Elon Musk tells Netanyahu he wants to help rebuild Gaza after war

TEL AVIV, Israel

Billionaire Elon Musk said that he’d like to help rebuild Gaza after the war with Hamas in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, part of a day-long series of meetings with political leaders in Israel. 

It’s important to first “deradicalize” the Palestinian territories, similar to how other Arab states have become more moderate in recent years, including Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu said in a live discussion broadcast on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. 

Musk, who is under fire for amplifying antisemitic content on X, is meeting with Israeli officials and toured the Kfar Aza kibbutz where some of the worst violence occurred on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants broke through the country’s border barriers and attacked civilians. Musk described seeing bullet shell casings in cribs on the tour. 

Still, Israeli leaders stopped short of publicly chastising Musk. Netanyahu didn’t address the latest antisemitism row on X in the approximately 20-minute broadcast on X.

Benny Gantz, an opposition leader and member of the three-man war cabinet, and President Isaac Herzog emphasized the dangers of letting hatred fester in their public comments.

“We need to fight it together because on the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there’s a harboring of a lot of all the hate, which is Jew hatred, of antisemitism,” Herzog said in a memo of the meeting provided by the government. “It always starts with the Jews, it never ends with the Jews.”  

After watching footage of the attack by Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, Musk called the apparent joy expressed by the killers “evil” and “jarring.” Israel has been showing footage of the attack by Hamas in screenings around the world.

Musk has defended himself from what he labeled “bogus media stories” after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory earlier this month on X.

Major brands including Apple Inc. and Walt Disney Co. have stopped advertising on his social media platform over concerns of increasing antisemitism and hate speech since he took over Twitter last year. 

The political storm over hate speech on X hasn’t subsided, despite Musk’s warm welcome in Israel. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wrote in an op-ed on Monday that she was quitting X because that it had become a site full of disinformation, antisemitism, overt racism and organized harassment. 

“In recent years, Twitter has become the weapon of mass destruction for our democracies,” she wrote in the editorial, which she also posted to X. “The platform and its owner act deliberately to exacerbate tensions and conflicts.”

Truce between Israel and Hamas extended for two days

By Tia Goldenberg, TEL AVIV Israel

Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday, raising the prospect of further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war.

Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel Monday night after more than seven weeks in captivity in Gaza in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday and was due to run out. Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah. The prisoners were greeted by loud cheers as their bus made its way through the streets of Ramallah.

The deal for two additional days of cease-fire, announced by Qatar, raised hopes for further extensions, which also allow more aid into Gaza. Conditions there have remained dire for 2.3 million Palestinians, battered by weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground offensive that have driven three-quarters of the population from their homes.

Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar — a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt — Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension “under the same terms.”

But Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas’ military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south.

Monday’s releases bring to 51 the number of Israelis freed under the truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons.

After weeks of national trauma over the roughly 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to return those who remain in captivity.

“We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing,” two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement.

Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and Hamas is likely to make much greater demands for their release.

The newly released hostages included three women and nine children — including 3-year-old twin girls and their mother — from the kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near Gaza that was hard hit in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The kibbutz said 49 of its residents remain in captivity, including the father of the twins. The Israeli military said late Monday that the hostages were undergoing initial medical checks in Israel before being reunited with their families.

Most of the hostages freed so far have appeared to be physically well. But 84-year-old Elma Avraham, released Sunday, was airlifted to Israel’s Soroka Medical Center in life-threatening condition because of inadequate care, the hospital said.

Avraham’s daughter, Tali Amano, said her mother was “hours from death” when she was brought to the hospital. Avraham is currently sedated and has a breathing tube, but Amano said she told her of a new great-grandchild who was born while she was in captivity.

Avraham suffered from several chronic conditions that required regular medications but was stable before she was kidnapped, Amano said Monday.

So far, 19 people of other nationalities have been freed during the truce, mostly Thai nationals. Many Thais work in Israel, largely as farm laborers.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Middle) And Elon Musk (Left) Visited The Young People’s Neighbourhood On The Kibbutz Near Kfar Aza That Was Attacked By Hamas Militants Last Month, On Monday. Musk Said He’d Like To Help Rebuild Gaza After The Israel-Hamas War

France said three of the hostages released Monday were French-Israeli dual citizens, two 12-year-olds and one 16-year-old. The French government is ‘’working tirelessly’’ to free five other French citizens held hostage, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. But some were convicted in alleged attempts to carry out stabbings, bombings and shootings. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation.

