MIDDLE EAST UPDATES | ANC calls for peace in the Gaza Strip

09 October 2023 - 14:53

Shelling, gunfire heard at Lebanon-Israel border -Hezbollah's Al-Manar correspondent

 Artillery shelling and gunfire were heard at Lebanon's southern border with Israel on Monday, a correspondent for Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV said in a post on social media.

Reuters

09 October 2023 - 13:53

'Qatar leading talks to swap Hamas-held hostages for Palestinians in Israeli jails'

Qatari mediators have held urgent calls with Hamas officials to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by the militant group and held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel's prisons, a source told Reuters.

09 October 2023 — 13:44

ANC calls for peace in the Gaza Strip

The ANC called for peace in the Gaza Strip, describing Palestine’s reality as a replica of apartheid South Africa.

Party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Israel is a blatant apartheid state that methodically imposes privilege on Jewish Israelis' behalf and discriminates against Palestinians.

09 October 2023 — 13:42

Russia calls for talks on two-state solution for Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks on a two-state solution that provided for the peaceful co-existence of Israel and the Palestinians were the only way forward once hostilities had ended.

Lavrov was speaking at a news conference in Moscow alongside Ahmed Aboul Gheit, chief of the Arab League.

Gheit said there would be more wars unless Israel changed its stance on the Palestinians. 

Reuters

09 October 2023 — 12:17

INSIGHT | How Israel was duped as Hamas planned devastating assault

A careful campaign of deception ensured Israel was caught off guard when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched its devastating attack, enabling a force using bulldozers, hang gliders and motorbikes to take on the Middle East's most powerful army.

Saturday's assault, the worst breach in Israel's defences since Arab armies waged war in 1973, followed two years of subterfuge by Hamas that involved keeping its military plans under wraps and convincing Israel it did not want a fight.

09 October 2023 — 11:51

Abandoned cars underline panic at Israeli music festival where Hamas gunmen killed hundreds

Hundreds of cars abandoned in the scramble to flee a massacre at an Israeli music festival where Hamas gunmen killed 260 people and took captives back into Gaza underline the scale of the deadliest attack on Israel in decades.

Drone footage taken in the aftermath of the attack in Saturday's early hours shows cars left at the roadside, near Kibbutz Re'im close to Gaza from which Hamas launched its shock assault, many destroyed or pockmarked with bullet impacts.

“It was just a massacre, a total massacre,” said 26-year-old Arik Nani, who escaped from the dance party, where he was celebrating his birthday after hiding for hours in a field.

“We didn't know where to go,” he told Reuters.

“I found myself with a friend, we found ourselves completely afraid and in shock, we ran just to understand what was happening to us.”

Thousands of young people attended the Nature Party, which became one of the first targets of Palestinian gunmen who breached Gaza's border fence early on Saturday under cover of massive rocket barrages from Gaza.

Video footage circulating on social media shows the gunmen descending in paragliders on the gathering in the Negev Desert.

“I felt like existential fear, I have never felt so close to death, this time I really felt like it was the end,” said 23-year-old Zohar Maariv, who had to jump out of the car she was escaping in when it came under fire from two sides.

At least 700 Israelis were killed and dozens more were abducted into Gaza in scenes that have left a profound shock on a country which had long prided itself on its ultra-efficient military and security services.

Israeli emergency services said 260 bodies had been recovered from the site of the festival.

Other social media footage shows some of those taken captive from the party being led away by jubilant gunmen. “I live on the Gaza border and I've seen things in my life, but I've never felt it this close,” Maariv said. 

Reuters

09 October 2023 — 11:08

Israel drafts 300,000 reservists as it goes on the offensive

Israel has drafted a record 300,000 reservists in its response to a multi-front Hamas attack from Gaza and is “going on the offensive,” the chief military spokesperson said on Monday.

Since Saturday's surprise assault, Israeli aircraft have been pounding Gaza targets while its ground forces have battled to retake control of border villages and towns overrun by Palestinian gunmen.

Chief military spokesperson Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari said control of those communities had been re-established but that isolated clashes continued as some gunmen remained active.” We are now carrying out searches in all of the communities and clearing the area,” he said in a televised briefing.

Military officials had previously said that their focus was on securing Israel's side of the border before carrying out any major escalation of the counteroffensive in Gaza.

