Dawn French sorry for 'one-sided' Gaza war video
In the 40-second video, posted earlier this week, the Vicar of Dibley star shared her views on the ongoing war, saying: "Complicated, no, but nuanced. But [the] bottom line is no."Adapting her tone, she went on to say: "Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us, yeah but no. But we want that land... and we have history… No. Those people aren't really even people, are they really? No."On social media, people were quick to criticise her, with actress Tracy-Ann Oberman saying she was "so saddened" by the post."This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears [to] be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack involving rape, sexual violence, burning alive, child mutilation and taking of civilian hostages," she wrote."Why would Dawn seem to deny that which has affected so many of us personally in the most painful way possible."MP Rosie Duffield commented on Oberman's post, writing: "One can, and should hate what is happening in Gaza and also condemn the hideous events of October 7th."It is agonising to see events unfold, and requires extremely careful, measured and well-considered comments and actions. This is not that."Meanwhile, screenwriter and activist Lee Kern called her video "sneering mockery".Responding to the backlash, French said that she had posted a video in the style that she has been using for social media "in an effort to convey an important point".She added that she had "clumsily used a mocking tone"."My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal unthinkable, unforgiveable, savage attack," she said.She said her intention had been "to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on all sides of this atrocious war"."THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly, and I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided and that is wrong."Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross-border attack almost 20 months ago, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.Some 54 of those captured during the attack remain in captivity, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead.At least 54,607 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,335 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
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Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Aid groups say shelter materials are still not entering Gaza
GENEVA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - International aid groups say they have not yet been able to deliver shelter materials to Gaza despite Israeli authorities saying they have lifted restrictions on such supplies, and warn that further delays could cause more Palestinian deaths. Aid organisations say Israel had in effect been blocking the delivery of materials for shelters for nearly six months, with tent poles previously listed among items Israeli authorities considered could have a military as well as civilian use. With international concern over the plight of Palestinians mounting as the war in Gaza continues, Israel announced measures last month to let more aid into Gaza and said on Saturday that it would start allowing shelter materials in from the next day. But officials from five aid groups, including U.N. agencies, told Reuters that shelter materials needed by large numbers of displaced Palestinians were still not reaching Gaza and blamed Israeli bureaucratic hurdles. "The United Nations and our partners been able to bring in shelter materials following the Israeli announcement," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spokesperson Jens Laerke said. "There's a set of impediments that still needs to be addressed, including Israeli customs clearance." CARE International, ShelterBox and the Norwegian Refugee Council also said they had not yet received any authorisation to deliver shelter materials. Another international NGO, which declined to be identified, said it had been unable to deliver such supplies but was trying to get clearance. Over 1.3 million Gazans lack tents, the United Nations said this month, and more people are expected to be displaced by an Israeli operation to seize Gaza City. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, did not immediately respond to Reuters questions. It has previously said it invests considerable efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza and has denied restricting supplies. After nearly two years of war, many displaced Palestinians are living in the rubble of their homes or in tents. "Life in the tent is no life at no proper bathroom, not even a decent place to sit. We end up sitting in the street, suffocating in the heat," 55-year-old Ibrahim Tabassi said in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis. He shares his cramped tent, made from tarpaulin sheets and scrap metal, with nine other family members. Clothes and pots hang inside. Another Gaza resident, Sanaa Abu Jamous, said that she, like many other Gazans, had been using the same tattered tent throughout the war. "My tent is extremely worn out," she said. Israel said on Saturday that deliveries of materials for shelters would be allowed via the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Israel but would have to undergo security inspections. The Red Cross told Reuters it had received permission from COGAT to bring in shelter materials from what is known as the Jordanian corridor to Kerem Shalom, but that many challenges remain. CARE International said it had received no confirmation that the change in policy had been enacted. The Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian organisation, said it had applied for permission to deliver 3,000 tents across Gaza, including the north, but had not yet received a reply. Many aid groups are resisting Israeli demands - under measures imposed in March - to register because it means disclosing personal information about Palestinian staff. COGAT says the mechanism is a security screening intended to ensure aid goes directly to the population rather than to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. ShelterBox's regional director, Haroon Altaf, said granting permission to only a select number of aid groups would not meet demand for shelter materials. "If it's only a handful of organisations that can bring shelter aid in, it doesn't really change much and it's deeply concerning. People are going to die because of it," he said.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
An Italian funeral for a Palestinian woman evacuated from Gaza becomes a call to 'make noise'
Funeral services were held Wednesday for a young Palestinian woman who died in Italy shortly after being evacuated from Gaza last week, exposing Italians to the desperate plight of Palestinians in the besieged territory. The funeral of Marah Abu Zuhri, attended by several hundred people, was interrupted repeatedly by chants of 'Free Palestine' and featured speeches by local authorities denouncing Israel's policy in Gaza and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. As Palestinian flags fluttered, mourners stood in prayer before Zuhri's coffin, which was was draped in a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh scarf in the town of Pontasserchio, near Pisa. Zuhri, 19, had been evacuated to Italy with what Israel had called leukemia, but Italian doctors said they found no initial evidence of that and instead found 'profound wasting" and an undiagnosed or misdiagnosed condition. The United Nations and partners have said 22 months of war have devastated Gaza's health system, and food security experts have said the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out.' Israel is moving ahead with a new military offensive on some of the territory's most populated areas, Mayor Matteo Cecchelli said he wanted to honor Zuhri's life with a public service in the town's Park of Peace, to 'make noise' about what he called a political and humanitarian 'catastrophe' in Gaza. 