The Israeli Air Force said that Murad Abu Murad was largely responsible for directing militants to Israel on Saturday.
The Israel Air Forces has said that it has killed the head of Hamas’s Air Force Murad Abu Murad in the airstrike carried out overnight. The strike targeted a headquarters from which Hamas managed its aerial activity in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Air Force said that Murad Abu Murad was largely responsible for directing militants on Saturday.
In a post on X, the Israeli Air Force stated, “Also, during the last day, fighter jets of the Air Force attacked the operational headquarters of the Hamas, from where the organization’s aerial activities were managed. During the attack, Murad Abu Murad, the head of the air formation in Gaza City who took a large part and directed militants in the murderous attack on Saturday, was killed.”
In separate strikes carried out overnight, the Israeli Air Forces said that it had struck dozens of sites belonging to Hamas’s commando forces, who led the infiltration into Israel on October 7, The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli Air Forces said that the Israeli Defence Forces and the Israeli Air Forces will continue to operate “as required in order to defend the State of Israel against the Hamas.”
In a post shared on X, the Israeli Air Force stated, “Last night, IAF fighter jets conducted wide-scale strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. These included dozens of Hamas targets as well as “Nukhba”operatives that were in a staging ground in the Gaza Strip.”
In the latest update on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Israeli Defence Forces Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus noted on Saturday that people in the Gaza Strip are listening to Israel’s warning and are doing the right thing, noting that there has been a significant movement of Palestinian civilians towards the South.
“We have seen a significant movement of the Palestinian civilians towards the south…we have seen people listening to our warning, understanding that they doing the clever thing, moving out of the dangerous area, and the right thing for their family…,” he said.
On Friday the Israeli military had called for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City. The IDF says that it had advertised its intentions as it did not want civilians to be affected by the war. The IDF further said that Israel was fighting against Hamas and its military infrastructure.
“We advertised our intentions in advance not because it has any military logic but because we want civilians not to be affected by the war. We didn’t put those civilians there and they are not our enemy. We are not trying to kill or injure any civilians, we are fighting against Hamas and its military infrastructure…that’s where we targeted around the Gaza strip and in the northern part of the Gaza strip,” he said.
Conricus highlighted that the end state of this war is the complete destruction of Hamas and its infrastructure. “We dismantle Hamas and its military capabilities and fundamentally change the situation so that Hamas never again has the ability to inflict any damage on Israeli civilians or soldiers,” the IDF spokesperson said.
The Israeli defence forces have said that more than 120 civilians have been held captive in Gaza by Hamas. (ANI)
EU reminds Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to remove disinformation related to Israel-Hamas conflict on YouTube
European Commissioner Thierry Breton has sent a letter to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, reminding him about the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to keep illegal content and disinformation from being shared on YouTube related to the Israel-Hamas war.
In the letter, also addressed to YoutTube CEO Neal Mohan, Breton said that following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, “we are seeing a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the EU via certain platforms”.
“I would like to remind you that you have a particular obligation to protect the millions of children and teenagers using your platforms in the EU from violent content depicting hostage taking and other graphic videos,” the commissioner said late on Friday.
It means having appropriate and proportionate measures in place to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, he added.
Breton has already warned X, Meta and TikTok on removing terrorist propaganda and manipulated content, such as repurposed videos or clickbaits, from their respective platforms.
He told Pichai that “when you receive notices of illegal content in the EU, you must be timely, diligent and objective in taking action and removing the relevant content when warranted”.
“Given the urgency, I also expect you to be in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol and ensure that you respond promptly to their requests,” said Breton.
In the context of elections, he told Pichai that the DSA requires that the risk of amplification of fake and manipulated images and facts generated with the intention to influence elections is taken extremely seriously in the context of mitigation measures.
“I invite you to inform my team on the details of the measures you have taken to mitigate any deepfakes, also in the light of upcoming elections in Poland, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Austria, and the European Parliament elections,” said Breton.
The #DSA is here to protect both freedom of expression & our democracies — including in times of crisis.
We have sent @X a formal request for information, a first step in our investigation to determine compliance with the DSA.https://t.co/59ZX51aDVG
“As you know, following the opening of a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance, penalties can be imposed,” he added.
Earlier, Meta said that since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s response in Gaza, “expert teams from across our company have been working around the clock to monitor our platforms, while protecting people’s ability to use our apps to shed light on important developments happening on the ground”.
“In the three days following October 7, we removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content for violating these policies in Hebrew and Arabic,” the social network said in a blog post.
As compared to the two months prior, in the three days following October 7, “we have removed seven times as many pieces of content on a daily basis for violating our Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy in Hebrew and Arabic alone,” Meta added.
Operation Ajay: 2nd flight carrying 235 Indians arrives from war-torn Israel
Amid the raging war in Israel, the second batch of 235 Indian nationals, including two infants, arrived in New Delhi on Saturday morning under ‘Operation Ajay’.
The group was received at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.
“#Operation Ajay continues to bring citizens home. 2nd flight carrying 235 citizens arrives in New Delhi. MoS @RanjanRajkuma11 received the citizens at the airport,” the Ministry of External Affairs wrote on X.
“Received the second batch of Indians from Israel. Heartening to note that they are very appreciative of GoI’s swift response #OperationAjay and @MEAIndia for smooth coordination,” Singh said in a post on X.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had shared pictures of the flight carrying 235 Indian nationals, which took off from Tel Aviv at 11.02 p.m. on Friday night.
India launched ’Operation Ajay’ on Thursday to facilitate the return of its citizens in special chartered flights amidst ongoing violence in Israel after Hamas launched brazen attacks on the Jewish nation.
The first flight carrying 212 Indians took off from the Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel on Thursday and reached New Delhi on Friday morning.
The cost of the return of Indian nationals is being borne by the Centre.
The Ministry of External Affairs has set up a 24-hour control room in the national capital to monitor the situation in Israel and Palestine.
According to Israel embassy data, around 18,000 Indian nationals are living and working in the country, including caregivers, students, several IT professionals, and diamond traders.
The attack has killed more than 1,300 people in Israel and over 1,530 people in Gaza.
After days of airstrikes, the Israeli military has ordered the Palestinians in Gaza City and its surroundings to move to the south of the territory
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the relocation of Gaza residents from the north to the south as ordered by the Israeli military is “extremely dangerous”.
After days of airstrikes, the Israeli military has ordered the Palestinians in Gaza City and its surroundings to move to the south of the territory, said Guterres on Friday.
“Moving more than one million people across a densely populated warzone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege, is extremely dangerous — and in some cases, simply not possible.”
Hospitals in the south of Gaza are already at capacity and will not be able to accept thousands of new patients from the north. The health system is on the brink of collapse. Morgues are overflowing; 11 healthcare staff have been killed while on duty; and there have been 34 attacks on health facilities in the past few days, he added before walking into a Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The entire territory of Gaza faces a water crisis as infrastructure has been damaged and there is no electricity to power pumps and desalination plants, he said.
Guterres added that the situation in Gaza has reached a dangerous new low, Xinhua news agency reported.
The horrific attacks by Hamas on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and injured thousands more on October 7 were followed by intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza that has already killed 1,800 people and injured thousands more, he noted.
Guterres called for immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza so that fuel, food and water can be provided to people in need. He called for respect for international humanitarian law and human rights law, and for the protection of civilians. He also called for the immediate release of hostages in Gaza.
“It is imperative that all parties — and those with influence over them — do everything possible to achieve these steps,” he said.
The UN chief also warned against hate speech stoked by the conflict — across the Middle East and around the world.
“Dehumanising language that incites violence is never accepted. I call on all leaders to speak out against Anti-semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and hate speech of all kinds. This is a time for the international community to come together around protecting civilians and finding a lasting solution to this unending cycle of death and destruction,” Guterres added.
The Indian chess body said the decision was taken considering all the aspects of safety and security of young players….reports Asian Lite News
The Israel-Hamas conflict has reverberated in the world of Indian chess, leading to the All India Chess Federation (AICF) declaring its withdrawal from the upcoming World Cadet Chess Championship scheduled to take place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from October 14 to 23.
