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☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy is paying a visit to Belgium
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg walk on the day of a NATO Defence Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Zelenskiy is in Belgium this Wednesday, Belgian media reported, where a meeting of NATO defence ministers is taking place. After Spain, Belgium will hold the European Union's rotating presidency for six months starting Jan 1 2024. Zelenskiy came to Brussels after a visit to Romania, where he called for steps to ensure Russia does not turn the Black Sea into a "dead zone" for shipping after Moscow quit a deal allowing safe Ukrainian grain exports. Reporting by Marine Strauss, Andrew Gray; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, NATO Jens Stoltenberg, Johanna Geron, Rustem Umerov, Yoav Gallant, Jens Stoltenberg, Lloyd Austin, Charles Q, Brown, Zelenskiy, Marine Strauss, Andrew Gray, Benoit Van Overstraeten Organizations: NATO, NATO Defence Ministers, REUTERS, Rights, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Israeli, Contact, Diplomats, Lloyd Austin and Air Force, U.S, U.S . Congress, Moscow, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights BRUSSELS, Belgian, Ukraine, Vilnius, Finland, Estonia, Israel, Spain, Washington, Kyiv, Romania, Russia

[1/4] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg walk on the day of a NATO Defence Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 11, 2023. On his first visit to NATO HQ since Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year, Zelenskiy said the coming cold months would be one of Ukraine's biggest challenges. Standing alongside Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "preparing once again to use winter as a weapon of war" by attacking energy infrastructure in Ukraine. "We need to prevent that, with more advanced and increased capabilities for air defence, we can make a big difference," Stoltenberg said. NATO defence ministers were to sit down with their Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in the NATO-Ukraine Council, established at the alliance's Vilnius summit in July.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, NATO Jens Stoltenberg, Johanna Geron, Putin, Zelenskiy, Jens Stoltenberg, Vladimir Putin, Stoltenberg, Lloyd Austin, Charles Q, Brown, Alexander De Croo, Rustem, Yoav Gallant, Marine Strauss, Andrew Gray, Idrees Ali, Sabine Siebold, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: NATO, NATO Defence Ministers, REUTERS, Ukraine Defense Contact, Zelenskiy, Diplomats, Lloyd Austin and Air Force, U.S, U.S . Congress, Belgian, Ukraine Council, Israeli, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, BRUSSELS, Ukraine, U.S, Washington, Kyiv, NATO, Vilnius, Finland, Estonia

Domestic courts can apply so-called universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases, but that would be limited in scope. It has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in its 123 member states or committed by its nationals. The ICC has had an ongoing investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2021. WHAT ACTS COULD VIOLATE WAR CRIMES LAW? The taking of hostages, murder and torture are explicitly banned under the Geneva Conventions, while Israel's response could also be subject to a war crimes investigation.

Persons: Prosecutors, Omar Shakir, Yoav Gallant, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Nick Kaufman, Stephanie van den Berg, Anthony Deutsch, Heather Timmons, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: HAGUE, Hamas, Criminal Court, ICC, Palestine, Rights, Israeli, GENEVA, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Geneva, The Hague, Rome, China, United States, Russia, India, Egypt, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, York, Gaza, Palestine, U.S, British, Kibbutz

On Saturday, Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip rampaged through parts of southern Israel, in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history. Israel's embassy in Washington said on Tuesday the death toll from the weekend Hamas attacks had surpassed 1,000. Biden called the Hamas attacks "an act of sheer evil" and said Washington was rushing additional military assistance to Israel, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish the Iron Dome aerial defense system. They were the first senior Hamas members killed since Israel began pounding the enclave. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who denounced the Hamas attacks, said: "International humanitarian law is clear: the obligation to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects remains applicable throughout the attacks."

