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The Israeli military continues to deploy new troops to the Gaza border for the "next phase of operations," which will be an attack on the Strip by "land, sea and air." "Our responsibility now is to enter Gaza, to go to the places where Hamas is preparing, acting, planning and launching," Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said on Sunday. Meanwhile, the ultimatums given by Israel to evacuate the north of the Palestinian enclave have caused a "massive displacement" of the population to the south, according to the UN, which estimates that more than one million people have been displaced since October 7. Israel has been asking Gaza's 1.1 million residents to flee to the south since Friday. More than 2,670 people have been killed by the bombardment of Gaza, which continued early this morning, and at least 9,600 have been injured. In Israel, 1,400 people have been killed by Hamas attacks. U.S. President Joe Biden has warned the Jewish state that a new occupation of the Strip would be "a big mistake," although he has defended entry into the Palestinian enclave to eliminate Hamas militants. Biden's remarks, made in a CBS interview, represent his first public attempt to contain Israel's retaliation against Gaza, after a week of staunch support for Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
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EFE
Tokyo Stock Exchange Falls 1.7% at Open on Middle East Conflict
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's main index, the Nikkei, was down around 1.7% at the opening of Monday's session, amid concerns about the global economy following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and the weakness of technology companies in the United States late last week. After the first hour of trading, the Nikkei, which groups the 225 most representative stocks in the market, accumulated a decrease of 1.7% or 548.41, and moved at 31,767.58 whole shares. The Topix, which includes the largest capitalization firms in the main section, was down 1.19%, or 27.40 points, at 2,281.35.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 05:56
EFE
Chinese Foreign Minister Talks to Iranian and Turkish Counterparts to "Avoid a Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza"
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with his counterparts from Iran and Turkey in recent hours to address the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, in which the priority is to "de-escalate the situation to avoid a serious humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza". The talks are in addition to the round of calls that the head of Chinese diplomacy has held in recent days with representatives of the parties involved, the countries of the region and the United States. "The priority right now is to de-escalate the situation to avoid a serious humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the death of more innocent civilians before it further jeopardizes the Middle East peace process," Wang said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
In his call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Chinese diplomat said the right to self-defense must abide by international humanitarian law and that responding to violence with more violence will only cause more damage and bring "more serious" crises. Wang conveyed to his Iranian counterpart China's support for Islamic countries in strengthening their unity so that they "speak with one voice on the Palestinian issue." He also considered that the root cause of the current situation is that the right of the Palestinian people to have a State, their right to exist and their right of return have been postponed and ignored "for too long".
China "will continue to stand on the side of peace and justice and support the just cause of the Palestinian people in safeguarding their national rights," he added, while reiterating his advocacy of the two-state solution. The Chinese diplomat expressed himself in similar terms during his call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Meanwhile, the head of Iranian diplomacy told Wang that his country hopes to resolve the crisis through political means and is willing to strengthen communication with China. For his part, the Turkish Foreign Minister underlined Turkey's view that it is necessary to put an end to civilian casualties and the displacement of people.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 05:57
EFE
Venezuela to send more than 30 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip
Venezuela will send, in the "coming days", more than 30 tons of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which will initiate a "plan of direct and constant support to the Palestinian people, through the established humanitarian channels," the government of the Caribbean country announced on Sunday. Through a statement, released by Foreign Minister Yván Gil on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the Executive reported a telephone contact this Sunday between President Nicolás Maduro and the leader of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, to whom the head of state notified the prompt shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
During the conversation, Maduro lamented the "terrible situation" following the "indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population by Israel," and reaffirmed Venezuela's "unconditional support" for Palestine and the PNA. On Monday, the president demanded a "ceasefire" in Gaza and the beginning of "immediate peace negotiations to restore the historic rights to independence, to territory, to peace of the Palestinian people." Gil, who on Thursday called for an end to the "siege against the people of Gaza," said that day that the government is coordinating humanitarian logistical support for Palestine.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 04:31
EFE
U.S. and Israel prepare for possible Biden visit, according to CNN and Axios
The United States and Israel are making the necessary preparations for a possible visit by US President Joe Biden to Israeli territory, CNN and Axios reported on Sunday. According to Axios, which cites U.S. and Israeli officials, Biden's visit could take place by the end of next week. Asked by EFE, Adrienne Watson, the spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, in charge of foreign policy, said: "We have no new trips to announce."
A visit by Biden would be a significant show of support for Israel, the main U.S. ally in the Middle East, and would come just after Secretary of State Antony Blinken's tour of the region, who will meet Monday in Israel with the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Saturday, in what was the fifth phone call between the two since the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, to which Israel responded by declaring a state of war and bombing the Gaza Strip.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 04:03
EFEReuters
Biden warns Israel that reoccupying the Gaza Strip would be a "big mistake"
U.S. President Joe Biden has warned Israel that reoccupying the Gaza Strip would be a "big mistake," although he has defended the Jewish state's right to enter the Palestinian enclave to eliminate fighters from the Islamist group Hamas. Biden's remarks, made in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS, represent his first public attempt to try to contain the retaliation Israel has taken against the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
Biden had so far reaffirmed his unwavering support for Israel and avoided criticizing the Jewish state over the blockade imposed on Gaza, which has prevented the entry of water, food and medicine since the Hamas attack, despite UN warnings about the possibility of a humanitarian crisis. In the interview, however, the president expressed misgivings about a full-scale occupation of the Gaza Strip. "What happened in Gaza, in my opinion, is that Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas do not represent the entire Palestinian people. And I think it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again," he said. However, Biden considered that it is necessary to "eliminate the extremists" hiding among the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Biden also stated that he is "confident" that Israel will act under international law, despite the heavy criticism that the Israeli army's bombardment of Gaza is receiving. The US president has also assured that the intervention of his troops in the war is not necessary, since Israel has "one of the best armed forces", but that the United States can "attend" to the war in Israel and Ukraine and at the same time maintain its "international defence", according to statements collected by Reuters.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 02:55
EFE
Israel says it has killed another Hamas commander in a bombing
The Israeli army reported that it continues its "large-scale" bombardment of the Gaza Strip and that in the last 24 hours it has attacked more than 250 targets of the Islamist movement Hamas, killing another commander of the organization. The commander of the Southern District's National Security, Muetaz Eid, was killed today in one of those attacks, carried out thanks to "accurate intelligence information," a joint statement from the security forces and the security agency or Shin Bet said. The targets attacked by Israel "include Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad military barracks, observation posts and several rocket launch sites," the statement said.
