Israel-Hamas war, day 5 updates | Netanyahu creates wartime Cabinet, vows to ‘crush’ Hamas

Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed Wednesday to have released an Israeli woman and her two children it said had been detained during fighting with Israeli forces, but Israeli television networks rejected the announcement.

The Israeli army when contacted said it was checking the claim.

“An Israeli settler and her two children were released after they were detained during the clashes,” Ezzedine al-Qassem Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement referring to the group’s brutal assault on Israel on Saturday.

A video footage aired by Hamas television Al-Aqsa network showed a woman dressed in a blue shirt with two children in a barbed wired area that appeared to be between Israel and the Gaza Strip, while three Hamas fighters are seen walking away.

The footage did not show any military personnel receiving the three, and the clip appeared to have been filmed in daylight.

AFP could not verify the authenticity of the footage independently.

Israeli television channels rejected Hamas’s claim, saying the woman and the two children were never taken to the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters after they launched the deadly assault.

The channels identified the woman as Avital Aladjem, a resident of kibbutz Holit, who had told in a series of interviews this week that she had been taken by force by Hamas militants along with two children of her neighbour to a border area between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

She then said that a group of fighters later let her go with the children.

Around 150 people were taken hostage by Hamas during Saturday’s assault, according to Israeli officials.

No official release of hostages held by Hamas have so far occurred. - AFP

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday called on his compatriots to show solidarity with the country’s Jewish population and guarantee their safety, condemning excesses at pro-Palestinian rallies.

“I ask for the support of all citizens so that together we can guarantee the safety of our Jewish fellow citizens, and to do this we must show solidarity with them,” the head of state said on ARD television. - AFP

U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel should abide by the rules of war in its fight against Hamas, five days after the Palestinian militant group’s surprise attack that Israeli forces say saw more than 1,200 people killed.

Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “it is really important that Israel -- (with) all the anger and frustration... that they operate by the rules of war,” Biden told a gathering of U.S. Jewish community leaders.

Gaza officials have reported more than 1,000 people killed in Israel’s sustained campaign of air and artillery strikes in recent days. - AFP

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday warned Iran to “be careful” as tensions rise in the Middle East over Israel’s war with Hamas after the Palestinian militant group’s attack.

“We made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful,” Biden said during a roundtable with Jewish community leaders at the White House.

Iran has long financially and militarily backed Hamas, but has insisted it had no involvement in the group’s assault that erupted Saturday. - AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would “crush and destroy” Hamas in response to its attack.

Netanyahu said every Hamas member was a “dead man.”

Netanyahu made the remarks in a late-night televised address as Israeli planes pounded Gaza in response to the unprecedented attack. - AP

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency said on Wednesday it was seeking $104 million for life-saving aid to Gaza, which has been pounded by Israeli reprisal strikes following attacks by Hamas against Israel.

“UNRWA is urgently seeking US$ 104 million to enable its multi-sectoral humanitarian response over the coming 90 days,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement.

“The requested funds will cover the urgent immediate food, non-food, health, shelter and protection needs of up to 250,000 persons seeking safety in UNRWA shelters across the ravaged Gaza Strip and another 250,000 Palestine refugees within the community.” - Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Hamas militants beheaded soldiers and raped women in their attack on Israel.

Netanyahu, in a late night televised address, detailed some of the atrocities that took place during the attack. He said boys and girls were shot in the head and that people had been burned alive.

At least 1,200 Israelis were killed in the attack, which set off fierce Israeli response in the Gaza Strip. - AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a negotiation process with Hamas seeking the release of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by the Palestinian militant group, an official source told AFP on Wednesday.

“They are negotiating to secure the release of the hostages,” the source said, confirming a report by the private TV channel Haberturk. - AFP

At least four Palestinians were killed Wednesday as armed Israeli settlers attacked a town south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

In separate incidents, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli army fire near Bethlehem and a teenager was killed near Hebron, the ministry said.

The latest fatalities bring to 29 the Palestinian death toll in the West Bank in violence related to the conflict since Hamas militants launched on Saturday an assault on Israel’s south from the blockaded Gaza Strip. - AFP

The health ministry reported in a statement “three martyrs as a result of a settler assault on the town of Qusra” in the northern West Bank, later revising up the toll to four.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Wednesday to Israel in a show of solidarity after a bloody attack by Hamas, with Washington closing ranks with its ally that has launched heavy retaliation on the Gaza Strip.

Blinken was set to arrive Thursday in Israel for a lightning visit in which he is likely to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed an unrelenting response to what he called the Islamist militants’ “savagery.”