“Considering the ongoing situation at Gaza Strip between Israel & Hamas and the age of participants, after due deliberations it was decided our delegation will not participate in the World Cadet Chess Championship-2023,” AICF announced.
The Indian chess body said the decision was taken considering all the aspects of safety and security of our young players as the Gaza Strip is only 397 Km away from Sharm El Sheikh and the conflict can significantly impact commercial airlines in the Middle East on short notice.
“We took this decision based on Force Majeure & unforeseen scenario and all stakeholders are requested to note the same,” AICF said.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Chess Federation (ECF) President Dr. Hesham Elgendy in an assurance to all the participants said: “I’d like to assure you that the Egyptian Government ensures security of all players & participants of WCCC 2023 at Sharm El Sheikh Egypt.”
“The World Cadets Chess Championships 2023 is organized under the patronage of Egyptian Minister of Youth & Sports at Sharm El Sheikh Egypt 14 – 27 October 2023,” Elgendy said.
Delayed or absent diplomacy has led West Asia commentators to predict more sinister scenarios which even can turn into wider regional catastrophe, writes Mohammed Anas
Grandmaster of diplomacy Henry Kissinger shot to cult status as the greatest strategist negotiator after his role in bringing Israelis and Arabs to the dialogue table after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Little do people know that Kissinger played deliberate “delayed diplomacy”. The ongoing Hamas-Israel war has echoes of Yom Kippur and the same “delayed diplomacy” plot being reenacted.
The recently published book Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy written by Martin Indyk, former US ambassador to Israel and special envoy for the 2013 Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, provides insights into Kissinger’s diplomatic negotiations in the Middle East.
Kissinger had advised the US government not to help Israel in the 1973 war until the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and captured much of the Sinai Desert, in order to shock Tel Aviv and shake its concept of unassailability.
Consequently, the 1973 war increased Israel’s willingness to negotiate with its Arab neighbors. In 1979, Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, the first with an Arab country, which was later reflected in the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians.
The October 7 Hamas raids into Israeli cities too is seen as a jolt to Israeli defence forces’ invincibility. However, there is no Kissinger on the scene and the Western powers led by the US so far are solidly behind Israel. They have thus far shown no willingness to mediate dialogue, not even for release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas.
The United Nations Security Council meeting ended without any statement. On Tuesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for a flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza after Israeli military blitzkrieg left total devastation in the blockaded strip along the sea.
He also said that he calls for an end to “the vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation”.
Besides, the European Union has announced that it will not suspend payment of development aid to Palestinians, reversing course after an earlier announcement that it would freeze all aid payments was met with widespread criticism.
But the EU aid is for the Palestinian Authority that controls the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem. The 296 million euros ($312m) in financial assistance from the EU will help cover expenses for the PA, such as infrastructure projects and civil servant salaries.
Arab and Muslim countries backing Palestinians have not been able to move any substantial diplomatic initiative. Iran has called for a united “ummah push”, but it hasn’t found any backing.
Arab League foreign ministers will meet on Wednesday to find “avenues of political action at the Arab and international level,” as Israel keeps pounding targets in Gaza.
Reuters reported on Monday that Qatari mediators held urgent calls to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by militants in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons.
An Israeli official however in a comment to The Times of Israel that “there is no negotiation” for the release of hostages.
Most influential Arab country Saudi Arabia, which was holding parleys with the Israeli government for normalisation only till last week, have also remained clueless about the diplomatic route that may end the mayhem in the Middle East where the public anger is expectedly mounting in favour of Palestinians.
AFP reported late on Tuesday that Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and claimed that he was trying to prevent “an expansion” of the conflict.
Big powers like Russia and China too have eluded from taking active part and hurried up diplomacy to stop the conflict from festering further. Russia late on Tuesday offered to work with the Arab League to push for a solution.
“Russia and the Arab League, all members of this organisation, can and should contribute to solving problems, first of all, ending the bloodshed and suffering of civilians,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his meeting with the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Moscow.
Delayed or absent diplomacy has led West Asia commentators to predict more sinister scenarios which even can turn into wider regional catastrophe.
Mohammed Alhaya, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, wrote in the Washington Post that the possible outcome of the current flare-up will have to tilt towards settling the question of Palestine.
