Live blog: Hamas appoints Yahya Sinwar as new political  bureau chief

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

1811 GMT –– Palestinian resistance group Hamas has appointed Yahya Sinwar as its new political chief.

Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president on July 31.

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2121 GMT –– Egypt working with China to reduce tensions in the Middle East

Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty has told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over the phone that efforts are being exerted to reduce tensions in the Middle East amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

Abdelatty also warned against the risks of an expanded conflict that could destabilize the region and its security, according to a statement released by the Egyptian foreign ministry.

The Egyptian minister confirmed during his call that Egypt is collaborating with China as well as regional and international leaders to “stop the bloodshed in Gaza.”

1746 GMT –– Russia's Lavrov discusses Mideast tensions in call with Jordan counterpart

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi discussed the situation in the Middle East in a phone call, emphasising the need for restraint on all sides to avoid catastrophic consequences, Russia's foreign ministry has said.

1737 GMT –– Another Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli attack in Gaza, death toll rises to 166

Another Palestinian journalist has been killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza, bringing the death toll to 166 since last Oct. 7, local authorities have said.

The government media office in Gaza identified the new victim as Mohammed Abu Saada, a photojournalist, without providing details about the circumstances of his death.

According to the media office, the new fatality brought the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza to 166 since Oct. 7, 2023.

1655 GMT –– At least three people killed in Israeli strike on refugee camp in Gaza's Khan Younis

At least three Palestinians have been killed and several others injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a refugee encampment in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Civil Defence Agency has said.

The attack targeted a tent for displaced Palestinians in the town of al-Zanna, east of Khan Younis, the agency added in a statement.

The attack came hours after two Palestinians lost their lives in an Israeli strike targeting a residential apartment southwest of Gaza City.

1638 GMT –– Qatar emir, Biden discuss joint mediation efforts to end Gaza war, Amiri Diwan says

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and US President Joe Biden discussed joint mediation efforts to end the war in Gaza war as well as the latest developments in the Palestinian enclave, in a phone call, the Qatari Amiri Diwan has said.

1602 GMT –– Lebanon's Hezbollah chief says response to Israeli attacks will be strong

Hezbollah's response to Israeli attacks will be strong and effective, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese group, has said.

He was speaking in an address marking the one-week memorial of the group's top military commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike last week in Beirut's southern suburbs.

1522 GMT –– No peace in Mideast until Palestine state founded: Turkish foreign minister

There will be no peace in the Mideast until a Palestinian state is founded, the Turkish foreign minister has warned.

“Palestinians are being prevented from truly having a state … (But) until a Palestinian state is established, no one in that region will have peace,” Fidan said in a new magazine interview out this week.

Saying the “tragedy” in Gaza didn’t just start last Oct. 7, when Israel launched a months-long offensive on Gaza, Fidan told Bosnian and Herzegovina magazine Stav that that date is rather “a manifestation of a problem has been ignored.”

Saying the problem is the years-long ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories, Fidan said: “Israel isn’t giving up its habit of seizing Palestinian land."

1449 GMT –– Haredi Jews storm army’s conscription office in central Israel to protest mandatory service

Scores of ultra-Orthodox Jews broke into an Israeli army's conscription office in central Israel to protest the compulsory army enlistment of their community members.

Footages by Israeli media showed Israeli police chasing ultra-Orthodox Jews inside the conscription office in the Tel Hashomer army base.

A large number of Israeli police and army officers were deployed in the base to expel the protesters, Israel’s Army Radio said.

1429 GMT –– Panic in Beirut as Israeli jets break sound barrier three times

Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier three times over Beirut in less than 30 minutes, leading to loud booms that sent people in the city running for cover just ahead of a speech by the head of the Iran-aligned group Hezbollah.

Israeli warplanes flew low over the Lebanese capital, with witnesses saying they could see the planes with the naked eye. The booms were the loudest heard in Beirut in years.

One Reuters reporter saw people at a cafe in Beirut's Badaro district scatter as the sound reverberated through the city.

1416 GMT –– Türkiye slams Israeli foreign minister over his remarks targeting Turkish president

Türkiye has slammed the Israeli foreign minister for targeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“The Israeli Foreign Minister has made a habit of making banal statements full of slander and lies targeting Türkiye and our President,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.

This came after Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz targeted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in social media posts.

“For some time now, the person in question cannot be taken seriously,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.

1230 GMT –– UN peacekeepers on Israel-Lebanon border 'fundamental', says chief

UN peacekeepers on the Israeli-Lebanese border have never been more crucial, the force's global chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said, as fears soared of an escalation in the Middle East.

The role of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was today "more important than ever", Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said.

"It's the only liaison channel between the Israeli side and the Lebanese side in all its components, such as Hezbollah," he said.

"It's fundamental because it allows us to clarify certain things and avoid misunderstandings... miscalculations, uncontrolled and unwanted escalations," he said.

1210 GMT –– Israeli rights group says Palestinian prisoners subject to systematic abuse

Israel has conducted a systematic policy of prisoner abuse and torture since the start of the Gaza war, subjecting Palestinian detainees to acts ranging from arbitrary violence to sexual abuse, Israeli rights group B'Tselem has said in a report.

