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This live blog is now wrapping up. Join us again for live coverage of events from Gaza at 7 am. Have a good night.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has released an infographic showing the wave of protests worldwide triggered by Israel's attack on Gaza. 

ACLED looked at demonstrations between 7-27 October 2023, during which time protests related to Gaza accounted for 38 percent of all demonstrations globally.

Nearly 1400 demonstrations occurred in MENA, where the organisation says protest activity is concentrated. It found that most events were reported in Yemen, Turkey, Iran and Morocco. 

The US  experienced the highest number of counter-demonstrations involving opposing pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests, which ACLED said reflected the significant divisions in public opinion.

The latest escalation in the Israel-Palestine conflict has triggered a wave of protests around the world. So far, ACLED has recorded 4,200 demonstrations related to the conflict, accounting for 38% of all demonstrations globally.

New infographic ▶️

— Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (@ACLEDINFO)

G7 foreign ministers discussed how to revitalise peace efforts in the Middle East and the "day after" in the Gaza Strip once Israel's attack on the Palestinian enclave recedes as they met for a two-day summit in Tokyo.

The subject was brought up during a working dinner late on Tuesday, host Japan said in a statement, with the Group of Seven (G7) due to continue talks on Wednesday on the Israel-Gaza crisis, Ukraine's war in Russia and issues related to China.

The statement gave no details of options being discussed if Hamas is ousted from Gaza as the result of an ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has so far been vague about its long-term plans for Gaza. In some of the first direct comments on the subject, Netanyahu said this week that Israel would seek to have security responsibility for Gaza "for an indefinite period".

Read the full report here.

Saudi Arabia will host summits of Arab, Islamic and African nations in coming days to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia's investment minister said on Tuesday.

"We will see, this week, in the next few days Saudi Arabia convening an emergency Arab summit in Riyadh," said Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih, at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.

"You will see Saudi Arabia convening an Africa-Saudi summit in Riyadh, and in a few days you will see Saudi Arabia convening an Islamic summit," he said.

"In the short term, the objective of bringing these three summits and other gatherings under the leadership of Saudi Arabia would be to drive towards peaceful resolution of the conflict."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit, Etemadonline news reported, the first visit by an Iranian head of state since Tehran and Riyadh ended years of hostility under a China-brokered deal in March.

Israel's ground forces in the Gaza Strip aimed on Wednesday to locate and disable Hamas' vast tunnel network beneath the enclave, the next phase in an Israeli offensive that has killed thousands of Palestinians.

Since Hamas launched a surprise attack and took some 240 hostages on October 7, Israel has pounded Gaza from the air and used ground troops to divide the coastal enclave in two.

Gaza City, the territory's largest town and Hamas' main stronghold, is encircled. Israel says its troops have advanced to the heart of the city while Hamas says its fighters have inflicted heavy losses on the invading forces.

Chief Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that Israel's combat engineering corps were using explosive devices to destroy a tunnel network built by Hamas that stretches for hundreds of kilometres (miles) beneath Gaza.

Read the full report here. 

 Labour frontbencher Imran Hussein has resigned in order to “be able to strongly advocate for a ceasefire”.

Imran Hussain, the member for Bradford East, posted his resignation letter to X a short while ago. 

Hussain joins a growing list of Labour Party MPs, councilors and members revolting against party leader Keir Starmer's refusal to back a ceasefire in Gaza.

I want to be able to strongly advocate for a ceasefire, as called for by the UN General Secretary. In order to be fully free to do so, I have tonight stepped down from Labour's Frontbench.

My letter below:

— Imran Hussain MP (@Imran_HussainMP)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris emphasised in a call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday the importance of protecting civilian lives and respecting international humanitarian law, the White House said in a statement.

US Senator, and former Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders has questioned the US funding of Israel after Benjamin Netanyahu's comments suggesting Israel seeks to militarily occupy the Gaza strip.

