or part of one, that was launched from within Gaza towards Israel,” Sunak told parliament.
“The misreporting of this incident had a negative effect in the region, including on a vital U.S. diplomatic effort and on tensions here at home.”
According to Palestinian sources, the explosion at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital on Tuesday claimed 471 lives. The health ministry in Gaza attributed the explosion to an Israeli airstrike, but Israel claimed that a terrorist rocket launch went wrong.
The conclusions obtained by the United States, France, and Canada are consistent with those of Britain.
(With agency inputs)
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Naor Gilon, the Israeli ambassador to India, stressed the need to defeat Hamas globally in order to stop the rise of extremism, reiterating the idea that the struggle against terrorism, particularly terror organisations like Hamas, continues to be of utmost importance for global security.
Addressing a symposium titled ‘Terror Strikes Israel: Implications for National & International Security,’ Ambassador Gilon said, “The bigger picture here is that if we don’t defeat Hamas, extremists in the world are going to raise their head, and it’s going to be unbearable for all of us.”
The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) arranged this symposium to bring together professionals to talk about the various problems that terrorist organisations might cause.
The symposium’s leading figures in international security and diplomacy stressed the importance of going after terrorist organisations quickly, with Hamas in particular. The occasion gave specialists a forum to discuss their perspectives on the urgent problem of international terrorism.
The Principal Advisor of the Ministry of Defence, Lt. Gen. Vinod Khandare, elaborated on the complexity of today’s security challenges.
He emphasised the interaction between diplomacy and military might, stressing that effective diplomacy depends on military preparedness.
“The countries have to understand that diplomacy goes as long as the military is strong,” he noted.
Lt Gen Khandare pointed out that the era of wars is not over, saying, “So, one cannot start neglecting various fraudulent assessments and fraudulent opinions to say that the era of wars is over, nothing is over.”
“Proxy and conventional both can go hand in hand. Maybe proxy can initiate a conflict, conventional can follow or it can be both together or it can be conventional starts and proxies are inserted into the hinterland,” he added.
The Principal Advisor at the Ministry of Defence also compared Israel’s situation to that of India, noting that both countries are troubled by their neighbours.
“So, all that is going to definitely pose a challenge to many countries who are living in troubled neighbourhoods and Israel and India both are in troubled neighbourhoods, which is not a choice. We have inherited based on what the world or the global bodies gave to us,” he said.
Discussions at the symposium focused light on the ongoing threat posed by terrorist groups and the need for international cooperation to address these security issues.
The conference provided a forum for specialists to discuss and share their knowledge of the many problems that terrorist organisations present. It emphasised the significance of being vigilant and taking preventative action to protect interests in national and international security.
(With agency inputs)
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Manila has summoned Beijing’s ambassador Monday over two collisions between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea.
Both the countries have traded blame over incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands on Sunday, with either of the sides releasing videos to support their accusations.
The two collisions happened during a routine Philippine resupply mission to Filipino troops stationed on a navy vessel that was grounded on the shoal to assert Manila’s territorial claims.
“We’re making full use of diplomatic processes… available to us. That includes summoning the Chinese ambassador (Huang Xilian), which we did this morning,” Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza told reporters.
Daza said the ambassador was unavailable and was represented by his deputy chief of mission during the meeting.
Huang was last summoned to the foreign ministry in August after the China Coast Guard used water cannon on Philippine vessels near Second Thomas Shoal.
“Ayungin Shoal is part of our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and we have sovereign rights and jurisdiction over it,” Daza said, using the Philippine name for the shoal.
A Chinese diplomat made “solemn representations… expressing strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the trespassing” by Philippine vessels into the Ren’ai Reef area, China’s embassy in Manila said, using China’s name for the shoal.
The Philippines has accused a China Coast Guard vessel of “reckless manoeuvres” that led to a collision with a smaller wooden boat contracted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to deliver provisions to troops on the BRP Sierra Madre.
China said the “slight collision” happened after the resupply boat ignored “multiple warnings and deliberately passed through law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner”, state broadcaster CCTV reported Sunday, citing the foreign ministry.
In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting the resupply mission was “bumped” by what Manila has described as a “Chinese Maritime Militia vessel”.
China, however, accused the Philippine boat of “deliberately” stirring up trouble by reversing in a “premeditated manner” into a Chinese fishing vessel.
