- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack: police
- Blinken condemns China's 'increasingly dangerous' sea moves
- Toyota returns to Formula One as Haas partner
- EU chief says China must 'adapt its behaviour' to solve trade row
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- Lynx rally, stun Liberty in overtime in WNBA Finals opener
CMSC | 0.24% | 24.65 | $ | |
SCS | 2.21% | 12.885 | $ | |
NGG | 0.71% | 66.15 | $ | |
RIO | 0.18% | 66.96 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.58% | 6.92 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.51% | 24.898 | $ | |
GSK | -1.25% | 38.725 | $ | |
BCE | -0.2% | 32.795 | $ | |
BCC | 1.84% | 141.56 | $ | |
BTI | -0.17% | 35.05 | $ | |
VOD | -1.09% | 9.635 | $ | |
JRI | 0.11% | 13.235 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.03% | 59.49 | $ | |
AZN | 0.3% | 77.105 | $ | |
RELX | 1.04% | 46.845 | $ | |
BP | -0.72% | 32.11 | $ |
Israel strikes Gaza as pressure mounts to protect civilians
Israel carried out bombardments in Gaza on Sunday as international calls mounted for greater protection of civilians and the renewal of an expired truce with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Israeli army said it has conducted more than 400 strikes in Gaza since a ceasefire collapsed on Friday, while Hamas announced "rocket barrages" against multiple Israeli towns and cities including Tel Aviv.
Israeli strikes hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza late Saturday, killing at least 13 people, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris sharply rebuked on Saturday the rising civilian toll in Israel's eight-week war, which was sparked by an unprecedented attack on October 7.
"Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed," she told reporters at UN climate talks in Dubai.
"Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating."
According to the United Nations, an estimated 1.7 million people in Gaza -- more than two-thirds of the population -- have been displaced by eight weeks of war.
Fadel Naim, chief doctor at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, said his morgue had received 30 bodies on Saturday, including seven children.
"The planes bombed our houses: three bombs, three houses destroyed," Nemr al-Bel, 43, told AFP, adding he had counted 10 dead in his family and "13 more still under the rubble".
Gazans are short of food, water and other essentials, and many homes have been destroyed. UN agencies have declared a humanitarian catastrophe, although some aid trucks did arrive Saturday.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel had told NGOs not to bring aid convoys across the Rafah border crossing from Egypt after the truce expired.
But on Saturday, the charity said its Egyptian colleagues had managed to send over a number of trucks.
- Israel withdraws negotiators -
Hamas fighters broke through Gaza's militarised border into Israel on October 7, killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 240 Israelis and foreigners hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas in response and unleashed an air and ground campaign that has killed more than 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, the Hamas authorities who run Gaza say.
A week-long truce, brokered with the help of Qatar and backed by Egypt and the United States, led to the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
But that truce collapsed with both sides blaming each other for violating its conditions.
Israel said that Hamas had tried to fire a rocket before the ceasefire ended, and that it had failed to produce a list of further hostages for release.
Israeli negotiators left Doha on Saturday after reaching a dead end in talks aimed at securing a fresh pause in hostilities.
The Israeli army on Saturday said 137 hostages were still being held in Gaza.
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters on Saturday that fresh military action was needed to "create the conditions that push (Hamas) to pay a heavy price, and that is in the release of hostages".
Israeli hostages released from Gaza spoke publicly on Saturday for the first time uring their government to secure the release of the remaining captives held in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
"The moral obligation of this government is to bring them home immediately, without hesitation," said Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, who was released by Hamas in October, before the truce deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron appealed for "stepped-up efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire" to free all hostages, allow in more aid and to assure Israel of its security.
He took issue with Israel's stated war aims, warning that if the "total destruction of Hamas" in Gaza was the goal, "the war will last 10 years".
- 'Total victory' -
But speaking in Tel Aviv later on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war would continue "until we achieve all its aims" including eliminating the Islamist movement.
"Our soldiers prepared during the days of truce for total victory against Hamas," he said at his first press conference since fighting resumed.
"There is no way to win except by continuing the ground campaign," Netanyahu told reporters, underscoring that this would be done while "observing international law".
Israel's air, naval and ground forces have attacked more than 400 targets in Gaza since the end of the ceasefire, the army said on Saturday.
The figure is roughly in line with the daily average number of strikes prior to the pause, according to military figures released previously.
Warplanes hit "more than 50 targets in an extensive attack in the Khan Yunis area" of southern Gaza, according to the military.
Separately, members of an Israeli armoured brigade "eliminated terrorist squads and directed fire against terrorist targets in the north of the Gaza Strip", the military said.
In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said troops shot dead a Palestinian at a checkpoint near the city of Nablus after he "drew a knife and started to advance towards them."
Iran's Revolutionary Guard accused Israel of killing two of its members in Syria who it said had been on an "advisory mission".
Hamas in October last year said it had restored relations with Syria's government.
Israeli attacks on targets in Syria have intensified since the Israel-Hamas war began.
burs-mca/dhw
C.Garcia--AMWN