Israel-Hamas war, Day 26 | Bolivia cuts ties with Israel over Gaza strikes

Twenty Australians were among the first group of foreign citizens who entered Egypt from the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said on Thursday.

At least 320 foreign nationals left the Palestinian enclave to cross into Egypt on Wednesday, the first to benefit from a deal mediated by Qatar.

Watts said there were still 65 Australians trapped in Gaza and the government had urged them, using all available communication channels, to move toward the Rafah crossing as soon as possible.

Reuters

The White House said Wednesday it will develop a national strategy to battle Islamophobia as President Joe Biden faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans for his staunch support of Israel’s military assault on Hamas in Gaza in response to the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The launch of the anti-Islamophobia effort has been expected for months. The administration in May released a national strategy to combat antisemitism that also made a reference to countering hatred against Muslims, but the effort gained momentum in the wake of the ongoing deadly clash between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Reuters

Hundreds of dual passport holders and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday after more than three weeks under siege, while Israeli airstrikes destroyed apartments in a densely populated area for the second straight day.

The group were the first people to leave Gaza -- other than four hostages released by Hamas and another rescued by Israeli forces -- even as bombings have driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, and food, water and fuel run low. It remained unclear whether more people would be allowed to leave Gaza in coming days.

AP

Turkey is waiting for approval from Egyptian authorities to set up field hospitals near Gaza for those fleeing the besieged and bombarded Palestinian territory, the health minister said on Wednesday.

“We have made all preparations to establish 20 field hospitals at El Arish Airport, in the area close to the Rafah border gate” in Egypt, Fahrettin Koca said on X, formerly Twitter.

“We are in close dialogue with the Egyptian and Palestinian health ministries on all these issues. We are waiting for security to be ensured and permissions to be granted,” he said.

AFP

The United States does not believe the pro-Iranian Palestinian militant group Hamas can be involved in the future governance of Gaza when the war with Israel is over, the White House said on Wednesday.

White House national security adviser John Kirby, speaking to reporters as President Joe Biden flew to Minnesota, also said the United States does not support a permanent settlement of Gaza civilians outside of Gaza.

Reuters

President Joe Biden said US citizens would begin evacuating from Gaza on Wednesday, as hundreds of injured residents and foreigners left the war-torn Palestinian territory.

“Today, thanks to American leadership, we secured safe passage for wounded Palestinians and for foreign nationals to exit Gaza,” Biden said on X, formerly Twitter.

“We expect American citizens to exit today, and we expect to see more depart over the coming days. We won’t let up working to get Americans out of Gaza.”

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that some American citizens were scheduled to leave Gaza on Wednesday as the evacuation plan develops.

AFP

Cyprus’ government spokesman says a Cypriot initiative for the continuous flow of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza will see ships sailing directly to the enclave where the United Nations personnel will receive it for distribution.

Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “saw the initiative in a positive light” during a long telephone call with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides Tuesday evening.

Cyprus is working with other European Union member states and Arab countries to work out the logistics of delivering aid to Gaza as soon as conditions on the ground permit it.

Ships loaded with medical supplies, food and clothing will depart from Cyprus’ main port of Limassol after being vetted to ensure that nothing being transported can be weaponized against Israel. - AP

Jordan has told its ambassador to come back from Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“The ambassador would only return to Tel Aviv if Israel halted its war on the enclave and ended “the humanitarian crisis it has caused,” the ministry added.

Israel’s ambassador in Jordan, who left two weeks ago amid protests, would only be allowed to return on the same conditions, the ministry added. - Reuters

Israel’s ambassador to Moscow gave new details Wednesday of the weekend riot at an airport in southern Russia when a flight from Tel Aviv landed there, saying some of the passengers had to hide in the terminal before being flown by helicopter to safety.

Ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi blamed Sunday night’s unrest on extremist elements resulting from “indoctrination” in the mostly Muslim republic of Dagestan. But he said that overall, there is no antisemitism “on an organised level” in Russia. He added, though, that authorities should take the incident seriously so such actions don’t spread.

“Of course, there has always been, is and will be antisemitism on the everyday level. The important thing is that it doesn’t develop into what we saw in Makhachkala,” Ben Zvi told The Associated Press in an online interview from Moscow. “If all this is under control, I think there will be no problems.” The angry mob stormed the airport in Makhachkala, the capital city of Dagestan, when the flight from Israel landed there. Hundreds of men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, roamed the building and rushed onto the tarmac looking for Israeli passengers. It took the authorities several hours to disperse the mob, which threw stones at police.

At least 20 people, both police and civilians, were injured and more than 80 were detained. Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a probe on the charges of organising mass unrest. - AP

After more than three weeks of siege, the first Palestinians — dozens of dual passport holders and seriously injured — were allowed to leave Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes pounded a refugee camp for the second day Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera television, one of the few media outlets still reporting from northern Gaza, aired footage of devastation in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City and of several wounded people, including children, being brought to a nearby hospital.

The Al-Jazeera footage showed nearly identical scenes as the day before, with dozens of men digging through the gray rubble of demolished multistory buildings in search of survivors.

Amid the deteriorating circumstances, 110 foreign passport holders were allowed to to exit Gaza as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.

The authority said the plan was for more than 400 foreign passport holders would be permitted to leave for Egypt. Egypt, however, has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees because of fears Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war.

Dozens of people could be seen entering the Rafah crossing — the only one currently operating — and ambulances carrying wounded Palestinians exited on the Egyptian side.

Egypt had earlier said that more than 80 Palestinians — out of many thousands wounded in the war — would also be brought in for treatment. But Dr. Mohamed Zaqout, a Health Ministry official in Gaza, told The Associated Press that 10 of the patients died before they could be evacuated to Egypt. The criteria for medical evacuation were not immediately clear.

Those who remain behind are contending with multiple crises, made worse Wednesday by the communications blackout. The Palestinian telecoms company Paltel said internet and mobile phone services were gradually being restored in Gaza following a “complete disruption” that lasted several hours. - AP

A 20-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier was among the Israeli combatants killed while fighting in Gaza, community members and the Mayor of the town said on Wednesday.

Staff-Sgt. Halel Solomon was from the southern Israeli town of Dimona.

“It is with great sorrow and grief that we announce the death of a son of Dimona, Halel Solomon, in the battle in Gaza,” Dimona’s Mayor, Benny Bitton said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

“We share in the grief of the parents, Ronit and Mordechai, and the sisters: Yasmin, Hila, Vered, and Shaked .... Halel aspired to do a meaningful service and enlisted in the Givati (Brigade). Halel was a devoted son and had respect for his parents always in his eyes. Possessing immense good qualities he believed in endless giving, modesty, and humility. The whole city of Dimona is grieving his passing,” Mr. Bitton wrote.

Dimona is a town in the south of Israel identified with Israel’s nuclear reactor but some also describe it as “little India” given the large concentration of Jews from India in the township.

Indian community members told PTI that he was “a young man with pleasant manners and a very bright future ahead.” They expressed huge sorrow at his passing away and at the loss of lives of other young Israelis “fighting a just war for Israel’s existence.” At least 11 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the battle in Gaza in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “difficult war” with “painful losses,” but vowed to continue “until victory.” “We are in a difficult war. This will be a long war. We have so many important achievements but also painful losses,” Mr. Netanyahu said. - PTI

Bolivia said on Tuesday it was severing diplomatic ties with Israel over its “disproportionate” attacks in Gaza, as two other Latin American countries recalled their ambassadors over the mounting humanitarian crisis.

Bolivia “has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the State of Israel, in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive being carried out in the Gaza Strip,” deputy foreign minister Freddy Mamani told a press conference.

Minister of the Presidency Maria Nela Prada also announced the country was sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“We demand an end to the attacks” in the Gaza Strip “which have so far caused thousands of civilian deaths and the forced displacement of Palestinians,” she said at the same press conference.

The government of leftist Luis Arce is the first in Latin America to cut ties with Israel since the divisive conflict erupted with the Hamas attacks on October 7, which Israeli authorities say killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

Israel responded on Wednesday by slamming Bolivia’s move as “a surrender to terrorism.”

“By taking this step, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organisation,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said in a statement. - AFP

The Hamas-run government in Gaza says Israeli airstrikes have hit apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City for a second day in a row, causing many deaths and injuries.

The toll from Wednesday’s strikes was not immediately known.

Al-Jazeera television, which is still reporting from northern Gaza, aired footage of devastation and of several wounded people, including children, being brought to a nearby hospital. - AP

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister said Wednesday that time is of the essence in stopping the Hamas-Israel war from “going out of control” and affecting Lebanon and the wider region.

Najib Mikati has been scrambling with international governments to keep Lebanon away from the war, as militants from the Hezbollah group and Israeli troops have been clashing along the tense Lebanon-Israel border since the onset of the war on Oct. 7. The clashes so far have mostly been limited to areas along the border.

His comments come days before Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to give his first speech since the start of the war. Lebanon is experiencing political paralysis and economic turmoil, leaving many worried of the consequences of a fully fledged war in the crisis-hit country.

He condemned both Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and attacks in the blockaded Palestinian Gaza Strip.

“A humanitarian cease-fire for five days is necessary, where there can be active international talks to secure prisoner swaps and reach a permanent truce in order to reach an agreement on the conditions for regional peace,” Mr. Mikati said before a government meeting.

“Enough war in Lebanon, for we are with the choice of peace,” Mr. Mikati said. - AP

Kailash Satyarthi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work in safeguarding children and the childhood of a large number of children worldwide, has been deeply disturbed by the images of children being harmed in the latest Israel-Palestinian crisis. He suggests children and young people affected by conflicts should join hands to heal the wounds inflicted by war and conflict.

The first ambulances carrying wounded Palestinians from war-torn Gaza entered Egypt via the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Live footage shown on television stations close to Egyptian intelligence showed Egyptian nurses and first-aiders examining wounded Palestinians then carrying them on stretchers to Egyptian ambulances.

On the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, an AFP correspondent saw 40 ambulances enter the terminal, each one carrying two people.

AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel’s war in Gaza would be long but victorious, in a statement in which he also mourned mounting military losses.

“We are in a tough war. It will be a long war,” he said. “I promise to all citizens of Israel: We will get the job done. We will press ahead until victory.”

Reuters

Bolivia said on Tuesday it was severing diplomatic ties with Israel over its “disproportionate” attacks in Gaza, as two other Latin American countries recalled their ambassadors over the mounting humanitarian crisis.

Bolivia “has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the State of Israel, in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive being carried out in the Gaza Strip,” Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani told a press conference.

Minister of the Presidency Maria Nela Prada also announced the country was sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“We demand an end to the attacks” in the Gaza Strip “which have so far caused thousands of civilian deaths and the forced displacement of Palestinians,” she said at the same press conference.

AFP

Hamas said Wednesday that seven hostages, including three foreign passport holders, were killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza’s largest refugee camp.

Dozens of bodies were seen on Tuesday at the JabaliYa camp where Israel said it killed a Hamas military commander in a strike on a tunnel complex.

“Seven detainees were killed in the Jabalia massacre yesterday, including three holders of foreign passports,” said a statement from the Hamas military wing.

AFP

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslim states to cease oil and food exports to Israel, demanding an end to its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, state media reported.

“The bombings on Gaza must stop immediately ... the path of oil and food exports to the Zionist regime should be stopped,” Mr. Khamenei said in a speech, according to Iranian state media.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Tehran-backed Hamas, which rules Gaza, in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,400 people and saw hundreds taken hostage.

Reuters

At least four Palestinians were killed during Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Wednesday, as violence there continued in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Three people were killed during a raid in the northern city of Jenin, while another was shot dead in Tulkarem, also in the north, the Ramallah-based health ministry said.

The Israeli military said the incident took place in Jenin refugee camp during a raid targeting an “operative” and militant “infrastructure” in the area.

AFP

The Israeli military said it had deployed missile boats in the Red Sea on Wednesday as reinforcements, a day after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and vowed to carry out more.

Images disseminated by the military showed Saar-class corvettes patrolling near Eilat port in the Red Sea, which Israel sees as a new front as its war in Gaza draws retaliation from Iran-aligned pro-Hamas forces elsewhere in the region.

The Houthi movement said on Tuesday they had launched three drone and missile attacks towards Israel since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7. It vowed there would be more such attacks to come “to help the Palestinians to victory”.

Reuters

Hundreds of wounded Gaza residents and foreigners gathered at the Egypt border Wednesday, poised to flee the shattered territory that is still reeling from a deadly Israeli strike on a refugee camp.

AFP images showed long lines of ambulances and several people in wheelchairs at the Rafah border crossing-- the only one not controlled by Israel -- after Cairo said it would let in 81 of the most seriously injured.

Egypt also announced the first foreigners could exit Gaza, which has suffered weeks of relentless bombardment by Israel that has cost the lives of more than 8,500 people, including more than 3,500 children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

AFP reporters saw more tanks pour over the border into northern Gaza, as Israel stepped up its ground incursion in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

AFP

Palestinians reported another widespread outage of internet and phone service in Gaza early Wednesday, hours after Israeli airstrikes leveled apartment buildings near Gaza City and as ground troops battled Hamas militants inside the besieged territory.

The Palestinian telecoms company Paltel reported a “complete disruption” of internet and mobile phone services in Gaza, marking the second time in five days that residents were largely cut off from the world. Communications also went down over the weekend, as Israeli troops pushed into Gaza in larger numbers.

Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza, where more than half of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced and basic supplies are running low more than three weeks into the war triggered by Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel.

