August 16, 2024

Daily News Brief

*) Gaza truce must involve 'complete' Israeli withdrawal — Hamas Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said any Gaza ceasefire deal must involve the total withdrawal of Israeli invading troops from the Palestinian territory. "Any agreement must achieve a comprehensive ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the return of the displaced," a Hamas official said in a statement after truce talks resumed in Doha. A Palestinian official also said that Hamas would not take part in talks but that its senior officials, who reside in Qatar, were ready to discuss any proposals from the mediators, as they have in past rounds. *) More than 400 arrested in Israel's online crackdown Israel has arrested more than 400 people, primarily Palestinian Israelis, in a sweeping crackdown on online activity deemed to incite or support Hamas in the months following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group. The Legal Center for Arab Rights in Israel, said around 190 of those detained remain in custody as legal proceedings drag on. Many are held in harsh conditions in Israel's penal system. The arrests followed changes in Israeli law that allow police "to open investigations into 524 social media posts" without needing approval from prosecutors. *) Ukrainian officials planned, executed Nord Stream sabotage The sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 was approved by senior officials in Kiev, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially giving his support, according to a report. Speculation has long swirled about who was behind the operation, with both Ukraine and Russia denying any involvement. *) Sweden reports first case of deadly mpox strain outside Africa Sweden has announced the first case outside Africa of the more dangerous variant of mpox, which the WHO has declared a global public health emergency. The country's public health agency confirmed that it was the same strain of the virus that has surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo since September 2023. " It is the first case caused by clade I to be diagnosed outside the African continent," the agency said in a statement. *) Climate activists protest at German airports Climate activists staged protests at several German airports, forcing a temporary halt to flights in the latest of a string of similar demonstrations. The Last Generation group said a total of eight activists were involved in the protests at Berlin, Cologne-Bonn, Nuremberg and Stuttgart airports. The group is demanding that the German government negotiate and sign an agreement on a global exit from the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030.