Israel continues to bombard Gaza

A Palestinian boy inspects the destruction at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a house in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday. (AFP)
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Updated 02 December 2024
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Israel continues to bombard Gaza

  • Palestinian medics say 20 killed in latest attack
  • A new ceasefire push is underway, officials say

CAIRO: Israeli forces bombarded houses in several attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, including one airstrike that killed at least 15 people in a home sheltering displaced people in the town of Beit Lahiya, Palestinian medics said on Monday.

The three barely operational hospitals in the area were unable to cope with the wounded from the attack, and several other people were still missing, with rescue workers unable to reach them, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.

Residents said clusters of houses were bombed and some set ablaze in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, three towns on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip where the Israeli army has been operating for weeks.

They said Israeli drones had also dropped bombs outside a school sheltering displaced families in Beit Lahiya, part of what residents have described as a campaign to scare people into leaving.

Palestinians say Israel’s army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. 

The Israeli army denies this and says it has returned to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area where it had previously cleared them out.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 44,400 Palestinians and displaced most of the population, Gaza officials say. Vast swaths of the enclave lie in ruins.

A former Israeli defense minister accused Israel on Sunday of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, drawing a sharp rebuke from government ranks.

Moshe Yaalon, a hawkish former general, told Israeli media that hard-liners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet were looking to chase Palestinians from northern Gaza and wanted to re-establish Jewish settlements there.

On Monday, the Israeli military rejected Yaalon’s serious claims.

“The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) operates under international law and evacuates civilians based on operational necessity for their protection,” it said.

Palestinian and UN officials said there were no safe areas in the Gaza Strip for the 2.3 million population, most of whom have been internally displaced.

In Gaza City, two Israeli air strikes killed five people, medics said.

Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last week that halted fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.

But the Gaza war itself has ground on with only a single ceasefire that lasted for a week more than a year ago.

Officials in Cairo have hosted talks between Hamas and the rival Fatah group led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the possible establishment of a committee to run post-war Gaza.

Egypt has proposed that a committee made up of non-partisan technocrat figures and supervised by Abbas’s authority should be ready to run Gaza straight after the war ends. Israel has said Hamas should have no role in governance.

An official close to the talks said progress had been made, but no final deal had been reached. Israel’s approval would determine whether the committee could fulfill its role.

Egyptian security officials have also held talks with Hamas on ways to reach a ceasefire with Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said Hamas stood by its condition that any agreement must bring an end to the war and involve an Israeli troop withdrawal, but Hamas would show the flexibility needed to achieve that.

Israel has said the war will end only when Hamas no longer governs Gaza and poses no threat to Israelis.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday there was some indication of progress toward a deal to free Israeli hostages but that Israel’s conditions for ending the war had not changed.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal were now more likely.


UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building

Updated 20 March 2025
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UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building

LONDON: Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy on Wednesday called for a transparent investigation into an Israeli air strike on a UN building in Gaza.
“Appalled a UN compound in Gaza was hit this morning,” Lammy wrote on X. “This incident must be investigated transparently and those responsible held to account.”


Thousands join anti-government rally in Jerusalem

Updated 19 March 2025
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Thousands join anti-government rally in Jerusalem

  • Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM: Thousands of protesters massed in Jerusalem on Wednesday, chanting slogans against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who they accuse of undermining democracy and resuming Gaza strikes without regard for hostages.
Protesters shouted “You are the head, and you’re to blame” as well as “The blood is on your hands” at the demonstration near parliament, the largest to take place in Jerusalem for months.
The demonstration was organized by anti-Netanyahu opposition groups protesting the premier’s move to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.
Following Netanyahu’s announcement to dismiss Bar, which threatened to trigger political crisis, Israel launched a wave of overnight strikes on Gaza, by far the deadliest since the start of a fragile ceasefire in January.
Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem.
“We hope all people from Israel will join this movement and we will not stop until we restore democracy and freedom for the hostages,” said Zeev Berar, 68, from Tel Aviv.
“At this rate we won’t have a country left, not a democratic one. It will be a dictatorship,” student Roni Sharon, 18, told AFP.
Some in the crowd brandished banners reading: “We are all hostages.”
Relatives of the hostages in the Gaza Strip have said the decision to resume strikes could “sacrifice” their loved ones.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The demonstrators in Jerusalem also accuse Netanyahu of using the war against Hamas to distract from domestic political concerns.
The prime minister has so far refused to set up a national commission of inquiry into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, while his bid to dismiss Bar threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis.
Netanyahu’s government recently also moved to oust Israel’s attorney general and government judiciary adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary’s independence.
A 2023 judicial reform project aimed at curbing the supreme court’s powers fractured the country and sparked major protests — before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“The last two years have been a nightmare for us,” said Yael Baron, 55, from the city of Modiin.
“I feel as though we are in the 99th minute and time is running out to save the country, the oxygen is running out for us, like democracy is running out.”


