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Groups slam media security chief for red-tagging ahead of UN expert’s visit
Altermidya and the NUJP said Presidential Task Force on Media Security executive director Paulino Gutierrez’s attack against journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio also proves the absurdity of his agency’s continued existence. The post Groups slam media security chief for red-tagging ahead of UN expert’s visit appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
After conflict’s won, what happens next?
In the wake of the coordinated, well-planned savage attack mounted by the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which stunned Israel on 7 October, a seething Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the total annihilation of Hamas. A “mighty vengeance” is what he promised against what he described as a “cruel enemy, worse than ISIS.” Likewise enraged by the slaughter of scores of Israelis, including over 200 revelers who were mowed down by armed paragliders and foot soldiers as they made merry at an electronic music festival outside the Re’im kibbutz, about 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) from the wall that separates Gaza from southern Israel, Netanyahu’s words were echoed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who declared, “We will wipe this thing called Hamas, ISIS-Gaza off the face of the earth. It will cease to exist.” Hamas didn’t spare any of the nearly 1,500 Israelis they felled —men, women, children, old people — they also took with them over 200 hostages. Within a week of the attack, Israel retaliated with an intense bombing of Central and Northern Gaza, with Israel striking over 7,000 targets, including rocket launchers, command centers, munitions factories, and leaders of Hamas. It has been nearly three weeks since the 7 October attack by Hamas, and it remains unclear if or when Israel will conduct a ground invasion of Gaza. Even as Israel continues to blast enemy targets, Western leaders and the UN are pleading for a pause to give aid a chance to get through the blockade and into Gaza and for the safe release of the hostages in Hamas’s hands. On Thursday, Israel said it had briefly sent tanks into Gaza to “prepare the battlefield ahead of the next stages of combat.” Again, on Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed Israel would exact a price for the terrorist assault, which killed over 1,400. Despite these statements by Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister to decimate Hamas to kingdom come, there is no exact clarity as to when Israel will begin its ground invasion. For sure, the challenges of a ground war are gargantuan. If or when such a ground invasion is finally mounted, what awaits the Israeli defense force will be sustained urban warfare in enemy territory in pursuit of an objective that, other than the total demolition of Hamas, leaves so many other vital matters hanging in the air. The Israelites will confront at least four critical challenges in carrying out a major ground offensive. For Council for Foreign Relations expert Max Boot, these include urban fighting, an inherently different form of warfare where buildings provide positions for defenders, and the multiplication of difficulties for Israeli combatants due to the presence of a large number of Palestinian civilians and even the hostages seized by Hamas who could be used as human shields. Then there are all the underground tunnels built by Hamas over the years, enabling them to hide from Israeli troops and emerge at unexpected moments. There, too, is the challenge of a possible second front, with the Hezbollah in Lebanon poised on Israel’s northern border. The Hezbollah has an estimated arsenal of some 150,000 missiles and rockets. So far, Hezbollah has not mounted a major assault on Israel, but analysts fear it could do so once Israeli ground forces get into Gaza. “A two-front conflict would be a nightmare for Israel,” says Boot. A third critical challenge consists of post-combat stabilization operations. Known in the US military as “Phase IV,” this is where US efforts in both Washington and Iraq foundered badly for lack of preparation. Israeli media have reported that the Israeli government has been struggling to develop a Phase IV plan of its own and, Boot points out, “no wonder because there are no good options.” If Israel simply attacks Hamas and then leaves — as it had done in the past — the terrorist group would just regenerate itself. If to prevent that from happening, a Palestinian Authority government would be established in place of Hamas, with help from Arab states, that could be an option. But if that fails, Israel may have no choice but to re-occupy Gaza — a situation that could leave Israeli soldiers vulnerable to a grinding guerrilla war of the kind they faced in Lebanon in the early 1980s all through 2000. Even as they do get into Gaza, there are many unknowns, according to Boot: how will Israel deal with the Hamas tunnel network; how skillfully will Hamas fight; will a toll on civilian lives in Gaza force Israel to suspend its offensive; will Hezbollah join the war; will this war spread across the region and draw into the fray Hamas’s biggest supporter, Iran? If Hamas is indeed physically decimated — what then should be done to stabilize Gaza after the enemy has been vanquished? Who takes over Gaza once the guns have been stilled and the smoke of war clears? What happens next? Israel’s leaders say those matters, for the moment, are not of immediate concern to them. But at a certain point, they will become unavoidable; Israel will have to grapple with complex questions and carve out a workably resolute path through the din for its continued survival. The post After conflict’s won, what happens next? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
New U.S. speaker rallies support for Israel
The United States House of Representatives is back in business with the newly-elected Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, introducing a resolution supporting Israel in its war with Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. The resolution passed with support from all but nine Democrats and just one Republican dissenter. The first successful act of Johnson signals a stable leadership despite being the least experienced speaker in the post Civil War era, having never chaired a committee or held a senior leadership role. “We all know that the world is in turmoil — but a strong America is good for the entire world,” Johnson told lawmakers after his election on Wednesday that ended the paralysis of Congress. Biden congratulated the new speaker and vowed to work with him, adding that the US now needed “to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown.” Ahead of the filing of the Israel resolution, the Louisiana congressman said in his acceptance speech that the bill is overdue as America’s “greatest ally in the Middle East is under attack.” The little-known ally of Donald Trump who spearheaded legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election won the unanimous support of his party to replace Kevin McCarthy who was ousted in a right-wing coup on 3 October. The post New U.S. speaker rallies support for Israel appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot kills six
