World
Biden calls for humanitarian 'pause' in Israel-Hamas war
President Joe Biden said he thought there should be a humanitarian “pause” in the Israel-Hamas war, after his campaign speech Wednesday evening was interrupted by a protester calling for a cease-fire.
“I think we need a pause,” Biden said.
The call was a subtle departure for Biden and top White House aides, who throughout the Mideast crisis have been steadfast in stating they will not dictate how the Israelis carry out their military operations in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
But the president has faced intensifying pressure from human rights groups, fellow world leaders and even liberal members of his own Democratic Party, who say that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment and that it is time for a cease-fire.
Israeli airstrikes crush apartments in Gaza refugee camp, as ground troops battle Hamas militants
In his comments, Biden was exerting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give Palestinians at least a brief reprieve from the relentless military operation that’s left thousands dead and mired the 141-square-mile strip in a roiling humanitarian crisis.
The White House has refused to call for a cease-fire but has signaled that the Israelis should consider humanitarian pauses to allow civilians to receive aid and for foreign nationals trapped on the strip to leave Gaza.
Israeli ground troops have advanced near Gaza City in heavy fighting with militants, the military said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza after more than three weeks under siege.
Death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza approximates 5,800: Hamas-run Health Ministry
The first people to leave Gaza — other than four hostages released by Hamas and another rescued by Israeli forces — crossed into Egypt, escaping even as bombings drive hundreds of thousands from their homes, and food, water and fuel run low.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said earlier on Wednesday that Biden’s newly confirmed ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, would soon be dispatched to the Middle East and would be tasked in part with “supporting U.S. efforts to create the conditions for a humanitarian pause to address the worsening humanitarian conditions facing Palestinian civilians.”
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog told “The Hill” on NewsNation Wednesday “we don’t need urging” in response to calls for more aid for Gaza.
“We are ramping up humanitarian supplies into Gaza in those areas which are away from Hamas in the southern part of Gaza. The number of truckloads doubles and is going to pick up more and more," he said. “We provide water. We provide other types of supplies.”
He said to NewsNation they were happy to see foreigners leave Gaza. "So we don’t need urging, urging in that sense. Our Cabinet discussed this week this issue and decided there are no limitations as long as we can make sure that Hamas does not put its hands on humanitarian supplies and uses them to feed its war machine. That will not happen. Short of that, everything is open.”
Israel vows again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls for a cease-fire in Gaza at a major UN meeting
On Wednesday evening, Biden was speaking to a crowd of supporters in Minneapolis about his reasons for running for president in 2020 when a woman got up and yelled: “Mr. President, if you care about Jewish people, as a rabbi, I need you to call for a cease-fire."
His presence in the city drew more than 1,000 demonstrators not far from where the fundraiser was held, and they carried Palestinian flags and signs that said “Stop Bombing Children,” "Free Palestine” and “Ceasefire now."
Biden said he understood the emotions motivating the demonstrator, who was quickly shouted down by others in the room and removed. He said, when asked, that a pause "means give time to get the prisoners out.” White House officials later clarified he meant hostages and humanitarian aid.
“This is incredibly complicated for the Israelis," Biden went on. "It’s incredibly complicated for the Muslim world as well. ... I supported a two-state solution, I have from the very beginning.”
“The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a terrorist organization. A flat-out terrorist organization," he said.
But Biden noted that he's been working on humanitarian aid, saying he was the one who convinced both Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to allow aid into Gaza.
“I'm the guy,” he said.
Israeli airstrikes crush apartments in Gaza refugee camp, as ground troops battle Hamas militants
A barrage of Israeli airstrikes leveled apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City on Tuesday, with rescuers clawing through the destruction to pull men, women and children from the rubble. Israel said the strike, which targeted a senior Hamas military leader, destroyed a militant command center and an underground tunnel network.
The toll from the attack in the Jabaliya camp was not immediately known. The director of the nearby hospital where casualties were taken, Dr. Atef Al-Kahlot, said hundreds of people were wounded or killed, but he did not provide exact figures.
The Israeli military said dozens of militants were killed, including a key Hamas commander for northern Gaza.
Israel must stop killing of Palestinian women and children: PM Hasina
Israel aggressively defended the attack, with military spokesman Jonathan Conricus saying the targeted commander had also been a key planner of the bloody Oct. 7 rampage that started the war, and that the apartment buildings collapsed only because the vast underground Hamas complex had been destroyed.
