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Death toll climbs in Israel-Gaza conflict as France proposes ceasefire

Published

3 years ago

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Heavy air strikes and rocket fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict claimed more lives on both sides Tuesday as calls intensified for an end to the bloodshed.

A UN Security Council meeting broke up without issuing a statement, but France then said it had proposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire, in coordination with Israel’s neighbours Egypt and Jordan.

Zhang Jun, Beijing’s ambassador to the UN, told reporters his team had heard the French ceasefire proposal and China was “supportive”.

Sporadic bombardment of Gaza city continued after midnight, with residents kept awake as Israeli jets flew low overhead, an AFP correspondent in the besieged coastal strip said.

Randa Abu Sultan, 45, said her family no longer knew what sleep was.

“We’re all terrified by the sound of explosions, missiles and fighter jets,” said the mother of seven.

“We all sit together in a single room. My four-year-old son tells me he’s scared that if he falls asleep he’ll wake up to find us dead.”

Earlier in the evening, an AFP photographer saw streaks of light in the sky as Israel’s air defence system intercepted rockets launched from Gaza.

Israeli forces and protesters meanwhile clashed at multiple flashpoints across the occupied West Bank and in east Jerusalem, hospitalising scores, as Palestinians rallied in solidarity with their besieged Gazan counterparts.

Dozens were treated for wounds caused by live bullets, medics said.

Israeli air strikes have killed 217 Palestinians, including 63 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people in just over a week in the Hamas-run enclave, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The death toll on the Israeli side has risen to 12 after rockets Hamas fired at the southern Eshkol region killed two Thai nationals working in a factory, police said.

Hamas has launched nearly 3,700 rockets at Israel since May 10, often forcing people living by Gaza into bomb shelters around the clock.

Israel’s near-relentless bombing campaign in response has sent fireballs, debris and black smoke into the sky, leaving two million Palestinians in Gaza desperate for reprieve.

The humanitarian crisis has deepened in the impoverished strip, with the UN saying 72,000 Palestinians have been displaced.

But a convoy of international aid trucks that started rolling into Gaza through a border crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, was halted when Israel quickly shuttered it again, citing a mortar attack on the area.

Crisis diplomacy

Tuesday’s UN Security Council session, the fourth since the conflict escalated, was called after the United States, a key Israel ally, had once again blocked adoption of a joint statement calling for a halt to the violence the previous day.

“We do not judge that a public pronouncement right now will help de-escalate,” US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during Tuesday’s closed-door meeting, according to a diplomat.

France and Egypt have been pushing for a ceasefire deal, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday backed the manifold calls for one.

He also urged Israel’s military to act in a “proportionate” manner.

Israel says fighter jets have hit Hamas’s underground tunnels, which it has previously acknowledged run in part through civilian areas.

A strike Monday knocked out Gaza’s only Covid-19 testing laboratory, the health ministry said, and the Qatari Red Crescent said a strike damaged one of its offices.

Hospitals in the territory, which has been under Israeli blockade for almost 15 years, have been overwhelmed by patients and there are frequent blackouts.

Speaking at an air force base in Israel’s south, Netanyahu said Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second biggest armed group in Gaza, had “received blows they didn’t expect”.

“We’ll continue as long as necessary to bring… quiet back to the citizens of Israel,” he added.

‘Day of anger’

Palestinians across the West Bank and in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem mobilised Tuesday for protests and a general strike that shuttered non-essential businesses, in support of those under bombardment in Gaza.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah movement had called for a “day of anger”, a call echoed in Arab and ethnically mixed towns inside Israel.

“We are here to raise our voice and stand with the people in Gaza who are being bombed,” Ramallah protester Aya Dabour told AFP.

Israel’s army said troops came under fire north of Ramallah. It said two soldiers suffered leg injuries and were taken to hospital.

The Palestinian health ministry said four Palestinians were shot dead in the West Bank, bringing to 24 the total number of Palestinians killed there since May 10.

The Israeli army said one had attempted to attack soldiers in Hebron.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams had treated more than 150 people in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, including 35 with live bullet wounds and more than 80 suffering from tear gas inhalation.

Tensions again flared in east Jerusalem’s flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where Palestinian protesters faced off against police, who used stun grenades and “skunk water” cannon to disperse protesters.

The Israel-Gaza conflict was sparked after clashes broke out at east Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound — one of Islam’s holiest sites.

This followed a crackdown against protests over planned expulsions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah.

— AFP

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International

Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for U.S. President, calls for calm leadership

Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, calling her a “steady-handed, gifted leader.” In an Instagram post to her 283 million followers, Swift urged fans to research candidates’ stances and expressed concerns over AI-generated misinformation falsely linking her to Trump.

Published

10 hours ago

on

11 September 2024

By

In a bold statement shared on her Instagram account, Taylor Swift has endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for president in the upcoming 2024 election. The post, published shortly after the U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday night, positioned Harris as the candidate who would champion the rights and causes Swift holds dear.

“As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can,” Swift wrote to her 283 million followers, adding: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election.”

Swift emphasized her support for Harris, describing her as a “steady-handed, gifted leader” capable of steering the country with calmness, in contrast to the “chaos” she associates with other candidates.