The freed hostages have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to trickle out.

Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and lost weight. One reported eating mainly bread and rice and sleeping on a makeshift bed of chairs pushed together. Hostages sometimes had to wait for hours to use the bathroom, she said.

In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby welcomed the extension of the truce.

“We would, of course, hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages,” Kirby told reporters.

More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel’s ground offensive.

The calm from the truce allowed glimpses of the destruction wreaked by weeks of Israeli bombardment that leveled entire neighborhoods.

Footage showed a complex of several dozen multistory residential buildings that had been pummeled into a landscape of wreckage in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. Nearly every building was destroyed or severely damaged, some reduced to concrete frames half-slumped over. At a nearby U.N. school, the buildings were intact but partially burned and riddled with holes.

The Israeli assault has driven three-quarters of Gaza’s population from their homes, and now most of its 2.3 million people are crowded into the south. More than 1 million are living in U.N. shelters. The Israeli military has barred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from returning north.

Rain and wind added to the hardship of displaced Palestinians sheltering in the compound of Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza. Palestinians in coats baked flatbreads over a makeshift fire among tents set up on the muddy grounds.

Alaa Mansour said the conditions are simply horrendous.

“My clothes are all wet, and I am unable to change them.” said Mansour, who is disabled. “I have not drunk water for two days, and there’s no bathroom to use.”

The U.N. says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared.

Long lines formed outside stations distributing cooking fuel, allowed in for the first time. Fuel for generators has been brought for key service providers, including hospitals and water and sanitation facilities, but bakeries have been unable to resume work, the U.N. said.

Iyad Ghafary, a vendor in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, said many families were still unable to retrieve the dead from under the rubble left by Israeli airstrikes, and that local authorities weren’t equipped to deal with the level of destruction.

Many say the aid is not nearly enough.

Amani Taha, a widow and mother of three who fled northern Gaza, said she had only managed to get one canned meal from a U.N. distribution center since the cease-fire began.

She said the crowds have overwhelmed local markets and gas stations as people try to stock up on basics. “People were desperate and went out to buy whenever they could,” she said. “They are extremely worried that the war will return.”

Sierra Leone's capital returns to normalcy as manhunt for attackers continues

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone's capital remained tense on Monday (Nov. 27) even as a 24-hour curfew was relaxed to a dusk-to-dawn lockdown.

Members of the Sierra Leonean security forces leave the mortuary of the Connaught Hospital in Freetown on November 27, 2023.

This came after president Julius Madda Bio said most of the leaders of weekend attacks on the nation’s main military barracks and prisons had been arrested.

Many business owners in Free Town ran at a loss on Sunday (Nov. 26).

Residents in the capital were awoken by sounds of heavy gunfire as gunmen tried to break into the key armory in the country's largest military barracks, located near the presidential villa.

The gunmen exchanged fire for several hours with security forces. They also targeted major detention centers – including the central prison – and freed or abducted an unconfirmed number of people, authorities said.

Julius Madda Bio

Not much is known publicly about the identities or intentions of the attackers. There have been no claims of responsibility. The army spokesperson said Monday 13 soldiers were killed during the incident. 

Our correspondent cited Col. Issa Bangura saying that retired and active military personel were among those wanted.

Sierra Leone has been on edge since mid-August last year. At the time, massive protests in parts of Freetown and other areas in the Northern part of the country shook the nation.

In August this year, president Bio emerged winner of highly divisive polls.

EA Community troops to leave DR Congo

ARUSHA, Tanzania

The East African Community peacekeeping force will leave eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after December 8, but the bloc will remain involved in the quest for peace in troubled region, the heads of state have said.

A dispatch after the 23rd Heads of State Summit held in Arusha on Friday confirmed that Kinshasa will not extend the term of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), although they haven’t quelled the conflict yet. Their mission is to be taken over by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces.

Nonetheless, the East African leaders have expressed their commitment to remain part and parcel of the efforts to restore calm in the eastern part of the country, if not for any other reason but for the stability and shared prosperity of the region.

While handing over the leadership of the bloc to South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye said the continued fighting in DRC poses significant risks for the region, especially for the countries that neighbour it.

“The fluid security situation in eastern DRC has been a source of unease, particularly for the five EAC partner states that share borders with DRC, not only due to the concentration of the groups that may destabilise our partner states, but also the humanitarian consequence which caused a spillover of displaced persons across the borders,” he said.

