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First Evacuations from Gaza as Refugee Camp Struck Again

Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt on November 1, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt on November 1, 2023. (AFP)
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First Evacuations from Gaza as Refugee Camp Struck Again

Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt on November 1, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt on November 1, 2023. (AFP)

Hundreds of injured residents and foreigners escaped Gaza to Egypt Wednesday, the first evacuations from the war-torn Palestinian territory pounded by Israeli warplanes in retaliation for an unprecedented Hamas attack.  

The brief glimmer of hope sparked by the temporary opening of the Rafah border crossing was quickly snuffed out as a fresh strike pulverized buildings in Gaza's biggest refugee camp for a second consecutive day, killing dozens according to the Palestinian health ministry.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "continue until victory" over Hamas, whose brutal October 7 attack sparked the latest conflict, the deadliest in decades of unrest between the two sides.

AFP reporters at Gaza's southern border saw ambulances whisking away the wounded to Egyptian field hospitals, including one young boy with heavy bandaging around his stomach.

Whole families, struggling to carry their worldly possessions, rushed through the heavily fortified crossing towards Egypt, which said it admitted 335 foreigners or dual nationals and 76 seriously wounded and sick people.

Jordanian citizen Umm Saleh Hussein said water and electricity shortages were "the least" of the hardships Gazans were facing.

"There were bigger problems such as the bombardment. We were afraid. Many families were martyred," she told AFP.

A first group of mostly women and children arrived in Egypt, with TV images showing parents with pushchairs and elderly people clambering off a bus.  

"It's enough. We've endured enough humiliation," said Gaza resident Rafik al-Hilou, accompanying relatives including children aged one and four hoping to cross into Egypt.  

"We lack the most basic human needs. No internet, no phones, no means of communication, not even water. For the past four days, we haven't been able to feed this child a piece of bread. What are you waiting for?"  

'Slaughtered and killed'

AFPTV images from Wednesday's strike on the Jabalia camp showed extensive damage and rescuers clawing through rubble to extract blood-stained casualties.  

Dozens were killed and wounded, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which came a day after Israeli jets hit the camp, killing at least 47 people, according to an AFP count.  

Rescuers said "whole families" had died, but casualty details could not be immediately confirmed. Israel's military did not comment.  

UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned Israel's strikes on the Gaza refugee camp.  

"The secretary-general is appalled over the escalating violence in Gaza, including the killing of Palestinians, including women and children in Israeli air strikes in residential areas of the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.  

Israel said Tuesday's raid was a successful hit on top Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari, but the large death toll drew a chorus of international condemnation in the region and as far afield as Bolivia, which severed diplomatic ties in protest.

Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel "to condemn the Israeli war that is killing innocent people in Gaza".  

Hamas said seven of the 240 hostages it is holding, including three foreign passport holders, had died in Tuesday's bombing, a claim impossible to verify.  

The group's leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of committing "barbaric massacres against unarmed civilians", saying it was covering its own "defeats."  

Israel has relentlessly pounded Gaza in retribution for the worst attack in the country's history, when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.  

AFP reporters saw more tanks pour over the border into northern Gaza, as Israel stepped up its ground incursion launched late last week. Its bombing campaign has killed 8,796 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.  

Israel said 15 soldiers died in ground fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, bringing to 330 the number killed since October 7.

AFP images showed tearful Israeli women in uniform hugging each other for comfort at the funeral of one of the troops killed.  

"People were just slaughtered and killed everywhere," said 21-year-old Israeli Maya Keyy, from one of the communities torn apart by the Hamas attack.  

"As Jews we need to fight for our own existence... it's like it's a war that will never end."  

'No hope in Gaza'  

The situation in Gaza remained desperate, with food, fuel and medicine for the 2.4 million residents all running short, according to aid groups.  

Palestinian residents told AFP they had evacuated from northern Gaza, as demanded by Israel, but were still under threat.

"We've been told people are evacuating from Gaza City towards the central area of the strip beyond the valley, so we headed there," Amen al-Aqluk said.  

