'Sliver of hope' as Hamas releases hostages, but Gaza aid stalled - CNA

On the ground in Gaza, Israeli jets continued a relentless bombing campaign, with the military saying it hit more than 100 Hamas targets overnight.

AFP reporters heard loud explosions and saw plumes of smoke billowing from the northern Gaza Strip, which Israel has demanded Palestinian civilians leave for their own safety.

"LIFE AND DEATH" AID

Some 2.4 million Palestinians live in the densely populated enclave, and almost half have been displaced, according to the UN.

Israel has cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food to the long-blockaded territory.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Friday that humanitarian relief stuck in Egypt was "the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza".

And World Health Organization emergencies director Michael Ryan said Biden's deal for an initial 20 truck-delivery was "a drop in the ocean of need" and that 2,000 trucks were required.

At least 30 per cent of all housing in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged, the UN says, citing local authorities, and thousands have taken refuge in a tent city set up in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis.

Fadwa al-Najjar said she and her seven children walked for 10 hours to reach the camp, at some points breaking into a run as air strikes descended around them.

"We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she told AFP.

"I would have preferred not to leave, to have stayed at home and died there," her daughter Malak added.

Israel's operation will take not "a day, nor a week, nor a month," the country's defence minister Yoav Gallant warned Friday.

After hitting "pockets of resistance", the defence minister foresaw "the end of Israel's responsibilities in the Gaza Strip".

An Israeli foreign ministry source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Israel envisaged "handing over the keys" to neighbouring Egypt, which has strongly rejected attempts to place Gaza's residents under its responsibility.

PEACE SUMMIT

"I'm afraid that the current destruction is part of a clear plan for people to have no place left to live," said Omar Ashour, a retired general in Gaza.

"This will cause a second Nakba," he added, referring to the 760,000 Palestinians who were expelled from or fled their homes when Israel was created.

Israel has received strong international backing from allies including the United States, Britain and the European Union.

On Friday, Biden requested US$14 billion in emergency military aid for Israel as part of a massive security spending package that will face a tough battle in the paralysed US Congress.

He argued the money would help secure US interests in the region, where there are fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could touch off a wider conflagration.

The United States has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both Hamas allies, from getting involved.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday Paris has also sent messages to Hezbollah warning them against intervening.

Israel on Friday ordered the 25,000 residents of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona to leave over fears after repeated cross-border exchanges of fire.

The conflict has inflamed tensions across the region, with demonstrations across the Middle East and the leaders of Egypt and Jordan condemning Israel's "collective punishment" of Palestinians.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will host a peace summit on Saturday attended by regional and some Western leaders.

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2023-10-20 17:48:00Z
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Gazans await 'life and death' aid, Israel readies invasion - CNA

"BEYOND CATASTROPHIC"

A spokesman for UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told reporters in Geneva a first aid delivery was due "in the next day or so", following a deal clinched by US President Joe Biden to allow 20 trucks of aid for civilians.

Medicine, water purifiers and blankets were being unloaded at El Arish airport near Gaza, an AFP reporter saw, with Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, saying he was getting "two to three planes of aid a day".

But World Health Organization emergencies director Michael Ryan said Biden's 20-truck deal was "a drop in the ocean of need" and that 2,000 trucks were required.

The UN says more than one million of Gaza's 2.4 million people are displaced, with the humanitarian situation "beyond catastrophic" and deteriorating daily.

Refugees from northern Gaza told harrowing tales of bombs, profiteering, and extreme temperatures as whole families trekked on foot to flee the violence.

Mother of seven Fadwa Al-Najjar walked for 10 hours with her family from northern Gaza to reach a UN camp in the southern town of Khan Yunis, saying she saw cars hit by a strike just in front of them.

"We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she said.

"IT'S UNIMAGINABLE"

On the other side of the conflict, the full horror of what Israel suffered on Oct 7 and following days was still emerging, as traumatised residents recounted their stories.

Shachar Butler, a security chief at the Nir Oz kibbutz, where Hamas militants killed or kidnapped a quarter of the 400 residents, recalls more than a dozen gunmen spraying bullets indiscriminately and lobbing grenades at homes.

"It's unimaginable," the 40-year-old told AFP as part of a trip organised by the Israeli military.

"Anytime someone tried to touch my window, I shot him," he said. "The people who came out got kidnapped, killed, executed, slaughtered."

Butler estimated as many as 200 militants attacked the kibbutz, entering from three sides before going house-to-house. Homes there were still charred with burned personal belongings strewn everywhere.

Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the areas under attack.

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2023-10-20 15:20:00Z
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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
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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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