Sun, Nov 5 2023 8:51 AM EST
Blinken makes a stopover in Cyprus
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks with President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides on the tarmac, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at Larnaca International Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Nov. 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making a short detour on his urgent Mideast diplomacy tour, stopping in Cyprus where he’s meeting the nation’s leader.
The State Department said Blinken was meeting briefly on Sunday with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos mainly to thank them for Cyprus’ role in temporarily hosting some American citizens who fled from Israel in the first weeks of the Gaza war.
The U.S. chartered at least one cruise liner that took Americans from the Israeli port of Haifa to Larnaca as Israel’s military operations against Hamas intensified and the group accelerated rocket attacks on Israel following its Oct. 7 surprise attack.
Blinken is on his way to Turkey to meet senior officials on Monday.
— Associated Press
Sun, Nov 5 2023 8:10 AM EST
Turkey reportedly discussed Gaza with Egypt and Jordan
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the situation in Gaza with his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in separate phone calls, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Sunday.
Fidan had exchanged views on “stopping the attacks targeting the civilian population in Gaza” and on achieving an urgent ceasefire, the source said.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas, not civilians, and that the Islamist Palestinian group is using residents as human shields.
Fidan also discussed efforts to guarantee the unimpeded and continuous provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the source added.
Fidan will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks on Gaza in Ankara on Monday.
— Reuters
Sun, Nov 5 2023 7:53 AM EST
Blinken makes surprise visit to the West Bank, meeting with Palestinian President Abbas
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane, en route to Cyprus, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought his frenetic Mideast diplomatic push on the Israel-Hamas war to the occupied West Bank on Sunday, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his latest bid to ease civilian suffering in the Gaza Strip and begin to sketch out a post-conflict scenario for the territory.
Blinken traveled to Ramallah for his previously unannounced visit in an armored motorcade and under tight security just hours after Israeli warplanes struck a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens, health officials said. Despite the secrecy and the State Department refusing to confirm the trip until after Blinken had physically left the West Bank, protests erupted against his visit and U.S. support for Israel as word of his arrival leaked.
Aside from pleasantries, neither man spoke as they greeted each other in front of cameras and the meeting ended without any public comment. It was not immediately clear if the lack of words indicated the meeting had gone poorly.
— Associated Press
Sun, Nov 5 2023 7:08 AM EST
Israeli warplanes hit Maghazi refugee camp, killing at least 40
Palestinians gather at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Maghazi, in the central Gaza Strip.
Stringer | Reuters
Israeli warplanes struck the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza early Sunday, killing at least 40 people, according to health officials.
The camp is located in the evacuation zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians in Gaza to seek refuge as it focused its military offensive in the northern areas. Despite such appeals, Israel has continued its bombardment across Gaza, saying it is targeting Hamas fighters and assets everywhere in the besieged enclave. It has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Critics say Israel’s strikes are often disproportionate, considering the large number of women and children killed in such attacks.
— Associated Press
Sun, Nov 5 2023 6:47 AM EST
Iran says the U.S. ‘will be hit hard’ if no ceasefire in Gaza: Tasnim
Iran said that the United States would “be hit hard” if Washington did not implement a ceasefire in Gaza, the country’s Minister of Defence was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Sunday.
“Our advice to the Americans is to immediately stop the war in Gaza and implement a ceasefire, otherwise they will be hit hard,” Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani said.
After a surprise attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, the Israelis have sought to defeat the militant group.
Iran considers the U.S. to be “militarily involved” in the conflict.
— Reuters
Sun, Nov 5 2023 5:01 AM EST
102 documented attacks on health care since Oct.7, WHO says
People gather around an ambulance damaged in a reported Israeli strike in front of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 3, 2023, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continue.
Momen Al-halabi | AFP | Getty Images
The World Health Organization (WHO) operating in Palestinian territory said Sunday that it has documented 102 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in early October.
“Since 7 October, WHO has documented 102 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip,” the WHO said on X.
