Netanyahu says Israel will 'take control' of all of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces will "take control" of the whole of Gaza as they press on with a newly expanded ground offensive under a plan dubbed "Operation Gideon's Chariots". The Israeli army has urged people in Gaza to evacuate parts of the south immediately ahead of what it described as an "unprecedented attack". Meanwhile, Israel has said that it would allow a "basic amount" of food into Gaza, which Mr Netanyahu described as necessary to prevent famine for "diplomatic reasons". Trent Murray reports from Tel Aviv.
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CNA
13 hours ago
- CNA
Anger as US blocks Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council
UNITED NATIONS: UN Security Council members criticised the United States on Wednesday (Jun 5) after it vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, which Washington said undermined ongoing diplomacy. It was the 15-member body's first vote on the situation since November, when the US - a key Israeli ally - also blocked a text calling for an end to fighting. "Today, the United States sent a strong message by vetoing a counterproductive UN Security Council resolution on Gaza targeting Israel," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement after Wednesday's 14 to 1 vote. He said Washington would not support any text that "draws a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas, or disregards Israel's right to defend itself. "The United States will continue to stand with Israel at the UN." The draft resolution had demanded "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties". It also called for the "immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups", and demanded the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Hamas, whose unprecedented attack inside Israel on Oct 7, 2023 sparked the war, condemned the "disgraceful" US veto, reiterating accusations of "genocide" in Gaza, something Israel vehemently rejects. The veto "marks a new stain on the ethical record of the United States of America," the group said in a statement, accusing Washington of "legitimising genocide, supporting aggression, and rationalising starvation, destruction, and mass killings". "MORAL STAIN" Pakistan's ambassador to the UN Asim Ahmad meanwhile said the failed resolution would "remain not only a moral stain on the conscience of this council, but a fateful moment of political application that will reverberate for generations". China's ambassador to the UN Fu Cong said "today's vote result once again exposes that the root cause of the council's inability to quell the conflict in Gaza is the repeated obstruction by the US." The veto marks Washington's first such action since US President Donald Trump took office in January. Israel has faced mounting international pressure to end its war in Gaza. That scrutiny has increased over flailing aid distribution in Gaza, which Israel blocked for more than two months before allowing a small number of UN vehicles to enter in mid-May. The United Nations, which warned last month the entire population in the besieged Palestinian territory was at risk of famine, said trickle was far from enough to meet the humanitarian needs. "JUDGED BY HISTORY" "The Council was prevented from shouldering its responsibility, despite the fact that most of us seem to be converging on one view," said France's ambassador to the UN Jerome Bonnafont. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, said after the Security Council vote he would now ask the General Assembly to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire. Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon however said that the Palestinian plan to put the resolution to a vote at the General Assembly, where no country can veto it, was pointless, telling countries "don't waste more of your energy". "This resolution doesn't advance humanitarian relief and undermines it. It ignores a working system in favor of political agendas," he said.
AsiaOne
14 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Pressure mounts on Netanyahu as opposition moves to dissolve parliament , World News
TEL AVIV — A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday (June 4) and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel in October 2023. United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalising an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service. The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former prime minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed. "This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go," Lapid said. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis. A spokesperson for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favour of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed. With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months. A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations within the coalition were continuing. Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has seven seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11. Betting on a bluff The coalition is sharply divided over whether young ultra-Orthodox men who are studying in religious seminaries should be exempt from mandatory military service. Failing to pass an exemption risks a walkout by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, while approving it could trigger a protest exit by secular parties. Coalition member Ohad Tal of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party criticised Goldknopf for threatening to trigger elections and called on the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker to resign. He urged others to negotiate a new arrangement but that a blanket exemption from military service could no longer stand. Former Knesset member Ofer Shelah said Netanyahu was likely betting the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were bluffing, given the polls suggested they faced defeat in any early election. In March, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatened to bring down the government over the same issue, but time passed without any action. Resentment over the informal exemption given to religious seminary students is growing and lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition ranks say it is no longer tenable. Netanyahu won election in 2022 and does not have to return to the polls until 2026. Historically, few Israeli governments serve a full term. He has faced widespread criticism for failing to prevent the surprise October 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people, and is facing growing calls from protesters and families of hostages still held in Gaza to end the war to secure their release. But some in his coalition say the war must continue until Hamas is eradicated. Political analysts say that the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers could simply quit the government to protest their failure to secure concessions, without toppling the ruling coalition. [[nid:718175]]
Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Straits Times
Irish university to cut links with Israel over Gaza war
Trinity College Dublin said it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever institutional links with the Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel. PHOTO: TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN/FACEBOOK DUBLIN - Ireland's prestigious Trinity College Dublin said on June 4 that it would cut all links with Israel in protest at 'ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law'. The university's board informed students by email that it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever 'institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel'. The recommendations would be 'enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law', said the email sent by the board's chairman Paul Farrell, and seen by AFP. The taskforce was set up after part of the university's campus in central Dublin was blockaded by students for five days in 2024 in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza. Among the taskforce's recommendations approved by the board were pledges to divest 'from all companies headquartered in Israel' and to 'enter into no future supply contracts with Israeli firms' and 'no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities'. The university also said that it would 'enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities'. Trinity has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements with Israeli universities: Bar Ilan University, an agreement that ends in July 2026, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which ends in July 2025, the university told AFP in an email. The board also said that the university 'should not submit for approval or agree to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation'. It 'should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations,' it added. Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's response to the Oct 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas militants that sparked the war in Gaza. Polls since the start of the war have shown overwhelming pro-Palestinian sympathy in Ireland. In May 2024, Dublin joined several other European countries in recognising Palestine as a 'sovereign and independent state'. It then joined South Africa in bringing a case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – charges angrily denied by Israeli leaders. In December, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of the country's embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland's 'extreme anti-Israel policies'. The University of Geneva also announced on June 4 that it has ended its partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem following student protests, saying it no longer reflected the institution's 'strategic priorities'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