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he made another phone call to Netanyahu and he reiterated “unshakeable” US support.

The State Department, meanwhile, said that the death toll of US citizens in the violence had risen to “at least 22.” An unspecified number of American hostages are also believed to be in the hands of Hamas.

In a departure from usual US calls for restraint when violence erupts overseas, Biden and his administration have made clear they support Israel’s right to an overwhelming response. - AFP

The Israeli army said Wednesday an “error” was behind reports of a suspected “aerial infiltration” from Lebanon, and that a rocket alert in the north was due to a launch from Gaza.

“There are no launches at this point from Lebanon. There are no alerts,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

“This has been an error that we are looking into... We will check wether it’s a technical malfunction or a human error.”

Earlier sirens were activated in cities and towns across Israel’s northern border.

In a statement, the army said: “Following the reports regarding an infiltration into Israeli air space from Lebanon, as of right now, a suspected infiltration has been ruled out.” - AFP

The Biden administration is having active discussions with Israel to help transport Gaza civilians as Israel strikes the enclave after a deadly Hamas attack over the weekend, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

“We believe that safe passage is important and we want to see a safe passage corridor opened up,” Kirby said.

He said 22 Americans were killed and 17 remain unaccounted for in Israel. - Reuters

At least 11 UN staff and personnel, as well as 30 students at UN schools, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants launched their attack on Israel, a spokesman said Wednesday.

“11 UNRWA staff and personnel have been killed since Saturday,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees which also runs schools in Gaza.

“30 UNRWA students have also been killed and another eight have been injured.”

The dead included five teachers, a gynecologist, an engineer, a counselor and three support staff, UNRWA’s deputy director Jennifer Austin said in a statement.

“UNRWA mourns this loss and is grieving with our colleagues and the families,” she said.

“UN staff and civilians must be protected at all times during conflict. We call for the fighting to come to an end to spare more civilian lives lost.” - AFP

India is launching Operation Ajay to facilitate return from Israel of Indians who wish to come back, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Special charter flights and other arrangements being put in place, he said. - PTI

The Arab League chief called for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary general of the Cairo-based organization, warned about “serious possibilities” of further escalation and an expansion of fighting, in an apparent reference to the Lebanese Hezbollah militant groups.

“No one wanted such kind of escalation ... I completely refuse any violence against civilians without equivocation,” he said.

Aboul Gheit’s comments came at the opening of an emergency meeting an emergency meeting of the Arab foreign ministers in the Egyptian capital on the Israel-Gaza war.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Wednesday that ‘’several children’’ from France have probably been kidnapped from Israel. Speaking to the French Senate, she said the government is in touch with the families of the children concerned. She did not elaborate.

Among those believed kidnapped is a 12-year-old boy named Eitan who had been living in the Nir Oz kibbutz, according to family members who have spoken to French media.

France has said that 11 French citizens are confirmed dead in the fighting and 20 are unaccounted for, including several believed held hostage. - AP

The Israeli army reported Wednesday a “suspected infiltration” from Lebanon into Israeli air space while sirens blared in cities and towns across Israel’s northern border.

The army’s Home Front Command asked resident of the cities of Beit Shean, Safed and Tiberias to shelter “until further notice” fearing a “large-scale attack”. - AFP

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt on Wednesday warned about “grave security and humanitarian repercussions” of the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.

He said his government, which mediated a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in previous bouts of violence, has intensified its efforts to “contain the situation,” according to the Egyptian leader’s office.

Mr. El-Sissi’s comments came in a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who was visiting Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials. - AP

The Nepal government has decided to send a Nepal Airlines aircraft to Israel to bring back over 250 Nepalese students who are stranded in the country following the surprise attack by Hamas militants.

An aircraft of Nepal Airlines, the national flag carrier, will leave Kathmandu for Jerusalem at 2 a.m. on Thursday to bring back 288 Nepalese students, who have registered their names in the Nepalese Embassy in Israel, expressing their desire to safely return their home, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sewa Lamsal.

Foreign Minister N.P. Saud will also travel on the same flight.

However, the dead bodies of 10 Nepalese students killed by Hamas during Saturday’s terror attack will not be brought on the aircraft.

As the process of handing over the bodies of those killed is not yet completed by the Israeli government, we have to wait for some time to bring back the dead bodies, Lamsal said during a press conference.

“We will give priority to students while repatriating Nepalese nationals from the war-torn country,” spokesperson Lamsal said.

