Australia denies entry visa to former Israeli justice minister

The Australian government has refused to grant an entry visa to former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked to attend a security conference in Canberra and other events organised by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

Australian media report that Shaked was denied a visa under a section of the country’s Migration Act that allows for the minister to reject the visa if it is believed the applicant could “vilify a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord in the Australian community, or in a segment of that community”.

Shaked, who also held the post of interior minister, has previously given interviews calling for the complete removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, responded by posting a video message to social media attacking Australia’s government for being “anti-Israel” and alleging it had “become anti-Semitic”.

While Australia, a close ally of the US, has remained broadly supportive of Israel since the events of October 7, its position appears to have shifted in recent weeks.

A government review of 66 defence export permits to Israel is currently under way, the country recently voted in favour of a UN resolution recognising the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians over their natural resources, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has declined to object to recent ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

The issue here is not that I didn't get a visa. The issue here is that the current Australian government has become anti-Semitic pic.twitter.com/x1v7xOInpA

— איילת שקד Ayelet Shaked (@Ayelet__Shaked) November 21, 2024

Palestinian children have ‘right to live safely’: Australian protest group

Children around the world are “witnessing the dehumanisation of Palestinian children” and understand “who bears the responsibility for the harrowing, violent reality” faced in Gaza, an Australian protest group says.

A group of children aged six-to-15 will hold a news conference in Melbourne on Sunday to defend the right of Palestinian children to education against “scholasticide” in Gaza and highlight the “annihilation of Palestinian children”, organisers said.

In a statement released ahead of the event, one of the event’s organisers, Nat Calleja, said Australian students who have raised concerns about Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon have had their homework destroyed, faced suspension and have been excluded from activities at school.

“The Children’s Press Conference for Palestine is an assertion that all children in this world, including the children of Palestine, have the right to live safely and free from violence, and every child and young person has the right to express dissent when elected officials fail childhood,” Calleja said.


_{Palestinian children sit in the back of a donkey cart as they are displaced from shelters in Beit Hanoon and cross into the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip following the Israeli army’s forced evacuation orders on November 12}

Former PM Tony Abbott calls for Australia to withdraw from ICC

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called for Australia to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

In a post to social media, Abbott accused the ICC of making “no distinction between terrorist aggression and national self-defence” describing the issuing of warrants for the Israeli leaders as “a shameful travesty”.

“Unless it rethinks, Australia should withdraw from this compromised and conflicted body,” Abbott said.

After being removed as prime minister in a leadership challenge in 2015, Abbott travelled to the UK where he advised the former Conservative government on trade and immigration, including the proposal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Another one preaching international law should have double standards.

Groups urge French government to enforce Netanyahu, Gallant ICC arrest warrants

Eleven organisations have urged the French government to end “the impunity that has prevailed for years” by committing to enforce arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence chief, Yoav Gallant, by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a joint statement, the groups urged the French government to support the ICC “against the pressure” it is facing and to live up to its obligations under international law and arrest war crimes suspects Netanyahu and Gallant should they travel to France.

“The issuance of these arrest warrants is a major step towards ending the impunity that has prevailed for years in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory,” the organisations said.

“We now expect, more than statements, a resolute action by France to execute these arrest warrants.”

Turkey’s Erdogan welcomes ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his support for the ICC arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

“Countries that make speeches about democracy and human rights are fuelling the oppression with their support for Israel instead of trying to stop the massacres and genocide,” he said at a civil society event in Istanbul, Turkey.

“The blood of those martyred and injured in Palestine has spilled not only on their killers but also on those who did not stop them,” Erdogan said.

He accused the international community, including the media, of “turning a blind eye to the crimes against humanity committed in Palestine, Lebanon and many other regions”.

ICC warrants are binding, EU states cannot pick and choose: Borrell

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has said that warrants by the International Criminal Court are binding for all of the bloc’s states.

“The members, the states who signed the Rome Convention, are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It is not optional,” he said, speaking at a conference in Cyprus.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited Netanyahu on Friday to visit the country but several other European nations said the Israeli prime minister would be detained if he set foot on their soil, following the issuing of an arrest warrant for him.

Reacting to Hungary’s decision, Borrell said: “What I can say is the arrest warrants issued by the court has to be implemented also by Hungary, also by Hungary, by all members of the European Union. And if they don’t, then there is a legal case of not fulfilment of the legal obligation.”

Israeli forces carry out ‘systematic and deliberate attacks’ on Gaza’s hospitals

Despite the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, the Israeli military intensified its attacks across the Gaza Strip overnight. Attacks destroyed residential buildings and caused further civilian casualties, among them women and children.

