November 2, 2023

*) Israel strikes Gaza refugee camp again as UN warns of 'war crimes' Israel has hit Gaza's largest refugee camp with renewed air strikes, prompting UN rights officials to warn that targeting densely populated residential areas "could amount to war crimes." Bombs struck the Jabalia camp for a second time in two days, pulverising buildings and, according to the Palestinian health ministry, killing dozens of people. The UN's top human rights body — citing "the high number of civilian casualties" and scale of destruction — said it had "serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes." The Health Ministry in Gaza has reported that over 1,000 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the camp. *) Latin America ramps up condemnations of Israel's attack on Gaza Some of Latin America's biggest countries have condemned Israel's attacks on a densely populated refugee camp in Gaza, widening the diplomatic rift between the region and Tel Aviv. Argentina, Peru and Mexico lambasted the Israeli attacks, which the Gaza government said had killed more than a thousand people while hundreds others were wounded or unaccounted for under the debris. The criticisms come a day after Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel while Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to the country. *) US top diplomat to begin new Mideast tour amidst Israel's Gaza attacks US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East with a somewhat more nuanced message than he offered in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 operation. As he did last month, Blinken is expected to stress US support to Israel. Blinken's agenda this time is more complex as the conflict intensifies and the Biden administration grapples with competing domestic and international interests and anger. *) Deadly Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine damage Kherson city centre A Russian attack on Kherson in eastern Ukraine killed one person and caused serious damage in the city's centre, the region's governor s