Henry Kissinger, former US secretary of state, dead at 100 - The Independent

Henry Kissinger death: Influential US diplomat, dead at 100

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Famed US diplomat Henry Kissinger has died at the age of 100, it has been announced.

Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State and the last surviving member of Richard Nixon’s cabinet died on Wednesday.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for helping to end America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The same year, he also led peace talks between Israel and Arab states that brought an end to the Yom Kippur War.

President Ford, who appointed him his national security adviser, handed him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, for having “wielded America’s great power with wisdom and compassion in the service of peace.”

Kissinger, the son of German Jews, escaped the Nazis with his family in 1938 but returned to the country of his birth six years later serving with the US Army.

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From our archives: Nobel Peace Prize given to Kissinger despite full knowledge Vietnam War was unlikely to end, archives show

Top US diplomat Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 despite the officials involved fully aware that the Vietnam war was unlikely to end any time in the near future.

This has come to light after newly released papers of nominations for the Peace Prize which remained a secret for 50 years. The documents were awarded on 1 January to the chief negotiator who represented Kissinger and Hanoi after a request was placed for them.

Read the full piece here:

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 07:15

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Chinese state media pays tribute to Kissinger: ‘The old friend of the Chinese people’

“Today, this ‘old friend of the Chinese people,’ who had a sharp vision and a thorough understanding of world affairs, has completed his legendary life,” China News said in an obituary.

On Weibo, the hashtag “Kissinger just came to China this year” went viral. Henry Kissinger visited China more than 100 times in his lifetime and more recently in July this year.

CCTV, the state broadcaster, called Kissinger a “legendary diplomat” and a “living fossil” who had been a witness to the development of China-US relationship.

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 06:45

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Anthony Bourdain’s savaging of Kissinger lights up X

“Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands,” wrote the late chef and TV travel personality.

Graeme Massie30 November 2023 06:00

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Henry Kissinger ‘left an indelible mark on America’s history’

Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state, said Henry Kissinger “was a model of service and a great American” and “left an indelible mark on America’s history”.

In his tribute, Mr Pompeo added: “From the day he came to the United States as a teenager fleeing Nazi Germany, Dr Kissinger dedicated his life to serving this great country and keeping America safe. He left an indelible mark on America’s history and the world.

“I will always be grateful for his gracious advice and help during my own time as Secretary. Always supportive and always informed, his wisdom made me better and more prepared after every one of our conversations,” he wrote on X.

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 05:45

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Chinese state media pays tribute to Kissinger: ‘The old friend of the Chinese people’

“Today, this ‘old friend of the Chinese people,’ who had a sharp vision and a thorough understanding of world affairs, has completed his legendary life,” China News said in an obituary.

On Weibo, the hashtag “Kissinger just came to China this year” went viral. Henry Kissinger visited China more than 100 times in his lifetime and more recently in July this year.

CCTV, the state broadcaster, called Kissinger a “legendary diplomat” and a “living fossil” who had been a witness to the development of China-US relationship.

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 05:15

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'World has lost a tireless advocate for peace’, Winston Lord says

Winston Lord, a former US ambassador to China, said “the world has lost a tireless advocate for peace”.

Kissinger’s former special assistant at the White House national security council, Mr Lord said in a statement that “America has lost a towering champion for national interest”.

“During more than seven decades, he transformed America’s role in the world, held the nation together during a constitutional crisis, crafted visionary volumes, counselled world leaders, and enriched the national and international discourse,” Mr Lord added.

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 04:45

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George W Bush pays tribute to Kissinger

Former president George W Bush remembered Henry Kissinger for “his wisdom, his charm, and his humour”.

In a statement, he said: “I have long admired the man who fled the Nazis as a young boy from a Jewish family, then fought them in the United States Army. When he later became Secretary of State, his appointment as a former refugee said as much about his greatness as it did America’s greatness.

“He worked in the Administrations of two Presidents and counselled many more. I am grateful for that service and advice, but I am most grateful for his friendship.”

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 04:15

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Henry Kissinger death: Influential US diplomat, dead at 100

Henry Kissinger death: Influential US diplomat, dead at 100

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 03:45

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Henry Kissinger: Polarising architect of Cold War era American foreign policy

Influential US secretary of state to Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as arch practitioner of ‘realpolitik’ who was revered and reviled in equal measure, write Ariana Baio and Joe Sommerlad:

Maroosha Muzaffar30 November 2023 03:13

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Anthony Bourdain’s savaging of Kissinger lights up X

“Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands,” wrote the late chef and TV travel personality.

