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‘How is the world still silent about Israeli hostages Shiri, Yarden, Ariel and Kfir Bibas?’

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

Ginger is the colour of the boys’ hair, which is why Oriya Yahbess faithfully chooses an orange juice inside the convenience store next to her home. Buildings have been lit up in hues of apricot for the two children, and people have filmed themselves baking cakes slathered in rich, tangerine-coloured frosting. There was even a song written about them, a very sad one titled, They Call me Ginger.

All of it’s a rallying cry for Israel’s most recognisable children, Kfir and Ariel, aged one and four, the youngest of the hostages being held by Hamas in the tunnels beneath Gaza, along with their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas, their abduction broadcast and shown off to the world on October 7.

Global opinion may be divided on the war but only a minority would attempt a moral defence for snatching civilians as bargaining chips; fewer still would justify the kidnapping of a preschooler, like Ariel, and an infant, like Kfir, who was taken at nine months and marked his first birthday in captivity a fortnight ago.

Ms Yahbess, the boys’ cousin, is among a small group of family members leading the campaign for their release. She’s at a loss to explain how they – of all the captives – haven’t been brought home yet, and there’s disbelief at the paucity of global outrage insisting they be set free.

“How is the world still silent?” she asks from her kibbutz on the Jordanian border, a tiny community so closely knit that everyone here is touched by her family’s despair.

It’s why the owner of the convenience store, wearing a distinctive orange T-shirt, shakes his jowls when Ms Yahbess props the bottle of OJ on the counter and tries to pay like everyone else. Arms folded in finality, he makes it clear her money is no good in his store.

“I remember myself screaming and crying and holding my head, like, how did this happen?” she told The Australian, recounting the events of October 7 and the sight of that terrible footage, seen worldwide, of Shiri shielding her children while being kidnapped.

“But, inside, I told myself, OK, it will be resolved in like two days or so – the world won’t let this happen. The earth has to shake for this. But we are three and a half months after, sitting here, and they are not here. How can this be possible?”

The broad expectation among the Israeli public was that the boys and their mother would be released during a Qatari-brokered deal in November that saw dozens of women and children let go by Hamas over a four-day ceasefire period.

Instead, as the hours ticked down and select hostages were handed back, there was no sign of movement for the Bibas family – not until Hamas released video of a distressed and broken Yarden Bibas, filmed just minutes after being informed that his wife and two boys had been killed by an Israeli airstrike.

Israel hasn’t verified that claim and Hamas isn’t providing corroborating evidence. It previously said a hostage named Hannah Katzir, aged 77, had died in Gaza as a result of an airstrike, even though she was eventually released – circumstances that give the Bibas family some hope.

The footage of Yarden is too distressing for Ms Yahbess to watch but she is aware of the contents, and it remains the most recent morsel of intelligence speaking to his present condition. Other bits have been cobbled from the hostages who have returned to Israel. They told the family Yarden was held alone, wasn’t eating or sleeping, and suffering pain all over his body.

“We know two of the women who were with him were very concerned about him, trying to keep him safe with them, because his mental condition was so bad.”

A tragic twist in all this is that the Bibas family weren’t supposed to be in Nir Oz on the morning of October 7. They had planned to drive north to visit Ms Yahbess and her husband, to look at housing options in the area for a prospective relocation.

Ms Yahbess had done the same months earlier after living in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and enduring years of persistent rocket fire from Gaza.

“It’s almost like we knew that something big is going to happen,” she said.

Yarden and Shiri were nearing a similar conclusion. “They wanted to move also.”

Other valuable details were provided by the other hostages. Unknown until recently was that Yarden had rushed from his house on October 7, armed with a pistol, and attempted to defend his family until he saw the extent of the Hamas infiltration.

He gave himself up, believing that it would save Shiri and the children. “He said, ‘take me’, and by saying that he was sure that he was saving them,” Ms Yahbess said. “So throughout his captivity, by the time that they (Hamas) filmed the video, he was sure that they (his family) are in Israel. He didn’t even know they were taken.”

Campaigning for their release has been a gruelling, exhausting job, a never-ending stream of media requests, diplomatic missions, public speeches.

But with no tangible result achieved so far, Ms Yahbess said the strategies of previous months were out the window at this point.

“We don’t know what’s working, what’s not working, what’s harming, what’s helping – we’re just very tired, very desperate and very much wanting everything to end,” she said.

And she wants to remind the world that these were very simple people. “So regular,” she said.

A kindergarten teacher. A welder. Both adoring of their children, good music, a cook-up on the barbecue.

They’d be mortified, Ms Yahbess said, were they were to learn of all the attention.

Another stinging end to this tale is the story of Tonto, the dog that Yarden had saved as a puppy and brought up as a third child in the Bibas household. Tonto was shot dead by Hamas and, dismaying as it is to consider, Yarden would have been forced to see his beloved pet dead outside his home while being led away.

“It’s really strange to see their photos everywhere and see people change their profile picture to their picture – I can’t get used to it,” Ms Yahbess said. “And I really want people to know that they’re not the symbol they’ve become. They are true people. They just want to come home.”

US drone strike in Baghdad kills Iran-backed militia chief

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

A US drone strike in Baghdad killed a commander of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia blamed for a deadly strike at an American base in Jordan last week, part of a sharpened effort by the Pentagon to deter attacks on its forces.

The commander, of the Iraqi militia group Kataib Hezbollah, was responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on American forces in the region, the Pentagon said.

The US military did not name the commander but security sources identified him as Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi. Two others were also killed in the strike in the eastern part of the city.

The US strike in Iraq on Wednesday was part of a more aggressive tack against leaders of the Iran-aligned groups responsible for at least 168 attacks against American forces based in the region. Despite the US campaign, Iranian-backed militias have continued targeting US forces.

Kataib Hezbollah acknowledged the US strike and said “this calls for steadfastness on the path of jihad,” which often refers to armed struggle. Iraq’s pro-Iran Al-Nujaba movement, part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, called for revenge against America, its partners and interests. “Our response will be decisive, and these crimes will not go unpunished,” it said in a statement, adding: “Let this be our path and our foremost cause from now on and onwards.”

President Joe Biden approved the strike against the commander early last week. The Pentagon proceeded when military planners knew they could take a shot and the risk of civilian casualties would be mitigated.