“The latest Israeli-Hamas war makes abundantly clear that there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East without a regional solution to the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians,” he wrote, adding that if the Israeli strikes continues in Gaza and diplomacy fails to prevent the onslaught, it will strengthen the position of Iran in the region.
Biden’s Middle East aspirations
Arabs stand in solidarity with Palestinians after shocking Hamas attacks on Israeli cities and subsequent reprisals by the Israeli forces. While Arab governments are cautious, Arab streets are echoing with delirious support to Palestinians, reminiscing scenes witnessed in 70’s and 80’s.
Arab states like United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain had formalised relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords. Saudi Arabia was in talks with Tel Aviv for the same. Moreover, it was a dream project of US President Joe Biden to link Israel with neighbouring Arabs and enhance this reach beyond the peninsula.
But the escalating crisis may have torched all these aspirations, seriously jeopardising commercial and security alignments in the Middle East.
Arab govt reactions
Saudi Arabia, the leading Arab player in the West Asia, immediately reacted to eruption of Hamas-Israel violence. Riyadh appealed for an immediate halt to war, calling upon the international community to “activate a credible peace process” leading to a two-state solution. “The Kingdom renews the call of the international community to assume its responsibilities and activate a credible peace process that leads to the two-state solution to achieve security and peace in the region and protect civilians,” Saudi Arabia said in a statement.
Kuwait foreign ministry in a statement called on the international community to “stop the provocative practices by the occupation” and the “policy of expanding settlements”.
Egypt, which normalised ties with Israel in 1980 under a peace treaty, warned of “grave consequences” if tensions between Israel and the Palestinians escalate.
Oman and Morocco were also subdued in their reactions and called on Israel and the Palestinians to exercise maximum self-restraint.
The UAE expressed “deep concern” over the escalation in a statement that stressed the need “to stop the escalation and preserve the lives of civilians”. The statement offered “sincere condolences” to all the victims of the recent fighting.
Both the Syrian foreign ministry and Houthi rebels in Yemen hailed the Hamas operation an “honourable achievement that proves the only way for Palestinians to obtain their legitimate rights is resistance in all its forms”.
Henry Kissinger
Biden’s Middle East Plan will be challenged
In recent months, the Biden administration has been pursuing an ambitious diplomatic project to design a new Middle East. But his plans seem to have been torched by sudden spurt of “war” in the oldest flashpoint of the region.
American officials said it was too early to say whether the Hamas attack was explicitly motivated by a desire by Hamas or its patron Iran to disrupt President Biden’s effort to broker a landmark deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would profoundly reorient the Middle East. But they acknowledged that it could complicate the already delicate negotiations and make it that much harder to reach an agreement akin to the Abraham Accords between Israel and smaller Arab nations.
“This will slow considerably if not kill the Saudi Abraham Accords deal,” said Mara Rudman, a former Middle East peace diplomat under President Barack Obama. “It strikes at the heart of key elements for Saudi entry, a pathway forward for Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza,” she added. “And on the Israeli side, there will be zero appetite across a wide political spectrum for helping Palestinians, despite the fact that so doing could actually enhance, not detract from, Israeli security.”
Biden’s sweeping aspirations will have to take a back seat to managing the clash now consuming Israel and Gaza, one unlikely to be resolved as quickly as the bursts of violence that have periodically erupted over the years.
The tenuous cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians now stands rubbished, the spirals of hate and misery are churning again and the pressure is on the Saudis and others to sympathise with their fellow Arabs will pause any further warming with Israel.
According to reports, damage has been caused to the airport, but there were no injuries
Syrian media outlets are reporting an alleged Israeli airstrike near the Damascus International Airport.
The pro-government Sham FM radio said Syrian air defence is confronting the attack, Times of Israel reported. Syrian media reported that Israel also struck the Aleppo International Airport.
Sham FM radio said damage has been caused to the airport, but there were no injuries, Times of Israel reported.
Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military’s strikes in the Gaza Strip are crippling Hamas’ ability to function.