Hagari said 300,000 reservists have been called up by the military since Saturday, a number suggesting preparations for a possible invasion — though any such plans have not been officially confirmed.” We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale,” he said. “We are going on the offensive.

“Hagari confirmed media reports that 700 people had been killed on Israel's side of the border, including 73 confirmed members of the security forces. He said Israel's military had killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen. 

Reuters 

09 October 2023 — 11:01

Thailand co-ordinating with other countries for hostage release

Thailand is co-ordinating with other countries with citizens taken hostage during unrest in Israel with a view to facilitating their release, its deputy foreign minister said on Monday.

Those include Malaysia, Jordan and Egypt, deputy foreign minister, Jakkapong Sangmanee, told a briefing. 

Reuters 

09 October 2023 — 09:43

Nepal says 10 nationals killed in Israel after Hamas attack

Nepal said on Monday at least 10 of its nationals were killed in Israel after the attack by Palestinian group Hamas, and the cabinet will hold an emergency meeting to discuss how to evacuate thousands of others working and studying there.

The foreign ministry said four Nepalis were also wounded in Saturday's attack, and media reports said many others were hiding in bunkers.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has convened a special cabinet meeting to discuss ways to get citizens back home, his office said on Monday.

“Arrangements are being made to evacuate Nepali nationals who want to return home from Israel,” the foreign ministry said late on Sunday.Officials say about 4,500 Nepalis work in Israel, mostly as caregivers, and more than 100 are studying there under an “earn and learn” programme.

Fighters from Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens in Saturday's attacks, which were the deadliest such incursion since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, prompting Israel to retaliate by pounding the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, killing hundreds of people, including scores of children.

Reuters 

09 October 2023 — 09:33

WATCH | Trance music festival attacked by Hamas, leaving 260 dead

The Israeli rescue service Zaka says at least 260 bodies have been recovered after a music festival was attacked by Hamas on Saturday.

In shocking video footage, festivalgoers attending the outdoor Nova Festival near the Israel-Gaza border can be seen running from gunfire, some being kidnapped and marched across the border and bodies strewn along the road.

09 October 2023 — 09:28

European stocks slip on Middle East conflict

Most major European stock markets opened lower on Monday as military clashes in the Middle East sparked a rush to safe-haven assets such as bonds and gold, while also boosting oil prices by over 3%.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2% by 0710 GMT, with chemical and travel & leisure sectors leading losses.

Global investors turned risk averse as military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas deepened political uncertainty across the Middle East and raised concerns about oil supplies.

The energy index jumped 2.2% as oil prices rallied 3% to over $85 a barrel, keeping the broader market under pressure on concerns about elevated inflation.

Shares of European defence companies such as Sweden's Saab , Italy's Leonardo and Germany's Rheinmetall rose in the range of 4.7% and 7.2% on the prospect of a prolonged military conflict in the region.

Airline stocks, including British-Airways owner IAG , Air France KLM and Lufthansa, fell between 2.7% and 4.8% on concerns about higher fuel costs. 

Reuters 

09 October 2023 — 08:43

Britain advises against all but essential travel to Israel

The British government said it had updated its travel advice for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, advising against all but essential travel as fighting continued near Gaza after a bloody incursion by gunmen from Islamist group Hamas.

Britain already advised against all travel to Gaza, but on Sunday also added several areas in Israel close to the border with Gaza to that recommendation, and changed its advice for the country as a whole.

The British Foreign Office also asked all Britons in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to register their presence there, so they can be kept updated of further changes to travel advice.

Reuters 

09 October 2023 — 07:46

Mideast violence benefits Russia, adds to migration pressure on EU -Polish president

The current violence between Hamas and Israel works in Russia's favour as it distracts international attention from Moscow's aggression in Ukraine and may result in new migration pressures on Europe, Poland's president Andrzej Duda said on Sunday.

Poland, a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia launched its invasion in early 2022, has sheltered more than a million Ukrainian refugees.

But it has flatly rejected any European Union mechanisms which would require it to take in a share of the irregular migrants entering the bloc from other directions.” It certainly benefits Russia and Russian aggression against Ukraine.

It distracts the world's attention... But above all, I am afraid that it will unfortunately cause further migration pressure on Europe,” Duda said in an interview with private broadcaster Polsat News.