Graeme Massie30 November 2023 02:42

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2023-11-30 06:00:18Z
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Henry Kissinger, secretary of state to Richard Nixon, dies at 100 - The Guardian US

Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state under Richard Nixon who became one of the most prominent and controversial figures of US foreign policy in the 20th century, has died. He was 100.

His consulting firm Kissinger Associates announced hisdeath in a statement on Wednesday evening, but did not disclose a cause.

A giant of the Republican party, Kissinger remained influential until the end of his life, in large part thanks to his founding in 1982 of his geopolitical consulting firm based in New York City, and the authorship of several books on international affairs.

Kissinger was a Harvard academic before becoming national security adviser when Nixon won the White House in 1968. Working closely with the president, he was influential in momentous decisions regarding the Vietnam war including the secret bombing of Cambodia in 1969 and 1970. That was part of what Nixon called the “madman theory”, an attempt to make North Vietnam believe the US president would do absolutely anything to end the war.

As secretary of state, Kissinger did achieve peace in Vietnam, although not before initiating a heavy bombing campaign at Christmas 1972, while talks continued.

He survived Nixon’s downfall in the Watergate scandal and served Gerald Ford, leaving government after Jimmy Carter’s election win in 1976. Kissinger’s policy towards the Soviet Union was not confrontational enough for the Reagan administration, precluding any thought of a 1980s comeback.

On the political and intellectual right and left, Kissinger’s legacy differs.

On the right, he is seen as a brilliant statesman, a master diplomat, an exponent of power politics deployed to the benefit of America, the country to which his family fled on leaving Germany in 1938.

On the left, hostility burns over his record on Chile, where the CIA instigated the overthrow of Salvatore Allende; on Pakistan, where he and Nixon turned a blind eye to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands; on the Middle East; on Cyprus; on East Timor and more.

In the early 2000s, Kissinger supported the administration of George W Bush in its invasion of Iraq. Another supporter of that war, the journalist Christopher Hitchens, wrote that Kissinger should be tried for war crimes.

In fact, for negotiating the Paris treaty which ended the Vietnam war, Kissinger and Le Duc Tho were awarded a shared Nobel prize, although the North Vietnamese negotiator refused to accept the honour. The accolade prompted the the singer-satirist Tom Lehrer to respond: “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize.”

Kissinger made an appearance in Siege, Michael Wolff’s Trump exposé which was published in 2019. According to Wolff, Kissinger regularly advised Jared Kushner. At one point, the book said, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser even suggested that Kissinger, well into his 90s, should return as secretary of state.

His firm said on Wednesday he died at his home in Connecticut and would be interred at a private family service, and that there would be a memorial in New York at a later date.

More details soon …

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2023-11-30 02:41:00Z
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Ten-month-old baby hostage is dead, Hamas claims as Netanyahu vows to 'fight until the end' - The Telegraph

The 10-month-old baby held hostage in Gaza has been killed, according to Hamas, as Israel’s prime minister vowed to return to all-out war.

Kfir Bibas, the youngest person to be taken hostage, died in captivity alongside his four-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shira, Hamas said in a statement.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was investigating the claims and was in touch with the surviving family.

In a video statement, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said there had been questions over whether Israel would return to war after “this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted”.

On Wednesday, Joe Biden called on Israel to show restraint. “To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing and war is to give Hamas what they seek,” the US president warned. “We can’t do that.”

Welcoming the release of the hostages, Mr Biden did not address the possible ceasefire extension but said he “remain[s] determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel”.

“The deal to pause the fighting in Gaza and facilitate the release of hostages — a deal the United States worked intensively to secure, sustain, and extend — is now in its sixth day,” he said. “This deal has delivered meaningful results.”

But Mr Netanyahu promised to continue fighting at the nearest opportunity, as the IDF said it had completed plans for the next phase of combat in south Gaza.

He said: “There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end. This is my policy, the entire cabinet stands behind it, the soldiers stand behind it, the people stand behind it.”

It came as the Israel Defense Forces said 10 Israeli hostages and four Thai nationals had been released by Hamas on Wednesday night in the sixth tranche of the temporary ceasefire deal.

