International

Ceasefire: Pressure mounts on Israel as civilian casualty mounts

Published

6 months ago

November 6, 2023

Ceasefire: Pressure mounts on Israel as civilian casualty mounts

Israel is expected to face intense pressure on Monday to prevent civilian casualties during its attack on Gaza after rejecting pleas for a truce.

Meanwhile, the United States is stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the area to lessen the likelihood that the conflict would worsen.

After hundreds of protesters attempted to overrun an air station housing American troops in southern Turkey on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to meet with Turkey’s foreign minister in Ankara.

Blinken met with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, on Sunday during an unexpected trip to the West Bank. Abbas joined the chorus of people around the world demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza said more than 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the war, which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel a month ago, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 hostage.

Blinken repeated U.S. concerns that a ceasefire could aid Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled it out unless hostages held by Hamas were released.

“There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. This should be completely removed from the lexicon,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s military said on Sunday it had surrounded Gaza City, at the northern end of the enclave. Palestinian news agency WAFA had reported “unprecedented bombardment” from Israel, while telecoms provider Paltel reported another cutoff of communications and internet services.

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Israel said 31 soldiers have been killed since it began expanded ground operations in Gaza on Oct. 27, fighting thousands of Hamas fighters who believe they can hold off Israel’s advance in a warren of tunnels under the enclave.

A spokesman for Israel’s military told CNN late on Sunday that bombardments in northern Gaza were halted for several hours for two days in a row to allow civilians safe passage to move to the south of the narrow coastal strip.

“Not only are we telling them where to go, but we’re also helping and creating much better humanitarian conditions in the south,” Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said, without indicating whether such pauses would continue.

Conricus said there was access to water and humanitarian goods in the south of Gaza, but Hamas was impeding convoys by firing on them. Reuters could not immediately verify his account.

U.S. CIA Director William Burns was also set to visit Israel on Monday to discuss the war and intelligence with senior officials, the New York Times reported. Burns also will make stops in other Middle East countries to discuss the Gaza situation, the Times quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday and “reiterated his ironclad commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself and emphasized the importance of both protecting civilians and delivering humanitarian assistance,” the Pentagon said.

Austin “reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this conflict.”

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will call foreign leaders later on Monday to discuss the conflict and advance the administration’s efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, her office said.

Jordan’s air force air-dropped urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza early on Monday, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Jordan’s king and reports in state media.

U.S. Central Command, which covers the Middle East, said on X that an Ohio-class nuclear missile submarine had arrived in the region – an unusual public announcement of a nuclear submarine’s position that was seen by some analysts as a message to Iran.

Ceasefire: Pressure mounts on Israel as civilian casualty mounts

(Reuters)

Related Topics:casualty ceasefire Featured Israel

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International

Nearly 10,000 evacuated in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region after Russia attack

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Nearly 10,000 evacuated in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region after Russia attack

Nearly 10,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region since a ground attack launched by Russian forces on May 10, its governor said Saturday.

The assault may only be the first wave of a wider offensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told AFP.

Over a week after its launch, “a total of 9,907 people have been evacuated,” governor Oleg Synegubov said.

They were fleeing Russian soldiers who managed to advance between five to 10 kilometres (three to six miles) along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces.

Synegubov said Ukraine’s armed forces had repelled two attempts to break through defences overnight.

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The situation was “under control” with “defenders in certain areas conducting assault… and combing operations.”

Moscow has been attacking several settlements including Vovchansk, just five kilometres from the border.

“In the area of the city of Vovchansk, Ukrainian troops are reinforcing their defence,” Synegubov said.

There are about 100 people left in the city where “heavy fighting” is taking place, he added later.

Russian forces have taken 278 square kilometres (107 square miles) between May 9 and 15, their biggest gains since the end of 2022, AFP calculated using data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russia’s offensive “could consist in several waves. There was the first wave” in the Kharkiv region, Zelensky told AFP journalists.

Zelensky played down Russia’s gains in the offensive but added: “We have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory. Not vice versa. And that’s still their advantage.”

Speaking about the offensive during a visit to China on Friday, President Vladimir Putin said it was a response to Ukraine shelling Russian border regions.

Nearly 10,000 evacuated in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region after Russia attack

International

Russia could increase Ukraine attacks, says Zelensky

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Russia could increase Ukraine attacks, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia could increase its attacks in Ukraine’s north east following its recent gains near the city of Kharkiv.

Russian troops have been trying to push forward as Ukraine’s outgunned forces attempt to shore up a weakened front line.

Mr Zelensky admitted that there were issues with military staffing and morale, saying a number of existing brigades were empty.

He also told the AFP news agency the country’s air fleet was lacking and renewed calls for allies to send more air defence and fighter jets.

“Today we have about 25% of what we need to defend Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said of Ukraine’s air capabilities.

“So that Russia does not have air superiority, our fleet should have 120 to 130 modern aircraft.”

The US recently approved a new $61bn (£48bn) aid package for Ukraine, which includes military support.

Russian forces recently began a summer offensive, grabbing a number of villages on Ukraine’s north-eastern frontier near Kharkiv – the country’s second largest city.

Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Saturday that nearly 10,000 people have been forced to leave in just over a week.

“The situation is controlled by defenders of Ukraine,” he added.

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Polish Prime Minster Donald Tusk, meanwhile, has announced the country will spend over €2.3bn (£1.9bn) to fortify its eastern border against “potential enemies”.

The border includes Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky also told AFP more soldiers were desperately needed at the frontlines.

“There are a serious number of brigades, existing brigades, which, a large number of them, are empty. We need to do this so that the guys have a normal rotation. Then their morale will be improved.”

A new mobilisation law aimed at addressing this came into force on Saturday.

Under the new rules, the age that people can be conscripted into the war has been lowered from 27 to 25 in an effort to boost recruit numbers.

The flood of volunteers Ukraine saw following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 has now dried up. Most of those who wanted to fight are either dead, injured or still stuck at the front waiting to be relieved by new recruits.

In February, Mr Zelensky announced that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Typically, Ukrainian officials do not make casualty figures public, and other estimates are much higher.

BBC Russian, in a joint project with the Mediazona website, has established the deaths of more than 50,000 Russian soldiers. But it estimates the total number to be greater than that.

Russia could increase Ukraine attacks, says Zelensky

International

Palestinian envoy lambasts US for arresting protesters

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Trends Admin

Palestinian envoy lambasts US for arresting protesters

The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullahi Shawesh, on Thursday, May 16, lambasted the Western World for clamping down on student protesters who were expressing solidarity and sympathy with his country.

He stressed that the arrest and clampdown on protesters negates the Western world’s stand as promoters of freedom of speech.

He said: “When college students express their solidarity and sympathy with the Palestinians, it is labelled as hate speech and anti-Semitism. These students are beaten and harshly treated. Threatened with expulsion from universities, severe sanctions in the future, imprisonment, and facing trial.

“This is the exact meaning of hypocrisy and double standards.”

Shawesh who gave a review of the 223-day battle between the Israeli forces and Hamas, said no fewer than 45,091 Palestinians have been killed, including 15,103 children and 9,961 women.

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He also said the battle has consumed 142 journalists and 492 medical staff.

The envoy said no fewer than 10,000 persons have been declared missing.

He added: “78,404 wounded and injured, with 72% of the victims being children and women. 17,000 children live without one or both of their parents.”

Beside the human casualties, Shawesh also listed a number of destructions recorded, which include “243 mosques destroyed and 321 partially damaged. 3 Churches targeted and destroyed, 86,000 housing units completely destroyed and 294,000 partially damaged. 103 schools and universities destroyed. 206 archaeological and heritage sites destroyed, 75,000 tons of explosives materials dropped on Gaza.

“33 hospitals along with 54 health centres were taken out of service. A total of 160 health institutions and 126 ambulances were targeted by the Israeli occupation.”

He said the state of infrastructure devastation has forced 11,000 wounded people to travel for treatment to undergo operations.

He also said that no fewer than “10,000 cancer patients face death due to the lack of medical treatment. 1,095,000 are infected with infectious diseases as a result of displacement. 20,000 cases of viral hepatitis infection due to displacement. Tens of thousands of pregnant women are at risk due to a lack of access to healthcare. There have been 310 cases of health personnel being arrested.”