Israel-Hamas conflict: ASEAN calls for 'immediate end' to violence - CNA

SINGAPORE: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday (Oct 20) called for the "immediate end" to the violence in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas conflict rages on.

In a statement, the ASEAN foreign ministers said they were "gravely concerned" over the recent escalation of armed conflicts in the Middle East.

"We urge for the immediate end of violence to avoid further human casualties and call for the full respect of international humanitarian law," the bloc added.

"We call on all parties to create safe, rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian corridors."

Militant group Hamas launched raids into Israel on Oct 7, killing about 1,400 people - most of them civilians - and taking around 200 hostages.

In response, Israel has laid siege to Gaza, carrying out waves of strikes on the Palestinian enclave, enforcing a blockade and massing troops on its border ahead of an expected ground assault.

ASEAN said in its statement: "We strongly condemn the acts of violence which have led to the deaths and injury of civilians, including ASEAN nationals." 

It also reaffirmed its support for a negotiated two-state solution that would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security "consistent with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions". 

"This will be the only viable path to resolving the root cause of the conflict." 

ASEAN also called on all parties to protect and ensure the safety and security of all civilians, as well as the release of all hostages.

It also re-emphasised its commitment to provide emergency assistance to ASEAN nationals, in accordance with the bloc's guidelines. 

"We urge the international community to support the peace process in order to ensure long lasting peace and stability in the region," said the statement.

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2023-10-20 09:18:05Z
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Asean foreign ministers jointly call for end to violence in Israel-Hamas war, urge safe humanitarian passage - The Straits Times

RIYADH - Asean foreign ministers have jointly called for an immediate end to acts of violence in the escalation of armed conflicts in the Middle East.

The calls come in the wake of a growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and as Asean leaders meet their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council for a summit in the Saudi capital.

Israel has signalled it is preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza to annihilate Hamas over the Oct 7 rampage by Hamas gunmen who killed 1,400 people in southern Israel, including Thai and Philippine nationals.

The Israeli military response has killed some 3,800 people in Gaza and the blockaded enclave is under tighter restrictions.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Asean ministers urged parties involved in the Israel-Hamas war to avoid further human casualties and called for the full respect of international humanitarian law.

Expressing grave concern, the group also urged all parties to create safe and rapid passage of humanitarian corridors.

“We strongly condemn the acts of violence which have led to the deaths and injury of civilians, including Asean nationals. 

“We reaffirm our support for a negotiated two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security, consistent with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. This will be the only viable path to resolving the root cause of the conflict,” the statement said. 

The ministers also called on all parties to protect and ensure safety and security to all civilians, including Asean nationals, and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. 

They stressed their commitment to providing emergency assistance to Asean nationals and urged the international community to support the peace process “in order to ensure long-lasting peace and stability in the region”.

Israel has put the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people under siege and bombarded the enclave, and its air strikes have also made more than a million Palestinians homeless.

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2023-10-20 05:32:59Z
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At the gates of Gaza, aid piles up in Egypt - CNA

Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, told AFP his organisation receives "two to three planes of aid a day, chartered by humanitarian agencies or states", who want to send food, water or medical supplies to the 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.

As soon as aid is dropped off on the tarmac, the shipments are loaded onto trucks.

Israel, which has imposed a strict blockade on Gaza for 16 years and has declared a "complete siege" after the Oct 7 attack by Islamist militant group Hamas on its soil, has agreed to allow the passage of aid.

Egyptian state-linked broadcaster Al Qahera News said the Rafa crossing would open on Friday.

But later Egypt said it needed more time, to repair the roads that connect its territory to Gaza after four Israeli bombings of the crossing.

"BEYOND CATASTROPHIC"

In the meantime, pallets loaded with aid are stored in warehouses in El Arish, the capital of North Sinai, said Ali.

As soon as the green light is given, 250 volunteers are ready to transport them to the border.

The UN World Food Programme, which has already provided aid to 522,000 people since the start of the hostilities, said it has 951 tonnes of food at or on the way to Rafah - enough to feed 488,000 people for one week, a spokesperson said.

On Thursday, an Emirati plane offloaded nine tons of UNICEF aid.

The situation in Gaza is "beyond catastrophic" with stocks almost empty after 13 days of war, said Sara Alzawqari, UNICEF spokeswoman for the Gulf.

"We have distributed nearly all our prepositioned supplies which were inside Gaza and have been working to keep the only functioning desalination plant in the entire Gaza Strip running in much-reduced capacity," she said, as food, water, fuel and power run short after Gaza's only power plant shut down.