Two dual Israeli-Russian nationals were freed earlier on Wednesday.

There were hopes that the current truce could be extended past its expiry on Thursday morning, with Qatari mediators reportedly expressing “confidence” of further swaps.

Shiri Silberman Bibas with her son Kfir Credit: PA

With the IDF investigating reports of the Bibas killings, Benny Gantz, a war cabinet minister, warned the news could be  seen as “psychological warfare from Hamas”.

Kfir, his brother and mother were abducted in the Kibbutz of Nir Oz on Oct 7 along with their father, Yarden, 34.

An IDF spokesman said on Tuesday that the family was no longer in the control of Hamas and had been handed over to a different terror group, which was holding them in Khan Younis.

Hamas said the children and their mother had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, without providing evidence.

The Bibas family requested privacy in a statement and said they were “waiting for the [claims of the killings] to be confirmed and hopefully rebutted by military officials”.

Jimmy Miller, a cousin of Shira Bibas, said: “Hamas abducted them alive. Hamas is solely responsible for their well-being. Hamas must return them to us alive.”

“We’re not interested in whether they transferred them to somebody else or to some other group.”

Israel believes Hamas still has enough women and children hostages to allow the current pause in fighting in Gaza to be extended by another two to three days, an official involved in the negotiating process said on Wednesday. Israel has said it will extend the truce by one day for every 10 hostages freed.

“We know for a fact that there are additional hostages in the hands of Hamas for at least two more days, potentially three days from the list of women and children,” said the official, who spoke on condition that he not be named.

The official added that “follow-on agreements”, for the men held by Hamas, would only be negotiated after the release of all the women and children.

Families beg for return of male hostages

It came as the families of male Israeli hostages issued an emotional plea for their release on a visit to London.

Orit Meir’s son, 21-year-old Almog, was snatched from the SuperNova music festival, where hundreds were massacred.

The 61-year-old said she only knows he is alive through a video released by Hamas shortly after his capture.

“I just want him back,” she told The Telegraph, with tears in her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter if your child is 10, 21 or 40. It’s still your child and you yearn for them like they were a baby.”

“I’m happy for the families who have been reunited. But I want my baby back, 54 days is too much.”

Ilay David, brother of 26-year-old Evyatar, said was aware of the difficulty in securing the release of male hostages.

Evyatar was also kidnapped at the music festival and similarly appeared in a video, looking terrified.

“He’s a young man, which probably means Hamas has written him [down] as a soldier, which he is not,” said Ilay.

“And that’s so upsetting that he’s the last one in the food chain, although he has done  nothing to harm anyone. The only crime he committed was to celebrate in a festival alongside so many others that were just living their lives.”

Division over length of truce

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, who was scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday, said the administration wanted the truce to continue because it “means that more hostages will be coming home, more assistance will be getting in”.

However, Itamar Ben Gvir, the hard-Right security minister and a key partner in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, threatened to bring down the government if the war in Gaza ends.

“Stopping the war equals breaking apart the government,” he said in a statement. Mr Ben Gvir’s departure would leave Mr Netanyahu with a very slim majority to keep his hold on power.

It came as Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, said reports of sexual violence during the Hamas rampage must be investigated, as he warned of an “epic humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.

Mr Guterres said there were numerous accounts of sexual violence during the “abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas on October 7” which saw thousands injured, more than 1,200 people killed and about 240 people abducted.

Speaking of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza, Mr Guterres said that all of them “must be released immediately and unconditionally”.

“Until then,” he added, “they must be treated humanely and (humanitarian organisation) the ICRC must be allowed to visit them.”

There were further tensions in the West Bank on Wednesday, as the IDF said it fired on armed terrorists in a refugee camp in Jenin, killing two men.

Israel’s military also reported it had killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank as violence continues to soar in the occupied territory amid the war in Gaza.

Muhammad Zubeidi was “eliminated” by IDF fighters in the Jenin refugee camp, the IDF said. He was accused of several shooting attacks in the area.

Meanwhile, an 85-year-old hostage released by Hamas in October said she told Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief, that he should be “ashamed of himself” when they met.

Yocheved Lifshitz, a lifelong peace activist, said Sinwar visited her three or four days into captivity.

She told Hebrew-language newspaper Davar: “I asked him how he is not ashamed to do such a thing to people who have supported peace all these years.

“He didn’t answer. He was silent.”