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) — At least six postal workers were killed while 17 were wounded after Russian missile strikes hit a mail depot in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said. The strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Saturday came as Kyiv declared its positions in the embattled city of Avdiivka were “protected” despite Russian attacks, while Moscow said it had downed Ukrainian missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula. The six killed in the depot attack were all workers at the Ukrainian postal operator Nova Poshta in Korotych, a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv city, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said. “The victims, aged between 19 and 42, received shrapnel wounds and blast injuries,” he said. Of the injured being treated in hospital, seven were in a serious condition, according to Sinegubov, who said “doctors are fighting for their lives.” The regional prosecutor’s office later updated the number of injured to 17. President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video on social media of what appeared to be a heavily damaged warehouse surrounded by rubble and a container with the Nova Poshta logo. Sergiy Nozhka, who works for Nova Poshta, described the condition of some his colleagues as “mild to moderate severity,” adding that “there are some people in a very serious condition.” He said that a rocket “flew into the neighboring depot, but at ours too — the windows and shutters flew out. This is not the first time.” According to the prosecutor’s office, Russian forces in the Belgorod region north of Kharkiv fired S-300 missiles, two of which hit the warehouse. “Debris analysis continues at the site in order to establish the exact number of injured and dead,” office spokesperson Dmytro Chubenko told Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne. Separate Russian attacks on villages near the war-battered Ukrainian city of Bakhmut killed at least two people on Sunday, officials said. Both Kyiv and Moscow are preparing for a grueling winter ahead, as Ukraine warns of renewed strikes on its energy infrastructure and Russia contends with a Ukrainian counteroffensive to regain territory. In the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s positions around the frontline city of Avdiivka were “protected”, Zelensky said in his evening address Sunday. The city has been the center of intense fighting in recent weeks as each side struggles to make advances. Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday that Russia had stepped up its military assault on Avdiivka in an ongoing bid to encircle and capture it. “The Avdiivka and Maryinka directions are particularly tough”, Zelensky said. “Numerous attacks by Russians. But our positions are protected.” Avdiivka has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, after it briefly fell to Russian-backed separatists. It lies just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Moscow-held city of Donetsk, capital of the Donetsk region that Russia said last September it was annexing. Ukrainian soldiers had been bracing for a new assault after a failed Russian offensive earlier this month using columns of armored vehicles and tanks from three sides. Built around a huge coke plant, Avdiivka had a pre-war population of around 30,000 people. Around 1,600 remain, according to local authorities, living in basements converted into bomb shelters. The city center has been all but destroyed through daily Russian artillery shelling and a months-long aerial bombing campaign. Also on Sunday Russian forces shot down three missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, a Russian official said. The peninsula is crucial to Russia’s offensive, both for supplying troops in southern Ukraine and for carrying out missile strikes from the sea. The post Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot kills six appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Terrible nightmare’: OFWs recount Hamas attack on Israel
Two Overseas Filipino Workers shared on Monday their traumatizing experience during the attack of Hamas militants on Israel. Teresita Malapo, 35, a resident of Baao, Camarines Sur and a caregiver for eight years, said they were about to go to church in Jerusalem when they heard a siren. “On Saturday morning, we were about to go to church in Jerusalem because most of the time, we go to church every day off. Suddenly, we heard a siren. After a while, there was news that rockets were being launched from Palestine. We were all shocked." She added that a simple bang of the door made her feel nervous because of the bombings. “That feeling that you always hear something, and your feeling of nervousness is increasing. When a door closes, you think something has exploded. In Israel, there is an explosion anytime of the day. It explodes even without a siren. When there’s a bombing, our house or bomb shelters vibrates,” she lamented. Meanwhile, Gerald Caniban, 35, a resident of Iloilo City and a caregiver for five years, said he was asleep when he was awakened by a phone alert and heard a siren. “It was an overwhelming experience because of what happened on 7 October. I was staying in Tel Aviv that morning, I was with my girlfriend when we heard the alert on my phone. It was Saturday, our day off. Then after a few minutes, we heard a siren all over Tel Aviv,” Caniban said. “It was a terrible nightmare. Israel didn’t expect Hamas to attack. In my personal experience, I don’t have peace of mind. Even if you’re asleep, it’s like you’re awake because you might hear a siren anytime. Then I got sick for a week thinking that there was something that would come again. So even when I’m lying down, I still watch the news. That’s what makes me nervous that something worst might be coming,” he said. A total of 25 OFWs, including a four-month-old infant, arrived on Monday afternoon at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, as the third batch of repatriates via Etihad Airways EY424. The repatriates were received by Department of Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac, DMW Undersecretary Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones, TESDA Director Cariza Dacuma, Congressman Ron Salo, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator Mary Melanie Quino, Department of Social Welfare and Development Director Mirmamel Laxa and Department of Health Director Bernadette Velasco. According to Allones, two of the repatriates are in need of psychosocial assistance. Cacdac said a total of 16 caregivers and nine hotel workers were in the third batch of repatriated OFWs, which he said were predominantly women. The post ‘Terrible nightmare’: OFWs recount Hamas attack on Israel appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
59 OFWs seek Lebanon exit
At least 59 Filipinos in Lebanon have expressed a desire to be repatriated amid the escalating tension between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon said Monday. Hezbollah is another Islamist militant group that controls the southern part of Lebanon. It has launched rockets into the northern part of Israel, which has fired back. “On Sunday morning, when we held our meeting with Filipino community leaders, we received 59 applications,” Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Raymond Balatbat said in a television interview. This developed as the Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, placed Lebanon under Alert Level 3, or voluntary repatriation. According to the DFA, there are an estimated 17,500 Filipinos in Lebanon, 67 of them residing on its southern border. Balatbat said only three of the 67 Filipinos on the southern border have asked to be repatriated. Since the surprise attack by the Palestinian Sunni-Islamic extremist group Hamas on Israel on 7 October, which left 1,400 Israelis dead, scores of foreigners have also been killed, including four Filipinos. Meanwhile, a total of 24 overseas Filipino workers, comprising the third batch of repatriates from Israel, arrived Monday afternoon at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. The repatriates — 21 women and three men — came from Israel via Abu Dhabi on board Etihad Airways flight EY424. Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac assured all the repatriates of support from the government to ease their displacement and facilitate their reintegration. Two Filipinos shared on Monday their traumatizing experience during the attack of Hamas in Israel. Tersita Malapo, 35, of Baao, Camarines Sur, a caregiver for eight years, said she and other Filipinos were about to go to church when they heard a siren. “On Saturday morning, we were about to go to church in Jerusalem because we go to church every day off. Suddenly, we heard a siren. After a while, there was news that rockets were being launched from Palestine. We were so shocked,” Malapo said. She said that because of the bombings a loud noise like the banging of a door made her nervous. “That feeling that you always hear something, your feeling of nervousness is increasing. When a door slams, you think something has exploded. In Israel, there is an explosion anytime of the day. It explodes even without a siren. When there’s a bombing, our house and bomb shelter vibrates,” she said. Gerald Caniban, 35, of Iloilo City, a caregiver for five years, said he was asleep when he heard the sirens. “It was an overwhelming experience. I was in Tel Aviv that morning. I was sleeping with my girlfriend when we heard the alert on my phone. It was Saturday, our day-off. After a few minutes, we heard sirens all over Tel Aviv,” Caniban said. He said he did not have peace of mind and described the situation as a terrible nightmare. The post 59 OFWs seek Lebanon exit appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pentagon amps up posture in Mideast in response to ‘escalations’
The United States warned against any "escalation" in the Middle East in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region. The United States has seen a "prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops" in the region, Austin said Sunday, adding that the US military was preparing for "the ability to respond." "If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don't," he told ABC News. "We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action," he added. His comments came hours after the Pentagon said it was upping readiness in the region in response to "recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces." Austin ordered the activation of air defense systems and notified additional forces that they may be deployed soon. Austin did not say how many US troops would be added to those already in the region. The Pentagon's moves came after what Austin had earlier described in a statement as "detailed discussions" with President Joe Biden. "These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel," Austin said. The steps continued the Biden administration's response since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip stormed Israel on October 7, taking more than 200 hostages and killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials. tensions rising Israel has since vowed to destroy Hamas, and says around 1,500 of the group's fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area initially under attack. Austin said he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions "throughout the region." "Finally, I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required," Austin said. Tensions are rising along Israel's northern border with Lebanon after the Israeli army traded fire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid fears of a new front opening as Israel battles Hamas. In south Lebanon on Saturday, Hezbollah said four of its fighters were killed. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said one of its fighters was also killed. Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washington's support for Israel. Multiple Iraqi bases used by US-led coalition troops have been targeted in several attacks in recent days. Israel's military said Saturday it would intensify strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion. The military has pounded Gaza with relentless strikes in response to Hamas's 7 October attack. The bombing campaign has killed more than 4,650 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swaths of the densely populated territory to ruins. A first trickle of aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt on Saturday, but the 20 trucks permitted to cross have been described as a "drop in the ocean" given the needs of 2.4 million residents. The post Pentagon amps up posture in Mideast in response to ‘escalations’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
First relief convoy enters Gaza devastated by ‘nightmare’ war
The first aid trucks arrived in war-torn Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, bringing urgent humanitarian relief to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave suffering what the UN chief labelled a "godawful nightmare". Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group carried out the deadliest attack in the country's history on October 7. Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israel has retaliated with a relentless bombing campaign on Gaza that has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. An Israeli siege has cut food, water, electricity and fuel supplies to the densely populated and long-blockaded territory of 2.4 million people, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe. AFP journalists on Saturday saw 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from various UN agencies, pass through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza. The crossing -- the only one into Gaza not controlled by Israel -- closed again after the trucks passed. The lorries had been waiting for days on the Egyptian side after Israel agreed to a request from its main ally the United States to allow aid to enter. UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Friday that the relief supplies were "the difference between life and death" for many Gazans, more than one million of whom have been displaced. "Much more" aid needs to be sent, he told a peace summit in Egypt on Saturday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the aid and urged "all parties" to keep the Rafah crossing open. But a Hamas spokesman said "even dozens" of such convoys could not meet Gaza's needs, especially as no fuel was being allowed in to help distribute the supplies to those in need. 'Reeling in pain' Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have deployed to the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground offensive that officials have pledged will begin "soon". As international tensions soar, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was hosting a peace summit in Cairo on Saturday attended by regional and some Western leaders. "The time has come for action to end this godawful nightmare," Guterres told the summit, calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire". The region "is reeling in pain and one step from the precipice", he said. Guterres said "the grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long" after "56 years of occupation with no end in sight". But he stressed that "nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorised Israeli civilians". "Those abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," he added. Egypt, historically a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, has urged "restraint" and the relaunch of the long-frozen peace process. But diplomatic efforts to end the violence have made little headway, without the participation of Israel and its enemy Iran, a supporter of Hamas and other armed groups. 'Sliver of hope' A full-blown Israeli ground offensive carries many risks, including to the hostages Hamas took and whose fate is shrouded in uncertainty. So the release of two Americans among the hostages -- mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan -- offered a rare "sliver of hope", said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political bureau, for its mediation in securing the release. He said he was working "around the clock" to win the return of other Americans being held. Natalie Raanan's half-brother Ben told the BBC he felt an "overwhelming sense of joy" at the release after "the most horrible of ordeals". Hamas said Egypt and Qatar had negotiated the release and that it was "working with all mediators to implement the movement's decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow". Traumatised families with loved ones missing in Gaza demanded more action. "We ask humanity to interfere and bring back all those young boys, young girls, mothers, babies," Assaf Shem Tov, whose nephew was abducted from a music festival where Hamas killed hundreds, said Friday. Devastation Almost half of Gaza's residents have been displaced, and at least 30 percent of all housing in the territory has been destroyed or damaged, the United Nations says. Thousands have taken refuge in a camp set up in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Fadwa al-Najjar said she and her seven children walked for 10 hours to reach the camp, at some points breaking into a run as missiles struck around them. "We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she told AFP. In Al-Zahra in central Gaza, Rami Abu Wazna was struggling to take in the destruction wreaked by Israeli missile strikes. "Even in my worst nightmares, I never thought this could be possible," he said. Israel's operation will take not "a day, nor a week, nor a month" and will result in "the end of Israel's responsibilities in the Gaza Strip", Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Friday. Regional tensions flare In Gaza, retired general Omar Ashour said the destruction was "part of a clear plan for people to have no place left to live". "This will cause a second Nakba," he added, referring to the 760,000 Palestinians who were expelled from or fled their homes when Israel was created in 1948. The United States has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both Hamas allies, amid fears of a wider conflagration. Fire across Israel's border with Lebanon continued overnight, with one Israeli soldier killed, Israeli public radio said. The military said it hit Hezbollah targets after rocket and missile fire. Violence has also flared in the West Bank, where 84 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The post First relief convoy enters Gaza devastated by ‘nightmare’ war appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israel urges evacuation of Gaza hospital, five schools: aid groups
Israel warned humanitarian groups in the Gaza Strip on Friday to evacuate a major hospital and five schools ahead of a potential strike, aid agencies said. The Al-Quds Hospital is in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of Israeli air raids since Hamas staged their biggest ever attacks on Israel on October 7. The Palestine Red Crescent launched an "urgent appeal" saying it had "received a threat from the occupying authorities to bombard Al-Quds Hospital". The Israeli warning "demanded" the hospital's evacuation, which would affect more than 400 patients and 12,000 displaced people who have sought "safe haven", the group said. "We call upon the international community to take immediate and urgent action to prevent another massacre similar to what occurred at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital," the statement added. A rocket attack on the Al-Ahli hospital killed hundreds of people, Gaza's Hamas authorities said. Hamas blamed Israeli jets, while Israel blamed misdirected fire by militants inside Gaza. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said in parallel that Israel had told it to evacuate five schools "as fast as possible". All of the schools are in Gaza City, close to the hospital. "We did what we could to protest and reject this decision, but this means that from now these facilities are no longer safe," said an UNRWA statement, calling on thousands of people in and around the hospitals to flee. The Red Crescent said last Saturday that it had received a similar evacuation order for Al-Quds Hospital. Palestinian media said a rocket attack hit near the hospital on Wednesday. Gaza authorities say more than 4,100 people have been killed in Israeli raids since the Hamas attacks that left 1,400 people dead. The attacks were the worst suffered by Israel since its creation 75 years ago. The post Israel urges evacuation of Gaza hospital, five schools: aid groups appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Jerusalem’s holy sites deserted on second Friday of war
Fatima lives a few kilometers from Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque but had to cross four checkpoints to get there for Friday prayers with the esplanade largely deserted since war erupted between Israel and Hamas. Normally packed for Friday prayers, there were only a few thousand worshippers present at the compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is the third holiest site in Islam but is also the most sacred place for Jews. The compound has been largely deserted since October 7 when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed across the border beginning an attack that has killed at least 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day, Israeli officials say. Israel has struck back at Gaza with a relentless bombing campaign which has killed more than 4,100 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the enclave's Hamas-run health ministry. "Since it started, I haven't been back to the Old City nor to Al-Aqsa," says Fatima, a 37-year-old Palestinian who, like many others, did not want to give her family name for fear of reprisals as war rages between Israel and Hamas. Large numbers of Israeli security forces could be seen checking ID papers and turning away men under 50 from the Old City esplanade which is located in east Jerusalem, a majority Palestinian area seized by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community. Unable to reach the compound, hundreds could be seen praying on the pavements, while elsewhere, Israeli police fired skunk water and tear gas to disperse others who were trying to enter the Old City, AFP correspondents said. Elsewhere in the Old City, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was deserted, with a lone Greek Orthodox priest praying alone at the normally crowded site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. And at the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, the vast esplanade which is normally packed in the hours before the Jewish sabbath begins at sundown, is also empty. It was early on a sabbath morning two weeks ago that Palestinian militants began their bloody attack, the most deadly ever to hit the Jewish state since it was founded in 1948. In the Muslim Quarter, most shops were shuttered, with Hassan Omar, 72, one of the only shopkeepers to open up, laying out prayer rugs and embroidered children's dresses alongside colorful scarves. "Since the war started, things have been very difficult. I come every day and pray, I go to Al-Aqsa then see if there any customers and if there aren't, I leave," he told AFP, expressing sorrow for the deaths of all civilians on both sides. "It's like during Covid, there's no-one." For Old City traders who depend on tourism, the war has spelt financial ruin, says fellow shopkeeper Mohammed Natsheh. "The whole economy has collapsed." The post Jerusalem’s holy sites deserted on second Friday of war appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gazans await ‘life and death’ aid, Israel readies invasion
Thousands of tonnes of "life and death" aid for Gaza should be delivered soon, the United Nations said Friday, to relieve a "beyond catastrophic" situation after unrelenting Israeli bombing in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack. Some 175 lorries stuffed with vital medicines, food, and water stretched into the distance at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which has removed concrete roadblocks and is scrambling to repair the route into besieged Gaza -- the only one not controlled by Israel. Overseeing operations personally, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters: "These trucks are not just trucks, they are a lifeline, they are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza." Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched a shock raid from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians shot, mutilated or burned to death, according to Israeli officials. Hamas gunmen also kidnapped some 200 hostages including foreigners from around two dozen countries. The Islamist group said Friday that its armed wing had released two Americans among the captives, a mother and her daughter, the first fruit of mediation efforts by the Gulf state of Qatar. The Islamist group did not detail how or when the hostages were released. The Israeli military said earlier Friday that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive. It said more than 20 were minors. In response to the Hamas attack, Israeli bombers have levelled entire city blocks in Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion they say is coming soon. The Hamas-run health ministry said 4,137 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the onslaught. Israeli jets pounded more than 100 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, the army said, with AFP reporters hearing loud explosions and witnessing plumes of smoke billowing from the northern Gaza Strip. Embracing front-line soldiers and clad in body armour, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to "fight like lions" and "win with full force". Fists clenched and voice raised, Netanyahu told cheering troops: "We will deal harsh blows to our enemies in order to achieve victory." Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told some of the tens of thousands of personnel preparing the ground invasion that "the order will come soon". 'Beyond catastrophic' US President Joe Biden said Friday he expected the first aid for Gaza to pass through the Rafah crossing from Egypt within the next two days, under a deal he clinched to allow in 20 trucks of supplies for civilians. Medicine, water purifiers and blankets were being unloaded at El Arish airport near Gaza, an AFP reporter saw, with Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, saying he was getting "two to three planes of aid a day". But World Health Organization emergencies director Michael Ryan said Biden's 20-truck deal was "a drop in the ocean of need" and that 2,000 trucks were required. The UN says more than one million of Gaza's 2.4 million people are displaced, with the humanitarian situation "beyond catastrophic" and deteriorating daily. Refugees from northern Gaza told harrowing tales of bombs, profiteering and extreme temperatures as whole families trekked on foot to flee the violence. Mother of seven Fadwa Al-Najjar walked for 10 hours with her family from northern Gaza to reach a UN camp in the southern city of Khan Yunis, saying she saw cars hit by a strike just in front of them. "We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she said. 'It's unimaginable' On the other side of the conflict, the full horror of what Israel suffered on October 7 and following days was still emerging, as traumatised residents recounted their stories. Shachar Butler, a security chief at the Nir Oz kibbutz, where Hamas militants killed or kidnapped a quarter of the 400 residents, recalls more than a dozen gunmen spraying bullets indiscriminately and lobbing grenades at homes. "It's unimaginable," the 40-year-old told AFP as part of a trip organised by the Israeli military. "Anytime someone tried to touch my window, I shot him," he said. "The people who came out got kidnapped, killed, executed, slaughtered." Butler estimated as many as 200 militants attacked the kibbutz, entering from three sides before going house-to-house. Homes there were still charred with burnt personal belongings strewn everywhere. Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control. 'No safe place' Biden requested a massive $105 billion security package Friday, including $14 billion for Israel, but paralysis in the still speakerless Congress means it will hit an immediate wall. Fresh from a whirlwind trip to Israel this week, Biden is hoping to staunch the possibility of a wider Middle East war. The United States has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both Hamas allies, from getting involved. After days of clashes with Hezbollah fighters along the Lebanese border, Israeli authorities announced the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona, a nearby town which is home to some 25,000 residents, many of whom have already left. The conflict has inflamed passions across the region, with protests held in several countries. Thousands flooded into Egypt's iconic Tahrir Square in support of Gaza, an AFP correspondent said. Protests were also held outside the French and US embassies in Tunis. Following a strike at a church compound late Thursday, the Hamas-controlled interior ministry said several people sheltering at the church were killed and wounded, blaming an Israeli strike. The Israeli army acknowledged a church wall had been damaged in one of its air strikes targeting a "command and control centre belonging to a Hamas terrorist". "This place is dedicated for praying, a place of love and peace," said witness Abu Khalil Jahshan. "There is no safe place here in Gaza." The post Gazans await ‘life and death’ aid, Israel readies invasion appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Shun mass protests in Egypt
Filipinos in Egypt have been advised to avoid joining any protests following the mass demonstrations, denouncing the bombing of a hospital in the Gaza Strip that reportedly killed at least 500 civilians. In an advisory, the Philippine Embassy in Egypt cautioned Filipinos against joining the random demonstrations and planned mass actions. “The Philippine Embassy in Cairo advises everyone to exercise caution, keep away from mass congregations, and stay home unless necessary,” it said. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are 1,990 Filipinos in Egypt. Egyptians took to the streets to express their anger over the bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which left hundreds of Palestinians dead. In one of the demonstrations, a Palestinian flag was raised while an Israeli flag was burned. The demonstrations came after Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called on Egyptians to express solidarity with the Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war. This developed as top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday denounced the ongoing war in the Middle East. End bloodshed In a statement, the foreign ministers of the 10-member regional bloc called for an immediate end to the bloodshed. “We strongly condemn the acts of violence which have led to the deaths and injuries of civilians, including ASEAN nationals,” the foreign ministers said. “We urge the immediate end of violence to avoid further human casualties and call for the full respect of international humanitarian law,” it added. Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are engaged in armed conflict following the surprise attack launched by the terror group on Israel last 7 October. The attack by Hamas has left more than 1,400 dead, most of them massacred on the first day of the assault. Meanwhile, the widespread airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have reportedly left at least 3,478 dead. ASEAN also called on “all parties to create safe, rapid and unimpeded passages of human corridors.” Last week, Israel imposed a 24-hour deadline for 1.1 million civilians to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of its ground offensive in the Palestinian territory. Since then, millions of civilians, including foreign nationals, have scrambled to move from northern Gaza to southern Gaza in hopes of exiting the war-torn territory. The bulk of civilians are swarming to the Rafah border in an attempt to enter Egypt despite the border remaining closed and the restricted availability of food, water and electricity. Two-state solution Meanwhile, ASEAN reaffirmed its support for a “negotiated two-state solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in peace and security consistent with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.” “This will be the only viable path to resolving the root cause of the conflict,” it said. The regional bloc also called on the “international community to support the peace process in order to ensure long-lasting peace and stability in the region.” “We have issued our respective national statements on the escalation of armed conflicts in the Middle East,” it said. On Wednesday, the Philippines, one of the founding members of ASEAN, expressed its “profound sadness” over the bombing of a hospital in the Gaza Strip, which reportedly killed at least 500 civilians. Israel and Hamas denied being behind the attack and blamed each other for the bombing. The Philippines said all parties should “do their utmost to protect civilians in times of war and armed conflict.” “We support efforts of the United Nations to provide humanitarian relief in the conflict areas,” it said. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are 135 Filipinos in the Hamas-controlled Gaza. Deep concern In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is attending the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, the Chief Executive expressed deep concern over the rising number of victims and the safety of those affected by the conflict. In his intervention during the 1st ASEAN-GCC Summit here on Friday, Marcos said, “All parties (should) exert their utmost efforts to de-escalate the situation, stop all violence, and engage in dialogue and diplomacy.” He called on the members of the GCC and ASEAN to work together to promote peace, security, and stability in the South China Sea and the Arabian Sea. Marcos also underscored the importance of cooperation between member countries of the two regional groups to ensure their continued prosperity. “As the two regional organizations located astride the major sea gates and vital corridors of the world’s commerce and communications, it is imperative that we work together to promote peace, security, and stability in both our regions, the South China Sea and the Arabian Sea, grounded on the rules-based international order to ensure the stability and prosperity of our countries and the rest of the world,” Marcos said. “Peace and stability are indispensable to ensuring continued prosperity in our respective regions and the world,” he added. The six GCC member countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while the 10 ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. President Marcos attended the ASEAN-GCC Summit, where he discussed business opportunities in the Philippines and urged investors to invest in the Maharlika Investment Fund, among other significant opportunities in the Philippines. The post Shun mass protests in Egypt appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
England, Wales grapple with growing teen knife violence
