Page 37 - Gaza Conflict

US colleges strike deals with pro-palestinian protestors to end protests

Anti-war demonstrations ceased this week at a small number of US universities after school leaders struck deals with pro-Palestinian protesters, fending off possible disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies. The agreements at schools including Brown, Northwestern and Rutgers stand out amidst the chaotic scenes and 2,400-plus arrests on 46 campuses nationwide since April 17. Tent encampments and building takeovers have disrupted classes at some schools, including Columbia and UCLA. Deals included commitments by universities to review their investments in Israel or hear calls to stop doing business with the longtime US ally. Many protester demands have zeroed in on links to the Israeli military as the war grinds on in Gaza. The agreements to even discuss divestment mark a major shift on an issue that has been controversial for years, with opponents of a long-running campaign to boycott Israel saying it veers into antisemitism. But while the colleges have made concessions .

Famine in northern Gaza is already 'full-blown', says UN official

A top UN official said Friday that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in full-blown famine" after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. Cindy McCain, the American director of the UN World Food Programme, became the most prominent international official so far to declare that trapped civilians in the most cut-off part of Gaza had gone over the brink into famine. It's horror," McCain told NBC's Meet the Press in an interview to air Sunday. There is famine full-blown famine in the north, and it's moving its way south." She said a cease-fire and a greatly increased flow of aid through land and sea routes was essential to confronting the growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which controls entrance into Gaza and says it is beginning to allow in more food and other humanitarian aid through land crossings. The panel that

Bad news for exports: Houthis may strike more ships beyond Red Sea

Attack on MSC Orion could portend new round of threats from Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis

Turkey confirms it's halting trade with Israel because of war in Gaza

Turkiye's Trade Ministry says the country is halting imports and exports to Israel over its ongoing military actions in Gaza. A ministry statement on Thursday said export and import transactions in relation to Israel have been stopped, covering all products. It described the step as the second phase of measures against Israel, adding that the country would implement other steps against Israel until it allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Last month, Turkiye a staunch critic of Israel announced that it was restricting exports of 54 types of products to Israel with immediate effect. They include aluminum, steel, construction products and chemical fertilisers. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz sharply criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying in a post on X that Turkiye is breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

Destruction of housing in Gaza unprecedented, not seen since WW2: UN

The world hasn't seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel's bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The UN assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 has been increasing in an exponential manner. It called the level of casualties 5 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population -- unprecedented in such a short time. By mid-April, it said, over 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and more than 80,000 injured. About 7,000 others remain missing, most believed to be buried under the rubble. Every additional day that this war continues is exacting huge and compounding costs to Gazans and all Palestinians said United Nations Development Program Administrator Achim Steiner. The report by UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for ..

Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of protestors

Law enforcement on the UCLA campus donned riot gear on Wednesday evening as they ordered the dispersal of over a thousand people who had gathered in support of a pro-Palestinian student encampment, warning over loudspeakers that anyone who refused to leave could face arrest. A small city sprang up inside the barricaded encampment, full of hundreds of people and tents on the campus quad. Some protesters prayed as the sun set over the campus, while others chanted we're not leaving or passed out goggles and surgical masks. They wore helmets and headscarves, and discussed the best ways to handle pepper spray or tear gas as someone sang over a megaphone. A few constructed homemade shields out of plywood in case they clashed with police forming skirmish lines elsewhere on the campus. Meanwhile, a large crowd of students, alumni and neighbours gathered on campus steps outside the tents, sitting as they listened and applauded various speakers and joined in pro-Palestinian chants. A small ..

UCLA draws flak for failure to act to stop attack on pro-Palestinian camps

Administrators and campus police at UCLA faced intense criticism Wednesday for failing to act quickly to stop an attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus by counter-demonstrators who threw traffic cones and chairs, released pepper spray and tore down barriers. Some pro-Palestinian demonstrators fought back, and skirmishes continued for hours before outside law enforcement agencies were called to intervene. No one was arrested, and at least 15 protesters suffered injuries in the confrontation, part of a recent spate of escalating violence that's occurring on some college campuses nationally over the Israel-Hamas war. The community needs to feel the police are protecting them, not enabling others to harm them, Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said in a news conference on the Los Angeles campus later Wednesday, where some Muslim students detailed the overnight events. The call for more police intervention at UCLA stood in stark contrast to

Hope Palestine application for UN membership will be reconsidered: India

India has voiced hope that Palestine's bid to become a full member of the United Nations, which was blocked by the US last month, will be reconsidered and its endeavour to become a member of the world organisation will get endorsed. The US vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council on a Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations last month. The 15-nation Council had voted on a draft resolution that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations. The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto. To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. While we have noted that Palestine's application for membership at the United Nations was not approved

We will break diplomatic ties with Israel over war in Gaza: Colombia Prez

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday announced his government will break diplomatic relations with Israel effective Thursday in the latest escalation of tensions between the countries over the Israel-Hamas war. Petro again described Israel's siege of Gaza as genocide. He previously suspended purchases of weapons from Israel and compared that country's actions in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany. Tomorrow, diplomatic relations with the State of Israel will be broken for having a genocidal president, Petro said during an International Workers' Day march in Colombia's capital. If Palestine dies, humanity dies, and we are not going to let it die. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly rebuked Petro's comments on the platform X. History will remember that Gustavo Petro decided to side with the most despicable monsters known to mankind who burned babies, murdered children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians, he said. Weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southe

Columbia University vows to expel protestors as demonstrations rise in US

Columbia University vowed to expel protesters who occupied a building on the New York college's grounds Tuesday as universities nationwide grapple with intensifying campus demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war. More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested on campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut and New Jersey in recent days, some after violent clashes with police in riot gear. The White House condemned the standoffs at Columbia and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where protesters had occupied two buildings until officers with batons intervened overnight and arrested 25 people. Officials estimated the northern California campus' total damage to be upwards of USD 1 million. President Joe Biden believes students occupying an academic building is absolutely the wrong approach, and not an example of peaceful protest, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. New York City Mayor Eric Adams clai

Student protest against Gaza war: What is happening in colleges across US

Officials are trying to resolve the protests as the academic year winds down, but students have dug in at several high-profile universities

Protests escalate in US; students raise Palestinian flag at Harvard

Last week, 275 pro-Palestinian protesters were detained at multiple campuses, including the Indiana University at Bloomington, Northeastern University in Boston, and Arizona State University

Protests over Gaza conflict roils US campuses ahead of graduations

Protests are roiling college campuses across the US as upcoming graduation ceremonies are threatened by disruptive demonstrators, with students and others sparring over Israel's military offensive in Gaza and its mounting death toll. Many campuses were largely quiet over the weekend as demonstrators stayed by tents erected as protest headquarters, although a few colleges saw forced removals and arrests. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel over the large-scale operation in Gaza it says was launched to stamp out the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Protesters on both sides of the rancourous debate shouted and shoved each other during duelling demonstrations Sunday at the University of California, Los Angeles. The university stepped up security after some physical altercations broke out among demonstrators, Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, said in a statement. There were no reports of arrests or injuries. About 27

Gaza war: Can International Criminal Court arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu?

The International Criminal Court could also be considering arrest warrants for Hamas leaders

Highlights of the day: Voters will score such 'goal' in phase 3, INDI alliance will vanish says PM

From Hamas looking into latest ceasefire proposal from Israel to the developments of the Lok Sabha polls, catch all the latest news from around the world here

Turkiye ships planning to deliver aid to Gaza denied right to sail

A three-ship flotilla planning to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid from Turkiye was prevented from sailing by Guinea-Bissau authorities, which took down their country's flags from two ships, organizers said. Just before the flotilla was set to sail from Turkiye to Gaza on Friday with 5,000 tons of aid, a surprise inspection by the Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry resulted in the removal of the flags from two of the Freedom Flotilla ships. A press release by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition described the cancellation of the vessels' registry as a blatantly political move, adding: "Without a flag, we cannot sail. The organizers blamed Israel for applying pressure to prevent the flotilla. It is obvious, and I think it is publicly known, that there has been close contact between Israel and the president of Guinea-Bissau, organizer and steering committee member Torstein Dahle told The Associated Press, without elaborating. He said that hundreds of Turkish and international ...

Hamas looking into latest ceasefire counterproposal from Israel army

Earlier this week, the US and 17 other nations pressed Hamas to release their citizens who are missing or held hostage in Gaza, in a bid to revive cease-fire talks

US announces new Patriot missiles for Ukraine as part of $6 bn aid package

The US will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defence systems as part of a massive USD 6 billion additional aid package, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday. The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot air defence systems and are part of a package that also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine's existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting. The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the group, which Austin said has moved heaven and earth since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armoured vehicles and even jets to .

Even as US tries to bring aid to Gaza by sea, major concerns remain

The construction of a new port in Gaza and an accompanying US military-built pier offshore are underway, but the complex plan to bring more desperately-needed food to Palestinian civilians is still mired in fears over security and how the humanitarian aid will be delivered. The Israeli-developed port, for example, has already been attacked by mortar fire, sending high-ranking UN officials scrambling for shelter this week, and there is still no solid decision on when the aid deliveries will actually begin. While satellite photos show major port construction along the shore near Gaza City, aid groups are making it clear that they have broad concerns about their safety and reservations about how Israeli forces will handle security. Sonali Korde, an official with the US Agency for International Development, said key agreements for security and handling the aid deliveries are still being negotiated. Those include how Israeli forces will operate in Gaza to ensure that aid workers are not

282 mn faced acute hunger in 2023, with the worst famine in Gaza: UN

Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released on Wednesday. The UN report said 24 million more people faced an acute lack of food than in 2022, due to the sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and Sudan. The number of nations with food crises that are monitored has also been expanded. Mximo Torero, chief economist for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, said 705,000 people in five countries are at Phase 5, the highest level, on a scale of hunger determined by international experts the highest number since the global report began in 2016 and quadruple the number that year. Over 80 per cent of those facing imminent famine 577,000 people were in Gaza, he said. South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Mali each host many thousands also facing catastrophic hunger. According to th