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TEL AVIV, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself as it pummels the Gaza Strip with an air and ground assault. “Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself… to make sure that this October 7 never happens again,” Blinken told journalists as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv. Israel launched a […]
WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – The United States called on Friday for Hezbollah not to “take advantage” of the Israel-Hamas war after the Lebanese militants’ leader said “all options” were open. “We and our partners have been clear: Hezbollah and other actors — state or non-state — should not try to take advantage of the ongoing conflict,” a spokesperson from the National Security Council said. In his first speech since war broke out last […]
BEIRUT, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his Iran-backed group was not afraid of US warships and “all options” were open for an expansion of the Israel-Hamas conflict into Lebanon. In his first speech since war broke out last month between Hamas militants and Israel, the head of the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement said the United States was responsible for the Gaza war and that Washington could prevent a […]
BANGKOK, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Thailand’s foreign minister said Friday he had pressed his Iranian counterpart over the fate of 23 Thais taken hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas in its attack on Israel. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara travelled to Qatar and Egypt this week for talks on the hostages, and met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Doha, urging him to use Tehran’s links with Hamas to help secure the release of Thai nationals. Israeli […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Daphne Rousseau in Jerusalem RAFAH, Palestinian Territories, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli ground troops encircled Hamas stronghold Gaza City on Friday, after close ally the United States urged “concrete steps” to minimise civilian casualties. Ahead of top US diplomat Antony Blinken’s scheduled visit to Israel Friday, the country’s military said it had “completed the encirclement” of Gaza’s largest city — signalling a new phase in the month-long war against Hamas. […]
BANGKOK, Nov 2, 2023 (AFP) – Thai officials held direct talks with Hamas in Iran last week over the fate of 22 of the kingdom’s nationals taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group in its attack on Israel, the head of the Thai delegation said. Negotiators met Hamas officials in Tehran on October 26 and were given a pledge that the Thais would be released at the “right time”, Areepen Uttarasin told reporters in Bangkok […]
By Mai YAGHI with Rosie Scammell in Jerusalem RAFAH, Palestinian Territories, Nov 2, 2023 (AFP) – Israel hit Gaza’s largest refugee camp with renewed air strikes Wednesday, prompting UN rights officials to warn that targeting densely populated residential areas “could amount to war crimes.” Bombs struck the Jabalia camp for a second time in two days, pulverising buildings and, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, killing dozens of people. AFP witnessed extensive damage at the […]
By W.G. DUNLOP and Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – The United States accused Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday of trying to use the Israel-Hamas war to reduce Western support for Ukraine, which it said requires continued backing from Washington to prevent Russian success. Hamas militants carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza this month that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people, prompting Washington to rush military aid to Israel […]
By Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, Nov 1, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the first US citizens were able to leave the war-hit Gaza Strip after weeks of diplomacy and mounting frustration by hundreds of US citizens trapped in the conflict. Since Israel launched retaliatory strikes following a bloody assault by Hamas, the impoverished Gaza Strip has seen limited food, water and medicine, leading Palestinian-Americans to file lawsuits alleging double-standards on efforts to […]
By Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – The Israel-Hamas war has heightened the threat of attacks in the United States, raising particular concerns for the Jewish and Muslim communities, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Tuesday. “We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since (the Islamic State group) launched its so-called caliphate several years ago,” Wray told the Senate […]
MAKHACHKALA, Russia, Oct 30, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused Ukraine and the West of instigating anti-Israel rioting at Dagestan’s Makhachkala airport the previous day, an accusation that Washington has called absurd. Security forces have detained over 80 people since the incident, which saw rioters in the Muslim-majority region take over the runway on Sunday evening in an attempt to encircle a plane that had flown in from Israel. “The events […]
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 30, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas released Monday a video showing three of the more than 230 people Israel says were seized by Palestinian militants in massive October 7 raids which triggered all-out war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the anguished images of the three women as “cruel psychological propaganda” and vowed to “do everything to bring home all the kidnapped and missing people”. In a statement, Netanyahu […]
