Gaza is ‘dying’, aid group chief tells Lebanon conference in ParisGaza is “dying”, the vice-president of aid group Doctors of the World has warned, as he called for immediate cessation of hostilities.Jean-François Corty, speaking at an international conference for Lebanon in Paris on Thursday, welcomed the mobilization of aid for Lebanon but lamented the lack of concrete efforts to pressure the warring parties to stop the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza, AP reported.“There was no mention of any potential constraints on the parties involved in the conflict, particularly the Israeli government,” Corty said, adding:
I also reminded them that whilst we are mobilizing for Lebanon, Gaza is dying today. Thousands of people are being eliminated … in the north of Gaza, and it seems that the international community no longer considers the Gazans to be our fellow human beings.
ShareUpdated at 21.00 CESTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureA delegation from Moscow arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss negotiations for the release of two Israeli-Russian dual citizens held in Gaza, according to the Times of Israel, citing a Saudi report.It comes after a senior Hamas official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told Russian state news agency Ria that the group was consider the release of the two hostages, Alexander (Sasha) Trufanov and Maxim Herkin, as a “priority” but only as part of a ceasefire deal that would include exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.SharePEN International ‘outraged’ by Israeli “threats’ against Al Jazeera journalistsPEN International has said it is “outraged” by “threats” made by the Israeli military against six Palestinian journalists working at Al Jazeera.On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published documents which it said it had found in Gaza that proved that six Al Jazeera journalists had a military affiliation to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The papers could not be immediately independently verified.In response, Al Jazeera said the Israel accusations were “criminal, draconian and irresponsible” and “part of a wider pattern of hostility”.The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East programme said the allegations amounted to the smearing of Palestinian journalists “with unsubstantiated terrorist labels”.PEN International, posting to X on Thursday, said it condemned the “ongoing threats, impunity over their killings, and severe restrictions” on freedom of expression in Gaza since October 2023.We are outraged by @IDF threats against six Palestinian journalists, labelling them as terrorists for reporting on Israel’s war crimes. We condemn the ongoing threats, impunity over their killings, and severe restrictions on FoE in #Gaza since Oct 2023. Read our #PENCongress…— PEN International (@pen_int) October 24, 2024

Israel outlawed Al Jazeera earlier this year for what it termed “security reasons”, and raided its offices in the occupied West Bank.Several of the network’s journalists have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza war, deaths the Israeli military denies were deliberate.ShareUpdated at 21.52 CESTThe Israeli military has issued new evacuation warnings for southern Beirut in advance of expected airstrikes on the Lebanese capital’s suburbs.The Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted on Twitter/X maps showing specific buildings in Beirut’s southern suburb, warning people to evacuate the area immediately.#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في المناطق التالية: 🔸شويفات العمروسية 🔸حارة حريك⭕️تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على المدى الزمني… pic.twitter.com/zHKH6eAznP— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 24, 2024ShareUpdated at 21.44 CESTThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said five soldiers were killed and seven others wounded during fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.הותר לפרסום: רס״ב (מיל׳) מרדכי חיים אמויאל בן 42 מלוד, רס״ם (מיל׳) שמואל הררי בן 35 מצפת, רס״ר (מיל׳) שלמה אביעד ניימן בן 31 ממצפה יריחו ורס״ל (מיל׳) שובאל בן-נתן בן 22 מרחלים, לוחמים בגדוד 222 בחטיבת כרמלי, נפלו בהתקלות עם מחבלים בדרום לבנון. יהי זכרם ברוך pic.twitter.com/S6vqZVW2XA— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) October 24, 2024ShareUpdated at 21.26 CESTHamas official says it is ready to stop fighting is Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire dealA senior Hamas official has said the group had told Egyptian officials it was ready to stop fighting in Gaza if Israel committed to a ceasefire deal.As we reported earlier, a delegation of Hamas leaders met with an Egyptian security delegation in Cairo on Thursday as part of efforts to resume the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian state media reported.The Hamas official told AFP that the group’s delegation discussed “ideas and proposals” related to a ceasefire deal with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Thursday. The official added:
Hamas has expressed readiness to stop the fighting, but Israel must commit to a ceasefire, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allow the return of displaced people, agree to a serious prisoner exchange deal and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
ShareBenjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, “welcomes Egypt’s readiness” to advance a deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza, his office posted to X.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes Egypt’s readiness to advance a deal for the release of the hostages.— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 24, 2024ShareUpdated at 21.04 CESTAs we reported earlier, Israeli and US negotiators are scheduled to meet in Doha this weekend to try to restart talks toward a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.An Egyptian security delegation met with a delegation of Hamas leaders in Cairo as part of efforts to resume the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian state media reported on Thursday.A Hamas delegation, headed by chief negotiator and deputy Hamas Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo to meet with Egypt’s head of general intelligence agency, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV reported.ShareUpdated at 21.03 CESTRussia’s president Vladimir Putin met with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, at the Brics summit in Russia on Thursday.Putin, in televised comments, told Abbas:
We are strongly for a quick end to the bloodshed [in Gaza].
Vladimir Putin welcomes Mahmoud Abbas before their meeting on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia, 24 October 2024. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/EPAAt a news conference at the summit, Putin said Russia is “not interested” in escalating conflict in the Middle East. He said:
We are very concerned about what is happening in the region. Russia is not interested in the conflict getting worse. We will not gain anything from this strategically, we will only see additional problems.
ShareUpdated at 20.44 CESTIsrael’s top general has said there was a possibility for a “sharp conclusion” to the conflict with Hezbollah.Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, said in a video statement on Wednesday:
In the north, there’s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion. We thoroughly dismantled Hezbollah’s senior chain of command.
ShareUpdated at 20.22 CESTFunerals were held on Thursday for the victims of a deadly attack on the headquarters of the Turkish national aerospace company near Ankara.Five people were killed and 22 others wounded in the explosion and assault at the Tusaş headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said investigators had confirmed that both attackers were members of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ party, or PKK.The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in south-east Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the country’s western allies.In response, Turkey launched airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant targets in Syria and Iraq. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Thursday that Turkish airstrikes had killed 12 civilians in north-east Syria.Relatives mourn near the coffin of Zahide Guclu Ekici, one of the victims of a terror attack at the (Tusaş) Turkish Aerospace and Aviation Center headquarter the previous day, during his funeral ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, 24 October 2024. Photograph: Necati Savaş/EPARelatives, together with Özgür Özel, main opposition leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) (second from right), and Numan Kurtulmuş, speaker of the Grand National Assembly (parliament) of Turkey (center), pray before the coffin of Cengiz Coskun, one of the victims of the terror attack. Photograph: Necati Savaş/EPAShareUpdated at 20.14 CEST