Saturday, December 2, 2023
15:25 - EU chief urges Israel to respect laws of war
The EU's foreign policy chief on Saturday expressed "regret" over the resumption of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, emphasizing Tel Aviv's obligation to respect international humanitarian law and the laws of war, which he described as "not only a moral obligation but also a legal one."
"The way Israel exercises its right to self-defence matters. It's imperative that Israel respects International Humanitarian Law and the laws of war," Josep Borrell wrote on X.
His remarks came after the Israeli army resumed attacks on Gaza after declaring the end of a week-long humanitarian pause on Friday morning
14:30 GMT - Israeli attacks could force one million refugees towards Egypt: UN
The head of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) has warned that Israel's attacks on the southern Gaza Strip could push 1 million Palestinian refugees towards the Egyptian border, the agency said Saturday on X.
"If there is fighting there is indeed a higher likelihood that they might wish to flee further south and beyond the b order," UNRWA quoted its Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini as saying in an interview by British daily The Guardian.
"We have 1 million people, 1 million people in UN installations, including 100,000 in the north," Lazzarini also told The Guardian.
13:05 GMT —
Israel said it was pulling its Mossad negotiators out of Qatar, which is mediating efforts to secure a renewed pause in Israel's bombardment of the besieged enclave, after a deadlock in the talks.
"Following the impasse in the negotiations and at the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, David Barnea, head of the Mossad, ordered his team in Doha to return to Israel," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
12:16 GMT — Fatalities surpassed 15,200 : health authorities
The Health Ministry in Gaza has said the death toll has surpassed 15,200 and that 70 percent of those killed were women and children.
The figure was announced on Saturday by ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al Qidra, who did provide further details.
More than 40,000 people have been wounded, Al Qidra said.
12:09 GMT — More than 100 Palestinians were killed and many more injured in an Israeli missile attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, with many still missing under the rubble of a collapsed residential building, Palestinian media has reported.
"More than 100 Palestinians were killed on Saturday in a new massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in the Jabalia refugee camp in central Gaza," the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
“A missile strike targeted a residential building belonging to the Obaid family in Jabalia camp,” the news agency said, adding that “dozens were injured, and many others are still missing under the rubble.”
11:27 GMT — Palestinian teenager shot by Israeli army last month dies in West Bank hospital
A Palestinian teenager who received serious bullet wounds from the Israeli army last month has died of his wounds after being admitted to a hospital in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, for 23 days.
"Sharif Al Shaer, 16, died as a result of being shot by occupation bullets in Jenin,” Palestine TV announced.
A medical source at Al Razi Hospital in Jenin told Anadolu that “Shaer was admitted on Nov. 9 with serious injuries.”
“Shaer, 16, from the Al Jalama area, northeast of Jenin, succumbed to his wounds on Saturday after being shot in the thigh and high abdomen by Israeli forces,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa also reported
11:19 GMT — Mossad team visits Qatar to explore new truce parametres
In a diplomatic effort spearheaded by Qatar, Mossad engaged in talks in Doha on Saturday with a focus on the prospective release of new categories of Israeli hostages.
A source briefed on the visit revealed that the discussions aimed at exploring innovative approaches to resolving hostage-related issues and potentially broadening the scope of individuals eligible for release.
The Qatar-mediated dialogue brought together representatives to address pressing concerns regarding the delicate matter of hostages, seeking to pave the way for constructive solutions.
1056 GMT — First aid trucks enter Gaza since truce collapse
The first aid trucks since the collapse of the Gaza truce have entered through the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, on their way to Awja crossing for inspection before continuing the journey to Gaza, Egyptian security, and Red Crescent sources have told Reuters.
Two fuel trucks and 50 aid trucks went through the Egyptian side heading to Awja for inspection, the sources added.
08:49 GMT - Israel kills at least 240 Palestinians
Hamas has said that 240 people have been killed in Palestine's Gaza since the pause in the fighting expired on Friday.
Another 650 people had been injured in "hundreds of air strikes, artillery and navy bombardments, everywhere in the Gaza Strip", it said in a statement, adding that Israeli forces had "particularly targeted Khan Younis, where dozens of houses were destroyed with their inhabitants inside".
08:00 GMT - Israeli strikes kill two pro-Hezbollah fighters in Syria: monitor
Israeli air strikes killed two Syrian pro-Hezbollah fighters when they hit sites belonging to the Iran-backed group near Damascus, a war monitor has said.
"Two Syrian fighters working for Hezbollah were killed and seven other fighters working for the group were wounded in Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah sites near Sayyida Zeinab," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
07:10 GMT - Belgian PM: It is unfortunate that violence in Gaza started again
Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has said that it is unfortunate that violence in Gaza has started again.
"It's unfortunate that the violence has started again. We hope that as soon as possible, more hostages can be liberated. We hope that the humanitarian access could be a permanent humanitarian access," he told reporters at the COP28 Summit in Dubai.
07:06 GMT - More than 400 targets attacked in Gaza since truce end: Israel army
The Israeli military has said it had attacked more than 400 "terrorist targets" in Gaza since a pause in the fighting with Hamas ended the day before.
Air, naval and ground forces were involved, it said, adding that fighter jets hit "more than 50 targets in an extensive attack in the Khan Younis area" in the south of the territory.
06:28 GMT - Gaza death toll rises as Israel bombs in post-truce talks
In a grim turn of events, the death toll in Gaza soared as renewed fighting entered its second day on Saturday.
Talks aimed at extending a week-old truce with Hamas crumbled, further intensifying the conflict. Mediators lamented that Israeli bombardments were hindering efforts to re-establish a ceasefire.
Israel's ground, air, and naval forces, claimed to have struck over 200 "terror targets" in Gaza.
05:00 GMT - Israel continues bombardment of Gaza
Renewed bombardment of Gaza stretched into a second day on Saturday after talks to extend a week-old truce with Hamas collapsed and mediators said Israeli bombardments were complicating attempts to again pause hostilities.
Eastern areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza came under intense bombardment, with columns of smoke rising into the sky, Reuters journalists in the city said.
Gaza health officials said Israeli air strikes had killed 184 people, wounded at least 589 others and hit more than 20 houses.
Residents took to the road with belongings heaped up in carts, searching for shelter further west.
04:00 GMT - Israel informs Arab states it wants buffer zone in post-war Gaza
Israel has informed several Arab states that it wants to carve out a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of Gaza's fence as part of proposals for the enclave after war ends, Egyptian and regional sources said.
According to three regional sources, Israel related its plans to its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020.
They also said that Saudi Arabia, which does not have ties with Israel and which halted a US-mediated normalisation process after the Gaza war flared on October 7, had been informed. The sources did not say how the information reached Riyadh, which officially does not have direct communication channels with Israel.
02:31 GMT - Gaza’s civilian population cannot be allowed to suffer further: Irish foreign minister
Ireland's foreign minister reiterated his call for a "durable humanitarian ceasefire" and full respect for international humanitarian law.
Micheal Martin said resuming fighting is a "disappointment,” as he condemned Hamas’ actions and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
"The pause in the conflict in recent days was highly valuable," he said in a statement.
Noting that dozens of hostages have been released during the humanitarian pause, Martin said it also brought "a significant improvement" in access to vital humanitarian aid.
"It is important to stress the catastrophic impact Israel’s military action is having on children and the most vulnerable civilians in Gaza," said Martin.
He stressed that Gaza’s civilian population "cannot be allowed to suffer further."
For our live updates from Friday (December 1), click here.
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