Australians from Gaza aid boat still in Israeli detention
Tan Safi and Robert Martin are still in detention in Israel - where lawyers were due to face a tribunal last night, to argue for their release.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Israel poised to order new Gaza war plan
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared Tuesday to unveil an updated Gaza war plan designed to destroy Hamas and secure the release of dozens of hostages, with Israeli media reporting he would order the total occupation of the Palestinian territory. Netanyahu was expected to meet security chiefs in Jerusalem to issue new orders, even as Israel's diplomats convened a UN Security Council meeting in New York to highlight the plight of Israelis held in Gaza. The timing of the security meeting has not been officially confirmed. Netanyahu said Monday that it would be "in the coming days". Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 said Netanyahu would meet the army chief of staff, and the defence and army ministers. Unnamed senior officials told Israeli media he intends to order the re-occupation of Gaza. "Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip," said a report on public broadcaster Kan. "Several cabinet members who spoke with the prime minister confirmed that he has decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held." The private daily Maariv declared: "The die is cast. We're en route for the total conquest of Gaza." While the reconquest plan has not been officially confirmed, it has already drawn an angry response from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas-run government, which insisted it will not shift its position on ceasefire talks. "We want to reach an agreement that ends the war. The ball is now in the hands of Israel and the Americans, who support Israeli positions and delay the conclusion of an agreement," senior Hamas official Husam Badran told broadcaster Al Jazeera. - Desperate families - After 22 months of combat sparked by the October 7, 2023 cross-border attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory. More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Hams-run Gaza's health ministry, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory's 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine. But Netanyahu is under pressure on several fronts. Domestically, the desperate and vocal families of the 49 remaining hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home. Around the world, humanitarians are pushing for a truce to allow in food to the starving, and several European capitals have announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood, despite fierce US and Israeli opposition. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right allies in his ruling coalition want to seize the opportunity of the war to reoccupy Gaza and tighten control of the occupied West Bank. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was in New York, where Israel's US ally was helping organise a Security Council meeting to focus world attention on the fate of the hostages rather than the looming famine -- which Israeli spokespeople insist is an exaggerated threat. The defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said Tuesday that Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on UN and aid agency convoys and international military airdrops. "As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening," COGAT said. Israel has been fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza for 22 months and imposed a total blockade on March 2, partially lifted in May to allow a US-backed private agency to open food distribution centres. Aid convoys and airdrops by Arab and European militaries resumed last month, as UN-mandated expert reports warned famine was unfolding in the war-torn territory. The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, "to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation." - Staple foods - Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said. On Monday. Netanyahu insisted Israel's war goals remained "the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel". His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war, arguing that Israel has already scored a military victory and should seek to negotiate the hostages' release. The families of the hostages are also horrified by talk of escalation, accusing the government of putting their relatives in renewed danger, even as Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad release propaganda videos showing emaciated captives.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Farmers use tractors to spray manure on squatters
This is the moment raging French farmers spray hordes of squatters with manure in a bid to expel them from their land. Furious workers sprayed the faeces over their farm in Hautes-Vosges, France after reportedly 'not receiving' any help from police to remove an 'illegal gypsy camp'. Footage shows the tractors circling the stationary white caravans and releasing streams of the brown sludge liquid. Meanwhile, members of the community appear running after the vehicles in a bid to stop the onslaught of excrement. One man is even captured jumping onto a moving tractor and frantically knocking on the driver's window. In the minute-long video, some six tractors are seen covering the land in the stinking slurry - a mixture of manure and water. Last year, a similar tactic was adopted by British it farmer Jack Bellamy when he caught a camper on his land. He jumped in his tractor and drove up alongside the trespasser unleashing a 15-second blast of slurry. The camper, dressed in a red top and a white sun hat, is seen desperately trying to zip up his tent before diving behind it as a wall of excrement is showered on him. Jack, 29, is heard saying: 'I'll tell you what chap, have a bit of this.' The hapless cyclist is seen cowering for shelter as his entire tent and bike are covered in the brown stuff. Farmer Jack, a third generation farmer from Tavistock, Devon in South West England, last night told The Sun: 'I left him there covered in slurry. 'He never said a word. He couldn't really argue with that. 'They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want.' The beef and sheep farmer said he was annoyed because he's had trouble from trespassers before and there are two campsites almost a kilometre from his field. He added: 'He just didn't want to pay.' Jack said he spotted the camper as he started work in his John Deere tractor at 6am on Tuesday. He said: 'I went out in the morning because I had to get on. 'When I looked in the field I saw a tent on the freshly cut grass. 'There was someone camped right up against the hedge. 'I'm sure he had a nice evening there, but he didn't have a very nice wake up call. 'He must've heard the tractor coming because he was out of his tent.'
SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'We're not alone': People in Gaza are reacting to 'best march' on Harbour Bridge
As tens of thousands of Australians crossed Sydney's Harbour Bridge on Sunday as part of a pro-Palestinian protest, locals in the war-torn region were watching. Some wrote messages of praise on social media, while others shared photos of children holding up posters expressing their gratitude for the support. Mohammed Hamad, who lives in Gaza, shared a photo of his daughter holding a thank-you sign. "We know what is happening outside and we are following everything. The best march I have seen is the bridge march," he told SBS News. Mohammed Hamad and his daughter Hira saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge protest from Gaza. Credit: X/ Mohammed Hamad NSW Police said initial estimates put the crowd at 90,000 while rally organisers, the Palestine Action Group, estimated the figure was closer to 300,000. 'We are not alone' Tamer Nahed, a web developer from north Gaza, wrote on social media that witnessing the "massive protest" gave his parents a sense of hope. "I showed them the massive protests that took place in Sydney. I told them, there are still people who care about us. We are not alone," he wrote on X. "We watched together as people stood in the rain, in this cold weather, chanting for us — for justice, for truth. And in my parents' eyes, I saw something that had been missing for a long time … I saw hope return, even if just a little." Nahed expressed his gratitude towards the protesters, writing that he often feels forgotten by the world when watching the news. "Thank you to everyone who marched today, to everyone who raised their voice for us. You didn't do it in vain. You gave us something that words can't fully capture," he wrote. More protests ahead, organisers say One of the organisers told reporters more protests are being planned, but that a repeat crossing of the Sydney Harbour Bridge won't happen anytime soon, according to the Australian Associated Press. Palestine Action Group's organiser Joshua Lees said on Sunday: "We want to build on this massive momentum we have now." "His stance is pretty clear and he's passed a raft of anti-protest legislation already," Lees said. "We're going to have to keep fighting for our rights to demonstrate." Speaking to ABC radio on Tuesday morning, Minns said he accepted the reason for the protest, but that "common sense has to play a role". "I'm not questioning the motives of many of the protesters. I accept that this is a protest that many people want to have," he said. "My argument here is I can't close down the central artery for a city as big as Sydney — even on a short-term basis, but even if we had a massive heads up to do it." 'An extraordinary march' Speaking about the protest, Foreign Minister Penny Wong acknowledged the anger and distress felt by some Australians. "That was an extraordinary march and I think it demonstrates what we all feel," she told the ABC's 7.30 program. "I know that Australians are feeling distressed, angry, upset, really horrified by what they're seeing in Gaza. I certainly share that distress. So do ministers in the government." The Palestine Action Group said it is planning a national day of action scheduled for 24 August, along with more protests.