“We are destroying Hamas’ ability to function as a sovereign entity; it is no longer managing to administer Gaza. Hamas is in anarchy and chaos and we need to increase this,” Hagari said while addressing a press conference, Times of Israel reported.
He said the military will strike everyone involved in the murderous attacks on southern Israel on Saturday.
“We are identifying the people who committed the atrocities… they will not have immunity. Whoever gives them shelter is taking on himself and his family a very big risk,” Hagari said.
Hagari also said that IDF has obtained intelligence from the Hamas terrorists whom Israel has arrested in order to carry out new strikes against its assets in the Gaza Strip, Times of Israel reported.
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaaltells Muslims to ‘take to the streets’ in protest against Israel.
A former Hamas chief has called for protests across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians, urging the people of the neighbouring countries to join the fight against Israel, a media report said.
“[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,” said Khaled Meshaal, who currently heads Hamas’ diaspora office, Daily Mail reported.
Meshaal, who is based out of Qatar, said the governments and the people of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have a bigger duty to support the Palestinians, the report said.
‘Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan… This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility,” Meshaal said in a recorded statement. adding, “To all scholars who teach jihad… to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application (of theories).”
Jordan and Lebanon are home to the largest number of Palestinian refugees, Daily Mail reported..
Meshaal’s call for a Friday 13th uprising was reiterated by Hamas itself, according to the Israeli-run, Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
MEMRI said that Hamas has urged its supporters in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel to rise up in what he called ‘the Al-Aqsa Flood’ – echoing what the secretive Palestinian mastermind Mohammed Deif calls the attack he launched on Saturday against Israel, Daily Mail reported.
The phrase Israel’s most wanted man used in an audio tape broadcast as Hamas fired thousands of rockets out of the Gaza Strip over the weekend signalled that the attack was their payback for Israeli raids at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque.
Hamas rejects Australia's decision of listing it as terror group
Hamas called on media organizations to maintain objectivity and professionalism and not blindly adopt the Israeli narrative….reports Asian Lite News
Hamas, the Palestinian group responsible for a significant attack on Israel, has refuted allegations of causing civilian casualties, especially among children.
In a statement published on their website, Hamas strongly rejected “fabricated allegations” propagated by some Western media outlets, accusing them of adopting a “Zionist narrative full of lies and slander against our Palestinian people and their resistance.” These allegations included claims of harming children, beheading them, and targeting civilians, Andolu Agency reported.
Hamas criticized these outlets for embracing the Israeli narrative without proper verification and warned against covering up the “crimes of the occupation” and the continuous Gaza massacres.
Israeli fighter jets strike Gaza military post in response to rocket fire
According to Andolu Agency reports, the group affirmed that their operation, known as “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” aimed at targeting Israeli military and security systems, which they considered legitimate targets.
Hamas further claimed that their members made concerted efforts to avoid civilian casualties, as evidenced by numerous field video clips and testimonies from settlers who spoke to the media.
Hamas called on media organisations to maintain objectivity and professionalism and not blindly adopt the Israeli narrative.
Chief said the International Monetary Fund was “very closely monitoring how the situation evolves”…reports Asian Lite News
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said the Israel-Hamas conflict has darkened the horizon for the world economy that was already going through a phase of weak growth.
Georgieva said the International Monetary Fund was “very closely monitoring how the situation evolves” and how it is affecting the oil markets.
“Very clearly, this is a new cloud on not the safest horizon for the world economy, a new cloud darkening this horizon, and of course, not needed,” she told a news conference at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Marrakech, Morocco.
She said there had been some fluctuations in oil prices and reactions in markets but it was too early to predict the economic impact.
“We are experiencing severe shocks that are now becoming the new normal for a world that is weakened by weak growth and economic fragmentation,” she said at the news conference.
“Very clearly, this is a new cloud on not the sunniest horizon for the world economy, a new cloud, darkening this horizon,” she remarked.
The IMF has kept its global growth forecast a 3 per cent for this year but lowered it to 2.9 per cent for 2024.
The weekend attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel from Gaza has left hundreds dead and rattled the oil markets and triggered fears that it spread into wider geopolitical conflict involving the US and Iran which could disrupt oil shipments in the Middle East.
