Mark MacKinnon

Netanyahu vows to continue war in Gaza despite pressure on Israel to reach ceasefire Videos released of Israeli hostages prompted widespread protests over the weekend calling for an end to the war

Despite mounting international outcry - and new pressure at home for a ceasefire - Israeli PM Netanyahu says Gaza war will continue until Israel meets "all" its objectives.

My report

A Canadian Hercules aircraft conducted its first aid drop early this morning after departing Jordan. This is the first time Canada has conducted independent airdrops into an active conflict zone in decades previous Canadian aid was dropped by Jordan into Gaza.

Canada among six countries that airdropped humanitarian aid to Gaza Global Affairs Canada confirmed airdrop of 21,600 pounds of aid using Hercules aircraft

As Israel continues to restrict overland deliveries of aid, Canada joins coalition of countries conducting airdrops into Gaza.

“This obstruction of aid is a violation of international humanitarian law and must end immediately.”

Report by @kkirkup.bsky.social

“Smash your thermometer and you won’t have a fever” - Lech Wałęsa

Movement to recognize Palestinian statehood reflects Israel’s growing isolation Canada, France and Britain had been among the first and loudest to express support for Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas

“While Israel condemned Ottawa, Paris and London for “rewarding Hamas,” it was Israel’s actions that pushed three of its closest allies to take the dramatic step.” - @markmackinnon.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

I can’t think of worse people to be in charge at a moment like this…

As death toll reaches 31, Russia's attack on Kyiv becomes most deadly on capital this year Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, said that as of the morning of Aug. 1, the Russian attack had killed 31 people. At around 10:40 a.m. local time, rescuers recovered three m...

⚡️Update: 31 killed, 159 injured in mass Russian strike on Kyiv.

The death toll from Russia’s drone and missile strike on Kyiv on July 31 has risen to 31, marking the deadliest attack on the capital this year.

Opinion: Carney, the foreign-policy risk-taker Mr. Carney stepped into a Wednesday evening news conference to signal a big, controversial shift from Canada’s long-standing Middle East policy

In recognizing a Palestinian state, “Mr. Carney has signalled that he’s willing to take foreign-policy risks. And an inclination to break with the U.S. to act with European allies.”

@camrclark.bsky.social with the view from Ottawa

Appeals court in Bosnia confirms sentence for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik An appeals court in Bosnia has confirmed a one-year prison sentence for pro-Russia Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, along with a six-year ban from politics over his separatist actions.

An appeals court in Bosnia confirmed an earlier court ruling that sentenced the pro-Russia Bosnian Serb president, Milorad Dodik, to one year in prison and banned him from politics for six years over his separatist actions as tensions mount in the fragile Balkan state.

Movement to recognize Palestinian statehood reflects Israel’s growing isolation Canada, France and Britain had been among the first and loudest to express support for Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas

“Israel may have won these short-term military victories, but in the long term they’ve definitely lost."

The growing movement to recognize a Palestinian state reveals how the Gaza war has left Israel more isolated internationally than ever before in its history.

My analysis

The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in Gaza Israel controls the flow of food into Gaza. It has calculated how many calories Palestinians need to stay alive. Its data shows only a fraction has been allowed in

“The mathematics of famine are simple in Gaza. Palestinians cannot leave, war has ended farming and Israel has banned fishing, so practically every calorie its population eats must be brought in from outside.
Israel knows how much food is needed. It has been calibrating hunger in Gaza for decades.”

"We are living in big starvation - and people here also are thirsty... [tomorrow] I don't know if I will be able to get a drink of water or not."

Please listen to my friend Hasan Jaber's account of living through war and famine in Gaza.

It pains me to hear how weak he sounds.

'Russia’s response to our desire for peace' — Russian mass attack on Kyiv kills 7, including child, injures 82 "At least 10 injured children, five of them in hospitals. This was done by Russians," Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, wrote in his official Telegram channel.

⚡️ Update: 7 killed, 82 injured in mass Russian strike on Kyiv.

The death toll of a Russian drone and missile attack against Kyiv overnight on July 31 has risen to seven, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration.

BREAKING

Canada intends to recognize Palestine as a state in September at the UN General Assembly.

This move is predicated on some reforms.

Frustration, Gaza alarm drove Macron to go it alone on Palestine recognition Emmanuel Macron's announcement caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East and Europe to Washington - but it did not come out of the blue.

According to Reuters, Canada and the United Kingdom refused to embrace Macron's plan for a trilateral announcement of recognition of the State of Palestine because they were afraid of US backlash.

Macron chose to go forward, alone, anyway.

First France, now Britain. Will Canada follow suit?

Witnessing starvation on the streets of Gaza Doctors are receiving dozens of children suffering from malnutrition everyday, but with a lack of medicine and food, many are being sent back home

"It is a real famine.... This is now normal in the streets of Gaza. Pale faces, sunken eyes, and thin bodies searching for something to eat. Many don’t know if they will find food today or not."

The latest from my dear friend and colleague Hasan Jaber, who is living through what he's reporting on.

This is solid reporting

Macron Recognizes a Palestinian State. But to What End?

"Mr. Macron was deeply affected when he met with injured Palestinian survivors from Gaza during a visit to Egypt in April, and he first spoke of possible recognition of a Palestinian state on the flight back from there. Since then, it seems, his indignation has only grown."

French President Macron says France will recognize Palestine as a state French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza.

After an unexpected release from prison, Belarus’s ‘First Couple’ tries to find a way to carry on When Siarhei Tsikhanouski was jailed, his wife took his place as the leading force of pro-democracy. Now he’s out, and the couple must regain footing with each other and their roles

With Siarhei Tsikhanouski’s surprise release from prison, the “First Couple” of Belarus is reunited - and still challenging Alexander Lukashenko‘s regime.

But was he released to undermine his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s leadership? “The intention was to split us.”

My report from Vilnius

Thai and Cambodian Troops Fire at Each Other as Relations Implode Soldiers traded fire over a disputed border after weeks of diplomatic tension between the Southeast Asian nations.

Breaking News: Cambodia and Thailand exchanged fire along their contested border, escalating tensions a day after Thailand expelled Cambodia’s ambassador.

In Kyiv, Canada’s ambassador shows solidarity by standing firm Natalka Cmoc endures predawn air-raid sirens and long periods away from family to be a witness to war

“My number one concern for the team is sleep deprivation.”

What it’s like to be Canada’s ambassador to Kyiv while the city is under almost nightly assault from the sky - and why Natalka Cmoc wants to extend her term.

My report from Kyiv

www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Protests in Kharkiv tonight too - despite the very high chance of a Russian missile attack - against President Zelensky’s decision to dismantle much of the anti-corruption apparatus established after the 2014 revolution…

Trump NATO Envoy Warns China Over ‘Subsidizing’ Russia’s War The US ambassador to NATO said China needed to be “called out for their subsidizing” of Russia’s war in Ukraine as the Trump administration ratchets up its threat to impose tariffs if Moscow does not ...

The US ambassador to Nato says China needs to be ‘called out for their subsidising’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine – Bloomberg: ‘China thinks they’re fighting a proxy war through Russia’

‘Point of no return’ — Ukraine’s democracy under threat as new bill guts anti-corruption efforts "Dark times ahead." "Peak of corruption." "Point of no return." Ukrainian society sounded a code red for the country's democracy on July 22, as the final votes were tallied on a bill in Ukraine's par...

Ukrainian society sounded a code red for the country's democracy on July 22, as the final votes were tallied on a bill in Ukraine's parliament that strips independence from anti-corruption bodies.