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Live blog: Blinken seeks swift Gaza truce but Netanyahu complicates deal
Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 320th day, has killed at least 40,173 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 92,857 others, a conservative estimate, with 10,000+ estimated to be buried under debris of bombed homes.
A wounded Palestinian is transported into the Nasser hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis on August 20, 2024. / Photo: AFP
AFP
A wounded Palestinian is transported into the Nasser hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis on August 20, 2024. / Photo: AFP
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
0230 GMT — Pro-Palestine protesters arrested in Chicago
More than a dozen pro-Palestine demonstrators have been arrested during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spilled out onto the surrounding streets on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
The intense confrontations with officers began minutes into the demonstration, after some protesters – many dressed in black, their faces covered – charged at a line of police that had blocked the group from marching.
A man in Chicago Bulls hat, his face covered by a balaclava, called on protesters to “shut down the DNC.”
The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of over 200 groups that organised Monday’s protests, advertised the demonstration under the slogan of “Make it great like ’68,” invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
2030 GMT — Blinken seeks Gaza truce but Netanyahu sabotages deal
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken has said in Qatar that there was no time to waste to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal as he wrapped up a Middle East tour.
“Time is of the essence” for a truce deal, Blinken told reporters at Doha airport as he prepared to fly back to Washington, adding that the United States rejects a “long-term” Israeli occupation in besieged Gaza.
He added the United States, Egypt and Qatar will do everything possible to get Hamas resistance group on board with the”bridging proposal.”
Hamas says it will stick to original Biden-announced truce plan and accused US of not being an honest peace broker. Hamas says Israel is obstructing the previously agreed plan by making new demands.
Israel’s hawkish premier Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his country will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor (Saladin Axis) on the Gaza-Egypt border and the Netzarim Axis, which divides Gaza into two parts “under any circumstances.”
Hamas says this new demand by Netanyahu is a non-starter.
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0100 GMT — Anti-Israel hackers release troves of classified data: Haaretz
Anti-Israel hackers have released extensive amounts of classified data amid Israel’s struggle to contain leaks, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
The leaks, according to the newspaper, involve tens of thousands of sensitive documents and emails stolen from Israeli institutions, including the Justice Ministry.
The attacks, which began on October 7, 2023, have targeted a wide range of entities, from military and defense contractors to hospitals and government ministries. The scale of the breach has overwhelmed Israel’s cybersecurity infrastructure.
“The true extent of the damage to Israel’s security and economy caused by these leaks is not yet fully known,” a source close to the investigation revealed. “Despite massive investment in defensive cybersecurity measures, the scale of the leaks is likely the most severe in Israel’s history — an unprecedented looting of gigabytes upon gigabytes of information of all sorts.”
2000 GMT — Netanyahu accused of sabotaging talks
Some members involved in the ongoing talks for a hostage release-ceasefire deal have accused Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging the negotiations after he was said to have told the hawkish Tikva and Gvura forums that “Israel won’t leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor under any circumstances,” the KAN public broadcaster said.
“Netanyahu’s statement is intended to blow up the negotiations, there’s no other way about it,” the source told KAN.
“The prime minister knows that we are in a critical period during which we’re working on solutions for the Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim ahead of the next summit.”
“He knows there is progress — and then he puts out statements that are the opposite of what was agreed upon with the mediators,” the source added.
2000 GMT — Israeli strikes kill 4 in Lebanon
Lebanon has said four people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country’s south, while Hezbollah said it launched barrages of rockets and drones at Israeli troops.
Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli troops since the Gaza war began in October.
But fears of a major escalation have grown in recent weeks after the Israeli killing of a top Hezbollah commander.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said “Israeli enemy strikes on the village of Dhayra” killed four people and wounded two others, after earlier reporting two dead.
For our live updates from Tuesday, August 20, 2024, click here.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES
