Tag: conflict

Two dead, eight wounded in Jerusalem shooting: rescue teams

JERUSALEM, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – Two people were killed and eight wounded, including five left in a serious condition, in a shooting in Jerusalem on Thursday, first responders said. Police said two suspects “implicated in the shootings were neutralised on the spot” after the attack near a bus stop on the western side of Jerusalem, where there are no checkpoints guarding entrance to the city. “Two terrorists arrived in a car, one of them […]

Israel, Hamas say truce is extended

By Adel Zaanoun with Didier Lauras in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – A truce between Israel and Hamas will continue, both sides said Thursday, moments before the deal was due to expire, though details of any official agreement remained unclear. Minutes before the halt in fighting was due to expire at 0500GMT, Israel’s military said the “operational pause” would be extended, without specifying for how long. “In light of the […]

Thai hostages set to return after release by Hamas

BANGKOK, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – Seventeen Thai hostages kidnapped and held for weeks by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are expected to return home on Thursday to be met by overjoyed relatives at the Bangkok airport. Tens of thousands of Thais were working in Israel, mostly in the agricultural sector, when Palestinian militants poured over the border on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240, according to Israeli authorities. At […]

US families recount ‘horrific’ Gaza hostage ordeal, urge more action

By Michael Mathes Four-year-old American hostage Abigail is surrounded by family in Israel who “brought her life back” after seven weeks of captivity, her great aunt said Wednesday, as relatives stressed they will not rest until everyone held by Hamas is freed. The young girl, whose parents were murdered in front of her on a kibbutz near Gaza as militants stormed Israel on October 7, is the first confirmed US citizen to have been freed […]

Hamas frees more hostages as Gaza truce expiry looms

By Adel Zaanoun with Didier Lauras in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – More hostages were freed from Gaza on Wednesday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as mediators raced to broker another extension to the truce between Israel and Hamas hours before it was due to expire. Underscoring the urgency, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for talks on aid for Gaza and the truce, which is scheduled […]

Kyiv says storms killed 12, 800 villages without power

KYIV, Ukraine, Nov 29, 2023 (AFP) – Extreme weather that stormed through Ukraine’s south earlier this week killed 12 people, while bad weather and the war with Russia have left more than 800 villages without power, Kyiv said on Wednesday. Hurricane winds and snowfall hit southern Ukraine, already severely affected by Russia’s invasion, on Monday. The strong winds also swept through occupied Ukraine, Moscow-annexed Crimea and southern Russia. “Twelve people died due to the weather,” […]

The Israeli hostages freed by Hamas on Tuesday

By Jean-Philippe Chognot PARIS, Nov 28, 2023 (AFP) – Ten Israeli women including a 17-year-old were released Tuesday by Gaza militants, Israeli officials said, on the fifth day of a truce in fighting with Hamas. The release of the Israeli group as well as two Thai nationals brings the total number of freed hostages to 86 from around 240 people taken to the Gaza Strip after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel. Tuesday’s release […]

US sends first of three military planes with Gaza aid

By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, Nov 28, 2023 (AFP) – The United States on Tuesday sent the first of three military planes to Egypt to bring vital humanitarian aid for Gaza, promising to assist Palestinians during a truce between Hamas and US ally Israel. The relief flights carrying food, medical supplies and winter gear are the first by the US military since the conflict began with the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. The flights […]

Ukraine suspects Russia poisoned spy chief’s wife

  KYIV, Ukraine, Nov 28, 2023 (AFP) – Ukraine said Tuesday it believed Russia had poisoned the wife of its military intelligence chief, in an apparent assassination attempt targeting the heart of Kyiv’s leadership. Marianna Budanova, who is an advisor to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, was hospitalised after a prolonged deterioration in her health, the Babel news outlet reported earlier. Ukrainian investigators’ “main hypothesis” is that Russia was involved in the poisoning attempt, Ukrainian military […]

12 more Gaza hostages freed as mediators seek lasting truce

By Adel Zaanoun with Michael Blum in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 28, 2023 (AFP) – Twelve more hostages were freed Tuesday from Gaza captivity in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce, as mediators worked for a lasting halt to the seven-week Israel-Hamas war. Ten Israelis and two Thais were released, the Israeli prime minister’s office said, with the army saying they were handed over to the Red Cross and were “inside […]

Eleven more Gaza hostages released as Israel-Hamas truce extended

By Adel Zaanoun with Michael Blum in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – Israel said Monday that 11 more hostages released in the Gaza Strip had arrived safely, hours after the announcement that a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will be extended by two days, opening the way for further releases. Hamas announced the agreement to prolong the truce by 48 hours shortly before it was due to end […]

Deadly storm cuts power to nearly 2 mn people in Russia, Ukraine

  MOSCOW, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – Almost two million people in Russia and occupied Ukraine were left without power on Monday, after hurricane force winds and heavy rains cut electricity lines and caused widespread flooding. Huge waves crashed over beachside areas of Russia’s Black Sea coast, video from social media showed, as wind speeds reached over 140 kilometres (about 90 miles) per hour in some places. At least four people were killed during the […]