Author: Steven Sahiounie

Thomas White, UNRWA’s Gaza chief, says that the Israeli army is telling people to leave Eastern Khan Younis, calling it a “dangerous fighting zone”. “They tell people to move to Rafah to receive assistance – but we are not able to provide for 100,000s of new IDPs [internally displaced people],” he said. The UN agency that provides relief to Palestinian refugees has previously said that it could see half a million people being displaced to Rafah. “Rafah normally has a population of 280,000 and already hosting around 470,000 IDPs will not cope with a doubling of its IDP population,” White…

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan meets Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Education Above All Foundation, to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan met Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Education Above All Foundation, in Qatar on Tuesday to discuss action plans after the “One Heart for Palestine” summit. Accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the 9th Meeting of the Türkiye-Qatar High Strategic Committee and the 44th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Doha, Emine Erdogan was welcomed at the Qatar Foundation by Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, the deputy chair of the Qatar Foundation and…

The Brazilian President notes that Russia does not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), but since his country is a member, it naturally bears responsibility. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assured on Monday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be among the invitees to the G20 summit, due to be held in Brazil in 2024. The Correio Brasiliense newspaper quoted Lula as saying, “Whether Putin comes or not, he will be invited. There are [judicial] proceedings against him, he must assess the consequences”. Lula noted that Russia does not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court…

British Defence Minister Grant Shapps says the country is considering sending military support vessel RFA Lyme Bay to provide medical and humanitarian aid in the Middle East. Addressing UK military deployments to the Middle East, Shapps also told legislators, “I’ll move heaven and earth to bring our hostages home, and the UK Ministry of Defence will conduct the surveillance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including operating in airspace over Israel and Gaza.” He added that the British surveillance aircraft would be “unmanned”. Source: AlJazeera

Qatar’s emir has issued a stinging rebuke of Israel in opening remarks of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Doha. “Israel’s occupation forces have violated all political, ethical and humanitarian values,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in translated comments. “It is a disgrace upon the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue … with systemic and purposeful killing of innocent unarmed civilians,” Sheikh Tamim added in his opening address. “This is a genocide committed by Israel.” The Qatari emir added that Palestinians should be commended for “holding steadfast to their just cause” and called on…

According to Gennady Gatilov, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are working jointly with the WHO MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been making tremendous efforts to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but the humanitarian situation there has aggravated anyway since the hostilities resumed, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN headquarters in Geneva Gennady Gatilov said. “The WHO’s work in the Middle East is very important. They have been making tremendous efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian inhabitants of the Gaza…

According to Ali Yerlikaya, the issue of Mossad carrying out an operation against Hamas members on Turkish soil was discussed at a government meeting ISTANBUL, December 5. /TASS/. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has warned Israel about the serious repercussions of a potential operation by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad targeting members of Palestinian radical group Hamas on Turkish territory. “Our security services have already made a statement on the matter. Such an initiative is unacceptable and will cost dearly,” Yerlikaya said, as quoted by the TRT Haber TV channel. According to the senior Turkish police official, the issue of Mossad carrying…

The total IOF death toll is currently at 406 TEL AVIV, December 5. /TASS/. Two more servicemen of the Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) have been killed in combat in the Gaza Strip thus increasing the IOF death toll in its ground operation in the enclave to 80, the website of the army press service said. According to it, one was an IOF captain while the other was a retired major. Both were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip on Monday, December 4. The total IOF death toll is currently at 406. On December 1, the IOF resumed combat in…

Yury Ushakov added that other issues that could come up during the talks in Saudi Arabia are the settlement of the situation in Syria, Yemen, and ensuring stability in the Persian Gulf zone MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when he visits the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on December 6, said Yury Ushakov, a Kremlin aide. “The main thing now is to achieve a long-term ceasefire, because while these ‘fragmented’ ceasefires are also useful, we still would like a long-term ceasefire to be reached, a full exchange of prisoners…

During the conversation, the high-ranking diplomats discussed the emerging situation in the Middle East, focusing on the importance of continuing close coordination between Moscow and Tehran, including within the framework of the Astana format, in the interests of a comprehensive settlement in Syria MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior advisor to the Iranian foreign minister on special political affairs, during their bilateral meeting pointed to the need to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip and discussed Moscow-Tehran coordination in the Middle…