Holocaust survivor, 95, identified as fourth fatality in Iranian missile strike
Yvette Shmilovitz, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, was confirmed Monday as the fourth fatality when an Iranian missile struck the Israeli city of Petah Tikva on June 16.
Article content
Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg mourned the loss, saying, 'We bow our heads and mourn the murder of four of the city's residents… dear, beloved people, whose only sin was wanting to live a peaceful and safe life.' He pledged municipal support to Shmilovitz's family, adding, 'We send a big hug to the family to strengthen them at this difficult time.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
Shmilovitz is survived by three granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.
Article content
Article content
The Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority honored her memory, stating, 'In their death, they command us to walk the paths of hope and resurrection… as women who illuminated their surroundings.' The Authority said its staff remains available to assist Shmilovitz's and fellow victim Bella's relatives.
Article content
The June 16 strike also killed Yaakov and Desi Belo, and Daisy Yitzhaki.
Article content
Shmilovitz will laid to rest in Petah Tikva on Tuesday.
Article content
Iran's missile attacks have killed 24 people and injured over than 1,300. The Israel Tax Authority has received more than 25,000 damage claims related to buildings.
Article content
Israel launched preemptive strikes against Iranian nuclear sites on June 13, citing intelligence that Tehran had reached 'a point of no return' in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. According to Israeli defense officials, Iran has developed the capacity to rapidly enrich uranium and assemble nuclear bombs, with sufficient fissile material for up to 15 weapons.
Article content
Israeli intelligence also exposed a covert program to complete all components of a nuclear device. The strikes marked a dramatic escalation in what officials describe as a broader Iranian strategy combining nuclear development, missile proliferation, and proxy warfare aimed at Israel's destruction.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
The Taliban registers 1,800 unemployed Afghan refugees for jobs in Qatar
Men wait in line to register for a Qatar work visa for unemployed Afghans expelled from neighbouring countries, outside a registration center in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai) ISLAMABAD — The Taliban on Wednesday registered 1,800 unemployed Afghans expelled from neighboring countries for the chance to work in Qatar in the latest round of a labor agreement with the Gulf nation, a Labor Ministry spokesman said. The program is aimed at easing unemployment in Afghanistan, and the Taliban has said talks are also underway to send labor to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey, and Russia. Last month, 3,100 Afghans were registered for jobs in Qatar, including in the food and hospitality industries. Wednesday's one-day registration period was open only to Afghans expelled from Iran and Pakistan, and took place in four major cities. At least two million Afghans have left Iran and Pakistan this year after both governments launched separate campaigns to expel foreigners they said were living there illegally. They deny targeting Afghans, but most of those forcibly returned are Afghan. People with refugee certificates were able to visit registration centers in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Nangarhar for the chance to work in Qatar, Labor Ministry spokesman Samiullah Ibrahimi said. 'These work visas cover 22 different job categories, and the 1,800 visas available are for these jobless Afghan returnees,' he said. Dozens of men waited in long lines outside a registration center in Kabul. Poyan Ahmadi, who left Iran, said he wanted the Taliban government to talk to other countries. 'Here in Afghanistan, there is no work, and there is a shortage of job opportunities.' The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
South Africa dismisses U.S. human rights report as ‘deeply flawed'
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African government on Wednesday dismissed the U.S. State Department's latest assessment of the country's human rights conditions as 'inaccurate and deeply flawed.' The Trump administration this week released human rights reports for countries worldwide, including South Africa, asserting that the state of human rights in South Africa had 'significantly worsened' in 2024. It cited the unjust treatment of white Afrikaners after the signing of significant land reforms, which the Trump administration has claimed discriminate against the group that ruled the nation during the apartheid era. South Africa's Foreign Ministry expressed 'profound disappointment' with the report, saying its reliance on out of context information and discredited accounts was highly concerning.f The ministry highlighted that the United Nations had hailed the country's Land Expropriation Act as an important step in resolving racially unequal land ownership, underscoring the integrity of constitutional and human rights-based legislative processes. It added that the report was 'ironic' given the U.S exit from the U.N. Human Rights Council. 'This is particularly striking given the significant and documented concerns about human rights within the United States, including the treatment of refugees and breaches in due process by its own agencies, such as ICE,' the ministry said. South Africa's government also dismissed as inaccurate the report's claims that it 'did not take credible steps to investigate, prosecute and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, including inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities, or violence against racial minorities.' The U.S. criticism of South Africa's domestic affairs is the latest in a series of tense diplomatic exchanges between the two countries since President Donald Trump was elected to a second term. During a state visit to the White House in May, Trump confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa with false claims that South Africa had been illegally occupying the farms of white Afrikaner farmers. The administration even speeded up the visa application processes for Afrikaners who wanted to relocate to the U.S as refugees. Along with suspending financial aid and imposing 30% tariffs on South Africa's exports to the U.S., Trump has denounced the country's stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled by the U.S. for his criticism of Trump, who has hinted that he may not attend the G20 summit of world leaders scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November. The Afrikaans trade union Solidarieit, which was criticized by Ramaphosa over a recent visit to Washington, has announced new plans to visit the U.S. in September to meet with the Department of State and other parties to discuss abolishing racial-redress laws, reestablishing diplomatic ties, and creating a fair trade agreement between the two countries.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
At least 123 Palestinians killed as Israeli army pounds Gaza City ahead of planned takeover
Social Sharing Israel's military pounded Gaza City on Wednesday prior to a planned takeover, with another 123 people killed in the last day, according to the Gaza health ministry, while militant group Hamas held further talks with Egyptian mediators. The 24-hour death toll was the worst in a week and added to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year war that has shattered the enclave, which houses more than two million Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea — also enthusiastically floated by U.S. President Donald Trump — that Palestinians should simply leave. "They're not being pushed out, they'll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us." Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba," or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the 1948 war. WATCH | Former hostage negotiator calls Netanyahu 'biggest liar' in Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu the 'biggest liar' in Israel: former hostage negotiator 3 days ago In a press conference with international journalists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his plan to take over Gaza City, claiming it's the fastest way to end Israel's military offensive in the Palestinian territory. But former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin says Netanyahu would be the 'only winner' in that plan. Israel's planned recapture of Gaza City — which it took in the early days of the war before withdrawing — is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible, though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages. Israeli planes and tanks bombed eastern areas of Gaza City heavily, residents said, with many homes destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods overnight. Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Zeitoun. Tanks also destroyed several houses in the east of Khan Younis in south Gaza, while in the centre, Israeli gunfire killed nine aid-seekers in two separate incidents, Palestinian medics said. Israel's military did not comment. Eight more people, including three children, have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said. That took the total to 235, including 106 children, since the war began. Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Wednesday were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and "ending the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement. Truce talks resume after international outcry Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons. A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel ends the war and pulls out. However, "laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave. About half of Gaza's residents live in the Gaza City area. Foreign ministers of 24 countries, including Canada, Britain Australia, France and Japan, said this week the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached "unimaginable levels" and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid. Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including daily combat pauses in some areas and protected routes for aid convoys. Aid remains far from sufficient: UN and Palestinians The Israeli military on Wednesday said that nearly 320 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings and that a further nearly 320 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations in the past 24 hours, along with three tankers of fuel and 97 pallets of air-dropped aid. The United Nations and Palestinians say aid entering Gaza remains far from sufficient. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. WATCH | Norway's wealth fund to divest from more Israeli companies over Gaza war: Norway's wealth fund to divest from more Israeli companies over war in Gaza 23 hours ago Norway's $2-trillion wealth fund said Tuesday it expects to divest from more Israeli companies over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. A review of investments began last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake of just over two per cent in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces. Arab states and much of the international community want postwar Gaza to be governed by the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The authority's foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, told reporters it was ready to assume full responsibility in Gaza. Hamas would have no role and be required to hand over arms, she added, calling for an international peacekeeping force and withdrawal by Israel.
