700 people killed in 24 hours as Israel widens offensive in south

©AFP 2023 / John Macdougall

Israel's military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza's second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory.

Heavy bombardments were reported overnight and into Sunday in the area of Khan Younis and the southern city of Rafah, as well as parts of the north that had been the focus of Israel's blistering air and ground campaign.

More than 700 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry, despite US assurances that it had urged Israel to show "restraint" as it resumed its war on the Palestinian enclave.

Many of the territory’s 2.3 million people are crammed in the south after Israeli forces ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the 2-month-old war.

With the resumption of fighting, hopes receded that another temporary truce could be negotiated as Israel ordered its negotiators home from Qatar.

"We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals, and it’s impossible to achieve those goals without the ground operation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address Saturday night.

On Sunday, the Israeli military widened evacuation orders in and around Khan Younis, warning residents of at least five more areas and neighbourhoods to leave or face the consequences.

Residents said the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering residents to move south to Rafah or to a coastal area in the southwest. "Khan Younis city is a dangerous combat zone," the leaflets read. Palestinians and rights groups fear Israel is rolling out the same gameplan as it did in the north, using airstrikes and bombardment to push civilians even more to the south.

UN monitors said in a report issued before the latest evacuation orders that the areas residents were told to leave make up about one-quarter of the territory of Gaza. The report said that these areas were home to nearly 800,000 people before the war.

Ahead of a resumption of fighting, the US, Israel’s closest ally, had warned Israel to avoid significant new mass displacement, but these appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Despite Israel's focus on the south, the north is still under heavy assault.

Bombardments on Saturday destroyed a block of about 50 residential buildings in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City and a six-story building in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya on the northern edge of the city, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

More than 60 people were killed in the Shijaiyah strikes and more than 300 buried under the rubble, the monitors said, citing the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Palestinian Leader Calls on ICC to Speed Up Israeli War Crimes Trial – Reports

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan, during which he urged Khan to expedite the trial of Israeli soldiers, who reportedly committed war crimes against Palestinians, Palestinian news agency reported on Saturday.

Abbas informed Khan of the recent developments in Palestine, as well as the acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing carried out by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank, the news agency reported.

He briefed the Prosecutor on Israel's violation of the sanctity of hospitals and shelters, the demolition of homes with civilians inside, the crimes of settler-colonial expansion, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and various other violations of international law and international humanitarian law.

In 2014, the Palestinian Authority (PA) handed over files to the ICC on multiple Israeli crimes during the war on Gaza.

A year later, the Court opened a preliminary investigation, and in 2021, it approved an inquiry into the commission of "Israeli war crimes" in the Palestinian territories.

Palestine presented three cases at the ICC, including the aggression against Gaza in 2014, during which Israel used excessive force, prohibited weapons, and ordered massacres and killing of civilians.

Another case concerns the Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli prisons and includes ill-treatment of captives and their families and medical neglect that led to the death of some of them.

For years, the Palestinians have been documenting Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said during his meeting with Khan on Saturday that delaying justice is an absence of justice itself.

Shtayyeh added that the ICC should be for sentencing and deterrence, asserting that for 75 years now, Israel has been acting like it is above the law.

He explained that the responsibility of the Criminal Court is not a moral issue but a legal one.

The Authority wants the Criminal Court to investigate the ongoing war in Gaza and previous wars and inspect all other violations in the West Bank.

The Authority considers that the Israeli war on the Palestinians is comprehensive and not only in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli displacement policy targets Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as part of an attempt to liquidate the Palestinian issue.

Since Oct. 7, the West Bank witnessed an escalation in Israeli aggression, which included shutting down the West Bank governorates, deploying more military barriers, and launching massive incursions, whether during the day or the night, into most areas.

Israel began using drones to target Palestinians. It also killed and arrested dozens of them, demolished infrastructure, and attacked civilians in their homes.