Persons: Kan, Joe Biden, —, Yoav Gallant, Israel, Biden, ", Washington, Antony Blinken, Matthew Miller, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Ammar Awad, Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Khan Younis, Sabra, Gaza's Khan Younis, Ala Abu Tair, Abassan Al, Jawad Abu Shammala, Zakaria Abu Maamar, Abu Shammala, Human Rights Volker Turk, Dan Williams, Emily Rose, Henriette Chacar, Ari Rabinovitch, Nidal, Maayan, Steve Holland, Nandita Bose, Rami Ayyub, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Howard Goller Organizations: Hamas, U.S, Israel, Public, Israeli, White, United, Department, REUTERS, Defence, United Nations, Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Human Rights, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Sabra, JERUSALEM, GAZA, WASHINGTON, Palestinian, Israel's, Washington, Lebanon, United States, Iran, U.S, Ashkelon, Israeli, Daraj Tuffah, Gaza City, Khan, Gaza's, U.N, East Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Kfar Aza, Lincoln

[1/3] The remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel lies on a road where it fell in Ashkelon, southern Israel, October 10. An Israeli security source said Deif was directly involved in the planning and operational aspects of the attack. Deif said Hamas had urged the international community to put an end to the "crimes of the occupation", but Israel had stepped up its provocation. He also said Hamas had in the past asked Israel for a humanitarian deal to release Palestinian prisoners, but this was rejected. He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention, a Hamas source said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, Mohammed Deif, Al, Deif, Israel, Hamas's Al, Yehya Sinwar, Israel's, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Baraka, we've, Mohammad Masri, William Maclean, David Clarke Organizations: REUTERS, Brigades, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Tehran, Hamas, West Bank, Islamic University, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Ashkelon, Al Aqsa, DUBAI, Jerusalem's Al Aqsa, Jerusalem, Iran, Tehran, Washington, Khan

Just a few days ago this was the sleepy, scenic kibbutz of Kfar Aza, an Israeli farming community of about 750 people, many of them families with young children. Now it's become a charnel house after Hamas gunmen burst out of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and laid waste to the village. There was no official death toll from the Kfar Aza kibbutz as of Tuesday evening, with Israeli soldiers still searching homes they suspect may be booby-trapped with explosives. [1/37]The dead bodies of Palestinians lie on grass following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, October 11. The Hamas gunmen rammed through the kibbutz's fence, possibly using an earthmover, clearing the way for dozens of other gunmen to enter through the breach, she said.

Persons: KFAR, it's, Itai Veruv, Veruv, I've, Kfar Aza, Avidor Schwartzman, Aza, Violeta Santos Moura, Schwartzman, Keren Flash, Maayan Lubell, Janis Laizans, Emily Rose, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: Israeli Defence Forces, REUTERS, Reuters, Jets, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: KFAR AZA, Israel, Kfar Aza, Gaza, It's, Kibbutz Beeri, verandas

☆ Bodies of Residents and Militants Lie in the Grounds of Ravaged Israeli Kibbutz
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Maayan LubellKFAR AZA, Israel (Reuters) - Bodies of Israeli residents and Hamas militants lay out in the grounds of the Kfar Aza kibbutz among burned out houses, strewn furniture and torched cars, as Israeli soldiers went from house to house to take away the dead. Israeli Defence Forces took the foreign press through the site on Tuesday, which was the one of the hardest hit areas when Hamas militants attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip. The stench of bodies was heavy in the air as reporters walked the paths of the kibbutz. The militants went on a rampage, killing hundreds of Israelis and taking dozens hostage in places like Kfar Aza, near Sderot. At least 770 Gazans have since been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza officials, while whole districts in Gaza have been flattened.

Persons: Lubell KFAR, Aza, It's, it's, Itai Veruv, Michael Georgy, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Israeli Defence Forces, Jets Locations: Lubell KFAR AZA, Israel, Gaza, Europe, Kfar Aza, Sderot

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City, in Gaza, October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Acquire Licensing RightsOct 10 (Reuters) - Palestinians in Gaza say Israeli bombardment has been so heavy they feel they are living their own "Nakba," the Arabic word for catastrophe that refers to the 1948 war of Israel's creation that led to their mass dispossession. "Only yesterday I understood what my grandpa, may he rest in peace, told me about 1948 and the Nakba. More than seven decades after the Nakba, Palestinians still lament the calamity that resulted in their displacement and blocked their dreams of statehood. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the price Gaza would pay "will change reality for generations".

