Author: Steven Sahiounie

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas senior official, tells Al Jazeera that Israel has been undermining every effort to extend the truce. “Every day in the past seven days of the temporary ceasefire, Israel was acting in a way to undermine the whole process,” Hamdan said. “Yesterday night we were talking about extending the temporary ceasefire, we were very clear about some options which were suggested by the mediators – we accepted three suggestions, but all those were rejected by the Israelis. “We were and we still are positive about all the efforts, but the Israelis are refusing them,” he said. Source: AlJazeera

The top Russian diplomat pointed to failures in the political and military area, “including the refusal to ratify an adjusted treaty on conventional forces in Europe” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that all three dimensions of security under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have utterly failed. “We can see a complete degradation of everything that has been created earlier at the OSCE and as part of previous meetings on security and cooperation in Europe; a degradation of everything that has been created through all three security dimensions – the political and military,…

 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday he regretted that military operations had resumed in Gaza after the collapse of a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas.“I deeply regret that military operations have started again in Gaza,” Guterres wrote on the X social media platform.“The return to hostilities only shows how important it is to have a true humanitarian cease-fire.” Source: Arab News

The number of people killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since this morning has now risen to at least 100, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Source: AlJazeera

The voluntary reductions are intended to stabilize falling crude prices The OPEC+ group of major oil-producing countries led by Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to deepen production cuts to about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) at a meeting on Thursday, according to a statement from the delegates. The group, which accounts for over 40% of global crude production, met to discuss next year’s output amid worries that the market faces a potential surplus after earlier production cuts were set to end next month. The new plan includes an extension of the previous 1 million bpd cut by Saudi Arabia…

Yousri Alghoul, who lives in northern Gaza, said he heard “shelling and shooting” at the Shati refugee camp (also known as Beach camp) while he was fleeing with his 17-year-old son to the Jabalia refugee camp at 7am today. “Unfortunately, we found dead bodies in the streets and roads. You cannot imagine how miserable the situation is when we just escape to another place searching for a secure place,” Alghoul told Al Jazeera. “That is what’s happening right now, and just 15 minutes ago, we also heard a new explosion, which is next to us in Jabalia. It seems that…

The latest loan brings the total in ‘emergency financing’ Kiev has been lent or promised to more than $38 billion Ukraine will receive a $1.2 billion loan from the World Bank which is being guaranteed by the government of Japan, the lender reported. The money will be used to support 29 social aid programs for “the most vulnerable people in Ukraine” under a project to invest in Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, and Efficiency (INSPIRE).The project is “an integral part of the international support package for Ukraine to meet its financing needs through 2024,” according to the World Bank. With today’s announcement, the World…

The French government says it regrets the end of the truce between Israel and Hamas. “Rupture of the truce is very bad news, regrettable, because it brings no solution and complicates the resolution of all questions that arise,” foreign minister Catherine Colonna said in Dubai, calling its restoration “essential”. “It is essential at the same to continue to free hostages who have now been for 55 days in extremely difficult conditions, to enable more humanitarian aid to arrive, and to be able to distribute it inside the Gaza Strip where the civilian population is suffering,” Colonna added. Source: AlJazeera

Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to hold talks with leaders of some participating countries on sidelines of COP28 conference Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday departed for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, or COP28. Erdogan will address the UN climate summit on Friday. He is also expected to hold talks with leaders of some participating countries on the sidelines of the conference. The UAE is set to host this year’s climate conference between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12, with the aim of keeping the Paris Agreement warming target of 1.5C (2.7F) alive.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says “Tel Aviv” and Washington’s continued war on Gaza means a new genocide. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian commented on the resumption of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, calling out the US-Israeli aggression as a “new genocide in Gaza.” Amir-Abdollahian said in his post that the only way the Israelis can free their captives is through “an open-ended ceasefire, the extensive delivery of humanitarian aid, and agreement on fresh exchange of prisoners.” The captives, Iran’s Foreign Minister explained, are not being released through “Israel’s” aggression, rather they are dying in Israeli strikes. Furthermore, he qualified the continuation…