Mohsen Mahdawi tells Al Jazeera why he refuses to be afraid
NewsFeed Mohsen Mahdawi tells Al Jazeera why he refuses to be afraid
'If you have love and if you are rooted in your beliefs, no fear can shake you.' Palestinian peace activist Mohsen Mahdawi recounted his arrest and imprisonment to Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey, explaining how he is able to keep up his work.
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Al Jazeera
21 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
US-backed GHF suspends Gaza aid for full day, names new evangelical leader
The United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will suspend aid distribution in the war-torn territory on Wednesday, a day after Israeli forces again opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers near a GHF distribution site, killing at least 27 and injuring more than 100. Israel's military also said that approach roads to the aid distribution centres will be 'considered combat zones' on Wednesday, and warned that people in Gaza should heed the GHF announcement to stay away. 'We confirm that travel is prohibited tomorrow on roads leading to the distribution centers … and entry to the distribution centers is strictly forbidden,' an Israeli military spokesperson said. In a post on social media, GHF said the temporary suspension was necessary to allow for 'renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work'. 'Due to the ongoing updates, entry to the distribution centre areas is slowly prohibited! Please do not go to the site and follow general instructions. Operations will resume on Thursday. Please continue to follow updates,' the group said. The temporary suspension of aid comes as more than 100 Palestinian people seeking aid have been reported killed by Israeli forces in the vicinity of GHF distribution centres since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27. The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanding an independent inquiry into the deaths and for 'perpetrators to be held accountable'. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said. The Israeli military has admitted it shot at aid seekers on Tuesday, but claimed that they opened fire when 'suspects' deviated from a stipulated route as a crowd of Palestinians was making its way to the GHF distribution site in Gaza. Israel's military said it is looking into the incident and the reports of casualties. On Tuesday, GHF named its new executive chairman as US evangelical Christian leader Reverend Dr Johnnie Moore. Moore, who was an evangelical adviser to the White House during the first term of United States President Donald Trump, said in a statement that GHF was 'demonstrating that it is possible to move vast quantities of food to people who need it most — safely, efficiently, and effectively'. The UN and aid agencies have refused to work with the GHF, accusing the group of lacking neutrality and of being part of Israel's militarisation of aid in Gaza. Israel has also been accused of 'weaponising' hunger in Gaza, which has been brought about by a months-long Israeli blockade on food, medicine, water and other basic essentials entering the war-torn territory. Moore's appointment is likely to add to concerns regarding GHF's operations in Gaza, given his support for the controversial proposal Trump floated in February for the US to take over Gaza, remove the Palestinian population, and focus on real estate development in the territory. After Trump proposed the idea, Moore posted video of Trump's remarks on X and wrote: 'The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future.' Responding on social media to UN chief Guterres's outrage following the killing of aid seekers in Gaza on Sunday, Moore said: 'Mr Secretary-General, it was a lie… spread by terrorists & you're still spreading it. The GHF's founding executive director, former US marine Jake Wood, resigned from his position before the Gaza operation began, questioning the organisation's 'impartiality' and 'independence'. Critics have accused GHF, which has not revealed where its funds come from, of facilitating the Israeli military's goal of depopulating northern Gaza as it has concentrated aid distribution in the southern part of the territory, forcing thousands of desperate people to make the perilous journey to its locations to receive assistance.
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Syria says Israeli attack on Deraa causes ‘significant' losses
Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned an Israeli strike on the Syrian province of Deraa, saying that it caused 'significant human and material losses', the state news agency SANA reports. The strike came after the Israeli military said that two projectiles had crossed from Syria towards Israel on Tuesday, and fell in open areas, though the Syrian Foreign Ministry said these were 'reports that have not been verified yet'. The ministry reiterated that Syria has not and would not pose a threat to any party in the region. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the projectiles. 'We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilise the region to achieve their own interests,' the ministry added. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible for the projectiles. 'We consider the president of Syria directly responsible for any threat and fire towards the State of Israel, and a full response will come soon,' Katz said. Syria and Israel have recently engaged in indirect talks to ease tensions, a significant development in relations between states that have been on opposite sides of the conflict in the Middle East for decades. Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named the Muhammad Deif Brigades, an apparent reference to Hamas's military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024. The statement from the group could not be independently verified. The Israeli army said it attacked southern Syria with artillery fire after the projectiles launched at Israel. Residents said that Israeli mortars were striking the Wadi Yarmouk area, west of Deraa province, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The area has witnessed increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli military incursions into nearby villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops. Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure. It has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and taken more territory in the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal in December, citing lingering concerns over the past of the country's new government. Around the same time that Israel reported the projectiles from Syria, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Israel's Jaffa with a ballistic missile. The group has been launching attacks against Israel in what they say is in support of Palestinians during the Israeli war in Gaza.
Qatar Tribune
5 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli attacks kill 27 aid seekers in Gaza, says health ministry
Agencies Gaza Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured 90 more as they opened fire close to an aid distribution site in Rafah, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The latest killings came early on Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, near an aid hub operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). It was the third such incident around the Rafah hub in as many days. Gaza's authorities report that more than 100 aid seekers have been killed since the United States- and Israel-backed GHF started operating in the enclave on May 27, with reports of violence, looting and chaos rife. The Israeli military said it had fired shots as 'a number of suspects' deviated from the regulated routes, on which a crowd was making its way to the GHF distribution complex. The 'suspects' were about 500 metres (approximately 550 yards) from the site, the military said in a statement on Telegram, adding that it was looking into reports of casualties. The death toll was confirmed by Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Hisham Mhanna, said 184 wounded people had been taken to its field hospital in Rafah, 19 of whom were found dead on arrival, and eight others died later of their wounds. Video verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking agency showed the arrival of dozens of injured people at the hospital. Gaza's Government Media Office accused Israel of 'a horrific, intentionally repeated crime', saying it has been luring starving Palestinians to the GHF centres – controversially opened following an 11-week total blockade to take over most aid distribution from the United Nations and other aid agencies – and then opening fire. It said Tuesday's death toll brought the number of aid seekers killed at aid sites in the Rafah governorate and the so-called Netzarim Corridor since GHF launched operations to 102, with 490 others injured. The United Nations on Monday demanded an independent investigation into the repeated mass shootings of aid seekers in Gaza. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' said Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.' 'We heard from witnesses that there was chaos,' said Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting about Tuesday's killings from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. 'The Israeli forces just opened fire randomly, shooting Palestinians … using quadcopters and live ammunition.' Health Ministry officials and doctors said most of the wounded have been hit in their chest and head, she added. The bloodshed, she continued, had unfolded in the same way as on the previous two days, amid ongoing chaos around the aid distribution centres. 'There's no process. There's no system,' she said. 'You just need to run first to be able to get the food.' Rasha al-Nahal told The Associated Press news agency that 'there was gunfire from all directions', and that she saw more than a dozen people dead and several wounded on the road. When she finally made it to the distribution hub, there was no aid, al-Nahal said, adding that Israeli troops 'fired at us as we were returning'. Another witness, Neima al-Aaraj, from Khan Younis, described the shooting as 'indiscriminate'. 'I won't return,' she said. 'Either way, we will die.' The Israeli military, in its statement on Telegram, said troops had fired warning shots as people deviated from 'designated access routes' and 'after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops'. However, it denied firing on civilians or blocking them from accessing aid. This account echoes statements around similar incidents on Sunday, when 31 aid seekers were reportedly killed, and on Monday, when three more were killed.