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Over 109 Palestinians killed since ceasefire ended – Gaza

©Getty Images / Mustafa Hassona

At least 109 Palestinians have been killed since the conclusion of a week-long ceasefire, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Friday. Hundreds more have been wounded as Israel resumed its high-intensity bombardment of the enclav

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had struck more than 200 targets since the ceasefire expired at 7am local time on Friday, noting that the assault has resumed across ground, air, and sea on both north and south Gaza, including the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

After releasing 110 hostages during the ceasefire, Hamas still holds 137 captives, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters on Friday, promising to deliver “the mother of all thumpings” to the Palestinian militants for “failing to release all the kidnapped women.” The vast majority – 126 – are Israelis.

Israel released about 240 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails during the ceasefire. According to NBC, 80% of the prisoners identified as eligible for release had never been convicted of a crime, and many of those had not even been charged, held instead under a controversial practice known as administrative detention.

The IDF, which resumed bombing just minutes after the pause expired, claimed Hamas had fired off rockets in violation of the truce. The militant group countered that West Jerusalem had “persistently” rejected further offers of hostage releases that could have prolonged the ceasefire.

Efforts by the US, France, and other Israeli allies to extend the pause in fighting were unsuccessful.

After weeks of failed negotiations aimed at reaching a temporary cessation of hostilities to facilitate a prisoner exchange and the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, the two sides agreed to a four-day Qatari-brokered ceasefire starting November 24. Israel initially pledged to release 150 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 50 of the approximately 240 hostages taken by Hamas, vowing to extend the ceasefire by one day for every ten prisoners released.

Over 15,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 30,000 wounded since Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the militants’ October 7 attack, Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, noting that the Gaza Health Ministry had stopped reporting exact casualty counts as Israeli bombing had decimated its hospital system while rendering the retrieval of bodies from the rubble prohibitively dangerous. Nearly 80% of the enclave’s 2.1 million people have been forced out of their homes, he said, accusing Israel of waging “a full-fledged war against Palestine and its people.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Friday said that he is "extremely concerned" about the resumption of fighting in Gaza, as the humanitarian pause came to an end earlier in the day.

"We are extremely concerned about the resumption of fighting in Gaza," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who heads the UN agency, said on X.

Stressing that the ongoing hostilities have crippled the health care system, he warned, "Gaza can’t afford to lose any more hospitals or hospital beds," referring to how almost all of the hospitals in the strip had to close or stop offering care due to chronic shortages and ongoing Israeli attacks.

"We need a ceasefire. A ceasefire that holds," he urged. "A ceasefire that progress to peace."

At least 109 Palestinians have been killed and many others injured in Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip since the humanitarian pause – which went into effect a week ago – ended, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel's attacks resumed just after the humanitarian pause ended, as Israeli officials had pledged, though political leaders and civic groups worldwide had implored Israel to hold off

Iranian FM urges Israel, U.S. to stop attacks on Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday called on Israel and the United States to immediately "stop the war on Gaza before it's too late."

In a post on social media platform X, Amir-Abdollahian said no solution existed to the crisis but an "open-ended ceasefire," sending extensive humanitarian aid to Gaza and reaching an agreement on hostages-prisoners exchange between the two sides.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a humanitarian truce on Nov. 24. Fighting between the two sides resumed on Friday morning, after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement and firing at Israeli territory.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Friday condemned Israel for its "violation of the ceasefire and resumption of its military aggression" against Gaza.

Kanaani stressed that the Israeli attacks came as most of the world's peoples and governments were calling for the extension of the ceasefire and complete cessation of the Israeli attacks against Gaza and the West Bank, adding civilians, children and women would again become the "main victims of the Israeli military's criminal attacks.

‘Bombing everywhere’: As Israel renews war, my eight-year-old has questions

After a week-long temporary truce, the Israeli air strikes have unfortunately resumed.

The author with her eight-year-old daughter at the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, on November 30, 2023 — less than a day before Israel's bombing started again [Maram Humaid/Al Jazeera]

The past seven days of relative calm have come to an end, and the familiar sounds of bombings, explosions, aircraft, artillery, naval boats and live ammunition are back.

These were our daily experiences for seven weeks before the truce, and we had become adept at distinguishing between them, including the distinctive sounds of rockets from Gaza and Israeli bombings.

This morning, at 7:00 sharp, the violent sounds resumed from land, air and sea, evoking new memories of sadness on my family’s faces.

My brother, opening the window to see what was happening, remarked, “Bombing is from everywhere.”