Neither side’s account could be independently confirmed.
The strike underlined the anticipated surge in casualties on both sides as Israeli troops battling Hamas militants advance deeper into the northern Gaza Strip toward dense, residential neighborhoods. Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ ability to govern Gaza or threaten Israel following the Oct. 7 assault, which ignited the war. Hamas, an Islamic militant group, openly calls for the destruction of Israel.
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Gaza, the first military deaths it reported since the ground offensive into the tiny Mediterranean territory accelerated late last week.
Several hundred thousand Palestinians remain in northern Gaza in the path of the ground assault. They have crowded into homes or are packed by the thousands into hospitals that are already overwhelmed with patients and running low on supplies.
PM Hasina denounces Israeli attacks on Palestine, calls for ending the war
In the Jabaliya refugee camp — a densely built-up area of small streets on Gaza City’s outskirts — dozens of rescuers searched for survivors amid a series of obliterated buildings and others that had partially collapsed.
Young men carried the limp forms of two children from the upper floors of the crumbling frame of one damaged apartment building, while helping down another child and woman. It was unclear whether the children were alive or dead. Gray dust, apparently left by pulverized concrete, seemed to coat nearly everything.
The Israeli military said it carried out a wide-scale strike in Jabaliya on Hamas infrastructure “that had taken over civilian buildings.”
Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said an underground Hamas installation beneath a targeted building collapsed, toppling other nearby buildings. Conricus later said the main strike had hit between buildings.
“We don’t intend for the ground to collapse,” he told reporters. “But the issue is that Hamas built their tunnels there and that they’re running their operations from there.”
He said the commander killed in the strike, Ibrahim Biari, played an important role in the Oct. 7 attack and had been involved in anti-Israeli attacks going back decades.
Also on Tuesday, the Israeli military said ground troops took control of a Hamas military stronghold in west Jabaliya, killing 50 militants.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem denied the military’s claim, saying it was trying to justify “its heinous crime” against civilians.
Hagari repeated calls for civilians to evacuate northern Gaza to the south. The military says it targets Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the militants endanger civilians by operating among them. The military has also repeatedly emphasized it will strike Hamas wherever it finds it.
Some 800,000 Palestinians have reportedly fled to the south, but many have not, in part because they say nowhere is safe as Israeli airstrikes in the south have continued to cause civilian deaths. The window to flee may be closing, as Israeli forces reached Gaza’s main north-south highway this week.
More than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and minors, the Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters. The figure is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack, also an unprecedented figure. Palestinian militants also abducted around 240 people during their incursion and have continued firing rockets into Israel.
A day after Israel’s first successful rescue of a Hamas captive, the spokesman of the militant group’s armed wing said they plan to release some non-Israeli hostages in coming days. Hamas has previously released four hostages, and has said it would let the others go in return for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which has dismissed the offer.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands sheltering in packed U.N.-run schools-turned-shelters or at hospitals.
The war has also threatened to ignite fighting on other fronts. Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have traded fire daily along the border, and Israel and the U.S. have struck targets in Syria linked to Iran, which supports Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region.
Some 200,000 people have been evacuated from Israeli towns near Gaza and the northern border with Lebanon.
The military said it shot down what appeared to be a drone near the southernmost city of Eilat and intercepted a missile over the Red Sea on Tuesday, neither of which entered Israeli airspace.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen later claimed they fired ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, saying it was their third such operation and threatening more. Earlier this month, a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Red Sea intercepted missiles and drones launched toward Israel by the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen.
In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli-Palestinian violence has also surged, the army demolished the family home of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official exiled over a decade ago. An official in the village of Aroura said the home had been vacant for 15 years.
Israeli forces reportedly have advanced north and east of Gaza City. South of the city, Israeli troops were also trying to cut off the territory’s main highway and the parallel road along the Mediterranean coast, according to Dawood Shehab, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group allied with Hamas.
Zaki Abdel-Hay, a Palestinian living a few minutes’ walk from the road south of Gaza City, said people are afraid to use it. “People are very scared. The Israeli tanks are still close,” he said over the phone, adding that “constant artillery fire” could be heard near the road.
The Israeli military said it struck some 300 militant targets over the past day, including compounds inside tunnels, and that troops had engaged in several battles with militants armed with antitank missiles and machine guns.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis continued to worsen.
