How Ayatollah Khomeini changed Iran
This episode was originally published on the 22nd February 2024.
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News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Strike on Gaza's only Catholic church injures several people
A strike on Gaza's only Catholic church injured several people on Thursday, the territory's civil defence agency and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as Italy's prime minister slammed "unacceptable" Israeli attacks on civilians. The raid came as Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed 18 people across the Palestinian territory on Thursday. "The Holy Family Church in Gaza has been struck by a raid this morning. There are several injuries in the place including the Parish Priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli," Jerusalem's Latin Patriarchate said in a statement. It added that no fatalities had been confirmed but that the church had sustained damage. Gaza's civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that a strike on the Catholic church resulted in injuries, including the priest. The Israeli military said it was "looking into it" when contacted by AFP. - 'Serious act' - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that "Israeli strikes on Gaza have also hit the Holy Family Church", a parish in Gaza City with which the late Pope Francis had regular contact throughout the war. "The attacks against the civilian population carried out by Israel for months are unacceptable," Meloni said in a post on X. "No military action can justify such behaviour." Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory. Since the early days of the war which erupted in October 2023, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there. Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. In his final Easter message, a day before his death on April 21, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the Palestinian territory. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Thursday denounced "a serious act against a Christian place of worship". "I offer my sincere condolences to Father Romanelli, who was wounded in the raid," he posted on X. - 'Totally unacceptable' - Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch, the head of Catholic charity l'Oeuvre d'Orient, told AFP the raid was "totally unacceptable". "It is a place of worship. It is a Catholic church known for its peaceful attitude, for being a peacemaker. These are people who are at the service of the population," he said. "There was no strategic objective, there were no jihadists in this church. There were families, there were civilians. This is totally unacceptable and we condemn in the strongest possible terms this attitude on the part of Israel." More than 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's population, displacing most residents at least once and triggering severe shortages of food and other essentials. The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 58,573 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Israel strikes on Syria on hold
At this stage, it appears Israel has stopped its bombing of Syrian government forces but the situation is being monitored. Israel's intervention came after days of violence in Syria involving those government forces, local Bedouin clans and militia from the religious minority Druze community which Israel has vowed to protect.
SBS Australia
10 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Who are the Druze, and why does Israel say attacking Syria is helping them?
Israel says it's striking Syria to defend the Druze, a minority group with longstanding roots in the region and a history of tensions on its doorstep. Clashes erupted on Sunday between factions from the Druze religious minority and Bedouin tribes in southern Syria, leaving over 100 people dead — prompting Syrian forces to intervene. That, in turn, triggered renewed Israeli airstrikes, including in the Syrian capital Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is "committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria" and is "acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them". He said Israel wants to "ensure the demilitarisation of the area adjacent to" their border in southern Syria. While the Druze population is primarily concentrated in Sweida, Israeli strikes have extended beyond the region — damaging the defence ministry headquarters and the area near the presidential palace in Damascus. Israel's claim that it is striking Syria to protect the Druze is challenged by most who belong to the minority group outside of Israel. Who are the Druze? The Druze are a religious minority group with a population of about one million, located in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. The faith originated in Egypt during the 11th century and practices an offshoot of Islam. However, most followers do not identify themselves as Muslims. With approximately 700,000 as of the early 2020s, Syria has the largest Druze population in the world. Most of them live in the country's south, around Sweida, close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Golan Heights were captured by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel also has a sizeable Druze community of approximately 140,000 people, primarily residing in the northern regions. Unlike other Arab Israelis, some Druze serve in Israel's defence forces. According to the Israeli military on Wednesday, hundreds of Druze from the Golan Heights crossed into Syria in response to appeals from their leaders to assist the community. Source: EPA / Atef Safadi/ EPA Druze men over 18 have reportedly been conscripted into the Israeli military since 1957 and often rise to high-ranking positions, while many serve in the police and security forces. About 20,000 Druze live in the Golan Heights, alongside 25,000 Jewish settlers. But the vast majority of Druze living in the Golan Heights consider themselves Syrian, with only around 1,600 taking up the offer of Israeli citizenship. Why does Israel say it's protecting them? The recent tensions started with conflicts between Druze religious minority factions and Sunni Bedouin tribes, leading to more than 100 deaths. Syrian government forces sent reinforcements to the region in the country's south, saying it wants to restore security. In response, Israel launched attacks on Syrian government forces moving towards Sweida, saying it was protecting the Druze minority there. Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel's Druze community, described the situation as "an existential battle for the Druze community". Before the attacks expanded to airstrikes on Damascus, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, said these attacks would continue until Syrian government forces "withdraw from the area". "[Israel] will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood," he said. But Druze in Syria have generally rejected intervention by Israel. "We are not asking for protection from anyone, and we won't ask for protection from anyone," Rabih Munthir, a Druze leader in southern Syria, told The New York Times earlier this year. Some Druze politicians outside Syria have said Israel's motivation is "not protecting the Druze in Sweida, as it claims". "But rather [Israel] is using some local leaders to justify its interventions under this pretext," Walid Jumblatt, a Druze Lebanese politician and former militia commander, told Syrian media. Israel is also believed to have broader strategic interests in supporting the minority group, including backing a federal vision for Syria. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar said in December 2024: "Thinking Syria will be a single country with effective control and sovereignty over its entire territory is unrealistic. "The logical thing is to strive for autonomy for the various minorities in Syria, perhaps with a federal structure. This is something the international community will have to consider."
