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☆ Italy's Meloni Opens Africa Summit, Promises New Partnership
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The summit, being held in Italy's ornate Senate, will last all day, with Italian ministers due to outline an array of initiatives, from energy and infrastructure to health and education, that Meloni says will be mutually beneficial. "We believe it is possible to envision and write a new chapter in the history of our relationship, a cooperation among equals, far from any predatory imposition or charitable stance towards Africa," Meloni said in an opening speech. Eni, Italy's largest importer of natural gas, has already countered lower Russian supplies by shipping increased volumes from Africa, where it has had a presence for decades. The company has said Algeria, Egypt and Libya will be Italy's main gas suppliers for the next few years. Most had departed from North African countries such as Tunisia and Libya, many fleeing poverty and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Persons: Crispian Balmer, Angelo Amante ROME, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Enrico Mattei, Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Mattei, Alex Richardson Organizations: Italian, Eni, European Union, European, Energy, EU Locations: Rome, Africa, Italy, China, Russia, Gulf, Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ukraine, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Europe, North, Saharan Africa

☆ Meloni Looks to Reset Italy's Relations With Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

"What needs to be done in Africa is to build cooperation and serious strategic relationships as equals, not predators," Meloni told a news conference this month. Founder Mattei expanded Italy's presence in Africa, presenting his company as a friendly alternative to U.S. and French oil majors. But climate change experts question the wisdom of sinking significant new investments into gas infrastructure when existing projects already guarantee Italy's energy security. Meloni is not the first Italian leader to seek better ties with Africa and draw a veil over Italy's fraught colonial legacy, which Rome has never wanted to confront. "My goal is to work in Africa and block the departures in Africa," she said this month.

Persons: Crispian Balmer ROME, Giorgia Meloni, Enrico Mattei, Meloni, Arturo Varvelli, Mattei, Crispian Balmer, Alison Williams Organizations: Eni, United Arab, European Council, Foreign Relations, Union, European Commission Locations: Rome, Italian, Italy, Africa, Europe, China, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Meloni, Ukraine

☆ Italy Looks to Use G7 Chair to Boost Support for Ukraine, Scrutinise AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

Italy will chair the G7, which also groups the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Canada, throughout 2024 and will host a summit in June. However, the source said G7 leaders were determined to show they remained fully committed to Kyiv and could not risk showing signs of weakness two years after Russia invaded its neighbour. "We must change the narrative on Ukraine," the source said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had lost significant financial, military and diplomatic clout since the invasion. Italy is planning to stage 20 ministerial meetings during its G7 presidency, kicking off with a three-day gathering from March 13-15 on industry, technology and digitalisation, which will put a spotlight on the fast-paced AI revolution. Rome will also propose creating a steering committee to ensure greater G7 coordination on AI.

Persons: Crispian Balmer, Angelo Amante ROME, Vladimir Putin, Giorgia Meloni, Angelo Amante, Nick Macfie Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, Kyiv, Italy's Locations: Italy, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada, Africa, China, Washington, Brussels, Kyiv, Puglia, Rome, Beijing

☆ Ambiguous Italian Court Ruling on Fascist Salute Delights Extreme Right
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Crispian BalmerROME (Reuters) - Performing a stiff-armed fascist salute is not a crime in Italy unless it risks sparking violence or is aimed at reviving the fascist party, the Supreme Court has ruled in a verdict that delighted extreme-right groups. The Supreme Court was called to review the issue following a 2016 event in Milan where eight militants were arrested for making fascist salutes. However, the Supreme Court left open the door to future prosecutions given Italy's inconclusive legal framework. "The only sure thing is that you cannot create a fascist party. 'ETERNAL COMPROMISE'Italy's main piece of legislation against promoting fascist propaganda is the so-called Scelba Law of 1952 which prohibits any "movement or group of people ... pursuing anti-democratic ends associated with the fascist party".

