Hamas studies ceasefire plan as three assasinated in West Bank
• Israeli commandos hit hospital
Agency Staff West Bank/Gaza/Doha Hamas said onTuesday it will study a newceasefire proposal inthe warwithIsrael inGaza, hours after Israeli commandos killed threePalestinian militants ina raidon ahospital inthe occupied West Bank.
The raid underscored the risk ofthe Gazawar spreadingto other fronts,while Israeliforces fought newbattles withHamas fightersin thePalestinian enclave. Clashesin northernGaza forced morePalestinian residents toflee to saferareas, and southern parts of the coastal enclavewerehit byIsraeliair strikes Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the grouphas received a ceasefireproposal putforward after talks in Paris. He said he will study the plan and visit Cairo for discussions on it. The priority forthe Palestinian militantgroup is toend the Israeli offensiveand achievea full pull-out of Israeli forces from Gaza, he said.
Haniyeh gave no details of the ceasefire proposal butit followedtalks inParisinvolving CIAdirector WilliamBurns, Qatar sprime minister,thechief of Israel sMossad intelligence serviceand thehead ofEgyptian intelligence. While the WestBank an area thatPalestinians envisage as part ofa hoped-for independent state hadseen increased violence even beforethe outbreak ofthe Gazawar inOctober, thehospital raidcould fuela
more intense phase of unrest. CCTVfootage appearedto showabout adozentroops, including threein women s garb and twodressed asPalestinian medical staff, pacingthrough a corridor inIbn Sinahospital in the city of Jenin with rifles. Hamassaidone ofthedead was a memberof the militant Islamistgroup. Thealliedfaction Islamic Jihad said the other two killedwere brotherswho belongedtoit. IbnSinasaidone ofthebrothers hadbeenreceiving treatmentfor aninjury that paralysed his legs.
TheIsraeli militarysaidone of thosekilled had apistol, and that the incidentshowed militants were usingcivilian areas and hospitals as shelters and “human shields” Hamas has previously denied such allegations.
CRIME Palestinian sourcessaid the three werenot engagedin any fighting. They said one, Basel alGhazzawi, was wheelchairbound after beingwounded in his back in January,and was in the hospitalfor treatment.His brother Mohammad was staying at the facility to help him, and the thirdman wasa friend,the sources said.
The Israeliundercover squad broke into the hospital, headed to the third floorand killed them using silenced pistols, hospital sources said.
Palestinian healthminister Maial-Kaila calledthe incidenta war crime and urged the UN and international rights groups to put an end to such actions. Israel has
previously denied committing war crimes.
The Israelimilitary identified oneof theslain menas MohammedJalamneh, 27,from Jenin, whoit saidhad contacts with Hamasheadquarters abroad and was planning an attack inspired by the Hamas rampagein southernIsraelon October 7.
Israel unleashedits assault onGaza inresponse tothat attack in which1,200 Israelis were killedand 253taken hostage. More than 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza. Since then,26,751 Palestinianshavebeen killedand65,636 wounded by Israeliactions in Gaza, theGaza healthministry said. About 114 Palestinians were killed and 249 injured in the past 24 hours, it said.
combatants in Gaza, and that 221 of itssoldiers havebeen killedin the fighting. The war hascreated a humanitariancrisis, withwide areas ofGaza flattened,hundreds ofthousands ofpeople left destitute, and suppliesof food, water and medicines almost exhausted
TANKS
The World Health Organisation said thepopulation of Gazais on the verge of famine. It s getting worse by the day, WHO spokespersonChristian Lindmeier tolda briefingin Geneva. She said oneconvoy tried to reachthe NasserHospitalon Tuesday morning but people helped themselves to supplies before they could be distributed. Israel mounted a new push in northernGaza afterearlier
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reporting successes against Palestinian militants there.
The militants presence in the area suggestsIsrael s campaign to eradicate Hamasis not going to plan.
Hamas appears tohave been able to regroup inGaza City as the wardrags onand international concernover theplight of civilians mounts.
Much of Tuesday saction in Gaza was focusedon the Beach refugee campand nearthe alShifa hospital, residents said. Israeli tanks broke into one sheltersiteand soldiersroundedup dozens of men.
Residentsand healthofficials also said an Israeli tank opened fireon dozensofPalestinians nearal-Kuwaiti Squareonthe southern edgeof GazaCity whereaid trucksunloadtheir shipments, killing two people and wounding others.
