Aid group says worker killed by Israeli military in attack on Gaza HQ
A video shared by the Red Crescent on social media showed parts of the building on fire and filled with clouds of smoke, while aftermath pictures showed heavy damage to the building and several large bloodstains. In a statement, the aid agency named the killed worker as Omar Isleem and said it was "heartbroken" over his death. It said two other workers were injured, as well as a civilian who was trying to put out the fire. "This was not a mistake," the Red Crescent added. "We renew our call for accountability and for the protection of all humanitarian and medical personnel." The incident comes as warnings about the humanitarian situation in Gaza grow. Latest figures from the United Nations indicate that at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May.The majority have been killed by the Israeli military near Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites, the UN says. The GHF denies the UN's figure of at least 859 killed in the vicinity of its sites. Israel has accused Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid centres and says its forces do not intentionally open fire on civilians.
Meanwhile, Egyptian state media has reported that two lorries containing much-needed fuel are waiting to enter Gaza. Medics have been warning of shortages in vital medical facilities for weeks, after Israel began a months-long blockade of all aid and goods into Gaza. This has since been partially lifted, but humanitarian agencies have said more aid must be allowed to enter to Gaza to prevent famine and malnutrition worsening. The Hamas-run health ministry said 175 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition. Israel denies it is deliberately blocking aid flowing into Gaza and accuses the UN and other aid agencies of failing to deliver it.The IDF launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.More than 60,000 people have since been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry.
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The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Israeli strike kills journalists in Gaza City, worsening the death toll for the media
Israel's military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him, another network journalist and at least six other people, all of whom were sheltering outside the Gaza City Hospital complex. Officials at Shifa Hospital said those killed included Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qureiqa. The strike also killed four other journalists and two other people, hospital administrative director Rami Mohanna told The Associated Press. The strike also damaged the entrance to the hospital complex's emergency building. Both Israel and hospital officials in Gaza City confirmed the deaths, which press advocates described as retribution against those documenting the war in Gaza. Israel's military later Sunday described al-Sharif as the leader of a Hamas cell — an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif had previously dismissed as baseless. The incident marked the first time during the war that Israel's military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike. It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In a July 24 video, Israel's army spokesperson Avichay Adraee attacked Al Jazeera and accused al-Sharif of being part of Hamas' military wing. Al Jazeera called the strike 'targeted assassination' and accused Israeli officials of incitement, connecting al-Sharif's death to the allegations that both the network and correspondent had denied. 'Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people,' the Qatari network said in a statement. International media have been mostly barred from entering Gaza throughout the war and Al Jazeera is among the few outlets still fielding a big team of reporters inside Gaza, chronicling daily life amid airstrikes, hunger and the rubble of destroyed neighborhoods. The network has suffered heavy losses during the war, including 27-year-old correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, killed last summer, and freelancer Hossam Shabat, killed in an Israeli airstrike in March. Like al-Sharif, Shabat was among the six that Israel accused of being members of militant groups last October. Hundreds of people, including many journalists, gathered Monday to mourn al-Sharif, Qureiqa and their colleagues. The bodies lay wrapped in white sheets at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital complex. Ahed Ferwana of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said reporters were being deliberately targeted and urged the international community to act. Al-Sharif reported a nearby bombardment minutes before his death. In a social media post that Al Jazeera said was written to be posted in case of his death, he bemoaned the devastation and destruction that war had wrought and bid farewell to his wife, son and daughter. 'I never hesitated for a single day to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification,' the 28-year-old wrote. The journalists are the latest to be killed in what observers have called the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern times. The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday that at least 186 have been killed in Gaza and Brown University's Watson Institute in April said the war was 'quite simply, the worst ever conflict for reporters.' Al-Sharif began reporting for Al Jazeera a few days after war broke out. He was known for reporting on Israel's bombardment in northern Gaza, and later for the starvation gripping much of the territory's population. Qureiqa, a 33-year-old Gaza City native, is survived by two children. Both journalists were separated from their families for months earlier in the war. When they managed to reunite during the ceasefire earlier this year, their children appeared unable to recognize them, according to video footage they posted at the time. In a July broadcast al-Sharif cried on air as woman behind him collapsed from hunger. 'I am taking about slow death of those people,' he said at the time. Al Jazeera is blocked in Israel and soldiers raided its offices in the occupied West Bank last year, ordering them closed. Al-Sharif's death comes weeks after a U.N. expert and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel had targeted him with a smear campaign. Irene Khan, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, on July 31 said that the killings were 'part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth, obstruct the documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability.' The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday that it was appalled by the strike. 'Israel's pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,' Sara Qudah, the group's regional director, said in a statement. ___
BreakingNews.ie
14 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Priest in ‘serious but stable condition' following attack in Downpatrick
A Co Down priest remains in a 'serious but stable' condition in hospital after being subjected to a 'brutal attack' in his church on Sunday. Father John Murray was reportedly struck on the head at St Patrick's Church. Advertisement He was approached by a man who asked if he would hear his confession ahead of the Sunday morning service, and attacked as shocked parishioners arrived for mass. Father Murray had been due to retire later this week. Police have said the attack may be linked to the death of a man in Downpatrick. A 30-year-old man remains in police custody, being questioned on suspicion of murder after a man was found dead at an address in the Marian Park area at about 12pm on Sunday. Advertisement A prayer vigil was held at St Brigid's Church in the town on Sunday night. On Monday morning, the Downpatrick Family of Parishes said, 'Canon Murray continues to receive exceptional care. 'He is stable and comfortable.' They added that S t Patrick's Church and its grounds remained closed. Advertisement SDLP South Down MLA Colin McGrath described shock and disbelief in Downpatrick following the events of Sunday. 'First of all the community would want to have thoughts and prayers with the family of the deceased individual, and I know that that community in and around the Marian Park area will wrap around them and support them,' he told the BBC. 'Then the shocking nature and the graphic nature of the attack on Father Murray on what was supposed to be the commencement of his retirement, in a public manner and in daylight, exposes an awful lot of vulnerability in that scenario but also more widely, for clergy across Ireland, and other workers in the community, what can happen in the blink of an eye.'
The Independent
43 minutes ago
- The Independent
Priest in ‘serious but stable condition' following attack in Downpatrick
A Co Down priest remains in a 'serious but stable' condition in hospital after being subjected to a 'brutal attack' in his church on Sunday. Father John Murray was reportedly struck to the head at St Patrick's Church. He was approached by a man who asked if he would hear his confession ahead of the Sunday morning service, and attacked as shocked parishioners arrived for mass. Father Murray had been due to retire later this week. Police have said the attack may be linked to the death of a man in Downpatrick. A 30-year-old man remains in police custody being questioned on suspicion of murder after a man was found dead at an address in the Marian Park area at about 12pm on Sunday. A prayer vigil was held at St Brigid's Church in the town on Sunday night. On Monday morning, the Downpatrick Family of Parishes said: 'Canon Murray continues to receive exceptional care. 'He is stable and comfortable.' They added that St Patrick's Church and its grounds remained closed. SDLP South Down MLA Colin McGrath described shock and disbelief in Downpatrick following the events of Sunday. 'First of all the community would want to have thoughts and prayers with the family of the deceased individual, and I know that that community in and around the Marian Park area will wrap around them and support them,' he told the BBC. 'Then the shocking nature and the graphic nature of the attack on Father Murray on what was supposed to be the commencement of his retirement, in a public manner and in daylight, exposes an awful lot of vulnerability in that scenario but also more widely, for clergy across Ireland, and other workers in the community, what can happen in the blink of an eye.'
