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This was published 2 years ago

Israel-Hamas conflict as it happened: Netanyahu praises IDF advance into Gaza City; UN says Palestinians at risk of genocide

Patrick Hatch and Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Updated ,first published

Key Posts

Key signal on Hezbollah’s direction expected tonight
Blinken lands in Israel
France working to defuse tensions between Israel and Hezbollah
UAE warns of regional security risks
More evacuees to leave Gaza as Rafah crossing set to open for third time
Mines and booby traps as Israeli soldiers press into Gaza City
Biden signals veto after US Republicans approve military aid for Israel
Palestinian TV reporter the 36th journalist to die in conflict
Two more Australians flee Gaza via Rafah crossing
Gaza patients at risk in ‘indescribable’ situation: WHO

Key signal on Hezbollah’s direction expected tonight

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Thank you for joining me on the blog this afternoon. I’m Caitlin Fitzsimmons and I’m signing off for the evening. My colleagues will keep you updated with any major events.

One thing to look out for, along with any details from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel today and Jordan tomorrow, is a key signal on Hezbollah’s direction expected late tonight.

The Washington Post reports that Hezbollah’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah, is expected to make a speech tonight. He has so far been publicly silent on whether he favours reining in the attacks or expanding them.

The Lebanese militant group, which like Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Australia, has seemed increasingly ready to escalate its own fight. In the past week, the militant group has deployed new weapons and struck harder and deeper into Israel, fanning fears of a full-blown war.

Yesterday Hezbollah announced it had struck 19 positions in Israel simultaneously. It also announced its first use of self-detonating drones.

For those just catching up, here are the main developments today.

  • The Israeli military says it has encircled Gaza City - its forces are on three sides and the fourth side is the sea.
  • Israeli soldiers have started pushing into the city, encountering mines and other booby traps as Hamas militants make the most of their network of tunnels.
  • The death toll since October 7 stands at 9061 Palestinians (according to Hamas) and about 1400 Israelis (according to Israel). More than 200 people are believed to be held hostage in Gaza.
  • Two more Australians made it across the Rafah crossing when it opened for the second time, and it’s opening for a third time today.
  • US Republicans approved military aid for Israel but no humanitarian aid for Palestinians, in a bill that will face defeat in the Senate or ultimately a veto by President Joe Biden.

Blinken lands in Israel

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has landed in Tel Aviv for his second trip to the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Before leaving Washington, Blinken said he would discuss concrete steps to minimise harm to civilians in Gaza, and is expected to formally call for humanitarian causes.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking to reporters before leaving Washington DC.Reuters

The White House said any pauses in fighting should be temporary and localised, and insisted they would not stop Israel defending itself.

Blinken told reporters in Washington his discussions with officials in Israel and Jordan would also broach issues of post-war planning.

France working to defuse tensions between Israel and Hezbollah

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France has passed messages to Hezbollah and Israel to not destabilise the United Nations’ Lebanon peacekeeping force UNIFIL and said that any broadening of the Hamas-Israel war to Lebanon would plunge the country “into an abyss”.

France has sought to use its historical relationship with Lebanon to try to defuse tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but violence has spiked. Some 700 French soldiers are part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) established in 1978 following violence on the Israel-Lebanon border.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu.AP

Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told France Info radio said: “It is clear that we must not put UNIFIL in an untenable situation in which it will not be able to carry out the mission that the United Nations has given it.

“This is the message we are sending to the various actors, on the Lebanese side as well as on the Israeli side.”

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Councils grapple with whether to allow ‘Kidnapped’ posters

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Posters highlighting the kidnapping of hostages by Hamas have been torn down by North Sydney Council, while other Sydney councils are leaving them in place to avoid exacerbating tensions in the community.

A North Sydney Council employee removing illegally placed posters highlighting the hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.James Brickwood

A council ranger was on Friday seen removing “Kidnapped” posters showing the names and faces of people believed to be imprisoned in Gaza after the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7. A council spokesperson said it was policy to remove all posters from council properties.