AP

Qatar has mediated an agreement between Egypt, Israel and Hamas, in coordination with the U.S., which will allow limited evacuations from besieged Gaza, a source briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday.

The agreement would allow foreign passport holders and some critically injured people to leave through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, though there is no timeline for how long it will remain open for evacuation, the source added.

The deal is not linked to other issues under negotiation such as hostages held by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that governs Gaza, or pauses designed to ease a humanitarian crisis in the enclave which is suffering from food, water, fuel and medical shortages, the source said.

Reuters

Israeli missile boats were deployed in the Red Sea on Wednesday as reinforcements, the military said in a statement, following long-range missile and drone attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthis.

Images disseminated by the military appeared to show Saar-class corvettes patrolling near Eilat port in the Red Sea, which Israel sees as a new front as its war in Gaza draws retaliation from Iran-aligned pro-Hamas forces elsewhere in the region.

- Reuters

Israel on Wednesday slammed Bolivia’s decision to cut ties over its war in the Gaza Strip after a deadly Hamas attack as a capitulation to “terror”.

“The government of Bolivia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Israel is a surrender to terrorism and to the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said in a statement.

“By taking this step, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organisation.”

- AFP

Qatar has mediated an agreement between Egypt, Israel and Hamas, in coordination with the U.S., to allow for the movement of foreign passport holders and some critically injured people out of besieged Gaza, a source briefed on deal told Reuters on Wednesday.

There is no timeline for how long the vital Rafah border crossing will remain open for evacuation, the source added.

- Reuters

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced plans to travel to Israel on Friday to consult with Israeli officials about their ongoing war on Hamas.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that Blinken would visit Israel “and then will make other stops in the region.” He did not identify the other planned stops.

Blinken made an urgent trip to the Middle East earlier in October, visiting Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

- AP

In an email to The Associated Press, internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org confirmed that Gaza “is in the midst of a total or near-total telecoms blackout consistent with” the weekend blackout.

Connectivity was previously cut from late Friday to early Sunday, coinciding with the entry of large numbers of ground troops into Gaza in what Israel at the time described as a new stage in the war. Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were unsuccessful early Wednesday.

Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza.

- AP

The Israeli army said on November 1 that its forces had carried out attacks on more than 11,000 militant targets in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its ongoing war with Hamas.

“Since the beginning of the war, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has struck over 11,000 targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from the military said.

- AFP

Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Wednesday denounced the latest Israeli airstrikes on a refugee camp near Gaza City, urging the international community to play its role in ending such strikes.

“Yesterday’s air raid on Jabalia camp, where hundreds of lives were lost, including women and children, was a stark reminder of ongoing Israeli brutalities and war crimes in Gaza,” Mr. Kakar said in a statement.

He said that “such reprehensible acts can never be condoned or forgotten. The world must act now to end this carnage.”

-AP

Saudi Arabia condemned on Wednesday an Israeli bombing of Gaza’s largest refugee camp, which killed at least 47 people, including, Israel said, a Hamas commander involved in the October 7 attacks.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns in the strongest terms possible the inhumane targeting by the Israeli occupation forces of the Jabalia refugee camp in the besieged Gaza Strip, which caused the death and injury of a large number of innocent civilians,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement posted on X.

-AFP

Nine Israeli soldiers were killed during combat operations in Gaza on Tuesday, the military said, bringing the total number of troops killed since October 7 to 326.

Two other soldiers were seriously wounded in fighting in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, according to the Israeli military, which has been waging a war against Hamas since the Palestinian militant organisation carried out the worst attack in Israel’s history.

- AFP

The Indian National League (INL) took out a rally in support of Palestine and its people at Kottakkal in Kerala on Tuesday, and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought shame to the country by taking a pro-Israel stand.

Inaugurating the rally, INL national president and All India Muslim Person Law Board member Mohammed Sulaiman said that Mr. Modi’s pro-Israel stand led to India losing its dignity in front of the world.

Read the story here.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that nine soldiers had died in Gaza fighting, without immediately providing details on where or when.

-Reuters

Four people were detained at Maidan police station here for waving the Palestinian flag during the Pakistan-Bangladesh World Cup cricket match at the Eden Gardens, police said.

“We had detained them for waving the Palestinian flag near Gate 6 and Block G1 (during the match on Tuesday),” a senior police officer said. They, however, did not raise any slogan.

After preliminary questioning, the four spectators – residents of Bally, Ekbalpore and Karaya areas – were let off, the officer told PTI.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that multiple foreign extremist groups have called for attacks against Americans and the West in the past few weeks and suggested Hamas’ attack on Israel could inspire threats like those motivated by the Islamic State group years ago.

“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago,” Wray testified before a U.S. Senate committee.

