Israel’s Gaza offensive will be ‘horrific’: UK minister

UK Minister of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey makes an address at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, July 23, 2022. (Wikimedia Commons)
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Updated 16 October 2023
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Israel’s Gaza offensive will be ‘horrific’: UK minister

  • Armed forces minister: ‘I’m afraid we’re going to see some awful things over the next few days’
  • James Heappey: ‘I have every confidence that Israel will be precise in its targeting’

LONDON: Israel’s expected ground, air and naval offensive on Gaza will be “horrific” and will involve “seeing some awful things,” the UK’s armed forces minister has said.

James Heappey’s comments come as Israel prepares a massive assault on the Palestinian enclave, warning residents in northern Gaza to move south, The Independent reported on Monday.

He claimed that the Israel Defense Forces are “doing everything they can” to avoid civilian casualties by telling populations to move, but the “use of human shields” by Hamas would make protecting civilians “incredibly difficult.”

Heappey said: “I have every confidence that Israel will be precise in its targeting and they’ll have good intelligence about where it needs to target.

“But nobody should pretend that this is going to be anything other than horrific. I’m afraid we’re going to see some awful things over the next few days.”

He said it is “entirely understandable” that Israel is aiming to “destroy” Hamas, “but it is going after an adversary that deliberately hides in amongst the civilian population … that hides its materiel in and amongst the civilian population.”


French TV broadcasts Louvre robbery images

Updated 54 min 15 sec ago
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French TV broadcasts Louvre robbery images

  • Video shows the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases
  • Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist

PARIS: Footage of the spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum has been broadcast for the first time on French television, showing the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October.


They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have cast a harsh spotlight on management of the institution and director Laurence des Cars.
Trade unions are pressing for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace, launching several days of strikes in recent months.
Another stoppage on Monday forced a full closure for the third time since December, leaving thousands of tourists disappointed outside again.
Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors through the gallery, according to France Televisions.
The images, as well as multiple DNA samples found at the scene, form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the robbery.
Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien.
Metal bars have been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery since the break-in.