logo
Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

Asharq Al-Awsat3 days ago
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.
The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.
An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.
In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.
Several other people were wounded, he said.
In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.
On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.
The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters
Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Asharq Al-Awsat

time22 minutes ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself. The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon. The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals. Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported. Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement. There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes. The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon. Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.

Yemen Urges End to UN Mission Overseeing Hodeidah Agreement
Yemen Urges End to UN Mission Overseeing Hodeidah Agreement

Asharq Al-Awsat

time22 minutes ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Yemen Urges End to UN Mission Overseeing Hodeidah Agreement

Yemen's internationally recognized government has called for the termination of the United Nations mission tasked with overseeing the 2018 Hodeidah Agreement, just days ahead of a UN Security Council vote on whether to extend its mandate for another six months. The government accused the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) of legitimizing Houthi control over Red Sea ports and failing to prevent the group from exploiting the area militarily and politically. Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said in a statement that UNMHA has 'become a burden and an enabler of Houthi dominance,' offering political cover for their military presence and 'blackmail' tactics. UNMHA was established under Security Council Resolution 2452 in January 2019 to monitor the Stockholm Agreement, which included a ceasefire in the strategic port city of Hodeidah and a mutual redeployment of forces from the city and its three ports—Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa. Six years on, Eryani said, the mission has failed to deliver any tangible results. 'Not militarily, not economically, not even humanitarian-wise,' he said. 'The developments on the ground have outpaced the mission.' He called on the Security Council to end what he described as 'international mismanagement' that undermines Yemen's sovereignty and hampers efforts to restore state institutions. Accusations of Bias and Inaction Eryani accused the UN mission of failing to uphold the core tenets of the Stockholm Agreement. While government forces redeployed as required, he said, the Houthis refused to comply and instead reinforced their military positions, smuggled in weapons and fighters, and continued rocket launches from within the city. Despite these violations, the minister said, UNMHA 'remained silent.' He also criticized the mission for becoming a 'political shield' for the Houthis, enabling the group to consolidate military and economic control across western Yemen. Eryani claimed that since late 2018, UNMHA has failed to monitor or verify redeployment, enforce the ceasefire, or reduce the visible armed presence in Hodeidah. Hostage to Houthi Restrictions In 2022, the Yemeni government formally requested that the UN relocate the mission's headquarters to a neutral location, citing increasing Houthi restrictions. Eryani said the Redeployment Coordination Committee - set up under the agreement -has not convened since 2020, and that the Houthis continue to occupy UNMHA offices and housing facilities, turning the mission staff into 'hostages to the group's pressure and extortion.' The minister also criticized the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), saying it failed to prevent weapons smuggling through the ports or to reopen roads between Hodeidah's districts. He added that the Houthis have not transferred port revenues to the central bank for civil servant salaries as stipulated in the Stockholm Agreement. 'War Machine Financed Under UN Watch' Eryani accused the Houthis of using the ports to finance their war machine. Citing government estimates, he said the group collected more than $789 million in port revenues between May 2023 and June 2024 - none of which was used to pay salaries or improve public services. Instead, he claimed, the funds were directed toward military efforts and buying loyalty, exacerbating the suffering of local populations. He also charged that the UN mission ignored repeated Houthi violations, including missile tests from the ports and attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. 'The Houthis have turned Hodeidah into a safe haven for Iranian and Hezbollah experts, a hub for assembling drones and missiles, and a corridor for arms smuggling -all under the nose of the United Nations,' Eryani said. US Signals Support for Ending Mission In a recent Security Council session, the United States implicitly endorsed Yemen's position. Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea described the UN mission as 'paralyzed' and said it no longer reflects the situation on the ground. According to the Council's agenda, members will vote on Monday at 10 a.m. New York time on a draft resolution to extend UNMHA's mandate until January 28, 2026. Eryani urged the international community to take 'a firmer stance' and shut down the mission, arguing that it now poses an obstacle to peace efforts and prolongs the humanitarian crisis. 'The Yemenis are not the only ones paying the price for the mission's failure,' he said. 'So is the region - and the world.'

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, including several families, health officials say
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, including several families, health officials say

Arab News

time2 hours ago

  • Arab News

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, including several families, health officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes overnight and into Tuesday killed more than 90 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including dozens of women and children, health officials said. One strike in the northern Shati refugee camp killed a 68-year-old Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature, as well as a man and a woman and their six children who were sheltering in the same building, according to officials from Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City's Tel Al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children. A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man and a woman and their two children. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes. Gaza's Health Ministry said in a daily report Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded. It did not specify the total number of women and children among the dead. The Hamas politician killed in a strike early Tuesday, Mohammed Faraj Al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians, in 2006. Hamas won a majority in the vote, but relations with the main Fatah faction that had long led the Palestinian Authority unraveled and ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The legislative council has not formally convened since. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. But daily, it hits homes and shelters where people are living without warning or explanation of the target. The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release. Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Just over half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is led by medical professionals. Its count, based on daily reports from hospitals, is considered by the United Nations and other experts to be the most reliable. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 month ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's air and ground campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90 percent of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store