-AP

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired drones towards Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for its war against Hamas, a senior official from the group told AFP.

“These drones belong to the state of Yemen,” Abdelaziz bin Habtour, Prime Minister of the Houthi government, said when asked about the launch towards Eilat in southern Israel.

The Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swathes of the country, are “part of the axis of resistance” against Israel and are fighting with “words and drones”, he added.

Three Arab states have strongly criticised Israel’s airstrikes on a refugee camp near Gaza City. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each issued statements denouncing the strikes on the Jabaliya camp.

Qatar, which as been mediating talks with Hamas over the more than 200 hostages it holds, described the strike as “a new massacre against the defenseless Palestinian people, especially women and children.” The country warned that “the expansion of Israeli attacks in (the) Gaza Strip ... is a dangerous escalation in the course of confrontations, which would undermine mediation and de-escalation efforts.”

Saudi Arabia, which had been weighing a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel, said it “condemned in the strongest terms the inhumane Israeli occupation forces’ targeting of Jabaliya camp.”

The UAE, which diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020, warned that “indiscriminate attacks will result in irreparable ramifications in the region.”

-AP

The White House said Tuesday afternoon that 66 trucks of humanitarian aid have flowed into the Gaza Strip over the previous 24 hours—the highest single day delivery of aid since Hamas-launched attack triggered a massive Israeli military response.

“It’s a trickle compared to what needs to get in and we’re going to keep working that very, very hard,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

-AP

​

“My first experience of Israeli occupation was in 2016, when I found myself squatting on my luggage, without food or water for eight hours, after crossing the King Hussein Bridge from Jordan into the West Bank. Fear ran down my spine as I saw other Palestinian Arabs entering in long queues. The Israeli authorities brutally frisked them and seized or threw away their luggage. After Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, this border crossing has been closed by the Israelis. As Palestinians in Gaza face genocide, the silent annexation of the West Bank receives less attention. Since October 7, reportedly 114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, and 1,200 arrests and rapid raids have taken place.”

​Click here to read the full op-ed by West Asian political analyst Shubhda Chaudhary.​

Palestine Telecommunication Company, or Paltel, said on Wednesday in a post on messaging platform X that communications and internet services have been completely cut off in the Gaza Strip due to international access being disconnected again.

Paltel is Gaza’s largest telecommunications provider.

-Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday discussed their shared commitment to increasing aid to civilians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict, the White House said.

The two men also reiterated the importance of protecting civilian lives and that it was critical to ensure that Palestinians were not forcibly displaced from Gaza, the White House said.

-Reuters

Preachers in Kashmir Valley have accused the J&K Waqf Board of disallowing any mention of Palestine, which has been witnessing a fierce conflict for the past 24 days, in sermons or duas (special prayers), in an apparent bid to contain any street protests against Israel.

Several preachers, who presided over the religious rites, during the 11-day Urs at the shrine of saint Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Srinagar’s Khanyar, told The Hindu that the Palestine issue was not mentioned during sermons or prayers, unlike the instances in the past three decades when Palestine and Israel saw flare ups resulting in civilian deaths.

Read the full story here.

The United Nations chief said Tuesday he was “deeply alarmed by the intensification of the conflict between Israel and Hamas” as fierce fighting raged in Gaza.

The escalation includes “ground operations by the Israel Defense Forces accompanied by intense air strikes, and the continued rocket fire towards Israel from Gaza,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

“Civilians have borne the brunt of the current fighting from the outset,” he said.

-AFP

U.S. senators from both parties voiced doubts on Tuesday about House Republicans’ plan to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting Internal Revenue Service funding, without providing aid to Ukraine, and Democratic President Joe Biden threatened to veto the bill were it to pass.

In the first major legislative action under new Speaker Mike Johnson, House of Representatives Republicans unveiled a standalone supplemental spending bill only for Israel on Monday.

Republicans have a 221-212 majority in the House, but Mr. Biden’s fellow Democrats control the Senate 51-49. To become law, the bill would have to pass both the House and Senate and be signed by Mr. Biden.

The administration said Biden would veto such a bill were it to reach his desk.

-Reuters

Bolivia’s government severed diplomatic relations with Israel on Tuesday, accusing it of carrying out “crimes against humanity” in Gaza, and Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors to Israel as they criticized the Israeli military offensive against Hamas militants.

Bolivian officials cited the number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza that have resulted from the latest Israel-Hamas war, but made no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the conflict.

Chile decided to recall its ambassador “in the face of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip,” the South American country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, also announced he was recallinghis country’s ambassador to Israel.

“If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot remain there,” Petro wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

-AP