It is the usual pattern of attacks across the Gaza Strip. But what’s really concerning right now is the systematic and deliberate attacks on the remaining health facilities. That includes the Kamal Adwan Hospital – the only operational health facility in the northern part of the Strip.

There are ongoing and repeated attacks by quadcopters that are filling the skies around Kamal Adwan Hospital and the surrounding area and are preventing paramedics and medical staff from doing their jobs safely inside the hospital.

The facility itself came under heavy direct shooting by tanks and quadcopters in the area.

Also, there were many attacks on a group of people either at the entrance to the hospital or inside the facility itself. It’s become very difficult for paramedics to leave the hospital to go to bomb sites and bring casualties back to the hospital. They are at risk of being killed.

Also, civilians who are volunteering and bringing casualties back to the hospital are at risk of losing their lives.


Northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital now ‘nonoperational’

The hospital’s current condition right now is nonoperational. It is serving as more of a first aid centre.

No major operations are taking place in the hospital. The oxygen supply to the hospital has been obstructed by the destruction of an oxygen station, and it is only relying now on the remaining oxygen tanks. These are small ones that are inside the hospital, and soon enough, they are going to run out of them.

This already caused the death of one of the babies inside the incubators.

Also, there is a problem of fuel that hasn’t been delivered to the hospital on a regular basis, causing it to shut down major operations.

All in all, we are looking at a very difficult situation, and judging from the patterns of attacks on the hospital, as a health facility, it looks like the Israeli military is interested in emptying the hospital of medical staff and of any patients by creating these difficult conditions.

 
80 percent of Gaza’s verified deaths killed in residential buildings: UN

UNRWA has said that attacks by Israeli forces continue to destroy residential buildings in the besieged coastal territory, leading to civilian casualties.

About 80 percent of verified deaths were people killed in residential buildings, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said, citing the Office for Human Rights.

It also said 90 percent of the population – about 1.9 million people – are internally displaced. “Some have been displaced ten times or more,” it said in a post on X.

At least 9 dead after Israeli military bombs house in Khan Younis

The Israeli military has bombed a house in the Sheikh Nasser area, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. At least nine people are confirmed dead in that attack, with children among the casualties.

Three homes were struck, including the Abu Asi family home and another belonging to the Alaa Abu Sabla family, while tents housing displaced Palestinians nearby were also affected, according to Wafa.

More people have been injured, including children, in the attack.

Israeli fire kills family in Bureij amid dire humanitarian situation

Funerals have been held in different areas across the Gaza Strip for the Palestinians who were killed overnight.

Meanwhile, Israeli artillery has just hit a group of Palestinians in the Bureij refugee camp, killing a mother, a father and their child. This has been continuous. Israeli forces have been hitting different parts across the Strip – in the north, the south and also in the middle, including Nuseirat and Khan Younis yesterday.

But it’s not only the air attacks and artillery shelling that Palestinians are suffering from. It’s also the fact that there is a shortage of food, a shortage of flour, with Palestinians striving to provide a meal to their children. I’m at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and behind me there is a queue of people waiting to receive treatment – but the hospital is out of medicine and medical supplies.

The patients include those injured in the Israeli attacks as well as those with chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and others.

All this while winter is coming and Palestinians are living in tents. More than half of the population is in makeshift camps right now; they have been displaced multiple times and have been living in tents for more than a year. Palestinian families are unable to provide shelter for their children, unable to find food and even medicine.

At least two killed at Kamal Adwan Hospital’s gate in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya

Israeli warplanes have struck Kamal Adwan Hospital’s northern gate in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya town, killing at least two people and injuring others, according to the Wafa news agency and our colleagues on the ground.

As we’ve been reporting, the hospital has been battered by a series of recent Israeli attacks, including an overnight quadcopter attack on its generator. An air attack near the facility earlier this week killed dozens, including many women and children, according to the hospital’s director.

Israeli attack hits Nuseirat’s al-Farooq mosque


_{Palestinians inspect the site of the attack on al-Farooq Mosque}

Israeli captive killed in northern Gaza: Hamas

Hamas’s armed wing spokesman says an Israeli woman held captive has been killed in northern Gaza.

Abu Obeida said she was killed in an area attacked by Israeli forces. “After re-establishing contact weeks later with those assigned to protect the captives, it emerged a woman was killed in an area under Israeli fire in the northern Gaza Strip,” he said.

Another woman – also an Israeli captive – was critically wounded and her life is in danger, said Abu Obeida, adding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are responsible for the lives of the abductees.

There was no immediate comment from Israel’s government.

Israel ends use of administrative detention for Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank

Defence Minister Israel Katz announced an end to the use of administrative detention for Israeli settlers living in the occupied West Bank. This controversial policy is predominantly used against Palestinians living in both the West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem.

