From Turkey to Tunisia, pro Palestinian protests take place across the globe even after Israel continues to bombard Gaza: US Senator Urges President Joe Biden not to send weapons to Israel:
- Five people, including three children, have been killed after Israeli warplanes bombed the town of Riyaq in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
- At least 10 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the town of Qana in southern Lebanon.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have told Israel it must take steps in the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid.
- The UK has announced new sanctions against three “illegal settler outposts” and four groups accused of committing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
- Israel’s siege of the north of the Gaza Strip continues, with more than 50 Palestinians killed in the latest attacks, with the Israeli army planting explosive-filled barrels to destroy homes.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered at the Place de la Republique in Paris, France, to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Protesters held banners with messages such as “Toys in Gaza are losing their children” and “Free Palestinian political prisoners” while they chanted, “Free Palestine”.
Notable figures in attendance included Marine Tondelier, the leader of the Green Party (EELV), Thomas Portes, a far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) Member of Parliament, and Salah Hamouri, a Palestinian-French lawyer and author of The Prisoner of Jerusalem.
Tondelier voiced deep frustration and sorrow about the continued violence in Gaza in her speech.
“This helplessness is terrible because we have been protesting for a year and this atrocity has been going on for a year,” said Tondelier, accusing world leaders of turning a blind eye to the actions of the Israeli military.
Israel reviewing letter from US urging improvement in Gaza humanitarian situation.
Earlier, we reported on a letter from the US to Israel demanding that it allow aid into Gaza and the “improvement” of the humanitarian situation there. The US threatened Israel with “legal action” about its military aid should it not comply.
An Israeli official in Washington, who remained anonymous, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying the letter is under review by the Israeli government.
“Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts,” the Israeli official said.
The US and Israel have been at odds frequently throughout this yearlong conflict over the amount and type of aid allowed into Gaza.
Two Hezbollah drones breach Israeli airspace
Two dro.nes were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israel following sirens that sounded in the Upper Galilee, the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that no injuries were reported.
Fallen targets were identified in the area, the army said, which did not say that the drones had been intercepted by air defenses.
US senator urges Biden not to send weapons to Israel
Bernie Sanders has urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday not to send weapons to Israel for its war on the Gaza.
“When Congress returns, I will move Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel,” he wrote on X.
“But President Biden should act now: Israel is violating U.S. and international law, using starvation as a tool of its all-out war against the Palestinian people,” he said.
His remarks came after a letter, leaked Tuesday, warned Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the next 30 days or risk a US arms embargo.
US officials confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin co-signed a letter that expressed concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Sanders introduced legislation last month to block the sale of more than $20bn in US arms sales to Israel, saying that the export of the weapons would violate the criteria laid out in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
The Senate will vote on the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) when it reconvenes in November.
