Biden backs Israel in TV address after terror attacks
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Israeli authorities have ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza as the Hamas militant group threatened to execute hostages.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he planned to cut off supplies of electricity, food and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.
“I ordered a full siege on the Gaza Strip,” Mr Gallant, a former IDF commander, said, according to the Times of Israel. “We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that air strikes in the besieged Gaza Strip were “just the beginning” and vowed to do “everything for Israelis held captive.”
This comes as Abu Obeida, the spokesman of Hamas’s military wing, Qassam Brigades, said the group is responding to heavy bombarding of Gaza’s residential areas which has seen homes collapse over civilians’ heads.
“We have decided to put an end to this and as of now and we declare that any targeting of our people in their homes without prior warning will be regrettably faced with the execution of one the hostages of civilians we are holding,” he said.
Local media reports that at least 900 people have been killed in Israel and almost 500 have been killed in Gaza, with thousands wounded.
1696889759Met Police looking into ‘suspected criminal damage’ at Palestine protestThe Met Police are looking into “instances of suspected criminal damage in Kensington High Street” at a protest for Palestine.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 23:15
1696889192Barack Obama says Americans should be ‘outraged’
Former US president Barack Obama says that “all Americans” should be “horrified and outraged by the brazen terrorist attacks on Israel and the slaughter of innocent civilians”.
In a post on X, Mr Obama, said: “We grieve for those who died, pray for the safe return of those who’ve been held hostage, and stand squarely alongside our ally, Israel, as it dismantles Hamas.
“As we support Israel’s right to defend itself against terror, we must keep striving for a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Mike Bedigan9 October 2023 23:06
1696887971VOICE: The US has ignored the hopelessness of the Israel-Palestine conflict for too long“This weekend’s heinous massacre of unarmed civilians by Hamas was shocking not just for its unbridled brutality, but because the people in places of power in Israel and the United States appeared blind to its possibility,” The Independent’s Richard Hall writes
“For the better part of the last 50 years, the Israel-Palestine conflict — for want of a better term — was a top priority for successive US presidents. From Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, both Republican and Democrat administrations recognised and often witnessed the costs of allowing this conflict to fester unaddressed.”
The conflict was traditionally a high priority for US presidents. But in recent years, it has been allowed to fester.
Read more:
Andrea Blanco9 October 2023 22:46
1696887059Gaza siege: ‘We already only have four hours power a day’ A Palestinian medic from Gaza told The Independent’s Bel Trew: “We already only have 4 hours of power a day, water comes once every 3 days.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 22:30
169688608411 Americans killed as Israel orders siege of GazaAt least 11 Americans have been killed following the attacks on Israel by Hamas, prompting a full siege and blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In a lengthy statement on Monday, President Joe Biden said “Sadly, we now know that at least 11 American citizens were among those killed—many of whom made a second home in Israel”.
“We also know that American citizens still remain unaccounted for, and we are working with Israeli officials to obtain more information as to their whereabouts,” he said, adding that “while we are still working to confirm, we believe it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas”.
Read more:
Andrea Blanco9 October 2023 22:14
1696885259Iran is complicit but there is no direct evidence tying it to attacks in Israel, White House saysIran is complicit even though the United States has no intelligence or evidence that points to Iran’s direct participation in attacks in Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, a White House spokesperson said on Monday.
“Iran has long supported Hamas and other terrorist networks throughout the region with resources capabilities training,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on MSNBC.
“And so in that regard, clearly, Iran is complicit here, but in terms of specific evidence on this, these sorts of attacks, no, we don’t have anything,” he said.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 22:00
1696884059Hezbollah fires on Israel after members killed in shellingLebanese armed group Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets onto northern Israel on Monday in response to at least three of its members being killed in Israeli shelling on Lebanon.
The exchange of fire marks a significant expansion of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants to the Israeli-Lebanese border further north. Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel fought a brutal month-long war in 2006.
Hezbollah in a statement on Monday said it had fired rockets and mortars on two Israeli military posts in the Galilee. The Israeli military said it identified a number of “launches” from Lebanon into Israel, without any injuries. It said it was responding with artillery fire onto Lebanon.
Hezbollah said in consecutive online statements that three of its members had been killed in Israel‘s “aggression” on southern Lebanon on Monday afternoon. Two Lebanese security sources told Reuters two more Hezbollah members were killed.
Israel shelled southern Lebanon on Monday after a cross-border raid claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which has been fighting alongside Hamas since it launched its surprise attack on Israel on Saturday.
(AP)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 21:40
1696883643The complete blockade of Gaza will be brutal: the big question is what comes nextIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from hawks to destroy Hamas, but there are others calling for cooler heads to prevail, writes Kim Sengupta:
The total blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel, with food, electricity and water cut off, can only be a short-term measure because of the sheer humanitarian suffering this will inflict on the people in the territory.
Aid organisations, diplomats and Israeli security officials recognise that such harsh punitive measures cannot be kept for long without a terrible toll being taken, even by the standards of wars in Gaza.
The siege is taking place while Gaza is experiencing ferocious, pounding air strikes. The health ministry in the territory has said around 680 people have been killed and 3,700 injured by Israeli warplanes and missiles since Saturday. The combined stress of bombs and blockade may, it is feared, lead to a catastrophic collapse of infrastructure.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 21:34
1696882566Saudi Arabia voices continued support for PalestiniansSaudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the kingdom will continue to stand by the Palestinians, and will spare no effort to restore calm and stability to the Palestinian territories.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 21:16
1696882050Two Italians missing near Gaza, presumed kidnappedA married couple with dual Italian-Israeli citizenship are missing from their kibbutz near Gaza and have probably been taken hostage, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday.
“They are a man and a woman, husband and wife … and were living in the Be’eri kibbutz. They are not answering calls from their family,” Tajani told state broadcaster RAI.
“We hope to find them, but at this time we don’t have any other news. It is probable that they have been kidnapped.”
He did not give their names.
Hamas fighters poured into southern Israel on Saturday in a surprise attack, killing hundreds of people and seizing dozens of hostages who have been taken to Gaza.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain9 October 2023 21:07