Writing on X, the Vermont Senator wrote: "Should US funds support a long-term military occupation over an already battered & impoverished people? I think not." 

Sanders has previously come under fire from progressives in America for his failure to call for a ceasefire in the face of Israeli strikes on Gaza killing over 10,300 people, including over 4000 children.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s right-wing prime minister, said yesterday that Israel would oversee Gaza’s security for “an indefinite period” after the war. Really? Should US funds support a long-term military occupation over an already battered & impoverished people? I think not.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders)

An Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon, whose parents were killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, has said the Israeli prime minister needs to go.

“The war will never end as long as Netanyahu is in his office. So I’m crying to the world, ‘Don’t support Netanyahu. Don’t send us weapons. Don’t send us ships of war’,” said Inon.

“Send us peace. Send us love. Send us reconciliation."

My Hero: Maoz Inon, son of Bilha, 76, and Yakovi, 78, murdered at Netiv HaAsara on October 7th, started a protest tent outside the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem calling Netanyahu to resign and to end the war

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_)

The number of evacuees leaving the Gaza Strip through Egypt rose on Tuesday, a day after the Rafah border crossing was re-opened.

At least 500 people, most of them foreigners or dual nationals and their dependents passed through Rafah, the only crossing that does not border Israel, Egyptian security sources said.

Evacuations through the crossing were suspended on Saturday and Sunday after an Israeli strike on an ambulance that was heading to Rafah. Egyptian security sources said Egypt was continuing to press for increased aid and fuel into the strip and security for ambulances.

Jordan's foreign ministry said 262 Jordanians were evacuated on Tuesday, out of a total of 569 that had been stuck in Gaza following the outbreak of fighting there.

Canada said 59 of its citizens, permanent residents and family members were evacuated.

Nineteen Gazans needing medical treatment were also allowed through, a medical source said, to join dozens of others who are being treated in Egyptian hospitals.

Other countries with citizens cleared to leave on Tuesday included Romania, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, the Philippines and France, according to the Gaza border authority. 

(Reuters)

With US Congress attempting to censure Palestinian American Representative Rashida Tlaib for her stance on the Israeli war on Gaza, she has given an impassioned speech to the House tonight.

"Palestinian people are not disposable,” said Tlaib.

“We are human beings just like anyone else. My grandmother, like all Palestinians, just wants to live her life with freedom and human dignity we all deserve.

“Speaking up to save lives – no matter of faith, no matter ethnicity – should not be controversial in this chamber.”

I am the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, and my perspective is needed here now more than ever. I will not be silenced and I will not let anyone distort my words.

I’m from Detroit, where I learned to speak truth to power, even if my voice shakes.

— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida)

Read more about the attempts to censure her here.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday urged pro-Palestinian groups to call off a march against the Israel's war  on Gaza scheduled to take place in London on Armistice Day.

The organisers of the rally have so far defied pleas from the British capital's Metropolitan police force to postpone the demonstration planned for this Saturday. Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets to demand an immediate ceasefire as Israel continues to relentlessly bombard Gaza. 

"We continue to believe that planning protests on Armistice Day is provocative and disrespectful, and we urge organisers to reconsider," Sunak's spokesman told reporters. He added that the government would "carefully consider any application" from the police to stop the protest from going ahead.

But Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said that according to the law, "there is no absolute power to ban protest," except in the most extreme cases.

"Therefore there will be a protest this weekend," he said in a statement.

Read the full report here.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said a humanitarian convoy carrying lifesaving medical supplies came under fire in Gaza City on Tuesday.

The convoy of five trucks and two Red Cross vehicles was carrying supplies to health facilities, including to Al-Quds hospital, when it was hit, an ICRC statement said, adding that two trucks were damaged and a driver lightly wounded.

The ICRC did not specify who had fired at its convoy or from what direction the fire came.

"These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work," said William Schomburg, the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza.

"We are here to bring urgent assistance to civilians in need. Ensuring that vital aid can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law."