“Nobody will be left stranded and if needed we will arrange other commercial flights to bring those Nepalese who wish to be rescued,” she added.

Ten Nepalese students were killed when the Hamas militant group launched a sudden strike at a farm in Israel’s Kibbutz. - PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday spoke to his counterpart from the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed the “crisis” in West Asia triggered by the attacks on Israel by Hamas militants and Tel Aviv’s counter offensive.

Mr. Jaishankar is currently on a visit to Sri Lanka.

“Spoke to Foreign Minister @ABZayed of UAE this evening. Discussed the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Agreed to stay in touch,” the External Affairs Minister said in a post on X. - PTI

A top opposition Israeli politician says he has reached an agreement to enter a wartime unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and military chief of staff, released what he said was a joint statement with Netanyahu.

The statement said they would form a five-member “war-management” Cabinet. It will consist of Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Gantz, current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and two other top officials serving as “observer” members.

It said the government would not pass any legislation or decisions that are not connected to the war as long as the fighting continues. It was not immediately clear what would happen to Mr. Netanyahu’s existing government partners, a collection of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. - AP

Britain’s top diplomat has arrived in Israel to express “unwavering solidarity” with the country following the attacks by Hamas.

The government says Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will meet survivors and senior Israeli officials “to outline U.K. support for Israel’s right to defend itself.”

The U.K.’s Conservative government and the opposition Labour Party have both strongly backed Israel’s right to retaliate for the attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis.

The British government has said 10 or more U.K. citizens are dead or missing after the attacks on southern Israel. - AP

Conditions in the coastal enclave, a crowded, 40-kilometer long (25-mile) strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, were deteriorating quickly Wednesday as entire city blocks were reduced to rubble and residents searched for places to go.

Gaza’s Civil Defense Department warned that there were too few rescue teams to search for survivors buried under rubble, and that teams were unable to reach many places because of damage to roads and constant bombardments.

“There is no safe place in Gaza right now,” said journalist Hasan Jabar after three Palestinian journalists were killed in the bombardment of a downtown neighborhood home to government ministries, media offices and hotels. “I am genuinely afraid for my life.” - AP

Gaza’s only power plant has run out of fuel, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies, the Energy Ministry said Wednesday.

That will leave only generators to power the territory.

The blackouts come as Israel has decided to block fuel shipments into the Gaza Strip as part of what the Israeli government has called a “complete siege” on the territory run by the Hamas militant group.- AP

Israel has massed forces, tanks and other heavy armour around Gaza in its retaliatory operation against what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled “an attack whose savagery ... we have not seen since the Holocaust”.

Fears have been intense in Israel for the fate of at least 150 hostages — mostly Israelis but also including foreign and dual nationals — being held in Gaza by Hamas. - AFP

As the war between Israel and Hamas grows intense, the Indian Embassy in Israel has set up a 24-hour helpline desk for the citizens stranded there and has asked them to follow the security advisories.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Israel has stated that it has been working constantly to help fellow citizens.“The Embassy has been working constantly to help our fellow citizens in Israel through a 24-hour helpline. Please remain calm & vigilant & follow the security advisories,” India in Israel wrote on X.

The Indian Embassy in war-hit Israel has activated a 24/7 helpline number +972-35226748 and +972-543278392 for Indian nationals citizens who need assistance amid the ongoing conflict or wish to register with the Embassy.

“24*7 Emergency Helpline/Contact: Tel +972-35226748, Tel +972-543278392, Email: cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in” the Indian Embassy in Israel wrote.

Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip scrambled to find safety on Wednesday, as Israeli strikes demolished entire neighbourhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and a power blackout was expected within hours, further deepening the misery of a war sparked by a deadly mass incursion of Hamas militants.

Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris. The bombardment raged on even though militants are holding an estimated 150 people dragged from Israel into Gaza — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.

Israel has vowed unprecedented retaliation against the Hamas militant group ruling the Palestinian territory after its fighters stormed through the border fence on Saturday and gunned down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.

AP

A bank account at British bank Barclays linked to fundraising for the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been frozen, Israeli police said.

The Israeli police said in a statement on Tuesday that its cyber unti worked with British police to freeze a Barclays bank account linked to Hamas.

The bank account’s details were published by Hamas “for the purpose of depositing donation funds”, the statement said.

A spokesperson for Barclays declined to comment on the freezing of the account, or confirm the accuracy of the detail in the police statement.

Israel has also frozen cryptocurrency accounts used to solicit donations for Hamas, the statement said.

Reuters

The leader of a prominent Iranian-backed militia in Iraq threatened Wednesday to attack American bases in retaliation if the United States intervenes in the latest war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

“Our missiles, drones, and special forces are ready to direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battle,” Ahmad “Abu Hussein” al-Hamidawi, head of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement. He also threatened to launch missiles at Israeli targets.

Al-Hamidawi called on Iraqis to demonstrate and collect donations in support of the Hamas military campaign.

AP

Jordan’s King Abdullah said on Wednesday no peace was possible in the Middle East without the emergence of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The escalating violence showed the region would not “enjoy stability, security or peace” without the emergence of a Palestinian state with sovereignty on land that Israel had captured in the 1967 Arab-Israel war.

A two-state solution was the only option, the monarch told deputies in a speech at the opening of a new parliamentary session.

Reuters

At least 169 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas after its militants launched a shock cross-border attack, the Army said on Wednesday.

“As of this morning, we’ve informed the families of 169 fallen IDF (Army) soldiers,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that the families of 60 people abducted and taken to Gaza have also been contacted.

He said no new infiltrations by Gaza militants had been reported over the past two days, but added that “hundreds of bodies” of slain gunmen had still not been cleared from the border.

“This shows the scope of fighting in the area,” Mr. Hagari said.

“They intended on conquering the territory, they weren’t planning on raiding and returning to Gaza,” he said.

“There are individuals who have remained in the field... Over the past day, we’ve killed 18 terrorists.”

AFP

Denmark will on Wednesday be ready to send a military plane to evacuate its citizens as well as holders of permanent residency in Denmark from Israel and occupied Palestinian territories following the attack by Hamas, the Danish foreign ministry said.

A C-130 Hercules cargo plane has been made available for the evacuation and could be ready for take-off from Denmark within hours, although it was yet unclear exactly when it would depart, a foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters.

Around 1,200 Danes are currently believed to be in Israel and another 90 in Palestinian territories, the ministry said in a statement.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees told the AP on Wednesday that nine of its staffers have been killed in airstrikes since the the start of the Israeli bombardment on Gaza on Saturday, with several killed late Tuesday.

“The protection of civilians is paramount, including in times of conflict,” said Juliette Touma, director of communications of the agency, known as UNRWA. “They should be protected in accordance with the laws of war.”

Ms. Touma said the strikes killed the U.N. staffers at their homes across the territory. She also said that 18 UNRWA schools-turned-shelters were damaged in the bombing, and that its headquarters in Gaza City was also damaged, without causing casualties.

Aircraft struck the Islamic University of Gaza on Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces said

According to Israel, the university was being used as a Hamas training camp for military intelligence operatives, as well as for the development and production of weapons. The IDF also says Hamas used university conferences to raise funds for terrorism, and that the university maintained close ties with the senior leadership of Hamas.

AP

Palestinian envoy to the U.N. Riyad Mansour wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday and said that the Israel has declared an all-out war on the Palestinian people, ratcheting up its long-running campaign of violence and State terror against the people it has been ruthlessly occupying and persecuting for decades.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN further wrote, “Israel’s war is being carried out indiscriminately and wantonly, in grave breach of international law, with the explicit purpose of inflicting enormous human loss, suffering and destruction, compounding its massive collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population it has held captive in Gaza under an inhumane 16-year blockade.”

The Palestinian envoy also mentioned the Israel’s Defence Minister’s statement in the letter, which said, “We are fighting human animals... We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no water, no fuel. Everything will be closed”.

ANI

Nepal will be sending flights from its flagship carrier -- Nepal Airlines -- on Wednesday evening to Israel to evacuate its citizens from Israel, who have been stranded since terrorist outfit Hamas launched ‘surprise attacks on Saturday.

As per the secretariat of Nepal’s Foreign Minister NP Saud, the Nepal Airlines aircraft will fly to Israel via Dubai to repatriate about 300 Nepali citizens, who have registered themselves online to return to the Himalayan nation.

On Wednesday morning, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, along with the Minister for Tourism, Sudan Kirati, convened a meeting at his official residence, directing the heads of the Civil Aviation Authority and Nepal Airlines to launch an immediate rescue mission for stranded Nepalese citizens in Israel.

As per the secretariat of the Nepal Foreign Minister, permissions have been already obtained from Israel. About 300 Nepalese citizens have already registered themselves to return from Israel.

