Politics
Joy in Gaza and Israel after ceasefire announced
Israelis and Palestinians rejoiced on Thursday after a ceasefire and hostage deal was announced under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war in Gaza.
The enemies both publicly endorsed the deal and had been expected to sign it around noon in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh (0900 GMT), though there was no immediate official confirmation that the signing had taken place.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire would take effect once ratified by the Israeli government, which would convene after a security cabinet meeting scheduled for 5pm.
Israel’s hostage coordinator Gal Hirsch said the list of the Palestinian prisoners to be freed was still being worked out.
Residents in Gaza reported a series of air strikes on Gaza City around the time it was due to be signed.
Ceasefire, withdrawal, and release of hostages
Under the deal, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza and Hamas will free hostages it captured in the attack that precipitated the war, in exchange for prisoners held by Israel.
A source briefed on details of the agreement said Israeli troops would begin pulling back within 24 hours of the deal being signed.
The release of all 20 Israeli hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza is expected on Sunday or Monday, an Israeli official said. Another 26 hostages have been declared dead in absentia and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated it may take time to recover bodies scattered across Gaza.
Palestinians and the families of Israeli hostages broke into wild celebrations after news emerged of the pact.
In Gaza, where most of the more than 2 million people have been displaced by Israeli bombing, young men applauded in the devastated streets, even as Israeli strikes continued.
‘All of the Gaza Strip is happy’
“Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing,” said Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. “I am not the only one happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed.”
Einav Zaugauker, whose son Matan is one of the last hostages, rejoiced in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square, where families of those seized in the Hamas attack that sparked the war two years ago have gathered to demand their return.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t explain what I’m feeling … it’s crazy,” she said, speaking in the red glow of a celebratory flare.
“What do I say to him? What do I do? Hug and kiss him,” she said. “Just tell him that I love him, that’s it. And to see his eyes sink into mine … It’s overwhelming — this is the relief.”
Still, Gaza residents said Israeli strikes on three Gaza City suburbs continued overnight and in the morning hours of Thursday, residents said, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Gaza health ministry said at least nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours.
Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas’ cross-border attack that triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded the agreement as the initial stage of a 20-point framework put forward by Trump.
Major achievement for Trump
The agreement was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for the US president, who had campaigned on promises to end fighting in Gaza. He cast it as a first step in a plan to bring reconciliation to the wider Middle East.
“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen,” he wrote on social media. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
But the agreement still left many unresolved questions. Yet to be hammered out are plans to govern Gaza after the war, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel’s demands that it give up its weapons.
Netanyahu called the deal “a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.”
But far-right members of his coalition have long opposed any deal with Hamas. One, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said Hamas must be destroyed once the hostages are returned. He would not vote in favour of a ceasefire deal, although he stopped short of threatening to bring down Netanyahu’s coalition.
The deal received a chorus of support from Arab and Western countries which had watched multiple ceasefire efforts fail.
The next phase of Trump’s plan calls for an international body led by Trump, and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to play a role in Gaza’s post-war administration.
Arab countries which back the plan say it must lead to eventual independence for a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu says will never happen. Hamas rejects putting Gaza under international rule, and any role for Blair.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led members stormed through Israeli towns on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.
In parallel, Israel’s military has waged campaigns that have tipped the balance of power in the Middle East in its favour, killing the leaders of Hezbollah in a campaign in Lebanon and top Iranian commanders in a 12-day war against Iran.
But global outrage has mounted against Israel’s assault, leaving it internationally isolated.
- Five new rare earth elements added to export control list.
- Overseas defence users barred from obtaining export licences.
- New rules to affect chipmakers using Chinese materials worldwide.
China tightened its rare earth export controls on Thursday, saying it planned to limit exports to overseas defence firms and semiconductor users and adding five rare earth elements to its list.
The world’s largest rare earth producer also added dozens of pieces of refining technology to its control list and announced rules that will require compliance from foreign rare earth producers who use Chinese materials.
The Ministry of Commerce’s announcements follow US lawmakers’ call on Tuesday for broader bans on the export of chipmaking equipment to China.
They expand controls Beijing announced in April that caused shortages around the world, before a series of deals with Europe and the US eased the supply crunch.
The new curbs come weeks ahead of a scheduled face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
“This helps with increasing leverage for Beijing ahead of the anticipated Trump-Xi summit in (South) Korea later this month,” said Tim Zhang, founder of Singapore-based Edge Research.
China produces over 90% of the world’s processed rare earths and rare earth magnets. The 17 rare earth elements are vital materials in products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and military radars.
Exports of 12 of them are now restricted after the Ministry of Commerce added five— holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium— along with related materials.
Foreign companies producing some of the rare earths and related magnets on the list will now also need a Chinese export license if the final product contains or is made with Chinese equipment or material. This applies even if the transaction includes no Chinese companies.
The regulations mimic rules the United States has implemented to restrict other countries’ exports of semiconductor-related products to China.