The World Health Organization said two hospitals were damaged and an ambulance destroyed in Gaza over the last two days. It said all 13 hospitals operating in the north have received Israeli evacuation orders in recent days. Medics have refused such orders, saying it would be a death sentence for patients on life support.
Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the largest in the territory, is on the verge of running out of fuel, the Health Ministry said.
There has been no central electricity in Gaza for weeks, and Israel has barred the entry of fuel needed to power generators for hospitals and homes, saying it wants to prevent it from falling into Hamas’ hands.
It has allowed a limited amount of food, water, medicine and other supplies to enter from Egypt, though far less than what is needed, relief groups say. A convoy of 59 aid trucks entered through the Rafah Crossing with Egypt on Tuesday — the largest yet — bringing the total that have entered since Oct. 22 to 216, according to Wael Abu Omar, Hamas’ spokesperson for the crossing.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, says 64 of its staff have been killed since the start of the war.
AESL commissions 2500 MW Green Evacuation 400 kV System in Tamil Nadu
Adani Energy Solutions Ltd., the largest private sector power transmission company in India, has announced the successful commissioning of the Karur Transmission Ltd (KTL) project.
The project includes the establishment of the 400/230 kV, 1000 MVA Karur Pooling Station and an associated transmission line spanning 8.51 circuit kilometers (CKM) in Tamil Nadu, according to a press release.
With a transformation capacity of 1,000 MVA, this project will facilitate the evacuation of power from renewable sources in the Karur/Tiruppur Wind Energy Zone. Additionally, it will strengthen the Southern Regional grid and support the integration of renewable energy sources on a large scale, it said.
The Karur/Tiruppur Wind Energy Zone is a key wind corridor in Tamil Nadu, with significant capacities in wind energy and several under-construction wind farms. AESL was awarded this project to ensure the smooth evacuation of up to 2500 MW of green power produced in the region. This project aligns with India's decarbonization goals, supporting the country's aim to achieve 500 GW of green energy by 2030.
It will provide industrial, commercial, and residential consumers with enhanced access to reliable and clean energy, the release also said.
AESL secured this project through the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) route in December 2021 for a period of 35 years, covering the build, own, operate, and maintain basis.
Despite numerous challenges, AESL executed this project in a fast-track mode, taking into consideration the topological challenges while minimizing ecological impact.
Several innovative approaches were employed during the execution, including the use of high-boom RMC machines for concreting work, high-boom lifts and cranes for tower erections, and the implementation of advanced cybersecurity endpoint solutions through the latest SCADA system. The project also involved round-the-clock work in multiple shifts, allowing for enhanced progress. AESL's execution prowess was displayed through the erection of two 48-MT towers in under 24 hours each, significantly surpassing the usual rate of 5-6 MT/day, it added.
Furthermore, AESL completed critical tasks such as the shutdown of the 400 kV D/C Pugalur-Pugalur (HVDC) line and the erection of tower structures under the constraints of the existing transmission line. The construction phase encountered challenges related to foundations, which were overcome through the execution of stringing over coconut trees while adhering to all safety measures.
The completion of the KTL project further solidifies AESL's position as India's leading power transmission company. AESL has a portfolio of operational transmission projects and several others in various stages of construction.
Afghans in droves head to border to leave Pakistan ahead of a deadline in anti-migrant crackdown
Large numbers of Afghans crammed into trucks and buses in Pakistan on Tuesday, heading to the border to return home ahead of the expiration of a Pakistani government deadline for those who are in the country illegally to leave or face deportation.
The deadline is part of a new anti-migrant crackdown that targets all undocumented or unregistered foreigners, according to Islamabad. But it mostly affects Afghans, who make up the bulk of migrants in Pakistan.
The expulsion campaign has drawn widespread criticism from U.N. agencies, rights groups and the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials warn that people who are in the country illegally face arrest and deportation after Oct. 31. U.N. agencies say there are more than 2 million undocumented Afghans in Pakistan, at least 600,000 of whom fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Human Right Watch on Tuesday accused Pakistan of resorting to "threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghan asylum seekers without legal status" to return to Afghanistan. The New York-based watchdog appealed for authorities to drop the deadline and work with the U.N. refugee agency to register those without papers.