Iraqi officials were notified of the strike shortly after it occurred, the Pentagon said.

Following the Iraqi militia’s drone strike on January 28 that killed three Americans at a US outpost in Jordan near the border with Syria, the US began retaliatory airstrikes on Iran’s paramilitary forces and militias that Tehran supports in Syria and Iraq.

The targeted strike on a militia commander within Iraq signals a willingness to expand the US approach, analysts said.

“In general, US strikes have targeted capabilities to make it harder for these groups to target American forces. Now, the US is going after the brains of the operations,” said Andrew Tabler, a former Middle East director at the White House’s National Security Council and now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“This keeps these groups from planning future attacks and may be seen as payback. But the risk is when you are killing leaders, you risk retaliation and more attacks on US forces,” Mr Tabler said.

The strike occurred as Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his fifth visit to the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The US is seeking a sustained pause in fighting and the release of 130 hostages in Gaza, a crucial step for advancing its more ambitious objectives.

Mr Blinken was in Israel and the West Bank on Wednesday.

The US began its retaliation for the Jordan drone strike on Friday with strikes in Iraq and Syria, hitting at least 85 targets in an attempt to deter further attacks against American forces in the region. Before that, in late January, the US struck three facilities in western Iraq used by Kataib Hezbollah, hitting the group’s headquarters, and storage and training locations used for rocket missile and drone attacks, the Pentagon said at the time.

US Central Command conducted a strike in Baghdad early last month in the first known targeted killing of an Iranian-backed militia leader by the Biden administration, marking a more aggressive effort to hold accountable militant leaders targeting American forces in the region.

The Wall Street Journal

US ‘approves strikes’ after drone attack, Biden imposes sanctions for Israeli settler violence

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

US names four sanctioned West Bank settlers

By Staff Writers

The US State Department has moved to sanction four Israeli citizens involved in extremist settler activities following President Joe Biden’s executive order today.

The department named four people who it said were involved in settler-led attacks on Palestinians: David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman and Yinon Levi.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it”.

“The United States will continue to take actions to advance the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution, and is committed to the safety, security, and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike,” he said.

The sanctioning follows the death of American teenager Tawfic Hafeth Abdel Jabbar, who was shot and killed last month during a visit to the West Bank to learn more about his Palestinian heritage, US NBC News reported.

His family says he was the victim of settler violence.

Abdel Jabbar’s father said his son was out for a picnic with friends when witnesses told him that the 17-year-old was shot by an Israeli settler.

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that at the time he was unaware of the full context but that the White House was “seriously concerned” over the teen’s death.

UK may recognise Palestine: Cameron

By Staff Writers

British Foreign Secretary David (Lord) Cameron says his country could officially recognize a Palestinian state after a ceasefire in Gaza without waiting for the outcome of what could be years-long talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a two-state solution, accprding to Reuters news agency.

UK recognition of an independent state of Palestine, including in the United Nations, “can’t come at the start of the process, but it doesn’t have to be the very end of the process”, Cameron told The Associated Press.

“What we need to do is give the Palestinian people a horizon towards a better future, the future of having a state of their own,” he said.

That prospect is “absolutely vital for the long-term peace and security of the region,” he said. Cameron said the first step must be a “pause in the fighting” in Gaza that would eventually turn into “a permanent, sustainable ceasefire”.

Israel ‘eliminates dozens of terrorists’ in Gaza action

By Agency Writers

Israel’s military said on Thursday local time troops had “eliminated dozens of terrorists” over the past day and destroyed a long-range missile launcher in the embattled southern city of Khan Younis.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, 119 people were killed in strikes overnight.

The UN also reported heavy bombardment across Gaza, particularly in Khan Younis, and said 184,000 more Palestinians from the city had registered for humanitarian assistance.

– AFP

Lloyd Austin apologises for concealing cancer

By Agency Writers

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has apologised for concealing his prostate cancer diagnosis and hospitalisation from President Joe Biden, the rest of the government, and the American public.

Still in recovery, Austin continues to suffer from leg pain and said he used a golf cart for transportation inside the Pentagon ahead of the rare solo press conference.

The defence secretary has come under heavy political fire from Republicans over his undisclosed absence at a time when the United States faces a spiraling crisis in the Middle East.

Austin said on Thursday local time he had not considered resigning and that Biden continued to back him. However, he repeatedly apologised, blaming his naturally “private” instincts following the shock of the diagnosis.

“I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis,” he told journalists. “I have apologised directly to President Biden.”

The 70-year-old Austin was out of the public eye for weeks, beginning with minor surgery to treat prostate cancer on December 22 that saw him hospitalised until the following day.

He was readmitted due to complications including nausea and severe pain on January 1, but the White House was not informed until January 4, while Congress was not told until the following day, and Biden did not learn of the cancer diagnosis until January 9.

Austin said that he did not direct his “staff to conceal my hospitalisation from anyone” but acknowledged: “We did not get this right.”

The controversy over his health problems comes with American forces in Iraq and Syria facing near-daily attacks from Iran-backed militants – one of which killed three soldiers over the weekend – while Yemen’s Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted international shipping.

Austin is an intensely private person who eschews the spotlight, which he said played into his decision to keep the cancer diagnosis secret.

It “was a gut punch. And frankly, my first instinct was to keep it private. I don’t think it’s news that I’m a pretty private guy – I never liked burdening others with my problems,” Austin said.

The commander-in-chief “has responded with a grace and warm heart that anyone who knows President Biden would expect, and I’m grateful for his full confidence in me”, Austin said.

– AFP

New tally puts October 7 attack dead in Israel at 1163

By Agency Writers

Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1160 people, mostly civilians, according to a new AFP tally based on the latest official figures available Thursday.

The tally showed the number of those killed in Israel on October 7, including members of the security forces and civilians, has risen to 1163 compared with a death toll of 1139 in mid-December.

To calculate the new figure, AFP cross-referenced data published separately by Israel’s social security agency, the army, the police, the Shin Bet security agency and the prime minister’s office.

The new count includes those taken hostage on October 7, whose deaths have since been confirmed.

The latest death toll from the attack is now 767 civilians, 20 hostages and 376 members of the security forces, giving a total of 1163. One person remains missing.

The youngest victim was a newborn baby who died 14 hours after birth, while the oldest was a 94-year-old woman.

