Palestinian families move past destroyed buildings and rubble in the Shujaiya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, on 10 July. Israel’s army dropped thousands of leaflets over war-torn Gaza City, urging all residents to flee a heavy offensive. (Photo: Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP) Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian was set to name Abbas Araghchi as foreign minister, the Tasnim news agency reported, bringing the chief negotiator on the 2015 nuclear deal into the heart of government.
Canada’s McGill University temporarily closed its main campus in Montreal as it evicted pro-Palestinian protesters who had been camped out there for more than two months.
Israel orders Gaza City residents to leave as fighting escalates
Israel told all Palestinians in Gaza City to leave immediately, as a new phase of fighting intensified in what used to be the enclave’s most populous area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dropped leaflets in Arabic on the city on Wednesday, saying it “will remain a dangerous combat zone” and telling residents to move south to other parts of Gaza.
The city, home to about one million people before the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October, was the first place targeted by Israeli forces when they began a ground offensive last year. It was largely cleared of Hamas units by the end of 2023, yet some fighters have regrouped and the IDF has sent forces back there in the past two weeks.
Israel has already urged Palestinians from eastern areas of the city to leave, but this is the first time it’s ordered a total evacuation.
Gaza City, in the north of the strip, was largely destroyed by Israeli air strikes and the subsequent ground incursion. Most residents fled south to places such as Rafah and tented camps, but some returned earlier this year.
In late June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the most intense phase of fighting in Gaza would be over “very soon”. Yet Israel is struggling to stop Hamas from re-emerging in several areas. The IDF began a new assault on Khan Younis — previously the second-biggest city in Gaza — early this month for similar reasons.
Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union, triggered the war when its fighters swarmed into southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Israel’s attack on Gaza has since killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Iran president eyes nuclear-deal broker for top diplomat
Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian was set to name Abbas Araghchi as foreign minister, the Tasnim news agency reported, bringing the chief negotiator on the 2015 nuclear deal into the heart of government.
Araghchi, who was deputy to ex-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani that ended in 2021, had already been advising Pezeshkian on communication with world leaders and non-state allies like Hezbollah since his election win on Saturday, Tasnim said, citing an informed source.
Araghchi was Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China that led to a landmark accord limiting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. His appointment will be seen as a strong sign that Tehran wants to re-engage the West and end a two-year diplomatic deadlock over its atomic activities.
Read more: Iran elects reformist president keen to revive nuclear deal
The nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, collapsed after then US president Donald Trump exited in 2018, before reimposing tough penalties on Iran’s economy, including a ban on its oil exports.
Araghchi is a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has been working at the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, a state-run think tank that advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pezeshkian is expected to be officially sworn in as president on 30 July, Iranian state TV reported.
Canada’s McGill shuts campus to end protests over war in Gaza
McGill University temporarily closed its main campus in Montreal as it evicted pro-Palestinian protesters who had been camped out there for more than two months.
McGill, one of Canada’s top institutions, hired a private security firm to clear out protesters and remove tents and other items, while police in riot gear roamed the surrounding streets, which were closed to traffic.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, the encampment — which first went up in late April — was largely dismantled, although the grounds still contained many tarpaulins and tents. Workers used heavy equipment to haul the detritus into garbage trucks. A crowd of a few dozen protesters peacefully massed nearby in the rain, in front of a single line of police holding bicycles.
Universities across North America have been roiled by protests over the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with students and activists calling on universities to cut off relationships with Israeli institutions and divest from companies with ties to Israel.
McGill administrators initially tried and failed to get a court injunction against the protesters, then attempted to negotiate a solution but gave up on that in June, stating that “no fruitful outcome” was possible.
“The encampment is the site of profound health and safety risks that continue to grow in scope and severity,” administrators said in a note posted on McGill’s website on Wednesday. “To protect the security of the McGill community and the integrity of our property, the encampment on the lower field of the downtown campus is being dismantled.”
The student movement, which has drawn controversy for using images of armed fighters to promote a revolutionary youth camp, had been escalating its campaign at McGill. They occupied the school’s administration building in early June and were dispersed with tear gas, leading to multiple arrests. Last week, some smashed windows on the McGill campus.
A police officer at the scene on Wednesday told Bloomberg that McGill was exercising its rights on its own property and that police were there to ensure the security of everyone.
Protesters at the University of Toronto took down a similar encampment last week ahead of a court-ordered deadline to leave. DM
Read more in Daily Maverick: Middle East Crisis news hub