"After 20 days, we were bombarded. Three of our kids lost their lives and we all got injured.  

"There is no hope in the Gaza Strip. It is not safe anymore here. When the border opens, everybody will leave and emigrate. We encounter death everyday, 24 hours a day."  

With fears mounting of a regional war, US President Joe Biden called for "urgent mechanisms" to dial down tensions and said top diplomat Antony Blinken would embark on another Middle East tour from Friday.  

Türkiye and Iran called for a regional conference to prevent a conflagration, as Israel faces a daily barrage of aerial attacks from Hamas and other Iran-backed groups around the Middle East, including Yemen's Houthi militias.  

In the north, Israel has traded near-daily fire with Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.  

And the families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas have endured an unbearable wait for news of relatives thought to be held in the labyrinth of tunnels deep below Gaza.  

Ayelet Sella, whose seven cousins were kidnapped from one of the kibbutz communities raided by Hamas gunmen, said she could find "no rest" until her loved ones are returned.  

"We have no more tears, our eyes are dry, we are empty three weeks on," said Sella, speaking to AFP at the Great Synagogue in Paris. "I only ask for one thing, that they come back."

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Arab World

Tetteh Accuses Libyan Stakeholders of Stalling Political Progress

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Hanna Tetteh (Getty)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Hanna Tetteh (Getty)
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Tetteh Accuses Libyan Stakeholders of Stalling Political Progress

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Hanna Tetteh (Getty)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Hanna Tetteh (Getty)

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh has accused Libya’s stakeholders of stalling political progress on the UN-backed roadmap intended to lead the country toward national election.

“Four months have elapsed since I first presented the Roadmap to this Council on 21 August and UNSMIL has been engaging Libyan stakeholders with regard to its implementation, which I admit has been quite challenging,” Tetteh told the Security Council in New York on Friday.

She said efforts to advance electoral preparations had failed to meet agreed timelines, despite repeated engagement with Libya’s rival political bodies.

She recalled that committees from the House of Representatives and the High Council of State had agreed in October to reconstitute the High National Elections Commission within two weeks, but “despite multiple efforts and engagements with these institutions, this did not happen.”

Tetteh said a subsequent agreement signed last November, under UN auspices, established a mechanism to select new HNEC board members, with a deadline of December 11 to finalize the process. That deadline also passed without action.

“It is my assessment that the delays are a manifestation of the lack of trust between the two institutions, their own internal divisions, and the inability to overcome their differences and agree on the way forward to resolve the current impasse,” Tetteh said.

She listed the obstacles facing the amendment of the constitutional and legal framework for elections.

Despite the setbacks, Tetteh highlighted the launch of a new UN-facilitated dialogue process held in Libya earlier this month, describing it as a key component of the roadmap.

On December 14 and 15 “UNSMIL launched the inaugural meeting of the Structured Dialogue which is one of the three core components of the Roadmap,” she said. “This is the first process of this magnitude to be held on Libyan soil.”

She said 124 participants included representatives from sovereign institutions, civil society, political parties, academia and cultural and linguistic groups, alongside other state institutions.

The dialogue aimed to define guiding principles for state-building, formulate political and legislative recommendations covering governance, economy, security, and national reconciliation.

On the economy, Tetteh said Libya's persistent financial fragmentation continues to undermine its dinar.

The UN envoy also said that the security environment in Tripoli has stabilized to a certain extent, however the situation remains fragile with sporadic outbreaks of armed clashes in southern Tripoli and elsewhere.

Tetteh commented on UN Security Council Resolution 2796 (2025) of October 31, which extended UNSMIL’s mandate for one year.

She said UNISMIL formed an internal task force to gradually implement key decisions and recommendations, due to limited resources.