The toughest question came from my eight-year-old daughter, Banias, asking if this was war again. My husband explained that the past “calm” days were just a temporary truce, and the war had not ended.

Banias struggled to comprehend this strange cycle of war, pause, and then war again.

Reflecting on Banias’s confusion, I wondered how a young mind grapples with the illogical nature of war—pauses followed by resumptions.

Fifty-six days of conflict were apparently insufficient to secure a ceasefire.

Yesterday, displaced people living in tents amid dire conditions near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip expressed distress, fear and despair, desiring not a temporary truce but a lasting ceasefire to return to their homes, even if damaged.

Their fear – that a new resumption of war would mean that Israel would move to bomb the south. Early today, their expectations came true as Israeli troops threw leaflets asking people living in east Khan Younis to move to Rafah at the southern edge of Gaza.

As air strikes persist from north to south, I ponder the multitude of wars faced by the people of Gaza: displacement, destruction, humiliation, tent living, thirst, hunger and the anxiety of temporary pauses followed by renewed bombing.

What should the people of Gaza do to make the world feel for them? How can the world allow the genocide to continue again? How will we return to the bloodshed again and worry about the loss of our loved ones? How, how and how?

I know that these questions will remain unanswered. The past 56 days have taught me, as they have shown to all of the people of Gaza, that our fears, lives, pain, hopes and dreams are not included in the calculations of this world.

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Russia’s LGBT ban explained

FILE PHOTO. ©Getty Images / PA / Sven Hoppe

The Russian Supreme Court on Thursday outlawed the “international LGBT public movement,” designating it as extremist. The ruling, which took immediate effect, also impacts the campaign’s subsidiaries, the court said, without naming any specific organizations.

What led to the ban?

Over the past few years, Russia has gradually tightened its laws concerning the spread of so-called “LGBT ideology” in the country. The first measures tackling the issue were adopted in 2013, when the country outlawed dissemination of the “ideology” among minors. The ban was reinforced last December, when it was extended to adults, Now anyone found guilty of promoting “non-traditional sexual relations,” transgenderism or pedophilia faces major fines.

This summer, Russia also introduced a ban on gender-reassignment surgery and hormone therapy done as part of the gender-transition process. Apart from that, the legislation prohibited altering gender details in public records.

What prompted the court ruling?

The designation stems from a lawsuit filed by the Russian Justice Ministry with the Supreme Court earlier in November, that argued the movement’s activities qualified it as an “extremist group.” Among other things, it has been sowing “social and religious discord” in the country, the ministry said. The lawsuit, heard by the court behind closed doors, reportedly analyzed over 20 volumes of material.

What penalties does the extremist designation entail?

According to Russian law, extremist activities involve committing or seeking to commit crimes motivated by “political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred,” as well as those driven by animosity towards a select “social group.” The latter category is not defined precisely in Russian law and has long been the subject of controversy and the source of conflicting court rulings.

Setting up an extremist organization in Russia risks severe legal penalties, including a fine of up to 800,000 rubles (nearly $9,000) and a jail term of up to ten years. Merely participating in an extremist group is punishable by a smaller fine of up to 600,000 rubles and up to six years of imprisonment.

Which groups does the ban affect?

It still remains unclear, however, which pro-LGBT organizations, if any, will actually be affected by the new designation. The country’s largest such group is the ‘Russian LGBT network,’ a civic platform established in the mid-2000s.

The network brings together multiple regional groups that promote the rights of sexual minorities. The platform, which was designated a “foreign agent” two years ago, is internationally recognized and part of LIGA – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, a major gay rights NGO based in Switzerland, which has been active since late 1970s.

What impact will the ruling have on LGBT people?

Legal experts appear to be split on the potential consequences of the Supreme Court ruling, with some believing it will have no impact on the lives of sexual minorities. The designation was not related to sexual orientation per se, but to actual extremists and a “hostile organization, using them as its agenda,” lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky told RIA Novosti.

“This decision will not affect people’s lives. LGBT people have never been persecuted in Russia on these grounds, and there is no indication that they will be persecuted,” Agranovsky stated.

