Author: Steven Sahiounie

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to the US president, met with senior Lebanese leaders today, according to the US Embassy in Beirut. “He conveyed that the United States cares deeply for Lebanon and its people during this difficult time. He extended our deepest condolences for the civilian lives lost. He heard the concerns of Lebanese officials and informed them of what the United States is doing to address them,” the embassy said. “He reiterated that the United States does not want to see the conflict in Gaza spread and emphasized that restoring calm along the southern border should be the…

At least 320 foreign nationals entered Egypt from Gaza today, after the Rafah crossing was closed over the weekend, according to the Reuters news agency, citing Egyptian sources. The border crossing was closed on Saturday and Sunday after an Israeli attack on an ambulance that was heading to Rafah. It re-opened on Monday with a limited number of people passing through, according to Reuters. Of those who crossed into Egypt today, only four were injured Gaza Palestinians who would receive treatment in Egypt, a medical source told the news agency. Evacuees were allowed to intermittently leave via the crossing beginning…

In a televised address, Netanyahu again has sought to dampen calls for a ceasefire, saying captives held in Gaza would need to be released first. He again demanded that the Red Cross be given access to the captives. “Gaza City is encircled,” he added. “We are operating inside of it.” Netanyahu also warned the Lebanese group Hezbollah that if it joined the fighting, it would be a major mistake. Source: AlJazeera

Yousri al-Ghoul, a Palestinian political writer, said Israel is committing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza. Al-Ghoul left al-Shati refugee camp for Jabalia in northern Gaza. “We didn’t know where to go,” he told Al Jazeera. Al-Ghoul said he and his family did not make the trip to the south due to safety concerns. He said people who made it south have told him that Israeli troops set up multiple checkpoints, “killed many and took many as prisoners … stole their money, stole their jewellery, everything they have”. “No place in Gaza is safe,” he said. “We don’t have fuel, we don’t…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has stated “this is not a war; this is genocide” when referring to the Israeli attack on Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote a note to the US State Department staff on October 19. He was aware of growing discontent among his workforce; hurt and disappointed by the unabashed abandonment of diplomatic norms, as the US defended war crimes committed by Israel. Career State Department employees were shaken professionally and personally, and they were not only Muslims, or Arabs. “I know that, for many…

Denouncing the US for ignoring calls for ending the Israeli war on Gaza, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Washington prefers to aid and abet the Zionist regime which has already fallen apart. In a post on his X account on Tuesday, the top Iranian diplomat decried the US’ unconditional support for the Israeli regime’s atrocities against Gaza. He said more than 120 countries have called for an end to the Israeli war on Gaza and millions of people across the world, even in Washington, D.C., have rallied to express solidarity with Palestinians and condemn the Zionist war crimes. “However,…

In its latest update on the death and injury toll from the 32-day-long Israeli brutal and barbaric bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health said that 10,305 Palestinians were killed, including 4237 children, 2,719 women, and 631 elderly people, and more than 25,000 were injured, in addition to 2,350 people, including more than 1,300 children, still missing. It said that in the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces killed 163 Palestinians and injured about 2,300 since October 7. The Ministry said 18 hospitals out of 35 have stopped working, and 71% of all primary care facilities throughout the Gaza…

‘We won’t buy any from now on and we’re going to throw out what we’ve (already) bought,’ says speaker Numan Kurtulmus Türkiye’s parliament will no longer use products of companies that support “Israel’s aggression,” the assembly’s speaker said on Tuesday. “At the TBMM (Turkish Grand National Assembly), we will not use any products from companies that support Israel’s aggression,” Numan Kurtulmus said at an event in the country’s northern province of Ordu. “We won’t buy any from now on and we’re going to throw out what we’ve (already) bought,” Kurtulmus added. Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the…

The source added that the Ukrainian leader has not dropped his plans of visiting the country Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has postponed his visit to Israel indefinitely The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday, citing an Israeli diplomatic source. According to the source, the Ukrainian leader has not dropped his plans of visiting Israel but the date has not yet been agreed upon. The newspaper reported on November 5 that Zelensky planned to visit Israel next week but was disappointed over the leak to Israel’s Channel 12 news. Two days prior to that, on November 3, the television channel reported that Zelensky…

The foreign ministers of Iran and Egypt discussed the joint efforts to help Palestine and stop the Israeli regime’s brutal strikes against the people of Gaza. In a telephone conversation on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry talked about the latest developments in Palestine. Pointing to the stances adopted by Iran and Egypt as two important Islamic countries, Amirabdollahian said continued bilateral talks is crucial to putting an end to the ongoing crisis in Palestine and the Israeli regime’s savage strikes against civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. He also noted that the…