Questions and Answers: October 2023 Hostilities between Israel and Palestinian Armed Groups

HRW

The following questions and answers (Q&A) address issues relating to international humanitarian law (the laws of war) governing current hostilities between Israel and Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. The purpose is to facilitate analysis of the conduct of all parties involved in the conflict with the aim of deterring violations of the laws of war and encouraging accountability for abuses.

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What we know: The number of foreigners killed, missing, abducted in Israel

Citizens and dual nationals from more than 20 countries were killed or remain missing following violence in Israel.

AL JAZEERA

Students hold placards demanding Nepalese government ensure the safe return of stranded students and light candles in Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur, Nepal, as they pay tribute to Nepali nationals who lost their lives in the fighting in Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Ten Nepali nationals have been killed in fighting in Israel and at least one more is missing, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said. An unknown number of others were wounded in the violence, it added. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Students hold placards and candles in Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur, Nepal, as they pay tribute to Nepali nationals who lost their lives in the fighting in Israel, on Monday, October 9, 2023 [Niranjan Shrestha/AP]

Published On 10 Oct 202310 Oct 2023

Dozens of foreigners have been reported killed, missing or taken hostage following the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas fighters over the weekend.

More than 900 people have been killed in Israel and over 700 killed in retaliatory attacks on Gaza by Israeli forces so far.

Many of the foreigners killed and missing were attending an electronic music festival in the southern Israeli desert on Saturday when the Hamas attack began.

This is what we know of the foreign and dual-national casualties as well as those still missing.

Argentina: Seven dead, 15 missing

Argentina’s foreign minister Santiago Cafiero said on Monday that seven Argentinians were killed during the attacks in Israel and 15 more remain missing. Approximately 625 Argentinian nationals in Israel have also requested repatriation, the minister said.

Austria: Three missing

Three Austrian-Israeli dual citizens could be among those abducted, Austria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “Three Austrian-Israeli dual citizens who recently stayed in southern Israel independently of each other could also be among the many international abductees. There is currently no official confirmation,” the ministry said.

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At least 15 people are killed when a bomb brought home by children explodes in eastern Congo

A community leader says at least 15 people are dead after a group of children brought home an explosive device they had found while playing

ABCnews.go.com

ByJUSTIN KABUMBA Associated Press October 8, 2023, 12:11 AM

GOMA, Congo — At least 15 people were killed in eastern Congo after a group of children brought home an explosive device that they had found while they were playing, a community leader said Saturday.

The tragedy took place Friday evening in the village of Kyangitsi, located in Masisi territory in North Kivu province.

“At around 8 p.m. local time, while some of the residents were trying to find out what it was, the bomb exploded,” said Telesphore Mitondeke, a member of a Masisi grouping of civil society organizations.

For the past two weeks, the region has been the scene of hostilities between local armed groups vying for control of villages.

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Another major earthquake shakes Afghanistan days after thousands killed

Quake strikes same area where Saturday’s tremors left over 2,400 dead

Independent. co.uk https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/UM9dIJ53

Another strong earthquake shook parts of western Afghanistan where a temblor on Saturday killed more than 2,400 people.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded early morning on Wednesday near Herat province, according to the US Geological Survey.

The epicentre of the quake was about 28km outside Herat city – the capital of Herat province – at a depth of 10km.

No information was immediately available about damage from Wednesday’s earthquake.

The epicentre of Saturday’s deadly quake was also about 40km northwest of the provincial capital and several aftershocks were recorded.

Taliban officials said more than 2,400 people had died across Herat after the earlier quakes that laid entire villages to waste with many people trapped in rubble.

With little to no international help and resources, Afghans have been struggling to dig through the rubble even after days. The city of Herat just has one hospital, as survivors struggled to get medical care with many left homeless ahead of a harsh winter.

In Naib Rafi, a village that previously had about 2,500 residents, the Associated Press reported that “almost no one was still alive” besides men who were working outside when the quake struck. Survivors worked all day with excavators to dig long trenches for mass burials.

“It is very difficult to find a family member from a destroyed house and a few minutes to later bury him or her in a nearby grave, again under the ground,” Mir Agha, a resident from the city of Herat who had joined hundreds of volunteers to help the locals, told the news agency.

Nearly 2,000 houses in 20 villages were destroyed, the Taliban have said. The area hit by the quake has just one government-run hospital.

According to a WHO report, an estimated 12,110 people (1,730 families) in five districts Zindajan, Injil, Gulran, Injil and Khosan in Herat province have been impacted by the earthquake.

This devastation comes a year after an earthquake killed over 1,000 people in Afghanistan.

 

China’s New $6B Railway in Laos: Massive Debt Trap or Megaproject Success?

A $6 billion Chinese-built railway in Laos is transforming a small town on the border of China, easing transportation and promising new products for export. The 262-mile rail line is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at upgrading trade and transport networks from Africa to the Pacific. China is looking to link its companies with new overseas markets while Laos has hopes of growing a robust export market. But what are the costs of developing this massive infrastructure? WSJ explores the ambition behind China’s envisioned rail network, the economic implications for Laos and challenges as other railways eye development.

How carbon prices are taking over the world

A quarter of global emissions are now covered, and the share is rising fast

A lump of coal penned-in by barcodes
image: matt chase

economist.com Oct 1st 2023

If global warming is to be limited, the world must forget fossil fuels as fast as possible—that much almost everyone agrees upon. How to do so is the complicated part. Economists have long favoured putting a price on carbon, a mechanism Europe introduced in 2005. Doing so allows the market to identify the cheapest unit of greenhouse gas to cut, and thus society to fight climate change at the lowest cost. Others, including many American politicians, worry that such schemes will provoke a backlash by raising consumer costs. Under President Joe Biden, America is instead doling out hundreds of billions of dollars to turn supply chains green.

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