Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Israeli and Palestinian families should be welcomed to the UK like Ukrainians, say charities

Fiona Parker
Mon, 23 October 2023 

Palestinian children who have become refugees - Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu via Getty Images

Charities have urged the Government to treat Palestinian and Israeli families like Ukrainians and allow them into the UK.

Hundreds of Israeli families are estimated to have already fled to Britain following the Hamas terrorist attacks.

The Refugee Council warned hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The charity has now called on the Government to introduce an emergency family reunion scheme modelled on an arrangement which helped Ukrainians come to the UK.

Around 174,000 people have moved to the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme as of May, according to Oxford University’s Migration Observatory.

Documents published by the Refugee Council detail how the proposed scheme would be open to all nationalities and those with a UK-based family member or travelling with someone with permission to enter the UK would be eligible.

“The UK Government should put in place an emergency family reunion scheme so people impacted by the conflict can join family members in the UK, building on the Ukraine Family Scheme,” the documents read.

The papers go on to say: “Under this scheme people would be given five years leave to remain, which can lead to settlement in the UK at the end of that period if the situation is ongoing.”

“The sponsor would be expected to support them.”


Palestinian women and children at a United Nations refugee agency Khan Yunis, Gaza - ABED ZAGOUT/GETTY IMAGES

Children at a UN base for Palestinian refugees in Gaza - Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Other proposals outlined in the documents include medical evacuation for those in need of medical care and an emergency protection visa for “anyone in Israel or Palestine impacted by the conflict”.

The charity suggests the package should form the basis of a model on how the Government responds to future crises.

Meanwhile, organisations such as Safe Passage International and Helen Bamber Foundation have backed the proposals, according to The Guardian.

Sharon Shochat, of Defend Israeli Democracy UK, estimates that hundreds of Israeli families are already being supported by Jewish organisations.

“It’s mainly people who have links to the UK, like family members,” she said. “They are planning to stay for weeks rather than months, but we don’t know what is going to happen, the situation could change.”

Ms Shochat also said that those who lived in kibbutzim which saw some of the worst atrocities may not ever be able to return to their communities.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult for many people to return, because they have experienced such trauma,” she added. “It’s going to be very difficult to go back to where that took place.”

David Simmonds, the MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner in north-west London, represents a constituency that has one of the highest proportions of Jewish residents in the UK.

Last night, he told The Telegraph how he had heard from many residents who were personally affected by the terrorist attacks in Israel.


A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Monday shows rockets fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel - JACK GUEZ/AFP

“With regular rocket attacks continuing, I am not surprised by reports that hundreds of families have already moved to join loved ones here in the UK temporarily.” he said.

“The Government’s work to secure regional stability is commendable, but in the meantime I urge Ministers to consider how we support the temporary resettlement of Israeli and Palestinian refugees looking to join their families in the UK.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK is committed to supporting those directly from regions of conflict and instability.

“Since 2015 we have offered a safe and legal route to the UK to over half a million people seeking safety but our approach must be considered in the round, rather than on a crisis-by-crisis basis.”

As Israel readies troops for ground assault, Gaza awaits urgently needed aid from Egypt


KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, as the Israeli defense minister ordered ground troops to prepare to see Gaza “from the inside”, though he didn’t indicate when the ground assault would begin.

Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals tried to stretch out ebbing medical supplies and fuel for generators, as authorities worked out logistics for a desperately needed aid delivery from Egypt. Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza performed surgeries by the light of mobile phones and used vinegar to treat infected wounds.

Amid the violence, President Joe Biden pledged unwavering support for Israel’s security, “today and always,” while adding that the world “can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians” in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In an address Thursday night from the Oval office, hours after returning to Washington from an urgent visit to Israel, Biden drew a distinction between ordinary Palestinians and Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. He linked the current war in Gaza to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin “both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”

Biden said he was sending an “urgent budget request” to Congress on Friday, to cover emergency military aid to both Israel and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, an unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment delivered to Congress estimated casualties in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital this week on the “low end” of 100 to 300 deaths. The death toll “still reflects a staggering loss of life,” U.S. intelligence officials said in the report, seen by The Associated Press. It said intelligence officials were still assessing the evidence and their casualty estimate may evolve.