By contrast, a spokesperson for the City of Sydney said he was aware of posters supporting both Israeli and Palestinian civilians, but the city had decided to leave them in place “in an effort to avoid inflaming tensions”.

Read the full story by Julie Power and Angus Thomson.

UAE warns of regional security risks

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Gulf Arab power the United Arab Emirates has warned that there was a real risk of a regional spillover from the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, adding that it was working “relentlessly” to secure a humanitarian ceasefire.

Noura al-Kaabi, a minister of state for foreign affairs, told a policy conference in the capital, Abu Dhabi: “As we continue working to stop this war we cannot ignore the wider context and the necessity to turn down the regional temperature that is approaching a boiling point.

“The risk of regional spillover and further escalation is real, as well as the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation to advance ideologies that will keep us locked in cycles of violence.”

Reuters

More evacuees to leave Gaza as Rafah crossing set to open for third time

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt was due to open for a third day on Friday for limited evacuations under a Qatari-brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out of the enclave.

According to border officials, more than 700 foreign citizens left for Egypt via Rafah on the two previous days.

Wounded Palestinians enter the Rafah crossing yesterday to receive medical care for the first time since the war began.Getty

That includes 23 Australian citizens, permanent residents, visa holders and their family members who left in the first crossing and are now in Cairo, and another two who left at the second opportunity. About 60 Australians remain in the territory.

Dozens of critically injured Palestinians were to cross too. Israel asked foreign countries to send hospital ships for them.

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Mines and booby traps as Israeli soldiers press into Gaza City

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Turning now to a military update on Gaza, Israel says its troops have completely encircled Gaza City, but it is tough going on the ground.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters his country’s “troops completed the encirclement of Gaza City, which is the focal point of the Hamas terror organisation”.

Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, chief of Israel’s military engineers, said troops were encountering mines and booby traps.

“Hamas has learned and prepared itself well,” he said.

Monique Ryan defends record on Israel after Gaza post

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In case you missed it earlier, Kooyong independent MP Monique Ryan has defended her stance on the Israel-Hamas war after the principal of a prominent Jewish school in her electorate published a letter criticising her stance.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Ryan wrote: “We have no greater responsibility than protecting our children. As a paediatrician, I find the human suffering in Gaza intolerable.

“I join my medical colleagues from around the world in calling for a humanitarian pause so that aid can reach people in desperate need.”

Monique Ryan said the principal’s statement misrepresented her positions on the Israel-Hamas conflict.Alex Ellinghausen

Yesterday Bialik College principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner said it was “unacceptable” that Israel’s suffering wasn’t mentioned in the teal MP’s social media post calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza.

Debunking myths circulating about the Israel-Hamas conflict

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In a quote usually attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy, it’s often said that truth is the first casualty of war.

In that vein, let’s take a closer look at the latest misinformation spreading online – and the facts.

Children look at photographs of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas.AP

CLAIM: Yemen has declared war against Israel.

THE FACTS: Yemen’s internationally recognised government has not declared war on Israel. Houthi rebels backed by Iran, which control the country’s capital, launched missiles at Israeli targets and threatened further attacks, but also did not declare war.

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Thai citizens bear heaviest toll after Palestinians and Israelis

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

As reports trickle in about Australia and other countries working to bring their citizens and residents home, spare a thought for Thailand.

Chris Barrett and Nuttakarn Sumon report that there were more than 30,000 mostly Thai farm labourers in Israel when Hamas carried out its deadly attacks on October 7.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has urged them to return home, and nearly 9000 have done so on government-arranged repatriation flights.

Anucha Angkaew, a Thai farm worker captured by Hamas from an Israeli kibbutz on October 7. He is pictured with his daughter, who is now 7.

Thavisin has said 32 of its citizens were slain, a greater toll than any nationality besides Israelis and Palestinians. And of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, 22 are Thai farmworkers.

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