“Attacks have resulted in 504 fatalities, 459 injuries, damage to 39 facilities and affected 31 ambulances. Over half of health attacks and over a half of hospitals damaged were in Gaza City,” it added. CNBC was unable to independently verify the figures.
To date, it’s estimated that more than 9,200 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas. Israel in an update Sunday said that over 1,400 people had been killed — the majority in the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7.
— Holly Ellyatt
Sun, Nov 5 2023 4:52 AM EST
Israeli strike kills 21 from one family, Gaza health ministry says
Twenty-one Palestinians from one family were killed in Israeli strikes targeting Gaza overnight, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said on Sunday.
“The victims belong to the family of Abu Hasira when the Israeli shelling targeted their house, full of women and children,” the ministry said in a post on its Facebook page.
Reuters could not independently verify the account.
— Reuters
Sun, Nov 5 2023 4:40 AM EST
Minister who suggested Israel could drop atomic bomb on Gaza reportedly suspended
A junior Israeli government minister Amihai Eliyahu who suggested that dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza was an option for Israel has reportedly been suspended following the comments.
Sky News reported Sunday that Eliyahu has now been suspended by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu until further notice. It cited Israel’s Army Radio as a source for the report.
— Holly Ellyatt
Sun, Nov 5 2023 4:04 AM EST
Netanyahu distances himself from minister’s nuclear bomb comments
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (not pictured) in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023.Â
Abir Sultan | Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to distance himself from comments made by a minister in his coalition government suggesting that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is an option in the war.
Asked in an interview with Radio Kol Berama whether an atomic bomb should be dropped on the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu, a far-right politician of the Otzma Yehudit party said “this is one of the possibilities,” in comments reported by the Times of Israel.
He also reportedly stated that humanitarian aid to the population should be restricted, saying “we wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid. There is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza.”
Eliyahu, who is not part of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, backs retaking the Gaza Strip’s territory and restoring settlements there, the Times of Israel noted.
When he was asked about the fate of the Palestinian population, he said: “They can go to Ireland or deserts, the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves.”
Israel’s prime minister sought to distance himself from the comments, stating on X Sunday that “Minister Amihai Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory.”
— Holly Ellyatt
Sun, Nov 5 2023 3:33 AM EST
51 mostly children and women reportedly killed in Israeli bombing of Gaza’s Maghazi camp
DEIR AL BALAH, GAZA – NOVEMBER 05: (EDITORS NOTE: Image depicts graphic content) Palestinians including children injured, died in Israeli attacks on Al-Maghazi refugee camp brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on November 05, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Palestinian news agency WAFA said 51 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and scores wounded in an Israeli bombardment of Gaza’s Maghazi camp on Saturday night.
Reuters could not independently verify the WAFA report. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Hamas-run Health ministry in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qidra, said a large number of people were killed without giving an exact figure, adding scores of people with severe injuries were laying on the ground of a hospital’s emergency ward.
Maghazi is located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas, not civilians, and accuses the militants of using residents as human shields.
— Reuters
Sun, Nov 5 2023 1:19 AM EDT
Turkey’s Erdogan says post-war Gaza must be part of sovereign Palestinian state
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Gaza must be part of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state once the Israel-Hamas war is over, and Ankara will not support any plans “gradually erasing Palestinians” from history.
Erdogan made the remarks a day before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to arrive in Ankara for talks on Gaza.
Turkey, which has sharply escalated its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has intensified, supports a two-state solution and hosts members of Hamas, which it does not view as a terrorist organization, unlike the United States, Britain and others in the West.
Turkey has called for an immediate ceasefire and offered to set up a system to guarantee it.
“Once all of this that is happening is finished, we want to see Gaza as a peaceful region that is a part of an independent Palestinian state, in line with 1967 borders, with territorial integrity, and with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Erdogan was on Saturday cited as saying by broadcaster Haberturk and others.
“We will support formulas that will bring peace and calm to the region. We will not be supportive of plans that will further darken the lives of Palestinians, that will gradually erase them from the scene of history.”
Erdogan said his intelligence chief was in contact with Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as Hamas, but he would no longer regard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a counterpart. He said Turkey did not want to sever ties with Israel.
— Reuters
Sun, Nov 5 2023 1:09 AM EDT
Rescuers dig through destroyed homes to find airstrike survivors
Firefighters sprayed jets of water across twisted metal and jumbled concrete as flames roared from homes destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the Jabaliya refugee camp.
The escalating bombardment comes as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the initial target of its offensive to crush Hamas.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were killed or wounded in the strike late Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip. Rescuers shouted to each other as they tried to pull people from the wreckage.
Associated Press video showed a man, barefoot and with blood soaking through his clothes, being carried on a stretcher through the concrete skeleton of a damaged building.
“Careful, careful!” someone called out as they staggered across the rubble. Others used a bed sheet to haul a dead body from the scene. Inside a bouncing ambulance driving away, a rescuer wearing black latex gloves patted the head of a young boy cradled in his lap. A man screamed off-camera.
— Associated Press
Sat, Nov 4 2023 6:44 PM EDT
President Biden hints at progress on persuading Israel to pause attacks
U.S. President Joe Biden holds an event about American retirement economics in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, October 31, 2023.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Joe Biden suggested Saturday there have been some advances in U.S. attempts to persuade Israel to pause military strikes on Gaza for humanitarian reasons.
In a brief exchange with reporters as he left St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden was asked if there was progress, and he responded, “Yes,” but did not share specifics.
This comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Arab counterparts Saturday. He disagreed with them on the need for an immediate cease-fire and made clear the furthest he would go was backing a pause for aid to reach civilians in Gaza. Blinken said a cease-fire would leave Hamas in place.
— Associated Press
Sat, Nov 4 2023 5:52 PM EDT
Israeli forces have encircled Gaza City. Here’s what we know about its ground assault.
An IDF soldier jumps off the front of a tank on Oct. 21, 2023, in southern Israel.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, has surrounded the densely populated city of Gaza, a handful of weeks following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.
The ongoing IDF campaign has been shrouded in mystery, here’s what we know about its ground assault in Gaza.
Read the full story on NBC News.
— Amanda Macias
Sat, Nov 4 2023 5:51 PM EDT
Families and supporters of hostages in Gaza call for their release ‘now’
People hold pictures as they demand the immediate release of hostages held in Gaza who were seized in the October attack by Hamas gunmen, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Thousands of people have joined a demonstration in Tel Aviv organized by families of some 240 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.
“Now!” the crowd chanted repeatedly, calling for hostages to be freed without delay after nearly a month in captivity. Many held pictures of the hostages, including photos of children and older people.
Hadas Kalderon of Kibbutz Nir Oz whose two children, ages 16 and 12, were kidnapped called for a cease-fire in exchange for the return of the hostages.
Hamas militants abducted the hostages in an Oct. 7 cross-border raid that triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war. The plight of the hostages and their families has captured the nation’s attention.
Ella Ben-Ami, a 23-year-old Israeli whose parents were abducted, said she held Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible.
She called for a halt in all humanitarian aid to Gaza until the hostages are freed.
— Associated Press
Sat, Nov 4 2023 4:44 PM EDT
Thousands of protesters demonstrate in London, other major cities for fourth straight weekend
Huge crowds of demonstrators gathered around the world on Saturday in pro-Palestinian protests.
In Washington D.C., and New York, tens of thousands of protesters also joined together, some calling on the U.S. government to stop sending military aid to Israel and demanding a ceasefire. And for the fourth weekend in a row, major cities in Europe saw droves of protesters who also called for an end to the war.
London
Demonstrators take part in a sit-down protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in London, Britain, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Toby Melville | Reuters
A police officer gestures after protesters climb on the Neptune Fountain during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Liesa Johannssen | Reuters
France
People attend a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to airstrikes and an end to ‘forcible displacement of populations’, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Paris, France, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Claudia Greco | Reuters
Norway
People attend a demonstration in support of Gaza and Palestinians, organised by the Palestine Committee, near the Royal Palace and the building of the Norwegian parliament, Stortinget, in Oslo, Norway, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Ntb | Via Reuters
Romania
People attend a rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Bucharest, Romania, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Andreea Campeanu | Reuters
Ireland
People take part in a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Clodagh Kilcoyne | Reuters
Sat, Nov 4 2023 4:41 PM EDT
Gaza receives 30 humanitarian aid trucks
Thirty trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Saturday, according to NBC News.
The trucks were first delivered to the Palestine Red Crescent. Some were later handed off to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UNRWA. Four of the trucks contain medical supplies, while the others hold food, water and other relief.
Saturday’s wave of trucks roughly matches the pace of aid sent since the Rafah crossing opened up for convoys. Since Oct. 21, there have been 451 total convoys sent to Gaza, or about 30 trucks per day.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Sat, Nov 4 2023 2:49 PM EDT
Israeli protestors call on Netanyahu to resign
Protestors gather against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near his residence, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Jerusalem, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Ammar Awad | Reuters
Thousands of Israelis are protesting outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in central Jerusalem, calling on the Israeli leader to resign in the wake of the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that sparked the latest Israel-Hamas war.
Netanyahu has so far refused to take responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack, in which several thousand Hamas militants burst into Israel and killed over 1,400 people and took some 240 hostages back to Gaza. He says officials, including himself, will have to give answers to the public, but only after the war.
Israel has carried out weeks of airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian health officials saying over 9,000 people were killed in the fighting.
During Saturday night’s protest, demonstrators called on Netanyahu to step down and called for the return of the hostages. They also held a moment of silence for victims of the attack and those in captivity.
“Where were you in Kfar Azza,” chanted the protesters, referring to one of the Israeli border communities that was overrun by Hamas.
“I came here to rescue the country,” said Nava Hefetz, a rabbi and human rights activist, who attended the protest.
— Associated Press
Sat, Nov 4 2023 2:15 PM EDT
Blinken rebuffs calls for ceasefire from Jordan, Egypt officials
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi hold a press conference, after meetings about the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Amman, Jordan, November 4, 2023.Â
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday publicly disagreed with foreign ministers from Egypt and Jordan on their demands for a ceasefire in Gaza.
That stance was in stark contrast with Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi, both of whom called for an immediate cessation of attacks.
Directly addressing Blinken, Safadi said in his opening remarks that the U.S. has a leading role to play in “ending this catastrophe.”
Shoukry said, “It is our position that a ceasefire is imperative to deal with the humanitarian consequences of this conflict.”
Standing beside Shoukry and Safadi at the joint press conference, Blinken said that it was not the right time for Israel to suspend its action. He said that Israel has an “obligation” to defend itself, though “the way Israel does that” is important.
“A ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7,” said Blinken.
The three officials agreed that protecting civilian lives and supplying sustainable humanitarian aid to Gaza should be priorities.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Sat, Nov 4 2023 2:01 PM EDT
Blinken adds Turkey to his Middle East trip
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks onboard the plane during his visit to Israel as he departs en route to Jordan, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel November 3, 2023.Â
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will include Turkey in his trip to the Middle East, as relations between the country and and Israel deteriorate.
Turkey on Saturday recalled its ambassador to Israel because of the situation in Gaza and Israel’s refusal to call a ceasefire. Israel had already ordered its own ambassadors in Turkey to return home.
Blinken, who met with Arab leaders in Jordan today, will travel on to Ankara before making his way to Tokyo, Seoul and New Delhi.
Turkey has become more critical of Israel over the course of the war. President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan has said that Hamas is not a terror organization, though the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, Canada and many other countries have designated it to be one.
— Annie Nova