A similar opinion was expressed by attorney Aleksey Mikhalchik in an interview with RAPSI, a news agency focused on legal and court news. He said the ruling was likely to affect those participating in extremism-related activities and self-identifying as a pro-LGBT activists. Still, one does not necessarily need to possess an “LGBT membership card” or be a member of any group to get into trouble with the law, he warned.

Some, however, expressed concern that the designation might affect a “huge number” of people, given the secretive nature of the court hearing and its vague definition of the “international LGBT movement.”

“Nobody knows who will be held accountable, because the state conceals what exactly it recognizes as extremist,” Aleksey Bushmakov, a Yekaterinburg-based lawyer and rights activist, told the outlet Federalpress. “It is unclear what is prohibited and what is permitted, and only judicial practice will allow us to navigate this.”

British NGO blasts Russia’s LGBT ban

It is not surprising that Russia's decision to ban LGBT has invited criticism from the West, because in the past decade the West has spread LGBT with the same goal as Covid-19 as a form of Western crime.

Amnesty International, the London-based human rights advocacy group, has strongly denounced Russia’s ban on the “international LGBT movement.”

Marie Struthers, the NGO’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia director, claimed that the “shameful and absurd” decision by Russia’s Supreme Court is tantamount to “a blanket ban on LGBTI organizations” that will pave the way for discrimination.

“It will affect countless people, and its repercussions are poised to be nothing short of catastrophic,” Struthers said in a statement on Amnesty’s website. She called on Russia to “immediately review this ruling.”

On November 17, the Russian Justice Ministry asked the country’s top court to add the “international LGBT movement” to the country's list of extremist groups, citing “incitement of social and religious discord,” as well as unspecified “extremist traits.” The hearing on Thursday took place behind closed doors and reportedly involved more than 20 volumes of casefiles.

The inclusion of groups in the list of “extremist organizations” effectively outlaws all of their activities and symbols.

It is not clear which groups and people will be affected by the ruling, which has come amid a crackdown on the “LGBT ideology” in Russia.

In 2013, the country outlawed LGBT “propaganda” targeting minors. The legislation was expanded in November 2022 to include a total ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and preferences,” as well as transgenderism.

Ukraine Lost Over 125,000 People and 16,000 Weapons Over Six Months of Counteroffensive - Shoigu

©Russian Defense Ministry / Go to the mediabank

The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev sent into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kiev's push had failed and that Ukraine had suffered heavy casualties.

The Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 125,000 people and 16,000 units of weapons over the six-month counteroffensive, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

"During the six months of the so-called counteroffensive, the enemy lost over 125,000 people and 16,000 units of various weapons," Shoigu told a meeting on military issues.

Total mobilization in Ukraine, supplies of Western weapons and the introduction of reserves did not change the situation on the battlefield, but only increased the number of losses among Ukrainian troops, the minister said.

"Our military acts competently and decisively, occupies a more advantageous position, and expands control zones in all directions," he added.

Since early June, Ukrainian troops have been trying unsuccessfully to break through Russian defenses in the Zaporozhye, Yuzhnodonetsk, and Artemovsk (Bakhmut) regions, using combat units trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western military equipment, including the much-hyped German Leopard tanks and US-made Bradley armored vehicles.

Shortly after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, the United States and its allies stepped up their military support for Kiev. Moscow has repeatedly warned that NATO countries are "playing with fire" by supplying arms to the Kiev regime, which the Kremlin says is helping to prolong the conflict in Ukraine.

Watch Russian Artillerymen Eliminate Ukrainian Positions

The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into military operations has revolutionized the way ground forces conduct reconnaissance and surveillance. UAV operators and artillerymen are now working in tandem to provide real-time intelligence and precise targeting for artillery strikes.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of a UAV operator and artillerymen working together to eliminate enemy positions in Kleshcheyevka and Belogorovka.

One video, filmed by a drone camera, shows a Ukrainian soldier hiding in a trench, which is immediately hit by a shell. Another video, filmed in the Belogorovka area, shows Ukrainian troops' equipment and personnel being hit, as shells are dropped from the drone directly into the trench "over the heads" of the Ukrainian servicemen.

