Katz threatens Khamenei, 'listen to the buzz'
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, responding to a graphic circulating online in which top Israeli officials are marked for assassination, renewed his threats against Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom he had threatened with assassination during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, Times of Israel reports.
“I suggest to Iranian dictator Khamenei that when he leaves his bunker, he occasionally lift his eyes to the sky and listen carefully to every buzz,” Katz wrote on X, apparently referring to Israeli drone activity.
A Hebrew-language graphic that Katz said was circulated by Tehran listed as targets,“Terror Minister Israel Katz” alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom it accuses of crimes against humanity; Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar, whom it brands a “murderer of children”; and others.
The graphic appears to be a version of an Israeli graphic used to announce its assassinations of senior Iranian officials during the war. It was unclear where it originated or how widespread it was before Katz republished it.
In his tweet, Katz told Khamenei that “participants of the ‘Red Wedding’ are waiting for him,” referring to the Israeli surprise attack that started the June war, code-named after the infamous Game of Thrones scene in which several main characters are killed during a wedding diner.
Israel's Gaza City offensive may be weeks away, leaving time for cease-fire
Israel's new offensive in Gaza City could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a cease-fire, officials say, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would get underway "fairly quickly" and end the war with Hamas' defeat.
Two officials who were at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve the plan told Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from affected areas may only be completed by the start of October, giving time for a deal to be pursued.
The plan raised international alarm over the harm it could bring to the shattered enclave, where a hunger crisis has worsened. On Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israel will first allow civilians to leave the battle zones before forces move in on Gaza City, which he described as one of Hamas' last two remaining strongholds, whose defeat will bring an end to the war.
But Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a security cabinet member who has demanded even tougher action, said the plan was designed to pressure Hamas back to the negotiating table, rather than defeat the group and urged Netanyahu to scrap it.
Israel ignoring majority of coordination requests from Gaza Civil Defense
Gaza’s Civil Defense agency said that the Israeli military is routinely declining coordination requests submitted by first-responder teams through international and humanitarian organizations.
These denials have resulted in the deaths of more than 2,500 people since Israel broke the March cease-fire and relaunched its offensive, Civil Defense revealed, as cited by Al Jazeera.
The military responded to only 10 percent of the total coordination requests that were sent through humanitarian groups during this time.
“We affirm that this Israeli refusal to coordinate field requests for humanitarian response has caused the martyrdom of more than 2,500 citizens who were injured in the targeted areas,” the Civil Defence said in a statement, calling on the international community to intervene.
Wael Al-Dahdouh (C), Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza, stands with anchor and presenter Mohamed Krichen (L) and presenter Tamer Almisshal (R) during a moment of silence to honour five of their colleagues, killed in an overnight Israeli strike in Gaz
Al Jazeera staff hold vigil for colleagues assassinated by Israel
Al Jazeera staff gathered at the news network's Doha headquarters this afternoon for a televised memorial for five colleagues killed by Israel overnight in Gaza.
Anas al-Sharif, a recognizable face on the channel, correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were killed in the Israeli attack on Sunday.
Dozens congregated in an Al Jazeera Arabic studio and newsroom in the Qatari capital to condemn the killings, among them, Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh, whose wife and children were killed in Israeli strikes, and camera operator Fadi al-Wahidi who was left paralyzed by a gunshot wound to the neck while reporting in the territory.
"Every time we lose a loved one and a colleague, we lose a part of this... family of journalists," Dahdouh told AFP following the vigil. "This is something extremely difficult and painful."
INSI says Israeli assassination of Gaza journalists 'deliberate silencing of witnesses'
The International News Safety Institute (INSI) says it is “appalled” by the latest killing of Palestinians journalists in Gaza by Israeli forces.
“In most hostile environments, there are steps journalists can take to reduce risk –protective equipment, security training, careful planning,” INSI said in a statement.
“In this case, none of the usual safety measures we take to stay safe would have made any difference. When Israel targets journalists for assassination with devastating weapons, it is the deliberate silencing of witnesses, not collateral damage.”
INSI added that the scale of journalists that have been killed since the war began was “an unprecedented toll in modern conflict reporting” and “a devastating loss”.
Norway wealth fund terminates Israel asset management contracts
Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund said it is terminating all contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, Reuters reports.
