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Israeli authorities have formally advocated for the continuation of a ban prohibiting international media from independently entering Gaza, according to a government submission to the Supreme Court. The document, filed by the public prosecutor and obtained by AFP, argues that unrestricted journalist access poses unacceptable security risks, a stance supported by the nation’s defense establishment.

The policy, instituted following the October 2023 outbreak of war triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel, has prevented foreign reporters from freely documenting conditions within the devastated territory. Currently, Israel permits only a limited number of journalists to enter on a strictly case-by-case basis, requiring them to be embedded with military escorts.

This access restriction prompted legal challenge from the Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of international journalists operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The FPA filed a petition in 2024 demanding immediate and unhindered media access to Gaza. The Supreme Court has granted multiple extensions for the government to formulate a plan, with a final deadline set for January 4 after a hearing last month.

In its Sunday filing, the government contended that the precarious security situation justifies the ongoing ban. Officials highlighted that the ceasefire, enacted on October 10, remains fragile and is regularly threatened. Supporting this claim, Gaza’s health ministry reports that at least 420 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the truce began. Conversely, the Israeli military states that three of its soldiers have been killed by militants in the same period.

A further complication cited is the ongoing operation to recover the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage still in Gaza. Gvili was killed during the initial Hamas attack, and his body was taken into the territory. While all other 250 hostages seized that day have been returned, the government submission suggests that allowing journalists free movement could potentially disrupt the sensitive search operation.

The Supreme Court is now expected to deliberate on the matter, though a timeline for its final ruling remains uncertain.

Eva Schloss, the esteemed Auschwitz survivor who became Anne Frank’s step-sister and dedicated her life to Holocaust education, has passed away at age 96. Her foundation confirmed her peaceful death in London on January 3rd.

Born Eva Geiringer in Austria in 1929, Schloss experienced the Nazi annexation of her homeland as a child. Her Jewish family fled successively to Belgium and eventually Amsterdam, where they settled opposite the Frank family residence. She and Anne Frank, being the same age, frequently played together during their childhood.

In 1942, both families were forced into hiding to escape Nazi persecution. Tragically, Schloss’s family was betrayed by a Nazi sympathizer two years later. On her fifteenth birthday, she was arrested alongside her mother Elfriede, father Erich, and brother Heinz. They were transported to the Auschwitz extermination camp in May 1944.

While imprisoned, Schloss maintained contact with her mother but was permanently separated from her father and brother, both of whom perished in the camps. Anne Frank similarly died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

Following Auschwitz’s liberation by Soviet forces in 1945, Schloss and her mother returned to the Netherlands. There they encountered Otto Frank, Anne’s father and a widower after his own Auschwitz imprisonment. Otto encouraged Schloss to pursue photography, leading her to study in London where she met future husband Zvi Schloss.

In a significant familial development, Eva’s mother Elfriede married Otto Frank in 1953, formally making Eva Anne Frank’s step-sister. Eva and Zvi obtained British citizenship and raised three daughters together. Remarkably, Schloss reclaimed her Austrian citizenship in 2021 at age 92.

Schloss co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK in 1990, through which she tirelessly combated prejudice and educated generations about Holocaust atrocities. Her extraordinary commitment earned her Membership of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2013.

British royalty expressed profound condolences, with King Charles III and Queen Camilla noting they were “greatly saddened” and describing themselves as “privileged and proud to have known her.” Gillian Walnes, vice president of the Anne Frank Trust UK, highlighted Schloss’s relentless advocacy: “Into her 90s, she spoke with tireless passion, often giving several talks a day, including in prisons and schools.”

Schloss authored several books and shared her testimony worldwide, ensuring the lessons of history remain vividly alive for future generations.

A severe humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding along Afghanistan’s mountainous border with Iran, where subzero temperatures are claiming the lives of desperate migrants attempting illegal crossings in search of economic survival. The International Organization for Migration reports that Iran and Pakistan have collectively repatriated approximately five million Afghan nationals since September 2023, abruptly increasing Afghanistan’s population by 10% and exacerbating an already critical resource shortage.

Tragic evidence of this crisis emerged last month when at least 18 Afghan migrants perished during attempted border crossings from Herat province, where temperatures hovered around -3°C (27°F). Among the victims was 15-year-old Habibullah, whose family described his desperate circumstances before his fatal journey. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” explained his mother Mah Jan, clutching her son’s photograph in their Ghunjan village home lacking electricity, water, and adequate heating.

The UN estimates approximately half of Afghanistan’s population will require humanitarian assistance this year, with earthquakes, drought, and economic collapse creating unbearable conditions. Despite the known dangers, migrants continue to risk illegal routes through “very dangerous” crossing points, according to Mutya Izora Maskun, IOM’s deputy head in Afghanistan, who cited “economy, job insecurity, food insecurity, constrained access to services” as primary drivers.

Iranian border guard commander Majid Shoja confirmed that approximately 1,600 Afghan migrants were rescued from mountain areas in recent days, while Afghan authorities reported 347 individuals were apprehended attempting illegal crossings during December’s final week. The Taliban government claims to have implemented “serious steps to fight the smugglers,” according to interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani, but the flow of desperate migrants continues unabated.

Survivors recount harrowing journeys through treacherous conditions. Yunus, who accompanied his stepbrother Abdul Majeed Haidari on a mid-December crossing attempt, described how the 25-year-old father succumbed to exhaustion while seeking medication for his one-year-old son’s heart condition. “I can’t walk anymore,” were Haidari’s final words before his death, despite efforts by fellow travelers and eventual transportation to an Iranian hospital.

With legal migration channels severely limited despite shared language and greater employment opportunities in Iran, Afghanistan’s deputy labor minister Abdul Manan Omari acknowledged the necessity to “do more” in facilitating work permits for migrants, as families face impossible choices between starvation and lethal border crossings.