Persons: Crispian Balmer ROME, Benito Mussolini, Thursday's, Francesco Filippi, Mussolini, Alessandro Sallusti, Crispian Balmer, Alison Williams Organizations: Court Locations: Italy, Rome, Milan

A huge billboard advertising Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as candidate of the World Expo 2030 is seen in Paris as the host country of The World Expo 2030 will be elected by BIE Member States that will gather in the 173rd General Assembly in Paris, France, November 25, 2023. South Korea's southeastern city of Busan is competing against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Italy's Rome. More than one vote will be necessary if no country gets a majority at the first ballot. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni personally got involved in trying to persuade international leaders to back the Rome bid, giving it her full political backing. Rome is looking to use the Expo as a way of attracting investment, much as Milan did when it successfully hosted the 2015 Expo.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Roberto Gualtieri, Crown Prince Mohammed bin, Prince Mohammed, Jamal Khashoggi, Yoon Suk Yeol, Giorgia Meloni, Michel Rose, Elizabeth Pineau, Crispian Balmer, Giselda Vagnoni, Hyonhee, Christina Fincher Organizations: BIE Member, 173rd, Assembly, REUTERS, PARIS, Saudi, City, Crown, Paris . South, Thomson Locations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Paris, BIE, BIE Member States, France, Busan, Saudi's Riyadh, Italy's Rome, Italy, South Korea, South, Rome, Saudi, Lebanon, Paris ., Korea, Italian, Milan, Europe, Dubai, Osaka, Japan, Seoul

☆ Jerusalem Christians rally round Armenian Church over land deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An Armenian priest enters a church at the monastery compound in the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City June 8, 2010. The Armenian community says the investor behind the land lease deal is an Australian-Israeli businessman Danny Rubinstein, who owns a company registered in the United Arab Emirates - Xana Capital Group. Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, from Jordanian forces in a 1967 war. "We are aware of a plan to encircle the outside the Old City with settlement projects. We suspect this Armenia Quarter deal is meant to be a continuation of this plan inside the city walls," Seidemann told Reuters.

Persons: Ammar Awad, Danny Rubinstein, Rubinstein, Hagop Djernazian, Daniel Seidemann, Seidemann, Crispian Balmer, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Armenian, Synod, Roman Catholic Churches, United Arab Emirates, Xana Capital, Catholic, Jerusalem's, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Jerusalem's Old, Jerusalem, JERUSALEM, Old City, Ottoman, Australian, Armenia, James's, City, Israel, East Jerusalem, Jordanian

☆ Hostage families put pressure on Israel's government
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Janis Laizans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We cannot wait any longer, so we are demand(ing) them to do that now, to pay any price to bring the hostages back." Many relatives and friends of the missing fear they will come to harm in Israeli attacks on Gaza designed to destroy Hamas. Also on the march was Adriana Adri, whose 85-year-old mother-in-law was among those taken by Hamas. "We are marching to Jerusalem to bring her back, to shout and to say that she must be here," Adri said. "We don't have time, we don't have one hour more, we don't know if she is alive."

Persons: Noam Alon, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Miki Zohar, Ronen, Netanyahu's, Stevie Kerem, Adriana Adri, Adri, marcher, Meirav, Romi, Dan Williams, Crispian Balmer, Mike Harrison Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, REUTERS, Qatari, Thomson Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Israel

☆ Israel's Government Faces Pressure as Hostage Families March on Jerusalem Seeking Answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

"We cannot wait any longer, so we are demand(ing) them to do that now, to pay any price to bring the hostages back." Many relatives and friends of the missing fear they will come to harm in Israeli attacks on Gaza designed to destroy Hamas. The government says the offensive improves the chances of recovering hostages, perhaps via a mediated prisoner exchange. "We are marching to Jerusalem to bring her back, to shout and to say that she must be here," Adri said. "We don't have time, we don't have one hour more, we don't know if she is alive."

Persons: Janis Laizans JERUSALEM, Noam Alon, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Miki Zohar, Netanyahu's, Stevie Kerem, Adriana Adri, Adri, marcher, Meirav, Romi, Dan Williams, Crispian Balmer, Mike Harrison Organizations: Qatari Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekend that the PA in its current form should not take charge of Gaza. In the wake of Netanyahu's comments, Israeli officials have insisted that Israel does not intend to occupy the Gaza Strip. Dahlan has the backing of the influential United Arab Emirates to lead a post-war administration in Gaza, according to diplomats and Arab officials. So far, the U.S. and its allies have not seen any clear roadmap from Israel for its exit strategy from Gaza beyond the declared aim of eradicating Hamas, diplomats say. Not since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 has there been such widespread concern about military action raging across the Middle East, according to Arab officials and diplomats.

Persons: Israel tightens, Gaza's, Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammed Dahlan, Israel, Dahlan, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Gaza –, –, Abu Mohammad, We're, Biden, Jonathan Panikoff, government's, Biden's, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Abbas –, Abbas, Mohammad Shtayyeh, Abu Dhabi, Marwan Barghouti, Washington, Joost R, John Kirby, Nidal al, Humeyra Pamuk, Matt Spetalnick, Andrew Mills, James Mackenzie, Crispian Balmer, John Irish, Aidan Lewis, Alexander Cornwell, Samia Nakhoul, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, REUTERS, Authority, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, United, Israel, U.S, policymaking, Reuters, Atlantic Council, Gaza, Western, Israel ., UAE, North Africa, Crisis, House, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Gaza Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinian, U.S, United States, Washington, Hamas, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, America, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tokyo, Oslo, European, technocrats, United Nations, Middle East, Iran, GAZA, Doha, Jerusalem, Paris, Cairo, Dubai

☆ Family buries Israeli conscript hostage, vows never to forgive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Janis Laizans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Noa Marciano, 19, was at a military base near Gaza on Oct. 7 when it was overrun by Hamas fighters. Hamas released a video earlier this week saying she had died in an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military said on Friday they had found her body the day before in a building adjacent to Gaza's Shifa Hospital and returned the corpse to Israel for burial. Around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed by Hamas during their attack, while up to 240 were taken hostage. Israel declared war on Hamas after its surprise assault, bombarding the Palestinian enclave and launching a land invasion.

Persons: Corporal Noa Marciano's, Ronen, Noa Marciano, Marciano's, Marciano, Yehudit Weiss, Be’eri, We've, Omer Weiss, Benjamin Netanyahu, Janis Laizans, Crispian Balmer, Toby Chopra Organizations: Al, Hospital, REUTERS, Hamas, Gaza's Shifa, Tel Aviv ., Thomson Locations: Gaza, Modiin, Israel, Gaza City, Gaza's, Al Shifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv . Israel

☆ Gaza war inflicts catastrophic damage on infrastructure and economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In all, it said at least 45% of Gaza's housing units had reportedly been damaged or destroyed. It was impossible to independently verify the numbers, but Reuters reporters in Gaza say the destruction is on a huge scale. OCHA said 55 ambulances in Gaza had been damaged, with critical shortages reported of drugs and blood products. The socio-economic situation of Gaza was already dire before the war, with the poverty rate estimated to have reached 61% in 2020. They also forecast that the war would cost Gaza between 4% and 12% of gross domestic product in 2023.

Persons: OCHA, Khan Younis, Crispian Balmer, Giles Elgood, Gareth Jones Organizations: United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Gaza's Ministry of Health, Palestinian, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, REUTERS Acquire, UNRWA, United Nations Economic, Social Commission, Western, United Nations Development Programme, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israeli, Beit Hanoun, Palestinian, ISRAEL, Khan, Israel, Western Asia

☆ Family Buries Israeli Conscript Hostage, Vows Never to Forgive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Janis LaizansMODIIN, Israel (Reuters) - The body of an Israeli hostage recovered from Gaza City was buried on Friday by weeping family and friends, with her mother telling mourners she would never forgive what had befallen her daughter, a teenaged conscript soldier. Noa Marciano, 19, was at a military base near Gaza on Oct. 7 when it was overrun by Hamas fighters. Hamas released a video earlier this week saying she had died in an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military said on Friday they had found her body the day before in a building adjacent to Gaza's Shifa Hospital and returned the corpse to Israel for burial. Around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed by Hamas during their attack, while up to 240 were taken hostage.

