Australia summons Israeli ambassador over Gaza aid worker death
Australia on Thursday summoned Israel's ambassador over the Israeli military's decision not to
pursue criminal proceedings in connection with the death of an Australian aid worker in a 2024 airstrike in Gaza.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had found no basis to open criminal investigations into the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
"This decision falls far short of the accountability we expect," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement, adding Australia was "outraged" by the Israeli government's decision.
Netanyahu says Israel sent message 'clearly' to Turkey in Syria with air strike
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that Israel sent a message to Turkey against allegedly setting up a base in Syria, tacitly acknowledging a strike the day before.
In an interview with an army radio podcast, Netanyahu said that Israel had warned Turkey against setting up a base and added: "Apparently they didn't hear it, so we made sure they understood it more clearly."
UN chief calls far-right Israeli minister's calls for mass Gaza killings 'dangerous', spokesman says
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed remarks by Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that Israel should kill "30 or 40" people every night in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
"These remarks are appalling. They're outrageous. They're dehumanising, and they're dangerous. And we condemn them unequivocally," said Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
'The implicit acceptance of responsibility': Israeli military launches probe into its troops' killing of 5-year-old girl
Israel’s military on Wednesday announced its first internal criminal investigations into troop conduct in the war in Gaza, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics.
the broadcaster's Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.
In occupied Syria, Israel's army chief vows not to allow 'hostile forces' along its borders
Israel's army chief said during a visit to Israeli-occupied southern Syria that the military would not allow threats to "establish themselves" on the border.
"We are monitoring the changes on the Syrian front; we will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves on our borders, and we will know how to use our operational capabilities precisely where and when needed," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir told troops.
On Tuesday, Israel bombed a base in northwestern Syria, accusing Damascus of violating an agreement by accepting Turkish troops on it, drawing condemnation from the US and Turkey.
Turkey slams Israel's 'untenable' claims after strikes on Syrian base
Turkey firmly rejected what it called "untenable allegations" by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian air base near the Turkish border and claimed Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy there.
Israel carried out air strikes against the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Turkey and criticism from a US envoy who called the attack an "unnecessary escalation".
the broadcaster's Jasper Mortimer reports from Ankara, Turkey.
Rights groups urge release of Palestinian-American student detained in Israel
More than 100 US organisations have called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to act "urgently" to secure the release of Palestinian-American student Sama Safi, who has been detained in Israel for more than two months.
Israeli forces arrested Safi, a 20-year-old psychology student from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 2, along with two other students and a graduate of the university.
A State Department spokesperson said at the time that it was following the case and took its commitment to protecting US citizens abroad seriously.
"During my detention, I was repeatedly subjected to verbal abuse... I was blindfolded and my hands were shackled," the letter quoted Safi saying.
Safi was arrested at her family home in the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, and charged with membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a party that Israeli authorities classify as a "terrorist organisation".
She denies the allegation, her lawyer Leah Tsemel told reporters.
Gaza health officials raise death toll from Israeli strike on police station to 9
Gaza health officials say Israeli strike on police station killed seven people
Gaza health officials said an Israeli strike on the municipal police headquarters in Gaza City killed seven people and wounded several others.
Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital reported the arrival of seven bodies and at least 22 wounded people following the strike. The territory's civil defence rescue agency confirmed the death toll.
Turkey is ready to search for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish minister says
Turkey is ready to work with Damascus to look for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday.
* Turkish state oil company TPAO and private companies are ready for seismical surveys and exploration drilling both offshore and onshore in Syria, Bayraktar said at a joint press conference in Damascus with Syrian Energy Minister Mohamed al-Bashir.
* Turkey operates a deep sea drilling fleet and is drilling an exploration well off the coast of Somalia. The state oil company also won a licence to look for oil in Libyan offshore fields.
* Turkey and Syria will commission new infrastructure over the next few weeks, tripling electricity transmission capacity to over 800 megawatts, Bayraktar said.
Oil hits three-week high on uncertainty over Hormuz
Oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
Brent crude futures climbed 54 cents, or 0.59%, to $91.56 by 1157 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 59 cents, or 0.69%, to $85.53 a barrel.
Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30, and WTI reached its highest since July 31.
"Confidence in safe passage remains low, with shipping volumes still running well below normal levels. That persistent uncertainty continues to keep a geopolitical risk premium embedded in the oil price," KCM chief market analyst Tim Waterer said.
Israeli air strike kills six Palestinians at police post in Gaza, medics say
An Israeli air strike killed six Palestinians at a police post in Gaza City on Wednesday, medical sources told Reuters.
Earlier on Wednesday, in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a separate Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian, medics said, taking Wednesday's death toll to at least seven.
Yemen govt warns Houthis planning to seize Bab al-Mandab coast
A Yemeni minister has warned that the country's Houthi rebels are plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which would allow the group to further threaten the vital shipping artery.
Three Houthi military sources and a spokesman for Yemeni government forces bordering the waterway also told reporters the rebels are planning to advance.
Such an assault, if successful, would cement Houthi control over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which the Iran-backed rebels have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.
It would also extend the hold of Tehran and its allies to a second vital waterway in the Middle East after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in its war with the United States.
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for special status on Hormuz oil exports
Iraq's parliament speaker Haibat al-Halbousi called for special status for Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad on Wednesday, his office said in a statement, without providing further details.
Israeli military says it will launch criminal probes into killings of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and Gaza paramedics
Israel's military will open internal criminal investigations over its troops' killings in Gaza of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in January 2024 and 15 emergency and aid workers in March 2025, it said on Wednesday.
The military said the investigation decisions followed probes by its Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism. It released decisions regarding five incidents involving the deaths of Palestinians.
They included an examination of the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024. On that incident, the military said there was "no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct that would justify the opening of a criminal investigation."
"For more than a thousand days, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has been conducting intensive combat across numerous fronts, carrying out a wide range of military missions in an exceptionally complex operational reality, the Israeli military said.
France FM condemns far-right Israeli minister's 'inhumane' Gaza remarks
France's foreign minister on Wednesday condemned "inhumane" remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister that Israel should kill 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza.
The remarks on a podcast by Itamar Ben Gvir "are intolerable and inhumane", said Jean-Noël Barrot.
Germany's Merz condemns far-right Israeli minister's Gaza remarks
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister that Israel should kill 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza, a government spokesman said.
"The chancellor strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister (Itamar) Ben Gvir, which violate international law," spokesman Sebastian Hille said. "They are unacceptable."
Ben Gvir's comments, made in a podcast of a former Gaza hostage, have triggered widespread criticism in Germany, traditionally one of Israel's staunchest international allies.
Lars Klingbeil, German vice chancellor and finance minister, said in a TV interview Tuesday that Ben Gvir's comments "must have consequences", adding that sanctions were being discussed at the European level.
Oil hits three-week high on uncertainty over Hormuz
Oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
Brent crude futures climbed 45 cents, or 0.49%, to $91.47 by 07:54 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.53%, to $85.39 a barrel.
Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30 and WTI reached its highest since July 31.
Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran, which said the waterway remained shut.
Iran's armed forces warn Gulf countries against assisting US military
Iran's armed forces on Wednesday warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military, saying it would be tantamount to joining American military operations.
"We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation," armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to Iran's Mehr news agency.
- Turkey rejects Israeli claims after strike on Syria air base
- Iran's armed forces warn Gulf countries against assisting US military
- Gaza health officials say Israeli strike on police station killed nine people
- UN chief calls far-right Israeli minister's calls for mass Gaza killings 'dangerous', spokesman says
(the broadcaster with AFP, AP and Reuters)
