Israeli jet spotted refueling mid-air over Syria likely on way back after Iran strike
The footage emerged on the same day Israel launched a series of large-scale airstrikes on Iran early Friday, targeting two nuclear facilities in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the opening phase of a prolonged military operation.Meanwhile, Syrian authorities temporarily closed national airspace until 3 pm local time on Friday in response to the incident, citing 'precautionary' measures amid escalating regional tensions.The aftermath of the strikes also impacted commercial aviation, with global airlines canceling or diverting flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and other key Middle Eastern hubs due to safety concerns.Tune InMust Watch
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NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
Israeli Military Says Approved Plan For New Gaza Offensive
Jerusalem: The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had approved the framework for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Hamas condemned what it called "aggressive" Israeli ground incursions in Gaza City. The approved plan for the expanded offensive comes days after Israel's security cabinet called for the capture of the Palestinian territory's largest city following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions. Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "approved the main framework for the IDF's operational plan in the Gaza Strip", a statement released by the army said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter Gaza City, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP on Wednesday that "the Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City". "These assaults represent a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground by force, through a scorched-earth policy and the complete destruction of civilian property," he added. Sabah Fatoum, 51, who lives in a tent in the city's Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood told AFP by phone that "the explosions are massive" in the area. There are "many air strikes and tanks are advancing in the southern area of Tal al-Hawa with drones above our heads", she said. Abu Ahmed Abbas, 46, who lives in a tent in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, said that tanks had been advancing into the southeastern part of Zeitoun and southern Tal al-Hawa "for several days" and demolishing houses. "The air strikes are extremely intense, they have intensified, and sometimes there is artillery shelling since last Sunday," he said. - 'Just escaped death' - Gaza's civil defence agency also reported intensified Israeli air strikes on residential neighbourhoods of Gaza City in recent days. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli attacks had killed at least 75 people across the territory on Wednesday. AFP footage from Gaza City on Tuesday showed Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes on the Zeitoun and Asqoola neighbourhoods using overloaded carts, vans and bikes. "I didn't bring a mattress or anything, and we just escaped death and now we're running away and we don't know where to go," said displaced Palestinian Fidaa Saad. Israel's plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal has been stalled for weeks, with the latest round of negotiations breaking down in July. Egypt said Tuesday it was still working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce "with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions". Hamas said early Wednesday that a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for "preliminary talks" with Egyptian officials. Israel's plans to expand the fighting have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition. Reserve and retired pilots who served in the Israeli air force rallied on Tuesday in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the conflict. "This war and expansion will only cause the death of the hostages, death of more Israeli soldiers, and death of many more innocent Palestinians in Gaza," said Guy Poran, a former air force pilot. - Dire conditions - UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 235 people including 106 children have died of hunger since the war began in October 2023, with many of the cases recorded in recent weeks. Netanyahu on Tuesday revived calls to "allow" Palestinians to leave Gaza, telling Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that "we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave". Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked fears of displacement among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,722 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Bullets, bombs, starvation are killing Gaza's children
Today, I am angry. I am disappointed. I write because my children are dying. Your children are dying. Our children are dying in Gaza. I can hear their cries. I can feel their pain. Why can't you? Every day, around 30 children are killed — by bombs, missiles, and deliberate, systemic deprivation. Only two days ago, 83 Palestinians lost their lives in the Gaza Strip. Families are going days without food, leaving their orphaned children behind. Health systems have completely collapsed. Supplies have crumbled. Water is scarce. Fuel is gone. Hope is dying. Starving infants are perishing in their mothers' arms, while aid trucks sit blocked at borders. This is the gruesome face of a war that has no moral justification. This is not merely a tragedy — it is a moral apocalypse and a brutal crime against humanity. And the world's institutions? The UN? Governments? They are failing. Recent reports from the United Nations have been alarming and frightening. Gaza stands on the brink of a famine. A quarter of the population are already facing famine-like conditions and over 3,20,000 children, the entire population under five, are at risk of acute malnutrition. In Gaza City alone, child malnutrition rate has quadrupled in the last two months. I am not an expert on the historical conflict between Israel and Palestine, nor a scholar of geopolitics and neither an authority to propose a definitive solution. Certainly, the captivity and killing of innocent Israelis at the outset was unacceptable. But that does not justify the brutal retaliation on Gaza or any violence. In 2023, when Hamas had held innocent Israelis hostage