Watch Russian MiG-31 Jet Perform Air Patrol Mission in Kherson Direction

The Russian MiG-31 is a highly capable interceptor aircraft designed to defend against aerial threats at long range. Equipped with advanced radar and missile systems, this supersonic jet can engage targets at extreme altitudes and speeds, making it a formidable asset in modern air defense.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing the crews of a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet of the Russian Aerospace Force perform air patrol missions in the Kherson direction.

The video released by the ministry shows a plane armed with air-to-air missiles taking off from an airfield. After footage from the cockpit, the clip ends with the MiG-31 returning to the runway.

Watch Russian Kamikaze Drone Eliminate German-Made Ukrainian Leopard 2A4 Tank

Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces have been using kamikaze drones, which are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed to explode upon impact with a target. Such drones provide an inexpensive and effective way to eliminate specific targets without risking the lives of soldiers.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of a kamikaze drone destroying a Ukrainian German-made Leopard 2A4 tank near Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region. The video shows the destruction of the tank from two angles - from both the kamikaze and the targeting drone.

The Leopard 2A4 tank is a main battle tank widely used by several European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. It is equipped with a 120 mm smoothbore gun, a powerful engine, and sophisticated armor protection.

Watch Russian Troops Wipe Out German-Made Leopard 1A5 in Special Op Zone

Russian troops have successfully destroyed tank sent to Ukraine from Europe, as Kiev has been heavily reliant on military and financial aid from Western countries.

Russia's Defense Ministry has published footage of a Russian anti-tank missile detachment eliminating a Leopard 1A5 tank in difficult weather and rough terrain.

Despite substantial support, Ukrainian forces have faced decisive failures, as Russian troops continue to demonstrate their ability to destroy not only Ukrainian-made military equipment, but also that supplied by NATO countries. The destruction of the Leopard 1A5 is a prime example of Russia's ability to counter Western-supplied arms effectively.

Such incidents have raised concerns among NATO countries, which are beginning to question the efficacy of continuing to supply Ukraine with more weapons. The pattern of Russian forces neutralizing these efforts has been increasingly evident, suggesting that no amount of Western weapons is sufficient to overcome the Russian military.

Dozens of Palestinians killed as Israel bombs Gaza after truce expires

Palestinians begin to migrate to areas in the central part of the city due to Israeli attacks following the end of the week-long humanitarian pause in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 1. Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images

Dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured in airstrikes launched by the Israeli army on various areas in the Gaza Strip, moments after the end of the humanitarian truce, Al-Jazeera reported.

A four-day truce began on Friday, November 24, was extended twice, and ended on Friday, December 1, at 7 am local time today.

Al-Jazeera reported that at least 29 Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of the Israeli aggression.

Israeli airstrikes were reported northwest of the Gaza Strip while artillery shelling targeted various areas in Gaza.

Palestinians try to rescue bodies from the rubble of a destroyed home in Gaza.

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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 1, 2023

Clashes resumed in more than one area between Palestinian Resistance and Israeli forces.

An Israeli raid targeted a site near Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.

Our correspondent sent us these photos illustrating the everyday reality in the besieged Strip just hours before the resuming of Israeli airstrikes.https://t.co/PRGGwj6C5S pic.twitter.com/myls62xoMl

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 1, 2023

Israeli occupation also bombed a mosque in the center of the city of Khan Yunis, causing nine wounded.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Resistance launched missiles from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli sites and towns, while Israeli authorities called on residents of Sderot and Asqalan (Ashkelon) to stay near shelters.

The Gaza government media office announced the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Abdullah Darwish in an Israeli bombing.

The office said that a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted the south of the Strip, while the Gaza Ministry of Interior confirmed that Israeli aircraft targeted the town of Abasan, east of Khan Yunis, and a residential house in the Abu Iskander area, northwest of Gaza City.

HAMAS TOP OFFICIAL OSAMA HAMDAN: The Israeli occupation and the American administration bear responsibility for stopping the temporary truce.

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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 1, 2023

“Israel is committing new massacres in the Strip immediately after the end of the truce,” the Gaza Health Ministry said, stressing that “the truce did not help Gaza’s health system.”

Since October 7, over 15,000 Palestinians, including over 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women were killed, with another 36,000 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.