More journalists killed in Middle East, airstrikes continue over weekend

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TRANSCRIPT
Israel has killed two more Palestinian journalists, bringing the total number of media workers killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 182.
The news comes after three journalists were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon last Friday, with reports the local journalists notified authorities of their locations, believing it would keep them safe.
On-the-ground journalists in Gaza and Lebanon remain some of the only sources of information reporting directly from the besieged regions, with Israel severely restricting the entry of foreign journalists into Gaza.
Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary says both local and foreign press in Lebanon are facing a major threat.
“The danger facing the local press in Lebanon also affects foreign journalists present in Lebanon, due to Israel. I want to tell you that, as of October 9, we have had 1,638 foreign journalists here. This is not a small number; we are talking about 52 nationalities present in Lebanon. We say to the international community that this is not a joke, neither for us nor for them. There is a shared responsibility in this war to stop this killing and the killing machine.”
In Gaza, civilians trapped in the north are reportedly facing unbearable conditions as Israel refuses humanitarian aid or medical assistance.
With all communication cut off in northern Gaza, the United Nations Secretary General says he is shocked by the harrowing levels of death and destruction being carried out by Israeli forces.
Israeli strikes on schools, hospitals and other densely populated infrastructure being used as refugee camps have killed at least 50 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours.
Hussein Mohesin is the Director of the ambulance service in Gaza and says the people Israel killed were displaced when Israel destroyed their homes.
“There are a number of martyrs, 11 martyrs arrived at Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli Hospital, and a large number of injuries. Most of the injuries are children and women, and most of them are in a very serious condition. They were recovered from under the rubble, and our crews are still working to recover some of the martyrs who are still under the rubble.”
Palestinian journalist Said Arikat says Israel’s strategy in Gaza is to make it completely uninhabitable, with residents saying no food or water has entered the north in almost a month.
Around 400,000 Palestinian people are currently trapped in northern Gaza with Israeli authorities denying aid groups access to the besieged region.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, says Israel is attempting to empty the region of Palestinian people.
“Today, one of the darkest moments of the Gaza conflict is unfolding in the north of the Strip. The Israeli military is subjecting an entire population to bombing, siege and starvation, as well as being forced to choose between mass displacement and being trapped in an active conflict zone. The bombing in North Gaza is non-stop. The Israeli military has ordered hundreds of thousands to move, with no guarantees of return. But there is no safe way to leave: the bombs continue to fall; the Israeli military is separating families and detaining many people; and people fleeing have been reportedly shot at.”
Israel also carried out airstrikes on Iran, Syria and Iraq over the weekend while continuing their heavy bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza.
Iran says at least five people were killed in the strikes, including one civilian and four military personnel.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it hit Iranian defences hard and is satisfied with what it achieved.
“In the early hours of Saturday, we kept our promise, the Air Force attacked throughout Iran. We severely damaged Iran’s defence capacity and the ability to produce missiles aimed at us. All this comes after the last few months where we acted systematically according to a systematic plan to cut the arms of the octopus of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas; yesterday we hit the head of the octopus – the Iranian regime.”
Israel’s top ally and weapons supplier, the United States, say they were informed of the attack beforehand and claim Israel was acting in self-defence.
Vice president and democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris says it is Iran who must stop threatening the region.
“I feel very strongly, we as the United States feel very strongly, that Iran must stop what it is doing in terms of the threat that it presents to the region. And we will always defend Israel against any attacks by Iran in that way.”
Former US Diplomat and Senior Fellow at the Arab Centre in Washington DC Nabeel Khoury says Israel is violating international laws.
“The Israelis have been calling it ‘self-defence,’ but they have been practicing the ‘self-defence’ in Beirut, in the West Bank, in Gaza, in Damascus as well as in Yemen, and in Tehran itself. Prior to this latest attack, they assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was in Tehran. Now when you cross borders to assassinate essentially political leaders, you are not meeting someone on the battlefield, and therefore shooting and somebody shooting back, you are assassinating them while they are in a hotel, in an apartment building in the capital of another country.”
But while Iran’s leadership say they will conduct an appropriate response, they say it is not wider war that they’re after.
Iranian Prime Minister Massoud Pezeshkian says Iran will not back off from Israeli aggression.
“The reality is that our country and our esteemed people have proved over the past 40 to 45 years that they are not ready to back off in the face of any aggressor, and they will not back off (this time). Definitely the free people will not back off in the face of this criminal, blood-thirsty regime. We have always defended the rights of our people, and will continue to do so. I offer condolences to the families of our martyrs who lost their lives while serving in the Air Force and air defence.”
Shortly after Israel’s attack, Iran expert at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Beni Sabti says the Iranian response has been restrained so far.
“The Iranian narrative is much.. actually less harder than we thought (it would be). They just want to condemn Israel, they try to talk to U.N. and do some diplomatic steps, but that’s it. Of course, we are only in a few hours after the attack. Maybe after two, three days and some other steps by Israel, it can change. But now it seems that they also want to close it.”
With Israel’s attacks heightening fears of an all out regional conflict, Gaza ceasefire negotiations are set to resume after months of failure to secure a US-led plan.
Efforts by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to secure a ceasefire and facilitate a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas have so far stalled, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refusing to consider ending the conflict.
Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, is now proposing a new deal which would see a two day ceasefire in Gaza, allowing for a prisoner swap, before continued negotiations to reach a permanent ceasefire.
“In Egypt, during the past few days, efforts have been made to move the situation towards a two-day ceasefire during which four hostages would be exchanged for some prisoners held in Israeli jails. Then, over the next ten days, negotiations would proceed to complete measures in the area or to reach a full ceasefire and allow aid to enter. We affirm that our brothers in the Gaza Strip are facing an extremely difficult siege, reaching the point of starvation, and it is crucial that aid enters as quickly as possible.”