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Amsterdam violence aftermath: Pro-Palestinian protesters defy demonstration ban

Amsterdam violence aftermath: Pro-Palestinian protesters defy demonstration ban
By Lyndal Rowlands, Zaheena Rasheed, Mersiha Gadzo, Tamila Varshalomidze, Federica Marsi and Joseph Stepansky
Published On 13 Nov 2024

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13 Nov 2024 - 23:59
 (23:59 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

This live page is now closed. Thank you for joining us.

For more on UNRWA warning of the risks of extremism and marginalisation in Gaza after Israel adopted two controversial bills banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, check out our story here.

If you want to know whether Israel is committing ethnic cleansing in Gaza, and whether the term is appropriate, read our story here.

You can also watch how President Biden deflected a question from journalists on a possible Gaza deal here.

13 Nov 2024 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. Here is a recap of the day’s major developments:

  • An air raid targeting a group of Palestinians in the centre of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least five people.
  • Two people were killed in an Israeli strike on a tented encampment west of Gaza’s Nuseirat camp.
  • Israeli air raids hit the Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik neighbourhoods of southern Beirut at least three times. In the morning, several air raids hit the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs.
  • Hezbollah said it carried out its first air attack on Israel’s Kirya military base.
  • White House envoy Amos Hochstein was quoted as saying that he thought “there is a shot” at a truce in Lebanon soon.
  • Reports suggest the European Union’s foreign policy chief proposed that member states suspend dialogue with Israel over its war in Gaza.
13 Nov 2024 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

Photos: Israel strikes Beirut’s southern suburbs

Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
An Israeli air strike targets a neighbourhood in southern Beirut [Ibrahim Amro/AFP]
Israeli air raids targeted Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik in southern Beirut [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]

13 Nov 2024 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

Who is Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pro-settlement pick for Israel ambassador?

Yesterday we reported that the incoming US president chose the former Arkansas governor as the country’s representative to Israel.

Huckabee, Trump’s former rival in the Republican primary elections, has a long history of support for Israel and for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

“There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighbourhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation,” he said on the news network CNN in 2017.

Earlier, in 2015, during his run for president, Huckabee attended a fundraiser for US citizens in the illegal Israeli settlement of Shiloh. There, he once again referred to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria”, the territory’s biblical name, and described it as a fundamental part of Israel.

Nominees like Huckabee hint at what some critics fear from a second Trump administration: That he will go further than President Biden in his support for Israel.

You can read more about Trump’s pro-Israel picks for his incoming administration here.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, seen here speaking at a Christians for Israel conference in 2015, has a history of support for illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank [File/Alex Wong/Getty Images]
13 Nov 2024 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

EU’s Borell proposes suspending political dialogue with Israel

Reuters news agency is reporting that the European Union’s top diplomat made the proposal ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers scheduled for next week.

In a letter, he pointed to “serious concerns about possible breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza” adding that “thus far, these concerns have not been sufficiently addressed by Israel”.

“In light of the above considerations, I will be tabling a proposal that the EU should invoke the human rights clause to suspend the political dialogue with Israel,” Josep Borrell is reported to have written.

Political dialogue between the EU and Israel is enshrined in a broader agreement reached between the two parties in June 2000. The suspension likely faces steep odds, as it would require approval from all 27 EU countries.

Reuters reported that several countries are in opposition to such a move. Still, the proposal is likely meant to send a strong message about how Israel continues to conduct the war.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell [File: Johanna Geron/Reuters]
13 Nov 2024 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Israeli army detains injured youth near Ramallah

The Israeli army has detained an injured Palestinian youth from the village of Deir Qaddis, west of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the Wafa news agency.

The military sealed off all the entrances to the village before conducting a raid on a local clinic and detaining the young man, who has not been identified.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the soldiers denied access to paramedics to the village and briefly seized their phones.

The incident took place as the military also raided the nearby villages of Ni’lin, Kharbatha al-Misbah, Ras Karkar, Kafr Nima and the Ayn Ayoub, west of Ramallah, setting up checkpoints and blocking the roads.