Persons: Mohammed Salem, I've, Alaqad, Yoav Gallant, Radwan Abu, Kass, Maya Gebeily, Anna Magdalena Lubowicka, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Tuesday, West Bank, Israeli, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Israel, videocall, British, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, East Jerusalem, Rimal, Beirut, Gdansk, Poland

On Saturday, Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip rampaged through parts of southern Israel, killing hundreds of people in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history. Israel's embassy in Washington said the death toll from the weekend Hamas attacks had surpassed 1,000. U.S. officials say they do not have evidence Iran orchestrated the attacks, but point to Iran's longterm support for Hamas. Biden called the Hamas attacks "an act of sheer evil" and said Washington was rushing additional military assistance to Israel, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish the Iron Dome aerial defense system. Israeli soldiers went from house to house to take away the dead.

Persons: Ronen, Israel, Biden, Joe Biden, Israel's, Yoav Gallant, ", Washington, Antony Blinken, Matthew Miller, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Gaza's Khan Younis, Ala Abu Tair, Abassan Al, Jawad Abu Shammala, Zakaria Abu Maamar, Khan Younis, Abu Shammala, Human Rights Volker Turk, Elad Hakim, Aza, Itai Veruv, Dan Williams, Emily Rose, Henriette Chacar, Ari Rabinovitch, Nidal, Maayan, Steve Holland, Nandita Bose, Rami Ayyub, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, Rockets, Hamas, U.S, Israel, Israeli, White, United, Department, Defence, The United Nations, Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Human Rights, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Ashkelon, Lebanon, Syria, U.S, JERUSALEM, GAZA, WASHINGTON, Palestinian, Israel's, Washington, United States, Iran, Gaza's, U.N, East Jerusalem, Be'eri, stretchers, Europe, Jerusalem, Kfar Aza

☆ Bodies of residents and militants lie in the grounds of ravaged Israeli kibbutz
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli soldiers carry the body of a victim of an attack by militants from Gaza at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura Acquire Licensing RightsKFAR AZA, Israel, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Bodies of Israeli residents and Hamas militants lay in the grounds of the Kfar Aza kibbutz among burned out houses, strewn furniture and torched cars, as Israeli soldiers went from house to house to take away the dead. A pillow and other objects from the house lay scattered. The militants went on a rampage, killing hundreds of Israelis and taking dozens hostage in places like Kfar Aza, near Sderot. Israeli troops were going house to house to retrieve civilian bodies in body bags.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, KFAR AZA, Aza, It's, it's, Itai Veruv, Michael Georgy, Alexandra Hudson, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Israeli Defence Forces, Jets, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Aza, Israel, It's, Europe, Kfar Aza, Sderot

In Rafah, in the south, men strode behind a body being carried on a bier, Palestinian and Hamas flags raised behind. At the cemetery a family buried Saad Lubbad, a small boy killed in air strikes. At night the enclave is plunged into total darkness, punctuated by the blasts of air strikes. Despite the danger, the 45-year-old was pleased by Hamas' raid into Israel he said, requesting anonymity for fear of Israeli reprisals. "We are afraid but still we are proud like never before," he said, adding: "Hamas wiped out entire Israeli army battalions.

Persons: Mohammad Brais, Yoav Gallant, clambered, strode, Saad Lubbad, Israel, Violeta Santos Moura, Brais, Nidal al, Angus McDowall, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Israeli, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Gaza, GAZA, Israel, Rafah, Palestinian, Beit Hanoun, Israeli, Ashkelon, U.N, Gaza City

☆ Hamas assault on Israel shows surprise still possible in AI era: Peter Apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The failure of those systems to deliver advanced warning of Saturday's Hamas attack, however, represents a failure of intelligence likely to be studied and discussed for years. “There will have been warning signs,” one former Western intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. In concealing their attack, Hamas will have been helped by conditions of Gaza Strip, where Hamas seized power in 2007 and some 2.3 million people are hemmed in behind a 51-km border. Israel may still fear the Hamas assault from Gaza is a precursor to that. Since the Hamas attack, Russia has reasserted its support for an independent Palestinian state and called for a ceasefire while Israeli officials have criticised China directly for failing to condemn Hamas.

Persons: Robert Bauer, Eyal Zamir, Jacob Dallal, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, –, Israel, Assad, David Barnea, Sergey Lavrov, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Hamas, NATO, Israeli Defence Ministry, United, United Arab Emirates, Islamic, U.S, Russian, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S, Ukraine, Washington, Taiwan, Iranian, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, ” Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Iran, Tehran, Israel’s, Syria, Islamic State, Russia, China, Turkish, Kurdish, Moscow, Beijing

☆ Hamas built a mock Israeli town in Gaza and practiced its attack in plain sight — but Israel didn't react, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hamas trained its fighters on a mock Israeli settlement, learning how to storm it, Reuters added. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Palestinian militant group Hamas built a mock Israeli town in Gaza and practiced attacking in plain sight — but Israel didn't react, Reuters reported on Sunday. Despite convincing Israel that they had no interest in war, Hamas militants were practicing for the offensive in plain sight by setting up a mock Israeli settlement in Gaza to train its fighters. "Israel surely saw [the videos], but they were convinced that Hamas wasn't keen on getting into a confrontation," the source told Reuters. Since the attacks over the weekend, Israel conceded that it was duped by Hamas.

Persons: Israel, —, Israel didn't, wasn't, Nir, Yoav Gallant Organizations: Reuters, Service, Hamas, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Defence Forces, Israel's Locations: Gaza, Israel, Egypt

☆ Hamas deployed specialised units to attack Israel, says source
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Palestinian Islamist group Hamas deployed a force of about 1,000 fighters to stage the most devastating attack on Israel in decades, organising them into specialised units, a source close to the group told Reuters. Some of the operations or training by the units were caught on videos released by Hamas and its armed wing the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades. Videos released by Hamas showed the unit, with badges carrying the name Air Force Falcon Squadron, in what appeared to be training for the assault. Videos issued by Hamas showed the fighters breaching the security fences, with the dim light and low sun suggesting it was at around the time as the rocket barrage. Hamas released a video showing what it described as drones called Zouari, saying they were the ones used to pave the way for the infiltration.

Persons: Deen al, paragliders, Samia Nakhoul, William Maclean, Edmund Blair Organizations: Hamas, Reuters, Brigades, AIRBORNE UNIT, Air Force Falcon Squadron, COMMANDO, UNIT, Thomson Locations: Israel, Israeli, Gaza, Dubai

☆ Israel, Hezbollah Exchange Artillery, Rocket Fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Israel and Lebanon's powerful armed group Hezbollah exchanged artillery and rocket fire on Sunday following the deadliest attack in years by Palestinian gunmen on Israel. Hezbollah on Sunday said it had launched guided rockets and artillery onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms "in solidarity" with the Palestinian people. Israel has held the Shebaa Farms, a 15-square-mile (39-square-km) patch of land, since 1967. A Lebanese security source told Reuters that a tent set up by Hezbollah in the Shebaa Farms had been hit and that Hezbollah fighters had erected a new one. On Saturday, UNIFIL said it had enhanced its presence in southern Lebanon following developments in Israel and Gaza, including its operations to counter rocket launches.

Persons: Hashem Safieddine, Har Dov, Israel, Andrea Tenenti, Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, Laila Bassam, Aziz Taher, Karamallah Daher, Gebeily, Ari Rabinovitch, William Mallard, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Hezbollah, Palestinian, Twitter, Israeli Defence Forces, Patriot, Reuters, United Nations Locations: BEIRUT, Israel, Iran, Dahieh, Beirut's, Lebanon, Syria, Shebaa, Kfar Shouba, Gaza, Jerusalem

☆ Israel, Hezbollah exchange artillery, rocket fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Israel and Lebanon's powerful armed group Hezbollah exchanged artillery and rocket fire on Sunday following the deadliest attack in years by Palestinian gunmen on Israel. Hezbollah on Sunday said it had launched guided rockets and artillery onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms "in solidarity" with the Palestinian people. Israel has held the Shebaa Farms, a 15-square-mile (39-square-km) patch of land, since 1967. A Lebanese security source told Reuters that a tent set up by Hezbollah in the Shebaa Farms had been hit and that Hezbollah fighters had erected a new one. On Saturday, UNIFIL said it had enhanced its presence in southern Lebanon following developments in Israel and Gaza, including its operations to counter rocket launches.

