Author: Steven Sahiounie

“There were many failures on the part of our state before the Hamas attack,” Lapid, who leads Israel’s centrist Yesh Atid party, told the paper. “We must investigate exactly how this could have happened.” Lapid added that he had received intelligence alerts from Israel’s secret service of “imminent” violence two weeks before October 7 and raised the alarm, but Israel’s government did not take the threat seriously. “I warned about this in a press conference – unfortunately, nobody wanted to hear it at the time,” said Lapid, adding that Netanyahu should resign over the failure. Source: ALJazeera

Israel’s army will conduct the probe once it receives additional details on the staffer’s identity from French officials, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reports. This weekend, the French Foreign Ministry condemned the death of the embassy staffer, who had sought shelter in a colleague’s home that was hit by Israeli shelling, and asked Israel to clarify the incident as soon as possible. “We have asked for a complete spotlight on the circumstances that could explain the targeting of this house following the explosion that resulted in the death of this staffer,” said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Sunday. Source: ALJazeera

“I believe our efforts converge to … wish for another immediate, lasting truce,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said in a joint news conference with her British counterpart David Cameron in Paris. Colonna also said that France would take measures along with the country’s partners to put an end to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Cameron said at the news conference that the UK also wants a “ceasefire as soon as possible, but it must be a sustainable ceasefire”. source: ALJazeera

The Israeli army’s raid on the Ahli Arab Hospital has halted operations at one of the last functioning health facilities in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the hospital’s director. Fadel Naim told the AFP news agency that Israeli forces arrested medical personnel and patients and caused damage to the facility, putting the hospital “out of action”. “We can’t receive any patients or injured,” he said, adding that at least four people at Ahli, wounded by Israeli forces on Monday, died from their injuries. Hospitals in Gaza have been repeatedly hit by Israeli air raids and shelling since the start of the…

Defence chief Lloyd Austin, who is on a regional tour, has called Qatar “an indispensable partner”. “In times of crisis, Qatar answers our call. Together with Egypt, Qatar’s efforts have helped to secure the release of many hostages held by Hamas,” he said at a news conference in Doha, announcing an expansion of the US airbase in Qatar. “Qatari and the United States will formally take steps forward to expand and reinforce our bilateral defence relationship,” Austin added. “We will do this through Qatar’s commitment to contribute significant resources to increase capabilities here at Al Udeid airbase. And that will…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crude exports increased to 6.3 million barrels per day in October, a rise of 543,000 bpd or 9.44 percent compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative on Monday. The report indicated that the Kingdom’s crude production in October declined slightly by 35,000 bpd to 8.94 million bpd, a 0.39 percent decline from September. In the end of November, Saudi Arabia announced the extension of its voluntary crude output cuts, amounting to 1 million bpd until the conclusion of the first quarter of 2024, in coordination with members of the…

At least 111 people were killed in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in a mountainous region in northwestern China, the country’s state media reported on Tuesday.The official Xinhua News Agency said that 100 people died in the province of Gansu and another 11 in the neighboring province of Qinghai in the quake, which occurred just before midnight on Monday.More than 200 people were injured, Xinhua said, 96 in Gansu and 124 in Qinghai. The quake struck in Gansu’s Jishishan county, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the provincial boundary with Qinghai.The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 5.9.State broadcaster…

 “Jews for Palestine” held a rally in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli aggression against the besieged territory. The demonstrators, who chanted pro-Palestine slogans, marched towards the home of US Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer. “I am an American Jew and I’m here because I believe that every child is precious, wherever they come from,” said one activist, adding, “I have a daughter at home. She is safe and happy right now and the children of Gaza deserve to be. We’re asking Senator Schumer to listen to us and to share with us…

Adel Zoroub was killed following an Israeli air raid on his family’s home in Rafah, the Government Media Office in Gaza has said on its Telegram channel. Earlier, we reported at least 29 people were killed in an Israeli attack on Rafah. Dozens of journalists, mostly Palestinian, have been killed since the war began on October 7. source: AlJazeera

A new US-led naval alliance in the Red Sea will have no impact on the Houthis’ stance in the Gaza war, according to the group’s chief negotiator. Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters news agency that the international naval patrol mission meant to safeguard Red Sea shipping lanes is “essentially unnecessary”. This is because all waters near Yemen are still safe, he said, except for Israel-linked ships or vessels travelling to Israel. Yemen’s Houthis have waged attacks on more than a dozen commercial ships they consider to be linked to Israel since the Gaza war broke out, disrupting a key maritime trade…