Elianne Andam was headed to school like any other teenager in London last month when she was stabbed to death, becoming the latest victim of rising knife crime in England and Wales. The 15-year-old suffered a "brutal attack" in Croydon, south London, shortly after she and her friends had stepped off a public bus on a Wednesday morning, prosecutors have said. A 17-year-old boy arrested nearby just over an hour later will stand trial for her murder next April. One of the latest tragic cases of teen-on-teen violence in the British capital, it has become an increasingly common problem nationwide over recent decades. A few days after Andam's death, 16-year-old Taye Faik died in Edmonton, north London, following another knife attack. He was the 14th teenager to be killed with a blade in the city this year. The UK government, and mayors in some of its biggest cities and regions, have repeatedly vowed to tackle the persistent scourge of youth violence, but appear to be failing. Between 2012 and 2022, the number of knife and offensive weapon offences amongst children aged 10-17 increased by 19 percent across England and Wales, according to the Ministry of Justice. That compared with an eight percent increase among adults. 'Social issue' With the sale of guns strictly controlled in Britain, teenagers intent on violence typically turn to blades, including machetes and so-called "zombie" knives. Inspired by horror films, they often have one smooth blade and one serrated edge, and feature graphics or text on the blade or handle glorifying violence. Possessing them has been illegal since 2016, but some manufacturers have managed to evade this quasi-ban by altering their design. The government unveiled plans in August to outlaw them entirely and give police more powers to seize the weapons, which it said "seem to be designed to look menacing with no practical purpose". The new legislation will also increase the maximum penalty for their "importation, manufacturing, possession and sale" from six months to two years. However, machetes and zombie-style knives can be bought with relative ease for less than £50 ($60) on social media platforms like TikTok or Snapchat, circumventing online age restrictions, according to anti-knife crime campaigners. They urge more focus on the roots of the problem. "Knife crime isn't just a law-and-order issue, it's a social issue," Patrick Green, president of the Ben Kinsella Trust, told AFP. The anti-knife crime charity is named after a London teenager murdered in 2008. "When you start to unpick knife crime, you start to look at social deprivation, poverty, the lack of social mobility, mental health probation for young people," Green said. 'Awful weapons' Youth knife violence is more prevalent in Britain than many other European countries, he noted. "It's difficult to determine why exactly," Green added. London mayor Sadiq Khan's office blamed the austerity policies of successive Tory governments in power since 2010, which it argued have "decimated youth services" in the capital and beyond. As many as 130 centers offering sports and arts activities in the city have closed over that period, its statement noted. The pandemic and the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, driven by decades-high inflation, are also seen as contributing to the problem. Following the recent knife crime deaths in the capital, the Labour mayor urged the Conservative government in a letter "to speed up the legislation so we can ban these awful weapons as soon as possible". "The proposals also need to be toughened up to close the loopholes that could still allow the sale of these weapons," Khan added. He also wrote this month to London's 500 secondary schools reiterating that wand metal detectors to screen pupils for weapons were available, as well as police officers to deliver knife crime prevention talks. His opposition Labour party -- well ahead in polls for over a year -- has pledged to spend up to £100 million if it wins power in an election expected next year on a "Young Futures" program. It would fund new youth mentors and mental health hubs in every community, youth workers in schools set up for troubled students and hospitals, alongside wide-ranging public sector reforms. The post England, Wales grapple with growing teen knife violence appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israel Carries Out Gaza Airstrikes as Death Toll on Both Sides Rises
Israel said Wednesday its military struck 200 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, as Israeli troops massed near the Gaza border ahead of a potential ground offensive.The death toll on the Israeli side from a Hamas attack that began Saturday rose to 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with another 2,700 wounded.Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the higher count was due to more.....»»
Israel Carries Out Gaza Airstrikes as Death Toll on Both Sides Rises
Israel said Wednesday its military struck 200 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, as Israeli troops massed near the Gaza border ahead of a potential ground offensive.The death toll on the Israeli side from a Hamas attack that began Saturday rose to 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with another 2,700 wounded.Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the higher count was due to more.....»»
What we know about the Hamas assault on Israel
Gun battles raged Sunday between Hamas militants and Israeli forces a day after the Islamist group launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza, in a dramatic escalation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides since the Iran-backed Hamas launched the multi-pronged assault at dawn on Saturday, with Israeli forces fighting holdout militants and pounding the Gaza Strip with air strikes. This is what we know about the conflict so far: How it unfolded The army said hundreds of Hamas militants attacked Israel from around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, in an assault that also came 50 years after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The Islamist group fired thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza as its militants used explosives and bulldozers to break through the fence surrounding the blockaded Palestinian enclave. Using motorbikes, pickup trucks, motorized gliders, and speed boats, the militants streamed into Israeli urban areas including Ashkelon, Sderot, and Ofakim, which is about 22 kilometers (13 miles) from Gaza. The gunmen attacked a rave party attended by hundreds of young Israelis near Kibbutz Reim, close to Gaza, Israeli media reported. Israel said Hamas has taken more than 100 hostages in Israel. They include an unknown number of Americans and Germans. The militants overran several locations inside Israel, including a Sderot police station where they engaged in a shootout with Israeli forces on Sunday. How Israel is responding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reduce to "rubble" Hamas hideouts in Gaza, an impoverished enclave of 2.3 million people hemmed in by an Israeli blockade for more than 15 years. The army said it has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to fight the militants who were still "on the ground" Sunday on Israel territory. It has also carried out air strikes on Hamas positions inside Gaza, in an operation it has dubbed "Swords of Iron". Army spokesman Richard Hecht said the air raids had struck 800 targets including Gaza tunnels, buildings, and other infrastructure. The military said it aims to rescue Israeli hostages and then evacuate the entire region within 24 hours. Almost 1000 killed Israel says Hamas gunmen have killed more than 600 people and wounded over 2,000 in Israeli cities, towns, and kibbutz communities. AFP journalists have seen the bullet-riddled bodies of civilians lying on the streets in at least three locations in Israel: the city of Sderot, the nearby kibbutz of Gevim, and Zikim beach north of the Palestinian coastal enclave. An unknown number of people were reportedly killed at the rave. On the Gaza side, at least 370 people have been killed and more than 2,200 wounded, taking the combined toll to almost 1,000 dead. A British man who had been serving in Israel's army was among those killed in the Hamas attack, his family said. Two Ukrainian women who had been living in Israel were also killed, Ukraine said. Thailand has said two of its citizens were killed, while Cambodia reported the death of a Cambodian student. What Hamas said about the offensive Hamas said it fired 5,000 rockets in an offensive it has branded "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood". Its chief Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday vowed to press ahead with "the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons". Hamas has called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as in "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle. Early on Sunday, Lebanon's Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah said it launched missiles and artillery shells into northern Israel "in solidarity" with the Hamas offensive. The Israeli army said it retaliated with artillery fire. Elsewhere, media outlets in Egypt said a policeman opened fire on an Israeli tour group in the northern city of Alexandria on Sunday, killing two Israelis and one Egyptian. How the world has reacted United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned "in the strongest terms" Hamas' attack on Israel and called for "diplomatic efforts to avoid a wider conflagration". The West, much of which has designated Hamas a "terrorist" organization, has also condemned the Islamist group's assault on Israel. President Joe Biden said the United States support for its key ally Israel was "rock solid and unwavering". The White House said on Sunday he had ordered "additional support" for Israel. The European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said: "I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel." Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said the Islamic Republic supported the Palestinians' right to self-defense and warned Israel must be held accountable for "endangering the security of nations in the region". Russia has called for an "immediate ceasefire". Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who strongly supports the Palestinian cause, on Sunday urged both sides "to support peace". Saudi Arabia appealed for an "immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, protection of civilians, and self-control". The post What we know about the Hamas assault on Israel appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Major airlines cancel dozens of flights to Tel Aviv
Major airlines have canceled dozens of flights to Tel Aviv this weekend after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack against Israel. American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates and Ryanair are among those pulling flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Israel's second international airport at Eilat, a tourist destination on the Red Sea. And Israeli flag carrier El Al said Sunday that it was maintaining its Tel Aviv flights for now, though some flights operated by foreign partners had been cancelled. "We might cancel flights to places where we don't have a lot of Israelis to help other Israelis in other places," a spokeswoman told AFP. In a statement, El Al added that it was operating "in accordance with the instructions of the Israeli security forces", with all flights now departing only from Terminal Three at Ben Gurion airport. Like most other airlines, it said clients could change their tickets without charge. After Saturday saw a list of major carriers cancelling flights Spain's AENA airports operator told AFP four of nine flights scheduled to Tel Aviv on Sunday had been cancelled, two from Madrid and two from Barcelona. Another nine flights, from Tel Aviv to airports in Spain, have so far been unaffected, the operator said. Spain's Air Europa said it had cancelled its two flights scheduled between Madrid and Tel Aviv, while Iberia Express, the low-cost arm of national carrier Iberia, went ahead with a Madrid-Tel Aviv flight after suspending two on Saturday. Vueling, the Barcelona-based low-cost airline, said given the situation in Israel, "flights to/from Tel Aviv are affected and experiencing delays". A spokesman for Germany's Lufthansa on Saturday cited "the current security situation" to say it was cancelling all flights to and from Tel Aviv "up until and including Monday", adding it was monitoring the situation. Brussels Airlines, part of the Lufthansa group, also cancelled its Tel Aviv flights. Air France said it had halted Tel Aviv flights "until further notice", and the Air France-KLM group's low-cost carrier Transavia said it was cancelling all flights from Paris and Lyon to Tel Aviv up to and including Monday. Spanish airline Iberia announced that its budget subsidiary Iberia Express was cancelling its Tel Aviv flights. Italy's flag-carrier ITA airways cancelled its flight until Sunday morning at the earliest "to protect the safety of passengers and crew", while Polish carrier LOT also cancelled its flights from the Polish capital on Saturday. Other airlines suspending flights included Aegean, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air and Air Canada. The post Major airlines cancel dozens of flights to Tel Aviv appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned of a "long and difficult" war, as fighting with Hamas left hundreds dead on both sides after a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group. The conflict's bloodiest escalation in decades saw Hamas carry out a massive rocket barrage and ground, air and sea offensive Saturday that Israel's army said had killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded 1,000, while soldiers and civilians were taken hostage. Gaza officials said intense Israeli air strikes on the coastal enclave had brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 256, with nearly 1,788 wounded. As fighting raged Sunday, Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it had fired "large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles" at Israeli positions in a contested border areas "in solidarity" with Hamas. Israel's army had earlier said it fired artillery on southern Lebanon in response to a shot from the area without identifying the attackers. "We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack," Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter, early Sunday. "The first stage is ending at this time by the destruction of the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory," he added, pledging no "respite" until victory. Overnight Israel battered the Gaza Strip with air strikes as rockets from the blockaded Palestinians territory rained on Israel. Sunday morning gun still battles raged between Israeli forces and hundreds of Hamas fighters in multiple locations, including at the Sderot police station across the border from Gaza. Police and Israeli army special forces "neutralized 10 armed terrorists" who were holed up inside the station, a police statement said. The bloody air, sea and land attack launched Saturday by Hamas came half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, taking Israel and the world by surprise. As the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for Sunday, President Joe Biden voiced "rock solid and unwavering" support for the US ally and warned "against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation". - Hostages and 'so many bodies' - The Israeli army said overnight its forces were still engaged in gun battles in a string of Israel locations, in an operation labelled "Swords of Iron", as reservists were being called up. Hamas earlier released images of several Israelis taken captive, and another army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, confirmed that soldiers and civilians had been kidnapped. "I can't give figures about them at the moment," he said late Saturday, adding there was also a "severe hostage situation" in the Negev desert communities of Beeri and Ofakim east of Gaza. According to Ynet Israeli news website "dozens of Israeli captives, including numerous women, children and elders, are believed to have been taken into the Gaza Strip". The fighting prompted Israel to cut off Gaza's electricity, fuel and goods supplies, Netanyahu said. The Islamist group started the multi-pronged attack around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday with thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some bypassing the Iron Dome defense system and hitting buildings. Hamas fighters -- traveling in ground vehicles, motorized paragliders and boats -- breached Gaza's security barrier and attacked nearby Israeli towns and military posts, opening fire on residents and passersby. "Send help, please!" one Israeli woman sheltering with her two-year-old child pleaded as militants outside opened fire and tried to break into their safe room, Israeli media reported. Bodies were strewn on the streets of the Israeli town of Sderot near Gaza and inside cars, the windscreens shattered by a hail of bullets. "I saw many bodies, of terrorists and civilians," one man told AFP, standing beside covered corpses on a road near Gevim Kibbutz in southern