President Ndayishimiye credited the full deployment of the EACRF with the semblance of peace in the troubled regions of DRC, but acknowledged that “there has also been a challenge which requires give-and-take for the peace to hold.”

Evidently, the stay of the EACRF troops has neither benefited the residents of the troubled regions nor the government, with persistent citizen protests, demanding for the exit of the peacekeepers.

Bad blood has also developed between Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, with the former constantly a pointing finger at Kigali for allegedly supporting the rebels causing chaos in the east.

Last month, the ceasefire between the rebels and government forces, brokered by Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta through the Nairobi process last year, was violated and the conflict has returned to initial levels.

President Ndayishimiye said the region must do all possible to bring an end to the war.

Ostensibly, this “appropriate mechanism” will involve a meeting between the EAC chiefs of defence forces and their counterparts from SADC, which the heads of state ordered to happen before December 8, when EACRF is supposed to leave DRC.

Peter Mathuki, EAC secretary general, said the summit agreed the CDFs will “submit their recommendations on the way forward to the defence ministers for onwards transmission to the summit for consideration.”

Calls grow to extend Israeli - Hamas truce in its final day

JERUSALEM, Israel

International mediators were pressing to extend a ceasefire in Gaza that has halted the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades but is set to expire after Monday, as Israel and Hamas prepared for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Palestinians gather as they wait to receive flour bags distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 

Israel has said it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the four-day truce, which came into effect Friday after several weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

But Israel also says it remains committed to crushing Hamas' military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza. That would likely mean expanding its ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters, and where dire conditions persist despite the ramping up of aid delivery under the truce.

The release of dozens of people — mostly women and children — who were among the roughly 240 captured by Hamas in its wide-ranging Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel that ignited the war has rallied Israelis behind calls to return the rest of them.

Sixty-two hostages have been released, one was freed by Israeli forces, and two were found dead inside Gaza.

“We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing,” two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement.

Families of the hostages have led mass marches and demonstrations accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to bring them home, and the mounting pressure could push him to extend the truce and make additional concessions to Hamas. But Israel also remains deeply shaken by the Oct. 7 attack and determined to remove the militant group as a threat.

“At the end of the day we will return everyone,” Netanyahu said of the hostages, as he donned body armor and paid a rare visit Sunday to troops inside Gaza. “We are continuing until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us.”

On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis, in a third exchange under the four-day truce. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.

Most hostages appeared to be physically well, but 84-year-old Elma Avraham was airlifted to Israel’s Soroka Medical Center in life-threatening condition because of inadequate care, the hospital said.

Those released Sunday included nine children and three Thai nationals. With a total of 17 freed, Thailand said it was pursuing the safe return of the 15 remaining Thai hostages, who were the largest single group of foreigners held by the militant group. Thais working in Israel are mostly employed as semi-skilled farm laborers.

The Palestinian prisoners released were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation.

A fourth exchange is expected on Monday, for a total of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners as agreed upon in the ceasefire deal.

The freed hostages have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to trickle out.

Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released on Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and lost weight. One reported eating mainly bread and rice and sleeping on a makeshift bed of chairs pushed together. Hostages sometimes had to wait for hours to use the bathroom, she said.

More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. Some 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel's ground offensive.

The pause has given some respite to Gaza's 2.3 million people after weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment that has driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and levelled entire neighbourhoods.

But many say it's not nearly enough.

Chinese court starts hearing lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines over missing flight MH370

BEIJING, China

For nearly 10 years, Jiang Hui has been searching for answers as to why the plane carrying his 70-year-old mother back from vacation in Malaysia vanished without trace.

Jiang’s mother, Jiang Cuiyun, was one of 239 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 when it deviated from its scheduled path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014.

To this date, the fate of MH370 remains one of history’s greatest aviation mysteries, and Jiang has never given up on his quest to find out what happened.

On Monday, a Chinese court will begin hearing claims for compensation for families of MH370 passengers, who say the disaster not only deprived them of their loved ones, but also plunged some into financial distress.

“Almost 10 years on, the family members (who refused to accept settlement offers) did not receive any apology or a penny of compensation,” Jiang, 50, told CNN in an interview ahead of the hearings at the Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing, more than seven years after the lawsuits were initially filed.

“In fact, my mood is very complicated now. There is both a sense of relief and a deep feeling of helplessness.”