– ‘Arbitral ruling is binding’ –
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored a 2016 international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
As China moves ever more confidently to assert its claims to the waters, officials and experts have warned of the potential for collisions.
Despite the challenges, the Philippines would “continue to do what is necessary” to supply its troops at Second Thomas Shoal with provisions, said Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council.
“This is the Philippines implementing the 2016 arbitral ruling,” Malaya told reporters Monday.
“The arbitral ruling is binding not only to the Philippines but also to China.”
The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to check China’s advance in the waters.
The troops stationed on the crumbling ship depend on regular supply deliveries.
The Philippines has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal.
With inputs from AFP
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The White House on Sunday said that US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke over phone after the second aid convoy of 17 trucks reached Gaza from Egypt and agreed that such assistance will continue to flow into the warn-torn territory.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss developments in Gaza and the surrounding region: White House pic.twitter.com/B3ZBOpGKHU
“President Biden today (Sunday) spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israeli to discuss developments in Gaza and in the surrounding region. The President welcomed the first two convoys of humanitarian assistance since Hama’s October 7 terrorist attack, which crossed the border into Gaza and is being distributed to Palestinians in need,” the White House said in a statement.
“The leaders affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza,” the statement added.
The White House said that President Biden also expressed appreciation for Israel’s support in helping to accommodate the release of two American hostages.
“The leaders discussed the ongoing effort to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas – including US citizens – and to provide for safe passage for US citizens and other civilians in Gaza who wish to depart,” read the statement.
“The President and the Prime Minister agreed to stay in close touch,” it added.
The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reached Gaza on Sunday, as Israel widened its attacks to include targets in Syria and the occupied West Bank and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group that if it launches its own war, “we will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine.”
On Saturday, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.
Israeli authorities said late Sunday they had allowed a second batch of aid into Gaza at the request of the United States.
COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the aid included water, food and medical supplies and that everything was inspected by Israel before it was brought into Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed the arrival of 14 trucks.
Israel has not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza.
For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ brutal 7 October rampage through a series of Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, waiting for the command to cross.
With inputs from agencies
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It’s a new dawn and the starting of a brand new week. The week gone by was news-heavy and we received heartbreaking news as the Israel-Hamas war unfolds. The death toll continues to rise, and there’s no resolution in sight.
But with a new day, comes new hope and the expectation of more news to come from all corners of the world.
We prep you for a busy Monday with some of the news expected to take place and shape the upcoming week.
A Gaza war protest in Hyderabad
After a bomb exploded on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza last week, anger erupted across the world, with many countries condemning Israel for the attack, though it denied carrying out the explosion.
Now, on Monday, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen led by firebrand MP Asaduddin Owaisi, will carry out a protest march in Hyderabad against the atrocities in Gaza and Palestine.
Owaisi said the meeting would be held at the party headquarters in Darussalam and also invited the heads of all political parties and various organisations have been invited for the event. He also made it clear that there would be “no political/election speeches” at the protest meeting.
However, the AIMIM’s protest march has already created a row with Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dubbing the move as nothing but an effort by Owaisi to garner votes in the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections.
We shall keep an eye out to see what happens there.
Last day to withdraw from Mizoram polls
Away from the news of war, India is all set for poll season. Five states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram – will be going to the polls in November with counting to be held on 3 December.
Candidates who have filed their nominations in the northeastern state of Mizoram will have until tomorrow to withdraw their candidacy if they choose to do so.
The Election Commission has said that as of now 174 nominations have been filed for the Mizoram polls, 38 less than the number in 2018. The BJP has fielded only 23 candidates this time, 16 less than in the last elections. The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), the Opposition Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and the Congress are contesting all 40 seats.
Polling for the Mizoram Assembly will be held in a single phase on 7 November.
Participants dressed in traditional attire pose for Garba, a folk dance, during Navratri. Reuters
End of Navratri
After nine days of fasting and celebrations, Monday also marks the end of Navratri festivities, it’s called Maha Navami.
Maha Navami, also called Navami, marks the conclusion of the nine-day fast of Navratri. This day is dedicated to the worship of Maa Siddhidatri. According to Drik Pachang, the Navami tithi will begin at 7:58 pm on 22 October while it will end at 5:44 pm on 23 October.