Persons: Hashem Safieddine, Gil Eliyahu, Har Dov, Israel, Andrea Tenenti, Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, Laila Bassam, Aziz Taher, Karamallah Daher, Gebeily, Ari Rabinovitch, William Mallard, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Hezbollah, Palestinian, Twitter, Israeli Defence Forces, Patriot, REUTERS, Reuters, United Nations, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Israel, Iran, Dahieh, Beirut's, Lebanon, Syria, Shebaa, Kfar Shouba, Gaza, Jerusalem

An Israeli security source acknowledged Israel's security services were duped by Hamas. As a consequence, the source close to Hamas said, a crucial part of the plan was to avoid leaks. When the day came, the operation was divided into four parts, the Hamas source said, describing the various elements. The final part involved moving hostages to Gaza, mostly achieved early in the attack, the source close to Hamas said. the Israeli security source said.

Persons: Israel, Nir, Osama Hamdan, wasn't, Mahmoud Abbas, Yahya Al, Yaakov Amidror, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amidror, Samia Nakhoul, Jonathan Saul, William Maclean, Edmund Blair Organizations: Hamas, Reuters, Israeli Defence Forces, RAN, Israel, West Bank, Jihad, Fatah, National Security Council, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, Thomson Locations: Palestinian, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Gaza, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Re'im, Dubai, London

☆ Fact check: Israel jet transportation video predates Hamas attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of jets being moved by ground transportation in southern Israel has been miscaptioned online as an evacuation of air bases after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. “Breaking: Israeli Defence forces are now evacuating Air Bases near Gaza as thousands of #Hamas #terrorists flood into Israel. But the video of the two jets appeared online more than two weeks before the Oct. 7 attack, such as one on YouTube published Sept. 19. Reuters reported that the surprise assault from Iran-backed Hamas is one of the most serious escalations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. The video was posted online at least two weeks before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Persons: ”, Read Organizations: Hamas, Facebook, Israel's, Israeli Defence, Air, YouTube, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Iran

[1/5] Palestinian workers enter the reopened Erez crossing to Israel, after Israeli ends a ban on workers from Gaza, in Gaza City September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Acquire Licensing RightsGAZA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Israel reopened crossing points with Gaza on Thursday, allowing thousands of Palestinian workers to get to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank, after nearly two weeks of closure prompted by violent protests along the border. Cogat, the Israeli Defence Ministry agency that coordinates with the Palestinians, said security assessments would determine whether the border remained open. Israel blocks many goods from entering Gaza with Egyptian backing, citing security concerns, and also reserves the right to restrict exports. According to IMF figures, per capita income in Gaza is only a quarter of that of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, Israel, Khaled Zurub, Cogat, Hazem, Nidal Organizations: REUTERS, West Bank, United, Reuters, Israeli Defence Ministry, Hamas, Bank, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Egypt, United Nations

[1/4] A view shows an empty Palestinian passenger terminal as Israel bans Gaza workers in punitive measures over border protests, at the Erez crossing in northern Gaza Strip, September 20, 2023. The move stops more than 18,000 Palestinians from crossing for work, depriving the blockaded territory's ailing economy of around $2 million a day, according to local economists. On Tuesday, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces during the protests and 11 others were wounded, according to Gaza health officials. A spokesperson for Cogat, the Israeli Defence Ministry agency that coordinates with the Palestinians, confirmed that the Erez crossing into Gaza was closed and said it would be re-opened "in accordance with situational assessments." Over the past few weeks, the military said its soldiers had been using riot dispersal means against Palestinians throwing explosives at the border fence along the Gaza Strip.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, Al, Ayman Abu Krayyem, ”, Nidal Almughrabi, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Gaza, West Bank, Hamas, Cogat, Israeli Defence Ministry, World Bank, Gaza Ministry, Labour, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Al Aqsa, Palestinian, Egypt, Erez, Qatar

[1/9] United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) members stand near their vehicles in Naqoura near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, August 16, 2023. Israel and Hezbollah have avoided war across the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since their last major clash 17 years ago, deterred by mutual threats of destruction. The tensions come against the backdrop of a political crisis in Israel that has emboldened its enemies. Lebanon can ill afford conflict four years into a financial meltdown that has paralysed the state. Hezbollah last year gave its blessing to a maritime border deal with Israel that allows Lebanon to explore for offshore energy.