The ministry also added dozens of pieces of mining and refining equipment and materials to its control list.
China’s latest restrictions on the five additional elements and processing equipment will take effect on November 8, just before a 90-day trade truce with Washington expires.
The rules on foreign companies that make products using Chinese rare earths equipment or material are to take effect on December 1. Shares in China Northern Rare Earth Group, China Rare Earth Resources and Technology and Shenghe Resources surged by 10%, 9.97% and 9.4%, respectively, on Thursday.
Chips and defence
The ministry also said overseas defence users will not be granted licenses, while applications related to advanced semiconductors will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
The new rules apply to 14-nanometer chips or more advanced chips, memory chips with 256 layers or more, and equipment used in production of such chips, as well as to related research and development. These advanced chips are used in products from smartphones to AI chipsets that require powerful computing performance.
The rules will also apply to research and development of artificial intelligence with potential military applications.
South Korea, home to major memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is assessing the details of the new restrictions and will continue discussions with China to minimise their impact, its industry ministry said in a statement to Reuters.
Samsung declined to comment. SK Hynix and Taiwan’s TSMC did not immediately respond to questions.
Shares in TSMC rose 1.8% on Thursday, as the company reported forecast-beating third-quarter revenue. South Korea’s financial markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday.
Chinese rare earth shipments have been growing steadily over the past few months as Beijing grants more export licenses, although some users still complain they are struggling to obtain them.
In a nod to concerns about access, the ministry said the scope of items in its latest restrictions was limited and “a variety of licensing facilitation measures will be adopted”.
Palestinians in southern Gaza clapped, cheered and danced in the pre-dawn darkness on Thursday, after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire deal to end the devastating two-year war in the territory.
A crowd of around a dozen young men shouted joyful chants of “Allahu akbar”, meaning God is the greatest, outside Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital, as one man lifted another onto his shoulders.
A man wearing a journalist’s press vest could also be seen carried above the crowd, speaking into a microphone.
“Thanks to God for this ceasefire, thanks for the end of the bloodshed and the killing,” said Abdelmajid Abedrabbo, a resident of south Gaza.
“I am not the only one who is happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all of the Arab people are happy about the ceasefire,” he added.
“Thanks and love to all those who stood with us and played a part in ending the bloodshed, sending you love from Gaza.”
Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending a war that has killed tens of thousands and unleashed a humanitarian crisis.
The agreement, to be signed on Thursday, also calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as well as prompt a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started in October 2023 attack on Israel.
‘We are happy’
“Despite all the wounding and the killing, and the loss of loved ones and relatives, we are happy today after the ceasefire,” Ayman al-Najjar told AFP in Khan Yunis.
“I lost my cousins and some friends, and a week ago I lost my beloved grandfather, may his soul rest in peace. But today, and in spite of all this, we are happy,” he added.
The Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
Militants also took 251 people hostages into Gaza, where 47 remain, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
‘Indescribable’
The ceasefire agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump.
“Thank God, President Trump has announced that war ended, we are very happy,” said Wael Radwan.
“We thank our brothers and all of those who participated even with just words to stop this war and this bloodshed.”
Khaled Al-Namnam, 26, who is displaced in Al-Maghzai in the central Gaza Strip, said he had not expected the news.
“Suddenly, I woke up in the morning to incredibly beautiful news… everyone was talking about the end of the war, aid coming in, and the crossings being opened. I felt immense happiness,” he told AFP by telephone.
“It’s a strange feeling— indescribable— after two years of bombing, fear, terror, and hunger. Truly, it feels like we are being born again.”
CHENNAI: Indian police have arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical company after a cough syrup made at his plant was linked to the deaths of at least 21 children, officials said on Thursday.
Most of the children, all aged under five, died in Madhya Pradesh state over the past month after they were prescribed the syrup, which was contaminated with a deadly toxin.
Cough syrups manufactured in India have come under global scrutiny in recent years, with deaths linked to their consumption reported in several countries, damaging its reputation as the third-largest producer of drugs and pharmaceuticals by volume.
G Ranganathan, 75, was arrested early on Thursday morning at his home in Chennai by police from the city and from Madhya Pradesh.
He was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and adulteration of drugs, police sources told AFP, and Indian media reported.
The cough syrup, sold under the brand name Coldrif, was manufactured by Sresan Pharma at a unit in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The Indian health ministry said on Saturday that tests on samples showed they were contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance used in industrial solvents that can be fatal even if ingested in small amounts.
Madhya Pradesh and several other states have banned the product.
Indian media reports said the World Health Organisation had sought clarification from Indian officials about whether the toxic cough syrup had been exported to other countries.
More than 70 children died in Gambia from acute kidney failure after consuming a cough syrup imported from India in 2022.
In Uzbekistan, 68 children died between 2022 and 2023 after consuming another contaminated syrup produced in India.
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