December 10, 2024

Daily News Brief

*) Israel kills 25 Palestinians in a strike on home in northern Gaza The Israeli army has killed two Palestinian families overnight bombing a home that was sheltering them in the town of Beit Hanoon in the northern besieged Gaza. Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli army bombed a house that was sheltering two families from the Al-Kahlout clan, consisting of 25 individuals, burying them under the rubble. A relative of those killed said that Israel committed another massacre, wiping out two families entirely from the civil registry. He said their bodies remain trapped under the rubble of the destroyed house and in the street as rescue operations are impossible due to the dire security situation. *) Netanyahu says won't end Gaza war 'now' Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would not stop Israel's war in besieged Gaza "now", even as the renewed efforts towards a ceasefire are underway. Speaking at a press conference in West Jerusalem, he said, If we end the war now, Hamas will return, recover, rebuild and attack us again — and that is what we do not want to go back to". *) Israel violates 1974 agreement in Golan Heights buffer zone — UN The UN has warned that Israeli military activity along the Golan Heights buffer zone in Syria "would constitute a violation" of a 1974 pact on disengagement between Israel and Syria. UN peacekeepers informed the Israeli counterparts that these actions would constitute a violation of the agreement and that there should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation. A UN spokesperson also confirmed that the Israeli army personnel entered the area of separation and have been moving within that area where they remain in at least three locations throughout the region of separation. *) Syria transition must ensure 'accountability' for past crimes - UN The UN rights chief has said any political transition in Syria following the fall of Bashar al Assad must include accountability for him and others behind crimes committed under his rule. Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva that any political transition must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations and guarantee that those responsible are held accountable. Asked about whether Assad was among those who should be brought to account, he said the "former president of Syria and whoever was in senior leadership positions, there are indeed serious grounds to believe that they may have committed atrocity crimes". *) Ghana's ex-president John Mahama returns with election win Ghana's former president John Drahami Mahama has won a historic comeback election victory after the ruling party accepted defeat with voters appearing to punish them for the government's handling of an economic crisis. Following Saturday's election, New Patriotic Party candidate Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia conceded that Ghanaians wanted change after he failed to shake off widespread frustration over high living costs. His defeat ended eight years in power for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose last term was marked by the West African state's worst economic turmoil in years, high inflation and a debt default.