13 Nov 2024 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

Radio journalist, children killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon

The Union of Audiovisual Media Workers has confirmed that Sakina Mansour Kawtharani, who worked with al-Nour radio station, was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Kawtharani was killed in a strike on Joun in the Chouf district, the union reported, without providing a date of the attack. Her two children and other members of her family were also killed in the attack, they said.

On Tuesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 12 people were killed in a strike in Joun, although it was not immediately clear if that is the same attack in which Kawtharani was killed.

The killing comes after three journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on a guesthouse in southeastern Lebanon on October 25.

13 Nov 2024 - 22:17
 (22:17 GMT)

Israel issues new threats for southern Beirut

Israel’s military spokesman announced new warnings as its forces continue to bombard the southern suburbs of Beirut.

He said that the Israeli military will soon operate in the areas of Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh.

Since early Wednesday, Israeli strikes have levelled half a dozen residential buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb, while killing at least eight people in Dawhet Aramoun, a village located to the south of Beirut.

13 Nov 2024 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Displaced orphans are on their own

By Hani Mahmoud

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza

There is no letup in the attacks across the Gaza Strip.

In the early hours of this morning our team member in northern Gaza reported that heavy artillery shelling hit the remaining residential buildings, infrastructure and public facilities in the city of Beit Lahiya, forcing people into further displacement.

This is a continuation of what has been going on for almost 40 days now – the ground offensive and assault by the Israeli military have caused further civilian casualties and displaced 100,000 to 130,000 people.

Here in the central area, overnight attacks hit a tent site in the centre of the city. This tent site was a place for orphans who have been displaced from across the Gaza Strip into the central area as well as housing for the street vendors who are now mostly children.

They are without their families. They are on their own.

The drone attack killed two people, according to the organisers and caretakers of this tent site, who make sure the orphans have a place to sleep and try to meet their needs for survival in these difficult conditions.

Three more people were killed in a residential attack on a Nuseirat refugee camp. They were all transferred to al-Awda Hospital. Wounded in the hospital are at risk of losing their lives because of the lack of medical supplies and proper medical care in the hospital.

Palestinians look at the damage following an Israeli airstrike that hit a camp for displaced people in Deir al Balah [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
13 Nov 2024 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

WATCH: Pro-Palestinian protesters defy demonstration ban in Amsterdam

13 Nov 2024 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

US military reports strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen

US Central Command has said its forces struck multiple weapons storage facilities in Yemen on Saturday and Sunday.

“These facilities housed a variety of advanced conventional weapons used by the Iran-backed Houthis to target US and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a statement today.

It added that the strikes were conducted in response to repeated Houthi attacks on “US and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden”.

The Houthis have pledged to attack ships in the waterways in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

13 Nov 2024 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Trump nominates staunch-pro Israel lawmaker Rubio as top diplomt

The announcement comes after days of speculation that Senator Marco Rubio would be Trump’s pick for Secretary of State.

Rubio has taken a hawkish foreign policy approach in the past, particularly towards Iran and in his support for Israel. He is considered one of Israel’s staunchest supporters within the Republican party.

While running for president in 2016, Rubio even accused Trump of not being a true ally to Israel.

Speaking to an activist in 2023, Rubio said that Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.

 President-elect Donald Trump speaks with Senator Marco Rubio in Raleigh, North Carolina [File: Evan Vucci/AP Photo]
13 Nov 2024 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

Two killed in Israeli raid on Tulkarem

Two people have been killed and two wounded in the Israeli army raid on a house in the Ezbet al-Jarad suburb, east of Tulkarem city.

The Wafa news agency identified the victims as Mamoun Saleh Shraim and Thaer Omar Amara, both 38 years old. Their bodies were taken by the Israeli army, the Palestinian news agency said.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a two-year-old was wounded by bullet fragments to the head while a 30-year-old man was wounded by a bullet to the shoulder.

