CAIRO: Israeli forces advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US lawmakers he was actively engaged in bringing hostages home.
Fighting in recent days has centered around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara, where the army said on Wednesday it had found the bodies of five Israelis who were killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and held in Gaza since.
Hamas militants took more than 250 hostages in the early morning raid into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel retaliated by vowing to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a nine-month war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say.
Several were wounded in the eastern towns during Israeli tank and aerial shelling, while an airstrike east of Khan Younis killed four people, Palestinian health officials said.
Israeli bombardment intensified in several areas in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, as tanks operated north, west and in the town center, residents and medics said. Several Palestinians were also wounded in Israeli fire earlier on Thursday.
The Israeli military said forces operating in Khan Younis killed dozens of militants and dismantled around 50 military infrastructures, while it continued activities in Rafah, killing two militants.
In a speech to the US Congress, Netanyahu said his government was actively involved in seeking the release of remaining hostages and was confident they would succeed.
DISAPPOINTING SPEECH
Hamas described the comments by Netanyahu as “pure lies” accusing him of thwarting efforts to end the war.
Netanyahu’s comments also disappointed many displaced Palestinians who had hoped for a clearer signal of an imminent end to the fighting, which has laid the overcrowded enclave to waste and created a humanitarian crisis.
“It was depressing, he didn’t even mention ceasefire at all, not even once,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a resident of Gaza City, now displaced in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
“People awaited some surprise, a ceasefire announcement by Netanyahu as a gift to (US President Joe) Biden, but they slept with much disappointment, as Netanyahu said he was determined to pursue war,” Burai said via a chat app.
Deir Al-Balah, where tanks haven’t yet invaded, is currently overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, displaced from other areas of the enclave, home to 2.3 million people.
“Netanyahu spoke in a play, he spoke to clowns,” said Burai.
Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators, backed by the United States, to conclude a ceasefire deal, seemed to be on hold, as Israel was expected to send a delegation for more talks next week.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan suburb killed four people, medics said, while seven Palestinians arrived at a hospital in central Gaza who had been detained by Israeli forces and released in an area close to the border.
Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah
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Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah
- Fighting in recent days has centered around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara
- Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators to conclude a ceasefire deal seem to be on hold
Palestinian president Abbas to travel Tuesday to Spain: official
King Felipe on Monday welcomed Housni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid for the traditional ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Spain
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will travel Tuesday to Madrid, an official in his office said Monday, after the first Palestinian ambassador to Spain presented his credentials to Spanish King Felipe VI.
Abbas is due to meet King Felipe and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose government formally recognised a Palestinian state in May, before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, the official told AFP.
King Felipe on Monday welcomed Housni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid for the traditional ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Spain, according to images published by the royal palace on social network X.
Wahed had headed the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Madrid since 2022 and enjoyed a status similar to that of an ambassador, but he officially changed rank after Spain along with Ireland and Norway formally recognised a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The three countries said at the time they hoped their decision would spur other European countries to follow suit and accelerate efforts towards securing a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel condemned their decision, saying it bolsters Hamas, the militant Islamist group that led the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz at the time accused Sanchez of "participating in the incitement to commit genocide and war crimes against the Jewish people".
Spain has repeatedly criticised Israel over its war against Hamas.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has so far killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Israel risks ‘pariah’ status over Gaza ‘genocide’: UN experts
- The rapporteurs, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the UN, also slammed Western countries’ “double standards”
- George Katrougalos, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion of democratic and equitable international order, also stressed that Israel be held to the same standards as all countries
GENEVA: United Nations rights experts warned Monday that Israel risked becoming an international “pariah” over its “genocide” in Gaza, suggesting that the country’s UN membership should be called into question.
Several independent UN experts decried what they said was Israel’s escalating violence and rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank, its disregard for international court rulings and verbal attacks on the UN itself.
The rapporteurs, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the UN, also slammed Western countries’ “double standards” in the devastating war and insisted Israel needed to face consequences for its actions.
“I think that it is unavoidable for Israel to become a pariah in the face of its continuous, relentless vilifying assault on the United Nations, (and) Palestinians,” said Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Albanese, who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and who has faced harsh criticism and calls for her dismissal from Israel, asked if the country deserved “to continue to go unpunished for its relentless attacks” on the UN.
“Should there be a consideration of its membership as part of this organization, which Israel seems to have zero respect for?” she rhetorically asked journalists in Geneva, speaking via video call.
George Katrougalos, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion of democratic and equitable international order, also stressed that Israel be held to the same standards as all countries, and condemned its repeated attacks on critical UN officials or agencies.
“We cannot anymore stand this kind of double standards and hypocrisy,” he told reporters.
“I hope that it is not going to continue... I trust that the progressive and democratic citizens of Israel would not let their country become a pariah like South Africa had become during the times of apartheid.”
Israel has rejected accusations that its offensive in Gaza amounts to a “genocide” and says it is conducting operations within the framework of international law.