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2023-11-29 23:33:00Z
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Liat Beinin Atzili: US citizen among 16 Hamas hostages released - BBC

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

BBC News

A dual US-Israeli citizen held hostage in Gaza has been released as part of a temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

The hostage, Liat Beinin Atzili, was taken from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel on 7 October.

She was among 12 Israeli and four Thai hostages released by Hamas on Wednesday.

Eight other US citizens are believed still to be in captivity.

Ms Atzili's release was confirmed by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum and US President Joe Biden.

"I talked with her mother and father. They're very appreciative, and things are moving well," Mr Biden said. "She'll soon be home with her three children."

Thirty Palestinians held by Israel will also be released on Wednesday as part of the Qatari-mediated ceasefire deal.

About 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages taken when Hamas raided Israel on 7 October.

Mrs Atzili, 49, is a teacher and youth guide at Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to victims of the Holocaust. Her husband Aviv remains in Hamas captivity in Gaza.

"It is crucial to remember that, while we celebrate Liat's release, her husband, Aviv, along with more than 100 hostages remains in capacity," Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan said in a statement sent to the BBC.

Mr Dayan also called for the release of Mrs Atzili's Yad Vashem colleague Alex Dancyg, a historian and Holocaust educator taken from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October.

In a November interview with Politico, Ms Atzili's father, Yehuda Beinin, said she reported that the situation on 7 October was "crazy" and that one of her friends recorded a conversation with her shortly before she was abducted.

"You can hear the desperation in her voice as to the situation around her house," he said. "I've never heard her speak like this. It was very, very desperate, very low tone of voice. She may very well have been trying to be quiet, not to make noise."

"That was basically the last anybody heard from her," Mr Beinin added.

• Who are the released hostages?
• Israeli captives tell of fear, squalor and hunger

A statement from the Israeli security forces says the released hostages arrived back in Israeli territory via Egypt - accompanied by special forces troops.

The statement says the group will undergo medical tests, before being taken to hospitals - where they will be reunited with their families.

The group included three women with German-Israeli nationality and a minor with Dutch-Israeli nationality. Earlier, two Russian-Israeli citizens were released.

Another US hostage, four-year-old Abigail Edan, was released earlier this week.

Two other US hostages, Judith and Natalie Raanan, were released by Hamas "for humanitarian reasons" in late October.

Eight other Americans are believed to be in captivity, the White House said earlier this week.

In a statement on Wednesday, President Biden said the US is "determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat's husband Aviv".

Wednesday marked the sixth day of a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Talks are ongoing in an effort to extend the ceasefire before it expires.

"The deal has delivered meaningful results," Mr Biden said. "Nearly 100 hostages have been returned to their loved ones. And the United States has led the international community to use this pause to accelerate the delivery of additional humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

Related Topics

• Israel-Gaza war
• Israel
• United States

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2023-11-30 00:02:28Z
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Hamas releases 16 more hostages amid intense efforts to extend Gaza truce - The Guardian

Sixteen hostages have been released from captivity in Gaza, the Israeli military said, as diplomatic efforts continued to extend the truce further to allow for more exchanges.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said late on Wednesday evening that two hostages with Russian citizenship had crossed into Egypt.

Later on Wednesday night, Israeli military radio said that 10 Israelis and four Thais had been handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza. The group included dual citizens with US, German and German nationality, Qatar said.

The first two hostages released were Yelena Trupanob, 50, and her mother, Irena Tati, a doctor aged 73, both Russian-Israelis who Hamas said had been released outside the framework of the Hamas-Israeli hostage deal, as a “tribute” to Vladimir Putin.

The other 10 Israeli hostages (five women and five children) were freed under a two-day extension to a ceasefire deal agreed last week. Thirty Palestinian prisoners were due to be freed from Israeli jails in return.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement said earlier it had handed over several civilian hostages as part of an exchange deal, an apparent confirmation that not all the estimated 240 hostages seized in the 7 October raid into Israel were being held by Hamas.

Hamas also informed Israeli authorities that three of the hostages had been killed earlier in Israeli bombing of Gaza, naming them as Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two sons: four-year-old Ariel and Kfir, a 10-month-old baby. The IDF said it was investigating the claim about the Bibas family and accused Hamas of behaving in a “cruel and inhuman manner”. There was no independent verification of the claim and previous similar claims have proved unfounded.

The family were being held by a Palestinian faction other than Hamas, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing a few days ago.

Israel said on Wednesday that about 160 hostages are still held in Gaza. Of those, 126 are men and 35 are women. Four are under the age of 18, and 10 over the age of 75.

A total of 60 Israelis have been freed under the truce. Another 21 hostages – 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli – have been released in separate negotiations since the truce began. Before the ceasefire, Hamas released four hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one, a female soldier. Two others were found dead in Gaza.

So far, 180 Palestinians have been freed from Israeli prisons, following a ration of one-to-three agreed under the deal.

The directors of the CIA and the Mossad, William Burns and David Barnea, have spent a second day in Doha in talks with the Qatari government aimed at stretching the truce further. The Egyptian spy chief, Abbas Kamel, is also reported to be taking part in the discussions. Hamas has reportedly indicated that it is ready for a four-day extension – that would take the pause in fighting through to Monday.

“We are hopeful that within a couple of hours we will have the release of the final batch [of hostages] but also we will be able to announce an extension,” the spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry, Majed Al-Ansari, told CNN. “We are very optimistic that we will have good news to share today.”

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken arrived in Israel early on Thursday, to try to convince the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an extension and to keep up the flow of humanitarian aid across the border from Egypt into Gaza.

“We’ll discuss with Israel how it can achieve its objective of ensuring that the terrorist attacks of 7 October never happen again, while sustaining and increasing humanitarian assistance – and minimising further suffering and casualties among Palestinian civilians,” Blinken told reporters in Brussels.

Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv when tension is rising between the US and Israel over the conduct of the war and a strategic plan for what should come after. Washington has made it clear it does not want to see the blanket bombing of residential districts carried out in northern Gaza repeated in the south, during the next phase of the military campaign.

The two governments are also at odds over who should run Gaza after the war, with Joe Biden advocating Palestinian Authority rule as a step towards the creation of a Palestinian state. Blinken is due to visit Ramallah in the West Bank to talk to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, and other leaders, in a show of recognition.

Netanyahu has said Israeli forces would indefinitely retain control over security in Gaza and has reassured his rightwing cabinet that he remains adamantly opposed to an independent Palestine as part of a two-state solution.

The prime minister made clear he had no intention of considering a more lasting ceasefire. “After this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting? So my answer is an unequivocal yes,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday. “There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end.”

The IDF also said its chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, had “approved the attack plans for the continuation of the campaign”, showing him inspecting maps with his commanders.

“We know what needs to be done, and are ready for the next step,” Halevi said.

In the latest of a series of warnings to the Israelis on the next phase in the Gaza offensive, the head of the US Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, said that Biden was intensely focused on civilian casualties, reminding the IDF “there are no law-free zones in war”.

“President Biden, who has been a kind of humanitarian desk officer from the beginning of this conflict, again, increasing these supplies in – he’s also extremely focused on civilian protection, on the fact that civilians need to be accounted for as this next phase of the military campaign begins … to the need to have spaces in the south like hospitals, like UN shelters, that are zones where civilians can gather and know that they will not suffer bombardment,” Power told CNN.

“And so these are the very, very detailed conversations that are going on. There is receptivity to this message. But again, the planning is key, applying the lessons of the conflict in the north to the conduct of warfare in the south is absolutely critical because, again, civilians must be protected. There are no law-free zones in war.”

There was more violence on the occupied West Bank, with continuing Israeli military raids and large numbers of detentions.

Palestinian officials reported the deaths of two boys, who they said were shot in the northern West Bank town of Jenin by Israeli soldiers. Local journalists said the boys were aged eight and 14.

The Israeli military spokesperson said troops had fired on people who threw explosives at them, but did not specify whether that referred to the boys. The IDF claimed separately it had also killed two adult “terrorist commanders” during the raid on Jenin.

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2023-11-29 18:32:00Z
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How rat miners rescued workers from Indian tunnel after 17 days - Al Jazeera English

EXPLAINER

After machines broke down, rat miners successfully rescued 41 workers trapped in India’s Uttarakhand tunnel.

Forty-one construction workers. Seventeen days. A nation’s hopes.

On Tuesday, rescue workers managed to bring India a dose of good news, saving 41 men who had been trapped under a collapsed tunnel in India’s Himalayan Uttarakhand state since November 12.