Israel. "So many bodies, so many bodies." AFP journalists witnessed Palestinian armed men gather around a burning Israeli tank, and others driving a seized Israeli military Humvee vehicle back into Gaza, where they were met by cheering crowds. - 'Gates of hell' - Israeli army Major General Ghasan Alyan warned Hamas had "opened the gates of hell". An AFP journalist in Gaza saw clouds of dust from the remains of bombed residential towers which Gaza's interior ministry said contained 100 apartments. Israel's military said it had warned residents to evacuate before targeting the multi-story buildings used by Hamas. The escalation follows months of rising violence, mostly in the occupied West Bank, and tensions around Gaza's border and at contested holy sites in Jerusalem. Before Saturday, at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners had been killed this year, including combatants and civilians, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas labeled its attack "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" and called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as in "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle. Its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed to have fired more than 5,000 rockets, while Hecht said Israel had counted more than 3,000 incoming rockets. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group was on the "verge of a great victory", vowing to press ahead with "the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons must be completed". - 'Dangerous precipice' - Air raid sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, as well as in Jerusalem on Saturday, and there were major disruptions at Tel Aviv airport where many carriers canceled flights. Israel said schools would remain closed on Sunday which marks the start of the week. Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, leading to Israel's crippling blockade of the impoverished enclave of 2.3 million people. Israel and Hamas have since fought several wars. The last major military exchange, in May, killed 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. Violence also erupted across the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, with five Palestinians killed and 120 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers, Palestinian medical services said. Countries around the world condemned the wave of attacks by Hamas, which Israel, the United States and European Union consider a terrorist group. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack "terrorism in its most despicable form". But Hamas drew support from other foes of Israel, with Iran's supreme leader declaring he was "proud". UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland warned of "a dangerous precipice" and called on all sides to "pull back from the brink". (Rosie Scammell with Adel Zaanoun in Gaza) az-rsc-jd/hkb © Agence France-Presse The post Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
200 UK troops beef up Kosovo peacekeepers
The United Kingdom is reinforcing North Atlantic Treaty Organization peacekeepers in Kosovo with 200 troops who will join 400 UK soldiers already in the Balkan country as part of the NATO-led Kosovo Force. UK’s ministry of defense said Sunday the deployment was in response to the request of NATO as tension rises between Kosovo and Serbia which reportedly massed troops and military equipment in the border of its former province. The deployment ups the British Army contingent to KFOR to 600. KFOR’s mandate is to maintain a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all people of Kosovo. NATO also called for calm on Sunday and demanded that Belgrade and Pristina resume dialogue as soon as possible as “the only way to achieve lasting peace,” Dylan White, NATO spokesperson, said. There is a resurgence of tension in the region following the violent attack by dozens of suspected Serbian gunmen on Kosovo Police that killed one officer on 24 September. Kosovo police engaged the gunmen who took refuge in an Orthodox church, killing three and arresting others. On Friday, the United States said it detected troop buildup along the Serbia’s southern border with Kosovo and asked Belgrade to withdraw the forces. Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic announced Saturday he had ordered troops to be pulled back but the Kosovan government said the withdrawal was partial, The Guardian reported. Serbia refuses to recognize the independence of its former southern province, which has an Albanian majority, a decade after a deadly war between Kosovo independence guerrillas and Serbian forces, which ended after a NATO bombing campaign. WITH AFP The post 200 UK troops beef up Kosovo peacekeepers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Torture in Egypt a ‘crime against humanity’ — rights groups
Egyptian authorities' "widespread and systematic" use of torture is "a crime against humanity", rights groups said Monday in an appeal to the United Nations to review Egypt's rights record. The report, submitted to the UN Committee against Torture, tracked the use of methods including "beatings, electrical shocks, sexual violence" and denial of access to medical care by members of the security services. Egyptian authorities "use of torture is so widespread and systematic as to amount to a crime against humanity under customary international law," the coalition of six rights groups said. Torture has been used "as a political tool to curtail dissent" in Egypt's long-running practice of targeting "human rights defenders, minorities, journalists, academics and opposition politicians," according to Mohamed Lotfy, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms' executive director. The coalition submitting the report included the ECRF, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), and London-based human rights organization REDRESS. In November the UN committee will review Egypt's record under the UN Convention against Torture. Cairo has long been criticized for its rights record during the decade-long rule of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who oversaw a crackdown on dissent. Rights groups estimate the country has around 60,000 political prisoners. Many of them, according to rights groups, have been subjected to brutal conditions in overcrowded cells and regularly mistreated by prison authorities. "Torture is dismissed as merely isolated acts of misconduct instead of being seen for what it really is: a deliberate attack on Egypt's citizens that is a crime against humanity," said Rupert Skilbeck, director of REDRESS. According to Monday's report, the use of torture is "part of a state policy," enabled by "emergency laws, 'counter-terrorism' laws and policies, and rampant impunity" for violations. Cairo has regularly denied torturing people in detention. US military aid The United States has repeatedly criticized Egypt's human rights record, accusing authorities of torture and "life-threatening prison conditions". Despite such persistent concerns, the administration of President Joe Biden last month approved most military aid to Cairo, in a total package that exceeds $1.2 billion and includes $235 million subject to human rights conditions imposed by Congress. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, citing national security interests, waved those restrictions but withheld a separate $85 million over rights issues. However, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin, threatened to block the military funding, in a move rights groups applauded on Sunday. "This decision is a needed first step... to hold the Egyptian regime accountable for its egregious human rights violations," 14 rights organizations said in a joint statement applauding congressional efforts to pull support from Egypt. Cardin replaced Senator Bob Menendez, who on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in New York to bribery and extortion allegations involving the Egyptian government. Since last year, Sisi's administration has made apparent overtures to the decimated opposition, launching a "national dialogue", pardoning political prisoners, and releasing detainees. But ahead of a presidential election in December that Sisi is widely expected to win, experts say the government has done little to actually advance its rights record. Despite the release of nearly 1,000 political prisoners in the past year, rights groups recorded almost three times as many detained over the same period. The post Torture in Egypt a ‘crime against humanity’ — rights groups appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»