Katz’s office released a statement on Friday, saying that he met with the head of Israel’s Shin Bet, the internal security agency, earlier in the week to inform him about the move. But that same security agency had previously warned against a measure like this, saying that it would have disastrous and catastrophic consequences pertaining to settler violence against Palestinians.

The United Nations has documented at least 1,600 settler attacks since the war began in October of last year. But despite this, Israel’s right wing is embracing the move, saying they want to offer more support to those who live in illegal settlements.

As of November 2024, the Israel Prison Service says that there are nearly 3,500 people who are being held under administrative detention, seven of whom are Israeli settlers.

Israeli forces injure Palestinian man after settler attack in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian man has been shot and injured by Israeli forces following an attack carried out by Israeli settlers on Palestinian homes in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its crews dealt with a 32-year-old man who was injured during the assault and was later transferred to hospital for treatment, Wafa said.

Beit Furik Mayor Hussein Hajj Muhammad said the settlers attacked homes on the outskirts of the al-Dubbat neighbourhood in the town, and residents came out to confront them, the agency reported.

The incident comes a week after settlers attacked the same area last Saturday, where they set fire to several Palestinian vehicles and agricultural areas, according to Wafa.

Israel far from achieving ground assault objectives in south Lebanon

Israel is not close to its goal of controlling about 500 square kilometres (193sq miles) of territory between the Lebanese border and the south of the Litany River, a military analyst says.

The army is not doing well in the town of Khiam close to the border, Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera.

“It is trying to push on the western flank, because the advance of the Division 146 along the coastal road gives more protection from the seaside and the navy. But for that, it needs to control the high ground and make sure it is ‘cleaning’ the resistance forces between Chamaa, Naqoura and al-Bayada – which it has not yet achieved.”

Magnier added there are large areas in Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, and Labbouneh that are still not under Israeli military control.

“Israel is trying to gain time by saying it wants a ceasefire and hopes it can achieve those operational goals in the next couple of months. The job of the resistance is to harass the invasion forces and make sure they cannot stay in any high ground or static position.”


Israeli air raid on residential building in Lebanon’s Baalbek kills 7

At least seven bodies have been pulled from under the rubble of a residential building hit by Israeli jets in the town of Shmustar in eastern Baalbek, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says. This was the third air raid on the town so far today and rescue efforts are ongoing, it added.

Death toll from Israeli attack on Lebanon’s Baalbek rises to eight

“The Israeli enemy strike on Shmestar killed eight people, including four children, and nine others were injured, including four in critical condition,” a ministry statement said, giving a preliminary toll.

https://x.com/sawtlebnan/status/1860327738399142165

Another 7 people killed in Israeli strikes on east Lebanon towns

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least seven people were killed in Israeli attacks on several towns across the eastern Baalbek region:

Israeli attack kills 2 in southern Lebanese village

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says two others were injured in the strike on Ain Baal, east of the main city of Tyre. Israel has intensified attacks in the Tyre area as ground troops advance on the western sector of the border.

On September 23, Israel launched an intense air campaign against Lebanon in the south and the east and in southern Beirut. A week later, it sent ground forces across the border.

Hezbollah claims deadly attack on Israeli troops in south Lebanon

The Lebanese group announced its fighters destroyed a Merkava tank with a guided missile on the eastern outskirts of the town of al-Bayada. The attack led to casualties among the tank’s crew, it said.

Hezbollah also said it attacked the area of Meron in northern Israel with a “rocket salvo”.

Israel attacks border area in western Syria

Israeli forces targeted the Jusiyah crossing in al-Qusayr in Homs governorate, the Syrian state news agency SANA reports. Earlier this week, at least 36 people were killed and 50 wounded in an Israeli attack that hit residential buildings in the Syrian city of Palmyra.

Since the Syrian war began in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria targeting the army and Iran-backed groups.

Israeli defence minister vows to ‘act decisively’ against Hezbollah

Defence Minister Israel Katz told his US counterpart Israel will “continue to act decisively” against Hezbollah after two months of full-blown war.

In a phone call with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, “Katz commended US efforts to facilitate de-escalation in Lebanon [and] emphasised Israel’s commitment to restoring security that would enable northern residents to return to their homes safely”.

Katz also “underscored that Israel will continue to act decisively in response to Hezbollah’s attacks on civilian populations in Israel”, his spokesman said.

Hungary invited Netanyahu to visit, Israeli PM’s office confirms

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to visit his country, his office confirmed. Orban said on Friday he invited Netanyahu to visit Hungary though several other European nations said the Israeli premier would be detained if he sets foot on their soil.

This follows the issuance of International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Netanyahu and ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

Protesters call for captive exchange deal in front of Israeli president’s house

Israeli activists, including doctors, are demonstrating in front of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s home in Tel Aviv demanding a return of those held in Gaza. Videos posted on social media, verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency, show dozens of people chanting and calling for an agreement to bring back Israeli captives taken on October 7, 2023.

