UN conference on two-state solution convenes amid calls for increased aid into Gaza
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Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘Tell us how he died': Mohamed Salah criticises Uefa tribute to ‘Palestinian Pele'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah (left) criticised Uefa over its post about the death in Gaza of Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the 'Palestinian Pele'. LONDON - Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Aug 9 criticised Uefa's tribute to the late Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the 'Palestinian Pele,' after European soccer's governing body failed to reference the circumstances surrounding his death this week. The Palestine Football Association said that Al-Obeid, 41, was killed by an Israeli strike targeting civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Aug 6. In a brief post on the social media platform X, Uefa called the former national team member 'a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times'. Salah responded: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' Uefa was not immediately available to comment. One of the Premier League's biggest stars, 33-year-old Egyptian Salah has previously advocated for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza in the nearly two-year-old war. The United Nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza since the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israel-backed aid distribution system, in late May. REUTERS
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Gaza civil defence says 34 killed by Israeli fire
GAZA: Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 34 people were killed by Israeli fire on Saturday. (Aug 9), including more than a dozen civilians who were waiting to collect aid. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP nine people were killed and 181 wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on them as they gathered near a border crossing in northern Gaza that has been used for aid deliveries. Six more people were killed and 30 wounded after Israeli troops targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central Gaza, he said. Strikes in central Gaza also resulted in multiple casualties, according to Bassal. A drone attack near the southern city of Khan Younis killed at least three people and wounded several others. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence and the Israeli military. Thousands of Palestinians congregate daily near food distribution points in Gaza, including four managed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Since launching in late May, its operations have been marred by almost-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect aid. Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies into Gaza since the start of the war nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential supplies, including medicine and fuel, which hospitals require to power their generators. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to agree to a ceasefire to bring the territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants. But early Friday, the Israeli security cabinet approved plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of outrage across the globe. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision. In a post on social media late Friday, he said, "We are not going to occupy Gaza - we are going to free Gaza from Hamas". The Palestinian militant group, whose Oct 7, 2023, attack triggered the war, has slammed the plan to expand the fighting as a "new war crime". Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Blast at Hezbollah site in Lebanon kills six soldiers
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said a blast at a weapons depot near the Israeli border killed six soldiers on Saturday (Aug 9), with a military source saying the troops were removing munitions from a Hezbollah facility. Under the truce that ended last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanese troops have been deploying in the country's south and dismantling the Iran-backed militant group's infrastructure in the region. The deaths come after the Lebanese government decided this week to disarm Hezbollah and tasked the army with drawing up a plan to complete the process by year end. Hezbollah has said it will ignore the cabinet's decision, which came under heavy US pressure, while the group's backer Iran said Saturday it opposed the effort. A military statement gave a preliminary toll of six soldiers killed "while an army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents in Wadi Zibqin", in Tyre district near the Israeli border. Investigations were underway to determine the cause of the blast, it added. A military source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media, told AFP the blast took place "inside a Hezbollah military facility". Troops were "removing munitions and unexploded ordnance left over from the recent war" when the blast occurred, the source added. President Joseph Aoun said he was informed by army commander Rodolphe Haykal of the "painful incident". Prime Minister Nawaf Salam paid tribute to the troops who were killed "while performing their national duty", calling the army the protector of Lebanon's "unity and its legitimate institutions". US envoy Tom Barrack, who has led Washington's efforts to press for Hezbollah's disarmament, extended the administration's "deepest condolences" over the "loss of these brave servicemen". Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar likewise offered his "sincerest condolences to the Lebanese army". "DOING THEIR JOB" The commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major General Diodato Abagnara, said the soldiers were "simply doing their job to restore stability and avoid a return to open conflict". The blast came days after UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said troops had "discovered a vast network of fortified tunnels" in the same area. UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that the troops uncovered a cache of artillery, rockets, mines and improvised explosive devices. In April, the Lebanese military said three soldiers were killed in a munitions blast, just days after another was killed in an explosion as troops dismantled mines in a tunnel. Under the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, arms are to be restricted to Lebanese state institutions. The government has tasked the army with presenting a plan by the end of August for disarming non-state actors. ONGOING STRIKES A senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that Tehran "is certainly opposed to the disarmament of Hezbollah". "Iran has always supported the people and the resistance of Lebanon and continues to do so." international affairs adviser Ali Akbar Velayati told Iran's Tasnim news agency. Lebanon's foreign ministry slammed the comments as "flagrant and unacceptable interference", reminding "the leadership in Tehran that Iran would be better served by focusing on the issues of its own people". On Thursday, the government discussed a US proposal that includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament. The government endorsed the introduction of the US text without discussing specific timelines, and called for the deployment of Lebanese troops in border areas. It also called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from five areas of the south they continue to occupy. and has vowed to continue them until the militant group is disarmed. The Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday on a vehicle in the town of Ainata near the border.