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2023-10-20 05:06:52Z
CBMiVWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvZ2F6YS1haWQtcGlsZXMtZWd5cHQtZ2F0ZXMtaXNyYWVsLWhhbWFzLTM4NjA1NTHSAQA

Europe's Snub Turns Xi's Belt and Road Into Global South Event - Bloomberg

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1. Europe's Snub Turns Xi's Belt and Road Into Global South Event  Bloomberg
2. Taliban says it plans to formally join China's Belt and Road Initiative  The Straits Times
3. China's Smaller Belt and Road Draws Friends in Close  Bloomberg
4. Xi leaves no doubt belt and road plan will lead to further prosperity, stability  South China Morning Post
5. Which World Leaders Came to China's 3rd Belt and Road Forum?  The Diplomat
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-10-20 00:25:00Z
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Sunak follows Biden to Israel to show support 'in darkest hour' - CNA

"THEY KILLED CHILDREN!"

According to Palestinian health officials, the toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza has risen to more than 3,500 dead and more than 12,000 wounded.

In Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip men rushed to the main Nasser hospital carrying dead and wounded children in their arms, in ambulances and the back of a flatbed truck after a bomb struck a house in broad daylight.

Medics said four people were killed and many wounded, mainly displaced children from northern Gaza who had been playing soccer in a lot next door.

“I saw body parts, dismembered children, what shall I describe to you?” said Hassan Al-Hindi, a neighbour who saw the strike. “They killed children,” he cried. “I have never seen anything like it. They are killing children!”

Gaza residents scoffed at the gesture of promising just 20 truckloads of aid for 2.3 million people cut off from food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

"We want nothing from Arab and foreign countries except to stop the violent bombardment on our houses," said El-Awad El-Dali, 65, speaking near the rubble of ruined homes.

In another area, a shopping district was reduced to rubble as far as the eye could see, with a toddler's pink cot overturned on the ground, windows blown off a clothing store and damaged vehicles.

"I’m over 70 years old, I’ve lived through several wars, it’s never been like this, it has never been this brutal," said Rafat Al-Nakhala, who had come there after obeying Israel's order for civilians to flee Gaza City in the north.

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2023-10-19 14:50:04Z
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Sunak follows Biden to Israel to show support as more bombs hit Gaza - CNA

GAZA: Israel pounded Gaza with more air strikes on Thursday (Oct 19), as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed US President Joe Biden on visits to demonstrate support for war against Hamas while urging Israel to ease the plight of besieged Gazans.

Biden, who spent less than eight hours in Israel, flew home on Wednesday night having pledged support, and hugged and consoled survivors of the Oct 7 raid by Hamas gunmen who rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,400 people.

But he appeared to have only limited success in his other mission, to persuade Israel to ease the plight of 2.3 million Gazans under a total siege.

Biden said he had secured an offer from Egypt to allow 20 aid trucks to reach Gaza at some point in coming days, a fraction of the 100 per day that UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council were needed.

Two Egyptian security sources said equipment was sent on Thursday through the crossing to repair roads on the Gaza side for aid to cross. More than 100 trucks were waiting on the Egyptian side although they were not expected to cross until Friday.

Before he left, Biden told Israelis in a speech: "While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."

Later he told reporters aboard Air Force One: "Israel has been badly victimised but the truth is they have an opportunity to relieve suffering of people who have nowhere to go ... it's what they should do."

Israel said it would allow limited aid to reach Gaza from Egypt provided none of it benefited Hamas. But it repeated its position that it will open its own checkpoints to let in aid only when all of the more than 200 hostages captured by the gunmen were set free.

And it made clear there would be no let-up in its bombing campaign: "In the Gaza Strip, every place where Hamas has touched or is touching will be struck and destroyed," a colonel identified as the commander of Israel's Ramat David air base told public broadcastrer Kan.

"We really are a war machine that knows how to do two or three times what is being done now."

Sunak landed in Tel Aviv hours after Biden left, carrying similar messages of support and condolence for Israelis.

"Above all, I'm here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people. You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you," Sunak told Israeli reporters after landing.

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2023-10-19 09:41:00Z
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Putin calls blast at Gaza hospital a catastrophe, calls for negotiations - CNA

BEIJING: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday (Oct 18) that a blast at a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians was a terrible catastrophe that showed the Israel-Hamas conflict should be ended through negotiations.

Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli air strike for the blast at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, which it said had killed as many as 500 people. Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which denied blame.

"As for the strike on the hospital, the tragedy that happened there is a terrible event," Putin said after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

"Hundreds of dead and hundreds of wounded are of course a catastrophe.

"I really hope this will be a signal that we need to end this conflict as soon as possible. In any case, we need to focus on the possibility of starting some contacts and negotiations."

Russia, which has relationships with Iran, Hamas and major Arab powers as well as with the Palestinians and with Israel, has repeatedly said that the United States and the West have ignored the need for an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders.

Putin on Monday spoke to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In those talks, Putin said he had formed the impression that no major players wanted the conflict to escalate.

"I have the impression that no one wants this to continue, for the conflict to develop and for the situation to worsen further," Putin said.

"In my opinion, the main players - some, by definition do not want to, some are afraid of something - but I have the impression that there are practically no players ready to develop the conflict and turn it into a large-scale war."

Putin also said he had discussed the situation with Xi. 

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2023-10-18 10:56:00Z
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