Although the government insists it isn't targeting Afghans, the campaign comes amid strained relations between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers next door. Islamabad accuses Kabul of turning a blind eye to Taliban-allied militants who find shelter in Afghanistan, from where they go back and forth across the two countries' shared 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border to stage attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban deny the accusations.
"My father came to Pakistan 40 years ago," said 52-year-old Mohammad Amin, speaking in Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.
"He died here. My mother also died here and their graves are in Pakistan," said Amin, originally from Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province. "We are going back today as we never tried to register ourselves as refugees with the U.N. refugee agency."
"I am going back with good memories," he told The Associated Press, adding he planned to head to the Torkham border crossing later Tuesday and that he'd asked the Taliban government for help to start a new life.
Nasrullah Khan, 62, said he'd heard the Taliban are considering helping Afghans on their return from Pakistan. He said he was not worried by the prospect of Taliban rule but that it was still "better to go back to Afghanistan instead of getting arrested here."
Pakistani officials said the Torkam and Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan will remain open beyond their daily 4 p.m. closure to allow for those who have arrived there to leave the country.
More than 200,000 Afghans have returned home since the crackdown was launched, according to Pakistani officials. U.N. agencies have reported a sharp increase in Afghans leaving Pakistan ahead of the deadline.
Also read: Passenger train slams into another in southern India, killing 13 people and injuring 25
Pakistan has insisted the deportations would be carried out in a "phased and orderly" manner.
A Taliban delegation traveled to Nangarhar Tuesday to find solutions for Afghans returning through the Torkham border.
Sayed Ahmad Banwari, the deputy provincial governor, told state TV that local authorities are working hard to establish temporary camps.
Banwari said that families with nowhere to go can stay in the camps for a month until they find a place to live.
Also read: G-7 nations back strong supply chains for energy and food despite global tensions
The crackdown has worried thousands of Afghans in Pakistan waiting for relocation to the United States under a special refugee program since fleeing the Taliban takeover. Under U.S. rules, applicants first had to relocate to a third country — in this case Pakistan — for their cases to be processed.
A U.S. diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the policy, said Washington's priority was to facilitate the safe and efficient resettlement and relocation of more than 25,000 eligible Afghans in Pakistan to the U.S.
Even before the Pakistani campaign was announced, Washington had asked Islamabad "to ensure the protection of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, including those in the U.S. resettlement and immigration pipelines," the diplomat said. "We are in the process of sending letters to those individuals that they can share with local authorities to help identify them as individuals in the U.S. pipeline".
Also read: Internet, phone service gradually returns after vanishing for most of Gaza amid heavy bombardment
The applicants often protest in Pakistan against the delay in the approval of their U.S. visas.
Afghanistan is going through a severe humanitarian crisis, particularly for women and girls, who are banned by the Taliban from getting an education beyond the sixth grade, most public spaces and jobs. There are also restrictions on media, activists, and civil society organizations.
Jan Achakzai, a government spokesman in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, said on Tuesday that anyone who is detained under the new policy will be well treated and receive transport to the Chaman border crossing point.
India Hosts 6th Session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly in New Delhi
The Sixth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) convened in New Delhi today, presided over by Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India, who serves as the President of the ISA Assembly.
Ministers from 20 countries and delegates representing 116 Member and Signatory countries gathered for this important event, according to a press release.
In his opening remarks, Raj Kumar Singh emphasized the crucial role of renewable energy sources in addressing global energy challenges. He stated that renewable energy has the potential to supply 65 percent of the world's total electricity by 2030 and decarbonize 90 percent of the power sector by 2050. The International Solar Alliance is committed to making solar energy the preferred energy source, attracting investments, and ensuring ample energy availability to meet growing global demands.
To support this, ISA has expanded its Viability Gap Funding (VGF) mechanism, increasing the grant to 35% of the project cost based on the capacity and needs of member countries.
Co-President of the Assembly, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, France's Minister of State for Development, Francophonie, and International Partnerships, emphasized France's commitment to the ISA. France has provided significant financial support for solar projects, including the construction of the Onigbolo solar power plant in Benin, bringing 25 megawatts of clean energy to the people of Benin.
She emphasized the importance of supporting partner countries in their energy transition plans, said the release.
Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, stressed the need to accelerate the deployment of solar energy, particularly in developing countries and for applications that enhance the daily lives of those without reliable energy access. ISA is facilitating over 9.5 GW of solar applications in 55 developing countries and providing training to thousands of people in supporting solar energy. The organization is working on establishing STAR Centers as hubs of technology, knowledge, and expertise in solar energy, it said.
The Assembly also discussed the ISA's initiatives, including the development of solar mini-grids to provide universal energy access and mechanisms to attract private sector investment through guarantees provided by the Global Solar Facility.
In May 2020, ISA initiated Demonstration Projects in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to showcase scalable solar technology applications and build the capacity of beneficiary member countries. Four projects, including solarization of the parliament building of the Republic of Malawi, solarization of health care centers in Fiji, installation of solar-powered cold storage in Seychelles, and solarization of a school in Kiribati, were inaugurated, it added.
Singh dedicated these projects to the respective countries, highlighting ISA's commitment to advancing the cause of energy transition through solar energy. The Assembly serves as the apex decision-making body of ISA and meets annually to assess the progress of solar energy deployment and discuss key initiatives related to energy access, energy security, and energy transition.
The Sixth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance demonstrated the commitment of member countries to harnessing solar energy to address global energy and environmental challenges, the release also said.
International Forum "Primakov Readings" to be held on November 27-28 in Moscow
The ninth edition of the International Forum "Primakov Readings" will be held on November 27-28, 2023 in Moscow.
The theme of the forum is "Postglobalization Horizons". Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, will speak at the forum.
“The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, rising tensions between China and the United States, energy risks, as well as security challenges such as climate and migration crises – these and other factors are shaping the post-global world and in this regard are in the focus of this year's Primakov Readings,” Member of the Forum Organizing Committee – Director of Primakov Institute, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Feodor Voitolovsky said.
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The forum will bring together the leading Russian and foreign experts in the field of international security, world politics and economics, representatives of public organizations, politicians and diplomats.
The discussions will center on political risks for the world energy markets, Russia's cooperation with the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, the relationship between China and the United States, and the development of the countries of the "Global South".
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The participants will also discuss the balance of power in the Baltic region and the prospects for Russia's relations with the countries of the Middle East and the African continent, said a media release on Tuesday.
The forum program includes a special session with the participation of Alexei Likhachev, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom".
The event is organized by the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, with the assistance of its partners Primakov Center for International Cooperation, World Trade Center and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The project is supported by the Presidential Grants Foundation.
Media accreditation is available on the official forum website (https://www.primakovreadings.ru/en).
International Scientific and Expert Forum "Primakov Readings" is an annual international discussion platform for analysing problems of world economy, politics and security with the participation of leading representatives of Russian and foreign research centers and think tanks.
Also read: Ukrainians prepare firewood and candles to brace for a winter of Russian strikes on the energy grid
It was first held in 2015 and was named after Yevgeny Primakov, a Russian scientist, politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999.
UN agency in Gaza says urgent cease-fire is `matter of life and death' for millions of Palestinians
The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees told a U.N. emergency meeting Monday “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire has become a matter of life and death for millions,” accusing Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians.
Philippe Lazzarini warned that a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by Palestinians searching for food and other aid “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest U.N. agency in Gaza to continue operating.”
Briefings to the Security Council by Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and a senior U.N. humanitarian official painted a dire picture of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza 23 days after Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, and its ongoing retaliatory military action aimed at “obliterating” the militant group, which controls Gaza.
According to the latest figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 8,300 people have been killed – 66% of them women and children – and tens of thousands injured, the U.N. humanitarian office said.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell that toll includes over 3,400 children killed and more than 6,300 injured. “This means that more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza each day – a number which should shake each of us to our core,” she said.
Lazzarini said:. “This surpasses the number of children killed annually across the world’s conflict zones since 2019.” And he stressed: “This cannot be `collateral damage.’”
Many speakers at the council meeting denounced Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attacks on Israel that killed over 1,400 people, and urged the release of some 230 hostages taken to Gaza by the militants. But virtually every speaker also stressed that Israel is obligated under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and their essentials for life including hospitals, schools and other infrastructure – and Israel was criticized for cutting off food, water, fuel and medicine to Gaza and cutting communications for several days.
Lazzarini said “the handful of convoys” allowed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt in recent days “is nothing compared to the needs of over 2 million people trapped in Gaza.”
“The system in place to allow aid into Gaza is geared to fail," he said, "unless there is political will to make the flow of supplies meaningful, matching the unprecedented humanitarian needs.”