Persons: Aziz Taher, Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi, Hassan al, Baghdadi, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohanad Hage Ali, General Lázaro, Andrea Tenenti, Tom Perry, Nick Macfie Organizations: United Nations Interim Force, REUTERS, Reuters, National Security, Iran's, Guards, Carnegie Middle East Center, West Bank, UNIFIL, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Naqoura, Lebanese, Israel, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT, Iran, Syria, Ghajar, Western, Tel Aviv, Palestinian, Gaza, Jerusalem, Al, Aqsa, Beirut

☆ All 15 Israel Supreme Court judges to hear judicial overhaul petitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, July 31 (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court on Monday said all 15 judges in a historic first would take part in a hearing on arguments against a law that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition passed as part of an overhaul of the judiciary. The Supreme Court agreed to discuss on Sept. 12 petitions to strike down the bill ratified last week that limits its powers to void some decisions made by government and ministers, setting the scene for a constitutional showdown. Netanyahu's coalition says the judicial changes are needed to curb what it describes as overreach by a Supreme Court that it says has become too politically interventionist. "These two elements form the basis of rule of law in Israel and of the balance between the authorities in any democracy." Israel's democratic foundations are relatively fragile and the Supreme Court is seen as crucial for protecting civil rights and the rule of law.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu's, Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Henriette Chacar, Ari Rabinovitch, Barbara Lewis, Bill Berkrot, Leslie Adler Organizations: Supreme, Israeli, parliament's Foreign Affairs, Defence Committee, Israel Bar Association, Thomson Locations: Israel

☆ Israel reports record $12.5 bln defence exports, 24% of them to Arab partners
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM, June 13 (Reuters) - Israel exported a record $12.556 billion in defence products last year, with new Arab partners under the U.S.-sponsored 2020 Abraham Accords accounting for almost a quarter of the business, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. Drones accounted for 25% of the 2022 exports and missiles, rockets or air defence systems for 19%, it said. Without naming specific clients, the ministry said 24% of defence exports were to Abraham Accords countries. United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were signatories to those accords, and Israel often counts Morocco and Sudan as part of them as well. Asia and the Pacific accounted for 30% of Israeli defence exports, Europe for 29% and North America for 11%, it said.

Persons: Abraham, Dan Williams, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: U.S, Defence Ministry, Abraham Accords, United, Pacific, North, Thomson Locations: Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Asia, Europe, North America

In 2014, during a previous round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, the Bashir's home was also hit. "They destroyed our homes before and we rebuilt it, and this time we will rebuild it too," she added. According to officials from Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, the latest round of Israeli air strikes, which began on Tuesday, have destroyed 15 residential blocks, containing more than 50 apartments. "Prior to these strikes, the Israeli Defence Forces took every feasible measure to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible," the Israeli military said. "We stress that the residential blocks destroyed by the occupation were inhabited by civilians.

☆ Israeli strikes in Gaza kill three senior Palestinian armed group commanders
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A fire burns in a building after the Israeli military struck Islamic Jihad targets, it said in a statement, in Gaza, May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed SalemJERUSALEM, May 9 (Reuters) - Israel killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders in Gaza air strikes, Palestinian officials said, as the Israeli military confirmed it was carrying out an operation against the group before dawn on Tuesday. The Israeli military said it targeted three senior commanders of the Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful armed group in the Hamas-ruled, blockaded coastal enclave. Two Islamic Jihad sources confirmed the deaths. Last week, the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody triggered several hours of cross-border fighting between Israel and armed groups in Gaza, in which one Palestinian man was killed.

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