Persons: Janis Laizans MODIIN, Noa Marciano, Marciano's, Marciano, Yehudit Weiss, Be’eri, We've, Omer Weiss, Benjamin Netanyahu, Janis Laizans, Crispian Balmer, Toby Chopra Organizations: Hamas, Gaza's Shifa, Tel Aviv . Locations: Israel, Gaza City, Gaza, Gaza's, Al Shifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv . Israel

The conflict falls under a complex international system of justice that has emerged since World War Two, much of it aimed at protecting civilians. Even if states say they are acting in self-defence, international rules regarding armed conflict apply to all participants in a war. Internationally accepted rules of armed conflict emerged from the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been ratified by all United Nations member states and supplemented by rulings at international war crimes tribunals. Treaties govern the treatment of civilians, soldiers and prisoners of war in a system collectively known as the "Law of Armed Conflict" or "International Humanitarian Law". Under the laws of armed conflict, combatants include members of state armed forces, military and volunteer forces and non-state armed groups.

Persons: Gaza's, Al, Carolyn Edgerton, Edgerton, Israel, Karim Khan, Khan, Crispian Balmer, Emma Farge, Janet Lawrence Organizations: HAGUE, Palestinian, Hamas, United Nations, CAN, World Health Organization, Geneva Convention, GENEVA, Criminal, Criminal Court, ICC, Thomson Locations: Israel, Geneva, Gaza, Al Shifa, Gaza City, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Canadian, Yugoslavia, The Hague, Palestinian Territories, Rome, Jerusalem

☆ Six Hurt in Suspected Palestinian Shooting Attack in W.Bank -Medics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Three suspected Palestinian assailants opened fire at a checkpoint on a main road between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Bethlehem wounding six people, Israeli emergency services said on Thursday. Security forces opened fire at the assailants, police said. "Three terrorists were neutralized by security forces stationed at the crossing. This occurred after they arrived in a suspicious vehicle and opened fire towards our forces," Israel police said. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials.

Persons: Maayan Lubell, Bernadette Baum, Crispian Balmer Organizations: West Bank, . Security Locations: JERUSALEM, Jerusalem, Bethlehem

☆ 'The Peace Movement Was Orphaned', Says Son of Activist Killed on Oct. 7
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Rami AmichayGEZER, Israel (Reuters) - Family and friends of Vivian Silver, a prominent Canadian Israeli peace activist, commemorated her life on Thursday, two days after authorities confirmed she had been killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. She had moved to Israel from Canada in 1974 and was a founding member of Women Wage Peace that campaigns for peace between Israel and Palestinians. "Not only I ... was orphaned, your many friends were orphaned, the country that you adopted at a young age, and a movement was orphaned, the movement of peace," her son Yonatan Zeigen told mourners at the outdoor ceremony. Militants killed around 1,200 people on Oct. 7 and kidnapped around 240 others, according to an Israeli tally. Women Wage Peace said Silver was a pivotal member of the group and had pushed the Israeli government to seek a political solution to its long-standing conflict with Palestinians.

Persons: Rami Amichay GEZER, Vivian Silver, Silver, Yonatan Zeigen, Ghadeer Hani, Hani, Gazans, Crispian Balmer, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Hamas Locations: Israel, Canadian, Kibbutz Be'eri, Canada, Gaza, Silver

☆ Israeli military shows video of arms it says were found at Al Shifa hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsJERUSALEM, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Israeli troops found Hamas weapons and combat gear in Al Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip during a search on Wednesday, chief Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. Israeli troops forced their way into Al Shifa overnight and have spent the day scouring specific locations within Gaza's largest hospital. "These assets in Shifa hospital, just like in Rantissi, prove that hospitals have been used for military purposes for terror, in direct opposition to international law," Hagari said. The military made no mention on Wednesday of finding any tunnel entrances in Al Shifa. However, Hecht said the raid at Al Shifa was not focused on hostages.

Persons: Daniel Hagari, Hagari, Richard Hecht, Hecht, Al Shifa, Israel, Crispian Balmer, Emily Rose, Doina Chiacu, James Mackenzie, Nick Macfie, Timothy Heritage, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Hamas, CNN, Thomson Locations: Al Shifa, Gaza, Israel, Gaza's, Rantissi, Al, Washington

☆ Al Shifa doctor says hospital frozen in terror as Israel raids
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Abir Ahmar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DUBAI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A doctor in Gaza's Al Shifa hospital said staff, patients and displaced Palestinians sheltering there were terrified as Israeli forces moved to raid the complex to root out Hamas militants they said were hiding underneath. "Everyone got really, really terrified." Medics look at the damages in the wards inside Al Shifa hospital following an Israeli raid, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza November 15, 2023. Israel has denied targeting the hospital and said its soldiers had entered one specific location within the Shifa complex, with no fighting inside the facility and no friction with staff. The fate of Al Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, has become a focus of international alarm because of worsening conditions with fuel, medicine, food and water in ever shorter supply.