The commissioner-general of the U.N. agency known as UNRWA said there is no safe place anywhere in Gaza, warning that basic services are crumbling, medicine, food, water and fuel are running out, and the streets “have started overflowing with sewage, which will cause a massive health hazard very soon.”
UNICEF oversees water and sanitation issues for the U.N., and Russell warned that “the lack of clean water and safe sanitation is on the verge of becoming a catastrophe.”
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the divided Security Council – which has rejected four resolutions that would have responded to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the ongoing war – to come together, saying “the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing more dire by the day.”
Stressing that all innocent civilians must be protected, she said the council must call “for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, address the immense humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, affirm Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism, and remind all actors that international humanitarian law must be respected.” She reiterated President Joe Biden's call for humanitarian pauses to get hostages out, allow aid in, and safe passage for civilians.
“That means Hamas must not use Palestinians as human shields – an act of unthinkable cruelty and a violation of the law of war,” the U.S. ambassador said, “and that means Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians.”
In a sign of increasing U.S. concern at the escalating Palestinian death toll, Thomas-Greenfield told the council Biden reiterated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday “that while Israel has the right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism, it must do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law.”
“The fact that Hamas operates within and under the cover of civilians areas creates an added burden for Israel, but it does not lessen its responsibility to distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians,” she stressed.
Following the rejection of the four resolutions in the 15-member Security Council – one vetoed by the U.S., one vetoed by Russia and China, and two for failing to get the minimum nine “yes” votes – Arab nations went to the U.N. General Assembly last Friday where there are no vetoes.
The 193-member world body adopted a resolution calling for humanitarian truces leading to a cessation of hostilities by a vote of 120-14 with 45 abstentions. Now, the 10 elected members in the 15-member Security Council are trying again to negotiate a resolution that won’t be rejected. While council resolutions are legally binding, assembly resolutions are not though they are an important barometer of world opinion.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan was sharply critical of the council’s failure to condemn Hamas’ attacks and asked members: “Why are the humanitarian needs of Gazans, the sole issue, the sole issue you are focused on?”
Recalling his grandfather who survived Nazi death camps but whose his wife and seven children perished in the Auschwitz gas chamber, Erdan told the council he will wear a yellow star – just as Hitler made his grandfather and all Jews wear during World War II – “until you condemn the atrocities of Hamas and demand the immediate release of our hostages.”
The ambassador then put a large six-pointed yellow star of David saying “Never Again” on his suit jacket, as did other Israeli diplomats sitting behind him, and said: “We walk with the yellow star as a symbol of pride, a reminder that we swore to fight back to defend ourselves. Never again is now.”
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, also urged the Security Council to follow the General Assembly, end its paralysis, and demand “an end to this bloodshed, which constitutes an affront to humanity, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and a clear and imminent danger for regional and international peace and security.”
“Save those who still can be saved and bury in a dignified manner those who have perished,” Mansour said. “Allow members of the same families who have survived to embrace each other and to mourn their loved ones who did not. Allow us to pay the tribute owed to the families wiped off the face of this earth. … Treat us as human beings with the respect we deserve.”
Gaza receives largest aid shipment so far as deaths top 8,000 and Israel widens military offensive
Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy since the war between Israel and Hamas began, but humanitarian workers said the assistance still fell desperately short of needs after thousands of people broke into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene products.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians passed 8,000, mostly women and minors, as Israeli tanks and infantry pursued what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “second stage” in the war ignited by Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 incursion. The toll is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial attack, also an unprecedented figure.
Communications were restored to most of Gaza's 2.3 million people Sunday after an Israeli bombardment described by residents as the most intense of the war knocked out phone and internet services late Friday.
Israel has allowed only a trickle of aid to enter. On Sunday, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medicine entered the only border crossing from Egypt, a spokesperson at the Rafah crossing, Wael Abo Omar, told The Associated Press.
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After visiting the Rafah crossing, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called the suffering of civilians “profound" and said he had not been able to enter Gaza. “These are the most tragic of days,” said Karim Khan, whose court has been investigating the actions of Israeli and Palestinian authorities since 2014.
Khan called on Israel to respect international law but stopped short of accusing it of war crimes. He called Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack a serious violation of international humanitarian law. “The burden rests with those who aim the gun, missile or rocket in question,” he said.
The Israeli military said Sunday that it had struck more than 450 militant targets over the past 24 hours, including Hamas command centers and anti-tank missile launching positions. Huge plumes of smoke rose over Gaza City. Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said dozens of militants were killed.
Hagari, who said ground operations were intensifying, also reiterated calls for Gaza residents to move south, saying they'd have better access to food, water and medicine there.
“This is a matter of urgency,” he said.
Read: Internet, phone service gradually returns after vanishing for most of Gaza amid heavy bombardment
Israel says most Gaza residents have heeded its orders to flee to the southern part of the besieged territory, but hundreds of thousands remain in the north, in part because Israel has also bombarded targets in so-called safe zones. More than 1.4 million people in Gaza have fled their homes.
The Hamas military wing said its militants clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest Gaza Strip with small arms and anti-tank missiles. Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel, including toward its commercial hub, Tel Aviv.
The aid warehouse break-ins were “a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza," said Thomas White, Gaza director for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. "People are scared, frustrated and desperate.”
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said the crowds broke into four facilities on Saturday. She said the warehouses did not contain any fuel, which has been in critically short supply since Israel cut off all shipments. Israel says Hamas would use it for military purposes and that the militant group is hoarding large fuel stocks for itself in the territory. That claim couldn't be independently verified.
One warehouse held 80 tons of food, the U.N. World Food Program said. It emphasized that at least 40 of its trucks need to cross into Gaza daily just to meet growing food needs.
President Joe Biden in a call with Netanyahu on Sunday “underscored the need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,” the U.S. said.
Federal judge reimposes limited gag order in Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case in Washington on Sunday reimposed a narrow gag order barring him from making public comments targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses.
The reinstatement of the gag order was revealed in a brief notation on the online case docket Sunday night, but the order itself was not immediately available, making it impossible to see the judge’s rationale or the precise contours of the restrictions.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the federal case charging Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, had temporarily lifted the gag order as she considered the former president's request to keep it on hold while he challenges the restrictions on his speech in higher courts.
But Chutkan agreed to reinstate the order after prosecutors cited Trump's recent social media comments about his former chief of staff they said represented an attempt to influence and intimidate a likely witness in the case.
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The order is a fresh reminder that Trump's penchant for incendiary and bitter rants about the four criminal cases that he's facing, though politically beneficial in rallying his supporters as he seeks to reclaim the White House, carry practical consequences in court. Two separate judges have now imposed orders mandating that he rein in his speech, with the jurist presiding over a civil fraud trial in New York issuing a monetary fine last week.
A request for comment was sent Sunday to a Trump attorney, Todd Blanche. Trump in a social media post late Sunday acknowledged that the gag order was back in place, calling it “NOT CONSITUTIONAL!”
Trump's lawyers have said they will seek an emergency stay of the order from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The defense has said Trump is entitled to criticize prosecutors and “speak truth to oppression."
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case. He has made a central part of his 2024 campaign for president vilifying special counsel Jack Smith and others involved the criminal cases against him, casting himself as the victim of a politicized justice system.
Read: Trump is set to surrender at a Georgia jail on charges he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss
Prosecutors have said Trump's verbal attacks threaten to undermine the integrity of the case and risk inspiring his supporters to violence.
Smith's team said Trump took advantage of the recent lifting of the gag order to “send an unmistakable and threatening message” to his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who was reported by ABC News to have received immunity to testify before a grand jury.
The former president mused on social media about the possibility that Meadows would give testimony to Smith in exchange for immunity. One part of the post said: “Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them but who really knows?”
In a separate case, Trump was fined last week $10,000 after the judge in his civil fraud trial in New York said the former president had violated a gag order.
Passenger train slams into another in southern India, killing 13 people and injuring 25
A passenger train crashed into another in southern India on Sunday, killing 13 people and inuring 25, officials said.
The incoming train slammed into a stationary train in Andhra Pradesh state’s Vizianagaram district, causing a derailment of at least three rail cars, senior railway officer Saurab Prasad said.
Prasad said a preliminary investigation found human error was the cause.
Read: Kishoreganj train crash: 16 bodies handed over to families
Train crashes are common in India and are often blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment.
In June, more than 280 people were killed in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades when two passenger trains rammed into each other in eastern India.
Read more: Kishoreganj Train Collision: Three probe committees formed for crash that killed 17
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.