The day has istorical and mythological significance as it commemorates the penultimate day of Goddess Durga’s battle with the buffalo demon Mahishasura. It is believed that on this day the Goddess defeated the demon in her angry form, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.
Russia’s foreign minister will be in Iran
Away from India, there’s some big news happening around the world too. Amid the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Iran where he will meet his counterparts from Iran, as well as Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
According to AFP, the talks come amid tensions over West Asia and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.
IAEA team in Tokyo to test Fukushima water
Representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Japan’s Fukushima to conduct a marine sampling since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea.
Fukushima Daiichi started releasing wastewater into the sea on 24 August, much to the opposition from the fishing groups and neighbouring countries including South Korea, where hundreds of people have protested
China has since then immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood, badly hurting Japanese seafood producers, processors and exporters, and Russia recently joined China in the trade restrictions.
Imran Khan awaits the special court’s decision in the cypher case in which he is accused of allegedly violating the secret laws of the country. File image/Reuters
Day of reckoning for Pakistan’s Imran Khan
It’s a big day for former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. A special court will pronounce his indictment today in the cypher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country.
The case pertains to a secret diplomatic document that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Khan used to criticise his opponents for allegedly orchestrating his ouster from power in April last year. The document reportedly went missing from his possession. Khan’s party alleges that the document contained a threat from the US to oust Khan from office.
Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on 5 August this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term. Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cypher case.
This day in history: Anniversary of the iPod
This day, 23 years ago, Apple released what it called the iPod, becoming one of the most iconic gadgets of all time, spawning a host of imitators and legitimising the market of MP3 players that it dominated.
The gadget was released on 23 October 2001 barely a month after the events of 11 September. This was a portable music player with a 5GB hard drive, an easier way to load and buy songs, and the memorable tagline of “1,000 songs in your pocket.”
A Santos fan is pictured wearing a shirt of Pele as the casket of Brazilian soccer legend Pele is transported by the fire department after he passed away in December last year. Today marks his 83rd birthday. File image/Reuters
Remembering Pele
If you are a football fan, today’s an important day. The day, 23 October, marks the birthday of one of football’s greatest players – Pele.
Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.
In the conversation about soccer’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside Pelé.
We wish this great a very happy birthday and hope he’s in the heavens – he passed away in December last year – enjoying scoring many goals.
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Palestinian medics reported that at least one person was killed after Israeli aircraft attacked a facility under a mosque in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday. The military claimed the compound was being used by militants to plan attacks.
The West Bank has seen an increase in violence after Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out a fatal assault in Israel on October 7. This airstrike is at least the second that Israel has launched in the past few days.
According to Israel, the Jenin refugee camp’s facility beneath al-Ansar Mosque was owned by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad agents who had carried out attacks in the preceding months.
“Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack,” the military said in a statement.
The military released images that it said showed an entrance to a bunker under the mosque. It also released a diagram that it said showed where militants had stored weapons there.
Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian militant stronghold, was the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year.
Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque’s exterior walls, surrounded by debris. Several dozen Palestinians are seen assessing the damage, as ambulance sirens blare in the background.
The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said at least one Palestinian was killed and three others injured. It had earlier said that two people were killed.
Residents of the camp said they received warnings from the Israeli military to stay away from the militants due to an impending incursion into the camp. They said the military did not specify a date.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage, which has drawn two weeks of lethal Israeli bombardment of Gaza, at least 84 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, Palestinian officials say.
On Thursday, Israel’s military said it raided and carried out an air strike in a refugee camp near the central city of Tulkarm. The military said the raid was aimed in part at apprehending suspects and confiscating weapons. Palestinians said at least 12 were killed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Former Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif highlighted the achievements of his tenure and recalled how he gave a “befitting reply” to India’s atomic explosion by conducting nuclear tests in 1998, even though then US President Bill Clinton had offered $5 billion not to do so.
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived home Saturday on a chartered plane from Dubai, ending four years of self-imposed exile in London as he seeks to rally supporters ahead of parliamentary elections due in January.
Wearing a light blue kurta pyjama, a maroon muffler and a black coat, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo flew in from Dubai to Islamabad on the ‘Umeed-e-Pakistan’ chartered plane at around 1:30 pm local time.
He reached Lahore, considered a stronghold of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, to address a massive rally,”I am meeting you today after several years, but my relationship of love with you is the same. There is no difference in this relationship,” he told the cheering crowd. “The love I am seeing in your eyes, I am proud of it.”
Sharif, who was elected prime minister three times, is expected to face tough competition from the party of the former premier and his main rival, Imran Khan. Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and is imprisoned after a court convicted and sentenced him to three years in a graft case.
Sharif spoke about the political victimisation he said he faced after his ouster in 2017. He compared the past performance of his government with his successor Khan, saying the life of the common man was much better when he served the nation as the prices of fuel, electricity and food were affordable.
Sharif has been a fugitive since he failed to appear before a Pakistani court in 2019 following his conviction and a 10-year prison sentence on corruption charges.
With inputs from agencies.
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Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned home on Saturday on a special flight after four years in self-imposed exile in London.
The 73-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo flew in from Dubai to Islamabad on the chartered flight “Umeed-e-Pakistan” along with some family members, senior party leaders and friends.
Sharif is expected to address a massive homecoming rally in Lahore later Saturday and his return comes as Pakistan experiences deepening political turmoil and one of its worst economic crises.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Islamabad from Dubai, he said he wished the situation in the country had improved in his absence. He left Pakistan in 2019, two years after he stepped down after being convicted in a graft case, reported The Associated Press.
The former Pakistan PM is also facing multiple legal challenges. In 2020, an anti-graft court in Islamabad issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to return home. The same court on Thursday suspended that arrest warrant until October 24. Another federal court has granted Sharif bail until October 24, giving him protection from arrest until then.
Sharif was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in a corruption case involving purchases of luxury apartments in London. His party became hugely unpopular after Imran Khan’s removal when Nawaz Sharif’s brother Shehbaz Sharif replaced Khan.
With inputs from agencies
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A recent Gallup poll has unveiled a striking decline in the trust that Americans place in the media.
The survey published Friday indicates that only 32 per cent of Americans now have confidence in the media’s ability to report the news fairly and accurately, marking a record low in trust, while a significant 39 per cent express complete distrust in the media.
This level of trust in the media matches the lowest point recorded in 2016, and the percentage of total distrust, at 39 per cent, sets a record. Even among Democrats, who traditionally show more trust in the media compared to Republicans, faith in the news has declined substantially over the past year, with only 58% expressing some degree of trust. This represents a notable 12-point drop from the figures recorded in 2022, a trend largely attributed to decreasing trust among younger Democrats.
The poll also found that only 11 per cent of Republicans reported having some confidence in the media establishment. However, a noteworthy observation is that the 47-point gap between respondents from the two major US political parties is the narrowest recorded since 2016 when Republicans’ trust in the establishment had seen a significant decline.
The survey sampled the opinions of 1,016 Americans during the initial two weeks of September. This marks only the second instance since Gallup began asking this question in 1972 where more Americans expressed no confidence whatsoever in the media compared to those who claimed to have a considerable or reasonable level of trust.
Even during the ‘fake news’ crisis that unfolded during the 2016 presidential election, the polled Americans were more inclined to state that they had ‘not very much’ trust in the media (41 per cent) rather than asserting ‘none at all’ (27 per cent).
In the 1970s, the portion of Americans expressing some level of trust in the media ranged between 68 per cent and 72 per cent. However, this level of trust has dwindled significantly in recent years. Since 2005, when 44 per cent of poll respondents expressed some confidence in the media establishment, fewer than half have reported trusting the media to report the news fairly and accurately.
A prior Gallup poll conducted in July revealed that just 18 per cent of respondents had confidence in newspapers, and only 16 per cent expressed confidence in television news – figures lower than those for Big Tech and the banking industry, each at 26 per cent. Consistently ranking lower were only Congress (8 per cent) and Big Business (14 per cent).
In addition, a January poll found that 42 per cent of respondents rated journalists’ ethical standards as ‘low’ or ‘very low,’ placing them above car salesmen and telemarketers but below lawyers and real estate agents. Despite growing concerns within the media industry about the public’s diminishing trust, these trends have proven challenging to reverse.
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The White House has retracted President Joe Biden’s comment agreeing that Israel should put off a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip until more hostages were released.
The White House said that the US president did not fully hear the question, reported the Guardian.
Biden had said, “yes” when reporters shouted questions regarding Israel’s imminent ground incursion into Gaza, while he was climbing the stairs of his official plane. White House said that given the noise of the plane’s engine, Biden could not hear the question properly and instead thought he was being asked if he’d like to see more hostages freed, to which he said “yes.”
“The president was far away. He didn’t hear the full question,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt was quoted by the Guardian as saying.
The question sounded like: ‘Would you like to see more hostages released?’ He wasn’t commenting on anything else.
In the last few days, Israel has gathered tanks and troops near the Gaza border for a planned ground invasion.
Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 4,137 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, while more than 1 million have been displaced, according to Palestinian officials.
This ongoing conflict was triggered after Hamas terrorists burst into Israel on 7 October, killing 1,400 people – mainly civilians – and taking about 200 hostages.
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The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said it received a warning from Israel to evacuate five schools “as fast as possible”. US and allies pressing Israel to delay the Gaza invasion to get hostages out. 80% of Israelis want Netanyahu to take responsibility for October 7 mayhem by Hamas as PM’s popularity dips. Qatar hopes dialogue will lead to the “release of all civilian hostages from every nationality,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said.
Israel evacuates town near Lebanese border ahead of impending ground assault
Israeli airstrikes are hitting southern Gaza, an area swelled by civilians who fled there from the north on Israeli instructions. Meanwhile, Israel is evacuating a sizable town near the Lebanese border in the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
Israel says two Americans held hostage by Hamas, a mother and daughter, have been released
Hamas on Friday freed an American woman and her teenage daughter it had held hostage in Gaza, Israel said, the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted during its Oct. 7 rampage in Israel.
President Biden has confirmed the release of two Americans who had been held hostage by Hamas since 7 October.
The US president thanked the governments of Qatar and Israel for their partnership in securing the release of the two American hostages. The US has been working “around-the-clock” to free American hostages and it has not ceased its efforts for those who are still being held by Hamas, Biden said in a statement.
US and allies pressing Israel to delay Gaza invasion to get hostages out – report
The US and European governments have been putting pressure on Israel to delay its ground invasion of Gaza to buy time for secret talks underway to win the release of hostages held by Hamas, according to a report.
Biden faces tough battle to secure $105 billion for Ukraine, Israel, the border and more
The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defence manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Israel orders five Gaza schools to evacuate ‘as fast as possible’, says UN agency
The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said it received a warning from Israel to evacuate five schools “as fast as possible”. All of the schools are in Gaza City, close to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in northern Gaza, AFP reported. The Palestine Red Crescent said it faces an “imminent threat” after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of Al-Quds hospital.
80% Israelis want Netanyahu to take responsibility of October 7 mayhem by Hamas as PM’s popularity dips
About 80 per cent of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “publicly” take responsibility for the Hamas’s onslaught on October 7. The poll was conducted by Maariv newspaper and was published on Friday, the fourteenth day of the Israel-Hamas war.
China and Russia plan to work together for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians
China and Russia share the same position on the Palestinian issue and plan to try to work together to cool the situation and help establish a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, a top Chinese envoy said Friday.
Thousands in Muslim countries around the world demonstrate over Israeli airstrikes
Thousands of people in Muslim countries and beyond held demonstrations Friday in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They called for an end to Israel’s blockade and airstrikes following a brutal incursion into southern Israel by fighters from the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza.
Israel ‘does not plan to control life in Gaza’ after destroying Hamas
Israel has said it does not plan to take long-term control over the Gaza Strip after an expected ground offensive to root out Hamas militants that rule the territory. The Israeli military punished Gaza with air strikes, and authorities inched closer to bringing aid to desperate families and hospitals, as people across Muslim countries protested in solidarity with Palestinians.
The Palestinian militant group October 7, carried out a deadly assault on Israel, the worst in the country’s 75-year history, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has responded with a relentless bombardment that has killed at least 3,785 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory.
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The Israel-Hamas war continues on, killing person after person and causing unprecedented devastation. As of Day 14 of the war, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said 3,785 people have been killed, the majority women, children and older adults. Nearly 12,500 were injured, and another 1,300 people were believed buried under rubble, authorities said.
This includes the 477 people that died in the hospital blast. However, this figure is being disputed by US intelligence, which estimates the toll was between 100 and 300 people.
The situation in Gaza is expected to become worse, as a ground invasion looms with Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant telling troops on Thursday (19 October) that they will soon see the Palestinian territory “from the inside”. “You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come,” said Gallant, suggesting a ground invasion could be nearing.
As the crisis continues to unfold, India has carried out several flights from Israel as part of Operation Ajay to repatriate citizens. But are there Indians in the Gaza Strip? What happens to them?
How many Indians in Gaza?
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday held a press briefing in which it said that the government was keeping a close watch on events unfolding amid the Israel-Hamas war.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters that there are around four Indian nationals in the Gaza Strip and another 12-13 in the West Bank, which has seen tensions on the boil. “There are around four Indian nationals in Gaza… we don’t have exact numbers and are coordinating. There are 12-13 Indian nationals in the West Bank… It’s a little tough to get out from Gaza. There are some reports that some have already got out of there, but we will wait for confirmation,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
And how safe are they in Gaza? The MEA spokesperson stated they hadn’t received any information about an Indian casualty or injury from the region.
However, one Indian caregiver in Israel’s Ashkelon was injured in the war between Israel and Hamas. Sheeja Anand, 41, was on a call with her husband when a rocket launched by Hamas landed on her house, injuring her on 7 October. She was taken to the hospital where she was operated upon.
What plans to evacuate them?
The Gaza Strip has been suffering fierce Israeli bombardment since 8 October when the country declared war against the Hamas, and vowing to ‘annihilate each of its members’.
When asked about evacuating Indians from the violence-torn Strip, the MEA spokesperson said: “The situation in Gaza is difficult for any evacuation but if we get a chance, we will get them out.”
Earlier, Lubna Nazir Shaboo, an Indian from Jammu and Kashmir, had told news agency PTI that she and her family were in Gaza and were seeking immediate evacuation. “We are facing a brutal war here and everything is being destroyed in bombardments in a matter of seconds. We are paying the price of this conflict as civilians are being targeted.”
She added that she has already sought help from the Representative office of India in Ramallah.
Palestinians react after an Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. AP
India has been carrying out repatriation flights from Israel through Operation Ajay under the close watch of Indian envoy to Tel Aviv, Sanjeev Singla.
As of today, around 1,200 Indians and 18 Nepalis have been evacuated from Israel in five different flights from Tel Aviv.
The MEA also stated that more flights would be arranged by India if and when required.
On returning to India on the first flight of Operation Ajay, Deepak, a student, told PTI, “As the attack happened, we could hear the sound. Israeli authorities were instructing us to take safety measures. It was a continuous attack. I am happy to return home, but sad also, as our friends are there (in Israel).”
According to official figures, there are around 18,000 Indians in Israel and all of them have been asked to register with the Indian embassy so that it will be easy to know their locations in case they have to be evacuated.
Death and devastation is omnipresent in the Gaza Strip with the death toll climbing each minute. The United Nations has released some startling data on the destruction in Gaza. According to the world agency, at least 30 per cent of all housing in the densely-populated area has been either destroyed, rendered uninhabitable or lightly damaged.
Moreover, the number of people internally displaced within Gaza has reached one million, including more than 527,500 people sheltering at 147 UN-designated emergency shelters.
The situation in Gaza is only compounded by the lack of vital aid – food, water and medicine. Earlier, the Israel authorities had announced a total siege of the area, blocking off water, food and power. They, however, have reversed their decision and after much discussions, vital aid is expected to reach the people of Gaza today (20 October) through the Rafah Crossing.
Palestinians collect water in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, during ongoing Israeli bombardment. AP
In fact, due to the shortage of water people are consuming water from “unsafe sources, risking death and placing the population at risk of infectious disease outbreak”.
Residents have also been forced to starve or sustain only on bread, as food stocks are almost depleted. Only one of five flour mills is functioning due to a lack of fuel and electricity.
Hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse, with emergency generators that power machines like ventilators and incubators down to about one day of fuel and supplies of medicine almost exhausted.
On 18 October, the world was shell-shocked when an explosion took place at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. While the Gazan health ministry has blamed Israel for the dastardly attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pointed fingers at the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, adding that it was the Hamas ally that misfired a rocket.
Following the explosion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – a first since the war broke out – and conveyed the country’s condolences over the loss of civilian lives at the hospital.
He also reiterated India’s “long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue”.
With inputs from agencies
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