Israeli army issues forced evacuation threat for Khan Younis areas

The Israeli military has issued a new forced evacuation threat for several neighbourhoods in Khan Younis in southern Gaza after saying rockets were launched from the area.

“Terrorist organisations are once again firing rockets towards the State of Israel from your area,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X.

He acknowledged that the area had been attacked multiple times before by the Israeli military.

Israeli settlers storm Islamic cemetery, taunt Palestinians in Hebron: Report

A group of Israeli settlers have stormed an Islamic cemetery in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency. The group also marched through the Old City of Hebron, climbed onto residents’ rooftops and yelled slurs, such as “Death to Arabs”, Wafa said.

Footage shared on Telegram, verified by Al Jazeera, showed one of the settlers throwing a rock in the direction of a Palestinian documenting the incident.

Army-guarded Israeli settler militias storm the Islamic cemetery in the Old City of Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/TYM4qpCAJx

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 23, 2024

Israeli settlers arrested in West Bank after attacking soldiers

There have been multiple incidents of settlers attacking Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank in the aftermath of Israel’s decision to refrain from applying administrative detention to settlers. At least 11 people have been arrested so far, according to Israeli Army Radio.

In Hebron, Israelis chased Central Command Major-General Avi Bluth and Israeli soldiers accompanying him, calling him a “traitor”. At least five suspects were arrested in that incident.

Defence Minister Israel Katz condemned the violence, saying he expects law enforcement to “bring those involved to justice immediately”.

Hundreds of Israelis tried to break into the Palestinian-majority side of Hebron, with some succeeding and throwing stones at Palestinian shops.

In a separate incident, a settler was arrested after allegedly attacking soldiers in Hebron. Israeli settlers also threw stones at troops near Nablus and one punched a soldier after they stole a Palestinian vehicle. Five settlers were arrested.

Israeli settlers attack Palestinians south of Hebron in West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the Masafer Yatta region, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, Palestine’s Wafa news agency reports.

Settlers from the Havat Maon outpost assaulted the home of a local activist in the village of Tuwanah, injuring two people. The activist was arrested by Israeli soldiers who backed the settlers.

Another home was attacked in a village in the same area, causing extensive damage to the property.

Wafa also reported Israeli soldiers shut down the Jaba military checkpoint that serves as the southern entrance to the Ramallah and el-Bireh governorate.

Israeli forces set up new checkpoints in West Bank, fire tear gas in Hebron

Israeli soldiers established a series of new checkpoints across multiple areas in the occupied West Bank, checking the identification of Palestinians and their vehicles and causing traffic jams with prolonged delays.

Checkpoints were established at the northern entrance of Hebron City as well as the towns of Sa’ir, Yatta, Dora and Halhul, along with the Fawwar and Arroub refugee camps, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces reportedly erected a checkpoint at the main entrance of Aqbat al-Hasna, which links a series of villages in the western rural Bethlehem governorate to Bethlehem city.

At a checkpoint in Hebron, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and concussion bombs at Palestinians, causing multiple people to experience difficulty breathing.

Israel issues travel warning for UAE after soldier-rabbi goes missing

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed – on behalf of the spy agency Mossad and National Security Council – that Israeli-Moldovan citizen Zvi Kogan has been missing in the United Arab Emirates since Thursday.

He was identified as a Chabad rabbi to the Gulf Arab nation, but there was no mention of his military background.

“Since his disappearance, and given information indicating that this is a terrorist incident, an active investigation has been going on in the country. Israeli security and intelligence orgs, concerned for Kogan’s safety and wellbeing, have been working tirelessly on this case,” the office said.

Israel also issued a level three or moderate travel warning for the UAE, with a recommendation to avoid any non-essential travel, and for those in the country to take extra precautions.

BREAKING: Israeli official sources confirm that Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan, a representative of the Chabad organization, has been kidnapped in the UAE, according to the Israeli news channel Kan. pic.twitter.com/7Xwtg6kjAz

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 23, 2024

Israel investigating Hamas claims on captive’s death

The Israeli army says it’s reviewing the information after Hamas “released footage allegedly showing a hostage who had been killed”.

“At this stage we cannot confirm or refute it. [Army] representatives are in contact with her family and are keeping them updated with all available information,” a military statement said.

Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida said contact had been restored with the woman’s captors after a break of several weeks, and it was established she was killed in an area of northern Gaza where the Israeli army has been relentlessly attacking for weeks.

Abu Obeida’s statement did not further identify the captive or say how or when she was killed.

“Hamas continues to engage in psychological terror and act with extreme brutality. Please refrain from spreading rumours and information that may harm the families of the hostages,” the army statement added.