Skip next section Iranian foreign minister in Egypt to discuss regional tensions
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Iranian foreign minister in Egypt to discuss regional tensions
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi and other officials in Cairo for talks on , according to an Egyptian statement.
It is the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to Egypt in almost 12 years.
The statement from El-Sissi’s office said the pair discussed “the need to stop regional escalation” and “intensifying efforts toward cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon,” where Israel is at war with the Iran-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
There have been fears the conflict could expand even further after Israel vowed to retaliate for a
Egypt has repeatedly called for a cease-fire and has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas.
https://p.dw.com/p/4luj3
Skip next section Israel ‘checking’ if Hamas leader Sinwar killed in Gaza
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Israel ‘checking’ if Hamas leader Sinwar killed in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is looking into the possibility that leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in an operation in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the IDF said it killed three militants in the operation, but added that “the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.”
“The IDF and ISA [Israeli Security Agency] are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar,” it said.
The Israeli military said there were no signs of Israeli hostages in the building where the militants were killed.
“The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution,” it said.
There was no immediate response from Hamas.
Sinwar is considered to be the mastermind behind the terror attack on Israel in October 2023 that .
https://p.dw.com/p/4lukN
Skip next section Hezbollah MP: Israel has not seized any villages in southern Lebanon
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Hezbollah MP: Israel has not seized any villages in southern Lebanon
member of parliament Hassan Fadlallah says the Israeli military has not managed to take control of any villages in southern Lebanon since .
However, Israeli media said on Thursday that it had taken the village of Aita al-Shab on Thursday, just across the line of demarcation with Israel. Israeli TV Channel 12 released a video showing the Israeli flag flying on a tower surrounded by damaged buildings.
Fadlallah told reporters that Hezbollah, which is backed by , would keep fighting “with all available means” to prevent Israel from achieving its goals.
He also said the group was working with the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament to secure a cease-fire.
“Our goal today is to end the aggression. We will not go into any detail related to the mechanism or solutions,” the legislator said.
Israel says it has killed dozens of Hezbollah fighters and seized thousands of weapons since it began its offensive in Lebanon.
https://p.dw.com/p/4lugV
Skip next section 345,000 Gazans facing ‘catastrophic’ hunger this winter: monitor
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
345,000 Gazans facing ‘catastrophic’ hunger this winter: monitor
The entire Gaza Strip is experiencing , with in the enclave hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid, a UN-backed global monitor said.
Analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) found that around 1.84 million people in or 86% of the population, were facing high levels of food insecurity. That included 133,000 people living with “catastrophic” levels of hunger.
The monitor warned that the number could rise to 345,000 this winter.
“One year into the conflict, the risk of famine persists throughout the whole Gaza Strip as conflict intensifies and winter approaches,” the IPC said in its report.
The recent “sharp decline” in aid “will profoundly limit the ability of families to feed themselves and access essential goods and services in the coming months, unless reversed,” it added.
The US warned Israel this week that it would cut off military support unless it does more to boost access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Israel has said it is acting in accordance with international law and facilitating aid deliveries. It has also accused aid groups and the UN of failing to deliver the aid, and blamed Hamas for stealing supplies.
The IPC was set up in 2004 and is an initiative involving UN agencies, national governments and aid groups.
https://p.dw.com/p/4luaW
Skip next section Israeli military says it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Israeli military says it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was checking whether Hamas leader had been killed in Gaza.
The IDF said “three terrorists were eliminated” during the Israeli military’s operations in Gaza, with it being possible one of them was Sinwar.
The military said, “the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.”
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, is believed to be the architect of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel.
https://p.dw.com/p/4lub1
Skip next section Israeli strike kills 15 at school-turned-shelter in Gaza, health authorities say
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Israeli strike kills 15 at school-turned-shelter in Gaza, health authorities say
At least 15 people, including children, have been killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in the northern , according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry, which is run by , said dozens were also injured.
Israel’s military said the strike targeted a command center run by militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad inside the school, which is located in the refugee camp of Jabaliya.
Fares Abu Hamza, head of the Health Ministry’s emergency unit in northern Gaza, was cited by The Associated Press as saying that the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was struggling to treat the wounded.
“Many women and children are in critical condition,” he said.
Reuters cited Hamas as saying they did not use the school for fighting purposes.
It was not possible to verify the presence of militants in the school at the time of the strike. Israel has repeatedly said its strikes are precise and do not target civilians, but women and children are often killed.
https://p.dw.com/p/4luJe
Skip next section German chancellor: We will continue to supply arms to Israel
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
German chancellor: We will continue to supply arms to Israel
has reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to supplying arms to Israel, saying it means Berlin is “constantly ensuring Israel’s defense capability.”
“Israel has every right to defend itself against Hamas and to fight it militarily,” Scholz said, adding, however, that Israel must abide by international law in its war against the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
Speaking on the sidelines of an EU leaders’ summit, the chancellor said a two-state solution, which envisages a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, was the goal.
EU leaders meeting in Brussels are expected to discuss the Middle East conflict, and .
https://p.dw.com/p/4luGi
Skip next section German ship shoots down drone off Lebanon
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
German ship shoots down drone off Lebanon
A German warship participating in the UN’s peacekeeping mission in (UNIFIL) has shot down a drone off the Lebanese coast, according to German military and defense officials.
The “Ludwigshafen am Rhein” corvette repelled an approaching drone at around 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), a spokesperson from Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, was cited by the German DPA news agency as saying.
The drone was reportedly shot down around 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the port of Naqoura, in southern Lebanon,
The Bundeswehr spokesperson said German forces were in an “increased risk situation” in Lebanon and that “appropriate protective measures” are currently being taken.
The incident comes amid spiraling tensions in Lebanon, where Israel is carrying out a ground and air offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
UNIFIL says its , while has urged the UN to move its peacekeepers out of combat areas.
On Thursday, UNIFIL said an Israeli tank “directly” fired on its headquarters in Naqoura, knocking out a watchtower and injuring two peacekeepers.
More than 10,000 troops from more than 50 countries are currently deployed to UNIFIL.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ltvz
Skip next section Iranian commander warns Israel against retaliation for missile attack
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Iranian commander warns Israel against retaliation for missile attack
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Hossein Salami has threatened Israel with more if it attacks Iranian targets.
“Do not repeat your mistake … if you misbehave, if you strike anything of ours either in the region or in Iran, we will again hit you painfully,” he said.
Salami was speaking at the funeral of an IRGC general who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut last month that also killed .
for a massive Iranian missile attack earlier in October, sparking international fears of a
https://p.dw.com/p/4lu1s
Skip next section Israel says 45 Hezbollah fighters killed in 24 hours
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Israel says 45 Hezbollah fighters killed in 24 hours
Israel’s army said it had killed more than 45 militants from in Lebanon in the past 24 hours.
In a statement, the army said it had “attacked 150 terrorist targets,” including weapons depots, rocket launch pads and other infrastructure.
It said the commander of a battalion in Bint Jubail in southern was among the dead.
The information could not be independently verified.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have been displaced in the in Lebanon.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the US and Germany, while the EU classifies only its armed wing as a terrorist group.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ltzk
Skip next section Gaza economy collapses, unemployment surges to 80%: UN
10/17/2024October 17, 2024
Gaza economy collapses, unemployment surges to 80%: UN
Unemployment in Gaza has climbed to nearly 80% since the was sparked over a year ago, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said.
Economic output has shrunk by 85%, plunging most of the enclave’s 2.3 million population into poverty, the UN agency said.
The conflict, sparked by the Hamas terror attacks on October 7, has caused “unprecedented and wide-ranging devastation on the labor market and the wider economy across the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” it added, referring to Gaza and the West Bank.
Before the war broke out, the unemployment rate in Gaza was 45.3% and 14% in the West Bank, according to the ILO.
In the West Bank, joblessness has averaged 34.9% over the past year, while its economy has contracted by 21.7% compared with the previous 12 months, the agency said.
nm/wmr,ab (Reuters, dpa, AFP, AP)
https://p.dw.com/p/4lu38
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