But after days of attempts, it wasn’t just high-tech tools that brought success — a team of so-called rat miners, practicing a craft that’s officially illegal, proved saviours too.

Here’s how the workers were rescued.

What happened to the Uttarakhand tunnel?

The under-construction Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand early morning on November 12. Low-wage construction workers, mostly from other northern and eastern Indian states, were consequently trapped in a 4.5km (3-mile) space underground.

The tunnel was part of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s ambitious, $1.5m Char Dham pilgrimage program which aims to connect four Hindu pilgrimage sites.

Authorities did not confirm the exact reason for the tunnel caving in, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods. Geologist CP Rajendran told Al Jazeera that the Himalayan terrain contains highly fragile rock and is “constantly plagued by stability issues”.

Additionally, the tunnel did not have emergency exits and was constructed through a geological fault, a member of a panel of experts investigating the disaster told Reuters.

How did the rescue unfold?

Even though contact was established with the men in the tunnel a day after the collapse, rescue operations faced several roadblocks that delayed the process.

Excavator teams deployed heavy auger machines to dig both vertically and horizontally through the debris. The first drilling machine broke down after developing snags, halting the operation until a second machine was brought in. However, after horizontally drilling about three-quarters worth of debris, the second machine also broke down.

After this, six miners from central India were tasked with drilling through the remaining rock with hand-held drills late on Monday, using a technique known as rat mining.

In an effort that took over 24 hours, the miners worked in two teams of three each, with one person drilling, the second collecting the debris and the third pushing it out of the pipe.

The rescue was successful on Tuesday evening when all the workers were retrieved from the tunnel, as they were wheeled out by rescuers on stretchers through a 90cm (3 feet) wide steel pipe.

“When we saw them inside the tunnel after the breakthrough, we hugged them like they were family,” said Nasir Hussain, one of the six miners.

The technique of manual drilling that finally rescued the workers is known as rat mining.

What is rat mining?

Rat mining or rat-hole mining is the process of narrow tunnel excavation by manually digging through.

The technique earns its name from its resemblance to rats burrowing holes into the ground. The practice was commonly used in the northeastern state of Meghalaya where the holes were typically just big enough for the workers to descend and extract thin seams of coal. For this reason, children were usually tasked with this job.

The lack of ventilation and safety measures brought controversy to the method, which was banned by an environmental court in 2014.

But the practice has continued to exist in the largely unorganised mining sector.

At least 15 miners were killed in one such mine in Meghalaya after being trapped for more than a month until January 2019. Rights groups say 10,000 to 15,000 have died in such mines between 2007 and 2014.

However, some of the miners in the rescue operation said they got their training in Delhi and were not coal miners.

Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, met some of the workers before they were taken to hospital, presenting them with traditional marigold garlands. Ambulances and helicopters were on standby at the entrance of the tunnel. Sweets were distributed and firecrackers were set off in celebration.

Despite the deployment of ambulances for the construction workers, “Their condition is first-class and absolutely fine … just like yours or mine. There is no tension about their health,” said Wakil Hassan, a rescue team leader.

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2023-11-29 10:03:57Z
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Israel-Hamas war live: efforts to extend ceasefire as deadline nears; reports of Israeli raid on West Bank city of Jenin - The Guardian

It has just gone 1pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the headlines …

• Residents of Gaza and the families and loved ones of those being held hostage by Hamas are anxiously waiting to see if the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended. Fighting was paused on Friday, but today is the last day of the extended truce deal.

• The latest exchange of hostages in Gaza for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails took place on Tuesday night. Twelve hostages – 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals – are now in Israel. The 30 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday were 15 children and 15 women. In a statement, the Israel prison service said the 30 Palestinians were released from Ofer prison, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and from a detention centre in Jerusalem.

• The Times of Israel is reporting that medics have assessed some of the hostages returned overnight from Gaza and found them in generally good medical condition.

• Sixty Israelis have been freed as part of the truce so far. Another 21 hostages – 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli – have also been released in separate negotiations since the ceasefire began. Prior to the truce, Hamas released four hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one. Two other hostages were found dead in Gaza. It remains unclear how many people are still being held and their condition.

• The latest swap brought to 180 the number of Palestinian women and children freed from Israeli prisons as part of the deal. Most have been teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Several were women convicted by Israeli military courts of attempting deadly attacks. Prisoner advocate groups said that over the four days of the initial truce, Israeli forces arrested at least 133 Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, meaning the total number of Palestinian detainees held by Israel has reduced by less than 50.