The violence on October 7 began when armed men from the Palestinian Islamist movement broke through the militarised border with Gaza on Shabbat, the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Under the cover of thousands of rockets fired from Gaza, they killed indiscriminately in streets, houses, kibbutz communities and at a rave music festival.

It took more than three days of heavy fighting for the Israeli army to regain control, and left the country deeply traumatised by violence unseen since the country’s formation in 1948.

Police are still working to assess the scale of the sexual violence that was reported alongside the killings.

Israel’s military has responded to the attack with a withering offensive that has killed at least 27,019 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.-

– AFP

UN advisers alarmed at deaths of journalists in Gaza

By Agency Writers

UN rights advisers have voiced alarm at soaring numbers of journalists killed in the Gaza war, alleging an apparent “deliberate” Israeli strategy to silence critical reporting.

“Rarely have journalists paid such a heavy price for just doing their job as those in Gaza now,” the five advisers said in a statement on Thursday.

United Nations reports indicate that at least 122 journalists and other media workers have been killed and many others injured in the Gaza Strip since war erupted there following Hamas’s deadly attacks inside Israel on October 7.

The Palestinian militants also killed four Israeli journalists on October 7, while three journalists have been killed by Israeli shelling on the Lebanese side of their border.

“We are alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in Gaza, in recent months,” the advisers said.

The independent experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said they had received “disturbing reports that, despite being clearly identifiable in jackets and helmets marked ‘press’ or travelling in well-marked press vehicles, journalists have come under attack”.

This, they warned, “would seem to indicate that the killings, injury, and detention are a deliberate strategy by Israeli forces to obstruct the media and silence critical reporting”.

“Targeted attacks and killings of journalists are war crimes.”

The experts, including the special rapporteurs on freedom of expression, on rights in the Palestinian territories and on extrajudicial executions, also voiced grave concerns that Israel has refused to let media from outside Gaza to enter and report unless they are embedded with Israeli forces.

“The attacks on media in Gaza and restrictions on other journalists from accessing Gaza, combined with severe disruptions of the internet, are major impediments to the right of information of the people of Gaza as well as the outside world,” they said.

– AFP

Russia ‘monitoring’ impact of Houthis on markets

By Agency Writers

Russia is closely following the spillover of tensions in the Red Sea onto the global energy market, a top Moscow official said Thursday.

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 30 attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels since November 19, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Container shipping in the Red Sea – a crucial narrow passage which links to the Suez Canal – is down by almost 30 per cent this year amid the attacks, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Alexander Novak, Russia’s deputy prime minister who oversees the country’s energy policy, said the situation in the Red Sea had “significantly” affected “trading relations and logistics chains”.

“It is important that there is constant monitoring of the situation, so that at any moment joint decisions can be made to adjust our joint actions designed to correct and balance the market,” he said on state TV.

Novak was referring to Russia’s participation in the OPEC+ oil alliance – an agreement between some of the world’s top producers, led by Saudi Arabia, to manage oil output and exports to support prices on the global market.

Global oil prices have risen about 10 per cent since early December. Energy exports are a crucial source of revenue for Russia’s economy, especially with its invasion of Ukraine.

– AFP

Blast near ship after US targeting in Yemen

By Agency Writers

American forces have destroyed an explosives-laden uncrewed surface vessel that threatened ships in the Red Sea, the US military said.

The US Central Command also said Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched two anti-ship missiles that were possibly aimed at a cargo ship in the Red Sea, but that the missiles did not hit the vessel.

It blamed the Houthis for the bomb-rigged surface vessel, the destruction of which resulted in “significant secondary explosions” but no reports of damage or injuries.

Maritime security firm Ambrey said a commercial vessel was reportedly targeted by a missile southwest of Aden after the Houthis claimed a missile attack on an American ship in the area that they said was heading towards Israel. Ambrey did not name the ship or mention its ownership, but Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree identified the ship as “KOI”.

The attack was likely towards the M/V KOI ship in the Red Sea, the US Central Command said. “The missiles impacted in the water without hitting the ship,” it says, adding there were no injuries and no damage reported to the Liberian-flagged, Bermuda-owned cargo vessel M/V KOI, nor to the coalition ships in the area.

Strikes by the Houthis who have harassed Red Sea shipping for months, triggering reprisal attacks by the United States and Britain.

Early on Thursday in Yemen, US forces targeted a “Houthi UAV ground control station and 10 Houthi one-way UAVs” that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region”, a Central Command statement said, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.

Central Command earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the Gulf of Aden, and that three Iranian drones were downed less than an hour later.

It did not specify if the drones shot down by the destroyer were designed for attack or surveillance.

US forces also destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that Central Command said posed an imminent threat to “US aircraft” – a deviation from past raids that focused on reducing the rebels’ ability to threaten international shipping.

It did not identify the type of aircraft that had been threatened or the location of the strike, saying only that it took place in “Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen”.

While the US has recently launched strikes on the Houthis and other Iran-supported groups in the region, both Washington and Tehran have sought to avoid a direct confrontation, and the downing of three Iranian drones could heighten tensions.

The Houthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels as a way to support Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

US and British forces have responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

Some of the US strikes have focused on missiles that Central Command said posed an imminent threat to ships, indicating robust surveillance of Houthi-controlled territory likely to include military aircraft.

The US also set up a multinational naval task force to help protect Red Sea shipping from repeated Houthi attacks in the transit route, which carries up to 12 per cent of global trade.

In addition to military action, Washington has sought to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, redesignating them as a “terrorist” organisation in January after previously having dropped that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.

On Wednesday, the Houthis said they fired missiles at destroyer the USS Gravely – a claim that came after Central Command said the warship downed an anti-ship cruise missile launched “from Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea”.

– AFP

UN Palestinian aid agency warns of shutdown

By Agency Writers

The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees said Thursday that international funding cuts may force the shutdown of its operations across the region “by the end of February”.

Several major donor countries to UNRWA said they would suspend funding after Israel alleged 12 agency employees took part in Hamas’s October 7 attack.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that “if the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region”.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said after talks with Lazzarini that he “emphasised the immediate need for the international community to support UNRWA, which plays an indispensable role for Palestinian refugees, serving as a lifeline for over two million Palestinians facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.

A foreign ministry statement in Amman said that both Safadi and Lazzarini urged countries that have suspended aid to UNRWA to “reconsider their decision”.