'The reality is that every day in the Gaza Strip, people are dying in the deafening silence of world governments," he said to applause. "We cannot remain silent today in this field of peace. There are those who have decided to make noise and have decided to be here to express their dissent towards this genocide.' Israel asserts that it abides by international law and is fighting an existential war in Gaza after Hamas' deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage. Israel has rejected genocide allegations related to its war in Gaza and called them antisemitic. Zuhri arrived in Italy overnight on Aug. 13-14 as one of 31 sick or injured Palestinians evacuated on an Italian humanitarian airlift that has brought nearly 1,000 ill Palestinians and their families to the country since the war began. Israel said she had leukemia and had been offered an evacuation earlier but claimed that Hamas had exploited her case, without offering evidence. The U.N. World Health Organization, which coordinates patients' evacuations, didn't respond to a request for comment. Gaza's Health Ministry has asserted that evacuations are often delayed or canceled by Israeli authorities. It says over 18,000 patients and wounded require treatment outside Gaza. Zuhri was admitted to the hematology ward of Pisa University's Santa Chiara Hospital, a known oncological hospital in Tuscany, but died there on Aug. 15. The hospital said she arrived with a 'very complex/compromised clinical picture and in a state of profound wasting.' She suffered a sudden respiratory crisis and subsequent cardiac arrest, which killed her, it said. The head of the hematology department at the Pisa hospital, Dr. Sara Galimberti, said Zuhri arrived with a diagnosis of suspected acute leukemia, but tests the hospital conducted came back negative, with no signs of the 'bad cells' that would indicate leukemia. Galimberti told reporters that Zuhri likely had been misdiagnosed, and that her condition was nevertheless seriously compromised and had been for a while. "The patient was in a complete condition of wasting, and completely bedridden despite being 19 years old,' she said. The hospital conducted a nutritional consultation and began a hypercaloric therapy and transfusional support, but Zuhri died before a full diagnosis was possible, Galimberti said. The doctor said the woman's mother, Nabeela Abu Zuhri, declined an autopsy on religious and personal grounds. The mother, who accompanied her daughter on the flight, spoke briefly at the funeral, thanking Italy for trying to save her daughter and asking for prayers for Palestinians. She said she was 'leaving a part of my heart, a part of me, with you' before returning to Gaza. The imam of Pisa, Mohammad Khalil, who translated for her, tried to calm the crowd and focus on Zuhri, but he also spoke of food shortages and hunger in Gaza. The United Nations has said starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest levels since the war began. The U.N. says nearly 12,000 children under 5 were found with acute malnutrition in July — including more than 2,500 with severe malnutrition, the most dangerous level. The World Health Organization says the numbers are likely an undercount. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that no one in Gaza is starving, with 'no policy of starvation in Gaza.' AP reporting has found that malnourished children were arriving daily at a Gaza hospital, with some dying from hunger, including ones with no preexisting conditions. ___ Winfield reported from Rome.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Israel to call up 60,000 reservists ahead of Gaza City move
Israel is poised to escalate its military campaign in Gaza City, with an expanded operation potentially launching in the coming days, even as negotiators scramble to secure a ceasefire after 22 months of conflict. The Israeli military confirmed on Wednesday that its defence minister has given the green light for a new phase of operations targeting some of Gaza's most densely populated districts. This escalation will involve the mobilisation of 60,000 reservists, alongside an extension of service for 20,000 currently serving personnel. This development comes amid grave warnings from human rights organisations, who fear a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where widespread displacement, vast areas reduced to rubble, and the imminent threat of famine are already prevalent. A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said that the military will be operating in parts of Gaza City where the Israeli military has not yet operated and where it believes Hamas is still active. The official said that Israeli troops are already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabaliya neighborhoods of Gaza City to prepare the groundwork for the expanded operation, which is expected to receive approval from the chief of staff in the coming days. Gaza City is Hamas ' main military and governing stronghold and Israeli troops will be targeting Hamas' vast underground tunnel network, the official added. Although Israel has targeted and killed much of Hamas' senior leadership, parts of the militant group are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks, including launching rockets towards Israel, the official said. It remains unclear when the operation will begin, but it could be a matter of days. The official said 60,000 reservists will be called up in the coming month, one of the largest mobilizations in months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently said objective of the war is to secure the release of the remaining hostages and ensure Hamas and other militants can never again threaten Israel. The planned offensive, first announced earlier this month, has heightened international condemnation of Israel and fueled fears of another mass displacement among Palestinians. Netanyahu said on Aug. 9 that it would span parts of Gaza City and the central camps. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in the city and it holds some of the last remnants of critical infrastructure. AP journalists saw small groups heading south from the city this week, but how many will voluntarily flee remains unclear. Some said they were waiting to see how events unfold before moving yet again, and many insist nowhere is safe from airstrikes. The call-up comes as a growing campaign of exhausted reservists is accusing the government of perpetuating the war for political reasons and failing to bring home the remaining hostages. The families of the hostages and former army and intelligence chiefs have also expressed opposition to the expanded operation in Gaza City. Most of the families of the hostages want an immediate ceasefire and worry an expanded assault could imperil bringing the 50 hostages still in Gaza home. Israel believes that 20 are still alive. The former chiefs are skeptical the goal of completely destroying Hamas is attainable. Former Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen called it a "fantasy," saying that "if anyone imagines that we can reach every terrorist and every pit and every weapon, and in parallel bring our hostages home — I think it is impossible." Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Mediators and Hamas both said this week that Hamas leaders had agreed to cease-fire terms, though similar announcements have been made in the past that did not lead to ceasefires. An Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said that Israel is in constant contact with the mediators in an effort to secure the release of the hostages. Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will oppose a deal that doesn't include the "complete the defeat of Hamas." More than 62,000 people have been killed during Israel's 22-month offensive, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half of them. In addition to that toll, 154 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when the ministry began counting such deaths, and 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began.