“Francesca Albanese is well-known for abusing her inherently discriminatory UN mandate to spread her hate-filled political agenda, anti-Semitism and disinformation. Her attitude, including defending and justifying Hamas’ actions, is a constant stain on the United Nations,” the Israeli mission said on Monday.
The war in Gaza erupted after the October 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has so far killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
Israel rattled by talk that Netanyahu may replace defense minister
- Israel’s leading television channels and news websites reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating firing Gallant
- The shekel weakened 1 percent to nearly 3.75 versus the dollar, while main Tel Aviv share indices were down 1.4 percent to 1.6 percent
JERUSALEM: Reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shook the political landscape and sent Israeli financial markets lower on Monday.
Israel’s leading television channels and news websites reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating firing Gallant and replacing him with a former ally turned rival, Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition.
Such a move would be a major shock to the political and security landscape, especially with the looming threat of all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The shekel weakened 1 percent to nearly 3.75 versus the dollar, while main Tel Aviv share indices were down 1.4 percent to 1.6 percent .
The Israeli currency was expected to appreciate after data on Sunday showed Israel’s inflation rate rose more than expected to 3.6 percent in August, a jump analysts said would delay rate cuts well into 2025 in contrast to expected rate cuts in the United States and Europe.
Netanyahu denied that he was in negotiations with Saar, though he did not refer to his plans for Gallant. Saar denied that he was negotiating with some members of the coalition.
NETANYAHU AND GALLANT AT ODDS
It would not be the first time Netanyahu has tried to fire Gallant. The two have been at odds over a number of government policies and, more recently, the handling of the war in Gaza and the terms of a possible hostage release and ceasefire deal with Islamist militant group Hamas.
Centrist lawmakers criticized Netanyahu for getting sidetracked by political wrangling rather than focusing on the task at hand.
“Instead of the prime minister being busy with victory over Hamas, returning the hostages, with the war against Hezbollah and allowing (evacuated) residents of the north to return to their homes, he is busy with despicable political dealings and replacing the defense minister,” centrist lawmaker Benny Gantz wrote on social media.
Police minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads an ultranationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, has for months been advocating to replace Gallant and called for his immediate dismissal.
“We must resolve the situation in the north and Gallant is not the right man to lead this,” Ben Gvir said referring to a possible escalation with Hezbollah.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced near the Lebanese border in the north due to daily rocket fire from Hezbollah.
Gallant, who rose to the rank of general during a 35-year military career, on Sunday told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin he was committed to returning residents back to their homes and that the “possibility for an agreed framework is running out.”
On Monday, he said the only way to return residents evacuated from the north to their homes was with military action.
In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked.
Egypt’s foreign minister visits Moscow to strengthen ties
- Badr Abdelatty emphasized the importance of strengthening investment and trade relations between the two countries
- Abdelatty also met with several representatives of the Egyptian community in the Russian Federation
CAIRO: Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s minister of foreign affairs, visited Moscow intending to strengthen relations between the two countries.
Abdelatty’s visit included discussions with senior Russian officials to advance bilateral cooperation and exchange views on various issues of common interest.
On the first day of his visit, Abdelatty visited the Egyptian Embassy in Moscow and met staff from the diplomatic mission and various technical offices.
He also met with several representatives of the Egyptian community in the Russian Federation during his visit to Moscow.
Tamim Khallaf, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Abdelatty emphasized the state’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of Egyptians abroad during his meeting with representatives of the Egyptian community in Russia.
He reviewed Egypt’s foreign policy perspective on regional challenges and crises, highlighting the ministry’s focus on supporting the national economy, attracting investments, and increasing development projects.
The minister also listened to the community representatives’ views and suggestions, noting their important role in strengthening the strong ties between the two countries.
Abdelatty highlighted the importance of providing the highest level of care in delivering all services to visitors at the mission, whether Egyptian citizens or foreigners, in the most efficient and timely manner.
He met Anton Alikhanov, Russian minister of industry and trade. During the meeting they discussed the latest developments related to joint development projects.
Abdelatty emphasized the importance of strengthening investment and trade relations between the two countries in various fields and working to facilitate the increase of Egyptian exports to Russia.
First Palestinian ambassador to Spain submits credentials
- King Felipe VI welcomed Housni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid
- Spain along with Ireland and Norway have formally recognized a Palestinian state
MADRID: The first Palestinian ambassador to Spain presented his credentials on Monday to Spanish King Felipe VI after Madrid in May formally recognized a Palestinian state.
The head of state welcomed Husni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid for the traditional ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Spain, according to images published by the royal palace on social network X.
Wahed had been the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Madrid since 2022 and he enjoyed a similar status to that of an ambassador but he officially changed rank after Spain along with Ireland and Norway formally recognized a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The three countries said at the time they hoped their decision would spur other European countries to follow suit and accelerate efforts toward securing a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel has condemned the decision, saying it bolsters Hamas, the militant Islamist group that led the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the staunchest critics in Europe of Israel’s Gaza offensive, announced earlier this month that a bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine would be held before the end of the year.
The October 7 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has so far killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
