Israel-Gaza latest: UK launching surveillance flights over Gaza; Israel ‘prepared for absolute victory’; US says two-state solution remains goal
In support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity, the UK Ministry of Defence says it will conduct surveillance flights over Israel and Gaza. Netanyahu, speaking about the remaining hostages, reiterates Israel’s pledge to “do everything we can in order to bring them all back home”.
Sunday 3 December 2023 01:13, UK
Israel-Hamas War
Smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza
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Smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza
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Key points
Alistair Bunkall analysis: Why has Netanyahu pulled team out of Qatar talks? View post
Gaza at breaking point, Red Cross says View post
Actress apologises for claiming black people have been ‘brainwashed to hate Jews’ View post
Israeli officials ‘knew of Hamas attack plan a year ago’ View post
The war explained:Why Qatar led ceasefire negotiations View post|How Thailand freed its hostages View post|A short history of this conflict View post
Updates from Alistair BunkallandStuart Ramsayin Jerusalem
Live reporting by Jess Sharp and (earlier) Niamh Lynch
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5h ago
17:40
Civilians are ‘centre of gravity’ – US defence secretary
Protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is “both a moral responsibility and strategic imperative”, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said.
He said he had “repeatedly” made this clear to Israel’s leaders.
“In this kind of a fight, the centre of gravity is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.”
They were Mr Austin’s strongest remarks yet on the need for Israel to protect civilians.
But on the ceasefire’s breakdown he blamed Hamas for failing to meet conditions on hostages and for an attack in Jerusalem.
Mr Austin said Washington was working diplomatically to restore the truce
“We’re going to continue to work with Israel and Egypt and Qatar on efforts to re-implement the pause,” he told a news conference.
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5h ago
17:18
IDF says it has killed Hamas commander
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Israeli Security Agency (ISA) say they have killed Hamas commander Wessam Farhat, leader of the Shejaiya Battalion.
The commander was responsible for killing six IDF solders in the 2014 Gaza war and took part in planning the 7 October attacks, the IDF and ISA said in a joint statement posted on Telegram.
They said he was behind terror attacks in which Israeli civilians, including a child, were killed.
He was “eliminated” by Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Saturday, Israel said.
“Since the beginning of the war, the IDF and ISA have significantly degraded the Shejaiya Battalion’s capabilities, including the elimination of their senior commanders and the striking of terror infrastructure and weapons,” the statement said.
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6h ago
16:38
Charity demands investigation into attack on MSF convoy that killed two
MSF has called for an independent investigation into an attack on one of the medical charity’s convoys that killed two people.
The charity said “all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army” for the attack in Gaza City on 18 November.
An MSF volunteer and a family member of a staff member were killed when the convoy, which it said was clearly marked with the charity’s logo, came under fire.
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7h ago
15:30
MP under fire for comparing squirrels to Hamas
Jim Shannon, a DUP MP, came under fire in recent days for calling grey squirrels the “Hamas of the squirrel world”.
His comments came during a House of Commons debate on the control of the grey squirrel population and sparked criticism on social media.
Grey squirrels from North America were introduced in the UK in the 1800s and are a major threat to native red squirrel populations.
Watch below…
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7h ago
14:59
100 aid trucks enter Gaza through Rafah crossing
The first trucks to enter Gaza since fighting resumed went through the Rafah crossing on Saturday.
The Palestine Red Crescent said they contained food, water and medical supplies.
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8h ago
14:46
No Christmas tree in Bethlehem amid conflict in Gaza
There will be no Christmas tree in Bethlehem this year at the traditional site of Jesus’s birth as the Israel-Hamas conflict rages on.
The town will hold pared-down celebrations “without the fanfare and without too many lights”.
Bethlehem, which neighbours Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, has seen destruction in Israeli-Palestinian clashes in recent decades.
But the town has been particularly affected by the current conflict in the Gaza Strip 30 miles away.
A monk in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem at the start of the Christmas season
A monk in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem at the start of the Christmas season
At the start of December every year, church leaders convene in Bethlehem to inaugurate the pre-Christmas Advent season – usually a major tourist draw.
This year the streets and plazas of the hilly town were largely empty and sombre under a dry winter sun.
“We have never seen Bethlehem like this, not even during the time of COVID. The town is empty, sad,” Father Ibrahim Faltas, a senior Franciscan friar, said.
“Today was meant to be a joyous day.”
For the first time in many residents’ memories, no Christmas tree has been erected in Nativity Square.
“We will celebrate in sobriety,” said Father Francesco Patton of the Custody of the Holy Land church group.
“That means without the fanfare and without too many lights, in the most spiritual way and more (among) families than in the square.”
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8h ago
14:27
Analysis: Israel introduces QR code evacuation system – assuming people can use it is a stretch
Israel’s determination to completely dismantle Hamas means that takeover of the south is an absolute military necessity. The southern campaign has already started, with air raids in and around the city of Khan Younis fully underway.
The problem is that to all intents and purposes most of the surviving Gazan population is now crowded into the south already.