Arab World

Sanaa's GPC Wing Deepens Submission to Houthis

A view of previous meetings of the General People’s Congress wing in Sanaa (local media)
A view of previous meetings of the General People’s Congress wing in Sanaa (local media)
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Sanaa's GPC Wing Deepens Submission to Houthis

A view of previous meetings of the General People’s Congress wing in Sanaa (local media)
A view of previous meetings of the General People’s Congress wing in Sanaa (local media)

A wing of Yemen’s General People’s Congress (GPC) operating in areas under Houthi control has moved to consolidate its alignment with the Iran-backed group, dismissing the party’s secretary general, Ghazi Ali al-Ahwal, and replacing Ahmed Ali Saleh, son of the late Yemeni president, with a figure closely associated with the Houthis in the post of deputy party leader.

The party’s General Committee, its political bureau, held a meeting in Sanaa on Thursday, chaired by Sadiq Amin Abu Ras, head of the party wing in Houthi-controlled areas.

The meeting ended with the selection of Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, the former head of the unrecognized Houthi government, as deputy party leader.

The move was widely seen as a direct response to public Houthi demands to remove the former president’s son, coupled with repeated threats to shut down the party and ban its activities.

The decision to sideline Ahmed Ali Saleh came after weeks of mounting pressure by the Houthis on the wing’s leadership.

Measures included tight security restrictions on Abu Ras’s movements and threats to dissolve the party and seize what remained of its political and organizational activity, citing the group’s full control over party headquarters and finances in Sanaa and other areas under its influence.

According to party sources, the Houthis did not stop at imposing the removal, but also demanded the appointment of a loyal figure as deputy leader in an effort to tighten their grip on what remains of the party’s decision-making structures and to prevent any potential communication with party leaders abroad or with rival political forces.

The most controversial decision was the final expulsion of al-Ahwal from party membership, around four months after his arrest by the Houthis on charges of communicating with party leaders outside the country, foremost among them Ahmed Ali Saleh.

At an earlier meeting, the wing had approved the appointment of Yahya al-Raai as secretary general to replace al-Ahwal, in addition to his role as deputy party leader alongside Abu Ras.

The party’s Organizational Oversight Authority submitted a report to the General Committee accusing al-Ahwal of harming party unity and national unity, violating internal regulations, the constitution and national principles.

The leadership used the report to justify the expulsion decision, which it said was taken unanimously, despite criticism that the secretary general remains detained under unlawful conditions without even minimal guarantees of defense or trial.

Houthi grip

Political sources in Sanaa said the appointment of bin Habtoor as deputy party leader was an attempt by the wing’s leadership to ease pressure and avoid a scenario in which the Houthis imposed a more hardline and openly loyal figure, such as Hussein Hazeb, whom the group had been pushing to appoint as first deputy leader or secretary general.

However, the same sources said the move did not prevent the Houthis from pressing ahead with their demand to permanently expel al-Ahwal, underscoring how limited the leadership’s room for maneuver has become and how key decisions are effectively made outside the party’s organizational framework.

In an apparent attempt to justify the moves, the General Committee said the General People’s Congress “has always been and will remain keen to resolve disputes within the framework of national unity,” speaking of visions related to decentralized governance and reducing centralization.

By contrast, senior party figure Jamal al-Humairi, who is based abroad, said the recent decisions were “an extension of a clear trajectory of Houthi pressure,” stressing that they were issued in a “kidnapped political and security reality” where intimidation and blackmail are used to subjugate a long-established party and strip it of its historic leadership.

He said organizational legitimacy “is derived from the grassroots, not from decisions imposed by force,” adding that the decisions “do not represent the party or its base.”

Internal anger

Inside Sanaa, party sources said there was widespread anger and rejection among party cadres over the decision to expel al-Ahwal, as well as criticism of the General Committee meeting for failing to address his detention or demand his release. They also cited frustration over the failure to address the siege imposed on the home of the wing’s leader and other senior figures.

Observers say the treatment of the Sanaa-based wing reflects a broader picture of political life being stifled in Houthi-controlled areas, where a single ideological vision is imposed on parties and only a narrow margin of activity is allowed for organizations that orbit the group.

Since the killing of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh at the end of 2017, the General People’s Congress has been deeply divided. Most of its historic leadership left Houthi-controlled areas without agreeing on a unified leadership abroad, while the Sanaa wing opted to adapt to the reality of Houthi dominance.