“Any reduction in financial support provided to the agency will exacerbate the suffering of the people of Gaza, who are already on the brink of mass starvation,” the statement said.

– AFP

UK seeks calm on Lebanon-Israel border

By Agency Writers

British Foreign Minister David (Lord) Cameron met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut overnight to discuss defusing tensions on the Lebanon-Israel border as Israel’s military reported new exchanges of fire.

Since the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel on October 7, the border has seen near-daily exchanges between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.

Cameron and Mikati discussed “ways to restore calm in southern Lebanon, as well as the political and diplomatic solution that is needed”, the prime minister’s office said.

Cameron is the latest in a succession of Western ministers to visit Beirut amid concern that the Gaza war could spark a wider conflict involving Iranian allies around the Middle East.

A major focus of their efforts has been to reinforce the UN Security Council resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Resolution 1701 called for all armed personnel to pull back north of the Litani River, some 30km from the border with Israel, except for Lebanese state security forces and UN peacekeepers. While Hezbollah has not had a visible military presence in the border area since 2006, the group still holds sway over large parts of the south, where it has built tunnels and hideouts and launched missile and drone attacks into Israel.

Mikati discussed with Cameron “ways to implement UN Resolution 1701”, his office said.

Hezbollah had previously signalled its willingness to endorse a diplomatic solution, but only after Israel ends its war in the Gaza Strip.

Western diplomats, including British officials, are pushing for a solution that would include “fully implementing resolution 1701 and giving new impetus” to UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a Western official said.

– AFP

Biden faces Arab American anger over Gaza

By Agency Writers

US President Joe Biden travels today to the crucial swing state of Michigan, which is also the crucible of growing Arab American anger at his pro-Israel policies.

The trip comes days after the Democratic incumbent’s campaign manager travelled to the city of Dearborn – home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States – only to be snubbed by the Detroit suburb’s mayor.

It was an ominous sign for Biden, for whom swing states such as Michigan could prove decisive in November, when he faces a likely rematch with his predecessor Donald Trump.

The White House has made clear that (local time) Thursday’s trip is purely a campaign visit, and Biden’s 2024 team has said that he will meet with members of the powerful United Auto Workers union, who endorsed him last week.

That could carry a lot of weight in Michigan, home to the US vehicle industry – but he will still have to contend with the anger of Arab Americans as Israel’s devastating war in Gaza grinds on.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that Biden was “heartbroken by the suffering of innocent Palestinians”.

On Wednesday a group of Dearborn organisations called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The city’s mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, had earlier written on X, formerly Twitter, that he refused to meet with Biden’s campaign manager.

“I will not entertain conversations about elections while we watch a live-streamed genocide backed by our government,” he said.

Biden is now regularly confronted by demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against “Genocide Joe,” with his speeches interrupted by protestors. He won decisively among Arabs and Muslims in 2020. But analysts have warned many could stay home or vote for a third party in 2024.

– AFP

Hostages taken in Gaza protest in Turkey

By Agency Writers

An assailant on Thursday took some people hostage at a plant owned by US cosmetics giant Procter & Gamble near Istanbul in protest at the war in Gaza, a police spokesman said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were being held at the plant, which lies on the eastern outskirts of Turkey’s largest city, the spokesman told AFP.

A union representing workers at the consumer goods plant said the assailant was holding seven people hostage, adding that the rest of the plant’s workers had been released.

The private DHA news agency published a photo widely circulated online of the alleged assailant holding a gun and what appeared to be a suicide vest strapped to his chest.

The man was standing next to a drawing of the Palestinian flag and the words “for Gaza” painted on the wall in red.

Images from the scene showed police setting up a cordon around the sprawling plant, which primarily manufactures cosmetics.

Special operation forces and medical personnel were dispatched to the scene, Turkish media reported.

– AFP

Hamas gives ‘initial positive confirmation’ on truce plan

By Agency Writers

Hamas has given “initial positive confirmation” to a proposal for the cessation of fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators met Israeli intelligence officials in Paris on Sunday where they proposed a six-week pause in the Gaza war and a hostage-prisoner exchange for Hamas to review.

“That proposal has been approved by the Israeli side and now we have an initial positive confirmation from the Hamas’ side,” Majed al-Ansari told an audience at a Washington-based graduate school.

“There is still a very tough road in front of us,” Ansari said “We are optimistic because both sides now agreed to the premise that would lead to a next pause.

“We’re hopeful that in the next couple of weeks, we’ll be able to share good news about that,” he said.

The Qatar-based leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was expected in Cairo on Thursday or Friday for talks on a proposed truce.

Previously, Qatar mediated a one-week break in fighting that began in November and led to the release of scores of Israeli and foreign hostages, as well as aid entering the besieged Palestinian territory.

– AFP

US imposes sanctions on Israeli settlers in West Bank

By Staff Writers

The Biden administration has announced a new set of sanctions against Israeli settlers and others it deems responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, as concerns grow in Washington that the Israeli government hasn’t done enough to curb the violence.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and the outbreak of the war in Gaza, attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank have doubled, according to the United Nations.

Armed settlers in uniforms have shown up in Palestinian villages threatening to kill those who don’t leave, say residents, Israeli peace activists and the U.N.

The incidents have prompted more than 1,000 Palestinians from at least 15 communities to flee their homes in the West Bank, according to the U.N. and Israeli human-rights group B’Tselem. The number is more than double the total displaced in the West Bank between the start of 2022 and Oct. 6 this year, according to B’Tselem.

The executive order clears the way for sanctions on foreign nationals engaged in actions that include the directing or participating in acts or threats of violence against civilians, intimidating civilians to cause them to leave their homes, or destroying or seizing property and acts of terrorism.

In response to President Biden’s order, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “the absolute majority” of West Bank settlers “are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting in mandatory service and in reserves for the defense of Israel.

Israel is taking action against people who break the law everywhere, and therefore there is no place for unusual measures in this regard.”

In December, the administration announced that it would impose visa restrictions on an unspecified group of Israeli and Palestinian officials who had undermined security. The new executive order will immediately impact four individuals, a senior administration official said. The penalties will cut them off from the U.S. banking system and prohibit them from traveling to the U.S.

