Erdogan has 'no interest' in re-election, and doctor describes dire straits for Gaza's children
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The National
a few seconds ago
- The National
Israel faces resistance from armed factions in Gaza city
Israeli troops preparing to seize Gaza city have been fired on by armed groups, as their offensive left dozens more Palestinians dead across the strip. The Israeli army is hunting explosives and dismantling what it says is 'terrorist infrastructure' in the Al Zeitoun area of Gaza city. Residents say an air assault has already flattened the neighbourhood, in what they fear is the first stage of Israel's plan to capture the city. Several armed factions have claimed attacks on Israeli troops in the area. The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said they fired a shell at a Merkava main battle tank in Al Zeitoun. On Friday the Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades – a coalition of militants who took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023 – said they 'bombed a gathering' of Israeli troops and vehicles in the area. Statements from the groups were carried by friendly media outlets. The Israeli army said it came under fire from an anti-tank missile, with no injuries reported. 'The troops swiftly located and eliminated the terrorists,' it said on Friday, without specifying when that incident took place. As part of their operations in Al Zeitoun, Israeli troops 'struck and dismantled a booby-trapped structure that stored weapons', the military said. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans last week to capture the Gaza city as a first step towards taking control of the whole territory. The move has been widely condemned amid fears the dire conditions in the strip will worsen further. Gaza health officials raised the war's death toll to 61,827 on Friday, after 51 bodies were brought to hospitals in the previous 24 hours. They said one child died of malnutrition in the same period. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said six people were killed while waiting to receive aid. The UN human rights office said on Friday that at least 1,760 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May, a jump of several hundred since its last published figure in early August. Israel denies a campaign to kill civilians, saying the starvation and chaos at food banks are the fault of Hamas and UN aid workers. 'All of this could have been prevented easily if [aid agency] UNRWA and other humanitarian organisations were allowed to bring in the minimum every day, and that is 500 to 600 trucks of basics,' said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma. 'We're not asking for the moon here.' Gaza's civil defence agency says Israeli forces have destroyed more than 300 homes in Al Zeitoun neighbourhood in just three days. According to journalist Bilal Al Nabih, the Israeli army has attacked the area at least five times since the war escalated in March, but the current operation is by far the most destructive. Israel's army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said on Thursday that the military was 'completing preparations' for the new offensive in Gaza. 'The campaign will end when we have ensured our security and our future,' he said.
The National
17 minutes ago
- The National
At least 1,760 killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May, says UN
Palestinian President Abbas stresses need to bring Gaza war to an end Marwan Barghouti seen in video as Israeli minister Ben Gvir threatens him Israeli army carries out raids across occupied West Bank 'No life' for Lebanon if government confronts us, Hezbollah chief warns Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed and UK PM Starmer discuss Gaza At least 61,776 Palestinians killed and 154,906 wounded in Gaza since war began
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Belgium's foreign minister urges Palestine recognition 'before there is nothing left'
Belgium's foreign minister told parliament that Belgium must quickly recognise the state of Palestine. Maxime Prevot spoke at an emergency debate on Thursday to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He expressed his concerns that no decision on recognition had been taken yet, despite an agreement to do so after the coalition government was formed in February. 'If Belgium does not make progress towards official recognition in September, there will soon be nothing left to recognise,' he said. 'Moreover, Belgium will lose all credibility in speaking about a two-state solution.' He also called for economic sanctions on Israel, and for Israeli far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to be on a 'blacklist' in Belgium that would forbid them from entering. The UK and Norway, alongside three other countries, sanctioned the two Israeli ministers in June. 'History shows that the introduction of targeted sanctions can be an effective lever for moving situations marked by serious violence towards a dynamic of peace and sustainable conflict resolution,' he said. 'We must therefore raise our tone and be firmer, and deploy an assumed and progressive strategy of sanctions.' The debate broke the summer break time, and Mr Prevot urged for a plan to recognise Palestine in time for the UN General Assembly in September, alongside France. Prime Minister Bart De Wever, of the right wing Flemish party N-VA, did not call a cabinet meeting about the deteriorating situation in Gaza, frustrating his coalition partners, including Mr Prevot's centrist party, Les Engages. Les Engages, alongside CD&V and Vooruit, support a rapid recognition of Palestine, whereas liberal MR and the right wing N-VA oppose it, arguing that the conditions to do so have not been met, and that sanctions would be ineffective without US backing. Mr De Wever is currently on holiday in South Africa and no decision on the issue is expected to be made yet. Mr Prevot pledged to mobilise allies within the coalition to gain support. 'This is not an ideological debate, it is about respecting the law,' Mr Prevot said, pledging to mobilise allies within the coalition. 'The government must not miss its appointment with history, with our conscience, and with our moral and legal obligations,' he said. 'It is essential that we continue to act to ensure international justice and maintain Belgium's reputation as a defender of human rights.' He feared that failure to do so would 'isolate' Belgium alongside a 'minority' of other European Union countries. 'We would join the minority of EU member states (and countries around the world) that have not recognised Palestine, isolating us a little more from others and sinking us into our contradictions,' he said. He rejected accusations that recognising Palestine was rewarding Hamas. 'Recognition is a 'bonus' for the Palestinain Authority, not for Hamas. It strengthens the peaceful struggle. 'The recognition of a state is neither a reward nor a weapon,' he said. Mr Prevot announced he had also sent the draft of a Royal Decree, that would tighten Belgium's existing ban on arms sales to Israel and Palestine, which came into effect in 2009. The draft decree would prohibit arms being shipped to Israel or Palestine to cross Belgian airspace. 'will thus even cover the overflight of our airspace, and therefore a fortiori any transit,' he said. Yet Mr Prevot feared that these measures, and others taken in the government's first six months, would be undermined by a failure to recognise. Nearly 800 Belgian nationals and recognised refugees in Gaza had been evacuated by Belgium, he said, praising the diplomats who co-ordinated the 'extremely complicated' process. 'I want to take my hat off to all our diplomats and other personnel mobilised,' he said. 'One must imagine the chaotic situation on the ground in order to find the people concerned in a war zone, to ensure their correct identity, to carry out the required analyses, to identify the routes of exfiltration, to secure these corridors, to organise transport and repatriation without further endangerment,' he said.