Jiang is suing Maylasia Airlines, its insurer, Boeing and the manufacturer of the plane’s engine – companies he believes should be held responsible under Chinese law for damage occured during transportation. His demands include compensation, a formal apology, and the resumption of psychological assistance to family members, as well as the creation of a fund to continue searches for the plane.

About 40 Chinese families are taking these companies to court with varying but largely overlapping appeals, with hearings expected to last until December 5, Jiang said. His own case will be heard on Friday, he added.

Of the more than 200 people aboard the flight, 153 were Chinese nationals.

“The complete lack of legal remedies over the past decade has made our painful lives even more unbearable,” Jiang said.

In a statement to CNN on the court hearings, Boeing said: “Our thoughts continue to be with those who were on board MH370 and their loved ones.”

CNN has also reached out to Malaysia Airlines, Allianz and Rolls-Royce for comment.

It’s unclear what enforcement power the Chinese court can wield over the defendants if it rules in favor of Jiang and the other plantiffs. All of them are international companies headquartered outside China, though Malaysia Airlines, Boeing and Roll-Royce have offices in China.

Similar cases brought in the United States by the victims’ families have been dismissed on the grounds that these lawsuits should be handled by the Malaysian legal system.

In Malaysia, two young boys who lost their father on the flight sued Malaysia Airlines for breach of contract and the Malaysian government for negligence in 2014. The case was settled out of court the next year.

In China, families who signed a settlement agreement with Malaysian Airlines received 2.5 million yuan ($350,000) in compensation. Only a few dozen Chinese families signed initially, but over the years more have opted to settle.

By March 2021, about 90 families had still declined to settle, but the number halved after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Jiang.

Now, only about 40 families have not settled, according to Jiang, who said they refused to sign the agreement because it removed all responsibility from the airline and the Malaysian government.

Three years of Covid lockdowns and other stringent control measures wreaked havoc on the Chinese economy, leaving many families struggling to make ends meet.

“On our long journey seeking the truth, many families fell into a tough livelihood or even survival situation. They settled as a last resort to ensure their lives,” Jiang said. “But no matter having settled or not, our ultimate goal remains the same – which is to find the plane and our loved ones.”

A 2018 report by Malaysian authorities concluded the investigation team was “unable to determine the real cause of the disappearance of MH370.” Human interference or error were more likely the cause of the plane’s disappearance than an aircraft or system malfunction, the report found.

The lack of conclusive evidence led to various theories and speculation about what happened to the flight, and Jiang said some family members still believe their loved ones are alive. He says he’s keeping an open mind – and will accept any outcome, as long as there is evidence.

While the jetliner was never found, pieces of apparent debris have washed up on islands in the southern Indian Ocean and the shores of Africa – suggesting the plane had broken up.

Jiang’s persistence was driven by a key motivation – the urge to do something for his mother, who enjoyed traveling in her retirement.

“I’m at an age where I should pay filial piety to my mother, but I no longer have the chance to do that. So, finding her is the only way I can be filial to her,” he said.

Before the MH370 tragedy, Jiang was an ambitious manager at the Beijing office of a state-owned communications company. But one year after the flight went missing, he left the company and has since focused his time and energy on finding the plane.

Over the years, he has visited search teams in Australia and roamed the remote shores of Mauritius, Madagascar and Réunion – a French island in the Indian Ocean – to scour for the Boeing jetliner’s debris.

In Beijing, he has held regular gatherings with family members of other flight victims to discuss the next step in seeking answers and justice for their loved ones’ disappearance.

“I used to get completely immersed in my job, but now I can truly understand what’s the meaning of life, and what are its most precious things,” he said.

“If I can push for any progress (in finding MH370), or I can try my best till the end, I would feel very gratified and happy – and such happiness is beyond comparison with earning a higher salary.”

Israel-Hamas truce enters final day with talk of extension

GAZA STRIP, Palestine

The truce between Israel and Hamas entered its final 24 hours Monday, with the militant group saying it was willing to extend the pause after it freed more hostages, including a four-year-old orphaned by its attack.

Palestinians carrying some belongings walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Al-Zahra on the southern outskirts of Gaza City, on November 26, 2023 as a truce between Israel and Hamas entered its third day.

The pause that began Friday has seen dozens of hostages freed, with over 100 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in return.

Attention now has turned to whether the truce will be extended before its scheduled end early on Tuesday morning.