It said the report was based on interviews with 55 Palestinians from Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Israel detained in Israeli prisons since Oct. 7 attack most of them without being tried.

"The testimonies clearly indicate a systematic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel," the report said.

1146 GMT –– Japan urges its citizens not to travel to Israel

Japan's Foreign Ministry has urged its citizens not to visit Israel in a travel alert, citing rising tensions in the Middle East.

On Monday The ministry urged Japanese nationals in Lebanon to leave the country.

1130 GMT –– 17 injured as Hezbollah launches ‘swarm’ of rockets into northern Israel

At least 17 people were injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel amid fears of a full-blown war between the two sides, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli army said several drones were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel with one drone intercepted and another falling in the city of Nahariya.

The attack has triggered rocket sirens to sound in several areas in northern Israel, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

1121 GMT –– Israel bombs southern Lebanon, kills at least five

Five people have been killed in an Israeli air strike in the town of Maifadoun in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry has said.

A ministry statement said that efforts were underway to search for survivors after the attack that targeted a house in the town.

Separately, two people were also injured in Israeli artillery shelling in the border towns of Khiyam and Wazzani, the ministry said.

1116 GMT –– UN expert condemns Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza

A United Nations expert has condemned Israel's killing last week of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Ramy Al Rifi in Gaza and urged that the deaths be prosecuted as a war crime.

"I strongly denounce the deliberate targeting by Israel of two journalists in Gaza, which adds to an already appalling toll of reporters and media workers killed in this war," Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said in a statement.

1057 GMT –– Israel transfers remains of over 80 dead Palestinians

Israel has delivered the remains of more than 80 Palestinians through the International Committee of the Red Cross, a Palestinian official has said.

“The Palestinian side received the remains of dozens of Palestinians killed by Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing in a large truck container,” Ahmad Duhair, the acting head of the Justice Ministry’s Forensic Medicine Department, said.

“Identifying the individuals is difficult due to complete decomposition,” added Duhair.

Israel had placed "the remains in plastic bags with serial numbers only, without providing the Palestinian side with any information about these bodies or the places from which they were taken, where they were killed, or where they were held,” he added.

0958 GMT –– Palestinian death toll in Israel's war on Gaza rises to 39,653

The Israeli army has killed 30 more Palestinians in attacks across Gaza, taking the death toll to 39,653 since October 7 last year, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 91,535 others have been injured in the assault.

"Israeli forces killed 30 people and injured 66 others in three 'massacres' against families in the last 24 hours," the ministry also said. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.

0924 GMT –– Lebanon aims to ensure Hezbollah response to Israeli attack does not cause wider war

Lebanon is working to ensure any response to the Israeli killing of a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut does not trigger total war in the Middle East, its Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said.

Tensions in the region have spiralled in the last week following the killing in Tehran of Hamas' politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh, and an Israeli strike on Beirut's suburbs that killed the senior commander Fuad Shukr.

Hezbollah said last week that the Lebanese group will respond in a studied manner.

0854 GMT –– Israeli army detains 16 more Palestinians in West Bank

The Israeli army detained 16 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners' affairs groups.

The arrests took place in the cities of Jenin, Tubas, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, and Hebron, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The Israeli forces assaulted and threatened the detainees and their family members, and vandalised their homes, the statement added.

The new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since October last year to 9,970, according to Palestinian figures.

0852 GMT –– Israeli forces kill at least 12 Palestinians in West Bank clashes: medics

Israeli forces killed at least 12 people in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, medics said, following a night of violence in which four others were killed in clashes near Tubas, close to the border with Jordan.

The Israeli military said it conducted two separate air strikes in the occupied West Bank, hitting armed fighters, but gave no details.

The Palestinian Red Crescent earlier confirmed that four people were killed in the strikes against two vehicles in Jenin, one of the most explosive flashpoints in the West Bank. Another person was critically wounded.

0839 GMT –– Rocket from Lebanon hits building in northern Israel

A rocket fired from Lebanon hit a home in the settlement of Avivim in northern Israel, local media reported.

The Israeli Channel 12 said an anti-tank rocket was fired at the Avivim settlement that landed in a home's yard, but didn't cause any casualties.

The Hezbollah group confirmed the incident, stressing that its fighters targeted a building used by the Israeli army in Avivim settlement.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that its fighter jets intercepted an aerial object coming from Lebanon.

0822 GMT –– Saudi, French leaders discuss efforts to de-escalate Mideast tension

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed efforts to de-escalate tension in the Middle East.

The Saudi state news agency (SPA) said that both the leaders had a phone conversation on Monday evening to discuss regional developments.

They emphasised "the need to avoid the risk of expanding the conflict in the region," the agency added. "They also discussed developments in Gaza and the efforts to reach a cease-fire."

