israel

Israel shows Hamas bodycam attack footage to journalists

The bodycam footage, cut together with clips from CCTV, dashboard cameras and the mobile phones of both Hamas gunmen and victims, showed in stark detail the sheer horror visited on a music festival and family neighbourhoods in southern Israel.

The Israeli military also released documents which they said were recovered from dead Hamas members, containing detailed operational planning and instructions for attacking the neighbourhoods and taking hostages.

Tongans safely evacuate Israel

A statement said “The flight departed at 1:38pm (Israel time) on Saturday 14 October, and landed at Stanstead Airport in England Sunday morning (Tonga time).”

The passengers were accompanied by Major Kaho from the Tonga High Commission in London and some passengers from New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.

Tonga's Prime Minister, Siaosi Sovaleni acknowledged the assitance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and the Prime Minister's Office for their successful mission in evacuating Tongans from the war zone.

     

TikTok latest firm after X and Meta to be warned by EU over Hamas videos

It urged CEO Shou Zi Chew in a letter to "urgently step up" efforts, and spell out "within the next 24 hours" how it is complying with European law.

Social media firms have seen a surge in misinformation about the conflict, including doctored images and mislabelled videos.

The EU previously warned X, formerly Twitter, and Meta about such content.

It said TikTok needed to be mindful of its popularity with young people.

New Zealand government organising special flight to get people out of Israel

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta said the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories remained highly volatile so any New Zealanders who can get out of the region on commercial airlines should do so.

On Saturday, Palestinian Islamic group Hamas launched an unexpected attack on Israel which saw rockets fired and gunmen cross the border.

In response, Israel began firing back. More than 1000 people have lost their lives and even more are wounded.

Growing concerns for NZ Tongan church group trying to flee Israel amidst war

The Tongan church group is made up of 45 people - mostly New Zealand citizens over the age of 40 and a 26-year-old woman.

RNZ Pacific spoke to a friend of the group who said this was "a crisis" and called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a safe evacuation.

The friend who wished to stay anonymous to protect the group's safety said: "If the NZ consul can't get them out within the next 12 hours, a lockdown will imprison them in Israel for an indeterminate period."

Tongan Government steps up to help Kiwi church group in Israel

Up to 54 members of the Connection City Church Assemblies of God church travelled to Israel for a Holy Land tour, visiting historical Christian sites.

They arrived in Jerusalem early last week, just a few days before the devastating weekend assault by Hamas gunmen.

Pesi Sikalu told the Herald this morning they had received good news overnight - Turkish Airlines is now set to resume a flight out of Israel that the group is booked to be on.

The Tongan Government has also sent its consul representative to be with the group.

Fijians arrive home from Israel

The flight comes in the midst of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, which has resulted in significant loss of life and turmoil in the region.

Family and friends, filled with anticipation and joy, had gathered at the airport in the early hours of the morning to welcome their loved ones back home.

The sight of reunions, warm embraces, and the sounds of laughter echoed through the airport as passengers disembarked. A traditional Fijian welcome ceremony was organized to greet the returning Fijians.

Pacific Islanders in Israel safe but struggling to get home

Delegations from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga were among 3000 visitors from over 80 nations attending the biggest Christian festival in Israel, the week-long Feast of the Tabernacle.

As part of the visit, over 300 Pacific Islanders had been touring the country, visiting historical sites, participating in services and parades and celebrating their faith.

Two Israelis killed in suspected Palestinian shooting near Huwara

It happened near the village of Huwara - which has been the scene of previous deadly attacks on Israelis and rampages by Jewish settlers in retribution.

The shooting took place at a carwash.

The gunman is said to have approached on foot and opened fire with a handgun.

The Israeli ambulance service said the two men aged 28 and 60 were pronounced dead at the scene. Both are said to have been civilians from Ashdod in southern Israel.

Israeli media reported that they had come to the West Bank to fix their car and spent several hours in Huwara.

Netanyahu under pressure from US, Israeli protests grow

Further pressuring the Israeli leader were images unseen for years in Tel Aviv where police fired stun guns and scuffled with Israeli protesters on a main road during a national "day of disruption" over government plans to overhaul the judiciary.

Reuters reports the head of a pro-settler party in Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition, Smotrich made the comments at a conference on Wednesday amid a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks and Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.