“That’s my goal, that’s our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza,” US President Joe Biden said Sunday.

He said he would like the fighting to be paused for “as long as prisoners keep coming out.”

“I get a sense that all the players in the region are looking for a way to end this so the hostages are all released and... Hamas is completely no longer in control of Gaza.”

Hamas has signalled its willingness to extend the truce, with a source saying the group told mediators they were open to prolonging it by “two to four days.”

“The resistance believes it is possible to ensure the release of 20 to 40 Israeli prisoners” in that time, the source close to the movement said.

Under the truce, 50 hostages held by the militants were to be freed over four days in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. A built-in mechanism extends it if at least 10 Israeli captives are released each extra day.

One potential complicating factor is the fact that some hostages are believed to be held by groups other than Hamas.

Israel faces enormous pressure from the families of hostages, as well as allies, to extend the truce to secure more releases.

“It would be good, helpful and necessary” to extend the truce until all hostages, who include French nationals, are freed, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told BFMTV on Sunday.

Three successive days of hostage releases have buoyed spirits in Israel, with tearful reunions weeks after Hamas militants poured across the border on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas, killing nearly 15,000 people, mostly civilians and including thousands of children, according to Gaza’s Hamas government.

The third group of hostages released Sunday included a four-year-old American citizen called Abigail whose parents were both murdered in the Hamas attacks.

“What a joy to see her with us. But on the other hand, what a pity that she returns to the reality of not having parents,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israeli Prime Minister's Office on November 26, 2023 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) meets soldiers at undisclosed location in the Gaza Strip.

“She has no parents, but she has a whole nation that embraces her,” he added.

Also among those freed Sunday was an 84-year-old woman who was rushed to intensive care in critical condition “after serious neglect,” medical officials said.

Thirteen hostages were freed under the terms of the truce on Sunday in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners, who have been received by rapturous crowds waving Palestinian and Hamas flags.

Hamas separately freed three Thai nationals and a Russian-Israeli citizen, Ron Krivoy, who the group said was released “in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin” and his “support of the Palestinian cause.”

Israel has faced mounting pressure to extend the pause mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, though its leaders have been keen to dismiss any suggestions of a lasting halt to the offensive.

“We continue until the end — until victory,” Netanyahu said in Gaza on Sunday, on the first visit by an Israeli premier since 2005.

His office has proposed a war budget of 30 billion shekels ($8 billion) for 90 days.

Wearing green military fatigues and surrounded by soldiers, Netanyahu vowed to free all the hostages and “eliminate Hamas,” in footage posted online by his office.

“Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals,” he said.

Elsewhere in Gaza, residents picked through heaps of rubble where homes once stood searching for belongings after weeks of bombardment.

“I came to see if there was anything left, if there was anything I could salvage. We fled with nothing,” said Ous sama al Bass, inspecting the ruins of his home in Al-Zahra, south of Gaza City.

“Everything is lost,” he said. “We’re tired. That’s enough. We can’t take it anymore.”

On the outskirts of Gaza City, families took to the road on foot to head south, pushing luggage and relatives in wheelchairs, and carrying children in their arms.

Israel has told Palestinians in Gaza to leave the north for the relative safety of the south, but it has now sent text messages to those in the southern city of Khan Yunis warning it knows hostages are being held there.

“The army will neutralize anyone who has kidnapped hostages,” the message said.

The UN estimates that 1.7 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced by the fighting.

The pause in fighting has allowed more aid to reach Palestinians struggling to survive with shortages of water and other essentials.

But Adnan Abu Hansa, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), warned of “unprecedented” humanitarian needs.
“We should send 200 lorries a day continuously for at least two months,” he said.

Sahel military governments meet to strengthen alliance

ABUJA, Nigeria

Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors.

In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts.

During their meetings, the leaders pledged security and political collaborations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a partnership the three countries announced in September as a measure to help fight the extremist violence they each struggle with and across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.

The alliance provides a “path of sovereignty” for the countries and for their citizens, Gen. Tchiani told reporters after his meeting with Malian leader Col. Assimi Goita. “Through this alliance, the peoples of the Sahel affirm that … nothing will prevent them from the objective of making this area of the Sahel, not an area of insecurity, but an area of prosperity,” Tchiani said.

In reality, though, the partnership "is in part an effort to entrench and legitimize (their) military governments” more than to tackle the violent extremism which they have limited capacity to fight, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

The violence across the Sahel has contributed to a recent surge of coups in the region and militaries that claimed they took over power to help tackle their country's security challenges have struggled to do so.

