Thousands Break Into Aid Warehouses In Gaza As Deaths Top 8,000 And Israel Widens Ground Offensive

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30 October 2023, 00:22

APTOPIX Israel Palestinians — Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in a morgue in Khan Younis, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. ( AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of people broke into aid warehouses in Gaza to take flour and basic hygiene products, a U.N. agency said Sunday, in a mark of growing desperation three weeks into the war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

Tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war, which was ignited by Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 incursion into Israel. Israel also pounded the territory from air, land and sea.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians has passed 8,000 — mostly women and minors. It’s a toll without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial Hamas onslaught.

Communications were restored to much of Gaza early Sunday after a bombardment described by residents as the most intense of the war knocked out most contact with the territory late Friday. The besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people were largely cut off from the world.

AP23302295308000 — Palestinians walk about buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

In other developments, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court visited the Rafah border crossing, which is Gaza’s only connection to Egypt. During the visit on Saturday, Karim Khan was briefed on the damage caused by Israeli airstrikes to the Palestinian side, according to a senior Egyptian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. Khan’s office has opened an investigation into potential war crimes by Israel in Gaza in the 2014 war.

The Israeli military said Sunday it had struck over 450 militant targets over the past 24 hours, including Hamas command centers and anti-tank missile launching positions. It said ground forces killed a number of Hamas militants as they exited a tunnel near the Erez crossing, which had been the sole pedestrian passageway into Israel before it was destroyed in the fighting.

Military officials circulated footage showing tanks and troops operating in open areas and bulldozers clearing mountains of debris. The Hamas military wing said its militants clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest Gaza Strip with small arms and anti-tank missiles.

The warehouse break-ins were “a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza,” said Thomas White, Gaza director for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. “People are scared, frustrated and desperate.”

UNRWA provides basic services to hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza. Its schools across the territory have been transformed into packed shelters housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict. Israel has allowed only a small trickle of aid to enter from Egypt.

Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the agency, said the crowds broke into four facilities on Saturday. She said the warehouses did not contain any fuel. It has been in critically short supply since Israel cut off all shipments after the start of the war, saying Hamas would use it for military purposes.

One warehouse held 80 tons of food, the U.N. World Food Program said in a statement. The agency also said at least 40 of its trucks need to cross into Gaza daily to meet growing needs there.

Israeli authorities said Sunday that they would soon allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, though details remained unclear.

AP23301503869289 — An Israeli mobile artillery unit is seen in a position near the Israel-Gaza border, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Elad Goren, the head of civil affairs of COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said Israel had established a “humanitarian zone” near the southern city of Khan Younis and recommended that Palestinians flee there.

But he provided no details on the exact location or how much aid would be available. He also said Israel has opened two water lines in southern Gaza within the past week. The AP could not independently verify that either line was functioning.

Meanwhile, residents living near Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, said Israeli airstrikes overnight hit near the hospital complex and blocked many roads leading to it. Israel accuses Hamas of having a secret command post beneath the hospital but has not provided much evidence. Hamas denies the allegations.

Tens of thousands of civilians are sheltering in Shifa, which is also packed with wounded patients.

“Reaching the hospital has become increasingly difficult,” Mahmoud al-Sawah, who is sheltering in the hospital, said over the phone. “It seems they want to cut off the area.” Another Gaza City resident, Abdallah Sayed, said the Israeli bombing over the past two days was “the most violent and intense” since the war started.

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said another Gaza City hospital received two calls from Israeli authorities on Sunday ordering it to evacuate. It said airstrikes have hit as close as 50 meters (yards) from the Al-Quds Hospital, where 14,000 people are sheltering.

Israel ordered the hospital to evacuate more than a week ago, but it and other medical facilities have refused, saying evacuation would mean death for patients on ventilators.

“We reiterate — it’s impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients without endangering their lives,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest evacuation order or the strikes near Shifa.

Israel says most residents have heeded its orders to flee to the southern part of the besieged territory, but hundreds of thousands remain in the north, in part because Israel has also bombarded targets in so-called safe zones.

An Israeli airstrike hit a two-story house in Khan Younis on Sunday, killing at least 13 people, including 10 from one family. The bodies were brought to the nearby Nasser Hospital, according to an AP journalist at the scene.

The escalation has increased domestic pressure on Israel’s government to secure the release of some 230 hostages seized when Hamas fighters from Gaza breached Israel’s defenses and stormed into nearby towns.

Desperate family members met with Netanyahu on Saturday and expressed support for an exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Hamas says it is ready to release all hostages if Israel releases all of the thousands of Palestinians held in its prisons. Israel has dismissed the offer.

Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel is determined to bring back all the hostages, and that the expanding ground operation “will help us in this mission.”

The Israeli military said it was gradually expanding its ground operations inside Gaza, while stopping short of calling it an all-out invasion. Casualties on both sides are expected to rise sharply as Israeli forces and Palestinian militants battle in dense residential areas.

When asked about Israel’s military escalation, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN: “I will let the Israeli Defense Forces characterize their operations and how it fits into their larger plan.” He stressed the imperative to protect civilians. On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” he said the U.S. believes “there should be humanitarian pauses to get hostages out, potentially to get aid in.”

AP23302331914019 — Palestinians wait to buy bread during the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Biden planned to speak with Netanyahu later Sunday, Sullivan told CNN.

Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel, with the constant sirens in southern Israel a reminder of the threat.

Israel says its strikes target Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the militants operate among civilians, putting them in danger. An estimated 1,800 people remain trapped beneath the rubble, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has said it bases its estimates on distress calls it received.

More than 1.4 million people across Gaza have fled their homes, nearly half crowding into U.N. schools and shelters.

Gaza’s sole power plant shut down shortly after the start of the war. Hospitals are struggling to keep emergency generators running to operate incubators and other life-saving equipment, and UNRWA is trying to keep water pumps and bakeries running to meet essential needs.

At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, emergency director Dr. Mohammed Qandeel said about 20,000 civilians were sheltering there. “I brought my kids to sleep here,” said one displaced resident who gave her name only as Umm Ahmad. “I used to be afraid of my kids playing in the sand. Now their hands are dirty with the blood on the floor.”

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Opinion: Srettha Gov’t Making Right Decision to Call for Ceasefire in Israel-Gaza

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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29 October 2023, 18:00

Israel Palestinians Photo Gallery Week 3 — Palestinians evacuate two wounded boys from rubble following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Over the past week, the Srettha Thavisin administration repeatedly urges Thai workers in Israel to leave the country for Thailand as soon as possible, rightly citing the risks to their life.

“Brothers and sisters, please come home. Our country is safest,” Srettha posted the message on social media on Saturday.

Nevertheless, the fact that after three weeks, only about eight thousands out of thirty thousand Thai agricultural workers have decided to return home, says a lot about economic hardship and lack of opportunity back home for these working class Thais. They would rather risk their life in Israel, despite Hamas’ inhumane attacks that killed 1,400 people in Israel, including over thirty Thais and holding at least 19 Thai hostages, rather than return home to face livelihood uncertainty.

Some have taken loan in order to fly to Israel to work as agricultural worker and receive low wages from the Israeli standard, yet much higher than in Thailand thus returning to Thailand now is almost a certain livelihood suicide. The best thing the government can do now is to continue to communicate with these workers and their families realised in no uncertain terms of the grave risks. These workers are adults and at the end of the day, they will make their own decision and we will have to respect it, however.

The government will have to try harder to create better job opportunities at home and those in charge like PM Srettha might do well to spend time with working class people to directly hear from them about the limited choice they have. A lunch or dinner with a group of workers and farmers may afford the PM a new insight as to the monumental task of uplifting the livelihood of the working class.

On Friday, the Thai government also made a tough decision related to the war in the middle east when Thailand voted along with 119 other U.N. member states to support the U.N. resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire from all sides. The decision came despite Thailand’s good relationship with Israel. It was a hard decision to make, but Thailand rightly chose to stand for peace and not war as more civilians, women, and children in Gaza are being reportedly killed and the total number rose above seven thousands, according to the Palestinian authorities.

Even if the real number is half that, twice the number of those killed by Hamas in Israel. The Thai government rightly chose peace over war, despite the loss of life of over thirty Thais and the call by some Thais for retribution. It is unclear if the Thai government’s real motive was more about not wanting to upset Thai Muslims and Arab allies in general, however.

Only 14 U.N. member states, including Israel, the U.S. and Austria have chosen war by opposing the resolution. At a time when some countries want more blood to be shed, Thailand this time has chosen to say no and the Srettha administration should be commended for making this difficult decision. As more lives will be lost in the coming days and weeks, it is hoped that Thailand will continue to play a small part for peace.

The administration should continue to explore all channels in trying to negotiate with countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia to bring about the release of the hostages as well.

In the end, negotiation is inevitable in bringing about peaceful resolution and coexistence in the middle east between Israel and Palestine. By voting for the resolution, Thailand is hopefully doing its small part in sending a signal to all parties to the conflict that the time for negotiation should be sooner than later.

Chinese Man Who Enters Pattaya’s Deep Sea Is Saved By Thais

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Khaosod English

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29 October 2023, 14:54

Thai people, including officers from Bang Lamung Police Station, Chonburi Province, thrillingly saved the life of a Chinese male tourist in the darkness of the sea at 2:30 a.m. on October 29 as the visitor walked deeper into the sea and disappeared.

The incident occurred near Krathinglai Beach, behind Chomchan Hotel, Pattaya City, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province. When the police were notified of the incident, they contacted Sawang Boriboon Dhammasathan Rescuers, and marine rescue personnel were going to the scene to help.

The police officers questioned his relatives, who were restless on the beach, while the rescuers drove two boats about seeking this man. According to reports, the person who walked into the sea, 37-year-old Ma, had a dispute with his Chinese girlfriend. Then he stripped off his shirt, walked into the sea, and vanished for an hour.

help chinese2 — The Chinese man was put in a boat and safely returned to land.

Later, the marine rescuer’s boat located the man in a depressed state, drifting in the middle of the water, 500 metres from shore. So he was put in a boat and safely returned to land, where a group of delighted relatives awaited him.

Thai eyewitness Warakorn Ajja, 20, said he and three friends witnessed a female Chinese tourist screaming for help and pointed out that her partner had stepped into the sea. He and three friends raced down to aid but were unable to locate him, so he hurriedly called the cops for assistance.

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Matthew Perry, Emmy-nominated ‘Friends’ Star, Dead At 54

By

Associated Press

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29 October 2023, 13:32

Obit Matthew Perry — FILE - David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc pose after "Friends" won outstanding comedy series at the 54th Primetime Emmy Awards Sept. 22, 2002, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Friends” star Matthew Perry, the Emmy-nominated actor whose sarcastic, but lovable Chandler Bing was among television’s most famous and most quotable characters, has died at 54.

The actor was found dead of an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times and celebrity website TMZ, which was the first to report the news. Both outlets cited unnamed sources confirming Perry’s death.

“Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family,” the company said in a statement. “The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”

Perry’s publicists and other representatives did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

AP23302038579967 — File – Matthew Perry poses for a portrait on Feb. 17, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Brian Ach/Invision/AP)

Asked to confirm police response to what was listed as Perry’s home address, LAPD Officer Drake Madison told the AP that officers had gone to that block “for a death investigation of a male in his 50s.”

Perry’s 10 seasons on “Friends” made him one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, starring opposite Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer as a friend group in New York.

As Chandler, he played the quick-witted, insecure and neurotic roommate of LeBlanc’s Joey and a close friend of Schwimmer’s Ross. During the show’s hijinks, he could be counted on to chime in with a line like “Could this BE any more awkward?” or another well-timed quip.

Perry was open about his long and public struggle with addiction, writing at the beginning of his 2022 million-selling memoir: “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

AP23302046632828 — FILE – Matthew Perry, from left, Courteney Cox Arquettte, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc of the television show “Friends” arrive for NBC’s 75th Anniversary event on May 5, 2002 in New York. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg, File)

“Friends” ran from 1994 until 2004, winning one best comedy series Emmy Award in 2002. The cast notably banded together for later seasons to obtain a salary of $1 million per episode for each.

By the “Friends” finale, Chandler is married to Cox’s Monica and they have a family, reflecting the journey of the core cast from single New Yorkers trying to figure their lives out to several of them married and starting families.

The series was one of television’s biggest hits and has taken on a new life — and found surprising popularity with younger fans — in recent years on streaming services.

Perry described reading the “Friends” script for the first time in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”

“It was as if someone had followed me around for a year, stealing my jokes, copying my mannerisms, photocopying my world-weary yet witty view of life. One character in particular stood out to me: it wasn’t that I thought I could ‘play’ Chandler. I ‘was’ Chandler.”

Unknown at the time was the struggle Perry had with addiction and an intense desire to please audiences.

AP23302038079553 — FILE – Matthew Perry arrives at the premiere of “The Invention of Lying” in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 21, 2009. Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing in the hit series “Friends,” has died. He was 54. AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

“’Friends’ was huge. I couldn’t jeopardize that. I loved the script. I loved my co-actors. I loved the scripts. I loved everything about the show but I was struggling with my addictions which only added to my sense of shame,” he wrote in his memoir. “I had a secret and no one could know.”

“I felt like I was gonna die if the live audience didn’t laugh, and that’s not healthy for sure. But I could sometimes say a line and the audience wouldn’t laugh and I would sweat and sometimes go into convulsions,” Perry wrote. “If I didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get I would freak out. I felt that every single night. This pressure left me in a bad place. I also knew of the six people making that show, only one of them was sick.”

He recalled in his memoir that Aniston confronted him about being inebriated while filming.

“I know you’re drinking,” he remembered her telling him once. “We can smell it,” she said, in what Perry called a “kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer.”

In the foreword to Perry’s memoir, Lisa Kudrow described him as “whip smart, charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable, and rational.” She added, “That guy, with everything he was battling, was still there.”

An HBO Max reunion special in 2021 was hosted by James Corden and fed into huge interest in seeing the cast together again, although the program consisted of the actors discussing the show and was not a continuation of their characters’ storylines.

Perry received one Emmy nomination for his “Friends” role and two more for appearances as an associate White House counsel on “The West Wing.”

Perry also had several notable film roles, starring opposite Salma Hayek in the rom-com “Fools Rush In” and Bruce Willis in the the crime comedy “The Whole Nine Yards.”

He worked consistently after “Friends,” though never in a role that brought him as much attention or acclaim.

In 2015, he played Oscar for a CBS reboot of “The Odd Couple” that aired for two seasons. He told the AP that playing Oscar Madison, the character originally made famous in the 1960s series by Walter Matthau, was a “dream role.” He also said he was surprised how much he enjoyed being filmed again in front of a live audience.

“I didn’t realize I missed it really until it actually happened, til we actually shot the pilot and there was a studio audience there and I realized, ‘Wow, I really like this. This is nice,’” he said. “You kind of ham up for the people in the audience. My performance never got better than when there was an audience there.”

Perry was born Aug. 19, 1969, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His father is actor John Bennett Perry and his mother, Suzanne, served as press secretary of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and is married to “Dateline” correspondent Keith Morrison.

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Associated Press writers Alicia Rancilio, Janie Har, Hillel Italie, Ryan Pearson and Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

Thai-Cambodian Border Market Fire Costs 100 Million Baht

By

Khaosod English

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29 October 2023, 02:38

surinfire3 — The market has ropes around it, prohibiting entry and movement for 45 days.

Surin – Officials from both Thailand and Cambodia consoled the affected vendors of the fire at Chong Chom Market, Kap Choeng District, Surin Province, Thai-Cambodian border, on October 28 after 320 stores burned on October 27 with total damage costing hundreds of millions of baht. The market posted signs prohibiting entry and movement for 45 days.

Santad Saenthong, Deputy Governor of Surin Province, and Hun Sopia, Deputy Governor of Udon Meechai Province, Cambodia, visited the Chong Chom Market Fire Victim Assistance Centre with local officials from both countries to jointly provide relief items to more than 300 Cambodian and Thai vendors who lost their shops in the border market.

Hun Sopia stated that Cambodian authorities will assist Cambodian vendors in this market to the greatest extent possible in accordance with government regulations. Assistance will also be coordinated with Thai authorities.

surinfire4 — The officials from both Thailand and Cambodia visited the Chong Chom Market to jointly provide relief items to more than 300 Cambodian and Thai vendors.

surinfire2 — A fire has destroyed 320 stores in Chong Chom Market.

The fire broke out at 9:30 p.m. on the night of Oct. 27, destroying 320 stores and causing approximately 20 minor injuries. Officials assessed the damage at roughly 100 million baht, which was higher than the damage from the fire at this market in 2020, which burnt a larger area. This time, the damage was worse since retailers had to stock a variety of things in preparation for the end of Buddhist Lent and the New Year 2024 holiday.

An electrical short circuit is thought to have started the fire. A Cambodian seller stated that before to the incident, he noticed a light bulb flashing on and off on Soi 9 of the market, which was followed by a fire that erupted in that location.

No Matter Dom’s Cause Of Death, The Family Is Still Devastated

By

Khaosod English

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29 October 2023, 00:58

Eight months after the death of Duangphet Phromthep, or Dom, captain of the Wild Boars Thai football team trapped in a cave for several days in 2018, the public has just learned of the tragic cause that he took his own life while at school in Leicester, UK.

The BBC reported that conclusion on Friday, October 27, after Dom’s inquest was opened on February 22 and concluded on October 4 at Leicester Coroner’s Court.

Dom died on February 14, 2023, two days after being found unconscious in his dormitory at a football academy in Leicester. He was 17 years old.

In the record of inquest, Prof Catherine Mason said: “Mr Phromthep was not known to mental health services, and it is not known why he took the actions that he did. It could not have been foreseen or prevented.”

dom family1 — Dom’s family in Chiang Rai watched the live ceremony in England on February 27, 2023. / photo by Khaosod

Mrs. Thanaporn Promthep, Dom’s mother in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, told a Khaosod reporter on October 28 that the cause of death has no bearing on the family’s grief. The investigation into the cause of death is the matter of relevant agencies. Her family is still devastated and unable to cope with the fact that Dom is no longer with them.

“What the family can do and has always tried to do is make merit by offering food to monks with snacks and fruits that Dom likes. We pray to send merit to him in accordance with our beliefs and the traditions of the villagers at Mae Sai,” she said.

According to the BBC report, Principal Ian Smith said: “Our entire college community remains united in grief with Dom’s family, friends and former teammates. As a college, the health, wellbeing and welfare of our students is our absolute priority.

“We have robust safeguarding systems in place which enable us to provide appropriate support for students when needed, and we keep these systems under constant review so that we can do everything possible to provide the necessary support to every child.

“Since this tragedy, our dedicated pastoral team has continued to provide support to students and colleagues.

“Dom will always remain a part of the Brooke House family and will be hugely missed.”

Dom had enrolled as a student in the football academy at Brooke House College in 2022 after receiving a scholarship from the Zico Foundation under the Sport Education project.

He was one of the Tham Luang Cave survivors who gained international attention in 2018 when a flash flood trapped 12 young football players and their coach inside for 17 days.

The epic rescue operation, which involved more than 10,000 officials and volunteers, was concluded successfully on July 10, 2018, when the last of the boys were brought out. The moment was captured on video and soon broadcast to the world.

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Israel Announces Expanded Military Operations As Reports Trickle Out Of Gaza

By

Associated Press

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28 October 2023, 16:00

Israel Palestinians — In this undated image taken from video released by Israeli Defense Forces, a line of Israeli tanks are shown during an incursion into the Gaza Strip. (Israeli Defense Forces via AP)

Israel announced an expanded ground operation on Saturday after knocking out communications and creating a near-blackout of information in the Gaza Strip with increased bombardment and artillery fire overnight.

Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours after nightfall Friday as the Israeli military said it was expanding ground operations in the territory, signaling a move closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza meant to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused “complete disruption” of internet, cellular and landline services as the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people were largely cut off from contact with the outside world. Some satellite phones continued to function.

AP23301259639039 — Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The Palestinian death toll passed 7,300. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which tracks the toll, released a detailed list including names and ID numbers on Thursday. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids since the war’s start three weeks ago.

More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during the Hamas incursion, including at least 310 soldiers, according to the Israeli government. At least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza, and four hostages were released earlier.

ISRAEL ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF GROUND OPERATION INTO GAZA

Israel is expanding its ground operation in Gaza with infantry and armored vehicles backed by “massive” strikes from the air and sea, the Israeli military spokesman said Saturday.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said “the forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war.”

Troops previously conducted brief nightly ground incursions before returning to Israel.

Earlier Saturday, the military released videos showing columns of armored vehicles moving slowly in open, sandy areas of Gaza, the first visual confirmation of ground troops. The military said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers.

AP23300685847019 — Smoke rises from explosions caused by Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Journalists inside Gaza who were able to communicate with the outside world said there was intense Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza overnight and early Saturday.

“The raids were very intense from artillery shelling and air raids. There is an explosion, gunfire and clashes are heard on the border,” journalist Mohammed Abdel-Rahman told The Associated Press.

They heard sounds of clashes Saturday morning on the western borders of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza and “artillery shelling from time to time, intermittent and not continuous,” Abdel-Rahman said.

Another journalist, Anas al-Sharif, reported shelling close to the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia and said rescuers have retrieved wounded people and many bodies from rubble across northern Gaza.

Israel’s military also announced Saturday it had struck and killed a top Hamas naval operative, Ratib Abu Tzahiban, who it says orchestrated an attempted naval attack in Israel on Oct. 24. It was unclear if the military was referring to an episode when a group of Hamas divers were repelled after trying to infiltrate Israel on a beach north of Gaza.

U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY CALLS FOR ‘HUMANITARIAN TRUCE’ IN GAZA LEADING TO HALT IN ISRAEL-HAMAS FIGHTING

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution on Friday calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza leading to a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

It was the first U.N. response to Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and Israel’s ongoing military response and vow to obliterate Hamas.

The 193-member world body adopted the resolution by a vote of 120-14 with 45 abstentions after rejecting a Canadian amendment backed by the United States to unequivocally condemn the “terrorist attacks” by Hamas and demand the immediate release of hostages taken by the militant group.

AP23300470887966 — Palestinians carry a child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip during his funeral at a UN-run school in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)

GAZA’S LARGEST HOSPITAL STRUGGLES TO KEEP ITS NEONATAL UNITS RUNNING AS ISRAEL TIGHTENS SEIGE

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Premature babies wiggle and squirm, some with oxygen tubes under their noses, in rows of clear plastic incubators inside the neonatal unit of Gaza’s largest hospital, which, like the rest of the besieged Palestinian territory, is running out of fuel, food, water and electricity.

Doctors in Gaza say conditions have reached catastrophic levels. They say a lack of basic supplies has left them struggling to maintain hygiene and sanitation, and hospital grounds are overcrowded with displaced civilians seeking refuge from Israeli airstrikes.

“We have noticed an increase in premature birth cases,” said Dr. Nasser Bulbul, head of the NICU at al-Shifa Hospital.

“We had to perform a premature delivery of the fetus from the mother’s womb while she’s dying,” he said. “Many of these infants are orphaned, and we don’t know the fate of their relatives or have information about their identities.”

AP23300438237700 — Palestinians pray for their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir al Balah on Friday, Oct.27, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Around 50,000 pregnant women are caught up in the conflict, with around 5,500 due to give birth within the next 30 days, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

If fuel supplies run out, neonatal intensive care units will be impacted and planned or emergency caesarean sections will be impossible, the U.N. agency said.

PRESS GROUP SAYS THE PAST 3 WEEKS HAVE BEEN DEADLIEST PERIOD FOR JOURNALISTS COVERING CONFLICT

NEW YORK — The Committee to Protect Journalists says the past three weeks have been the deadliest on record for journalists covering conflict since the organization started tracking in 1992.

The organization said in a statement Friday that at least 29 journalists have died covering the Israel-Hamas war since it ignited Oct. 7, including 24 Palestinians, four Israelis and 1 Lebanese. Additionally, 8 other journalists were reported injured and 9 were reported missing or detained.

AP23300505229248 — Palestinians inspect the rubble of a house after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct.27, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

CPJ also criticized the cutting of communications services in the Gaza Strip, warning that the blackout is also a “news blackout” that has compromised the public’s ability to “know and understand what is happening in this conflict.”

“This can lead to serious consequences with an independent, factual information vacuum that can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis- and misinformation,” it said.

The organization stressed that journalists are civilians that must be respected and protected in accordance with international humanitarian law, adding that “deliberating targeting journalists or media infrastructure constitutes possible war crimes.”

Police Arrest 11 For International Car Trafficking

By

Khaosod English

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28 October 2023, 12:00

BANGKOK — Police on Friday said they arrested 11 suspects involved in an organized crime group behind the trafficking of vehicles to Myanmar.

Central Investigations Bureau commander Jirapob Puridet said police seized 20 vehicles worth 20 million baht that were stolen in Malaysia after they raided 12 locations across the country. Eleven suspects, both Thai and Myanmar nationals, were arrested.

The group had been smuggling more than 50 vehicles from Malaysia through Thailand into Myanmar over the past year, in which they would use fake Thai license plates and vehicle registration documents to avoid detection, Pol. Lt. Gen. Jirapob said.

In a related development, five suspects were arrested for counterfeiting license plates and vehicle registration documents. Police said the criminal group was selling fake plates for 2,500 baht, which was advertised on a Facebook page.

A total of 47 fake plates and 74 forgery devices were seized from the group. Highway Police Division said they have so far identified 151 stolen vehicles that used fake plates and returned 46 of them to their legal owners.

Indians Who Hurt Phuket Officials Have Lions In Their Villa

By

Khaosod English

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28 October 2023, 01:18

india phuket3 — Police searched a luxury villa on a hill in the Laem Sing area, Choeng Thale Subdistrict, Thalang District, Phuket Province, on October 26, 2023.

PHUKET — Police from Provincial Police Region 8, Choeng Thale Police Station, and Phuket Immigration Police announced on October 27 that Indian residents attacked three immigration officials who requested a search of their luxury villa on a hill in the Laem Sing area, Choeng Thale Subdistrict, Thalang District, Phuket Province, injuring them. The Indians were arrested and prosecuted.

The inquiry revealed that this group of suspects are Indians. The wife of the leader is from Ukraine. Three months ago, they came to rent and buy land for a luxury villa for 500 million baht, with an area of at least 10 rai, and they lived as a family of more than 20 people, with a Thai housekeeper and a Thai gardener.

An antique military vehicle is positioned as a sign at the villa’s gate, equipped with security guards and its own ambulance. There are more than 20 luxury cars inside, each with a licence plate that does not match the car’s registration, and more than 30 drones.

In addition, two white lion cubs worth over two million baht, two macaws, two raccoons, and one meerkat were discovered with no proof of possession. They were confiscated and turned over to the Choeng Thale Police Station for storage and examination.

indian phuket1 — The white lion cub was seized from the luxury villa on October 27, 2023.

Six people were arrested for fighting and using physical force to stop officers from carrying out their duties. Mr. N appeared from the villa wielding a baseball bat, followed by five others, including Mr. S, Mr. A, Mr. C, Mr. N, and Mr. M, who rushed to attack the officers.

Furthermore, three additional individuals, Mr. Sh, a 33-year-old Russian national, Mr. K, a 29-year-old Indian national, and Mr. Y, a 25-year-old Indian national, had overstayed their visas in the Kingdom. They were taken to Choeng Thale police station.

Daughter of Divisive Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Named Head of Political Party Linked to Him

By

Associated Press

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27 October 2023, 18:49

Thailand Politics — Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, greets new leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, at the party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI BANGKOK — Thailand’s ruling party on Friday selected as its leader the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s divisive former prime minister, highlighting the family’s continuing influence more than two decades after Thaksin entered politics.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, who is Thaksin’s youngest daughter, was voted into the position at a meeting of executives and other members at the Pheu Thai Party’s Bangkok headquarters. Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties believed to be supported by Thaksin and serving his political interests.

The party’s previous leader, Chonlanan Srikaew, resigned for breaking a pledge that Pheu Thai would not form a government with any military-aligned parties. Pheu Thai finished second in May’s election, but the winning Move Forward Party failed to win enough support from conservative lawmakers to form a government, opening a path for Pheu Thai to take power by joining with former political foes.

AP23300293218774 — New leader Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, right, daughter of Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, offers a traditional greeting known as a “wai” to member of Pheu Thai Party at the party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

“We will not give up the original DNA of Pheu Thai, which is bringing policies that we promise to the people to reality. We will make dreams come true. We will make the impossible become possible. We will erase all insults with our irrefutable performance,” Paetongtarn told party members after the vote.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is from the Pheu Thai Party and was among those who congratulated Paetongtarn, joining her on stage for photographs. Ahead of the election, Paetongtarn had also been touted as a potential prime minister.

AP23300293052783 — Thailand’s ruling party has selected as its leader the daughter of the country’s divisive former prime minister, highlighting her family’s continuing influence more than two decades after her father entered politics.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire, was elected prime minister in 2001 and easily reelected in 2005, largely because of populist policies that attracted lower-income voters. However, he was ousted by a military coup in 2006.

In 2011, Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra — Paetongtarn’s aunt — was swept into office with an easy election victory, becoming Thailand’s first female prime minister. But her government was ousted by another coup in 2014.

The residual popularity of her father remains a factor behind Paetongtarn’s support, especially among poor and working-class Thais.

But the Pheu Thai Party underperformed in the election, failing to achieve the landslide it predicted.

Its subsequent forsaking of an alliance with Move Forward in favor of a coalition that included two military parties further hit its standing with many ordinary Thais, opinion polls suggested.

AP23234102869196 — Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, left, with his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at Don Muang airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Pheu Thai senior members had said the party wished to see more young people in leadership, a move many saw as an attempt to counter the Move Forward party, whose agenda appealed greatly to the young generation.

The election of Paetongtarn reasserts the overt leadership of the Pheu Thai Party by the Shinawatra family and comes two months after Thaksin returned to the country after 15 years of exile to avoid a jail sentence. Thakisn fled into self-imposed exile in 2008 before he was found guilty of corruption and abuse of power.

On his return to Thailand this year, Thaksin was immediately taken to prison to begin an eight-year prison sentence but within hours was transferred to a state hospital where he remains. The prison said he was suffering from high blood pressure, difficulty sleeping and tightness in his chest.

Less than two weeks later, Thailand’s king reduced his eight-year prison term to a single year.

There is growing criticism that Thaksin has received special treatment compared to other inmates, and his swift transfer has prompted calls for proof that he is genuinely sick.

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