Netanyahu claims Israel will “relegate Hamas to the dustbin of history”
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Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip, advancing on the territory’s capital with tanks and other armored vehicles and freeing a soldier captured by Hamas militants.
This came as Israel’s prime minister rejected calls for a ceasefire and declared a “time for war”, while the UK and other allies continue to call for a humanitarian pause in the conflict.
“Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas,” Benjamin Netanyahu said at a news conference. “That will not happen.”
Meanwhile, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told a special UN session yesterday that “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions of people” and accused Israel of “collective punishment” on Palestinians and forced relocation of civilians.
More than 8,300 people were killed in Gaza – 66 percent of them women and children – and tens of thousands were injured, the UN humanitarian office said, citing Gaza’s health ministry.
Important points
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Amid global pressure for a humanitarian ceasefire, Israel declares “time for war.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a ceasefire in Gaza and declared “time for war”, as the UK and other allies continue to call for a humanitarian pause in the conflict.
British politicians called for a pause in fighting to allow Palestinians to escape Gaza and for aid to be distributed.
Similar appeals were made by the United States and other countries, but Mr. Netanyahu told Israel’s allies that calls for a ceasefire would not be met.
“The Bible says there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time of war,” he said in a news conference, claiming that laying down arms was akin to America doing the same after the September 11 attacks.
Namita Singh31. October 2023 02:39
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A UN envoy said the war between Israel and Hamas was spreading into Syria, contributing to growing instability there
The war between Israel and Hamas is expanding into Syria, fueled by growing instability, violence and a lack of progress toward a political solution to the 12-year conflict, the United Nations special envoy to the country said on Monday.
Geir Pedersen told the Security Council that in addition to the violence in the Syrian conflict, the Syrian people now face “the frightening prospect of a possible major escalation” following Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7 and ongoing military retaliation.
“A spillover into Syria is not just a risk; It has already begun,” the UN envoy to Syria said.
Namita Singh31. October 2023 05:40
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Pro-Palestine activists claim they have shut down the Boston arms company that supplies Israel
Pro-Palestine activists claim they shut down a Boston arms company that supplies Israel.
Palestine Action US posted on
Video footage posted on social media appears to show activists from the group Palestine Action protesting outside the Elbit Systems headquarters in Boston.
Protesters could be heard shouting: “Elbit Systems has to go.” Some protesters could also be heard telling officers: “You are defending the genocide of children” and calling them “fucking pigs” while police shouted “back off.”
Namita Singh31. October 2023 05:09
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Japan announces sanctions against individuals and companies linked to Hamas
Japan has imposed a series of new sanctions against individuals and a company linked to the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, according to a statement released today by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The sanctions consist of freezing the assets of individuals and a company that helped finance Hamas, and are in line with new sanctions announced by the US government earlier this month.
It is the first set of sanctions Japan has imposed on Hamas since its deadly rampage on October 7, which Israeli authorities said killed over 1,400 people.
Individuals including Hamas operatives Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah and Ayman Nofal have been added to Japan’s list of individuals and organizations designated as terrorists.
Namita Singh31. October 2023 05:08
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An Israeli ministry proposes in a “concept paper” to relocate civilians from the Gaza Strip to the Egyptian Sinal
An Israeli government ministry has drawn up a war proposal that would involve relocating the 2.3 million people from the Gaza Strip to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, drawing condemnation from Palestinians and increasing tensions with Cairo.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office downplayed the report prepared by the Intelligence Ministry as a hypothetical exercise – a “concept paper.” But his conclusions exacerbated long-standing Egyptian fears that Israel is seeking to make Gaza Egypt’s problem and revived memories for Palestinians of their greatest trauma – the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of people who fled or from their homes during the fighting for Israel’s homeland Founded in 1948.
Flames rise during an Israeli airstrike on western Gaza on October 30, 2023
(Portal)
“We are against rendition to any location and in any form, and we consider it a red line that we will not allow to be crossed,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said of the report. “What happened in 1948 must not be repeated.”
A mass expulsion, said Abu Rudeineh, would amount to “a new declaration of war.”
So far, more than 8,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, have been killed since Israel went to war against Hamas following the October 7 attack.
Namita Singh31. October 2023 04:54
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Tennessee’s governor and a congressman discuss security during a visit to a Jewish school that prevented an armed break-in
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Representative David Kustoff praised security measures at a Jewish school in Memphis, where a former student with a gun was blocked from entering the building in July, saying tight security measures were in place the war between Israel and Hamas has become even more important.
Mr. Lee and Mr. Kustoff, both Republicans, spoke to students from the Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South during a visit to the suburban school. Kustoff, who is Jewish and attended school from kindergarten through second grade, joined Lee in expressing support for Israel in the war that began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
In the one-story Memphis school, a sign hanging on a hallway wall reads, “We stand with Israel.” Nearby, names and photos of Israeli hostages are posted on a bulletin board, another sign of solidarity from the school’s students and staff.
Namita Singh31. October 2023 04:52
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Israel is pushing deeper into Gaza
Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip on Monday, advancing on the territory’s capital with tanks and other armored vehicles and freeing a soldier captured by Hamas militants.
Israel’s prime minister rejected calls for a ceasefire as airstrikes landed near hospitals where thousands of Palestinians are taking shelter alongside the wounded.
The military said a soldier captured during Hamas’s brutal incursion on October 7 had been rescued in Gaza – the first rescue since the week-long war began.
Military officials provided few details but said in a statement that 19-year-old Pvt Ori Megidish was “doing well” and had met with her family.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed them home and said the “performance” of Israeli security forces “shows our commitment to the release of all hostages.”
He also rejected calls for a ceasefire to facilitate the release of prisoners or to end the war, which he said would be protracted and difficult. “Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas,” he told a news conference. “That will not happen.”
Namita Singh31. October 2023 04:08
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Police arrest women suspected of carrying images of Hamas paragliders during a pro-Palestinian rally in Britain
Social media footage of a protest in Whitehall on October 14 showed two women with the image taped to their tops, while a third held a placard with it.
Two women, aged 29 and 44, came forward after recognizing themselves in the images, which were shared widely, the Met Police said.
They were arrested on suspicion of encouraging support for a banned organization and remain in custody.
Read the details in this report:
Namita Singh31. October 2023 04:05
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“The deaths of babies will be in our hands if there is no ceasefire in Gaza”
A midwife leading a Gaza hunger strike said the possible death of newborns would be “in our hands” if calls for an immediate ceasefire were ignored.
Sharyn Lock, who lives near Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute, holds her five-day Lenten vigil outside the Scottish Parliament while calling on British politicians to demand the restoration of vital services to Palestine.
Namita Singh31. October 2023 04:05
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How a pro-Palestinian mob stormed Dagestan airport on Sunday
The group stormed Makhachkala airport in the Republic of Dagestan and stormed onto the landing strip, chanting anti-Semitic slogans and searching for passengers arriving on a flight to Tel Aviv, Russian news agencies and social media reported.
Authorities quickly closed the airport in the capital of the predominantly Muslim region and police moved into the facility.
my colleague Tom Watling has more about the storming of the airport:
Namita Singh31. October 2023 03:58