Persons: Gaza's Al Shifa, Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati, Israel, Mokhallalati, Al Shifa, Abir Al Ahmar, Nadine Awadalla, Michael Georgy, Crispian Balmer, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Hamas, Palestinian, Health, REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Gaza's Al, Ireland, Cairo, London, Al, Israel, Gaza City, Gaza, Gaza's

☆ Israeli military says weapons found in Al Shifa hospital, Hamas denies it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

He said fire was exchanged before the Israeli soldiers moved into the hospital but there was "no engagement whatsoever" once they had entered. In the last hour, we saw concrete evidence that Hamas terrorists used the Shifa hospital as a terror headquarters," the official said. Israel has said for years that Hamas militants have used Al Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, as a cover for their operations. However, Hecht said the raid at Al Shifa was not focused on hostages. The anonymous military official said four militants had died in a gunfight outside Al Shifa, as Israeli soldiers sought to enter the complex.

Persons: Richard Hecht, Hecht, Israel, Shifa, Al Shifa, Crispian Balmer, Doina Chiacu, James Mackenzie, Nick Macfie, Timothy Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, CNN, Israel Defence Forces, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Al Shifa, Israel, Al, Washington

Israel said its troops uncovered unspecified weapons and "terror infrastructure" inside the hospital compound after killing fighters in a clash outside. Once inside, they said there had been no fighting and no friction with civilians, patients or staff. Other photos showed Israeli troops in tactical formation walking past makeshift tents and mattresses. "We can confirm that incubators, baby food and medical supplies brought by IDF tanks from Israel have successfully reached the Shifa hospital. The Israeli troops dismounted and spread out in the yard, and began searching the basement and entering buildings.

Persons: Al Shifa, Israel, Dr Ahmed El Mohallalati, Martin Griffiths, Peter Lerner, Joe Biden, Thomas White, Nidal al, Maayan Lubell, James Mackenzie, Crispian Balmer, Abir Al Ahmar, Claudia Tanos, Peter Graff, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Al, Palestinian, Hamas, Military, UN, Reuters, Troops, Israel Defence Forces, United, Medical, Fourth Geneva Convention, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Gaza City, Israel, GAZA, Gaza's, Al, Gaza, United States, Rafah, Jerusalem, Dubai

☆ Killed by Hamas, Israeli filmmaker was inspired by border horrors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Joseph Campbell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The family had taken refuge in their safe room, but when militants looked to smash through a window, Winner had held it tightly shut, giving time for Atary and Shaya to flee. Five weeks after his death, "The Boy" is being screened to audiences in Tel Aviv as a tribute to Winner. Atary and Winner, who had studied together in film school, were an artistic power couple in Kfar Aza, one of a number of small Israeli communities built along the border with Gaza. In the movie, both Winner and Atary, who was pregnant at the time, act as the leads, and the supporting cast were all friends and family from Kfar Aza. Many of the cast members were also killed in the Gaza militant rampage on Oct. 7.

Persons: Atary, Yahav, Winner’s, ”, Shaylee, Winner, Aza, Shaylee Atary, Shaya, Jimi Kdoshim, Joseph Campbell, Crispian Balmer, Crispian Balmer amd Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Reuters, Gaza, Crispian Balmer amd, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, “, Kfar Aza, Israel, TEL AVIV, Tel Aviv

☆ Israeli hostage families start 5-day march on Netanyahu's home
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Joseph Campbell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hamas fighters took around 240 people hostage during their Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Medical officials say more than 11,100 Palestinians, around 40 % of them children, have died as a result of Israeli strikes. The Israeli military on Tuesday confirmed the death of a captive soldier, who Hamas said was killed in an Israeli strike. The Tel Aviv marchers will end their protest on Saturday in front of Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, some 65 km (40 miles) away. Reporting by Joseph Campbell in Tel Aviv and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Shelly Shem Tov, Omer, Israel, Netanyahu, Amit Zach, Adina Moshe, it's, Joseph Campbell, Dan Williams, Crispian Balmer, Christina Fincher Organizations: Palestinian, Gaza, NBC, Hamas, Tel, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, TEL AVIV, Israel, Gaza