0603 GMT — Israeli forces ramp up occupied West Bank raids

At least six Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces in a midnight raid into the town of Aqaba near Tubas city in the northern occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry said at least six Palestinians were killed and seven others injured, two seriously, in Israeli firing in Aqaba town.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa quoted local sources as saying that the Israeli army raided the Aqaba town and cordoned off a house, triggering clashes with Palestinians.

It added that the Israeli army detained one Palestinian after he was injured inside the besieged house.

0343 GMT — Italian, Iraqi foreign ministers discuss latest developments in Middle East

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke by phone with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on the latest developments in the Middle East.

Noting that the call occurred as part of the Italian government's efforts to prevent further regional tensions, Tajani said, "Stability in Iraq is crucial for security in the area."

He said Italy also wants to work in cooperation with Iraq for a ceasefire in Gaza and to achieve peace in the Middle East.

0142 GMT — Meta says Malaysian PM Anwar's posts on Haniyeh assassination removed in error

Meta Platforms has apologised for what it says was erroneous removal of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's social media posts in which he expressed condolences to a Hamas official about the Israeli assassination of the group's political leader and peace negotiator Ismail Haniyeh.

Meta was sorry for "an operational error", adding that the content had been restored with "the correct newsworthy label," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters news agency.

0120 GMT — China urges citizens to take 'caution' in Lebanon travel

China's embassy in Beirut has urged citizens to "travel with caution" should they visit Lebanon, warning they face "higher security risks" as fears of a regional conflict soar.

In a statement, the embassy warned citizens the situation in the country was "grave and complex".

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Lebanon remind Chinese citizens to closely monitor the evolution of the local situation and to travel with caution in Lebanon in the near future," the embassy said on its official WeChat account.

2323 GMT — Israeli army fails to recruit hundreds of Haredi Jews

The Israeli military, which has failed to subdue the resistance fighters in besieged Gaza, has failed to register hundreds of Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews for military service, local media reported.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said on Monday only 30 Haredi Jews appeared during the day at the conscription office, while 1,000 are supposed to register their names on Monday and Tuesday.

KAN quoted a source in the Israeli army who referred to the low number of registering Haredi Jews for conscription due to a protest held by them that pushed many who intended to join the army to retract.

Israeli police said they arrested three Haredi protesters who rallied in front of the conscription office to protest the drafting of Haredi Jews.

Read more here.

2319 GMT — Haniyeh's assassination aimed at prolonging Gaza war: Abbas

The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the war in besieged Gaza and will complicate talks on resolving the crisis, Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas has told Russia's RIA state news agency.

"There is no doubt that the purpose of Mr. Haniyeh's assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope," RIA cited Abbas as saying.

"It will have a negative impact on the ongoing negotiations to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza."

2035 GMT — Israel's ally US seeks truce ahead of potential Iran retribution

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Tehran and Tel Aviv to agree to a Gaza ceasefire to "break this cycle" of violence, urging de-escalation as Iran prepares a potential retaliatory strike on Israel.

"Escalation is not in anyone's interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity. It's also critical that we break this cycle by reaching a ceasefire in Gaza," Blinken told reporters.

Blinken's comments came as fears grow of an attack by Iran and its allies on Israel in retaliation for its killing of top Hamas and Hezbollah figures in strikes last weeks.

United States President Joe Biden, whose country has sent extra warships and fighter jets to the region in support of Israel, was to hold crisis talks with his national security team.

The head of the US military command covering the Middle East, General Michael Kurilla, arrived in Israel and met Israel's military chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi for an assessment, an Israeli military statement said.

2123 GMT — American personnel wounded in Iraq attack

Several American personnel have been injured in a suspected rocket attack on a base in Iraq, a US defence spokesperson said.

"There was a suspected rocket attack today against US and coalition forces at al-Asad Airbase, Iraq. Initial indications are that several US personnel were injured," the spokesperson said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Ain al-Assad air base.

2019 GMT — Israel kills 3 in Lebanon, including two Hezbollah fighters

Lebanon's Health Ministry said Israeli strikes killed three people in the country's south, with Hezbollah announcing the death of two of its fighters and a rescue group mourning a paramedic.

The ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike that targeted a motorbike" in the southern village of Ebba killed one person, wounded another and caused a pregnant woman who was near the site to miscarry due to "shock".

Earlier, the ministry said an "enemy raid" near the cemetery in the border village of Mais al-Jabal "killed two people".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said one of the dead in Mais al-Jabal was a paramedic with the Risala Scouts association, which is affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement.

Hezbollah, in separate statements, announced the death of two fighters, one from Mais al-Jabal.

1940 GMT — 'No change' in arms export licenses approach to Israel: UK

Rebuffing reports that the UK had imposed a "secret arms embargo" on Israel amid its ongoing carnage in besieged Gaza, the British government said there has been "no change" in its approach to arms export licenses to Israel.

"There has been no change to our approach to export licenses to Israel. We continue to review export license applications on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria," a government spokesperson told Anadolu Agency.

The official added: "We are reviewing the advice regarding exports to Israel, and no decision has been made."

For our live updates from Monday, August 5, 2024, click here.