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Israel halts aid to Gaza in clash with Hamas over breaking ceasefire
By David Crowe
Israeli forces have clashed with Hamas in a new sign of pressure on a peace deal in Gaza, blocking the flow of food and medical supplies to Palestinians while the two sides blame each other for flouting a ceasefire.
The Israel Defence Forces launched airstrikes and artillery fire against militants on Sunday in the southern part of the war-torn territory near the Rafah crossing into Egypt, saying it was responding to being fired upon.
Israel said Hamas fighters had fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire at the soldiers in an area that was controlled by Israeli under the terms of the ceasefire, and it vowed to fire back if the attacks continued.
Wounded Palestinian infants are treated at Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Sunday after an Israeli army bombardment.Credit: AP
But Hamas said the Israeli forces had repeatedly violated the ceasefire and claimed, without verification by any other source, that 46 people had been killed in recent days.
In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Israel said it would suspend the delivery of all humanitarian aid into Gaza until further notice.
Albanese heads to Washington for meeting with Trump
By Emily Kaine
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will touch down in Washington soon ahead of a scheduled face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump set to take place early Tuesday morning.
Upholding the under-review AUKUS pact, and leveraging Australia’s role in supplying the West with critical minerals, will be high on the agenda.
It will be the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders since Albanese took office.
Anthony Albanese captures a selfie with Donald Trump in New York in September.
With Australia still subject to steel tariffs and the US demanding more military spending, the government is bracing for the prospect of an argument with the president.
In a statement released yesterday, Albanese said: “I look forward to a positive and constructive meeting with President Trump.
“Australia and the United States have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in every major conflict for over a century. Our meeting is an important opportunity to consolidate and strengthen the Australia-United States relationship.”
What’s making news today
By Emily Kaine
Good morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Monday, October 20. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage this morning. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will touch down in Washington soon ahead of a scheduled face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump set to take place early Tuesday morning. It will be the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders. Items expected to be high on the agenda are the AUKUS alliance, critical minerals and Australia’s defence spending.
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Israeli forces have clashed with Hamas in a new sign of pressure on a peace deal in Gaza, blocking the flow of food and medical supplies to Palestinians while the two sides blame each other for flouting a ceasefire. The Israel Defence Forces launched airstrikes and artillery fire against militants on Sunday in the southern part of the war-torn territory near the Rafah crossing into Egypt, saying it was responding to being fired upon. In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Israel said it would suspend the delivery of all humanitarian aid into Gaza until further notice.
- Prince Andrew has given up his title as Duke of York, he announced in a statement over the weekend, after his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines. The younger brother of King Charles III said he and the royal family had decided “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family”, his statement read.
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Mollie O’Callaghan has stunned the swimming world by breaking the women’s short-course 200-metre freestyle world record at a World Cup meet in a 25-metre pool in Illinois on Sunday. The 21-year-old, the reigning Olympic and world champion in the long-course (50m pool) version of the event, became the first woman to break the one-minute 50-second barrier in a 25-metre pool, clocking 1:49.77. Her time sliced 0.54 seconds off Siobhan Haughey’s previous world mark from 2021.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