Hostages’ kin are terrified they won’t return after Israel resumes fighting

Updated 19 March 2025
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Hostages’ kin are terrified they won’t return after Israel resumes fighting

  • Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza
  • About two dozen of them are believed to be alive

TEL AVIV: When a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began two months ago, Herut Nimrodi knew it would take time before her son was released from captivity in Gaza. The 20-year-old soldier was meant to be part of the second phase of the deal winding down the war.

But with Israel’s surprise bombardment of Gaza, she fears he might not come home at all.

“I really wanted to believe that there is still a chance to reach a second stage without renewing this war. But it feels like my building of hope has collapsed, and I have no idea what to do next,” Nimrodi said.

Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza. About two dozen hostages are believed to be alive.

During the ceasefire’s first phase, which began in January, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But since that phase ended early this month, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward.

Israel’s renewed airstrikes threaten to end the fragile deal.

Nimrodi’s son, Tamir, was abducted from his army base when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. She’s had no sign of life. He hasn’t been declared dead by Israel.

“It’s so sad that this is the only solution that they could find,” she said, lamenting the government’s decision.

The strikes have Tuesday killed hundreds and shattered a relative calm — along with hopes of ending the war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.

The return to fighting could deepen the painful debate in Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages.

Netanyahu and his hard-line governing partners believe renewing the war will put pressure on Hamas to free them and move Israel closer to its goal of destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

But most hostage families, and large parts of the Israeli public, believe such goals are unrealistic. They say time is running out, particularly after the recent releases of emaciated-looking hostages who later described harsh conditions in captivity.

Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire and exposing the hostages “to an unknown fate.”

Families of hostages called on supporters to protest with them outside Israel’s parliament.

Some families who already know their relatives in Gaza are dead called the government’s decision unacceptable.

“This is not only a disaster in every way, shape or form on how the hostages keep suffering, being chained to walls, starved, abused, but also the death toll that keeps rising on the Gazan side,” Udi Goren said.

His cousin Tal Haimi was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken into Gaza. Goren said the international community must pressure Hamas, Israel and the mediators — the US, Egypt and Qatar — to end the war.

“Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you?” former hostage Omer Wenkert wrote on Instagram.

Romi Gonen, among the first hostages to be freed in the ceasefire’s first phase, said she would never forget what it felt like in captivity to hear the bombs after previous ceasefire talks collapsed and realize she wouldn’t be freed any time soon.

“I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them,” she said on Instagram.

Sylvia Cunio, whose two sons are held hostage, accused Israel’s leaders of not having a heart.

“It isn’t right to continue the fighting. I want my children back home already. If he wants to kill me, the prime minister, let him do that already because I won’t get through this,” she said on local radio.

Nimrodi said she’s worried the airstrikes might not only harm her son and the other hostages but also make their living conditions worse.

The last time she saw Tamir, he was a funny teenager who rode horses and loved learning about geology and astronomy, she said. The two had a similar humor and used to talk about everything.

While she’s terrified of what’s to come, she said she won’t stop fighting to see him again.

“Please, keep strong, survive,” she said, addressing him. “So there’s a chance for us to meet once more.”


Iran celebrates ancient fire festival ahead of Persian New Year

Updated 19 March 2025
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Iran celebrates ancient fire festival ahead of Persian New Year

  • To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky

TEHRAN: Iran’s fire festival offers a great opportunity to show the world what life looks like in the country.

Known as “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, the festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year.

To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky. 

Others jump over and around fires, chanting “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.

The fire festival also features an Iranian version of trick-or-treating, with people going door to door and being given a holiday mix of nuts and berries, as well as buckets of water. It’s not necessarily an easy assignment though. 

Here in Iran, some people remain sensitive about having their photograph taken, particularly women who aren’t wearing Iran’s mandatory headscarf.

The joy sometimes overcomes safety concerns as smoke fills the air and fireworks explode at random overhead. There are injuries every year and sometimes deaths. Being careful is necessary as a piece of a burning firecracker might injure one in a crowd. 

Nowruz marks the start of spring. Soon, leaves will sprout again.


US says ‘bridge proposal’ on table for Gaza ceasefire but window ‘closing fast’

Updated 19 March 2025
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US says ‘bridge proposal’ on table for Gaza ceasefire but window ‘closing fast’

  • A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander”
  • “The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast“

WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Wednesday there was still a bridge proposal that would extend the ceasefire” in Gaza but the opportunity for it was “closing fast.”
A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander. It would also see the release of a substantial number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.”
“The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast.”
The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces have resumed ground operations in Gaza as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers. A day earlier, more than 400 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
This shattered nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza.
The State Department spokesperson said the proposal was “compelling” and that Washington stood with Israel.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 49,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. The assault has internally displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis.