Israel cops flak over military expansion in Gaza
The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on Sunday morning in New York.
Health officials said that 11 Palestinians seeking aid were shot dead, and 11 adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Qatar's prime minister in Spain on Saturday to discuss a new proposal to end the war, according to two officials familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new ceasefire framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for the war's end and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, two Arab officials have told The Associated Press.
Families of hostages were rallying again on Saturday evening to pressure the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There are fears for the fate of the 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive and struggling.
"The living will be murdered and the fallen will be lost forever," if the offensive goes ahead, said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza.
A joint statement by nine countries, including Germany, Britain, France and Canada, said that they "strongly reject" Israel's decision for the large-scale military operation, saying it will worsen the "catastrophic humanitarian situation," endanger hostages and further risk mass displacement.
A separate statement by more than 20 countries, including ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, called Israel's decision a "dangerous and unacceptable escalation".
Meanwhile, Russia said Israel's plan will aggravate the "already extremely dramatic situation" in Gaza.
And Germany has said it won't authorise any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice.
Officials at Nasser and Awda hospitals said that Israeli forces killed at least 11 people seeking aid in southern and central Gaza.
Some had been waiting for aid trucks, while others had been approaching aid distribution points.
Israel's military denied opening fire and said that it was unaware of the incidents.
The military secures routes leading to distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed and US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two witnesses told the AP that Israeli troops fired toward crowds approaching a GHF distribution site on foot in the Netzarim corridor, a military zone that bisects Gaza.
One witness, Ramadan Gaber, said that snipers and tanks fired on aid-seekers, forcing them to retreat.
In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, some aid-seekers cheered the latest airdrops of aid.
Hundreds of people rushed to grab what they could, though many have called the process degrading.
Aid organisations have called airdrops expensive, insufficient and potentially dangerous for people on the ground.
Israel's military said that at least 106 packages of aid were airdropped on Saturday as Italy and Greece joined the multi-country effort for the first time.
Footage from Italy's defence ministry showed not only packages being parachuted over Gaza but the dry and devastated landscape below.
"This way is not for humans, it is for animals," said one man at the scene, Mahmoud Hawila, who said he was stabbed while trying to secure an airdropped package.
Barefoot children collected rice, pasta and lentils that had spilled from packages onto the ground.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AU Financial Review
16 minutes ago
- AU Financial Review
Palestinian recognition possible without wiping out Hamas: Burke
The federal government could recognise a Palestinian state even with Hamas still operating in Gaza, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has indicated, citing diplomatic relations continuing with Iraq and Syria when they were controlled by ISIS. Australia over the weekend joined Britain, New Zealand, Germany and Italy to 'strongly reject' the Israeli government's decision to launch a gradual military takeover of the full Gaza Strip.
Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Tony Burke says Hamas sympathiser who had visa cancelled after praising October 7 attacks applied for entertainment visa
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has confirmed that Mona Zahed, a Palestinian woman who praised Hamas' October 7 attacks against Israel was initially given an entertainment visa as opposed to a humanitarian visa. A Palestinian woman who showered Hamas with praise for their brutal October 7 attacks on Israel had her visa cancelled by the Home Affairs Department on Friday. Following the Coalition's call for Tony Burke to step down over the visa's approval, a Home Affairs spokesperson said on Friday afternoon "The department has advised ... that the visa was cancelled today - the reasons have been communicated directly to the applicant." Ms Zahed also posted a photo on Instagram of Israeli festival goers fleeing for their lives on October 7 with the caption 'Praise be to Allah who has kept us alive to see this day'. In a bizarre twist to the disturbing saga, Mr Burke told Sky News Australia's Political Editor Andrew Clenell on Sunday that the woman had initially been granted an entertainment visa by DFAT authorities, bypassing routine character checks as a result. 'This was someone from Gaza who was not going through the humanitarian visa process that we've got in place, or even for a visitor visa for that matter, but who'd applied on the entertainment stream,' Mr Burke said. Mr Burke said the woman was not eligible to receive the visa, and that as a result her application was not immediately cancelled on character grounds. 'The presumption of that visa is you are coming for a fixed tour, where the tickets are being sold, the dates are all in place, and your intention is then to return to the country you came from,' Mr Burke said. 