Biden and other U.S. officials already have said that U.S. intelligence officials believe the explosion at al-Ahli Hospital was not caused by an Israeli airstrike. Thursday’s findings echoed that.

The Israeli military has relentlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for the devastating Oct. 7 Hamas rampage in southern Israel. Even after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate the north of Gaza and flee south, strikes extended across the territory, heightening fears among the territory’s 2.3 million people that nowhere was safe.


Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel from Gaza and Lebanon, and tensions flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In a fiery speech to Israeli infantry soldiers on the Gaza border, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant urged the forces to “get organized, be ready” to move in. Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops along the border.

“Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside,” he said. “It might take a week, a month, two months until we destroy them,” he added, referring to Hamas.

Israel’s consent for Egypt to let in food, water and medicine provided the first possible opening in its seal of the territory. Many Gaza residents are down to one meal a day and drinking dirty water.

Egypt and Israel were still negotiating the entry of fuel for hospitals. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Hamas has stolen fuel from U.N. facilities and Israel wants assurances that won’t happen. The first trucks of aid were expected to go in Friday.

With the Egypt-Gaza border crossing in Rafah closed, the already dire conditions at Gaza’s second-largest hospital deteriorated further, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel of Nasser Hospital in the southern town of Khan Younis. Power was shut off in most of the hospital and medical staff were using mobile phones for light.

At least 80 wounded civilians and 12 dead flooded into the hospital after witnesses said a strike hit a residential building in Khan Younis. Doctors had no choice but to leave two to die because there were no ventilators, Qandeel said.

“We can’t save more lives if this keeps happening,” he said.

The Gaza Health Ministry pleaded with gas stations to give fuel to hospitals and a U.N. agency donated some of its last fuel.

The agency’s donation to Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the territory’s largest, would “keep us going for another few hours,” hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia said.

Al-Ahli Hospital was still recovering from Tuesday’s explosion, which remains a point of dispute between Hamas and Israel. Hamas quickly said an Israeli airstrike hit the hospital, which Israel denied. The AP has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties.

The blast left body parts strewn on the hospital grounds, where crowds of Palestinians had clustered in hopes of escaping Israeli airstrikes. The U.S. assessment noted “only light structural damage,” with no impact crater visible.


Near al-Ahli, meanwhile, another explosion struck a Greek Orthodox church housing displaced Palestinians late Thursday, resulting in deaths and dozens of wounded. Abu Selmia, the Shifa Hospital director general, said dozens were hurt at the Church of Saint Porphyrios but could not give a precise death toll because bodies were buried under rubble.

Palestinian authorities blamed the blast on an Israeli airstrike, a claim that could not be independently verified. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy of Jerusalem condemned the attack and said it would “not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty” to provide assistance.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, the majority women, children and older adults. Nearly 12,500 were injured, and another 1,300 people were believed buried under rubble, authorities said.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion. Roughly 200 others were abducted. The Israeli military said Thursday it had notified the families of 203 captives.

More than 1 million Palestinians, about half of Gaza’s population, have fled their homes in the north since Israel told them to evacuate, crowding into U.N.-run schools-turned-shelters or the homes of relatives.

For the first time since Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in 1967, a major tent camp arose to house displaced people. Dozens of U.N.-provided tents lined a dirt lot in Khan Younis.

The deal to get aid into Gaza through Rafah, the territory’s only connection to Egypt, remained fragile. Israel said the supplies could only go to civilians and that it would “thwart” any diversions by Hamas. Biden said the deliveries “will end” if Hamas takes any aid.

More than 200 trucks and some 3,000 tons of aid were positioned at or near Rafah, according to Khalid Zayed, the head of the Red Crescent for North Sinai.

Under an arrangement reached between the United Nations, Israel and Egypt, U.N. observers will inspect the trucks before entering Gaza. The U.N., working with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent, will ensure aid goes only to civilians, an Egyptian official and European diplomat told the AP. A U.N. flag will be raised on both sides of the crossing as a sign of protection against airstrikes, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.


