The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
Australian public broadcaster ordered to pay journalist fired over post accusing Israel of starving Gazans
Australia’s public broadcaster is ordered Wednesday to pay a hefty penalty to a radio journalist dismissed over a social media post against Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf took legal action after being fired in December 2023 just three days into a five-day casual contract with the ABC.
She was fired for reposting to Instagram a Human Rights Watch video report on the Gaza conflict with the comment: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.”
Federal Court judge Darryl Rangiah previously said the broadcaster broke employment law by terminating Lattouf “for reasons including that she held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.”
Rangiah now says the ABC’s contraventions caused very “significant consequences” for Lattouf.
“For most people, employment is not just a source of income, but contributes substantially to their sense of purpose, identity and self-worth,” he says.
ABC — seen by many Australians as a bastion of fair reporting –is ordered to pay $98,900, in addition to $46,100 that was determined this year.
Rangiah says the compensation awarded to Lattouf is “sufficient” to address the impact of the offense.
The amount must be paid within 28 days.
Lattouf says the ABC had spent “well over $2 million of taxpayer money fighting me.”
“Whatever the penalty, for me this was never about money — it’s always been about accountability and the integrity of the information our public broadcaster gives us,” she posts on social media.
“I hope the ABC takes this opportunity to restore credibility, regain trust, and re-establish integrity, because our democracy depends on a strong fourth estate.”
ABC managing director Hugh Marks says the broadcaster will “continue to reflect on the court’s findings.”
“We take the matter seriously and have reflected on the lessons learned and their implications. We must be better,” he says.
Gaza flotilla activists claim attack by ‘multiple drones’ on ships near Greece
Organizers of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists say they heard explosions and saw multiple drones that targeted some of their boats, currently situated off Greece.
“Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats,” the Global Sumud Flotilla says in a statement, without adding whether there were any casualties.
“We are witnessing these psychological operations firsthand, right now, but we will not be intimidated,” the statement says.
German human rights activist and flotilla member Yasemin Acar says in a video she posted on Instagram that five vessels had been attacked.
“We are carrying only humanitarian aid,” she says. “We have no weapons. We pose no threat to anyone. It is Israel who is killing thousands of people (and) starving a whole population.”
In an earlier video, Acar said the activists had “sighted 15 to 16 drones,” adding that their radios had been jammed as loud music could be heard.
One video posted by the flotilla’s official Instagram page shows an explosion it says it recorded from the Spectre boat at “01:43 GMT +3.”
In another video posted by the same page, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila says four boats were “targeted with drones throwing devices” just before another explosion was heard in the background.
Trump’s meeting with Muslim leaders ends without comment from US; Witkoff gives thumbs up
US President Donald Trump has wrapped up his meeting at the UN with Arab leaders and simply waves to gathered news reporters rather than comment on how things went.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff offers a thumbs-up when asked how the meeting had fared.
The US president had set up the meeting as being critical for figuring out an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Attending the meeting were leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Emirati state news agency WAM reports that the meeting focused on ending the ongoing war in Gaza and reaching a permanent ceasefire.
The news agency says releasing all hostages and taking steps toward addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave were also discussed as priorities at the meeting.
Syrian leader accuses Israel of ‘stalling on negotiations, insisting on violating our airspace’
NEW YORK — Syria’s leader warns that the Middle East will face a new round of tumult unless Israel reaches a security agreement with his transitional government that preserves sovereignty.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist whose forces swept out longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, is making a landmark visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“We are not the ones creating problems for Israel. We are scared of Israel, not the other way around,” he tells an event of the Middle East Institute.
“There are multiple risks with Israel stalling on the negotiations and insisting on violating our airspace and incursions into our territory,” he says.
He rejects any talk of partitioning his country, as Israel makes incursions and says it is championing the interests of the Druze minority.
“Jordan is under pressure, and any talk of partitioning Syria will hurt Iraq, will hurt Turkey,” he says.
“That will take us all back to square one,” he says, noting that Syria has only just emerged from a decade-and-a-half of war.
In an earlier appearance, Sharaa played down prospects for a more historic agreement in which Syria would recognize Israel.
Macron to meet Wednesday with Iran’s president amid efforts to avert nuclear sanctions snapback
UNITED NATIONS — France’s President Emmanuel Macron will meet with his Iranian counterpart at the UN Wednesday as efforts to avert the reimposition of deep sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program intensify.
“Either Iran makes a gesture and goes back to the path of peace and accountability that make it possible to get back on course… or sanctions will have to be imposed,” Macron says from the podium of the UN General Assembly. “I’ll have an occasion to meet with the president tomorrow (Wednesday) on each of these crucial issues.”