On Thursday, Gen. Tchiani partly blamed the violence on foreign powers, repeating claims his government has often made against France — which had been influential in the three countries before being forced out after their militaries took over — and against West Africa’s regional bloc of ECOWAS, which has heavily sanctioned Niger as a measure to reverse the surge of coups in the region.

The new partnership also offers the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger an opportunity "to say, ‘we are not internationally isolated and we actually have partners that share our ideology and philosophy,’” said James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute.

Nigeriens show support for coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, on July 30, 2023

Some analysts, however, believe that by pooling their resources together, those countries are able to reduce individual reliance on foreign countries and tackle the security challenge with one front.

“The merit of this new alliance, despite its limited means and capabilities, lies in its initiation by concerned members," said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel. "Its long-term success depends both on the resources that member countries can mobilize and the support that Africans and the broader international community could provide,” he added.

In the Malian capital of Bamako, 35-year-old Aissata Sanogo expressed hope that such a partnership could be useful.

“It’s important that we take charge of our own security,” said Sanogo. “That’s what I’m expecting from this alliance.”

Sierra Leone under curfew after military armory attacked

By Kemo Cham, FREETOWN Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s president declared a nationwide curfew Sunday after gunmen attacked the military’s main and largest barracks in the West African nation’s capital and then overran detention centers, including a major prison.

The attack raised fears of a breakdown of order amid a surge of coups in the region. In recent years, a string of west and central African countries have experienced military coups. This year alone, the governments of Niger and Gabon were overthrown by military factions, and there were attempts in Burkina Faso and Sudan, the latter of which has descended into civil war.

The detention centers, including the Pademba Road Prisons — holding more than 2,000 inmates — were attacked just as security forces fought to restore calm during sustained shootouts at the Wilberforce military barracks, according to Information Minister Chernor Bah.

“The prisons were overrun (and) some prisoners were abducted by the assailants while many others were released,” Bah said. Security forces managed to “push back” the assailants to the outskirts of the city where fighting continues, he added.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio earlier declared a nationwide curfew in response to the attacks.

An Associated Press journalist in the capital said that gunshots were still heard in the city hours after the government assured residents of calm, although it wasn’t clear who was behind the exchange of fire, nor if any arrests were made.

“The security forces are making progress in the operation to defeat and apprehend those responsible for today’s attacks,” Bah said. “The government remains in control and on top of the situation.”

The president and the country’s Ministry of Information and Education also both said that the government and security forces are in control of the situation, trying to dismiss fears of a possible escalation of violence in the country whose population of 8 million people is among the poorest in the world, having some of the lowest scores on the U.N. Human Development Index.

No details were immediately given about the gunmen or the reason for the attack, which comes months after Bio was reelected for a second term in a disputed vote in which the main opposition party accused the electoral commission of rigging the results.

Videos posted online showed soldiers patrolling Freetown’s empty streets and captured the loud blasts of gunshots at dawn. The AP couldn’t immediately verify the authenticity of the videos.

West Africa’s regional economic bloc ECOWAS — of which Sierra Leone is a member — described the incident as a plot “to acquire arms and disturb the peace and constitutional order” in the country. The bloc has in recent months tried to reverse the surge in coups in West and Central Africa, which has recorded eight military takeovers since 2020, the latest in Niger and Gabon this year.

“ECOWAS reiterates its zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government,” the bloc said in a statement.

Bio was reelected in Sierra Leone’s fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war — more than two decades ago — which left tens of thousands of people dead and destroyed the country’s economy.

He continues to face criticism because of debilitating economic conditions. Nearly 60% of Sierra Leone’s population is facing poverty, with the youth unemployment rate being one of the highest in West Africa.

Two months after Bio won the disputed vote, police said they arrested several people, including senior military officers planning to use protests “to undermine peace” in the country.

A protest against the government in August last year resulted in the deaths of more than 30 people, including six police officers.

United Nations urges probe after Zimbabwe activist found dead

GENEVA, Switzerland 

United Nations called Friday for an independent investigation after an opposition activist in Zimbabwe was found dead following his abduction ahead of controversial by-elections.

The body of Tapfumanei Masaya, a pastor and an activist with the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), was discovered Monday, 30 kilometers (18 miles) outside Harare, the UN rights office said.

