Palestinians inspect the damage to destroyed houses after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Tuesday, October 24. Photo: AP/PTI
LIVE | Day 19 of Israel-Hamas war: Israel urges India to declare Hamas as terror organisation
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group held talks on Wednesday with senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad figures in a key meeting of three top anti-Israel militant groups amid the war raging in Gaza.
Israel has been escalating its bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion against Hamas militants. The war is rapidly raising the death toll in Gaza, and the US fears the fighting could spark a wider conflict in the region.
Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been running out of food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the territory following the Hamas attack on Israeli towns on October 7. The aid convoys allowed into Gaza so far have carried a fraction of what's needed, and the UN said distribution will have to stop if there's no fuel for the trucks.
The war, in its 19th day on Wednesday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed and 16,297 wounded. In the occupied West Bank, 96 Palestinians have been killed and 1,650 wounded in violence and Israeli raids since October 7. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, according to Israeli officials, mostly civilians who died in the initial Hamas rampage. In addition, 222 people including foreigners were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, Israel's military has said. Four of those have been released.
Read The Federal’s articles on the Israel-Hamas conflict
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Opinion | Israel’s real problem is not its legislation, laws or institutions
Explainer | What happened to October 6, 1973? What’s its link to Hamas’ onslaught?
Explainer | Israel’s no bargaining policy: How effective has it been?
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Explained | Why is Hamas fighting Israel? What is Hezbollah that joined the attack
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Live Updates
- 25 Oct 2023 6:40 AM GMT
Innocent population can’t be collateral damage in Israel-Gaza war: Irish deputy PM
The innocent population of Palestinians cannot be collateral damage as Israel pursues its right to go after Hamas, Ireland’s deputy Prime Minister has warned. He also admitted “different strands of opinion” within the European Union (EU) on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Micheal Martin told reporters in Dublin that Europe is united in condemning Hamas but any Israeli response has to be within the parameters of humanitarian law.
Martin, also Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and minister for defence, who has just returned to the Irish capital after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, called for an immediate pause in hostilities to allow humanitarian aid to flow into the region.
“I unreservedly condemn the attack by Hamas on Israel. Israel absolutely has the right to self-defence; to defend itself and its people in response to this heinous attack by Hamas,” said Martin.
“The issue is how, what methodology to use and proportionality; the population can’t be collateral damage to the degree that it is now with the death of Gazan civilians – men, women and children, possibly doctors, nurses and medical staff working in hospitals,” he said.
25 Oct 2023 6:23 AM GMTHamas hoarding 500,000 litres of fuel, 'ask them': Israel to UN
Hospitals are planning to run only emergency services in Gaza as fuel runs out, say reports. The UN - the biggest supplier of aid in Gaza - says its work will stop tonight if it doesn't get fresh supplies.
Israel is stopping new supplies of fuel reaching Gaza, but says Hamas is stockpiling existing supplies. Another eight aid lorries crossed from Egypt into Gaza last night - but agencies say at least 100 lorries a day are needed.
The UN’s agency for the relief of Palestinian refugees last night warned it would be forced to halt its operations in Gaza due to a lack of fuel as of Wednesday night.
In response, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released photographs on Tuesday, showcasing what it claims to be fuel tanks within the Gaza Strip. The IDF alleges that Hamas is storing significant quantities of fuel in the region, The Times of Israel reported.
“They contain more than 500,000 litres of fuel,” it wrote. “Ask Hamas if you can have some.”
- 25 Oct 2023 6:19 AM GMT
We don’t believe Hamas would respect a ceasefire: Canada’s Defence Minister
Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said on Tuesday (October 24) that Canada's government does not believe Hamas would respect a cease-fire in its conflict with Israel.
“I have no expectation that a terrorist organisation would respect international law or any call for a cease-fire,” Blair said before heading into a Cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said afterward that Canada supports the idea of “humanitarian pauses,” temporary halts to fighting, allowing for aid to get into Gaza safely, and people to leave.
Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction, and Blair said it is a threat as long as it exists.
"I think (Israel has) a right to defend themselves against that terror threat," Blair said. “And quite frankly, Hamas has to be eliminated as a threat, not just to Israel but to the world? Canada has listed Hamas as a terrorist group since 2002 and has no dealings with any of its leaders.
- 25 Oct 2023 5:01 AM GMT
‘Collective human duty to stop bloodshed’: Palestine’s Foreign Minister at UN
Israel is vowing again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls for a cease-fire from the UN chief, the Palestinians, and many countries at a high-level UN meeting and saying the war in Gaza is not merely its own but “the war of the free world.”
Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country's response to Hamas' surprise attacks on October 7 that killed 1,400 people. More than 5,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to its Health Ministry.
Cohen told the UN Security Council the proportionate response to the October 7 massacre is “a total destruction to the last one of the Hamas,” calling the extremist group “the new Nazis.”
“It is not only Israel's right to destroy Hamas. It's our duty,” he said.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said he came to the meeting “to stop … the ongoing massacres being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by Israel. Over 2 million Palestinians are on a survival mission every day, every night.”
Under international law, al-Maliki said, “it is our collective human duty to stop” the Israeli attacks and bloodshed.
