Israel-Hamas War News Updates on October 24: Macron's Visit, Hostage Release - Bloomberg

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1. Israel-Hamas War News Updates on October 24: Macron's Visit, Hostage Release  Bloomberg
2. Macron flies to Israel to push for humanitarian truce, proposals  CNA
3. French president Emmanuel Macron to visit Israel in coming days  The Straits Times
4. Watch again: Emmanuel Macron meets with Israeli president Herzog as two more Hamas hostages released  The Independent
5. ‘If Hezbollah drags us into war, Lebanon will pay its price’: Israel's President  Hindustan Times
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-10-24 08:34:49Z
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Israel ramps up strikes on Hamas, US urges 'continuous flow' of aid to Gaza - The Straits Times

GAZA/WASHINGTON - Israel’s military intensified its assault on Hamas militants in Gaza, as the United States and other global powers called for aid to continue flowing into the besieged strip to prevent an already grave humanitarian crisis from worsening.

Israel’s military said it had hit more than 400 militant targets in Gaza overnight and killed dozens of Hamas fighters, including three deputy battalion commanders.

In a statement, the military said that among the targets hit was a tunnel which allowed Hamas to infiltrate Israel from the sea and Hamas command centres in mosques. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Earlier, Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi suggested Israel has no intention of curbing its strikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip.

He also hinted the country is well-prepared for a ground assault.

“We want to bring Hamas to a state of full dismantling,” Mr Haveli said. “The path is a path of unrelenting attacks, damaging Hamas everywhere and in every way.

“We are well-prepared for the ground operations in the south,” he added, referring to southern Israel which abuts Gaza. “There are tactical, operative, strategic considerations that have provided additional time, and troops who have more time are better prepared, and that is what we are doing now.”

The Palestinian health ministry said the Gaza death toll in two weeks of air strikes has surpassed 5,000.

The Israeli bombardment was triggered by a Hamas assault on Oct 7 that killed more than 1,400 people. Gunmen from the militant group also took some 200 people hostage.

Hamas on Monday freed two Israeli women.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the release of the hostages.

He also underscored the need to sustain “a continuous flow” of humanitarian assistance into Gaza in a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.

On its part, China called for a “more authoritative, wide-ranging and effective international peace conference” soon, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki in a telephone call.

A Cairo peace summit on Saturday saw Arab leaders condemn Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, but fail to agree on a joint statement. Absent were Israel and the US.

In public, the United States has stressed Israel’s right to defend itself.

But two sources familiar with the matter said the White House, Pentagon and State Department have stepped up private appeals for caution in conversations with the Israelis.

A US priority is to gain time for negotiations to free other hostages.

Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, US President Joe Biden said: ““We should have those hostages released and then we can talk.”

At least 10 British nationals have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas and a further six remain missing, junior British finance minister Victoria Atkins told Times Radio on Tuesday.

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2023-10-24 07:03:15Z
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Obama warns some of Israel's actions in Gaza may backfire - CNA

It was not clear whether Obama had coordinated his statement with US President Joe Biden, who served as his vice president for eight years.

During his presidency, Obama often backed Israel's right to self-defence at the start of conflicts with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, but quickly called for Israeli restraint once Palestinian casualties mounted from airstrikes.

Gaza, a 45km-long strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist group, but faces a blockade from Israel.

The Obama administration sought, but ultimately failed to broker, a peace deal in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Since taking office in early 2021, Biden has not tried to resume long-stalled talks, saying that leaders on both sides were too intransigent and the climate was not right.

Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a testy relationship when Obama was in office, including when Obama's administration was negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran.

Biden, as Obama's vice president, often acted as a mediator between the two men.

In his statement on Monday, Obama acknowledged that the US had itself "fallen short of our higher values when engaged in war", especially after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks.

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2023-10-24 00:42:15Z
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Hamas says it releases two female captives for health reasons - CNA

GAZA: The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas militant group said on Monday (Oct 23) it had released two Israeli women on health grounds as sources said the United States had advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Gaza Strip.

"We decided to release them for humanitarian and poor health grounds," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the armed wing, said on Telegram. A source said they were elderly Israelis, identified by Israeli media as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz.

They were freed following the release of an American woman and her daughter on Friday. All four were among more than 200 people Hamas gunmen took hostage in an Oct 7 cross-border assault in which they killed 1,400 people.

In public, the United States has stressed Israel's right to defend itself but two sources familiar with the matter said the White House, Pentagon and State Department have stepped up private appeals for caution in conversations with the Israelis.

A US priority is to gain time for negotiations to free other hostages, especially after Friday's unexpected release of Americans Judith and Natalie Raanan on Friday, said the sources, who spoke before the hostage releases were announced on Monday.

Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, US President Joe Biden said: ""We should have those hostages released and then we can talk."

Israel's Channel 12 said on Monday that the third and fourth hostages had been released and that families had been informed. Egypt's Extra News TV showed footage of two captives being transferred to ambulances at Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.

Israel pounded hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air on Monday as its soldiers fought Hamas militants during raids into the besieged Palestinian strip where deaths are soaring and civilians are trapped in harrowing conditions.

Gaza's health ministry said 436 people had been killed in bombardments over the last 24 hours, most in the south of the narrow, densely populated territory, next to which Israeli troops and tanks have massed for a possible ground invasion.

The Israeli military said it had struck more than 320 targets in Gaza over 24 hours, including a tunnel housing Hamas fighters, dozens of command and lookout posts, and mortar and anti-tank missile launcher positions.

The Israeli bombardment was triggered by the Oct 7 assault, the bloodiest episode in a single day since the state of Israel was founded 75 years ago.

With Gaza's 2.3 million people running short of basics, European leaders looked set to follow the United Nations and Arab nations in calling for a "humanitarian pause" in hostilities so aid could reach them.

A US special envoy is negotiating with Israel, Egypt and the United Nations to create a "sustained delivery mechanism" to get aid into Gaza after aid convoys began crossing into the strip from Egypt, the US State Department said on Monday.

The UN said desperate Gazans also lacked places to shelter from the unrelenting pounding that has flattened swathes of the Hamas-ruled enclave.

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2023-10-23 20:03:42Z
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Israel bombards Gaza as war spreads to other fronts - CNA

SPREADING VIOLENCE

Early on Monday, Israeli aircraft struck two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon that were planning to launch anti-tank missiles and rockets toward Israel, its military said. Israel's military also said it struck other Hezbollah targets, including a compound and an observation post.

Hezbollah said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed, without providing details. Israel's military said that seven soldiers have been killed on the Lebanese border since the latest conflict began.

In the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed at the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, the Palestinian health ministry said on Monday.

Residents told Reuters that Israeli forces raided the camp and made many arrests as they clashed with gunmen and some youths who threw stones. The Israeli army has not issued a statement about the incident.

China's Middle East special envoy Zhai Jun, who is visiting the region, warned that the risk of a large-scale ground conflict was rising and that spillover conflicts in the region were "worrisome", Chinese state media said on Monday.

Iranian security officials told Reuters that Iran's strategy was for Middle East proxies like Hezbollah to pursue limited strikes on Israeli and US targets but to avoid a major escalation that would draw in Tehran.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called for international unity to stop Israel's attacks in Gaza and allow aid. A second convoy of 14 aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza on Sunday night.

The White House said US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed in a call there would now be a continued flow of aid into Gaza.

The UN humanitarian office said that the volume of aid entering so far was just 4 per cent of the daily average before the hostilities and a fraction of what was needed.

The aid shipments did not include fuel.

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2023-10-23 09:29:35Z
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Philippines summons Chinese envoy over collisions in disputed waters - CNA

The Philippines has accused a China Coast Guard vessel of "reckless manoeuvres" that led to a collision with a wooden boat contracted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to deliver provisions to troops on the BRP Sierra Madre.

China said the "slight collision" happened after the resupply boat ignored "multiple warnings and deliberately passed through law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner", state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday, citing the foreign ministry.

On Monday, China's embassy in Manila said it had lodged stern representations to the Philippines over the "trespassing" of its vessels at the shoal.

It also accused China of "deliberately obfuscating" the truth about Sunday's collision incident.

"What happened yesterday was a serious and egregious violation of international law and an escalation of their expansionist and aggressive action," Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told a media briefing.

Meanwhile, a Chinese diplomat met with a Philippine official on Monday and "made solemn representations... on the trespassing of the Philippine vessels into the Ren'ai Reef area ... expressing strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the trespassing," the embassy said, using China's name for the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting the routine resupply mission was "bumped" by what the Philippine task force described as a "Chinese Maritime Militia vessel".

China, however, accused the Philippine boat of "deliberately" stirring up trouble by reversing in a "premeditated manner" into a Chinese fishing vessel.

The Philippine Coast Guard has yet to evaluate the extent of damage to the supply boat's hull, but its spokesperson, Jay Tarriela said in the same news conference that it was "deep" and "more than a scratch".

Malaya accused China of "increasing tensions" in the South China Sea and maintained it was China's actions that caused Sunday's collision.

"We are relieved and thankful that no Filipino personnel were harmed. But we are concerned by the escalation and provocations by Chinese vessels who have no business being in the West Philippine Sea," Malaya said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Second Thomas Shoal is about 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

As China moves ever more confidently to assert its claims to sovereignty over the waters, officials and experts have warned of the potential for collisions.

The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to check China's advance in the waters.

The troops stationed on the crumbling ship depend on regular supply deliveries for their survival.

The Philippines has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal.

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2023-10-23 02:11:00Z
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China says it uncovered another spying case in US - CNA

CCTV said a US professor close to Hou introduced him to someone who claimed to be an employee of a consulting company, but was actually an American "intelligence officer" using the company as his cover, CCTV said.

In the ensuing months as they became more friendly, the intelligence officer approached Hou to become a consulting expert at "his company", promising him a payment of US$600-US$700 each time for the quality of his service.

A few months later, while Hou's wife and son were visiting the US, the American revealed his true intentions and proposed a change in the way they cooperated. Hou, fearing for his wife's and son's safety, agreed to the terms, according to CCTV.

Under the arrangement, over many meetings, Hou would be asked to disclose highly classified secrets in hour-long sessions and would get US$1,000 as compensation, the report said.

The cooperation continued after Hou returned to China in 2014. He would meet with US intelligence while attending international conferences, CCTV said. He also provided intelligence information in the field of national defence and the military industry on his own initiative, the report said.

After investigations by the Chinese government, Hou was detained in July 2021 and charged on suspicion of espionage.

In recent years, China has arrested and detained dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, raising the concerns of the US over its counter-espionage push.

Recently, China's spy agency published new details about a US citizen jailed for life for espionage earlier this year.

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2023-10-22 23:39:00Z
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