ICC prosecutor says no legal basis to suspend warrants for Israeli officials

Karim Khan said Israel’s appeal against arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant should be dismissed.

On Wednesday, Israel filed a challenge directly to the Appeals Chamber, as well as another appeal to the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber – which issued the two arrest warrants. Israel’s legal team has argued the ICC’s investigation and warrants are procedurally flawed, and it requested a suspension of the warrants during the appeal process.

But in a statement published on the ICC’s website on Friday, the court’s chief prosecutor Khan argued that Israel’s challenge to the Appeals Chamber does not meet the criteria for doing so under the Rome Statute and the proceedings should be discontinued.

Khan said an appeal could potentially be heard later in the process, arguing that “the Pre-Trial Chamber is the appropriate forum to address this issue”. He also argued that there are no grounds to suspend the warrants in the meantime.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the October 7 attacks on Israel and the war on Gaza.

Cynical Western journalists do not see Palestinians as ‘fellow humans’: UN rapporteur

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, has taken aim at the “cynicism” of Western journalists for their “frustrating and, at times, traumatic” approach to covering Israel’s war against Gaza.

“After 14 months of genocide my conclusion is that many of my Western fellows do not see the Palestinians, as others in the Global South, as fellow humans,” Albanese said in a post on social media.

“Often out of deep-rooted/unacknowledged racism, they pontificate about [countries], history and people they neither know nor understand, without realising the HARM they do,” she said.

The UN expert’s comments followed after a terse interview with The Times Radio – a digital radio station operated by the Murdoch-owned News UK – where the interviewer attempted to correct Albanese for not referring to southern Lebanon as “northern Israel”.

The interaction grew more heated as the interviewer challenged Albanese’s use of the word “genocide” in relation to Israel’s attacks on Gaza, noting that the Israeli, US and UK governments strongly disagreed with that description.

Albanese pushed back saying, “It seems like I throw out the word ‘genocide’ as confetti,” before pointing to the South African case before the International Court of Justice and multiple statements from genocide scholars around the world to demonstrate there was evidence that supported her use of the term.

For witnesses to an ongoing genocide, confronting the cynicism of Western journalists is frustrating and, at times, traumatic.

After 14 months of genocide my conclusion is that many of my Western fellows do not see the Palestinians, as others in the Global South, as fellow… https://t.co/8ELRgr3TlR

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) November 29, 2024

Lieberman says Netanyahu’s government ‘disconnected’ from reality

Former Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has criticised Netanyahu’s government for being “disconnected”.

“Reserves are collapsing, businesses in the north and south are collapsing, the cost of living is skyrocketing, and what is the government doing? Transferring hundreds of millions to coalition funds tomorrow,” he wrote on X.

“Instead of prioritising the reconstruction of the south and the north, taking care of reservists and fighting the cost of living, this government continues to waste public money on political deals.”

Former Israeli minister accuses government of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza

Former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon says Israel’s government is carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in northern Gaza. A prominent critic of Benjamin Netanyahu, he accused Israel’s prime minister of leading the country to “ruin”.

Speaking in an interview with Democrat TV, Ya’alon criticised the policies of Netanyahu’s government in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, saying: “We are being dragged into occupation, annexation, ethnic cleansing.”

Journalist Lucy Aharish responded by asking, “Ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, is that what you think? That we are on the way there?”

“Why ‘on the way?’” Ya’alon answered. “What is happening there? [The military is] essentially cleansing the area of ​​Arabs” in northern Gaza.

UN says winter weather increases danger of building collapse in Gaza

With winter temperatures dipping to 13 degrees Celsius (55.4 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight in Gaza, UNRWA has warned that the change in weather poses real risks for Palestinians sheltering in the shells of destroyed buildings.

The rain and cold “increases the risk of collapse for any remaining structures – yet another way to be killed in a city-turned-graveyard,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said in a post on social media.

_{A Palestinian family huddles around a fire for warmth in the ruins of the Rashad Shawa Cultural Center, in Gaza City, on Friday}

Bombed and starved, Palestinians in desperate search for food in Gaza

_{Palestinians gather to receive bread from a bakery in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Friday}

UNICEF says attacks on Gaza hospitals must stop as 3-week-old baby dies from pneumonia

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported the death of a three-week-old Palestinian baby – born prematurely – from pneumonia.