Swift’s post also featured an image of her with her beloved cat, Benjamin Button, nodding to comments made by Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, who had previously mocked senior Democratic leaders as “childless cat ladies.” Swift embraced the label, signing off her statement with “Childless cat lady.”

Swift’s endorsement didn’t come without addressing misinformation. She referred to AI-generated images, circulated by former President Donald Trump’s campaign in August, falsely depicting her and her fans endorsing Trump. Swift expressed her concerns over AI’s potential for spreading falsehoods, calling it a key reason for her public clarification of her voting intentions.

“I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter,” Swift said, urging her followers to research candidates’ positions on issues that matter to them.

In response to Swift’s endorsement, the Trump campaign dismissed her support as further evidence of the Democratic Party’s alignment with “wealthy elites,” with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stating, “There’s many Swifties for Trump out there in America.” Republican congressman Matt Gaetz also commented on Swift’s political stance, remarking, “I love her songs, but I want to live in a world where liberals make my art and conservatives make my laws and policies.”

However, Swift’s backing of Harris has garnered significant attention among her fanbase, with some already mobilizing in support of the Democratic candidate. The Swifties for Kamala Coalition, launched in August, has raised over $138,000 for the Harris campaign, further bolstering the vice president’s candidacy.

Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, expressed his gratitude to Swift during an MSNBC interview, stating, “Her endorsement took courage, and that’s the kind of courage we need in America.”

Historically, celebrity endorsements have had measurable impacts on elections. A study from Northwestern University and the University of Maryland estimated that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Barack Obama ahead of the 2008 Democratic primary earned him around one million votes. Whether Swift’s massive following, particularly among Gen Z and women, will have a similar effect remains to be seen.

Swift’s endorsement marks a significant moment in the 2024 election, highlighting the intersection of pop culture and politics. As the election approaches, her influence may yet play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome, particularly among younger voters and those concerned with women’s rights.

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International

Netanyahu faces mounting protests amid hostage deaths and ceasefire dispute

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces intense protests after six hostages were killed by Hamas, with critics accusing him of prioritizing personal interests. As calls grow for a ceasefire, Netanyahu’s refusal to withdraw troops from Gaza’s border fuels further outrage at home and abroad.

Published

7 days ago

on

5 September 2024

By

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing increasing public pressure from families of hostages, political critics, and Middle Eastern leaders following the deaths of six hostages held by Hamas.

On Wednesday, protests erupted across Israel, including outside the Likud headquarters and at the homes of key lawmakers, as frustrations mounted over Netanyahu’s handling of the hostage crisis and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The protests intensified after Netanyahu publicly rejected calls to withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza-Egypt border, a key demand in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

The prime minister has insisted that maintaining a military presence in the so-called Philadelphi corridor is crucial to prevent Hamas from using the area for arms smuggling. His stance has been widely criticized both domestically and internationally, with many seeing it as a significant obstacle to progress in negotiations.

Families of the slain hostages have expressed their outrage after the release of a video by Hamas, showing one of the hostages, Eden Yerushalmi, accusing the Israeli government of abandoning her and other captives.

Yerushalmi, 24, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October, appeared gaunt and emotionally distressed in the two-minute video, which was posted by Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades on Monday. In the video, she pointedly blamed Netanyahu for failing to secure their release, further fueling anger among the families of hostages and the public.

The video’s release coincided with the funerals of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from a tunnel near the Gaza-Egypt border.

Among the dead were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi. Yerushalmi’s family authorized the release of a short clip from the video, which has since been widely circulated as a grim reminder of the failed negotiations. The Hostage Families Forum condemned the video as “shocking psychological terror” aimed at inflicting further pain on the families.

Hamas also released a separate video of Lobanov and Gat, who, like Yerushalmi, criticized the Israeli government for its failure to negotiate their release. Lobanov accused Netanyahu of neglecting the hostages, referencing the Shalit deal in which Israel released over a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli soldier.

“You failed and neglected us on October 7, and now you continue to fail in every attempt to release us alive,” he said, highlighting the dire conditions under which they were held and the bombing by Israeli forces.

Similarly, Gat, who had been in captivity for nearly 11 months, pleaded with the government to stop the bombing and prioritize their release.

Both hostages called on Israeli citizens to take to the streets and protest, urging the government to act. The release of these videos has intensified public anger and fueled ongoing protests demanding action from Netanyahu’s administration.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor has drawn sharp criticism from his former war cabinet colleague, Benny Gantz, and international condemnation from Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

While Gantz acknowledged the importance of the corridor for Israel’s security, he stressed that the return of hostages must be prioritized over territorial control.

Critics have also pointed out that Netanyahu’s personal interests may be at play in prolonging the conflict.

Facing charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases filed in 2019, Netanyahu’s continued tenure as prime minister is seen by many as a strategic move to avoid legal repercussions.

If convicted, Netanyahu could face up to 10 years in prison, and some argue that staying in power shields him from potential imprisonment.

His critics claim that Netanyahu is willing to risk regional stability and global peace to remain in office, as losing his political position could leave him vulnerable to prosecution, potentially leading to a life behind bars.

As tensions escalate, Netanyahu faces a critical test in navigating the hostage crisis and the broader conflict, with both domestic and international pressure mounting.

Many are questioning whether his decisions are driven by national security or personal survival, adding to the growing discontent within Israel and beyond.

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