and a war-like situation had just about begun, I knew that the repercussions would be worse than we could ever imagine. I couldn't sit back and immediately called my fellow Nobel Laureate friends, reminding them that the call for peace must come from us. On October 30, we 104 Nobel Laureates jointly made an appeal to every single Head of State and urged international organisations and governments to ensure the safety and well-being of all Israeli and Palestinian children. Our call to action undoubtedly had some impact. The international media covered it extensively and it echoed in the political and global discourse for a few months. We were hopeful. But sadly today, leaders are ignoring the grave situation and failing the children. Transcending borders The suffering of Gaza's children transcends borders, ideologies and conflicts. Children bear no responsibility for war. They do not drop bombs or launch rockets. They do not set policies. They hold no historical grievances. So why must they pay the ultimate price for the failures and hatred of adults? Is it their crime to be born in a particular piece of land or into a family of a certain faith? Why should these innocents suffer for the acts, right or wrong, of their ancestors? Why is the lens with which we are viewing people today, and our emotions and judgments so coloured by religious politics? This is the moment to speak out clearly. We must demand an immediate ceasefire to stop the killing of innocent civilians. Restrictions on food, water, fuel, and medical aid must be lifted immediately. Local food and grocery supply systems, bakeries, farms must be urgently restored and small vendors should be allowed to function without any fear of threats. Aid workers must be protected, never targeted or obstructed. Those weaponising starvation, blocking aid, or denying access to basics needed for survival must be held accountable under international law. The time for merely expressing concern, hosting seminars, showing sympathy, or issuing press statements is over. We must choose between complicity and compassion. And I mean compassion not as a soft emotion or a feeling, but a transformative force born from feeling the suffering of others as one's own and taking mindful action to end that suffering. Contrary to popular belief, compassion is not a moral ideal, but a practical and effective strategy for resolving conflicts. There is a sliver of hope when, last month, the UK, France, and 26 other countries issued a tough statement condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of 'human dignity'. The streets are filled with protesters, shocked and enraged by the scale of violence and trauma being unleashed. Several countries including Australia, France, Turkey, and Tunisia, have held demonstrations in the past few weeks. Other governments must also come together to produce a systematic, comprehensive, and concrete response. The day is not very far when we will realise that power does not lie in firing missiles; power lies in compassion. The voices of the innumerable young war survivors from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflict zones who I have interacted with over the years haunt me. I vividly recall an incident from some years back when I met a 10-year-old wheelchair-bound boy in a Syrian refugee camp in Germany. He had taken shelter along with several other children, women and men, all bearing the scars of war. During our conversation, he told me that he had lost his legs — and his father — in a bomb blast. He was separated from his mother in the chaos that followed. Overcome with grief, I had asked the child what he wants to do in future. I will never forget the conviction in his voice as he replied, 'I want to study and become an engineer so that I can go back to my village that was destroyed in the war, and rebuild it.' There was hope in his eyes and his dream was alive. If we cannot save the children of Gaza from bullets, bombs and the slow death of starvation, how can we ever speak of nurturing their dreams and hopes for the future? Kailash Satyarthi is the founder of the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion; views are personal
News18
4 hours ago
- News18
Trump, Putin will meet at Alaska military base long used to counter Russia
Washington, Aug 13 (AP) In an ironic twist, President Donald Trump is set to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska that was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the height of Cold War and still plays a role today. The meeting is scheduled to take place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. The base created by merging Elmendorf Air Force Base and Army Fort Richardson in 2010 has played a key strategic role in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union during much of the Cold War. Throughout its long history, the base hosted large numbers of aircraft and oversaw operations of a variety of early warning radar sites that were aimed at detecting Soviet military activity and any possible nuclear launches. It earned the motto 'Top Cover for North America" at this time, according to the base website. While much of the military hardware has since been deactivated, the base still hosts key aircraft squadrons, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet. Planes from the base also still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into US airspace. The irony of Putin visiting an American military base that long has — and still does — aimed to counter Russian threats comes as Trump works to reach a ceasefire deal in a war that he promised during the 2024 campaign to end quickly. Officials from Ukraine and Europe fear that the one-on-one meeting they will not take part in could lead to an outcome that favours Russian goals. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump was 'very clear" that the United States wants to achieve a ceasefire at the summit. Macron spoke after a virtual meeting between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders. Trump has said any major agreement could involve land swaps and that Zelenskyy and Putin could meet next or he could meet with both leaders. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing," Trump told reporters Wednesday. 'It's going to be a very important meeting, but it's setting the table for the second meeting." (AP) GSP view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
