Shaky truce holds in southern Syria
Bedouin fighters have pulled out of the city of Swedia and government forces have also surrounded the city.
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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Western nations call for immediate end to Gaza war as Israel expands offensive
More than two dozen Western countries called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza on Monday, saying that suffering there had "reached new depths" as Israel's military expanded its operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah. After more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million people, Israeli allies Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the EU, said in a joint statement that the war "must end now". "The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths," the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants and the free flow of much-needed aid. The plea came as Deir el-Balah came under intense shelling on Monday, after Israel's military warned of imminent action in an area where it had not previously operated. The military a day earlier had ordered those in the central Gaza area to leave immediately as it was expanding operations, including "in an area where it has not operated before". Between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area when the evacuation order was issued, according to initial estimates from the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA. Deir el-Balah resident Abdullah Abu Saleem, 48, told AFP on Monday that "during the night, we heard huge and powerful explosions shaking the area as if it were an earthquake". He said this was "due to artillery shelling in the south-central part of Deir el-Balah and the southeastern area". "We are extremely worried and fearful that the army is planning a ground operation in Deir el-Balah and the central camps where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering," he added. - 'Extremely critical' - In their statement, the Western countries also denounced Israel's aid delivery model in Gaza, saying it was "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity". The UN has recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade. "We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," the statement said. In Deir el-Balah, AFP images showed plumes of dark smoke billowing into the sky. The spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP that "we received calls from several families trapped in the Al-Baraka area of Deir el-Balah due to shelling by Israeli tanks". The Israeli military did not provide immediate comment when contacted by AFP. Since the start of the war, nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once by repeated Israeli evacuation orders. According to OCHA, the latest order means that 87.8 percent of the territory is now under evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones. Hamdi Abu Mughseeb, 50, told AFP that he and his family had fled northwards from their tent south of Deir el-Balah at dawn following a night of intense shelling. "There is no safe place anywhere in the Gaza Strip," he said. "I don't know where we can go." Mai Elawawda, communications officer in Gaza for the UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, said the situation was "extremely critical", describing shelling "all around our office, and military vehicles are just 400 metres (1,300 feet) away from our colleagues and their families". - 'Shocked and alarmed' - The families of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war said they were "shocked and alarmed" by reports of evacuation orders for parts of Deir el-Balah. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded political and military authorities "to clearly explain why the offensive in the Deir el-Balah area does not put the hostages at serious risk". Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack on Israel, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Civil defence spokesman Bassal reported at least 15 people killed by Israeli forces across Gaza on Monday. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,029 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
UK, Australia, France and other nations call for an immediate end to war in Gaza
Twenty six countries, including Australia, the UK and France, have demanded an immediate end to the war in Gaza and called for Israel to lift aid restrictions. The joint statement comes amid growing international concern over the number of deaths at aid sites in the enclave. "We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now," the foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Denmark and other countries said in a joint statement. The statement also calls Israeli government's aid delivery model "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity". "We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region," it adds. The statement also includes condemnation for Hamas's treatment of hostages held captive since the October 7 2023 attack. "We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release," it said. "A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families." The statement has been signed by foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
SBS Australia
12 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Trump vowed to save Afghans. But UAE already sent some evacuees back, cable shows
Days before United States President Donald Trump pledged to help Afghan evacuees stuck in the United Arab Emirates, the Emirati government had already started returning them to Afghanistan and informed the US, according to a US state department cable seen by Reuters. The UAE, a close security partner of the US, agreed in 2021 to temporarily house several thousand Afghans evacuated from Kabul as the Taliban ousted the US-backed government during the final stages of the US-led withdrawal. Throughout the years, about 17,000 Afghan evacuees have been processed through the Abu Dhabi facility, known as Emirates Humanitarian City. But more than 30 remaining Afghans have been stuck, with their fate in limbo. News outlet Just the News reported UAE officials were preparing to hand over some Afghan refugees to the Taliban. "I will try to save them, starting right now," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on the weekend that linked to an article on the Afghans held in limbo there. However, it may already be too late for some. Families sent back to Afghanistan In a 10 July meeting with US officials in Abu Dhabi, Salem al-Zaabi, UAE special adviser to the foreign minister, told the Americans two families had been "successfully and safely" sent back to Afghanistan in early July, the cable, which had the same date as the meeting, said. Donald Trump, based on his Truth Social post, appeared to be out of the loop on the UAE's plans. Source: AAP / Alex Brandon/AP Al-Zaabi told US officials that while the UAE understood the US policy, it intended to "close this chapter for good" and would therefore return the remaining 25 Afghans by 20 July, according to the cable. He said the Emirati government would seek assurances from the Taliban that their safety is guaranteed. It was not immediately clear whether the remaining persons had been sent back or the circumstances of the two families who were returned to Afghanistan. Afghans in Qatar also stuck Al-Zaabi told the US officials that the two families were returned to Afghanistan in early July "at their request, since they were tired of waiting", the cable said. But two sources familiar with the matter disputed that account, saying the UAE government and the Taliban's ambassador to the UAE were making Afghan families at the Emirates Humanitarian City choose between signing a 'voluntary' deportation letter to Afghanistan or being arrested to be forcefully deported to the country. The cable also said al-Zaabi asked the US to coordinate "perception management" to ensure the US and Abu Dhabi were aligned on their messaging on the topic, as the UAE did not want criticism from the NGOs, "due to the inability of the United States to resettle the population in the United States or elsewhere". The fate of more than 30 Afghan evacuees and how the administration handles their cases is crucial for the future of another 1,500 Afghan men, women and children who have been stuck in a similar facility in Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar. Former US president Joe Biden's administration, since its chaotic US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, has brought nearly 200,000 Afghans to the US. Trump, a Republican who promised a far-reaching immigration crackdown, suspended refugee resettlement after he took office in January. In April, the Trump administration terminated temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghans in the US. Democrats have urged Trump to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government. Since seizing power, Afghanistan's Taliban administration has rolled back hard-fought rights won by Afghan women and girls during two decades of rule by US-backed governments. They have imposed limits on schooling, work and general independence in daily life. Refugees include family members of Afghan-American US military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the US government during the 20-year war. Shawn VanDiver, president of the #AfghanEvac advocacy group, urged Trump to follow up on his post with action. "President Trump has the authority to do the right thing. He should instruct DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and the Department of State to expedite processing, push for third-country partnerships, and ensure that we never again leave our wartime allies behind."
