What's happening in Gaza 'worse than hell on earth': Red Cross
The head of the International Red Cross says what is happening in Gaza has become "worse than hell on earth" - and surpasses any acceptable legal, moral and humane standard. Former foreign correspondent and political editor for The Independent, Donald Macintyre spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
BBC journalists held at gunpoint and strip-searched by Israeli military, broadcaster says
By Lewis Wiseman , ABC Israeli military vehicles deploy at Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP/JACK GUEZ A team of seven BBC journalists and staff claim to have been held at gunpoint, blindfolded and strip searched by the Israeli Defence Force in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The BBC said its crew, which included staff members and three freelancers, were stopped while filming at a checkpoint in Quneitra, inside the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. "BBC News Arabic correspondent Feras Kilani, along with three other BBC staff members and three freelance colleagues, were detained for seven hours and held at gunpoint by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)," a BBC statement said. "The team have described how they were tied up, blindfolded, strip searched, interrogated and threatened." BBC Arabic special correspondent Feras Kilani was a part of the crew and described his experience on the BBC website. He said minutes after starting to film at the checkpoint, four IDF soldiers "pointed their rifles at our heads and ordered us to place the camera on the side of the road." From there, he claimed he and his crew were escorted by the soldiers through a barrier and into the city of Quneitra where the soldiers reviewed the footage, all while keeping rifles aimed at their heads. An Israeli soldier walks near the United Nations Quneitra crossing between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria on January 5, 2025. Photo: AFP/JALAA MAREY The BBC said electronic devices were taken from the team and material was deleted. After hours passed, Kelani said he was asked "why we were filming Israeli military positions" by a person not known to him on a phone call made by one of the soldiers. He said he was then separated from his team and told by a lead IDF officer that he had to comply with their instructions. The first of those demands, he claimed, was to remove all his clothes except for his underwear for a search. Kelani said soldiers "inspected even inside my underwear, both front and back, searched my clothes, then told me to put them back on and started interrogating me." After the interrogation, Kelani claimed he was led back outside where he saw "the horrific scene of my team members, tied up and blindfolded". He claimed he asked officers to release them, but they were each taken inside for a strip search and questioning. After seven hours of detention by the IDF, Kelani claimed he and his team were told if they approached the frontier from the Syrian side again there would be "worse consequences". He said the crew were then dropped two kilometres outside the city, given back their electronic devices and left to find their way back. The BBC has said it "strongly objects to the treatment of our staff and freelancers in this way." "Despite making clear to the soldiers on multiple occasions they were working for the BBC, the behaviour they were subjected to is wholly unacceptable," the BBC statement said. The broadcaster said it has registered a complaint with the Israeli military over the incident but has not had a response. The ABC has contacted the IDF for comment but has not yet received a response. - ABC
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- RNZ News
Gaza doctors give their own blood to patients after scores gunned down seeking aid
By Olivia Le Poidevin , Reuters People react as Palestinian rescuers evacuate injured people in an ambulance after an Israeli drone reportedly opened fire on civilian gatherings near an aid distribution point not far from the so-called "Netzarim checkpoint", in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP / Eyad Baba Doctors in the Gaza Strip are donating their own blood to save their patients after scores of Palestinians were gunned down while trying to get food aid, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday. Around 100 MSF staff protested outside the UN headquarters in Geneva against an aid distribution system in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed private company, which has led to chaotic scenes of mass carnage. "People need the basics of also need it in dignity," MSF Switzerland's director general, Stephen Cornish, told Reuters at the protest. "If you're fearing for your life, running with packages being mowed down, this is just something that is completely beyond everything we've ever seen," he said. "These attacks have killed were left to bleed out on the ground." Cornish said staff at one of the hospitals where MSF operates had to give blood as most Palestinians were now too poorly nourished to donate. Israel allowed the private Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to begin food distribution in Gaza last week, after having completely shut the Gaza Strip to all supplies since the beginning of March. Gaza authorities say at least 102 Palestinians were killed and nearly 500 wounded trying to get aid from the food distribution sites in the first eight days. Eyewitnesses have said Israeli forces fired on crowds. The Israeli military said Hamas militants were to blame for opening fire, though it acknowledged that on Tuesday, when at least 27 people died, that its troops had fired at "suspects" who approached their positions. Palestinian children wait with others for food at a distribution point in Gaza City. Photo: AFP / Majdi Fathi The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Wednesday supported by all other Council members, which would have called for an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza and unhindered access for aid. - Reuters
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Bodies of two Israeli-American hostages recovered from Gaza in joint military operation
By Eugenia Yosef , Lucas Lilieholm and Oren Liebermann , CNN A supporter of Israel holds an Israeli flag in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, on 8 October. Photo: JULIA NIKHINSON / AFP The bodies of two Israeli-American hostages abducted by Hamas on 7 October were recovered from southern Gaza during a military operation, according to a statement from Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency. Judy Weinstein-Haggai, age 70, and Gadi Haggai, age 72, were killed near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack on southern Israel in 2023. "Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our deepest condolences to the dear families," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. The prime minister thanked the soldiers and commanders involved in the operation and vowed to return all remaining hostages held in Gaza. "We will not rest and we will not be silent until all our hostages - both the living and the fallen - are brought home," he said. A spokesperson for Kibbutz Nir Oz said the bodies of the two hostages had been returned to Israel overnight and would be laid to rest. The couple had four children and seven grandchildren. In a statement the Kibbutz remembered Gadi as "a sharp-minded man, a gifted wind instrument player since the age of three, deeply connected to the land, a chef and advocate of healthy vegan nutrition and sports." and Judy as "a poet, entrepreneur, creative spirit, and devoted advocate for peace and coexistence." A statement from the family, provided by the Nir Oz spokesperson expressed gratitude for the return of their missing loved ones. "We are grateful for the closure we have been granted and for the return of our loved ones for burial - they went out for a walk on that Black Saturday morning and never came back. In this emotional moment, we want to thank the IDF and security forces who carried out this complex rescue operation and have been fighting for us for over a year and a half, and to everyone who supported, struggled, prayed, and fought for us and for all the people of Israel," it said. The family also thanked the US administration, the Israeli government, and the FBI for their "tireless work and ongoing support." - CNN
