Rabia Ali
November 23, 2023•Update: November 23, 2023
ISTANBUL
Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Thursday, including the latest developments in the hostage swap between Israel and Hamas, the death of Hezbollah fighters in Israeli airstrikes, North Korea suspending military agreement with South Korea, and Gaza stated to be the most dangerous place for children.
TOP STORIES
Israel’s National Security Council said a hostage swap with the Palestinian group Hamas will not start before Friday.
Tzachi Hanegbi, the council’s president, said early Thursday that negotiations for the release of hostages have been "constantly progressing.”
Israeli media interpreted the announcement as a delay in the implementation of the agreement. Earlier, Israeli authorities and media had said that the first group of Israeli prisoners under the agreement would be released on Nov. 23.
The Lebanese Hezbollah group announced early Thursday that five of its fighters, including the son of a senior leader Mohammed Raad, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon's official news agency, the airstrike targeted a home in the village of Beit Yahoun. The Israeli army has yet to respond to the incident.
Throughout Wednesday, the Israeli army and Hezbollah exchanged fire.
North Korea on Thursday announced that it would revoke the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement and restore all military activities halted under the deal.
The North Korean National Defense Ministry said in a statement that the decision was made after South Korea suspended parts of the agreement on Wednesday.
"From now on, our army will never be bound by the September 19 (2018) North-South Military Agreement," the state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted the statement.
On Wednesday, in its third attempt this year, North Korea “successfully” launched a surveillance satellite into space.
Thousands of Palestinian children were killed during Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, a UN official said on Wednesday, calling Gaza the "most dangerous place in the world to be a child."
"More than 5,300 Palestinian children have been reportedly killed in just 46 days... or over 115 a day, every day, for weeks and weeks. Based on these figures, children account for 40% of the deaths in Gaza. This is unprecedented,” UNICEF’s Executive Director Catherine Russell said at the UN Security Council briefing.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday reiterated his call for all Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at a virtual summit of G-20 leaders Wednesday, called on the Group of 20 leaders to "take an initiative in realizing a two-state solution" to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
- The far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) was on track to win a significant victory in the Netherlands' general elections, according to preliminary results released Wednesday, with its leader declaring that they can no longer be ignored.
- Two people were killed and one person injured in an explosion at Rainbow Bridge on the US-Canadian border, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, adding, ‘There is no sign of terrorist activity with respect to this crash.’
- The number of people killed in Israeli air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has risen to 14,532, including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women, the media office in the besieged enclave said on Wednesday.
- Moscow has "recorded' Türkiye's signals to initiate the creation of an inspection mechanism to verify Israel's possession of nuclear weapons, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
- Two mothers are killed every hour and seven women every two hours in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the UN Women executive director said on Wednesday.
- The G-20 leaders Wednesday hailed a humanitarian pause agreed upon by Hamas and Israel in the besieged Gaza Strip, in a welcome statement at a virtual summit hosted by India.
- United Talent Agency (UTA) has dropped actress Susan Sarandon following comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. Another Melissa Barrera was fired from the cast of the upcoming thriller Scream VII after making pro-Palestinian statements on social media.
SPORTS
Defending world champions Argentina beat South American rivals Brazil 1-0 in a violent 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday as the Brazilian police clashed with Argentina fans in stands.
The match at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium was delayed for half an hour after a pre-match crowd violence as the police intervened with club fans.
Europe’s top football body UEFA announced Wednesday that it fined Celtic a total of €29,000 ($31,582) over a number of incidents during its Champions League group stage match against Atletico Madrid on Oct. 25.
The Scottish club was ordered to pay €17,500 for displaying “a provocative message of an offensive nature,” €8,000 for their supporters’ blocking of public passageways and €3,500 for their lighting of fireworks.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
OpenAI announced Wednesday it is bringing back former CEO Sam Altman who was suddenly ousted from the US-based artificial intelligence (AI) research company five days ago.
"We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo," the firm wrote on X.
Malian authorities announced the signing of an agreement with Russia to build a gold refinery in the national capital of Bamako.
The two countries have signed several agreements and continue bilateral relations, including the construction of a 200-ton annual gold refinery, the largest in West Africa.