After the gunfire the convoy altered its route and reached Al-Shifa hospital where it delivered the medical supplies, the ICRC said.

Later the ICRC convoy accompanied six ambulances with critically wounded patients to the Rafah crossing to Egypt, it added.

Israel announced today that its forces were fighting "in the heart" of Gaza City.

Axios has reported that the US president appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a 3-day ceasefire in Gaza during a call on Monday.

Citing an unnamed US official, Axios said the US, Israel and Qatar are discussing a proposal under which “Hamas would release 10-15 hostages and use the 3-day pause to verify the identities of all the hostages and deliver a list of names of the people it is holding”.

However, the Israeli PM rejected the proposal, with two US and Israeli officials claiming “Netanyahu told Biden he doesn’t trust Hamas’ intentions and doesn’t believe they are ready to agree to a deal regarding the hostages”.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says Mohammed Al Ahel, a laboratory technician, was killed yesterday along with his family in northern Gaza.

The humanitarian agency said Al Ahel was at his home in al-Shati refugee camp when the area was bombed in an Israeli airstrike and his apartment building collapsed, killing dozens of people.

Today, we are mourning the loss of one of our team members in Gaza, Mohammed Al Ahel, who was killed along with several members of his family on 6 November.

— MSF International (@MSF)

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned that journalists in the Gaza Strip “who continue to cover one of this century’s deadliest wars are in constant, imminent danger of death”.

“Nowhere is safe for journalists in the Gaza Strip – whether they are out in the open, operating in press tents set up near hospitals, or working in their homes or makeshift shelters with their loved ones,” RSF said.

: 41 journalists killed in 1 month, including 36 in by Israeli strikes. The situation is urgent.
RSF calls for the protection of all journalists in Gaza & for foreign reporters to be able to enter & work there freely.👇

— RSF (@RSF_inter)

41 journalists have been killed since October 7, the group has reported, including 36 Palestinian reporters killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.

RSF also said that more than 50 media premises have been completely or partially destroyed in Israeli attacks, including the latest on the Agence France-Presse bureau in Gaza.

A first group of 20 to 25 Canadians was evacuated out of Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt on Tuesday and another 80 people are expected to leave later in the day, Canada's foreign ministry said.

"Canadian officials are on the Egyptian side of the border welcoming them and ready to bring them to safety to Cairo," the ministry said in a statement, adding that "the situation is quite fluid and unpredictable".

Canada said Israel told it last week that more than 400 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members would be able to leave Gaza in the coming days. The Rafah crossing though was closed on Nov. 4 and 5 and reopened late on Monday.

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen earlier told reporters that the first group was "now safe and sound in Egypt and we're very, very happy."

(Reuters)

The United States said Tuesday it has assisted 400 of its citizens, residents and their relatives to leave the war-battered Gaza Strip after the reopening of a crossing into Egypt.

"We have assisted more than 400 US citizens, lawful permanent residents and other eligible individuals to depart Gaza," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said, an update from a weekend figure of some 300 leaving.

It was unclear how many other Americans were still waiting to leave.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate hearing last week that the United States was tracking some 400 US citizens and another 600 of their family members who were seeking to leave Gaza.

Their plight became a key priority for Washington, with Palestinian-American groups suing the State Department alleging double standards after evacuations of Israeli-Americans.

President Joe Biden on November 1 publicly hailed the first departures of Americans which came after diplomacy with Egypt and Qatar, which has relations with Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The crossing was closed again on Saturday and Sunday over a dispute on the passage of ambulances.

In a televised statement on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said there would be no ceasefire or fuel delivery to Gaza before Hamas released Israeli hostages and repeated a call on Palestinian civilians to move south for their own safety. "We will not stop," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also said that Israel's military was encircling Gaza City and operating inside it as it pressed on with its month-long war on Gaza.

The United States said Tuesday it opposed a new long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "overall security" of the territory following the war.

"Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Sirens were sounded in Tel Aviv after rockets were fired from Gaza. They were reportedly intercepted.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has claimed that his troops were in the heart of Gaza City after advancing from the north and south.

He also claimed that Gaza's Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was isolated in his bunker, as he reaffirmed that there would be no ceasefire deal before hostages taken by Hamas were returned to Israel.

On clashes happening on the Lebanese border, Gallant said Israel had "no intention" in fighting a war with Hezbollah, but warned that Lebanon would "be eliminated" if Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah "carried out a mistake."

Head of the government media office in the Gaza Strip, Salama Maarouf, gave an update on the number of people killed, missing and displaced in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war on 7 October, during a press conference Tuesday evening.

He said 1.5 million displaced Palestinians were staying in shelters, including over 50,000 at Al-Shifa hospital alone which Israel has threatened to bomb.

More than 13,500 dead and missing. Among the dead are 192 medical staff.

Maarouf said, contrary to Israeli claims about the southern portion of Gaza being safe for civilians to move to, 46% of total deaths are of Palestinians from the south.

"1,021 people who left northern Gaza to the south were killed," he said.

Maarouf also revealed some figures on the structural damage caused by Israel’s relentless strikes on the enclave.

• More than 30,000 tons of explosives dropped on Gaza since 7 Oct.
• Water and sanitation infrastructure destroyed or heavily damaged
• 10,200 residential buildings completely destroyed
• 222,000 residential buildings damaged
• 88 government buildings completely destroyed
• 237 schools damaged
• 56 mosques completely destroyed
• 3 churches heavily damaged in northern and central Gaza Strip

The United States has helped more than 400 U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and other eligible people to depart Gaza, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday called on pro-Palestinian groups to call off a march against the Gaza war scheduled to take place in London on Armistice Day.

The organisers of the rally have so far defied pleas from the British capital's Metropolitan police force to postpone the demonstration planned for this Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

"We continue to believe that planning protests on Armistice Day is provocative and disrespectful, and we urge organisers to reconsider," Sunak's spokesman told reporters.

He added that the government would "carefully consider any application" from the police to stop the protest from going ahead.

Abed, a videographer, is among Palestinian journalists still alive in the Gaza Strip under Israeli bombs.

He tirelessly moves from one site to the next to document the crimes Israel commits against the Palestinians in Gaza, such as those killed by the Israeli airstrikes on their houses without warning. 

Of the many things he misses in his life, his family, friends, and neighbourhood, Abed often finds himself acutely missing the home-cooked meals he used to have. 

Read the full article here.

The number of evacuees moving from Gaza into Egypt rose on Tuesday, a day after the Rafah border crossing was re-opened.

At least 320 foreign nationals and dependents passed through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, the only border crossing not controlled by Israel, along with 100 Egyptians, an Egyptian security source said.

The border crossing was closed on Saturday and Sunday after an Israeli strike on an ambulance that was heading to Rafah. Egyptian security sources said Egypt was continuing to press for increased aid and fuel into the strip and security for ambulances.

Jordan's foreign ministry said 262 Jordanians were evacuated on Tuesday, out of a total of 569 that had been stuck in Gaza following the outbreak of fighting there.

However, only four injured Gazans were allowed through, a medical source said, to join dozens of others who are being treated in Egyptian hospitals.

Mexico will not break diplomatic relations with Israel over the war on Gaza, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday, urging political leaders to work for a peaceful solution to the dispute.

Lopez Obrador was speaking at a regular government press conference.

Some rockets fired by Hamas' armed wing in the Gaza Strip landed in the Israeli settlement of Ashdod, north of the Palestinian enclave.

Videos shared online showed smoke billowing from Ashdod and rocket shrapnel.

⚡️Rocket fell in Ashdod

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors)

🇮🇱🇵🇸 - Shrapnel fell in Ashdod, as a result of Hamas rockets from Gaza.

— War Watch (@WarWatchs)

Turkey's parliament removed Coca-Cola and Nestle products from its restaurants on Tuesday over their alleged support for Israel amid the war on Gaza, according to an official statement and a source who named the two companies.

The two companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The products of companies that support Israel will not be sold in restaurants, cafeterias and tea houses in the parliament campus," Turkey's Grand National Assembly said, without identifying the companies.

Speaker Numan Kurtulmus made the decision, it added, in order to "support public sensitivity regarding boycotting products of companies who have openly declared their support for Israel's war crimes (and) killing of innocent people in Gaza".

A parliamentary source said Coca-Cola beverages and Nestle instant coffee were the only brands removed from menus, adding the decision was meant to respond to "huge public outcry against these companies" for supporting Israel.

Neither the parliament statement nor the source specified how Coca-Cola and Nestle supported Israel's war effort.

Turkish activists have in recent days named both companies in social media posts that call for boycotts of Israeli goods and Western companies they view as endorsing Israel.

The Turkish parliament's move is among the first by a government or major organisation to target big global brands over Israel's unprecedented bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Tuesday that the Lebanese militant group would respond "double" to any Israeli attacks on civilians after a strike that killed three children and their grandmother in south Lebanon.

The remarks reflect the volatile situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, where deadly clashes between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are fuelling fears of a wider regional war while Israel invades the Gaza Strip.

"The resistance will respond double to any aggression that targets civilians," Ali Fayyad said at the funeral of the four Lebanese killed in the south on Sunday.

"It hasn't yet shown all its weight," he said, referring to the powerful paramilitary group. He did not elaborate.

More than 100 French nationals and their dependents have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, the foreign ministry in Paris said Tuesday.

"Two groups of French nationals, officials and rights holders were able to leave" on Monday and Tuesday from Gaza and are now "in safety in Egypt," the ministry said in a statement.

The departures "bring the number of exits organised by France to more than 100 people," it added.

The first group of Canadians has also been evacuated out of Gaza through the Rafah, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said on Tuesday.

"They are now safe and sound in Egypt and we're very, very happy," he told reporters.

At least 20 rockets were fired from south Lebanon into Israel, 6 of which were intercepted and 14 landed in "open areas," the Israeli army said.

Initial reports had said the rockets were fired from Syria.

The Israeli army shelled eastern south Lebanon from where the missiles were reportedly fired in response.

🔴 فيديو من الجولان المحتل لاعتراض بعض الصواريخ التي انطلقت من لبنان

📌 الجيش الإسرائيلي في بيان محدّث: تم رصد حوالي 20 صاروخا عبرت الأراضي اللبنانية إلى إسرائيل. وتهاجم قوات الجيش الإسرائيلي مصادر النيران بنيران المدفعية

— جنوبية | Janoubia (@janoubia_news)

Visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein on Tuesday urged for calm to return to Lebanon's southern border with Israel, after weeks of skirmishes following the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

"The United States does not want to see conflict in Gaza escalating and expanding into Lebanon," Hochstein told a press conference in Beirut.

"Restoring calm along the southern border is of utmost importance to the United States and it should be the highest priority for both Lebanon and Israel," he added.

Hochstein urged all parties to use Resolution 1701 "and fully implement it", following a meeting with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

Hundreds of foreign passport holders line up at Rafah with hopes of crossing into Egypt

Hundreds of Palestinian foreign passport holders waited on Tuesday inside the war-hit and besieged Gaza Strip to escape through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Tuesday was set to mark the fifth day on which Gaza's sole land crossing not controlled by Israel has opened in the past week, to wounded Palestinians as well as foreigners and Palestinian dual nationals.

AFP video footage from the Gaza side showed hundreds waiting with suitcases, bags and other scant belongings at the Rafah terminal complex.

"We were suffering just like any Gazan resident, we waited a long time for the crossing to open," said Farid Nawasra, who holds a Russian passport.

"We were waiting every day for our names to be added to the list, and we hope today that they allow us to pass, as they allowed other foreigners to pass."