Many had moved south from towns or cities like Gaza City, and have been told by Israeli defence forces they need to move again, further south, to the Rafah Crossing area that borders Egypt, or to the barren coastal strip of al Mawasi.
Under the Israeli plan to ensure people move as safely as possible, they have divided Gaza into numbered blocks, and people living there, in theory, will be told when to move before bombings begin. How long they will have to comply is unknown.
Leaflets have been dropped with a QR code linked to an interactive map with the numbered districts marked on it.
By any metric, to assume people now displaced, living rough, scared and disorientated, and unlikely to have internet when they don’t have food or water, could navigate the map, would seem a bit of a stretch.
Sky News teams in Gaza met Muhamed Rayis holding the leaflet with the QR code on it. He says he followed the instructions, moved to a safe area, and then got bombed.
“Look at this is the leaflet. How can you bomb civilians in their homes? You’re telling people that Wadi Alsalga is safe, how come then you bomb there, at least warn us before you bomb us, they have bombed 3 or 4 houses, they’ve displaced people, why?”
“We do not know where to go, because they have told us the central area is safe, and we came here and now they started to bomb us here too, so we do not know where to go. This is their leaflet!” he shouted.
What we have seen from our daily feed of picture from our teams inside Gaza illustrates just how difficult and dangerous living in the south has become – and how difficult it will be for the IDF to complete its operation without killing more large numbers of civilians.
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8h ago
14:10
UK to use surveillance aircraft to help locate hostages
The UK will conduct surveillance flights over Israel and Gaza as part of hostage rescue efforts.
The Ministry of Defence said the surveillance aircraft “will be unarmed, do not have a combat role, and will be tasked solely to locate hostages”.
“Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue.”
The flights will take place over the Eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza.
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8h ago
14:00
Israel spent ceasefire preparing for ‘absolute victory’ – Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel’s prime minister has pledged to continue the fight against Hamas “until the end”.
“Until we achieve victory, the war continues,” he told a news conference.
“The day before yesterday, I instructed the IDF, along with the war cabinet, to resume the war with increasing intensity over the past 24 hours.
“We are going to continue with the war until we achieve all of its objectives. And you cannot achieve these objectives without continuing the ground manoeuvre.”
He said 400 Hamas targets had been “eliminated” since the ceasefire ended on Friday.
“In the north, we are also constantly acting against any attempt of Hezbollah to act against us.
“We are intercepting terror units, we are distancing the enemy from the border and we are targeting all their means of warfare.”
Mr Netanyahu placed these military objectives in the context of getting hostages out of Gaza, saying “we will do everything we can in order to bring them all back home”.
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9h ago
13:26
‘Humanitarian pauses should be resumed,’ says top EU foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, has called for humanitarian pauses in fighting to be resumed.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Borrell said that since hostilities resumed, the “already high civilian death toll continues to increase”.
He said it is “imperative” Israel respects International Humanitarian Law and the “wars of law”.
“This is not only a moral obligation, but a legal one as well,” he wrote.
“Humanitarian pauses should be resumed, while simultaneously working towards a comprehensive political solution for all the Palestinian territories.”
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9h ago
13:02
Singer The Weeknd donates £1.9m to humanitarian food effort in Gaza
Singer The Weeknd has relocated $2.5m (£1.9m) from his charity to the World Food Programme’s humanitarian response efforts in Gaza.
The star, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, is also a Goodwill Ambassador.
As part of his role, he established the XO Humanitarian Fund in partnership with World Food Program USA.
The fund has raised $5m (£3.9m) to date, and has already sent emergency food assistance to women and children in Ethiopia.
The second donation will equate to four million emergency meals in Gaza.
It will also fund 820 metric tons of food parcels that could feed more than 173,000 Palestinians for two weeks.
Next year, The Weeknd has committed to dedicate the equivalent of $1 (around 79p) per concert ticket sold from the global leg of his After Hours ‘til Dawn stadium tour to the XO Humanitarian Fund.
AP
AP
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10h ago
12:35
‘No prisoner exchange until war on Gaza is over’ – deputy Hamas chief
Saleh al Arouri, the deputy Hamas chief, has said there will be no further exchange of prisoners until “the war on Gaza is over”.
Mr Arouri made the comments when speaking to Al Jazeera – a Qatari state-owned television network.
He said the remaining hostages are Israeli soldiers and civilian men who served in the Israeli army.
Later, he added that Israeli hostages will not be freed unless there is a ceasefire and all Palestinian prisoners are released.
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10h ago
12:11
Palestinian human rights groups refuse to meet International Criminal Court prosecutor
Palestinian human rights groups have refused to meet the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan.
The groups accused him of favouring Israeli accusations of human rights abuses over longstanding Palestinian charges.
Mr Khan has been visiting Israel and the occupied West Bank following a request by a group representing families of victims of the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen, but he was also due to meet Palestinian officials in Ramallah.
However Palestinian activists said they would refuse to see him because of their objections to what they saw as unequal treatment of Israeli and Palestinian cases.
“As Palestinian human rights organisations, we decided not to meet him,” said Ammar al Dwaik, director general of the Independent Commission for Human Rights.