Biden has “spoken about his concern about the rise in violence that we have seen in the West Bank from extremist actors — in particular the rise in extremist settler violence, which reached record levels in 2023,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

“This violence poses a grave threat to peace, security and stability in the West Bank, Israel and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign-policy interests of the United States.”

Settler groups and Israeli authorities say many Palestinian hamlets in the West Bank were built without permits and are illegal. Pro-settler groups and some far-right Israeli politicians are pushing for the formal annexation of settlements in the West Bank to Israel.

– Vivian Salama /WSJ

US strikes Houthis in Yemen and Iran-backed militia in Iraq

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

The US military carried out strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen and militants in Iraq early on Wednesday, destroying two anti-ship missiles that posed an “imminent threat” to vessels in the Red Sea.

The US said it struck Kataib Hezbollah, a paramilitary group in Iraq backed by Iran, which has carried out attacks on US troops in the country and in neighbouring Syria.

The strikes against the Houthis in Yemen targeted “missiles that were aimed into the southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch”, US Central Command said in a statement. “US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region.”

Later on Wednesday, Houthi forces fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles at the US-flagged and owned container vessel Maersk Detroit as it was passing through the Gulf of Aden, the US Central Command said on X. There were no reports of injuries or damage to the ship.

The latest strikes followed another wave against the Iran-backed group on Monday night, which involved British jets as well as US aircraft and warships. The Houthis have been hit with retaliatory strikes over their targeting of Red Sea commerce, which has forced shipping companies to divert traffic from the passageway to the Suez Canal.

The militant group, which controls swaths of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, has carried out a growing number of missile and drone attacks along the key international trade route since Israel launched its assault on Gaza, deepening concerns that the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilise the Middle East.

The Houthis have since declared US and British interests to be legitimate targets.

The UK and US have carried out two rounds of joint air and naval strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target shipping.

On Tuesday British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned the Houthis that Britain would not hesitate to bomb Yemen again if attacks on commercial and military vessels continued.

The first wave of strikes, on January 11, involved Royal Air Force Typhoon jets flying to Yemen from Cyprus, American aircraft and naval ships.

Washington launched a series of unilateral air raids before a second wave of attacks 11 days later, also involving four British Typhoons, which dropped Paveway bombs on targets in Sanaa.

In the House of Commons, Mr Sunak insisted military action was working.

He said “maximum care” had been taken to avoid civilian casualties and “initial evidence” suggested the joint operation, which included intelligence and surveillance support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and The Netherlands, had destroyed all its intended targets near Sanaa without killing any civilians.

“We are not seeking a confrontation,” he told MPs.

“We urge the Houthis and those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks – but, if necessary, the United Kingdom will not hesitate to respond again in self-defence. We cannot stand by and allow these attacks to go unchallenged. Inaction is also a choice.”

The Houthis, who withstood an eight-year-long war with a Saudi-led coalition, are unlikely to be deterred by the latest strikes. The group is part of a network of Iranian-backed militias in the region targeting Israel and US forces since Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October.

The Houthis say they will continue their attacks until the war ends.

The Times

Israelis brace for gruelling urban battle as it encircles Khan Younis

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

The Israeli military said it was pushing into the west of Khan Younis and was engaged in fierce fighting with some of Hamas’s strongest fighters after encircling the southern Gaza city, where the population has swelled by hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians.

Israel said Wednesday it was targeting Hamas militants using snipers, tanks and aerial fire and was aiming to destroy complex tunnel networks and infrastructure used by the group. Israeli officials say they believe that inside the city are Hamas’s leadership and Israeli hostages, whom Israeli officials are seeking to free in part through military pressure on Hamas.

The military thrust into Khan Younis reflects a new phase in the war as Israel shifts to urban fighting that is more time consuming and dangerous for its troops. About two dozen Israeli troops were killed in central and southern Gaza on Monday in the deadliest day for the military in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, according to the Israeli military.

Earlier in the conflict, Israel relied on airstrikes to hit what it said were militant targets in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, causing what Palestinians say was a high civilian death toll. In Khan Younis, one of the largest cities in the enclave before the war, Israeli troops are pushing into heavily populated areas where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering, including some who were killed in a United Nations facility that was struck on Wednesday, according to a U.N. official.

The large number of civilians could offer Hamas fighters easier concealment and complicate military operations, as many in the international community — including the U.S. — pressure Israel to reduce civilian casualties and seek to wrap up the war. More than 200 Palestinians across the enclave were killed in the past 24 hours, health officials there said Wednesday. Casualty figures from Palestinian authorities don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

“As you get closer to the heart of the enemy and its resources, its resistance is stronger,” said retired Israeli Col. Gabi Siboni, a senior research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. “Khan Younis is a key Hamas stronghold.”

The Israeli military said that during the operation, weapon stockpiles had been discovered and that three militants who approached Israeli soldiers were killed in precision strikes. The operation into west Khan Younis is set to last several days, the Israeli military said.

“All efforts are aimed at creating intense military pressure, both on the tunnel infrastructure and on the operational command level, out of the understanding that this will be what subdues Sinwar,” said Eyal Pinko, a retired Israeli military officer, referring to Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Israel has yet to capture or kill Hamas senior leadership in Gaza, a stated war aim.

As fighting has raged in the militant group’s last stronghold, Hamas officials in recent days have told international mediators that they are open to discussing a deal to release some of the Israeli hostages in exchange for a significant pause in fighting. The offer marks a significant shift by Hamas, which for weeks has insisted it would only negotiate on releasing more hostages as part of a comprehensive agreement that would lead to a permanent end to the war. There are 132 hostages remaining in Gaza, including 28 bodies held by Hamas, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

While Israel and Hamas have rejected multiple proposals made via Egypt and Qatar following the end of the last cease-fire on Nov. 30, they now largely agree on a framework that includes multiple phases and a potential long-term cease-fire.

The first phase would likely involve the release of about 10 civilian women and children in exchange for a significant pause in fighting and a substantial increase in the flow of aid into Gaza, Egyptian officials said.

The second phase would see Hamas freeing roughly 40 elderly and injured people, as well as Israeli female soldiers, in exchange for the release of an unspecified number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons and an extension of the cease-fire. This would be followed by the release of male soldiers and dead bodies, the officials added.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar see another hostage deal as the key to bringing a prolonged halt to the fighting, the officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has declined to comment on the framework. Egyptian officials say that while Israeli leaders are publicly taking an uncompromising stance, there are divisions within the Israeli cabinet, with some calling for giving priority to hostages.

Some Hamas officials say talks are continuing but that gaps remain wide. Other Hamas officials are seeking to gain maximum advantage from the captives the militant group holds and only want to trade them for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and a permanent cease-fire.

Israel issued evacuation orders for parts of Khan Younis on Tuesday. The U.N. said the orders covered 4 square kilometers and affected 88,000 residents, in addition to 425,000 internally displaced people staying in shelters and hospitals, including Nasser Hospital, the area’s largest medical facility and one of the few major medical facilities still operating.

“Nasser Hospital has lost most of its staff due to fear of escalating violence, and the remaining staff is struggling to keep the hospital operational,” said Zaher Sahloul, president and cofounder of MedGlobal, a humanitarian nonprofit working at the facility. “There is a mass exodus from Khan Younis to an ever-shrinking area near the Rafah border, leading to massive displacement and overcrowding.”

Residents and medical professionals in and around Khan Younis say heavy gunfire and bombing in the area make it difficult to heed evacuation orders as civilians are caught in the line of fire. Meanwhile, consistent telecommunications disruptions and blackouts hamper humanitarian efforts and restrict the information leaving the enclave.

One of the largest U.N. shelters in Khan Younis was struck on Wednesday for the second time in recent days, with buildings set ablaze and mass casualties, a U.N. official said. The official said two tank rounds hit a building that was sheltering 800 people, killing nine people and injuring more than 70 others.

“The compound is a clearly marked @UN facility & its coordinates were shared with Israeli Authorities as we do for all our facilities. Once again a blatant disregard of basic rules of war,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. agency that manages Palestinian refugees, said in a post on X. Lazzarini said six displaced people were killed by an earlier strike on Monday.

A U.S. State Department spokesman called the strike at the U.N. facility “incredibly concerning.” “We deplore today’s attack on the U.N.’s Khan Younis [facility],” he said. “The protected nature of U.N. facilities must be respected.” The Israeli military said it determined the U.N. incident was not “a result of an aerial or artillery strike” by its forces, but that it hadn’t made a final assessment. The military said it was also examining the possibility that the strike on the U.N. facility was the result of Hamas fire. “A thorough review of the operations of the forces in the vicinity is under way,” it said.

More than 25,000 people, mainly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to Palestinian authorities. Israel began its air, ground and sea campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants conducted a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

“Less than 20 per cent of Gaza’s land — roughly 60 square kilometres — is now refuge to over 1.5 million people,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said. “These people are living in desperate circumstances in the south of the Gaza Strip where the dramatic escalation of the fighting threatens their survival.”

Anat Peled contributed to this article

The Wall Street Journal

CIA chief eyes Middle East talks for Gaza hostage deal

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

US Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns plans to meet with Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials in coming days for talks on a potential Gaza hostage deal, a source familiar with the matter says.

The Washington Post, which first reported Burns’ trip, said Israel has proposed a two-month pause in fighting to allow for the phased release of the hostages still being held following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, citing officials familiar with the matter.

Burns “has been … involved in helping us with the hostage deal that was in place and trying to help us pursue another one,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters travelling with US President Joe Biden aboard Air Force One, referring specific questions to the agency.

The CIA, which has a policy of not disclosing the director’s travel, declined to comment.

Burns’ dispatch by Biden to speak with officials including Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, comes as Israel’s retaliatory military campaign against Hamas continues into its fourth month.

Israeli tanks battered areas around two hospitals in Gaza’s main southern city Khan Younis on Thursday, forcing displaced people into a new desperate scramble for safety, residents said, in an escalating offensive Israel says is targeting Hamas militants.

In Gaza City in the north of the embattled enclave, 20 Palestinians were killed and 150 injured when they were hit by an Israeli strike while queuing to collect food aid, said Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.

Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours in Khan Younis, where Israel has shifted full-blown military operations after starting to pull forces out of northern areas it says it largely controls.

Most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million population is squeezed into Khan Younis and towns just north and south of it, after being driven out of its northern half earlier in Israel’s military campaign.

Khan Younis is encircled by Israeli armoured forces and under almost non-stop aerial and ground fire, residents said, and a huge mushroom-like column of smoke billowed skyward from areas of Israeli military operations on Thursday.

Palestinian medics said Israeli tanks had cut off and were shelling targets around the city’s two main still-functioning hospitals, Nasser and al-Amal, trapping medical teams, patients and displaced people huddled inside or nearby.

Israel says Hamas militants use hospital premises as cover for bases, something the Islamist group and medical staff deny.

The Israeli army’s siege of Khan Younis’ main hospitals, in what it calls an escalating campaign to eliminate militants in Hamas’ main south Gaza bastion, has made it near impossible for rescue crews to reach the wounded or collect the dead.

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a ceasefire and a “true solution” to the Israel-Palestinian conflict on Thursday in an emotional plea to the health body’s governing body where he described conditions in Gaza as “hellish”.

Ghebreyesus, who lived through war as a child and whose own children hid in a bunker during bombardments in Ethiopia’s 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, became emotional describing conditions in the bombed-out Gaza enclave where more than 25,000 people have been killed.

“I’m a true believer because of my own experience that war doesn’t bring solution, except more war, more hatred, more agony, more destruction. So let’s choose peace and resolve this issue politically,” Tedros told the WHO Executive Board in Geneva.

“I think all of you have said the two-state solution and so on, and hope this war will end and move into a true solution,” he said, before breaking down, describing the current situation as “beyond words”.

Israel’s ambassador said Tedros’ comments represented a “complete leadership failure”.

“The statement by the director-general was the embodiment of everything that is wrong with WHO since October 7th. No mention of the hostages, the rapes, the murder of Israelis, nor the militarisation of hospitals and Hamas’ despicable use of human shields,” Meirav Eilon Shahar said in comments sent to Reuters.

Australian Associated Press

Israel batters hospital districts in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

Israeli forces have relentlessly bombarded areas around two hospitals in Gaza’s main southern city Khan Younis, pinning down large numbers of displaced people, residents say, in an offensive to take Hamas’ main stronghold in the enclave’s south.

Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in Khan Younis in the past 24 hours, including two children in an Israeli air strike that hit a residential home.

The city is now encircled by Israeli armoured forces and under almost non-stop aerial and ground fire, residents say.

Palestinian medics said Israeli tanks had cut off and were shelling targets around the city’s two main still-functioning hospitals, Nasser and Al-Amal, trapping medical teams, patients and displaced people sheltering inside or nearby.

Most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million population is now squeezed into Khan Younis and towns just north and south of it, after being driven out of its northern half earlier in Israel’s blitz of the Hamas-ruled territory, now in its fourth month.

Israeli forces’ siege of Khan Younis’ main hospitals, which Israel says Hamas militants use as bases for attacks – something the Islamist group and hospital staff deny – have made it near impossible for rescue crews to reach the wounded and dead.

The fusillade from advancing Israeli forces forced many displaced people to set out again in search of ever-dwindling places of safe shelter, medics and residents said.

Residents had said on Wednesday that Israeli announcements warning them to leave areas in the line of fire came only after the operation was under way and the main road out of Khan Younis had shut.

On Wednesday, the United Nations said Israeli tanks struck a large UN compound in Gaza sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing at least nine people and wounding 75.

Israel denied its forces were responsible, suggesting Hamas might have launched the shelling, and said it was reviewing the incident.

Israel said Hamas had “command and control centres, outposts and security headquarters” in the vicinity, which it described as “a dense area” with civilians as well as the premises of several hospitals where it said militants were active.

At least 25,700 people have been killed in Gaza, one of the world’s most densely populated and widely impoverished places, Palestinian health officials say, with large tracts of the heavily built-up enclave flattened by Israeli bombing.

Israel unleashed its war to eradicate Hamas after militants stormed through the border fence in a shock incursion into nearby Israeli towns and bases on October 7, killing 1200 people and seizing some 240 hostages.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said less than 20 per cent of the narrow coastal enclave – about 60sq km – was now refuge to more than 1.5 million people in the south “where the dramatic escalation of fighting threatens their survival”.

“Every hospital in the Gaza Strip is over-crowded and short on medical supplies, fuel, food and water,” the ICRC said in a statement.

“Many are housing thousands of displaced families and now two more facilities (in Khan Younis) risk being lost due to the fighting.”

Thomas White, director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, on Thursday deplored Israel’s military operations in neighbourhoods teeming with vulnerable civilians.

“Heavy fighting near the remaining hospitals in Khan Younis, including Nasser and Al Amal, has effectively encircled these facilities, leaving terrified staff, patients and displaced people trapped inside,” he said in a statement.

“Al Khair hospital has shut down after patients, including women who had just undergone C-section surgeries, were evacuated in the middle of the night.”

In north Gaza, residents said they had almost completely run out of food, especially flour, and have been grinding down livestock feed to replenish it.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed more than 9000 Hamas militants and lost 220 soldiers since October 7.

Reuters was unable to verify the figures.

In its latest update, the Israeli military said forces had carried out targeted raids with precision air strikes and snipers to take out multiple Hamas command centres and militant emplacements in Khan Younis, including the Al Amal district.

Israeli forces also raided several militant compounds in central and north Gaza, in one case calling in a helicopter gunship to strike and kill fighters inside, the military said in a statement.

Australian Associated Press

US military launches new barrage of missiles against Houthis in Yemen

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

Washington: The US military has fired another wave of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites, US Central Command said, marking the fourth time in days it has directly targeted the group in Yemen.

The strikes were launched from ships and submarines in the Red Sea and hit 14 missiles that the command deemed an “imminent threat” after a one-way attack drone was launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen and struck a Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and operated ship, the Genco Picardy, in the Gulf of Aden, which the Houthis claimed was a “direct hit”.

“Forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen,” Central Command said in a statement posted on X late on Thursday afternoon (AEDT).

“These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves.”

Earlier the US announced it had put the Houthis back on its list of specially designated global terrorists. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing.

But despite the sanctions and military strikes, including a large-scale operation carried out by US and British warships and warplanes that hit more than 60 targets across Yemen late last week, the Houthis are continuing their harassment campaign of commercial and military ships.

The US has also strongly warned Iran to cease providing weapons to the Houthis. Last week, a US raid on a dhow trading vessel intercepted ballistic missile parts the US said Iran was shipping to Yemen. Two US Navy SEALs remain unaccounted for after one was knocked off the vessel by a wave during the seizure and the second followed him into the water.

On Wednesday, Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said the US would continue to take military action to prevent further attacks.

“They are exploiting this situation to conduct attacks against the ships and vessels from more than 50 countries … around the world. And so we’re going to continue to work with our partners in the region to prevent those attacks or deter those attacks in the future,” Ryder said.

There have been several incidents since the joint operations began. The Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward a US Navy destroyer over the weekend, but the ship shot it down. The Houthis then struck a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden on Monday and a Malta-flagged bulk carrier in the Red Sea on Tuesday. In response on Tuesday, the US struck four anti-ship ballistic missiles that were prepared to launch and presented an imminent threat to merchant and US Navy ships in the region.

Hours later, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia. The ship was hit, but no one was injured and it continued on its way.

Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in the region since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers in an escalation of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and have threatened to expand attacks to include US ships in response to American and British strikes on the group’s positions.

In Gaza, a shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas had entered the territory, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The Gulf nation and France worked out a deal between Israel and Hamas to deliver medicine to both the hostages and Palestinians.

More than 100 days into the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian militants are still putting up stiff resistance across the besieged enclave. The conflict shows no sign of ending and has inflamed tensions across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in recent days.

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has risen to 24,285 people, the Health Ministry said. In Israel, about 1200 people were killed during Hamas’ October 7 attack that sparked the latest war and saw some 250 people taken hostage by militants.

– AP, Reuters

Albanese government yet to designate October 7 attacks in southern Israel as a terror act

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

The Albanese government has failed to formally designate as an overseas terrorist act the massacre of 1200 Israelis by Hamas on October 7, The Australian reports.

The failure to make the declaration more than 100 days after the attacks means Australian Jews who lost loved ones in Israel are not eligible for financial assistance through the Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment under the Social Security Act, as revealed by The Australian.

This contrasts with formal Australian government terror designations of more than 50 overseas terrorist attacks under the legislation, including the US September 11, 2001 attacks, the 2002 Bali bombings, the 2005 London bombings, the 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris and the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack.

It also comes after the government this week pledged an extra $21.5m in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and Palestinian refugee programs in the Middle East, including $6m for the United Nations and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, an agency Hamas has allegedly previously siphoned funds from.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a meeting of Palestinian Authority officials that Australia’s latest funding package – intended to pay for civilian healthcare and childhood education – must not be misused by terrorists, signalling Australian government concern with how the funds might be apportioned.

Senator Wong said she raised the matter during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Wednesday. During a visit to the West Bank the Foreign Minister also met with representatives of communities affected by Israeli settler violence, drawing praise from Mr Shtayyeh for her condemnation of the attacks. “I was very encouraged to hear a very strong statement from the minister on issues that has to do with settlements and the Australian opposition of settlement construction that are all illegal in the Palestinian territories.”

On the issue of the October 7 attacks, despite having had more than three months to examine the issue, the government says it is still “considering” whether to designate the assaults an overseas terrorist attack under the legislation.

Under the Australian Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment, established by Labor in 2012, Australian residents who are harmed, or whose close family member is killed, as a result of an overseas terrorist act, are eligible for assistance payments of up to $75,000.

“Since the horrific Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, the Australian government has been supporting Australians and their family members affected by the conflict at home and in the region,” a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said.

“The Albanese Labor government is steadfastly committed to supporting Australian victims of terrorism overseas (and) the government is considering further ways in which to support Australians and their family members.”

But the federal opposition accused the government of dragging its feet on the issue, which it said was delaying much-needed financial help for those Australians impacted by the October 7 attacks.

“It’s about time the Albanese government officially declared what every Australian can see – that the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel was a terrorist attack,” opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson told The Australian.

“Doing so would allow Australian loved ones of the victims of Hamas’s brutality to get the support they need to rebuild their lives.

“These are people grieving from the loss of in some cases three generations of Jews killed in the worst massacre since the Holocaust. “Three months on from the attacks, there must be no further delays or excuses for inaction. These families need support now, not when it is convenient for the Albanese government to finally act.”

The length of time between an overseas terror act and the government’s declaration of it varies but in many cases the event has been declared a terror act within two months of it occurring. These include the November 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris, the December 2016 truck terror attack in Berlin and the Barcelona truck attack in August 2017.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie wrote to the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister on December 18 urging the government to declare the Hamas attacks as a terrorist act.

Mr Hastie urged the government to act after meeting with a Jewish woman in his Canning electorate, in Western Australia, who lost her mother, her brother and her nine-month-old niece in the Hamas attack on Be-eri kibbutz.

“The formal declaration of (October 7) as an overseas terror act is not only an important point of fact, but it also serves as a prerequisite for the Australians seeking to claim the Australian Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment,” Mr Hastie wrote to Mr Albanese.
“Given the pressing need for support – particularly for (my constituent) as they grapple with financial challenges in the aftermath of this tragedy – I request your swift action to ensure that Australians receive the necessary victim support following this evil attack by Hamas.

“As you are aware, Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation (and) this declaration has been made in the past, notably after the 2001 US September 11 attacks, the 2002 Bali bombings, and, more recently, the 2020 Hulhumale attack in the Maldives,” he wrote.

Mr Hastie has received no reply to his letter from either the Prime Minister or Ms O’Neil.

No Palestinian state: Defiant Netanyahu rejects US call for peace path

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected US calls to scale back Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip or take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war, drawing an immediate scolding from the White House.

The tense back and forth reflected what has become a wide rift between the two allies over the scope of Israel’s war and its plans for the future of the beleaguered territory.

Earlier this week, the White House also announced that it was the “right time” for Israel to lower the intensity of its devastating military offensive in Gaza.

In a nationally televised news conference, Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, repeatedly saying that Israel would not halt its offensive until it realises its goals of destroying Gaza’s Hamas militant group and bringing home all remaining hostages held by Hamas.

He rejected claims by a growing chorus of Israeli critics that those goals are not achievable, vowing to press ahead for many months.

“We will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said he has told the US that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario.

In response, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “There is no way to solve their long-term challenges to provide lasting security and there is no way to solve the short-term challenges of rebuilding Gaza and establishing governance in Gaza and providing security for Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Israel launched the offensive after an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7 that killed 1200 people and took some 250 others hostage. Roughly 130 hostages are believed by Israel to remain in Hamas captivity. The war has stoked tensions across the region, threatening to ignite other conflicts.

Israel’s assault, one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, caused widespread destruction and uprooted over 80 per cent of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes.

The staggering cost of the war has led to increasing calls from the international community to halt the offensive.

After initially giving Israel wall-to-wall support in the early days of the war, the United States, Israel’s closest ally, has begun to express misgivings and urged Netanyahu to spell out his vision for postwar Gaza.

The United States has said the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, which governs semi-autonomous zones in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, should be “revitalised” and return to Gaza. Hamas ousted the authority from Gaza in 2007.

The US has also called for steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Palestinians seek Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem for their state. Those areas were captured by Israel in 1967.

Speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blinken said the two-state solution was the best way to protect Israel, unify moderate Arab countries and isolate Israel’s arch-enemy, Iran.

Without a “pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said, Israel would not “get genuine security”.

At the same conference, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the kingdom is ready to establish full relations with Israel as part of a larger political agreement. “But that can only happen through peace for the Palestinians, through a Palestinian state,” he said.

Netanyahu, who leads a far-right government opposed to Palestinian statehood, repeated his longstanding opposition to a two-state solution. He said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

He said Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” adding: “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”

“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” he said.

The comments prompted an immediate rebuke from the White House. Kirby said that President Joe Biden would “not stop working” toward a two-state solution.

US Senator Bernie Sanders also weighed in, saying the sustained Israeli bombardment of Gaza is a “tragedy for which we, the United States, are complicit”.

Mexico and Chile expressed “growing worry” on Thursday (Mexico-time) over escalating violence in the Palestinian territory of Gaza after several months of war between Israel and Hamas in a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over possible crimes.

In a statement, Mexico’s foreign ministry argued that the ICC is the proper forum to establish potential criminal responsibility, “whether committed by agents of the occupying power or the occupied power.”

The statement cited “numerous reports from the United Nations that detail many incidents that could constitute crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction”.

– AP, Reuters