13 Nov 2024 - 20:50
 (20:50 GMT)

Israel using starvation to empty northern Gaza: UN rapporteur

The UN special rapporteur on the right to food says Israel has been using famine as a weapon of war to empty out parts of the Gaza Strip.

“Israel announced its plan to starve the Palestinian population on October 9 and it’s done so,” Michael Fakhri told Al Jazeera, referring to the order by then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of a “complete siege” on Gaza.

“What Israel has been trying to do over the past year is clear: Empty out the north,” he said. “When I say empty, I mean Israel has been using starvation as a tool to kill people and to forcibly displace people.”

Fakhri said Israel was denying aid, restricting aid and destroying the food system to deny the Palestinians the ability to feed themselves.

“Israel was able to do this because of a decades-long policy of siege, of blockade, of controlling every calory entering Gaza, so what they did in October 2023 was like flipping a switch,” he said.

13 Nov 2024 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Israel says strikes targeted Syria-Lebanon smuggling route

The Israeli army said it struck smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon to reduce the transfer of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.

The military said in a statement that it launched an air raid on the border area as part of a “larger effort targeting the capabilities of Unit 4400, the Hezbollah unit responsible for smuggling weapons”.

It added that the Lebanese group continued to transfer weapons with the help of the Syrian regime.

13 Nov 2024 - 20:37
 (20:37 GMT)
Developing

More on Israeli strikes near Syria-Lebanon border

We reported earlier that Israeli strikes targeted a region near the Syria-Lebanon border.

SANA news agency is reporting that Israeli planes targeted bridges along the Orontes river and roads around the border. It added that the attack on the Homs region had been met with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire.

The strikes caused “significant damage”, a military source cited by the agency said, putting some of the infrastructure out of action.

13 Nov 2024 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

France says Israel wants freedom to strike Lebanon even after ceasefire

France’s foreign minister said Israeli officials are insisting on maintaining a capacity to strike Lebanon at any moment as part of conditions to secure a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Speaking to a parliamentary hearing after holding talks in Israel last week in Jerusalem, Jean-Noel Barrot said it was a condition increasingly voiced among Israeli officials.

“Today, we hear in Israel voices calling for it to keep a capacity to strike at any moment or even enter Lebanon, as is the case with its neighbour Syria,” said Barrot, who held talks with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and new Defence Minister Israel Katz last week.

Earlier, Israel’s Defence Minister Katz said, “We will not allow any arrangement that does not include the achievement of the war’s objectives – and above all Israel’s right to enforce and act on its own against any terrorist activity.”

France, which has historical ties with Lebanon, has sought to play a role in trying to secure a ceasefire in the Middle Eastern country.

13 Nov 2024 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

UNRWA chief warns agency at ‘critical’ juncture

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has told the UN General Assembly that UNRWA finds itself at a “critical” juncture.

“The risk of the agency’s collapse threatens the lives and futures of individuals and communities, the stability of the region, and the integrity of our multilateral system,” he said as he addressed the UN body. “The State of Israel is working to unilaterally shift the long-established parameters for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

Last month, the Israeli parliament passed legislation that could prevent UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories in less than three months.

In addition to attacks that killed at least 243 UNRWA personnel, the agency has also been “subjected to a fierce, global disinformation campaign”, Lazzarini continued, referring to Israel’s claims that it had been infiltrated by Hamas.

“UNRWA cannot address allegations for which it has no evidence,” he said.

13 Nov 2024 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)
Developing

Israeli army raids Tulkarem

Several Israeli army vehicles have stormed the city of Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank, and surrounded a house in the Ezbet al-Jarad suburb, Wafa news agency reported.

The report said reconnaissance military aircraft were flying at low altitudes over the area amid heavy gunfire.

13 Nov 2024 - 19:55
 (19:55 GMT)
Developing

Third Israeli air strike hits Beirut’s Haret Hreik

A third Israeli air strike has hit Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik, NNA has reported.

Earlier, it said two air strikes targeted the neighbourhoods of Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh.