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☆ Hamas tells Gaza residents to stay home as Israel ground offensive looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli tanks and military vehicles take position near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 13, 2023. As a ground invasion appears imminent, both sides are engaging in psychological warfare. Well-Known Gaza Hamas cleric Wael Al-Zard was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, Hamas said. “We tell the people of northern Gaza and from Gaza City, stay put in your homes, and your places. The Israeli military has already destroyed roads, making it nearly impossible to escape, in addition to the relentless airstrikes.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Talal Okal, Okal, Wael Al, Zard, “, ”, Eyad, ” Bozom, Michael Georgy, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Palestinian, Hamas, Saturday, Reuters, Hamas Interior Ministry, Thomson Locations: Israel's, Gaza, Israel, Nakba, Palestine, Gaza City, Beach, America, Europe, Shifa

One Israeli security source told Reuters a ground offensive now looked inevitable. One Israeli security source, who like others declined to be named, said he believed an Israeli ground invasion was "not preventable because of the heavy price that we paid. Smashing up roads has been a typical tactic in the prelude to two previous Israeli ground assaults in Gaza, disrupting communications and the movement of Hamas and other militants. Giora Eiland, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, said airstrikes in Gaza "seemed very similar to previous Israeli operations" but that these tactics had not neutralised Hamas in the past. Hamas has already proved to be a tougher and more capable force than Israel had expected by launching its Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: Yamen Hamad, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Giora, Eiland, Gilad Shalit, Talal Okal, Amir, David Tzur, Nidal al, Jonathan Saul, Edmund Blair Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Reuters, Israel's National Security Council, Foreign, Israel's Border Police, Thomson Locations: Israel, Israel JERUSALEM, GAZA, Gaza, Beit Hanoun, Gaza's, Iran, Jerusalem

☆ Palestinians accept first Saudi ambassador
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

At a ceremony in Jordan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's diplomatic adviser Majdi al-Khalidi received a copy of the credentials of Ambassador Nayef Al-Sudairi as a non-resident envoy, official Palestinian news agency Wafa said. Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said the diplomatic appointment was a half-step toward an official Saudi representation office in the occupied West Bank. "It is also a message Saudi Arabia was committed to the rights of the Palestinians in a fully sovereign state," he added. PALESTINIAN CONCERNPalestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said last week that Abbas's Western-backed Palestinian Authority is hoping to engage with Saudi Arabia over their concerns about the potential normalisation with Israel. Saudi Arabia has quietly accepted the so-called Abraham Accords that have normalised ties between Israel and Gulf states United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Persons: Mahmoud Abbas's, Majdi al, Khalidi, Nayef Al, Wafa, al, Talal Okal, Riyad al, Maliki, Abraham, Benjamin Netanyahu, Nidal al, Ali Swafta, Maayan Lubell, Hatem Maher, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian, Saudi, Abraham Accords, United, NBC, Thomson Locations: RAMALLAH, West, Saudi Arabian, Israel, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Saudi, Jordan, Palestinian, Gulf, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Gaza, Ramallah, Maayan, Jerusalem, Cairo

Some Arabs said they hoped the crisis would lead to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political demise. Others expressed hope of more far-reaching consequences for Israel, which fought numerous wars with Arab adversaries after its establishment in 1948 and occupies land the Palestinians seek for a state. The sentiment was echoed by Mohammad Abdullatif in Syria, from which Israel captured the Golan Heights in a 1967 war. Gaza political analyst Talal Okal said the crisis had brought a sense of relief among Palestinians. "But there is also a fear, they may carry out military adventures or wars to escape the internal crisis."

New hardline ministers like Itamar Ben-Gvir, a settler from Hebron, will be in charge of police as national security minister, while Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right politician, will have wide control over policy in the West Bank. "Fatah sons, Hamas sons, sons of the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front are working together within unprecedented resistance formations," Maamar said. Under Israeli policies designed to create economic security incentives, 20,000 Gazans are allowed to cross into Israel for work. For its part, Palestinian Authority officials say Hamas is funding some armed cells in the West Bank, in part to weaken the PA, and Israeli officials say they are also closely watching Hamas' moves in the West Bank. Israel should "weaken the Hamas militarily as much as possible" while helping to improve conditions for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank to reduce the potential for conflict, Ben-Barak said.

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