Thefighting causedmore people toflee withinGaza City and to the south towards Deir alBalah inthe centre.Heavy bombing also hitwestern and southern suburbs of Gaza.
In the south,Israeli forces kept up pressure in Khan Younis, maintaining theirencirclement of the city’s two main hospitals.
Palestinian health officials saidat least10 Palestinianswere killed in twoseparate Israeli air strikesin KhanYounis andin Deir al-Balah.
The Israeli militarysaid in a summary of overnight operationsthataction continuedinthe western part of Khan Younis, wheremilitants werekilledand many arms seized.In northern andcentral Gaza,soldierskilled numerous militants, including a rocket-propelledgrenade squad. /Reuters
LEGISLATION
Hong Kong leader pushes for sharper, clearer security laws
Jessie Pang and Greg Torode Hong Kong
Hong Kong’sleader confirmed on Tuesday hisintention to pass tighter national security laws to build on sweeping legislation Beijingimposedon thecityin 2020,saying thecitycannot afford to wait
Some business people, diplomatsand academicsare watching developments closely, saying thatthe prospectof new laws targetingespionage, state secretsand foreigninfluence, known as Article 23, could have a deepimpact onthe global financial hub.
CEO John Lee said the governmentwill attemptto passthe laws as soonas possible but did notgive aprecise timetable for themto be approvedby the city s legislature. We can tafford towait.It s for 26 yearswe ve been waiting. We shouldn t waitany longer, Lee said, describingit as the city s constitutional responsibilitydatingback toits1997 handover to Chinafrom British colonial rule.
“While we, societyas a whole,looks calmandlooks very safe,we still haveto watch outfor potentialsabotage, undercurrents thattry tocreate troubles, hesaid, sayingsome foreign agents could still be active in Hong Kong. Lee said freedoms would be safeguarded and thelaws would meet internationalstandards. A 110-page consultationdocument was submittedto thelegislative council on Tuesday afternoon, and theconsultation willend on February 28. The documentoutlines the
need fornew andupdated laws covering the theft of state secrets, espionage, treason, sedition andsabotage, including the use ofcomputers and electronicsystems toconduct actions that endanger national security
Tighter controlof foreign political organisations linked to the city is also advocated. The consultation document warns thatHong Kongis under threat fromforeign espionage and intelligenceoperations, and cites themonths ofpro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019. China and Hong Kong are unavoidably subjecttoacts and activitiesendangering national security conducted by the agents orspies of external forces (including external political organisations or intelligence agencies)” in the city, it notes. It defines a list of state secrets in HongKong, includingeconomic,scientific andsocial secrets, butsays to beclassed as such they wouldhave to endanger national security if released.
WhileChinese andHong Kong government officials said the 2020 law was vital to restore stability after the protracted 2019demonstrations, thenew packagehas longbeenrequired under themini-constitution, knownasthe BasicLaw.That document guidesthe former
THE CONSULTATION DOCUMENT WARNS THAT HONG KONG IS UNDER THREAT FROM FOREIGN ESPIONAGE AND INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
British colony s relationship with its Chinese sovereign after 1997, andArticle23 stipulatesthatthe city shallenact lawson itsown to prohibit acts and activities that endanger national security” Some legal scholarssay the new legislationcould sharpen the at timesvaguely worded 2020 law, and older colonial-era laws considered unworkable. It almost certainlywill set red lines where the existing laws are vague,particularly indefining state secrets and espionage,” said Simon Young, a professor at the Universityof HongKong s law school.
For example,the colonial-era espionage law refersto an enemy”— a term the document describesas toorestrictive,preferring toexpand thelaw to cover peacetime external forces” aswell, includingforeign governments, organisations and individuals. Lee saidhe believesthe new laws willcreate amore stable and safecity andultimately serve the interests of individuals, businesses andprivate organisations Our legislation, ofcourse is subjectto scrutinyby bothHong Kong peopleand international people he said. We are confident,we areproud, andwe stand high becausethe principles weadopt conformwith the international standard. The documentcites similar lawsinBritain, theUS,Australia, Canada, NewZealand andSingapore. Aprevious government attemptto passArticle 23laws wasshelved afteranestimated 500,000 people staged a peaceful protest in 2003, forcing the resignation of the then security minister. /Reuters
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Moving again: Palestinians flee Khan Younis past Israeli military vehicles towards Rafah in southern Gaza on Tuesday. /Reuters