The announcement follows an urgent review launched last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets.
The fund, an arm of Norway's central bank, which held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30, in recent days divested stakes in 11 of these, it said in a statement.
"We have now completely sold out of these positions," the fund said, adding that it continued to review Israeli companies for potential divestments.
Macron gives 'priority' to 'stabilization mission under UN mandate'
Emmanuel Macron reiterated his proposal for a "U.N.-mandated stabilization mission" to secure the Gaza Strip, denouncing "a disaster foretold" and "a headlong rush into permanent war" following the announcement of an Israeli plan to conquer Gaza City.
The French president is proposing "an international coalition under a U.N. mandate," the "priority" to "fight terrorism, stabilize Gaza, support its populations and establish a governance of peace and stability," according to Macron. "We laid the only credible foundations for this with Saudi Arabia in New York, by obtaining for the first time a unanimous call for the disarmament of Hamas and the release of hostages by regional actors."
Anti-Gaza war graffiti on the Western Wall in Jerusalem
Graffiti condemning Israel's war in the Gaza Strip was discovered Monday morning on the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a holy site for Judaism, sparking outrage in Israel.
"There is a holocaust in Gaza," read the graffiti, spray-painted in Hebrew on the southern section of the wall, in a more secluded area where Jewish worshippers pray without distinction of gender, unlike in the main section of the wall. The same inscription was found earlier this morning on the facade of the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, with an addition in broken Hebrew stating, "Everything published is a lie."
Police announced Monday that they had arrested a 27-year-old suspect from Jerusalem, who will "appear in court later today ... to request an extension of his detention." The graffiti has drawn unanimous Israeli political condemnation, AFP reported.
Syrian government pledges accountability after video of execution in Sweida
Syria's Interior Ministry vowed to find and bring to justice those responsible for an execution at a hospital in Sweida during violence in July, following the release of a video that appeared to attribute it to government forces.
"We condemn and denounce this act in the strongest possible terms," the ministry said in a statement, relayed by AFP, "whose perpetrators will be brought to justice and held accountable ... regardless of their affiliation."
Qatar denounces Israel's "deliberate targeting" of Al Jazeera journalists
The Prime Minister of Qatar denounced Israel's "deliberate targeting" of Al Jazeera journalists in the Gaza Strip, where five employees of the Qatari channel were killed overnight in an Israeli attack.
"Israel's deliberate targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip reveals how far these crimes go beyond imagination," Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on X, paying tribute to the memory of "Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, and their colleagues" killed in the attack on a tent in Gaza City.
Palestinian journalist becomes sixth victim of Israeli strike on Al Jazeera tent
A Palestinian journalist was killed in a deadly Israeli strike last night on a tent used by a crew from the Qatari channel Al Jazeera in Gaza City, bringing the death toll to six, the local Civil Defense and a hospital official announced Monday.
"Photojournalist Mohammed Al-Khaldi has succumbed to his injuries ... This brings to six" the number of victims of this strike, after which Al Jazeera announced the deaths of two journalists and three cameramen, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Bassal, told AFP. Khaldi was a freelance journalist who occasionally collaborated with local media. The director of Al-Shifa Hospital – near where the tent was pitched – Mohammed Abu Salmiya, confirmed his death, which occurred Monday morning "from his injuries."
Hezbollah condemns killing of journalists as 'war crime'
Following the Israeli strike that killed Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza City, Hezbollah condemned a "horrific and brutal crime." The party said in a statement that "this is considered a full-fledged war crime that reveals the brutality, criminality, and moral and human depravity of this entity."
"This systematic assassination of journalists, after the Israeli enemy decided to occupy the Gaza Strip, aims to prevent the media from playing their role in denouncing crimes and massacres, including genocide and starvation of the people, as a prelude to the imposition of a forced displacement of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," the party said.
RSF denounces killing of Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza by the Israeli army
The press rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) "strongly and angrily" condemned the assassination claimed by the Israeli army of a journalist from Al Jazeera in the Gaza Strip.
"Anas al-Sharif, one of the most famous journalists in the Gaza Strip, was the voice of the suffering imposed by Israel on the Palestinians in Gaza," the NGO said in a statement sent to AFP, calling for "strong action from the international community to stop the Israeli army."
