Monday, October 9, 2023
15:20 GMT – EU suspends development aid to Palestine
The European Commission has announced that it will suspend development aid to Palestine after the recent developments in Israel.
EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Oliver Varhelyi said on X that the EU executive body, “the biggest donor of the Palestinians,” puts on hold its “full development portfolio” of €691 million ($729 million).“
The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point,” Varhelyi asserted.
11:47 GMT: EU to hold emergency meeting over conflict
EU foreign ministers will on Tuesday hold urgent talks on the situation in Israel and Gaza, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
"I am convening tomorrow an emergency meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to address the situation in Israel and in the region," Borrell wrote in a social media post Monday.
A spokesman for Borrell in Brussels, Peter Stano, said the EU talks would be held in a hybrid video and in-person format.
11: 37 GMT - Conflict may spill to other countries: Spain warns
Spain’s acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has warned there is a risk of the Israel-Palestine conflict spilling over to other countries.
“The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel is very worrying,” Albares said in an interview with state broadcaster RTVE, referring to the rocket and artillery strikes between the Hezbollah and Israeli forces on Saturday.
Albares said he has spoken to his counterparts in Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, and they all agree on the importance of containing the conflict and ending the escalation of violence.
11:02 GMT - 'Israel deliberately bombs hospitals, ambulances'
Palestine’s Health Minister, Mai al-Kaila, has appealed to the international community to take urgent action to curb Israel’s attack on hospitals and ambulance crews in Gaza.
‘’Israel deliberately bombs hospitals and ambulances and kills and injures medical crews. This is a major and clear violation of all international laws and norms,’’ she wrote on the Ministry’s Facebook page.
10:31 GMT - Third party may enter Israel-Hamas conflict: Russia
The Kremlin says there was a "high risk" of a third party entering the conflict between Israel and Hamas after the US said it was moving warships closer to the country.
"The risk of third forces becoming involved in this conflict is high. It is very important to find ways as soon as possible to move towards some kind of negotiation process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency on Monday.
10:18 GMT: International airlines suspend flights to Israel
Several international air carriers have suspended or reined in flight services to or from Tel Aviv after a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve.
Israel's civil aviation authority asked airlines to "review current security and threat information" amid the conflict and change some air traffic routes. It noted that delays were expected and advised airlines to carry extra fuel.
On Sunday, U.S. air carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines suspended direct flights following the FAA's cautionary advisories.
09:56 GMT: 12 citizens killed in Israel-Gaza violence: Thai government
Twelve Thais have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the kingdom's government said on Monday as it prepared a plan to evacuate its citizens.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke said the Thai embassy in Israel learned of the deaths from the victims' employers.
09:42 GMT: Pro-Palestine demonstration held in Bangladesh
A rally by Bangladesh’s major religio-political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, on Monday condemned the Israeli attacks on Gaza and urged the Muslim world to ensure the safety of Palestinians and their rights.
The party brought out the procession in the capital, Dhaka, where the party leaders condemned Israel for suspending power and water supply to Gaza.
The rally participants also criticised the UN for its silence on the rights of Palestinians, not taking measures, and not recognising the 75-year-old Palestinians' struggle for building a peaceful sovereign state.
09: 36 GMT: Israel's defence minister orders 'complete siege' of Gaza
Israel's defence minister has ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food, water and fuel.
Israel and Egypt have imposed various levels of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
09:26 GMT: Israel-bound cruise ships diverted to Cyprus
Cruise ships heading to Israel have been diverted to Cyprus, while additional flights were arranged on Monday to repatriate Israelis or assist people wanting to leave Israel, aviation and shipping officials said.
A cruise ship docked at Limassol port on Sunday, while a second on Monday, Port Manager Panayiotis Agathocleous told Cyprus's Ant1 TV station. A third was expected during the week, he said.
09:00 GMT - Israel deploys special forces
Israel deploys special forces says it has brought in special forces to try to wrest control of four sites from Hamas fighters in response to the group's attack.
Israel formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for the surprise attack a day earlier.
The Israeli military has tried to crush Hamas fighters still in southern towns and intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
07:48 GMT — Hamas pushes to 'liberate' prisoners
Hamas wants to “liberate all Palestinian prisoners” from Israel and end Israeli provocations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al Aqsa Mosque, a spokesman for the group has said.
Abdel Latif al Qanoua told The Associated Press news agency over the phone that the resistance group were still fighting Israeli forces and had captured more Israelis on Monday morning.
“We are in an open battle to defend our people and the Al Aqsa Mosque,” he said. “This battle is linked to the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of this fascist government’s activities in Jerusalem.”
05:29 GMT — Israeli army still battling Hamas
Fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters is ongoing in seven to eight locations around Gaza, the army said.
"We're still fighting. There are between seven to eight open places around Gaza (where) we have still warriors fighting terrorists," military spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters, two days after the Palestinian group launched a surprise attack on Israel towns near Gaza.
"We thought by yesterday we would have full control. I hope we will by the end of the day."
04:16 GMT — US senator Schumer says 'very disappointed' with China statement on Israel
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told China's top diplomat he was "very disappointed" by a recent statement by Beijing on the dramatic escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, according to agency pool video.
"I was very disappointed, to be honest, by the foreign ministry's statement that showed no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times," Schumer told Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting in Beijing.
04:12 GMT — New York City sees pro-Palestine, pro-Israel rallies amid escalating tensions
Demonstrators gathered in New York City to express their support for Palestine as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters continue. They conveyed messages of solidarity for Palestine, waving flags and displaying banners.
Pro-Palestinian supporters held a rally in Times Square and marched through Midtown Manhattan while pro-Israeli supporters congregated near the Israeli consulate in Manhattan.
On the opposite side of the protest area, a group of pro-Israel demonstrators gathered, holding Israeli flags. Verbal exchanges and taunts occurred sporadically between the two groups.
02:07 GMT — Over 123,000 displaced in Gaza amid Israel, Hamas conflict — UN
The United Nations says the number of displaced Gaza residents has risen to more than 123,000 as a result of the fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas following the group’s unprecedented attack on Israel.
As of late Sunday, retaliatory Israeli airstrikes had destroyed 159 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 1,210 others, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit.
02:01 GMT — Palestine: International support for Israel encourages more crimes
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Sunday that the international support behind Israel encourages it to commit more crimes.
In a statement, the Palestinian Prime Ministry Press Office said that Shtayyeh held a phone call with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about the latest developments in Palestine and Israel.
Shtayyeh said that “all responsibility” for what is happening belongs to Israel, which has created an “atmosphere of hatred, violence and incitement and violated international law.”
01:04 GMT — At least six Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in West Bank
At least six Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in several cities in the occupied West Bank.
In a series of statements, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that one person was killed in Jericho, three in Qalandia in northern Jerusalem and one each in Al-Khalil and Nablus by gunfire from occupation forces.
The ministry said the bodies of the three youths from Qalandia had been transferred to the medical centre in Ramallah.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli forces had opened fire with live ammunition on the three youths in a clash at a military checkpoint.