He and fellow activist Jeffrey Kalosi had been snatched by armed men in broad daylight two days earlier while campaigning in the Zimbabwean capital for a CCC candidate.

"Both were reportedly tortured," UN rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell said, adding that Kalosi had been released in the same area where Masaya's body turned up.

The killing follows a string of reported abductions, arrests and other violent acts that the CCC says are part of a campaign of intimidation against its supporters following disputed general elections last August.

Throssell noted that Zimbabwean authorities had said Masaya's killing was being investigated.

"We urge them to ensure there are thorough, prompt and independent investigations not only into his death but also into all allegations of people being tortured and kidnapped," she said.

"Perpetrators should be held accountable in fair trials that follow due process."

Throssell warned that crimes like Masaya's killing "violate not only the right to life, but also have a stifling effect on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association and equal participation."

In August, CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, 45, lost his bid for the presidency to incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, 81, in elections that also gave the ruling ZANU-PF party a majority in parliament.

International observers said the vote fell short of democratic standards.

Dozens of CCC lawmakers have lost their seats recently after what they say is an impostor posing as a party official recalled them, and parliament went along with it.

The move has triggered by-elections to be held on December 9 that could hand ZANU-PF, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, a two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution.

Analysts believe the party might use a super majority to remove a two-term presidential limit and enable Mnangagwa, who came to power on the back of a coup that ousted long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017, to rule beyond 2028.

Madagascar president re-elected in contested poll

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar

Madagascar's incumbent President Andry Rajoelina has won a third term, following a disputed election boycotted by the opposition and its supporters.

He won 59% of the vote to defeat his two closest rivals, ousted ex-President Marc Ravalomanana and Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko.

The election recorded a voter turnout of 46%, considered to be the lowest in the island country's history.

The low turnout followed calls for poll boycott by 10 presidential contenders.

They also withdrew their candidacies over concerns about the credibility of the election and denounced President Rajoelina's bid for a third term and the validity of his candidacy, given his dual French nationality.

The constitutional court dismissed their appeals to annul Mr Rajoelina's candidacy. He also dismissed the accusations and called them a political tactic.

Despite their withdrawal, the candidates' names stayed on the ballot. Mr Randrianasoloniaiko gained 14% of the vote and Mr Ravalomanana 12%.

The constitutional court has nine days to confirm the results announced on Saturday by Madagascar's electoral body, Ceni.

The opposition collective that boycotted the election has already declared that it will not recognise the results of the 16 November poll.

There were six weeks of demonstrations and clashes with police in the build-up to the election, prompting the imposition of a curfew in Antananarivo on the eve of the poll.

Mr Rajoelina, 49-year-old entrepreneur and former DJ, won a presidential run-off vote against Mr Ravalomanana in 2018, after neither of them obtained more than 50% of the vote as required to be declared president in the first round.

He had ousted Mr Ravalomanana in a 2009 coup that was backed by the army.

He faces the tough task of creating jobs and improving the economy, in a country where 75% of people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

He is also expected to bring political stability to a country that has been rocked by years of political turbulence.

Egyptian President calls for "recognition of the State of Palestine"

CAIRO, Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said on Friday that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was "an idea on its last legs", urging the international community to recognize a "State of Palestine" instead.

The Egyptian head of state, who was receiving the Spanish and Belgian prime ministers in Cairo, felt that reviving the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians "is perhaps not what is needed" in the immediate future.

"The results of this faltering path over the last 30 years tell us that we need" to adopt a different approach, he declared at a joint press conference, recalling that the Gaza Strip has been bloodied in recent decades by successive conflicts.

This would involve "recognition of the State of Palestine by the international community and its integration into the United Nations... This would be a sign of seriousness", asserted Mr. Sissi, a few hours after the entry into force of a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The truce, negotiated with the help of Qatar, the United States and Egypt, is to be accompanied by the release in the afternoon of a dozen hostages held in the Gaza Strip, against around 40 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Twelve Thai hostages, who were not included in the exchange agreement, were also released by Hamas on Friday, announced the Thai Prime Minister.

The war between Israel and Hamas was triggered by an unprecedented bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7. 

In retaliation, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, which the Israeli government has vowed to "annihilate".

According to the Israeli authorities, 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 240 abducted on October 7, the day of the Hamas attack of a scale and violence never before seen in Israel's history.

In retaliation, Israel relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip, where 14,854 people, including 6,150 children, were killed, according to the Hamas government.