It was not immediately clear how much cargo the crossing could handle. Waleed Abu Omar, spokesperson for the Palestinian side, said work has not started to repair the road damaged by Israeli airstrikes.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Al-Arabiya TV that foreigners and dual nationals would be allowed to leave Gaza once the crossing was opened.

Israel said it agreed to allow aid from Egypt because of a request by Biden — which followed days of intense talks with the U.S. secretary of state to overcome staunch Israeli refusal.

Israel had previously said it would let nothing into Gaza until Hamas freed the hostages taken from Israel. Relatives of some of the captives were furious over the aid announcement.

“The Israeli government pampers the murderers and kidnappers,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said.

The Israeli military said Thursday it killed a top Palestinian militant in Rafah and hit hundreds of targets across Gaza, including militant tunnel shafts, intelligence infrastructure and command centers. Palestinians have launched barrages of rockets at Israel since the fighting began.

Violence was also escalating in the West Bank, where Israel carried out a rare airstrike Thursday, targeting militants in the Nur Shams refugee camp.

Six Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, and the Israeli military said the strike killed militants and resulted in 10 Israeli officers being wounded. More than 74 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war started.
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Nessman reported from Jerusalem and Kullab from Baghdad. Associated Press journalists Amy Teibel and Isabel Debre in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy and Jack Jeffrey in Cairo; Matthew Lee and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington, and Ashraf Sweilam in el-Arish, Egypt, contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.The Associated Press
October 19, 2023

Israel Palestinians Relatives mourn Palestinian boy Ali Abu Khazna, who was killed during an Israeli army raid on Nur Shams refugee camp, in a morgue in Tulkarem, West Bank, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
I
srael Palestinians A Palestinian boy wounded in an Israeli army raid on Nur Shams refugee camp is brought to a hospital in Tulkarem, West Bank, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed

Israel Palestinians Smoke rises from Nur Shams refugee camp during an Israeli military raid West Bank on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
Palestinians Israel Palestinians evacuate wounded from a building destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Israel Palestinians Israeli soldiers listen to Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during his visit to a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov

Israel Palestinians Palestinians try to salvage what they can of belongings from the rubble a destroyed building, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)
AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman

Israel Palestinians Palestinians carry the lifeless body of a man found inside a destroyed house following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Thursday, Oct.19, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
AP Photo/Abed Khaled