ANI

One of the Israeli citizen Dima, whose house was destroyed in the Hamas attack on Israel expressed his pain and shared his experience of when the rocket struck his house.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Dima said, “While we were sleeping at night, a rocket was dropped and my house was completely destroyed and we suffered serious injuries.”.

He mentioned that his son was also injured in the attack and is being treated in the hospital.

Earlier, Yaacov, an Israeli national from Ashkelon, vividly recounted his upsetting experience, stating, “We came here because a rocket fell on our building... we have no shelter, we escaped thanks to local administration and they suggested that we should come here to this hotel, and this is a good place. My 11-year-old son, 2-year-old daughter, my wife and I are staying here.”

Egypt is moving to avert a mass exodus from the Gaza Strip into its Sinai Peninsula, as Israeli bombardment halted crossings at the main exit point from the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday, Gaza officials and Egyptian security sources said.

Israel’s assault on Gaza has caused alarm in Egypt, which has urged Israel to provide safe passage for civilians from the enclave rather than encouraging them to flee southwest towards Sinai, two Egyptian security sources said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday that the escalation in Gaza was “highly dangerous” and that Egypt was pursuing a negotiated solution to the violence with regional and international partners.

Egypt would not allow the issue to be settled at the expense of others, Mr. Sisi said in comments reported by state news agency MENA, an apparent reference to the risk that Palestinians could be pushed into Sinai.

Reuters

Hezbollah said it was responsible for firing precision missiles on Israel on Wednesday, saying it was in response to Israeli attacks this week that left three of its fighters dead.

The Israeli military had said it had been targeted with anti-tank fire on Wednesday and had begun attacking Lebanon in return.

Reuters

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will hold video talks Thursday with his NATO counterparts, after the surprise Hamas attack on his country, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

“Tomorrow, we will also be briefed by the Israeli defence minister Gallant on the situation in Israel,” Stoltenberg told journalists Wednesday at a two-day meeting of ministers in Brussels.

“Allies condemned the horrific terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in Israel over the weekend, and we are looking forward to the briefing from the defence minister.”

AFP

Pope Francis called on militant Islamist group Hamas to release all hostages captured during its weekend attack on Israel, while expressing grave concerns about the “total” Israeli siege imposed on Gaza.

“I pray for those families who saw a feast day turn into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be immediately released,” he said during his weekly audience.

Referring to Israel’s response to Hamas, Pope Francis said: “It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but I am very worried by the total siege in which Palestinians in Gaza live, where there have also been many innocent victims.”

Reuters

Germany’s DHL Group has no plans to withdraw from Israel, where it has almost 1,000 employees, despite the recent violence, Chief Executive Tobias Meyer said on Tuesday evening.

Despite what Meyer called a distressing situation, “we will continue to stay in Israel. That is absolutely clear,” he told journalists, adding that no employee had so far been harmed.

The Israeli arm of DHL mainly deals with express services as well as air and sea freight. DHL has no employees in the Gaza Strip.

Reuters

The Israeli military said one of its northern positions was attacked with anti-tank fire from Lebanon on Wednesday, but did not immediately provide details on any casualties or who might have been responsible.

The attack took place near the Israeli town of Arab al-Aramshe, opposite the Lebanese village of Dhayra, the statement said.

Residents of southern Lebanon said Israeli artillery was shelling the area.

Reuters

Gaza’s power authority says its sole power plant will fun out of fuel within hours, leaving the territory without electricity after Israel cut off supplies.

Israel said it would cut off all electricity to the territory after Hamas’ bloody rampage over the weekend.

All of Gaza’s crossings are closed, making it impossible to bring in fuel for the power plant or the generators on which residents and hospitals have long relied.

The power authority said Wednesday that the plant would shut down in the afternoon.

AP

The Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS), a government entity, said it was in touch with four woman migrants from the state, who are currently stranded in war-torn Israel.

APNRTS chief executive P. Hemalatha Rani said they are currently in a safe place in Kiryat Onu in the country, which is waging a war against Palestinian armed group Hamas.

“APNRTS’ 24/7 helpline is in continuous contact with the four women migrants from Andhra Pradesh, updating them with the latest information and instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Embassy of India. Shared with them the advisory released by EOI, Israel,” Rani told PTI on Tuesday.

PTI

China is seeking to work with Egypt to help ease the Israel-Hamas war that erupted after a deadly attack by the Palestinian militant group, its Middle East envoy has said as he urged a ceasefire.

Zhai Jun spoke by phone on Tuesday with Egypt’s assistant minister for the Palestinian territories, according to a readout of the conversation published by Beijing.

“China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with Egypt, push both parties of the conflict to cease fire and stop violence as soon as possible,” Mr. Zhai said.

He also urged “the international community to form a joint force and provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people”.

AFP

The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant and only current provider of electricity will run out of fuel in 10 to 12 hours, Palestinian Energy Authority Chairman Thafer Melhem told Voice of Palestine radio on Wednesday.

Israel cut off its own electricity supply to Gaza on Monday as part of what it called a “total siege” in response to a mass-infiltration by Palestinian gunmen.

Reuters

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal calls for protests across the Arab world on Friday in support of Palestinians, in recorded statement.

Reuters

Israeli troops have killed at least 1,000 Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated from Gaza in incursions that began at the weekend, and have reinforced all communities in Israel as hostilities spread to other fronts, the military said on Wednesday.

In quotes carried by Israel Hayom newspaper online, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said that among Hamas targets destroyed in a Gaza counter-offensive was an advanced system for tracking aircraft.

Reuters

Thailand said it received reports that three more of its nationals had been taken hostage in the ongoing violence in Gaza, bringing the total abducted to 14, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday,

It said 20 of its citizens were killed and 13 injured in the conflict.

Reuters

Collapsed buildings, mangled infrastructure, streets turned into fields of rubble.

Scenes of violence and destruction in the long-blockaded Gaza Strip have filled the world’s airwaves throughout four wars and countless rounds of hostilities between Israel and Hamas militants. But this conflict, Palestinians say, is different.

On Tuesday, following a night of intense bombardment, residents were struggling to grasp the sheer scale of damage inflicted on Gaza City’s upscale Rimal neighborhood, with its shopping malls, restaurants, residential buildings and offices belonging to aid groups and international media far from the territory’s hard-hit border towns and impoverished refugee camps.

AP

“We have decided to put an end to all of the occupation’s crimes. The time is over for them [Israel] to [continue to] act without accountability,” said Mohammad Deif, the secretive commander of al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, on October 7. His audio statement was telecast on TV after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack that caught Israel by surprise. “Thus, we announce the ‘al-Aqsa Flood’ operation, and in the first strike within 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets were launched,” he said. The rest is history. Hamas carried out its largest attack on Israel from Gaza, killing at least 900 people and leaving the bloodiest blow to Israel in decades. In response, Israel has declared war on the outfit, killed over 500 Gazans in air strike and is preparing for a major ground offensive. The Palestine issue is back to the fore of the West Asian cauldron.

Read more here.

The Canadian Airline, Air Canada grounded a pilot to a Montreal-based B787 for wearing pro-Palestinian colours while in Uniform, The Toronto Sun reported on Tuesday.

As per the Toronto Sun, the action qas taken after concerns about the social media posts allegedly containing profane commentary about Israel from the pilot.

“The pilot was taken out of service as of yesterday,” reported The Toronto Sun quoting Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick

ANI

Continuing its air assault on Hamas in the wake of the multi-pronged terror attacks, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it struck over 200 targets of the terrorist group in the Al Furkan neighbourhood of the besieged Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

As part of the ongoing counter-offensive against Hamas on Wednesday morning, the security forces also bombed the house of the father of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing believed to be the key plotter of the terror attacks, The Times of Israel reported.

In what was its third aerial assault in the area, Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in the neighbourhood, the IDF posted on social media platform X.

ANI

The Israel Defence Forces tweeted: Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck over 200 targets in the Al-Furqan neighborhood—a terrorist hotspot from which Hamas devises and executes their attacks. This is the 3rd counterstrike in the area during the last 24 hours, in which 450 targets were struck.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer on Tuesday, two days before Mr. Blinken arrives in Israel for a visit, the State Department said.

Mr. Blinken “reaffirmed unequivocal U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself” following attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the department said in a statement.

Reuters

The first plane carrying US armaments landed in southern Israel on Tuesday evening, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.

“The first plane carrying US armaments has since arrived at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel this evening,” posted IDF on X.

However, the IDF did not reveal the kinds of weapons or military equipment it received.

ANI

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a phone call on Tuesday, discussed U.S. military support for Israel following attacks by Hamas gunmen and agreed to speak again in the next few days, the White House said.

Reuters

Argentina, the Latin American country with the biggest Jewish population, on Tuesday started evacuating more than 1,200 of its citizens from Israel as fighting raged following a horror attack by militant group Hamas.

Three air force flights a day will take the 1,246 Argentines who have asked to be evacuated to Rome, Italy, defense minister Jorge Taiana said.

AFP