UN security council warns against attempts to dismantle UnrwaThe UN security council on Wednesday “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the operations and mandate of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, after Israel passed a law banning its operations.Reuters reports that in a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member body expressed grave concern over the legislation adopted by the Israeli parliament on Monday.The council “urged the Israeli government to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of Unrwa and live up to its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.ShareKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureThe United States said that ally Israel was not doing enough to answer questions a day after a strike in Gaza killed a large number of children.
They are not doing enough to get us the answers that we have requested,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, AFP writes.
The strike Tuesday in the northern Gaza district of Beit Lahia collapsed a building and left at least 93 dead, including a large number of children, according to the territory’s civil defense agency.Miller yesterday called the strike “horrifying” and said that the United States was seeking answers from Israel, which relies on US diplomatic and military support.Asked if the US had learned more over the past day since it asked for answers, Miller said:
We reiterated that call with them today. We do not yet have an explanation. They have said to us what they had said publicly, which is they’re investigating the matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, from earlier today: the Washington Post reported that the US government has received about 500 reports that American weapons are killing Palestinians.The reports are received from across the government, global aid organisations, nonprofits groups, media reports and other eyewitnesses – but no single case has been acted on.Palestinian Bedouin children play outside their tents in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 30, 2024. Photograph: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/REX/ShutterstockShareHezbollah has just said that it targeted a military camp south-east of Tel Aviv in Israel with missiles.There are few details yet but the basic news has just been reported by Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP). We’ll bring you any more information as it emerges.ShareUpdated at 19.42 CETUS state department supports Israel in its targeting of ‘legitimate’ Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.State department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a regular news briefing that Israel does so in a way that does not threaten the lives of civilians. “That’s especially true in densely populated areas,” he said.“It’s important that they not threaten the lives of journalists, UN peacekeepers, members of the Lebanese armed forces, and it’s also critical that civilian infrastructure and significant cultural heritage sites can be protected.”ShareUpdated at 19.17 CETDonald Trump promises ‘peace’ in the Middle EastDonald Trump at an event commemorating the 7 October attack. Photograph: Marco Bello/ReutersIn a letter addressed to the Lebanese-American community, US presidential candidate Donald Trump promises that he will bring “peace” in the Middle East just six days before Americans head to the polls.“During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” he said in his letter.“I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace, and we will get it done properly so it doesn’t repeat itself every 5 or 10 years!” he added.Trump added that he wanted to work with Lebanese Americans to “ensure the safety and security of the great people of Lebanon”.“You have my word. I will preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities. Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity, and harmony with their neighbours, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the Middle East,” he added.The former president did not offer any details about his plans to achieve peace in the region.ShareUpdated at 18.21 CETAt least three drones were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past hour, one of which was intercepted by air defences, according to the military.The IDF says it has received reports of two drone impacts. It does not specify where they hit or if any damage was caused.ShareUpdated at 18.13 CETNadia KhomamiMore than 1,000 figures from the literary and entertainment industry – including several Nobel laureates, Pulitzer prize, and Booker prize winners – have signed an open letter against “illiberal and dangerous” cultural boycotts.The letter was released by the nonprofit body Creative Community For Peace [CCFP], which campaigns against cultural boycotts of Israel, after more than 1,000 book industry figures pledged to boycott Israeli cultural institutions that “are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians”.Among the signatories of the CCFP letter are Lee Child (creator of the Jack Reacher novels), Booker winner Howard Jacobson, Pulitzer winner David Mamet, Nobel winners Herta Müller and Elfriede Jelinek, historians Simon Schama and Simon Sebag Montefiore, and entertainers Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne and Debra Messing…ShareBernie SandersI understand that there are millions of Americans who disagree with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the terrible war in Gaza. I am one of them.While Israel had a right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages, it did not have the right to wage an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.It did not have the right to kill 42,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were children, women and the elderly, or injure over 100,000 people in Gaza. It did not have the right to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure and housing and healthcare systems. It did not have the right to bomb every one of Gaza’s 12 universities. It did not have the right to block humanitarian aid, causing massive malnutrition in children and, in fact, starvation…ShareSirens have sounded on Israel’s northern border.The Israeli military says the sirens are due to the “identification of a number of suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon”.It says the targets are being “monitored” by the Israeli air force, and the situation is still “developing”.We will bring you the latest as we hear it.ShareUpdated at 17.05 CETAt least 30 killed in fresh strike on GazaIsrael pummelled the Gaza Strip with new bombardments that killed at least 30 people on Wednesday, Palestinian medics said.Eight of today’s victims were killed in northern Gaza. The area Israel hit is near to where medics said at least 93 people were killed or missing on Tuesday in an Israeli strike Washington called “horrifying”.Israel sent tanks into Beit Lahiya and the neighbouring towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia earlier this month as part of their battles with Hamas. The assault on the area has left hundreds of dead civilians and medical workers.Officials in Beit Lahiya issued a statement urging world powers and aid agencies to halt Israel’s attacks and bring in essential medical supplies, fuel and food, saying the latest military actions had left the area “without food, without water, without hospitals, without doctors.”Dr Eid Sabbah of Beit Lahiya’s Kamal Adwan hospital told Reuters that destroyed hospitals, and medical supply shortages were making saving people injured by airstrikes and gunfire impossible.“Whoever is injured just lies there on the ground, and whoever is killed can’t be transported, except by mule-drawn cart,” he said.ShareUpdated at 17.09 CETIsrael’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant tells IDF troops in Rafah that bringing the hostages home is their most important mission in Gaza.“Your obligation is to create military pressure. Our obligation, the political echelon, is to bring about a deal… You apply pressure, do what is necessary, and we bring about a deal because you create the conditions for us to carry it out, and I hope we will do it,” he says.“This is our most important mission in Gaza at this time. We have regular tasks — one is to maintain the defense of the communities and the forces, and the second is to maintain the freedom of action to do whatever is necessary inside Gaza,” Gallant adds.ShareCharity ActionAid called on world leaders to act immediately to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon, after staff of its partner organisation RDFL (The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering ) were forced to flee Baalbek.Roula Zeaiter, Programme Manager for RDFL, said:
People have started evacuating from areas affected by Israeli orders, including shelters where displaced families are staying. The areas affected by Israeli orders are densely populated and heavily crowded. There are no logistical resources to help people to leave, and some people are having to move on foot.
People are panicking, running around in confusion, bumping into each other, unsure where to go or what to do. Minutes after the order to leave came, the streets were filled with people grabbing their things, locking their homes and closing their shops. We’re scrambling like scared mice, moving from place to place. Lebanon is becoming like Gaza, with Israeli forces using the same tactics.
ShareUN security council warns against attempts to dismantle UnrwaThe UN security council on Wednesday “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the operations and mandate of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, after Israel passed a law banning its operations.Reuters reports that in a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member body expressed grave concern over the legislation adopted by the Israeli parliament on Monday.The council “urged the Israeli government to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of Unrwa and live up to its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.ShareHezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday he would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms but said a viable deal has yet to be presented, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).“If the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but on the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, though he added a suitable agreement has not been offered.ShareTwo German naval ships are avoiding the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attacked passing maritime traffic, and are instead sailing around Africa, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.Defence minister Boris Pistorius had ordered the longer route for the frigate and supply ship on their way back from an Indo-Pacific deployment, ministry spokesperson Col Mitko Mueller told a press conference, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).“The threat level is quite high” in the Red Sea, Mueller told a Berlin press briefing, citing the “very complex attacks” carried out there in recent months involving tactical ballistic missiles, drones and other weapons.He said that, unlike other German naval vessels, the two ships are not “specifically designed to carry out air defence operations” to protect themselves as well as fleets of nearby vessels.According to AFP, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had during an India trip last week visited the two ships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and supply ship Frankfurt am Main, in the south-western state of Goa.The frigate will next head into the Mediterranean to join a mission for Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, while the supply ship will sail back to Germany, Mueller said.Most major shipping companies are avoiding the Red Sea route towards Egypt’s Suez canal and the Mediterranean Sea, forcing them to instead make the longer and more costly journey around Africa.ShareQassem warns Israel will pay ‘heavy price’ if forces remain in LebanonHezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, on Wednesday warned Israel it would pay a heavy price if its forces remain in Lebanon, stressing his group was ready for a prolonged conflict, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).“Get out of our land to reduce your losses. If you stay, you will pay more than you have ever paid in your life,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, asserting Hezbollah could sustain fighting “for days, weeks and months”.ShareUpdated at 16.21 CETSaudi Arabia on Wednesday hosted the first meeting of a new “international alliance” to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.Unveiled last month on the sidelines of the UN general assembly, the “international alliance to implement the two-state solution” brings together nations from the Middle East, Europe and beyond.Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said nearly 90 “states and international organisations” were taking part in the two-day meeting in Riyadh.“A genocide is happening with the goal of evicting the Palestinian people from their land, which Saudi Arabia rejects,” he said, describing the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic” and denouncing the “complete blockade” of northern Gaza.The Riyadh meeting was expected to focus on humanitarian access, the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and measures to advance a two-state solution, diplomats said.Unrwa commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini speaks during the ‘international alliance to implement the two-state solution’ meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday. Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty ImagesThe European Union was set to be represented by Sven Koopmans, the special representative for the Middle East peace process, diplomats said.The US, Israel’s most important military backer, sent Hady Amr, the state department’s special representative for Palestinian affairs, reports AFP.The hard-right Israeli government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains implacably opposed to Palestinian statehood.Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, paused US-brokered talks on recognising Israel after the Gaza war broke out between Palestinian militants Hamas and Israel.In September, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said an “independent Palestinian state” was a condition for normalisation. Prince Faisal reiterated that position on Wednesday, reports AFP.Ireland, Norway and Spain announced their recognition of a Palestinian state in May, prompting an angry response from Israel. Slovenia soon joined them, bringing the number of countries that recognise a Palestinian state to 146 out of the 193 UN member states.ShareUpdated at 15.14 CETStrikes hit Lebanon’s Baalbek and Bekka after Israel evacuation callStrikes rocked the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and its outskirts on Wednesday, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent reported, hours after Israel issued an evacuation call for the area.Baalbek mayor Mustafa al-Shall confirmed strikes hit the city and surrounding areas, without providing further details.Reuters reports, citing security sources, that Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Baalbek and surrounding villages in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region.The news agency reports that thousands of people have fled the city since the evacuation order was issued, approximately four hours before the strikes began. There was no immediate word on casualties, it said.ShareHezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday that the Iran-backed group is fighting Israel to defend Lebanese territory, not as a result of foreign influence, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).In a pre-recorded speech, his first as Hezbollah leader, Qassem said the movement was not “fighting on anyone’s behalf,” adding that Iran “supports us but doesn’t want anything” in return.Share