Gaza being ‘pushed into abyss’, UN says, as Israel prepares ground offensive
Summary
- Israeli troops continue to mass near Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive – but it has given no indication of when it might mount an attack
- Israel has warned 1.1m Palestinians living in north Gaza to evacuate south, and thousands have been fleeing by vehicle or on foot
- A hospital in southern Gaza says it has also been told to evacuate by Israel – but its doctors are refusing to do so
- Israel has turned water pipes into southern Gaza back on, having restricted supplies as part of its blockade
- The UN’s aid agency told the BBC that Gaza is “being pushed into an abyss”
- The US has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region to “deter hostile actions against Israel”. Meanwhile, Iran has warned of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel continues attacking
- More than 1,300 people were killed in Israel last weekend when Hamas fighters crossed the border to attack civilians and soldiers
- More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israel’s bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip launched in the aftermath, Palestinian authorities say
More than 50 Palestinians killed in West Bank since Hamas attack
Fifty-six Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Hamas attack last Saturday in clashes with Israeli troops and attacks by Jewish settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli-occupied territory has seen a significant rise in tension since Israel began heavy air strikes on the Gaza Strip last week, with protests held cities including Ramallah, Tulkarem, Nablus and Hebron.
Video footage published by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem appeared to show one Palestinian man in the village of At-Tuwani being shot at point blank range by an Israeli settler, as an Israeli soldier looked on.
Egypt moves troops to Gaza border amid fears of expulsion of Palestinians
Cairo says any move by Israel to push refugees over frontier would breach international law and be a security risk for the country
Egypt is stepping up its military presence at its Rafah border crossing with Gaza, with fears that Israel intends to push hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees over the frontier into the Sinai desert.
Cairo has said the expulsion of so many Palestinians from their homes would be in breach of international law, and a national security risk for Egypt that is liable to bankrupt the country’s ailing economy. Palestinians themselves, and other Arab states, fear refugees would never be allowed back to their homes.
Israeli diplomats deny their goal is to expel Palestinians from Gaza as they fight Hamas, although the defence minister, Yoav Gallant has said the plan is to “eliminate everything”. Another minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has said Gaza “must be smaller at the end of the war
Europe’s Broken Asylum SystemConditions for Migrants in Tunisia Further Deteriorate
The EU is trying to outsource its migration problems and has entered into a partnership with Tunisia. But the situation there has grown dire, particularly for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Now, even the Tunisians themselves want to get out.
A black SUV with no license plates and no lights speeds down the main road, passing other cars in the dark, despite oncoming traffic. The other vehicles have no choice but to get out of the way as best they can. Everyone here in El Amra knows what’s going on: The migrant smugglers are on the move. They pick up their customers from the olive orchards, loading them up as quickly as they can before taking them to the seaside. There, makeshift boats welded together out of thin sheets of metal are bobbing in the water, each set to be packed with around 50 people and take them to a brighter future. Or to their deaths.
The migrants are hoping to make it to Lampedusa, where the number of arrivals has risen dramatically in recent weeks, resulting in overflowing reception camps.
Horror of Hamas attacks ‘doesn’t mean Israel is entitled to commit a war crime’
Israel is under mounting international pressure to spare civilians in Gaza, with legal experts and human rights groups warning that Israeli forces are already committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, where water ran out at overcrowded UN shelters on Sunday. “Legally speaking, Israel is under the obligation, under international humanitarian law, to spare civilian life,” said Johann Soufi, a former international prosecutor who has lived in Gaza, speaking to FRANCE 24. “Regardless of what has sparked the escalation, there is a legal duty by Israel to respect international humanitarian law,” Soufi added. “It is not because there was a war crime that you are entitled to commit a war crime.”
Sahel: Military regimes under pressure to succeed
The military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger continue to struggle with terrorism, and the goodwill some of them have enjoyed is beginning to erode. With pressure rising, coup leaders are turning to repression.
Life in Bamako, the capital of Mali, went on as usual this Friday. That is, except for the increased military presence on the Avenue de l’Indépendance amid the palpable relief that things didn’t turn out as some had feared.
The CMAS (Coordination of Movements, Associations and Sympathizers), the organization under influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, had called for a “peaceful protest march” that was opposed by another group close to the country’s military government — a perfect scenario for clashes.
Dicko disapproves of the government delay in elections announced for next February. “Those in charge decided to postpone the elections slightly. This is a de facto extension of the transition period” with no new timetable, said Youssouf Daba Diawara, coordinator of the CMAS, ahead of the planned protests. “We would like to see a civil transition organized.”
Why is Japan seeking the dissolution of the controversial Unification Church?
Japan’s government on Friday asked a court to order the dissolution of the Unification Church branch in Japan following the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
Japan’s government on Friday asked a court to order the dissolution of the Unification Church branch in Japan following the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
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