UNICEF said the baby’s mother, Hala, did not name the child for fear of losing him and that attacks on Gaza’s hospitals prevented the baby from receiving the neonatal intensive care he needed.

“The violence must stop. Ceasefire now,” UNICEF said in a post on social media.

A 3-week-old baby, born prematurely, has died of pneumonia in Gaza. His mother, Hala, hadn't named him from fear of losing him.

Attacks on hospitals are robbing vulnerable newborns of the neonatal intensive care they need.

This violence must stop. Ceasefire now. pic.twitter.com/fABbz8o8eE

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) November 29, 2024

Israeli army targets Beit Lahiya, Jabalia, Nuseirat

Israeli forces have targeted northern areas of Beit Lahiya while also launching an air strike on western areas of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Palestinian media have reported. Israeli army artillery also shelled areas north of Nuseirat refugee camp and targeted agricultural land in central Gaza.


‘Apocalyptic’: Death toll mounts from intense Israeli attacks on Gaza

It’s been another difficult and intense night in multiple areas across the Gaza Strip, specifically we have observed a focus on Gaza City in overnight attacks.

We have been getting reports from civil defence crews in Gaza City, confirming that a residential flat was targeted in the Remal neighbourhood, which is considered to be one of the vibrant and densely populated areas in Gaza City.

Seven civilians were confirmed killed in the strike, while there are still six others missing under the debris of that building that was targeted with no warning given for civilians in the area.

Also, we are getting reports that another residential house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood … was targeted. At least 10 civilians were killed in that strike.

Civilians have been reporting on constant shelling by Israeli artillery units, as the Israeli army effectively is still operating in the northern town of Beit Lahiya for almost 58 days now.

The situation is getting much more apocalyptic for civilians in the north who are running extremely short in terms of essential supplies like food and water.

Israeli forces kill at least 6 in separate strikes on Khan Younis

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that six people have been killed in Israeli bombings, including one that targeted a car on Salah al-Din Street in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.

Two of the four people killed in the strike on the car were reported to be workers with a humanitarian relief group in Gaza.

Israeli bombing also targeted the as-Satr al-Gharbi area northeast of Khan Younis where two more Palestinians were killed and a number of others injured.

Large fire breaks out in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp: Report

Palestinian media reports that a large fire has broken out in the besieged Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

عاجل| مراسلنا: حريق ضخم في مخيم جباليا المحاصر شمال قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/dZSRLXEKhj

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 30, 2024

Gaza’s civil defence mourns member killed by Israel in Jabalia

Gaza’s civil defence has mourned the killing of one of its members, Muhammad Zuhair al-Sharbasi. The rescue service said he was killed in the ongoing Israeli bombing of residents’ homes in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Israeli attack in Gaza’s Khan Younis

A civil car belonging to the World Central Kitchen (WCK) was targeted by an Israeli drone on the Salah al-Din Street in the eastern side of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city. Five civilians were killed, including three of the WCK workers without any prior warning.

One of the victims is the director of the charity kitchens here in the Gaza Strip. They are local Palestinians working for the WCK and they were targeted as they were trying to reach one of the places they were operating in.

This is a sign that Israel is escalating its strikes on aid workers.

In April, seven international aid workers of the WCK were targeted in Deir el-Balah while they were travelling in three vehicles belonging to the organisation, with clear WCK signage attached to the car.

The Israeli military at the time justified the attack to be a sort of misidentification but the bleak reality is that in the past few weeks there has been a surge in attacks on buildings considered to be warehouses for the aid organisation.

Aid into Gaza ‘forbidden as a weapon of war’, no safety for aid workers: Oxfam

“It’s not safe for aid workers. It’s not safe for anyone in Gaza,” says Fidaa Al-Araj, an aid worker with Oxfam in Gaza, following the news that more aid workers were killed there today.

Despite coordinating their movements with Israeli forces, there is no guarantee of safety for her and her peers, Al-Araj told Al Jazeera from the southern city of Rafah.

She said Oxfam sends warnings to staff if there are strikes occurring, but it’s a challenge when one area of Gaza is not any safer than another.

“Here we are in the Oxfam premises in the so-called humanitarian-designated area in the southwest of Gaza … I wish you can hear the sounds around me. I have to use a noise reducing technique so as not to get the [sounds of drones] here [through to] my meetings, my interviews,” Al-Araj said.

“The strikes don’t stop. People are killed around the clock.”