Israel Palestinians Smoke rises during an Israeli military raid on Nur Shams, West Bank, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
Israel Palestinians A Palestinian boy wounded in an Israeli army raid on Nur Shams refugee camp is brought to a hospital in Tulkarem, West Bank, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
Israel Palestinians Palestinian children displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip walk in a UNDP-provided tent camp in Khan Younis on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Palestinians Israel A Palestinian man holds the body of his nephew killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, during his funeral in Khan Younis, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Israel Palestinians Israeli soldiers gather in a staging area near the border with Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov
Israel Palestinians The body of a dead Palestinian is found inside a destroyed house following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Thursday, Oct.19, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
AP Photo/Abed Khaled
Israel Palestinians UNDP provided tens set up for Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, are seen in Khan Younis on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashraf Amra)
AP Photo/Ashraf Amra
Israel Palestinians Palestinians carry the lifeless body of a man found inside a destroyed house following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Thursday, Oct.19, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
AP Photo/Abed Khaled
Israel Palestinians Israel flags hang in a soccer goal in a backyard of a home that came under attack during a massive Hamas invasion into Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The small farming community in the south of Israel was overrun by Hamas fighters from the nearby Gaza Strip who killed 1,400 Israelis and captured dozens of others on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Israel Palestinians Mourners take the last look at the Bodies of Ibrahim Awad, and Mohammad Fawaqa, not pictured, during their funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Awad was killed during clashes with Israeli settlers near his home village of Dura al-Qara' and Fawaqa was killed during an Israeli army raid in the village of Qebia, west of Ramallah, while two other Palestinians were killed during Israeli army raids early morning in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian ministry of health said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
AP Photo/Nasser Nasser
Israel Palestinians Smoke rises during an Israeli military raid on Nur Shams, West Bank, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
APTOPIX Israel Palestinians Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, Thursday, Oct.19, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov
Israel Palestinians Wounded Palestinians arrive at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
AP Photo/Abed Khaled
Israel Palestinians An Israel soldier gestures to passers-by as he drives a military vehicle near the border between Israel and Gaza Strip, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Israel Palestinians Wounded Palestinians arrive at the al-Shifa hospital, on a truck, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
AP Photo/Abed Khaled
Israel Palestinians A damaged clock outside a home that came under attack during a massive Hamas invasion into Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The small farming community in the south of Israel was overrun by Hamas fighters from the nearby Gaza Strip who killed 1,400 Israelis and captured dozens of others on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Israel Palestinians Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip sit in a UNDP-provided tent camp in Khan Younis on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Israel Palestinians EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Blood is seen splattered in a house following a massive Hamas militant attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The small farming community in the south of Israeli was overrun by Hamas fighters from the nearby Gaza Strip who killed 1,400 Israelis and captured dozens of others on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Israel Palestinians Israeli military vehicles are seen during a raid on Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
Israel Palestinians A Palestinian boy wounded in an Israeli army raid on Nur Shams refugee camp is brought to a hospital in Tulkarem, West Bank, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
Israel Palestinians Mourners carry the Bodies of Ibrahim Awad, right, and Mohammad Fawaqa, during their funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Awad was killed during clashes with Israeli settlers near his home village of Dura al-Qara' and Fawaqa was killed during an Israeli army raid in the village of Qebia, west of Ramallah, while two other Palestinians were killed during Israeli army raids early morning in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian ministry of health said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
AP Photo/Nasser Nasser
Israel Palestinians Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
APTOPIX Palestinians Israel Palestinians evacuate wounded from a building destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Palestinians Israel Palestinians search for survivors from a building destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
AP Photo/Fatima Shbair
Israel Palestinians Smoke rises from destroyed buildings, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)
AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman
Israel Palestinians A Palestinian man carries a body found inside a destroyed house following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Thursday, Oct.19, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
AP Photo/Abed Khaled
Israel Palestinians Israeli soldiers gather in a staging area near the border with Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov
Israel Palestinians Palestinians leave a partially destroyed building following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)
AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman
APTOPIX Israel Palestinians Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)
AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman
Israel Palestinians Bodies of Palestinians killed during Israeli army raid on Nur Smas refugee camp are seen in a morgue in Tulkarem, West Bank, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed
APTOPIX Israel Palestinians EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Blood is seen splattered in a child's room following a massive Hamas militant attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The small farming community in the south of Israeli was overrun by Hamas fighters from the nearby Gaza Strip who killed 1,400 Israelis and captured dozens of others on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Israel Palestinians UNDP provided tens set up for Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, are seen in Khan Younis on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashraf Amra)
AP Photo/Ashraf Amra
Israel Palestinians Destroyed furniture and charred walls are seen in a home that came under attack during a massive Hamas invasion into Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The small farming community in the south of Israel was overrun by Hamas fighters from the nearby Gaza Strip who killed 1,400 Israelis and captured dozens of others on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
AP Photo/Francisco SecoNext(7/40)
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CEASEFIRE! NOW!
Civilian hostages will be freed if Israel stops bombardment of Gaza, senior Hamas leader says



Sky News
Updated Mon, 23 October 2023


The key Hamas negotiator over the fate of more than 200 hostages held by the group inside Gaza says all the civilians among them will be released - if the right conditions are met.

Khaled Meshaal is a powerful figure within Hamas, revered as a living martyr after surviving an Israeli attempt to assassinate him almost three decades ago.

In his first Western television interview since the 7 October attacks, he told Sky News the civilians being held by Hamas will be let go if Israel reduces the intensity of bombing Gaza.

"Let them stop this aggression and you will find the mediators like Qatar and Egypt and some Arab countries and others will find a way to have them released and we'll send them to their homes," he said.

Follow live: Israel conducts raids inside Gaza - as hostage's desperate last WhatsApps revealed

He said hostage releases cannot happen while Israel's air offensive remains so intense.

"We want to stop the random bombardments, the total destruction, the genocide so that the al Qassam soldiers can take them from their places and hand them to the Red Cross or whoever.

"We need the right conditions to allow them to be released."

Meshaal repeated claims that 22 hostages have died in Israeli airstrikes since being taken.

Hamas will not say which countries they are from but says many of the dead are Israelis.

He would not be drawn on whether Hamas will stop hostage negotiations entirely if Israel presses ahead with a ground invasion of Gaza.

So far only two hostages have been released by Hamas.

In one of the first indications that Hamas overreached on 7 October, he claimed it had never planned on killing civilians.

He said of civilian deaths: "If there was any killing, this was definitely not intended. Definitely."

And he denied claims from Israel that Hamas had adopted new more brutal tactics.

"There is no change in Hamas's strategy and what happened on 7 October is completely within Hamas's strategy. The ones who kill women and children, mothers and fathers are Israelis."

Israel says fighters targeted and deliberately killed many civilians in kibbutzes and the music festival near Gaza where 250 unarmed young people are reported to have been killed.

There is abundant video evidence showing unarmed civilians being killed in cold blood from that day.

Meshaal insisted the 7 October attacks were entirely the work of Hamas despite claims Iran was involved in their planning and training.

"What happened on 7 October is a purely Palestinian Hamas decision.

"Hezbollah, Iran, Turkey are required to stand shoulder to shoulder but everybody takes their own decision."

And he had an olive branch of sorts for Israel and the international community.

"The exit can be in two stages. First regarding this current conflict, this criminal war on Gaza the bombardment and aggression on Gaza should stop and Israel should cease forcefully removing the people of Gaza from the northern parts to the southern," he added.

"All crossing points should open, aid should be allowed to enter."

Israel may be convulsed by war, but Meshaal said there was even now the opportunity to negotiate with Israel over peace.

"If this happens and there is a ceasefire we come to the big question what was the root cause of what happened and we will say it's the occupation," he said.

"So, Israel should withdraw from all occupied lands and we will have a window of opportunity and real opportunity."
If Israeli forces enter Gaza, they will do well to remember US failures in Afghanistan

Dominic Nicholls
Mon, 23 October 2023 

Israeli soldiers have now spent almost two weeks preparing for an anticipated ground offensive in the Gaza Strip - HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/EPA-EFE

Israel’s forces have been massed on the border with Gaza for more than two weeks now. The order to invade has not yet come.

As more time passes, and more is reported about Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister’s concerns over a two-front war with Hamas and Hezbollah, it raises the question of whether the order is certain to come at all.

Most analysts conclude it is still overwhelmingly likely to arrive, and in the near future, perhaps when more hostages have been freed from the clutches of Hamas.

But some, both within Israel and outside the country, are wondering whether Israel could achieve its military goal – fully eradicating Hamas – with some version of the strategy it is currently employing, where the air force targets the group from the sky and elite forces conduct raids deep inside the territory. Certainly it would save the lives of thousands of Israeli soldiers.

In my view, the answer is simply that they cannot. It takes more than missiles and stealth jets to kill an ideology.


Netanyahu, despite his hawkish rhetoric, is known within Israel to be cautious in terms of ordering full-on wars. He has avoided the option in several previous bouts of fighting, only once sending large numbers of troops into the Gaza Strip in 2014.

This time, if further encouragement is needed to give the green light, he may look to the lessons of history, in terms of the scale of an operation needed to root out terrorists or wholly transform a region.

Whether they like it or not, Israeli forces, indeed the whole of Israel’s society, is about to embark on a generational counter-insurgency struggle. Victory will require political bravery and societal nous just as much as military muscle.

To avoid defeat they would be wise to study the glaring mistakes made by the US-led coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11.

For victory, they should turn to the Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960, when British and Commonwealth forces eventually triumphed over a communist revolt, albeit after many years of fighting and with a painful political bill.

That campaign successfully employed the counter-insurgency model of “Clear, Hold, Build”. It was a framework that the US and its allies failed to replicate in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Clear – arresting, killing or pushing out those that have taken up arms against the innocent, terrorised the population into reluctant support and generally offered nothing but a bleak future of enduring conflict, usually in the service of an ideology supported by few.

Hold – flood the area with troops and other elements of a state’s security apparatus in order to keep the insurgents away from the green shoots of a new, peaceful society. This phase is long and hard, requiring huge investment in both human and financial resources. Friendly force casualties will rise against a backdrop of little obvious progress. Real political leadership is vital to withstand the calls for a change of strategy.

Concurrently with the last phase – build. Physically build schools, hospitals and housing, while at the same time building the civic structures to ensure everyone has a stake in the future.

In Afghanistan, the US-led coalition managed the first two, to greater or lesser degrees, across that devastated country. By the time coalition forces pulled out, the building of physical infrastructure was stuttering but established; the creation of representative, accountable and honest Afghan political structures, however, was never seriously embraced.

For an enduring peace where Hamas no longer exists or is no longer supported by the public, even with coercion, Israel needs time, patience and courage.

Splitting the active Hamas terrorists from the wider passive Palestinian supporters can only be achieved if military action against the former is combined with civil reform for the latter.

Of course, Hamas has been responsible for civil structures – schools, hospitals, a future – in Gaza since 2007, and squandered most of that time, but if Israeli forces cross the start line with the maximalist aims they have described, they will be reminded quickly of the aphorism: if you break it, you own it.

Too often – as in the US experience in Vietnam or the coalition’s actions in Iraq and Afghanistan – too heavy a military hand not only increases the number of people willing to take up arms in opposition, but also decreases the chances of civil accommodation.

It took the British-led operation in Malaya over a decade of hard work, including eventual political reform, to end the communist insurgency. The half-hearted efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, with too little help given to society to enable it to build its own future, failed.

The question now is whether Israel will prefer the short-term hit of high-explosive nicotine or be prepared to invest time, money and lives in the uncomfortable compromises necessary for an enduring and satisfying peace.
Tesla under investigation by US authorities over driving range claims


Matthew Field
Mon, 23 October 2023 


Tesla is under investigation by US authorities following claims the electric carmaker has been misleading customers over the driving range of its vehicles.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent subpoenas to Tesla ordering it to share “certain matters” related to the vehicle range of its cars, Elon Musk’s car company said on Monday.

In a stock market disclosure, Tesla said US authorities were demanding information from the company on personal benefits and personnel decisions, as well as about the range of its electric cars.


It warned that the investigation risked having a “material adverse impact” on the company if US government officials decide to pursue enforcement action.

In July, Reuters reported Tesla cars had been displaying favourable battery estimates on its car dashboards that did not reflect real-life performance in a practice that started a decade ago. The report also alleged Tesla had created a “diversion team” to cancel appointments from drivers complaining about the range of their cars.

In August, the company was sued by drivers who claimed their cars were reaching only half their advertised range. One driver, James Porter, alleged his vehicle lost approximately 182 miles of range, despite only driving 92 miles.

The legal claim added: “Many Tesla owners noticed that the average range in their vehicles was well below the range Tesla had advertised prior to their purchase.

“Consumers who complained or scheduled appointments with Tesla regarding the below-advertised ranges in their vehicles discovered that Tesla would cancel such appointments and would explain that their electric vehicle was performing as intended.”

In a court filing earlier this month, Tesla said it intended to seek to have the claims dismissed.

Tesla has also been fined by officials in South Korea after a study found its cars were delivering just half their claimed range in cold weather conditions.

Like petrol cars, electric vehicles can lose mileage more quickly in colder conditions. They can also lose power when running their air conditioning or heating.

It comes as a further blow to Mr Musk, with US officials already scrutinising Tesla’s claims about its self-driving car technology. The US highways agency is also examining dozens of crashes involving Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance tools.

In February, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered Tesla to issue a software update to 363,000 vehicles running Tesla’s “full self-driving” system over concerns they may be ignoring stop signs and speed limits. Tesla said it disagreed with the findings but had made the update “out of an abundance of caution”.