“I think the way this visit has been handled shows that Mr Khan is not handling his work in an independent and professional manner,” he said.
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11h ago
11:39
Israel will seek a ‘security envelope’ once conflict is over, says official
Israel will seek a “security envelope” with special zones and arrangements preventing Hamas from being positioned on its border once the war is over, an official has said.
Mark Regev, a special adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel can “never again” allow Hamas to carry out an attack on its people.
“Israel will have to have a security envelope,” he told reporters.
In the past, Israel has suggested it was considering a buffer zone inside Gaza.
“If you ask me about a buffer zone, let me be clear; you won’t have a situation in the future where you can have Hamas terrorists on the border, directly on the border, positioned just to cross over and kill our people again,” Mr Regev said.
“On the contrary, that is creating security zones where you have a special situation on the ground which limits the ability of people to enter Israel to kill our people. It’s common sense.”
According to Reuters news agency, three regional sources said Israel related its plans to its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates.
They also said Saudi Arabia, which does not have ties with Israel, had been informed.
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11h ago
11:20
Israel has legitimate military objective – but must do more to protect Gazans, says US vice president
In the last few moments, the US vice president has been speaking to reporters.
During the short briefing, Kamala Harris said Israel has a legitimate military objective against Hamas, but that it must do more to protect civilians.
“Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating,” Ms Harris told reporters.
“So we all want this conflict to end as soon as possible, and to ensure Israel’s security and ensure security for the Palestinian people. We must accelerate efforts to build an enduring peace.”
She explained a two-state solution remains the primary goal – you can read more about what that means here.
However, she said security arrangements at the end of the conflict need to be acceptable to Israel and its regional partners.
Earlier today, Ms Harris laid out broad American objectives for when the Israel-Hamas conflict ends at the COP28 summit.
According to the White House, she told the Egyptian president that “under no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza”.
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11h ago
11:10
Israeli strike ‘kills prominent Palestinian scholar’
An Israeli airstrike on Gaza has killed the prominent Palestinian scholar Sufyan Tayeh and his family, the Palestinian higher education ministry has claimed.
The attack hit the town of al Faluja, which is around 30km northeast of Gaza City, it said.
Mr Tayeh was president of the Islamic University of Gaza and was a leading researcher in physics and applied mathematics.
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11h ago
11:02
Watch: Negotiations ‘likely’ to continue
As we have been reporting today, Israel’s prime minister has ordered his intelligence agency, Mossad, to leave Qatar.
It’s been mediating ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas – but it’s believed talks have reached an “impasse”.
Some have suggested the move shows Israel believes there is nothing more to discuss.
But, our military analyst Sean Bell has said it doesn’t necessarily mean negotiations between Israel and Hamas are over.
You can watch his analysis of the situation below…
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11h ago
10:49
Syria and Iran say Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus killing at least two
Iran says an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed two Revolutionary Guard members on Saturday.
The report on the Guard’s news portal identified the two members as Mohammad Ali Ataei Shourcheh and Panah Taghizadeh, and said they were carrying out an advisory mission in Syria.
Syrian state media, quoting an unnamed military official, said Israeli airstrikes hit several areas on the outskirts of the capital Damascus early on Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based opposition war monitor, said the strikes hit the southern Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, where “there are military forces working with Hezbollah”.
It said the strike killed two Syrian citizens and two foreigners and wounded five others.
This latest development is likely to increase tensions between Israel and Iran, which has been a staunch supporter of Hamas.
Iran’s military presence in Syria has been a major concern for Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment along its northern border.
Syria has accused Israel of carrying out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts in recent years — but Israel has rarely acknowledged such strikes.
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12h ago
10:31
Met Police arrest man at pro-Palestinian protest in London
The Metropolitan Police have arrested a man at a pro-Palestinian protest in Brixton, south London.
The man was arrested in Windrush Square on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
The arrest relates to a placard he was carrying.
Police said that when officers tried to leave the area their vehicle was surrounded by other protesters including some who sat in the road blocking their path.
Additional officers were deployed and the arrested man is now on his way to custody. Officers remain at the scene.
Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police
Officers in nearby Saltoun Road also arrested a teenage male on suspicion of criminal damage of a police vehicle. After that arrest, several people tried to obstruct the police van again as it drove off.
They were moved out of the way by officers and the male is now in custody, the force said in a social media post.
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12h ago
10:06
Hamas claims to have ‘killed or wounded’ Israeli foot soldiers
Hamas’s armed wing has claimed to have “killed or wounded” Israeli foot soldiers stationed in northwest Gaza.
Al Qassam Brigades said it “ambushed” the Israeli troops inside a building in the al Tawam area.
In a post on Telegram, the militant group said it “targeted them with anti-personnel devices, anti-fortified shells and heavy machine guns”.
It added that it had “confirmed that the force member were killed or wounded”.
Israel has said it is targeting Hamas operatives in its ground operation in Gaza, which has focused on the north of the region.
It claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence.
According to the countries latest figures, 77 of its soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive.
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