Departures from the Gaza Strip were expected to resume for many more on Tuesday afternoon after 500 people had received authorisation to enter Egypt, Hamas officials said.

Half a million Gazans facing 'severe' food shortages: NGO

Half a million people in northern Gaza are facing severe food shortages and life-threatening illnesses due to the acute lack of food and water, the NGO ActionAid said.

ActionAid warned that a near-total depletion of food and water supplies will further endangering the lives of Palestinians suffering under intense Israeli bombardment and a dire humanitarian situation. Markets running out of vital food supplies, the NGO stressed.

"Nearly a month into the crisis, over half a million people, trapped in northern Gaza who have barely survived the relentless bombing, face death by starvation as food supplies run perilously low," ActionAid's Riham Jafari said.

"Aid is still trickling into Gaza, but even the small amounts of food and water that make it over the border are barely able to be transported north, as roads have been destroyed in the near-constant bombardment."

Video online shows Gazans mass leaving their homes in 'likely forced expulsion'

A video published by an Israeli army spokesperson on social media seemingly shows scores of Gazans leaving their homes as they head southwards of the war-torn territory on the Salah al-Din route, possibly suggesting that they were expelled from their homes.

The residents could be seen carrying their belongings and waving white flags.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Hussam Zomlot, shared the video online. The top diplomat expressed fears that a second Nakba (catastrophe) could be underway in the besieged territory.

Invading Israeli tanks are in to force the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes. We have warned repeatedly that Israel is planning for and implementing a 2nd . And the world is still debating whether to call for a ?

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot)

In 1948, around 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly removed from their homes by Israeli militia, during the creation of the state of Israel.

The events of that year, which have been described as an ethnic cleansing by many scholars, was called the Nakba.

Turkey-Israel trade decreases by 50% following Gaza war

Trade between Israel and Turkey has decreased by 50 percent since the Israel's indiscriminate war on Gaza erupted on October 7, the Turkish trade minister said on Tuesday during an official visit to Kuwait.

"From October 7, we notice that mutual trade (between Turkey and Israel) decreased by more than 50 percent compared to last year," Omer Bolat told a news conference via an Arabic translator.

(Reuters)

Hezbollah will respond 'double' to Israeli attacks on Lebanese nationals

A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Tuesday that the Lebanese group would respond "double" to any Israeli attacks on civilians after a strike that killed three children and their grandmother in south Lebanon on Sunday.

"The resistance will respond double to any aggression that targets civilians," Ali Fayyad said at the funeral of the four Lebanese killed in the south on Sunday.

"It hasn't yet shown all its weight," he said, referring to the powerful Iran-backed group. He did not elaborate.

An Israeli strike had hit the car in which the woman, Samira Ayoub, and three grandchildren aged between 10 and 14 were travelling in between the villages of Aynata and Aitaroun in southern Lebanon.

The victim is the sister of Lebanese journalist Samir Ayoub.

Israel and Lebanon have exchanged multiple rounds of fire along the border since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

(Reuters and ������ Staff)

Turkey removes Coca Cola, Nestle items from restaurants over alleged Israel support

Turkey's parliament removed Coca Cola and Nestle products from its restaurants on Tuesday over their alleged support for Israel amid the conflict in Gaza, according to a parliament statement and a source who named the two companies.

The two companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It was decided that the products of companies that support Israel will not be sold in restaurants, cafeterias and tea houses in the parliament campus," said the statement, which said the decision had been taken by parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus and did not identify the companies.

A parliamentary source said Coca-Cola beverages and Nestle instant coffee were the only brands removed from the menu.

The source said the decision was taken in response to public demand.

"The parliament speaker's office did not remain indifferent to the public outcry and decided to remove products of these companies from the menu of cafes and restaurants in parliament," the source said.

Both companies have been named in social media posts in recent days by Turkish activists calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and Western companies they view as endorsing Israel.

