
Video: Pope Leo calls for humanitarian aid trucks to enter Gaza
NewsFeed Video: Pope Leo calls for humanitarian aid trucks to enter Gaza
Pope Leo has called for humanitarian aid to be sent into Gaza to ease the hunger crisis caused by Israel's blockade. The Pope is the latest world leader to criticise Israel's weaponisation of food aid, after the UK, France and Canada threatened to impose sanctions.
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Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Pro-Palestine protesters in UK call for Israel arms embargo, sanctions
Pro-Palestine campaigners have rallied against Israel's punishing war on Gaza, gathering outside the British Parliament in London and demanding a full arms embargo and that hard-hitting sanctions be imposed on the Israeli government. Wednesday's march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took weekly questions from parliamentarians. Thousands of protesters created a 'Red Line for Palestine', wearing red while encircling the building. Starmer told Parliament that Israel's actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are 'appalling' and 'intolerable'. 'It is right to describe these days as dark,' Starmer said. 'We have strongly opposed the expansion of Israeli military operations, and settler violence, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.' Starmer added that the UK has imposed sanctions, suspended free trade negotiations, and is currently considering further sanctions. But the UK leader, his Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and his government have come under heavy criticism in the UK for not speaking more forcefully backed by actual action earlier in the war, and for not doing enough now as Palestinians face what United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the 'cruellest phase of this cruel conflict'. Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the protest went on for several hours and throughout Starmer's entire speech to Parliament. 'There was a red line around the whole of Parliament,' Challands said. 'These protesters had formed a cordon, essentially all the way down from Parliament to the first bridge … that goes across to the other side of the [River] Thames, and they came back up … and returned over Westminster Bridge to join up here to make a full loop,' he added. According to Challands, protesters say that their 'red line' is to show that the UK government should have its own red lines when it comes to Gaza. It has not had 'sufficient' red lines in place, he said. 'The protesters say there should have been red lines before 54,000 deaths.' In his remarks, Starmer also called for an end to the siege and said humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly and in the required quantities. Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory, barring the entry of much-needed aid, including food, medicine, clean water, and fuel required by generators. A famine now looms as more than two million people are facing starvation, the UN has warned. Meanwhile, a controversial, United States-backed group that runs aid distribution points in Gaza – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – has suspended operations for a full day. The move came after Israeli forces opened fire at hungry aid seekers several times, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27. The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage as many say aid is being weaponised and with the UN's Guterres demanding an independent inquiry. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians and wounded 125,341, according to the Health Ministry.


Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Mapping Israel's expanding air attacks across Syria
The Israeli military says it shelled targets in Syria in response to a pair of projectiles that fell in open areas in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday. Since December 10, 2024, just two days after the stunning collapse of more than 53 years of the al-Assad family, Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure, including major airports, air defence facilities, fighter jets and other strategic infrastructure. Over the past six months, Israeli forces have launched more than 200 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria, averaging an assault roughly every three to four days, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED). The map below shows the ACLED-recorded Israeli attacks between December 8 and May bulk of the Israeli attacks have been concentrated in the southern Syrian governorates of Deraa, Damascus and Quneitra, which account for nearly 60 percent of all recorded Israeli attacks. In the immediate aftermath of al-Assad's ouster, Israeli troops advanced into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, including areas within the United Nations-monitored demilitarised zone, violating the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria. The incursion drew widespread international criticism. The UN, along with several Arab nations, condemned Israel's actions as breaches of international law and violations of Syria's sovereignty. Despite these condemnations, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in February that Israeli forces would remain in the area indefinitely to 'protect Israeli citizens' and 'prevent hostile entities from gaining a foothold' near the border. Satellite imagery captured in February and analysed by Al Jazeera's Sanad verification unit showed six military bases were being constructed in the UN-supervised buffer zone on the border with Syria. Since taking power following the overthrow of al-Assad, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has consistently stated that his government seeks no conflict with Israel and will not permit Syria to be used by foreign actors to launch attacks. He has condemned Israel's continuing strikes on Syrian territory and its gradual expansion beyond the already-occupied Golan Heights. While Israel's air attacks on Syria have escalated in recent months, Israel has been attacking targets in Syria for years. ACLED data collected since January 2017 shows how Israeli attacks have been steadily increasing. The animated chart below shows the frequency of Israeli attacks from January 2017 to May 2025.


Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Shooting at Gaza aid site a 'war crime'
Dr Bassem Zaqout, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, says US-backed aid distribution efforts in Gaza have been marred by shootings and a lack of organisation.