Category Archives: Gaza

Nine Unrwa staff members ‘may have been involved’ in 7 October attack

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UN fires employees from Palestinian refugee agency following internal investigation into their role in the Hamas-led attack on Israel

The UN has fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led 7 October attack against Israel.

The UN secretary general’s office announced the move in a brief statement on Monday. It did not elaborate on the Unrwa staffers’ possible role in the attack. It said the nine included seven staffers who were fired previously over the claims.

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Middle East crisis: Hezbollah launches drone attack on northern Israel as border skirmishes continue – as it happened

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US president Joe Biden to meet national security team as fears grow of Iranian attack on Israel

Iran’s foreign ministry has called in ambassadors and heads of missions for a meeting with the country’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, to reiterate Iran’s will to respond to Israel, Reuters reports.

Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has spoken with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, about the risk of escalation in the Middle East.

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Joe Biden to meet national security team as fears grow of retaliatory Iranian attack on Israel

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US is attempting to ‘turn the temperature down’ after assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders last week escalate tensions

Joe Biden is set to meet his national security team on Monday to discuss “developments in the Middle East”, the White House has said, as the US deploys extra fighter jets and warships to the region amid growing fears of an Iranian attack on Israel.

Regional tensions have increased after the assassination last week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukur, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Both groups are backed by Iran, which has sworn revenge.

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Gaza: airstrikes on schools and a hospital kill 30 amid ‘heated’ US-Israeli talks

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Two schools and a hospital complex struck as Palestinian stabs two Israelis to death in a city near Tel Aviv

Israeli airstrikes hit two schools and a hospital complex in Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, amid reports of heated disagreements between US and Israeli leaders about a possible ceasefire deal.

Inside Israel, a Palestinian stabbed two people to death in a city near Tel Aviv, adding to tensions as the country braces for Iran’s response to the assassinations of key allies this week.

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Jordan in last-ditch effort to prevent Iran retaliating for Haniyeh killing

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Foreign minister’s rare visit to Tehran appears likely to fail given Iranian insistence on making a decisive response

Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, has made a rare visit to Iran in a last-ditch effort to persuade it to hold back from attacking Israel in response to the assassination of the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last week.

The western ally with a large Palestinian population is facing a tough balancing act as it faces domestic calls to break off relations with Tel Aviv and to stop protecting it after shooting down Iranian missiles aimed at Israel earlier this year.

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Hamas’s leader is dead, Iran vows revenge: can anything stop all-out war in the Middle East?

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The assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran humiliated Iran’s leaders, dashed hopes of a ceasefire and left the heavily armed nations of the Middle East moving inexorably closer to an all-out war they all claim not to want

If Iran’s newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was hoping for a honeymoon period after his inauguration last week, he must be sadly disappointed. Less than 12 hours after Pezeshkian was sworn in, an explosion, reportedly caused by a remotely controlled bomb, shook an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound in central Tehran. The target: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader, an honoured guest at the inauguration, and one of the Middle East’s most wanted. The bomb under the bed killed Haniyeh instantly. Honeymoon over.

Pezeshkian was the surprise winner of last month’s presidential election. Edging out a conservative hardliner favoured by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, he promised to repair tattered ties with the US and Europe. Many hoped his victory would herald a more open, more progressive era and defuse social tensions, especially over the enforced wearing of the hijab, which triggered huge unrest under his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi.

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Middle East crisis: Iran vows ‘severe’ revenge against Israel as US deploys jets and warships to region – as it happened

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Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters are marching through central London, UK.

Protesters waved banners reading “stop arming Israel”, “ceasefire now” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

This terrorist operation was carried out by firing a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kilograms - causing a strong explosion - from outside the accommodation area.

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US-Israeli soldier posted videos showing detonation of Gaza homes and mosque

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IDF soldiers have shared scores of videos of their conduct in Gaza. The American-Israeli soldier says his videos were ‘taken out of context’

An American-Israeli man deployed in Gaza with a combat engineering unit of Israel’s armed forces posted videos online that show indiscriminate fire at a destroyed building and the detonation of homes and a mosque.

One video posted by the man, Bram Settenbrino, and filmed from the shooter’s viewpoint, shows dozens of rounds being fired into the ruins of a building. Another video shows what appears to be an armored vehicle’s fire-control system trained on a mosque before it is razed to the ground. Others depict the detonation of several homes as soldiers cheer.

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Assassination again shows Netanyahu’s disregard for US-Israel relations

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Hamas killing is further snub to Biden administration, which does not share methods or objectives of Israeli leader

Standing alongside Donald Trump in Florida a week ago, Benjamin Netanyahu was vague on the latest prospect of a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

“I hope we are going to have a deal. Time will tell,” the Israeli prime minister said, two days after his controversial address to a joint session of the US Congress.

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Hezbollah chief says conflict with Israel is in ‘new phase’ after assassinations

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Hassan Nasrallah calls for revenge at funeral of Fuad Shukr as does Iranian president at funeral of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh

The leader of Hezbollah has said that the Lebanese group’s conflict with Israel has entered “a new phase” after the back-to-back assassinations of a senior commander and Hamas’s political chief that risk plunging the Middle East into a regional war.

In a televised address broadcast to about 1,000 mourners at the Beirut funeral of Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Fuad Shukur, Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the powerful Shia militia would seek revenge.

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Middle East crisis: Israel confirms death of Hamas military chief who masterminded 7 October attack – as it happened

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The head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group’s political leader was assassinated in Teheran.

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on 13 July 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said.

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Two Al-Jazeera reporters killed as Israeli airstrike hits car in northern Gaza

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Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul, 27, cameraman Rami al-Rifi and a child died in blast, says satellite news network

Two Al-Jazeera reporters have been killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, the satellite news network said – the latest Palestinian journalists working with the Qatari network to be killed in the war-torn enclave.

A 27-year-old correspondent, Ismail al-Ghoul; a cameraman, Rami al-Rifi; and a child who was not identified were killed in a blast that struck the car in which the three were travelling in Gaza City, according to the network and the emergency and ambulance service, which helps recover and transport casualties to hospitals across Gaza.

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Fears of escalation mount after Israeli killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders

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Iran vows revenge after airstrikes kill Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on same day as commander killed in Beirut

Iran has vowed revenge after airstrikes killed the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut in the space of 12 hours, as the dual Israeli assassinations crushed hopes for an imminent Gaza ceasefire and fuelled fears of a “dangerous escalation” in the region.

Israel did not directly claim the attack on Haniyeh, but there was little doubt among the country’s enemies, and its own politicians and analysts, about who was responsible.

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Iran vows revenge after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Tehran

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Death came hours after Israel said it killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, fuelling fears of regional conflict

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was killed by a strike in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning, only hours after Israel said it had killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

The dual assassinations are heavy blows to Hamas and Hezbollah, but also raise the stakes for Iran, which backs both groups and vowed revenge. They will fuel growing fears that the war in Gaza could escalate into a broader regional conflict.

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Middle East crisis: Israeli military said 10 rockets had been fired from Lebanon and that one of them hit kibbutz HaGoshrim – as it happened

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An Israeli civilian has been killed by rocket fired from Lebanon, Israel’s N12 news channel is reporting.

David Lammy has reiterated a warning to British citizens in Lebanon.

“My message to British nationals in Lebanon is clear – leave,” he said.

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Tanker carrying jet fuel for Israel must not dock in Gibraltar, say MPs

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Campaigners say overseas territory will be complicit in breach of international law if US vessel stops there

There is an overwhelming case for the UK to intervene to stop a US oil tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of jet fuel for use by Israel in Gaza from docking in Gibraltar, according to a letter from a cross-party group of MPs addressed to David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary.

Protests in Spain led by trade unionists and political activists have already resulted in the owners of the Overseas Santorini abandoning plans to dock in the Spanish port of Algeciras. According to Marine Traffic, the ship is now destined to reach Gibraltar at 3pm UK time on Tuesday.

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Middle East crisis: Netanyahu says Israel will issue ‘harsh’ response to Golan Heights strike – as it happened

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Israeli prime minister releases statement following visit to scene of strike in which 12 youngsters died

Hundreds of thousands of people have converged on Deir al-Balah, a small city in the centre of the Gaza Strip that is the only major area yet to be stormed, Reuters reports.

Many have been forced there by fighting in the ruins of Khan Younis further south since last week.

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UK should stop arming Israel after ICJ advisory ruling, top lawyer says

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Exclusive: Philippe Sands KC says non-binding opinion will nevertheless be seen as ‘authoritative statement of law’

The UK should stop arming Israel in order to comply with the historic advisory opinion by the UN’s top court that member states should not “render aid or assistance” to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, a lawyer who represented Palestine has said.

In a broad and damning ruling published this month, the international court of justice (ICJ), found that Israel’s settlement policies and occupation of the territories were in breach of international law. It also said UN member states were under an obligation to neither recognise the occupation as lawful nor abet it.

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Nearly 3,000 Palestinians killed in first days of Gaza war named by conflict monitor

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Airwars says move is first step in effort to identify every civilian killed during Israeli military campaign

A conflict monitor has named nearly 3,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza in almost 350 separate incidents during the first 17 days of the war – the first step in an exercise aimed at identifying every civilian killed during the Israeli military campaign.

Though the 2,993 victims named are a fraction of the overall death total of 39,000 cited by the Palestinian ministry of health in Gaza, Airwars, the group involved, says the effort shows it is possible to name those killed while a war is ongoing.

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Israeli minister threatens ‘all-out war’ with Hezbollah after Golan Heights attack – as it happened

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Israel warplanes carry out strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, in apparent retaliation for attack on occupied Golan Heights

The Lebanese government has asked the US to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, has told Reuters.

Bou Habib said the US had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Sunday he does not want to see an escalation of conflict.

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