US officials have also reportedly been probing the use of Tesla funds to build a glass house for Mr Musk in Texas and whether this had been properly disclosed to investors.

Of the latest investigations, Tesla said: “To our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred.”

Shares in Tesla fell 3.4pc in early trading in the US, although later recovered to trade flat at $212 (£173). The company’s shares are up 97pc so far this year despite concerns over waning demand for new EVs.

Electric car companies are facing increased scrutiny over their claims about range and recharging in advertising and marketing materials.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority banned two adverts from Hyundai and Toyota over exaggerated claims about recharging their electric cars. Both companies argued their adverts were not misleading.

Last week, Tesla reported revenues of $23.3bn, slightly below Wall Street expectations. Its profits came in at $1.85bn for the three months ending in September, lower than the previous quarter and down 44pc on the same period a year earlier.

The company has been trimming the prices of its electric vehicles to keep boosting sales amid stiff competition from new rivals, such as China’s BYD. Next month, Mr Musk plans to launch deliveries of a long-delayed pick-up, the Tesla Cybertruck.

Tesla says Justice Department is expanding investigations and issuing subpoenas for information

Mon, October 23, 2023 



DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors have expanded investigations into Tesla beyond the electric vehicle maker's partially automated driving systems, and they have issued subpoenas for information instead of simply requesting it, the company disclosed Monday.

In a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said the Department of Justice is looking into “personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions,” without giving details.

The additional investigation topics and the subpoenas suggest that prosecutors have broadened their inquiry, and they have found the need to force Tesla to disclose information, legal experts say. The filing indicates prosecutors may be investigating Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and whether the company has been candid in describing the features of its vehicles, they say.

In January, Tesla disclosed that the Justice Department had requested documents related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features. Both features are classified as driver-assist systems, and the company says on its website that the vehicles cannot drive themselves.

Now, the company is disclosing a probe that is “a lot wider than just looking at Autopilot and FSD features,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business and law professor. “The DOJ often starts with a formal written request and escalates to administrative subpoenas if it thinks it isn't getting full cooperation,” he said.

Specifying additional items that prosecutors are looking at indicates that Tesla lawyers found them serious enough to change the company's public disclosures, Gordon said.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment, but the company based in Austin, Texas, said in its SEC filing that to its knowledge, no government agency has concluded that any wrongdoing happened in any ongoing investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment.

For the first time, Tesla said in its filing that the investigations could damage the company's brand. “Should the government decide to pursue an enforcement action, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flows, financial position or brand,” the filing said.

Jacob Frenkel, a former SEC enforcement attorney and ex-federal prosecutor, said specifically pointing out “personal benefits and related parties” suggests a possible connection to Musk. Disclosing that vehicle range is under scrutiny “also reflects a concern about the company's representations about vehicle features,” said Frenkel, now a partner with Dickinson Wright in Washington.

It's unclear if Tesla merely considered subpoenas as requests for information in prior quarterly disclosures, Frenkel said. “Now the broader inquiry including relating to the Autopilot and FSD features appears subject to subpoena,” he said.

It is not possible to tell from the filing how far along the Justice Department is in its probe or whether it will result in any criminal charges, Frenkel said.

“Adding the notion of a material adverse impact on the company's brand does suggest a heightened concern as to the potential consequences that could flow from a federal civil or criminal action,” Frenkel said. “It is reasonable to interpret these disclosures as suggesting an expanded continuing and even potentially more damaging investigation.”

Tesla's “Full Self-Driving” hardware went on sale late in 2015, and Musk has used the name ever since as the company gathered data to teach its computers how to drive. The company recently cut the “Full Self-Driving” price $3,000 to $12,000.

In 2019, Musk promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis by 2020, and he said in early 2022 that the cars would be autonomous that year. In April, Musk said the system should be ready in 2023.

Since 2021, Tesla has been beta-testing “Full Self-Driving” using volunteer owners. On Tesla's third-quarter earnings conference call last week, Musk didn't directly answer a question about the timeline for Tesla vehicles to drive themselves and be deployed as robotaxis. “I guess I am very excited about our progress with autonomy,” he said, adding that the system can drive him around Austin with no interventions.