(Reuters)

Germany to send 71 million euros worth of aid for Palestinians

Germany has decided to release 71 million euros ($75.80 million) in aid as part of an ongoing review of its support for Palestinians, and has pledged an additional 20 million euros in new funding, the development ministry said on Tuesday.

Germany responded to Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel by temporarily suspending its development aid to the Palestinian Territories pending review.

"Due to the fragile situation in the region, the review has not yet been fully completed," a statement from the ministry said.

However, it said the review has focused on continuing support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), given the needs of people in the Gaza Strip and the increasingly unstable situation in neighbouring countries.

The total sum of 91 million euros will go towards providing basic services for displaced people in the Gaza Strip and assistance for Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

The UNRWA activities funded by Germany will focus on the permanent provision of drinking water as well as hygiene and sanitation in emergency shelters for internally displaced people in Gaza, the ministry said.

Hamas' armed wing Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said it was close to freeing 12 hostages of dual nationality days ago, but that this was obstructed by Israel's continued bombardment of Gaza.

Hamas has already freed four of the more than 200 hostages it has, many of whom are of dual nationality.

The Gaza Strip's health ministry said the death toll from Israel's bombardment has reached 10,328, including 4,237 children.

"The so-called safe [humanitarian] corridors have become corridors of death," said the ministry.

Israel's attacks on innocent civilians in Gaza are disproportionate, Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters on Monday after meeting Jordan's King Abdullah in Brussels.

"Bombing down a refugee camp because it allegedly houses one Hamas leader is completely disproportionate. It is never acceptable that so many civilian casualties are caused trying to eliminate one person."

"Civilians and civilian places must be protected, but of course Hamas cannot use them as a shelter either because that only complicates matters."

He also said both Israel and Hamas disregard international humanitarian law on a daily basis.

He added that Hamas should also release as soon as possible innocent hostages, saying it could be an important part of halting the "spiral of violence".

China's special envoy for Middle East issues, Zhai Jun, met with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on Tuesday and exchanged views on the Israel-Hamas war and other topics, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

A Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip and another was wounded, the official Palestinian news agency reported Tuesday.

Mohammad Abu Hasira was the latest among dozens of journalists killed in the month-long war on Gaza.

مقتل الصحافي في وكالة "وفا" محمد أبو حصيرة و42 من عائلته، من بينهم أبناؤه وإخوانه، في قصف إسرائيلي استهدف منزلهم في مدينة غزة.

— Samir Kassir Eyes (@SK_Eyes)

He "was killed in an Israeli bombing that targeted his house located near the fishermen's port west of Gaza City," WAFA news agency said.

WAFA reported that Abu Hasira "and 42 members of his family, including his sons and brothers" were killed in the strike.

The news press service in the Gaza Strip said the bombardment that killed Abu Hasira took place overnight between Sunday and Monday, but that his body was only found in the rubble on Tuesday.

Three armed drones were shot down on Tuesday over Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where U.S. forces and other international forces are stationed, in two separate attacks, Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service said in a statement.

The defence system at a military base near the airport successfully defended against the drones, the statement said. There were no casualties or damage to infrastructure, a U.S. Defense Department official said.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attacks, the latest in a series on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria as tensions soar in the Middle East over Israel's war on Gaza.

Footage from the Drone Attack tonight on U.S. Forces at Erbil Air Force Base in Northern Iraq showing the Impact of at least 1 Drone inside of the Fence surrounding the Base; in the Second Video after the Attack you can see the launch of a Raytheon “Coyote” Counter-UAS which is…

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender)

Dozens of Palestinian security forces' members will declare 'disobedience' unless Palestinian president Abbas declares 'total confrontation' with Israel, a statement made public through Telegram by an alleged group calling itself 'The Sons Of Abu Jandal' said on Monday, 6 November. 

Read the full story here.

Over 160 healthcare workers have been killed on duty in Gaza since 7 October, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The Kremlin called on Tuesday for "humanitarian pauses" during Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, and it described the humanitarian situation there as "catastrophic".

Russia will continue contacts with Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians to help ensure that humanitarian supplies can be delivered into Gaza, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular briefing.

Four Palestinian men killed by Israeli forces on Monday in Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank have been laid to rest.

163 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war on 7 October.

جماهير غفيرة تُشيّع جثامين الشهداء جهاد شحادة، عز الدين عواد، قاسم رجب ومؤمن بلعاوي في مخيم طولكرم الذين اغتالتهم قوة خاصة "إسرائيلية" يوم أمس

— القسطل الاخباري | القدس (@AlQastalps)

Al-Quds hospital in the Gaza Strip is 36 hours away from shutting down as it runs out of fuel, the Gaza's Red Crescent has told Alhadath TV.

Israel launched more than 250 airstrikes on Gaza last night, "resulting in multiple massacres," the territory's government's media office said Tuesday.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a remark by an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza had raised a huge number of questions.

Asked in a radio interview about a hypothetical nuclear option, Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu had replied: "That's one way."

"This has raised a huge number of questions," Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, was quoted as saying by state RIA news agency.

Zakharova said the main issue was that Israel appeared to have admitted that it had nuclear weapons.

Israel does not publicly acknowledge it has nuclear weapons though the Federation of American Scientists estimates Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads.

"Question number one - it turns out that we are hearing official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons?" Zakharova said.

If so, she said, then where are the International Atomic Energy Agency and international nuclear inspectors?

Indonesia denied on Tuesday an Israeli claim that a hospital built in Gaza using Indonesian funding sits atop a network of Hamas tunnels and is located near a launchpad for rocket attacks.

The hospital, situated in the north of the Gaza Strip near the fortified border with Israel, was built using Indonesian charity funds.

"The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza is a facility built by the Indonesian people entirely for humanitarian purposes and to serve the medical needs of the Palestinian people in Gaza," Indonesia's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement came a day after Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Indonesian Hospital had been built at a site that sat on top of a network of Hamas tunnels.

He also said Hamas was using a nearby area as a base to launch rockets into Israel.

"I will show you the reason why they built the hospital there. Unsurprisingly, Hamas built the hospital on top of their terror infrastructures," Hagari said in a video statement posted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on YouTube.

How Israel is using social media propaganda to build a case for bombing hospitals, especially Al Shifa which houses more than 50,000 displaced Palestinians:

— ������ (@The_NewArab)

"Here, the IDF identified a launch pad, meaning they launch rockets from here," he added, pointing to what he said was photographic evidence of his claim.

Iqbal refuted the claims about the hospital, which, like other medical centres in war-ravaged Gaza, is currently treating patients far beyond its capacity.

The Indonesian charity that operates the hospital, MER-C, also denied the facility was used by Hamas.

"What Israel accused us of can be a precondition for them to launch an attack at the Indonesian hospital in Gaza," MER-C chief Sarbini Abdul Murad said in Jakarta on Monday.

The "IDF's accusation is a precondition to justify attacks against us, therefore we need to debunk it", Murad added.

Hamas has repeatedly denied Israeli accusations that hospitals and other civilian infrastructure are being used by its operatives.

Three young girls and their grandmother killed in an Israeli strike on south Lebanon Sunday evening were laid to rest on Tuesday in the southern village of Blida.

يشيّع لبنان اليوم الشهيدات الـ4، السيدة سميرة عبد الحسين أيوب والأطفال: ريماس، تالين، وليان شور، في بلدة بليدا..
"إسرائيل" فعلت هذا.. "إسرائيل" قاتلة الأطفال..

— فاطمة فتوني | Fatima ftouni (@ftounifatima)

The Israeli army has called on 10,000 people in the Upper Galilee along the Lebanon border to remain in shelters over a possible security escalation, as quoted by Alaraby TV.

Israel continued to strike villages in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

The Red Crescent in the Gaza Strip said it had information that moving wounded patients out of the enclave via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt has resumed, as quoted by Alaraby TV.