- 25 Oct 2023 4:56 AM GMT
French President Macron visits Israel to show support
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Israel on Tuesday (October 24) in the latest trip by a Western leader to express support for the country amid its war against Hamas, offering an assurance that Israel is “not left alone in the war against terrorism.”
Macron met with the families of French citizens who were killed or taken hostage in the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas, saying, “we will neglect nothing” to obtain freedom for French citizens. Nine French nationals are missing or believed held captive, and 30 were killed.
At a news conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Macron stressed Israel's right to defend itself.
“The fight must be without mercy, but not without rules,” Macron said, because democracies “respect the rules of war,” an apparent reference to criticism of Israeli airstrikes that have killed Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
He later travelled to the Israeli-occupied West Bank for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who runs the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority. Macron said Hamas' attack was “also a catastrophe” for Palestinians and “there will be no lasting peace” without a two-state solution.
- 25 Oct 2023 4:09 AM GMT
Calls for peace at interfaith gathering in France
Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faith leaders held hands and called for peace in the Middle East at a gathering on Tuesday (October 24) in the Mediterranean city of Marseille.
Around 100 people came together outside the landmark Notre Dame de la Garde church in an event organised by fans of the Olympique de Marseille soccer team.
Faith leaders spoke in turn in favour of peace and led the crowd in a moment of silence honouring victims of the Israel-Hamas war.
Political flags were barred from the gathering, meant as a moment of community togetherness at a tense time. The faith leaders spoke of each other as neighbours and brothers.
France has the world's largest Jewish population outside of Israel and the US, and Europe's largest Muslim population outside of Turkey.
- 25 Oct 2023 4:06 AM GMT
US fighter squadron arrives in Middle East
The New Jersey Air National Guard's 119 Expeditionary Fighter Squadron arrived in the Middle East on Tuesday (October 24), Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters. The squadron has F-16 fighter jets, and officials would not say where exactly it went.
Ryder also said the US is preparing for an increase in violence, noting that there have already been at least 13 attacks against troops and installations in Iraq and Syria.
“What we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against US forces and personnel across the region in the very near term coming from Iranian proxy forces and ultimately from Iran,” he said during a Pentagon briefing.
He added that the US won't hesitate to take action, if needed, to protect its forces and interests in the region.
- 25 Oct 2023 3:40 AM GMT
India raises concern over civilian casualties in Israel-Hamas war
India has also urged parties to work towards creating conditions necessary for peace and restarting direct negotiations through de-escalation and ending violence.
“India is deeply concerned at the deteriorating security situation and large-scale loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict. The mounting humanitarian crisis is equally alarming,” India’s Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Ambassador R Ravindra, said at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.
He said the escalation of hostilities in the region has only exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation and has once again underscored the fragile nature of the ceasefire. “Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. All parties must protect civilians, especially women and children. The unfolding humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed,” Ravindra said.
India urged the parties to work towards creating conditions necessary for peace and for restarting direct negotiations including through de-escalation and eschewing violence. “Current escalation has once again underscored the need for immediate resumption of credible, direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Every effort must be made to create conducive conditions for the resumption of these talks,” he said.
Ravindra said India has always supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side in peace with Israel, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of Israel. “Towards this, we reiterate the need for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations,” he said.
- 25 Oct 2023 3:22 AM GMT
Will continue with humanitarian aid: India at UN
R Ravindra, India’s ambassador at the UN Security Council on the Israel-Gaza conflict, has expressed New Delhi’s concerns on the deteriorating security situation in Israel and Hamas while asserting that India will continue to send humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We also continue to support the Palestinian people through our bilateral development partnership, which covers a wide range of sectors including health, education, women's empowerment, entrepreneurship and information technology...In these challenging times, India will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine...Every effort must be made to create conducive conditions for the resumption of these talks…” Ravindra said.
- 25 Oct 2023 2:09 AM GMT
Israel demands resignation of UNSG Antonio Guterres over ‘Hamas attacks did not happen in vacuum’ remark
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s comment to the Security Council that attacks by Hamas “did not happen in a vacuum” angered Israel, which called for the UN chief’s resignation and apology.
Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen, who participated in a Security Council ministerial meeting on the Israel-Gaza situation in United Nations, was scheduled to meet Guterres later Tuesday afternoon in the UN headquarters. Cohen, however, cancelled his meeting with Guterres after remarks by the UN chief to the Security Council angered Israel, accusing him of “tolerating and justifying” terrorism.
Addressing the council, Guterres said the situation in the Middle East is growing more dire by the hour and the war in Gaza is raging and risks spiralling throughout the region. He said it is "important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation". "They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing,” Guterres said in the meeting, which was also addressed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Guterres said.
In a post on X, Cohen said he “will not meet with the UN Secretary-General. After the October 7th massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet!” Later talking to reporters at the UN Security Council stakeout, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan lashed out at Guterres, saying his remarks in the council are “unfathomable”. “You, Mr. Secretary General, have lost all morality and impartiality. Because when you say those terrible words that these heinous attacks did not happen in a vacuum, you are tolerating terrorism and by tolerating terrorism, you are justifying terrorism.”