• Hamas has informed mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days. Under that arrangement, “the movement would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the existing truce,” a source has told AFP.

• Haaretz reports that “according to an official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations”, Israel has indicated that it is unwilling to extend the truce beyond Sunday. Israel has previously said it would extend the truce for a day for every occasion on which 10 hostages were released by Hamas from captivity in Gaza.

• A Hamas official has said in addition to the releases as part of the truce deal, it is planning to release Russian hostages, as a show of “gratitude” to Vladimir Putin and Russia’s position on the conflict in Gaza.

• Palestinian media have reported two people, including a child, were injured by Israeli forces during a large-scale military incursion into the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp. The Wafa news agency said Israeli troops fired stun grenades and teargas canisters toward residents and their homes. Al Jazeera reports that hundreds of Israeli troops have taken part in the raid, supported by more than 50 armoured vehicles.

• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza” and accused Israel’s prime minister of spawning antisemitism across the world.

• Pope Francis has again called for the continuation of the truce in the Gaza Strip, for the release of all hostages and for humanitarian aid access into the territory.

• Anthony Albanese’s Australian government is coming under significant and increasing pressure from within to take a stronger line on a full ceasefire in Gaza. About 40 Labor party branches in New South Wales have passed motions demanding a full ceasefire.

Here are some fuller quotes from US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s appearance at a Nato press conference today in Brussels. He told the media:

We will discuss with Israel how it can achieve its objective to ensure the terrorist attacks of 7 October never happen again, while sustaining increasing humanitarian assistance and minimising further suffering and casualties among Palestinian civilians.

We will keep our efforts going to prevent the conflict from spreading, and we will remain focused on enabling safe departure of American citizens and other foreign nationals from Gaza.

We will work to build upon principles that I set out in Tokyo a few weeks ago, for the ‘day after’ in Gaza, and to find the steps that we and our partners can take in the region now to lay the foundation for a just and lasting peace.

When Blinken spoke in Tokyo earlier this month, he said “Gaza cannot … continue to be run by Hamas; that simply invites repetition of 7 October. It’s also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza.”

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has told CNN that it believes there are 161 people seized in Israel on 7 October who are still being held captive in Gaza.

The prime minister’s office told the US news network that four of them are children under the age of 18, with four at the ages of 18 and 19. There are believed to be ten people being held who are aged 75 or older.

It said of the 161 that 15 are foreigners, and 146 are Israelis, some of whom are dual nationals.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he would work with the Israelis during his trip to Israel in the coming days to see if a temporary ceasefire that has been in place and allowed hostages kidnapped by Hamas to go free could be extended.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels after a Nato meeting, Blinken said the continuation of the pauses would mean more hostages to be freed and more assistance getting into Gaza.

“Clearly, that’s something we want. I believe it’s also something that Israel wants,” Reuters reports he said.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is calling for an international conference to resolve the Mideast conflict.

Associated Press said Wednesday that the Palestinians are ready to work with the international community on a “serious political process” that leads to an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. He also again called for a halt to the war in Gaza.

A Palestinian official has told Reuters that despite a willingness on both sides to prolong the truce, no agreement had yet been reached. Discussions were still under way with mediators Egypt and Qatar, the official said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the state of any talks but noted that an extra 50 Palestinian female detainees had been added on Tuesday to a list cleared to be released in case a new swap was agreed.

It has just gone 1pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the headlines …

• Residents of Gaza and the families and loved ones of those being held hostage by Hamas are anxiously waiting to see if the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended. Fighting was paused on Friday, but today is the last day of the extended truce deal.

• The latest exchange of hostages in Gaza for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails took place on Tuesday night. Twelve hostages – 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals – are now in Israel. The 30 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday were 15 children and 15 women. In a statement, the Israel prison service said the 30 Palestinians were released from Ofer prison, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and from a detention centre in Jerusalem.

• The Times of Israel is reporting that medics have assessed some of the hostages returned overnight from Gaza and found them in generally good medical condition.

• Sixty Israelis have been freed as part of the truce so far. Another 21 hostages – 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli – have also been released in separate negotiations since the ceasefire began. Prior to the truce, Hamas released four hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one. Two other hostages were found dead in Gaza. It remains unclear how many people are still being held and their condition.

• The latest swap brought to 180 the number of Palestinian women and children freed from Israeli prisons as part of the deal. Most have been teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Several were women convicted by Israeli military courts of attempting deadly attacks. Prisoner advocate groups said that over the four days of the initial truce, Israeli forces arrested at least 133 Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, meaning the total number of Palestinian detainees held by Israel has reduced by less than 50.

• Hamas has informed mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days. Under that arrangement, “the movement would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the existing truce,” a source has told AFP.

• Haaretz reports that “according to an official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations”, Israel has indicated that it is unwilling to extend the truce beyond Sunday. Israel has previously said it would extend the truce for a day for every occasion on which 10 hostages were released by Hamas from captivity in Gaza.

• A Hamas official has said in addition to the releases as part of the truce deal, it is planning to release Russian hostages, as a show of “gratitude” to Vladimir Putin and Russia’s position on the conflict in Gaza.

• Palestinian media have reported two people, including a child, were injured by Israeli forces during a large-scale military incursion into the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp. The Wafa news agency said Israeli troops fired stun grenades and teargas canisters toward residents and their homes. Al Jazeera reports that hundreds of Israeli troops have taken part in the raid, supported by more than 50 armoured vehicles.

• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza” and accused Israel’s prime minister of spawning antisemitism across the world.

• Pope Francis has again called for the continuation of the truce in the Gaza Strip, for the release of all hostages and for humanitarian aid access into the territory.

• Anthony Albanese’s Australian government is coming under significant and increasing pressure from within to take a stronger line on a full ceasefire in Gaza. About 40 Labor party branches in New South Wales have passed motions demanding a full ceasefire.

AFP has spoken to Taghrid al-Najjar, a 46-year-old mother who lives in Gaza. She told reporters that before the war, she had never left her farming village along the border with Israel in the south-east.

She told reporters:

I discovered that my house had been completely destroyed – 27 years of my life to build it and everything is gone. For two days I couldn’t eat, then I told myself that I had to continue living. My house is destroyed but my children are alive, so we will rebuild. We have already done it once, we can do it again.

For weeks she lived with nine members of her family in a Khan Younis school converted into a makeshift camp for displaced people, but has returned to what is left of her home during the pause in fighting.

Each night the family squeezes through a window to sleep in the only room where the walls have not entirely crumpled. Once there is a permanent ceasefire, Najjar said, they will pitch a tent, but only for “long enough to rebuild the house”.

Tass reports that more Russian hostages are expected to be released today in what Hamas has described as a sign of ‘gratitude’ to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin for the position he has taken on the conflict in Gaza.

It quotes Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook saying: “We have not released any of the Israeli men who are in Gaza, with the exception of Russian Ron Krivoy, whom we released as a sign of the movement’s gratitude towards the position of Russia’s President Putin. Today, several other Russians will be released outside the framework of the truce deal.”

Tass notes that Abu Marzook has recently visited Moscow. Krivoy was released on 26 November. The Russian-Israeli worked as a sound technician at the Nova music festival attacked by Hamas. Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the release was due to Russian diplomatic contacts with Hamas.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza” and accused Israel’s prime minister of spawning antisemitism across the world.

AFP reports that in televised remarks on Wednesday, the Turkish president said:

Netanyahu has already written his name in history as the butcher of Gaza. Netanyahu is endangering the security of all Jews in the world by supporting antisemitism with the murders he committed in Gaza.

Israel recalled all its diplomatic staff from Turkey as a security precaution at the start of its war with Hamas. Turkey has also withdrawn its Tel Aviv envoy. The two sides had last year reappointed ambassadors after a decade-long rupture in ties.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday he welcomed a pause in the war in Gaza and the exchange of hostages and detainees between Israel and Hamas as a temporary “stop of bloodshed” in the territory.

Speaking in parliament, Turkey’s president said statements by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Israel were “lessening” Ankara’s hopes that the pause could turn into a full ceasefire, but added Turkey would ramp up diplomatic efforts for a lasting ceasefire in coming days.

Reuters reports Erdoğan also said Turkey had “largely completed” evacuating its citizens from Gaza, where he repeated a genocide was taking place. He added that he would discuss the war in Gaza during a trip to Dubai later this week.

A planned visit to Ankara by Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, this week was cancelled without explanation.

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2023-11-29 11:11:46Z
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