
World snoozes as Zionists massacre 100+ daily in Gaza
Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Zionist attacks. Umm Yassin Abu Awda, who was among mourners who gathered at the city's Al-Shifa Hospital after the strike, said: 'This isn't a life. We've suffered enough.' 'For two years, we've been fighting just to get a piece of bread,' she told AFP. 'Either you (Zionists) strike us with a nuclear bomb and end it all, or people's conscience needs to finally wake up.' In an updated toll on Thursday afternoon, civil defense spokesman
Mahmud Bassal said 118 people were killed and 581 injured by Zionist strikes, artillery or gunfire across the territory. They included 38 people waiting for humanitarian aid at three separate locations in central and southern Gaza and a child killed by a drone in Jabalia in the north. Bassal said 17 people, 'the majority of them children and women', were killed and several others wounded in a Zionist air strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City.
Pressure has risen for a ceasefire to allow sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza at scale and permit the release of captives seized by Palestinian fighters. US President Donald Trump earlier this week declared a new ceasefire push, aiming for an initial 60-day truce, which he said had Israel's backing. But Zionist leaders held firm to their aim of crushing Hamas, even as the group said Tuesday it was discussing new proposals for a ceasefire from mediators.
At the Gaza City school compound hit on Thursday, AFP footage showed young children wandering through the charred, bombed out building, as piles of burnt debris smoldered. Groups of Palestinians picked through the rubble and damaged furniture that littered the floor. 'Suddenly, we found the tent collapsing over us and a fire burning. We don't know what happened,' one witness, Wafaa Al-Arqan, who was among the people sheltering there, told Reuters. 'What can we do? Is it fair that all these children burned?'
Bassal of the civil defense agency reported 25 people killed while seeking aid near the Netzarim area in central Gaza, six others at another location nearby and seven in Rafah, southern Gaza, with scores of people injured. They were the latest in a string of deadly incidents that have hit people trying to receive scarce supplies. Across Gaza on Thursday, Bassal said artillery shelling in the northern town of Beit Lahia killed three people. Further south, he said three people were killed in a strike that hit tents housing displaced people in the coastal Al-Mawasi area.
Despite mounting calls at home and globally for a ceasefire, the Zionist entity's hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called on Wednesday to push the offensive harder. 'Let's finish the job in Gaza. We must bring down Hamas, occupy the Gaza Strip, encourage the transfer' of Palestinians out of the territory, Ben Gvir said in a television interview.
To the minister, the Zionist entity was now 'in a position to achieve' victory over Hamas, which he said would help free the remaining captives still held in Gaza from the 2023 attacks. 'We must bring them back, but the way to bring them back is to bring down Hamas,' he said. The Zionist military campaign has killed at least 57,130 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. – Agencies
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Kuwait Times
33 minutes ago
- Kuwait Times
Gaza truce talks resume in Doha
Zionist strikes kill 80 • Netanyahu to meet Trump amid mounting pressure JERUSALEM: Indirect negotiations between Zionist entity and Hamas were set to resume Sunday in Doha for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, ahead of a visit by Zionist entity Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Netanyahu had earlier announced he was sending a team to Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, though he said Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire deal contained 'unacceptable' demands. Under mounting pressure to end the war, now approaching its 22nd month, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet on Monday with US President Donald Trump, who has been making a renewed push to end the fighting. A Palestinian official familiar with the talks and close to Hamas said international mediators had informed the group that 'a new round of indirect negotiations... will begin in Doha today'. The talks would focus on conditions for a possible ceasefire, including hostage and prisoner releases, and Hamas would also seek the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing to evacuate the wounded, the official told AFP. Hamas's delegation, led by its top negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya, was in Doha, the official told AFP. Zionist entity's public broadcaster said the country's delegation had left for the Qatari capital in the early afternoon. Netanyahu met Zionist entity President Isaac Herzog for talks on Gaza and efforts to expand ties with Arab states before his departure for the United States at 5 pm (1400 GMT). In Tel Aviv on Saturday, protesters gathered for a weekly rally demanding the return of hostages held in Gaza. Macabit Mayer, the aunt of captives Gali and Ziv Berman, called for a deal 'that saves everyone'. Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Zionist entity. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Zionist entity's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. On the ground, Gaza's civil defense agency said 80 people were killed by Zionist entity forces. The agency said 10 were killed in a pre-dawn strike on Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, where AFP images showed Palestinians searching through the rubble for survivors with their bare hands. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency. Contacted by AFP, the Zionist military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates. Sheikh Radwan resident Osama Al-Hanawi told AFP: 'The rest of the family is still under the rubble.' 'We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now. Enough blood has been shed.' Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Zionist military says are dead. Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Zionist entity's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire. The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. Karima Al-Ras, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, said 'we hope that a truce will be announced' to allow in more aid. 'People are dying for flour,' she said. A US- and Zionist entity-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Zionist entity partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Zionist entity military objectives. The UN human rights office said more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points.—AFP

Kuwait Times
33 minutes ago
- Kuwait Times
Hezbollah chief says won't surrender under Zionist threats
BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Zionist threats, despite pressure on the Lebanese militants to disarm. His speech came ahead of a visit expected Monday by US envoy Thomas Barrack during which Lebanese authorities are due to respond to a request to disarm Hezbollah by year's end, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'This (Zionist) threat will not make us accept surrender,' Qassem said in a televised speech to thousands of his supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, during the Shiite Muslim religious commemoration of Ashura. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of a war between the Zionist entity and Hezbollah last year that left the Iran-backed group severely weakened have repeatedly vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding the Zionist entity comply with a November ceasefire that sought to end the hostilities. Qassem, who succeeded longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah after a Zionist strike killed him in September, said the group's fighters would not abandon their arms and asserted that Zionist 'aggression' must first stop. The Zionist entity has continued to strike Lebanon despite the November ceasefire, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group. Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure in the south, near the Zionist border. 'Not now, not later' Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 km from the Zionist frontier. Zionist entity was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic. Qassem said the Zionist entity must abide by the ceasefire agreement, 'withdraw from the occupied territories, stop its aggression... release the prisoners' detained during last year's war, and that reconstruction in Lebanon must begin. Only then 'will we be ready for the second stage, which is to discuss the national security and defense strategy' which includes the issue of group's disarmament, he added. Supporters dressed in black for Ashura marched through Beirut's southern suburbs before his speech, waving Hezbollah banners as well as the Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian flags. Some also carried posters of the slain leader Nasrallah. Hussein Jaber, 28, originally from south Lebanon, said the group's weapons 'can't be handed over, not now, not later. Those who think Hezbollah will turn in its arms are ignorant'. In his speech, Qassem also said his movement 'will not accept normalization... with the (Zionist) enemy', after the Zionist entity's top diplomat said his government was 'interested' in such a move. Lebanon, which is technically still at war with the Zionist entity, did not comment. Syria, also mentioned by Zionist Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, said it was 'premature' to discuss normalization. 'No pilgrims' Shiites in other countries around the region were also marking Ashura. Iraq saw the largest commemorations on Sunday, particularly in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. In south Lebanon, hundreds of people participated in commemorations in Nabatiyeh, an area regularly targeted by Zionist strikes. Local resident Ali Mazraani told AFP that there were fewer people than usual 'because of the situation in the south and the Zionist strikes that destroyed the market and several areas of the city'. In Sunni Muslim majority Syria, several hundred faithful marked Ashura under the protection of security forces at the Sayyida Zeinab shrine south of Damascus, an AFP correspondent said. Unlike in previous years, there were no processions in the Sayyida Zeinab area, where pro-Iran groups used to be heavily entrenched before Assad's ouster. 'The Syrian state has bolstered its protection at this time,' said Jaafar Al-Amine, an official at the holy site. 'This year, there have been no pilgrims from other countries' like Iran, Iraq or Lebanon, he added. – AFP

Kuwait Times
3 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Vietnam's laid-off communist officials face uncertain future
HANOI: Vietnamese lawmakers take part in a vote on merging provinces and cities at the National Assembly in Hanoi in this June 12, 2025 file photo.-- AFP HANOI: Sipping green tea in his garden of roses, ex-communist party official Nguyen Van Cuong says he is 'jobless but happy' after Vietnam cut 80,000 state roles this week. But fretting at home after leaving public employment once considered a job-for-life, Nguyen Thi Thu told AFP she feels 'empty' over a future that is no longer certain. Vietnam is in the midst of a dramatic remaking of its state apparatus, with 100,000 positions slated to be scrapped as Hanoi seeks to streamline bureaucracy and boost the economy. On Monday, 80,000 roles were slashed as most of the Southeast Asian nation's provinces and cities were merged. Feelings are mixed among newly unemployed apparatchiks - communist party officials whose jobs were once guaranteed. 'It's really a waste for the state to lose one like myself,' said 56-year-old Cuong, who served in Bac Giang province outside Hanoi. Bac Giang was merged into a neighboring province's administration. The government said those caught in the overhaul would either be made redundant or offered early retirement. Cuong told AFP he could have remained in his post - or even been promoted - but chose to accept a $75,000 payoff for his remaining six years after a 30-year state career. 'It's time to rid myself of so much complexity in state politics,' he said. The mass reorganization overseen by Vietnam's top leader To Lam echoes steps taken by US President Donald Trump and Argentine leader Javier Milei to take an axe to government spending towards 'efficiency'. Former district-level secretary Thu admits she may not have been able to manage the burdens of the job as management prioritized performance. The 50-year-old felt she had no option but to resign when her office was relocated to the Mekong delta province of An Giang, more than 70 kilometers from her home. 'I resigned, not because I wanted to quit my job,' Thu said. 'It's better to resign rather than waiting for a dismissal order.' Vietnam - a global manufacturing hub - recorded economic growth of 7.1 percent last year and is aiming for eight percent this year as it vies for 'middle-income country' status by 2030. But the country is facing headwinds from key trade partner the United States. Trump threatened a 46 percent tariff before settling on a 20 percent rate in a deal announced on Wednesday - a levy five times the rate before he took office the second time. Vietnam's deputy finance minister said the new administrative structure would bring 'strong scale to connect strong business and economic infrastructure' and create 'greater socio-economic development'. Lam, the Communist Party general secretary, said Monday that 'the decision to reshape the nation is a historical landmark with strategic meaning' aiming 'to continue our path towards a socialist country... for people's happiness'. But for Thu, the way forward is now unclear. 'I don't know what to do next,' she said. Scrolling carefree on his phone and chatting with friends online, Cuong said he had few regrets over his voluntary redundancy. He feels like Vietnam may be the one missing out on what he has to offer. 'I could still contribute more to the state sector,' he said.- AFP