'This was a very unusual visa application and it was a visa she was not eligible for. Entertainment and humanitarian visas are designed for entirely different purposes, with the entrainment visa requiring proof of skills in the entertainment industry while the humanitarian visa states for applicants to show that they are at risk of serious harm or persecution. The entertainment visa is typically a temporary visa and valid for the duration of the specific entertainment event while the humanitarian visa usually results in permanent settlement in Australia. Mr Burke reiterated that as soon as senior officials at Home Affairs were made aware the woman had made an 'entertainment' visa application her submission was cancelled on the spot. 'As soon as it was brought to the attention of people more senior in the department, they looked at it and thought hang on, this individual is not eligible for this particular visa,' Mr Burke said. He said her visa was cancelled before the department could progress to the character grounds stage. 'So had we got to eligibility and then we got the character stage, there's a few things that would have had to be unpacked and worked through.' Although about 3,000 visas across a broad stream have so far been granted to Palestinians fleeing the ongoing conflict in Gaza Mr Burke said, 'about half the people for whom visas had been issued ended up getting here.' Mr Burke said this was due to a myriad of factors including people deciding that they did not want to flee to Australia, some people being trapped in Gaza and some of the visa recipients no longer being live. 'We're still in a situation where they are not able to leave, the borders are closed and some of them have very close family in Australia, they face real challenges and have very direct family connections,' he said. 'At least one person is longer in Australia who was brought here and the work of our security agencies in making sure we are keeping Australia safe couldn't be stronger.
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Key detail revealed in Hamas sympathiser visa debacle
A Hamas sympathiser in Gaza was given an Australian visa she was ineligible for, Anthony Albanese's border tsar has revealed. Palestinian woman Mona Zahed applied to come to Australia on a visa typically used for speaking tours rather than humanitarian options. Senior immigration officials noticed the error after they were alerted to social media posts Ms Zahed made celebrating Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023. Due to the wrong visa type, Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke said on Sunday that Ms Zahed's application was cancelled 'before we even got to character grounds'. Mr Burke has said NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'Before we even got to the character grounds issue, she wasn't eligible for the visa that had been issued and the department administratively cancelled the visa,' Mr Burke told Sky News, calling the application 'unusual'. 'This was someone from Gaza who was not going through the humanitarian visa process that we've got in place, or even for a visitor visa for that matter, but who'd applied on the entertainment stream, where the presumption of that visa is you are coming for a fixed tour, where the tickets are being sold, the dates are all in place, and your intention is then to return to the country you came from. 'Now, you can see a few reasons there why as soon as it was brought to … the attention of people more senior in the department, they looked at it and thought, 'Hang on, this individual is not eligible for this particular visa.'' As for the thousands of Palestinians who have been granted visas since the start of the war in Gaza, Mr Burke insisted all approved had been double-checked. He also said only 'about half the people … for whom visas had been issued ended up actually getting here' because of border closures. The figure is unclear, but human rights groups have put it at about 1300. 'We would have had something in the order of close to 1000 visas where people were trapped in Gaza,' Mr Burke said, adding that those stuck in Gaza had dropped to 'not too much more' than half of that. 'Now some of that will be that people decided they didn't want to come to Australia, some of it will be people (who) found another pathway out of Gaza, some of it will be that those people are no longer alive. 'There's a few different reasons for the reduction in numbers. 'Overwhelmingly now the people who are in that visa group, they had the initial check against the movement alert list. 'We've had (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) go through everybody on the list twice now, and so they are in fact the most highly checked cohort that we've ever had.' Though, he pointed out they 'are still in a situation though, where overwhelmingly, they're not able to leave'. Ms Zahed has been living in tents with her young family for much of the 22-month war in Gaza – a conflict triggered by Hamas' October 7 attacks. The militant group killed more than 1200 in the unprecedented assault, including whole families. Fighters took hundreds more hostage as they retreated into Gaza, where dozens remain captive. The Herald Sun revealed on Friday that Ms Zahed praised the attack on social media at the time. 'We woke up and got God's kingdom,' she wrote of the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. She made her visa application with the support of Melbourne artist Matt Chun, who claims to have raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Ms Zahed, her husband and four children make their way to Australia. Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia and the Albanese government has repeatedly condemned the October 7 attacks.