☆ Lebanon front with Israel heats up, stoking fears of wider war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Israeli strikes killed two people in south Lebanon on Monday, according to a first-responder organisation affiliated to the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement. Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces since its Palestinian ally Hamas went to war with Israel on Oct. 7. The exchanges mark the deadliest violence at the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006. So far, more than 70 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, and 10 people including seven troops have been killed in Israel. The 2006 war killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Persons: Israel, Hamas, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Nasrallah, Najib Mikati, Al, Lloyd Austin, Mohanad Hage Ali, Phil Stewart, Crispian Balmer, Dan Williams, Edmund Blair Organizations: Amal, Israel Electric Company, Hezbollah, United, Israeli, U.S . Defense, Carnegie Middle East Center, Thomson Locations: Israel, BEIRUT, JERUSALEM, Lebanese, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, Beirut, Al Jazeera, Israel's, Seoul, U.S, Jerusalem

☆ Israel says Palestinian Authority in current form should not run Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Israel has vowed to destroy Palestinian group Hamas, which governs Gaza, after its shock Oct. 7 cross-border assault and has launched a full-scale invasion of the territory. Washington has said Israel cannot occupy the enclave after the war, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week saying that the Gaza administration had to be re-unified with the nearby West Bank, parts of which are run by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Abbas, told Reuters the Israelis were seeking to perpetuate divisions between the two Palestinian territories -- the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. "Israeli attempts to separate Gaza from the West Bank will fail, and it will not be allowed, regardless of the pressures," he told Reuters. The PA used to run both the West Bank and Gaza but was ousted from the latter in 2007 after a brief civil war with Hamas.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Benny Gantz, Antony Blinken, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, Israel, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Abbas, Emily Rose, Rami Ayyub, Ali, William Maclean, David Goodman Organizations: Rights, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, West, NBC News, Reuters, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, ABIR, Gaza, Washington, West Bank, Jerusalem

☆ Israel Says Palestinian Authority in Current Form Should Not Run Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Crispian BalmerJERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown up more doubts about the future of the Gaza Strip, suggesting that the Palestinian Authority in its current form should not take charge of the coastal enclave. Israel has vowed to destroy Palestinian group Hamas, which governs Gaza, following its shock Oct. 7 cross-border assault, and has launched a full-scale invasion of the territory. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Abbas, told Reuters the Israelis were seeking to perpetuate divisions between the two Palestinian territories -- the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. "Israeli attempts to separate Gaza from the West Bank will fail, and it will not be allowed, regardless of the pressures," he said. The PA used to run both the West Bank and Gaza, but got ousted from the latter in 2007 after a brief civil war with Hamas.

Persons: Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony J, Blinken, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, Israel, Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Emily Rose, Ali Sawafta, William Maclean Organizations: Palestinian Authority, Hamas, West, Reuters, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Israel, Washington, West Bank, Jerusalem, Ramallah

☆ Israel sharpens warning to Lebanon as cross-border hostilities spike
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The chief Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, described Hezbollah as "the defender of Hamas-ISIS", in reference to the Islamist Palestinian faction whose cross-border rampage against Israel on Oct. 7 sparked a devastating Gaza war. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday described the Israel front as "active". A rocket set off sirens near the Israeli port city of Haifa, 27 km (17 miles) from the Lebanese border, but caused no casualties. Smoke rises as seen from Israel-Lebanon border in northern Israel, November 12, 2023. Residents of villages and towns on the Lebanese border have evacuated southward even as Gaza border communities hit by Hamas emptied, making for some 250,000 internally displaced Israelis.

Persons: Daniel Hagari, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Evelyn Hockstein, Rights Israel, Hagari, Antonio Guterres, Fareed Zakaria, Guterres, Maayan Lubell, Crispian Balmer, Giles Elgood Organizations: ISIS, Palestinian, Saturday, Sunday, Lebanese, REUTERS, Rights, IDF, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Haifa, Lebanese, Lebanon, Beirut, Iran

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