Gaza Turmoil
Live Reporting
A day of horror: Israeli attacks unleash unimaginable destruction
Israeli attacks across the central and southern Gaza Strip killed at least 27 people in a day dubbed as a ”bloody day".
Among the victims are at least five Palestinians, including a mother and her children, who were tragically “incinerated” when their tent was bombed by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.
UK’s top diplomat calls on Israel to condemn Smotrich’s remarks
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has called on the Israeli government to retract and condemn Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remarks on starving the entire population of Gaza.
He said “there can be no justification” for the statements.
“International law could not be more clear – the deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime,” Lammy added.
UNICEF calls for immediate de-escalation to protect children
The UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stressed the need for “immediate de-escalation” in the Middle East to protect the children of this region.
Issuing a statement, the agency said every attack during the Gaza war has brought “news of children among those killed”.
“In less than a year, thousands of children have been killed across the State of Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and the occupied Golan Heights,” it said.
“Beyond those tragic deaths, there are many more boys and girls suffering from injuries that have forever marked their bodies and caused immeasurable damage to their mental health.”
The situation for children threatens to get far, far worse” if violence in the region escalates further, the UNICEF warned.
“Immediate de-escalation is essential to safeguard the lives and well-being of children, as the alternative is unconscionable,” it said. “Children have a right to be protected from violence and this should always be upheld.”
Canada to pull children of diplomats out of Israel, Canadian Press reports
(Reuters) – The Canadian government said on Wednesday it has decided to pull the children and guardians of its diplomats out of Israel, amid fears of a widened conflict in the Middle East, the Canadian Press reported.
Israel's tensions with Iran and Hezbollah have fanned fears of a broader conflict in a region already on edge amid Israel's assault on Gaza which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, including widespread hunger.
Palestinian Prisoner's Society demands probe into torture of detainees
A through probe into the “systematic torture of Palestinian detainees” is imperative amid disturbing reports of serious abuses in Israeli prisons, including instances of rape.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has demanded the United Nations to initiate an international inquiry into this issue.
WHO battles polio outbreak amidst Gaza's fiery storm
The World Health Organization (WHO) is facing issues to bridle a sever outbreak of polio in the Palestinian territory.
The organization says that Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza is creating multiple obstacles to fight disease.
Israeli army orders immediate evacuation from two areas
In anticipation of an expected “large scale” army operation, the Israeli military has asked residents and displaced Palestinians to leave the Beit Hanoon and Beit Lahiya areas of northern Gaza immediately.
Iran's president tells Macron aggression will not be tolerated
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will not stay quiet over aggression, President Masoud Pezeshkian told French counterpart Emmanuel Macron according to state media on Wednesday, amid fears of more regional conflict after the killing in Tehran last week of Hamas' leader.
"Iran will never remain silent in the face of aggression against its interests and security", Pezeshkian told Macron in a phone call, criticising Israel over the 10-month Gaza war.
Germany appeals to citizens: don't wait for evacuation from Lebanon
BERLIN (Reuters) - Rumours of a possible evacuation operation from Lebanon have given German citizens there a false sense of security, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, urging them to leave the country immediately.
"The time now has come to leave Lebanon," the spokesperson said, calling on citizens to organise their own exit even if this means travelling via Turkiye or paying high prices for flights.
Fearing Israeli strikes, residents flee south Beirut Hezbollah stronghold
BEIRUT (Lebanon) (AFP) – Batoul and her family have been scrambling to secure housing outside Beirut's southern suburbs where an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander last week, but spiking demand has sent prices soaring.
Many in the southern suburbs -- a packed residential area known as Dahiyeh which is also a Hezbollah bastion -- have been trying to leave, fearing full-blown war between the Iran-backed group and Israel in the wake of the commander's killing.
Israel vows to eliminate new Hamas leader as war enters 11th month
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel vowed to eliminate new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the Oct 7 attack, whose appointment further inflamed regional tensions as the Gaza war entered its 11th month on Wednesday.
The naming of Sinwar to lead the Palestinian group came as Israel braced for potential Iranian retaliation over the killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.