Israeli ambassador to Australia says Australian recognition of Palestinian state 'undermines Israel's security'
The Israeli embassy in Australia stated in a letter published on X, among other sites, that the Australian Labor government's moves to recognize a Palestinian state "undermine Israel's security" and "strengthen the position of Hamas."
Ambassador Amir Maimon wrote: "By recognizing Palestinian statehood while Hamas continues to kill, abduct, and reject peace, Australia is undermining Israel's security, derailing hostage negotiations, and handing a victory to those who oppose coexistence."
'Gaza's children are dying of hunger and bombardment,' warns UNRWA
The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said that "children in Gaza are dying of hunger and bombardment."
"Entire families, entire neighborhoods, and an entire generation are being wiped out," UNRWA added in a social media post. "Inaction and silence are a form of complicity. It is time for statements to be turned into actions and for an immediate cease-fire."
Family killed in Israeli attack on house in Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza
An Israeli attack on a house in the Gaza City neighborhood of Zeitoun killed an entire family, the state-run Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. The victims included a couple and their six children, it said. This attack followed another bombing earlier in the morning on a tent housing displaced people in the city, which killed at least three people.
Palestinian and Australian officials discussed recognition of Palestinian statehood.
In a statement released on X, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said that Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin had spoken with her Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, about the recognition of the Palestinian state.
The ministry said the two officials discussed the findings of a telephone conversation between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the issue.
Recognition of Palestine puts Australia 'at odds with the US,' says opposition leader
Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley and the opposition coalition said they had "serious concerns about the Albanese government's decision to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state outside of a process of peace and coexistence between the two states," reported The Guardian.
In a statement, Ley and opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Michaelia Cash said today's decision "puts Australia at odds with the United States of America, our most important ally and the most influential actor in the Gaza conflict."
According to L'Orient Today's correspondent's sources, the explosion heard overnight in the districts of Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh was caused by a house detonation operation by the Israeli army in Khiam (Marjayoun). Israeli troops are still stationed on the hills of this border village, in Lebanese territory.
Good morning!
Thank you for joining us for our live coverage today. Be sure to read the Morning Brief so that you are caught up with what has been happening.
Australia to recognize the State of Palestine
Australia will recognize the State of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday, following other countries such as France and Canada.
"A two-state solution is humanity's best hope for breaking the cycle of violence in the Middle East and bringing an end to the conflict and suffering" in Gaza, the Labor leader told reporters in Canberra. "Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own."
"Peace can only be temporary" until Israelis and Palestinians have their own states, he said.
Five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli 'targeted' strike, including Anas al-Sharif
Al Jazeera announced the deaths of five of its journalists yesterday in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, including a reporter well-known to its viewers, whom the Israeli army admitted targeting, calling him a "terrorist."
As the Israeli government shows determination to implement its new operational plan in the Palestinian territory devastated and starved by 22 months of war, the Qatar-based channel reported "what appears to be a targeted Israeli attack" on a tent used by its journalists in Gaza City, outside al-Shifa Hospital. It announced the deaths of its correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, as well as cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.
Their names join the list of nearly 200 journalists killed in the war launched in retaliation for the bloody attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Netanyahu: New Israeli plan is 'best way to finish the job'
The new Israeli plan to conquer Gaza City "is not aimed at occupying Gaza," Benjamin Netanyahu said last night, saying it was the "best way to finish the job" by ending the 22-month war in the Palestinian territory. He also said Sunday that he expected to complete this new offensive in Gaza "fairly quickly," and said it was "thanks to Israel" that the Lebanese authorities were now pushing for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Hamas delegation heads to Egypt to continue indirect negotiations with Israel
A source told The New Arab that a Hamas delegation, including senior Hamas leaders, will arrive in Cairo later today to resume negotiations with Israel for a hostage and cease-fire agreement through Egyptian mediators. The source added that communication with Egyptian mediators had been reestablished with Turkey's help following a Hamas delegation's visit to Ankara last week.
The delegation includes Khalil Hayyeh, who heads the negotiating team and replaced former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year.
Two security incidents were reported on the border with Israel last night. Shortly after 11 p.m., an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on the town of Dhaira (Sour), without any casualties being reported, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.
And at 3:30 a.m., a loud explosion, the nature of which is not yet known, was heard in villages of located in the Marjayoun district and some villages in the Nabatieh district.
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