Meanwhile, Tareq Saleh formed a political bureau for the National Resistance Forces on the Red Sea coast, which has attracted party figures and members of parliament.

Analysts agree that the latest decisions mark a new stage in the dismantling of the party in Sanaa, turning it into a body stripped of independent will and operating under Houthi conditions, further entrenching the erosion of political pluralism in Yemen.

Arab World

Lebanon: Return of Residents Dominates Naqoura Ceasefire Mechanism Meeting

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Simon Karam at Baabda Palace. Photo: Lebanese presidency
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Simon Karam at Baabda Palace. Photo: Lebanese presidency
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Lebanon: Return of Residents Dominates Naqoura Ceasefire Mechanism Meeting

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Simon Karam at Baabda Palace. Photo: Lebanese presidency
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Simon Karam at Baabda Palace. Photo: Lebanese presidency

The committee overseeing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, known as the “mechanism,” convened its 15th meeting in Naqoura, the second to include civilian representatives, with renewed focus on the return of residents to their homes on both sides of the border.

The statement issued after the meeting highlighted the importance of the return of residents on both sides of the border to their homes, and said Lebanese and Israeli representatives reaffirmed their commitment to continue efforts to support stability and work toward a permanent halt to hostilities, according to the US Embassy in Beirut.

Earlier this month, two civilian representatives, one Lebanese and one Israeli, joined the committee’s meetings in the first direct talks between the two countries in decades. The committee is led by the United States and includes representatives from France and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Aoun: Return of residents is the entry point for further talks

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with the head of the Lebanese delegation, Simon Karam, after he took part in the meeting in Naqoura.

Aoun stressed that “the priority is the return of residents of the border villages to their towns, homes and land as an entry point to discussing all other details.”

He added that the meeting included a detailed presentation of what the Lebanese army has achieved, supported by documentation. It was agreed that Jan. 7, 2026, would be the date of the next meeting.

Netanyahu’s office: Discussion on boosting economic projects

While the US Embassy said participants focused on strengthening military cooperation between the two sides, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deputy head of the National Security Council represented Israel at the Naqoura meeting to discuss the disarmament of Hezbollah.

It added that talks also covered ways to boost economic projects to demonstrate the shared interest in removing the Hezbollah threat and ensuring lasting security for residents on both sides of the border.

US Embassy: Political and economic progress is essential

In its statement, the US Embassy in Beirut said military participants in the mechanism meeting “offered operational updates and remained focused on deepening the cooperation” between the two sides “by finding ways to increase coordination.”

“All agreed a strengthened Lebanese Armed Force, the guarantors of security in the South Litani Sector, is critical to success.”

“Civilian participants, in parallel, focused on setting conditions for residents to return safely to their homes, advancing reconstruction, and addressing economic priorities. They underscored that durable political and economic progress is essential to reinforcing security gains and sustaining lasting peace,” the statement added.

The embassy also said “participants reaffirmed that progress on security and political tracks remain mutually reinforcing and essential to ensuring long-term stability and prosperity for both parties. They look forward to the next round of regularly scheduled meetings in 2026.”

Lebanese authorities had approved earlier this month the appointment of former ambassador Simon Karam as a civilian representative to the committee’s meetings, in a move aimed at “warding off the specter of a second war” on Lebanon amid Israeli threats and continued airstrikes that Israel says target Hezbollah positions.

The authorities stressed the technical nature of the talks with Israel, aimed at halting its attacks and securing the withdrawal of its forces from areas they advanced into during the latest war.

Hezbollah described the appointment of a civilian delegate at the time as a “misstep” added to what it called the government’s “sin” of deciding to disarm the group under the ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon is facing mounting pressure from the United States and Israel to accelerate the disarmament of Hezbollah under a plan approved by the government as part of implementing the ceasefire agreement.

The Lebanese army is expected to complete the first phase of the plan in the border area south of the Litani River by the end of the year.