Israel claimed this morning to have also killed Bilal al-Kedra, a commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, who allegedly led an attack on a kibbutz on Saturday last week, when the brutal attack that has left 1,400 dead in Israel, the worst massacre in its history, was carried out. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli bombardments have killed 2,670 Palestinians in nine days of war, the highest number in the history of the enclave — which already has more deaths than in the 2014 conflict that lasted 55 days — and the wounded total 9,600.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 02:28
EFEReuters
Man Kills Six-Year-Old Muslim Boy in Chicago in Retaliation for "Hamas-Israeli Conflict"
A man stabbed a six-year-old Muslim boy to death with 26 stab wounds and seriously wounded his mother in Chicago on Saturday. "Detectives were able to determine that the two victims were brutally targeted by the suspect for being Muslim due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East involving Hamas and the Israelis," the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The child was taken to a hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries. The mother suffered more than a dozen stab wounds to her body and is recovering in hospital. The perpetrator of the attack, identified by authorities as Joseph M. Czuba, refused to provide information to detectives about the motive for his actions. However, the sheriff's office has concluded that he targeted the victims because of their Muslim religion and because of the war being waged between Israel and Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip, particularly the Islamist group Hamas. The perpetrator of the attack was the owner of the home where the family lived renting, the sheriff's office said. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which defends the rights of Muslims in the U.S., condemned the attack and called it their "worst nightmare."
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 01:43
Reuters
Gaza hospitals' fuel reserves will be depleted within 24 hours, UN says
The fuel reserves of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip will be exhausted in about 24 hours, according to forecasts by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, announced in the early hours of Monday morning (Sunday afternoon in America). "The blackout of standby generators will endanger the lives of thousands of patients," the UN added. Gaza's hospitals have collapsed after a week of Israeli bombardment of the strip, which has left more than 9,600 wounded to treat and 2,670 killed, according to the enclave's health ministry.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 01:06
Reuters
Palestinian Authority President Says Hamas Does Not Represent Palestinian People
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that the actions of the Islamist group Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people, according to WAFA, the PA news agency. In a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Abbas called the Palestine Liberation Organization, the coalition he chairs and governs the West Bank, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. "The president has affirmed his rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides and has called for the release of civilians, prisoners and detainees on both sides," the news agency added, in statements reported by Reuters.
ACT.16 OCT 2023 - 00:29
El País
War between Israel and Gaza
Israel suspends the export of security equipment to Colombia, which contemplates breaking bilateral relations
Santiago Triana Sanchez
The State of Israel announced on Sunday the suspension of exports of security equipment to Colombia, following the comments issued by President Gustavo Petro after the armed incursion of the Palestinian militia Hamas into Israeli territory on October 7, in which nearly 1,300 people died, according to Israel. In a statement, Israel's ambassador to Colombia, Gali Dagan, announced the decision, and indicated that his Colombian counterpart, Margarita Manjarrez, has been summoned by the deputy director general for Latin America at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Jonathan Peled, for a "reprimand conversation."
You can read the full information here
ACT.15 OCT 2023 - 23:53
EFE
Guterres calls on Hamas to release hostages and Israel to allow aid into Gaza
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday sent a strong message to both Hamas and Israel for the former to release the hostages they have held hostage and for the latter to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip. "Each of these goals is valid on its own. They should not become bargaining chips and should be implemented because that is the right thing to do," Guterres said in a statement.
The Portuguese politician has been one of the most prominent voices in calling on Israel to open the Gaza Strip to allow the passage of humanitarian aid. The enclave, home to more than two million people, has been completely blockaded since 7 October, subjected to constant bombardment by Israeli forces and on tenterhooks for the possibility of a ground invasion.
In his message, Guterres recalled that the United Nations has food, medicine and fuel available in Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the West Bank, and that it can bring them to the Gaza Strip in a matter of hours if the passage of its equipment is assured. Meanwhile, the U.S. is working with Canada and other countries to get Egypt, which controls the only border crossing not under Israeli rule, to allow hundreds of foreigners and Palestinians with passports from other countries, including U.S. and European citizens, to leave.
ACT.15 OCT 2023 - 23:36
El País
War between Israel and Gaza
EU warns Israel to protect civilians in Gaza after criticism of von der Leyen
María R. Sahuquillo
The European Union on Sunday warned Israel that it must respect international humanitarian law. As the crisis in the Gaza Strip, besieged and bombed by Israel in response to Hamas attacks, deepens, the heads of state and government of the 27 countries issued a statement saying that Israel has the right to defend itself, but that it must do so in accordance with international law. And he adds that it must "protect" civilians. The statement comes after days of mixed messages and ahead of Tuesday's emergency videoconference summit at which leaders will determine next steps. The EU is issuing this message as the Israeli army appears to be finalising preparations for a ground incursion into the Strip. The situation is so dire that the leaders have decided not to wait for the summit, according to EU sources.
You can read the full information here
ACT.15 OCT 2023 - 22:40
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