But Tesla's partially automated driving systems have been under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since June of 2016 when a driver using Autopilot was killed after his Tesla went under a tractor-trailer crossing its path in Florida. A separate probe into Teslas that were using Autopilot when they crashed into emergency vehicles started in August 2021. At least 14 Teslas that have crashed into emergency vehicles while using the Autopilot system.

Including the Florida crash, NHTSA has sent investigators to 35 Tesla crashes in which automated systems are suspected of being used. At least 17 people have died. The agency also is investigating complaints that Teslas can brake suddenly for no reason.

Auto safety advocates and government investigators have long criticized Tesla’s driver monitoring system as inadequate. Three years ago the National Transportation Safety Board listed poor monitoring as a contributing factor in a 2018 fatal Tesla crash in California. The board recommended a better system, but said Tesla has not responded.

Tom Krisher, The Associated Press


Elon Musk acted like a 'little baby' and was 'almost in tears' on Tesla's 'terrible' earnings call, analyst says



Lakshmi Varanasi
Sun, October 22, 2023 


Elon Musk is CEO of Tesla. Its shares fell 15% in the past week.Getty Images

Financial analyst Kevin Paffrath criticized Elon Musk's comments on Tesla's recent earnings call.


He said Musk blamed the EV maker's struggles on economic factors instead of "coming up with a plan."


Tesla's third-quarter results fell short of analysts' expectations.

It's now clear that Tesla's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday didn't exactly go as expected.

CEO Elon Musk acted like "a little baby," financial analyst and YouTuber Kevin Paffrath recently told Yahoo Finance. He also described the call as "terrible" and said Musk was "almost in tears" at one point.

"For a leader to cry about the economy rather than funneling that and coming up with a plan is pathetic," said Paffrath, who has almost 1.9 million subscribers on his Meet Kevin YouTube channel, and owns Tesla stock.

Paffrath pointed to Musk's comments on Tesla's gigafactory in Mexico as an example. The $10 billion endeavor, which Musk confirmed during a meeting with investors in March, would be the company's sixth and most expensive factory to date.

Musk suggested at one point on the call that he was delaying the factory in light of rising interest rates, which make borrowing more expensive. "If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it's that much harder for people to buy the car. They simply can't afford it," Musk said, pointing to the impact on monthly car loan payments.

But Paffrath slammed Musk's response, saying the Tesla CEO was "afraid," and suggested that Musk should negotiate a better deal with the Mexican government or potentially "advertise to higher-income areas." Paffrath has previously called on Tesla to promote its products to non-fans.

"We need to know the light is at the end of the tunnel rather than hearing a complaining CEO who's not actually providing that path," he told Yahoo Finance.


Kevin Paffrath hit out at Elon Musk's comments on the Tesla earnings call.Meet Kevin/YouTube

Tesla reported weaker than expected third quarter results, with both earnings per share and revenue of $23.35 billion falling short of analysts' estimates.

Shares in the EV maker fell 15% in the past week, valuing the company at $664 billion, but the stock is still up 96% this year.

Paffrath is far from the only analyst who's criticized Musk's performance on the call. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives characterized it as a "mini disaster" in which a "cautious Musk'' focused on high interest rates and tempered expectations around the Cybertruck.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.


Musk's Boring Company shares rise over 22% in employee share sale - The Information

Reuters
Mon, October 23, 2023

Illustration shows The Boring Company and Elon Musk silhouette

(Reuters) -Elon Musk's tunneling enterprise, The Boring Company, has sold shares owned by employees and investors at a price over 22% higher than in a funding round for the company last year, The Information reported on Monday.

The sale priced shares at $24 each, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Boring Company also told shareholders that investors could buy up to $20 million in secondary shares as part of the recent share sales, one of the people told The Information.

This gives the Austin, Texas-based startup an implied valuation of over $7 billion, the report added, up from its $5.675 billion valuation after a Series C funding round led by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital last year.

The Boring Company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)