Iraq’s PM dismisses Israeli complaint over attacks by Iraqi militias
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has dismissed an Israeli complaint to the UN Security Council about strikes by Iraq’s Shia militias on Israel as a “pretext and argument to attack Iraq” and to “expand the war in the region”.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar earlier posted on X a letter to the Security Council saying: “Israel has the inherent right to self-defence … and to take all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens against the ongoing acts of hostilities by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.”
An umbrella group of Iraqi militias, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, has regularly launched drone strikes on targets in Israel in recent months in support of its Hamas and Hezbollah allies in the ongoing wars in the Middle East.
Saar said some of the militias are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shia armed groups, and urged the Iraqi government to “take immediate action to halt and prevent these attacks”.
Al-Sudani’s office said in a statement that Iraq has refused to enter into the regional conflict while “seeking to provide relief to the Palestinian and Lebanese people”.
Netanyahu announces $5m reward for each Gaza captive freed
Netanyahu says Israel is offering a reward of $5m to anybody who returns a captive held in Gaza by Hamas.
“Anybody who brings out a hostage will find with us a secure way for them and their family to leave [Gaza],” Netanyahu said in a video filmed inside the Palestinian territory. “We will also give them a reward of $5m for each hostage.”
Earlier, Netanyahu said Israel has not given up trying to locate the remaining captives.
Anything but a ceasefire...
Palestinian Canadians condemn ‘betrayal’ of faltering Gaza visa scheme
Palestinian Canadians have renewed their calls for Canada to take concrete action to get their loved ones out of the Gaza Strip, slamming a temporary Gaza visa scheme launched this year as a failure.
“It’s been over a year now, and I’m still asking that my family – stranded in Gaza, under the continuous threat of losing their lives at any moment – be treated with the same urgency, the same humanity, that Canada extended to others,” said Omar Omar, a representative of the advocacy group Gazan Families.
Protesters hold Palestinian flags during a rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