“We will likely have another wave of migrants from the Middle East, which will hit Europe... Our security, protection of Poland's borders of course, also the borders of the European Union and the Schengen zone, becomes even more important.”

Since mid-2021, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have seen an increase in the number of mainly Middle Eastern and African migrants trying to enter illegally from Belarus, which they accuse of facilitating such crossings, a claim Minsk rejects.

Reuters 

09 October 2023 — 07:13

Several airlines suspend Tel Aviv flights until safety conditions improve

Several international air carriers have suspended flight services with Tel Aviv in light of the Hamas militant attack on Israel, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve before resuming.

Fighters from the Islamist group killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens in Saturday's attacks, which were the deadliest such incursion since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, prompting Israel to retaliate by pounding the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

09 October 2023 — 07:11

Deaths pass 1,100 in Middle East conflict

Hamas' assault on Israel drove oil prices higher on Monday as markets priced in fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East, a day after Israel pounded the Palestinian enclave of Gaza in retaliation for one of the bloodiest attacks in its history.

Fighters from Islamist group Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more as they attacked Israeli towns on Saturday, the deadliest incursion into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria's attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.

09 October 2023 — 07:02

Biden offers Israel support, faces criticism on Iran at home after Hamas attack

US President Joe Biden offered Israel on Saturday “all appropriate means of support” after a deadly attack from Palestinian militant group Hamas and warned “any party hostile to Israel” not to seek advantage.

US and Israeli officials were co-ordinating about Israel's military needs in the wake of the attack, with a decision expected soon, a senior US official said.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT — Gazan describes losing three children in Israeli strikes

Sabreen Abu Daqqa lost three children during an Israeli air strike on Gaza after Hamas fighters rampaged through towns in Israel, killing 700 people

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Israel pounds Gaza as war threatens to spiral

Israeli jets battered Gaza overnight as Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed ‘mighty vengeance’ for the bloodiest attack in decades by Hamas. The spiralling violence threatens a major new Middle East war.

08 October 2023 — 20:59

‘We were so unprepared’: South Africans in Israel describe tension of weekend attacks

Department of international relations & cooperation calls for immediate cessation of violence

08 October 2023 — 16:56

Israel, Hezbollah exchange artillery, rocket fire

Israel and Lebanon's powerful armed group Hezbollah exchanged artillery and rocket fire on Sunday after the deadliest attack in years by Palestinian gunmen on Israel.

On Saturday, a multipronged attack by Palestinian gunmen on Israeli towns left around 500 Israelis dead, with more than 300 Palestinians killed in Israel's retaliatory bombardment.

08 October 2023 — 15:41

DNA and prayers: Israelis desperate for word on missing kin from Hamas attack

Hundreds of stunned Israelis filed into a central police station on Sunday hoping for word on the fate of loved ones lost in the wake of a mass Palestinian infiltration from the Gaza Strip. Though long used to war, Israel was blindsided by the multipronged attack by Hamas gunmen in which hundreds were killed.

08 October 2023 — 13:52

ANALYSIS | In striking Israel, Hamas also took aim at Middle East security realignment

Palestinian officials and a regional source said the gunmen who stormed Israeli towns, killing residents and taking hostages, were also delivering a message that the Palestinians could not be ignored if Israel wanted security and that any Saudi deal would scupper the detente with Iran. 

“All the agreements of normalisation that you (Arab states) signed with (Israel) will not end this conflict,” Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas which runs Gaza, said on Al Jazeera television.

08 October 2023 — 11:51

Israel strikes Lebanon after Hezbollah hits Shebaa Farms

Israel fired barrages of artillery into southern Lebanon on Sunday after Hezbollah targeted three Israeli military positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

08 October 2023 — 11:40

Israel pounds Gaza after deadly Hamas raid as conflict threatens to spiral

Israel awoke in shock on Sunday after Hamas fighters killed hundreds of Israelis and abducted an unknown number of captives into Gaza, setting off a war that risked spreading as Israel struck a Hezbollah militia target in southern Lebanon.

08 October 2023 — 08:25

Ukraine's Zelensky calls for world solidarity with Israel

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called on world leaders on Saturday to show solidarity and unity in supporting Israel and condemning the “terrorist attack” by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “mighty vengeance” after a surprise assault by Hamas killed more than 200 people in the deadliest day of violence in Israel in half a century.