Meanwhile, aid into the Strip continues to be blocked by Israel, with no reason given to aid organisations like Oxfam, Al-Araj said.

“You can’t read it any other way than it’s just forbidden as a weapon of war.”

Israeli military storms towns across the occupied West Bank

The Israeli military has carried out raids in several locations across the occupied West Bank in recent hours, including:

Israel’s army launches 2 more attacks on southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports an Israeli drone strike on Rub Thalatheen village killed two people and wounded two others in southern Lebanon.

Another attack hit a car in Majdal Zoun village. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said three were wounded, including a seven-year-old child.

Israel’s military said it has been operating to distance “suspects” in the region, without elaborating. Israel says it reserves the right to strike against any perceived ceasefire violations by Hezbollah.

This is not a ceasefire, it's just Israel demanding not to be fired back on. Backed by the US, no one will stop Israel.

Israeli soldier killed in Gaza, others wounded

The Israeli army says a 20-year-old sergeant was killed in a gun battle in northern Gaza and another soldier was seriously injured in the same firefight.

In another incident, the military said in a statement one troop was severely wounded during clashes with Palestinian fighters in southern Gaza.

Another soldier was “seriously wounded during an operational military activity in the north of the country [on the Lebanese border]”, without providing further details.

The death toll of Israeli troops since the beginning of its war on Gaza in October 2023 has reached 807, according to army data. Another 5,442 Israeli soldiers have been wounded, 796 of them seriously.

Dozens of Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on northern Gaza

More than 40 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the Civil Defence agency’s spokesman, Mahmoud Basal, says.

The bombed house belonged to the al-Araj family in the Tall az-Zaatar neighbourhood. A distraught Palestinian resident, Mohammed al-Zaytouniyeh, said that “there is no safe place” in Gaza from Israeli attacks.

“Residents are being bombarded. Explosive barrels are thrown down at them, at their houses, markets, streets, shelters, schools… There is no safe place. Where should these displaced people go?”

_{Destroyed buildings from Israeli attacks in the Jabalia refugee camp}

Family of slain WCK aid worker denies Israel’s ‘false accusations’

After five of its staff were killed in Gaza, the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity says it is “urgently seeking more details” after Israel’s military said it targeted one WCK worker who it alleged was part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war.

The family of the man – identified by relatives as Ahed Azmi Qdeih – rejected the allegations as “false accusations” and said he was just an aid worker, not a member of Hamas. Israel named him as Hazmi Kadih.

The latest deadly strike on aid workers highlighted the dangerous work of delivering humanitarian relief in Gaza, where the war has displaced most of the 2.3 million population and caused widespread hunger.

Not even mentioned on CNN, they're busy with Syria atm

Syrian rebels take control of most of Aleppo city

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/30/middleeast/syrian-rebels-control-aleppo-city-intl/index.html

Syrian opposition forces have taken control of much of the country’s second largest city Aleppo after a lightning advance that killed dozens of government soldiers in a major challenge to President Bashar al-Assad.

A rebel alliance launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping eastward through villages outside the city and reigniting a conflict that had been largely static for years. It is the first time Syrian rebels have set foot in Aleppo since government forces regained control during the civil war in 2016.

By Saturday morning, rebel fighters had taken control of large swathes of the city, according to footage geolocated by CNN.

Another long standing civil that's heating up now because Russia is pulling back its forces and Hezbollah is licking its wounds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war

Rebels lay out their goals

The rebels are part of a newly formed coalition called the “Military Operations Command,” which includes a broad spectrum of opposition fighters including Islamist factions and moderate groups once backed by the US.

The coalition was announced Wednesday ahead of the attack on Aleppo and said it was responding to escalating attacks from the Syrian government and Iranian militias. But the timing is also critical, with Syria’s key backer Russia focusing on Ukraine and its other major ally, Iran, on the back foot from Israeli attacks on it and its proxy network.

The offensive is the first major flare-up in years between the Syrian opposition and the regime of President Assad, who has ruled the war-torn country since 2000.

Syria’s civil war began during the 2011 Arab Spring as the regime suppressed a pro-democracy uprising against Assad. The country plunged into a full-scale civil war as a rebel force was formed, known as the Free Syrian Army, to combat government troops.

Since the 2020 ceasefire agreement, the conflict has remained largely dormant, with low-level clashes between the rebels and Assad’s regime.

More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the United Nations, and millions of people have been displaced across the region.

Main points on November 30th