Fires light up Khan Younis sky as hundreds killed in Israeli airstrike
Fires lit up across Khan Younis in Palestine in the early hours of Tuesday, 18 March, as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 330 Palestinians across Gaza in the deadliest wave of attacks since a ceasefire deal was reached in January, according to health officials in the Hamas-run Strip.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the airstrikes after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate an extension of the ceasefire deal reached on 19 January.
The Israeli military said in a statement: 'This preemptive offensive will continue as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes.'
Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement that 'Netanyahu's decision to resume war is a decision to sacrifice the occupation's prisoners and impose a death sentence on them'.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Israeli army admits to Gaza strike after BBC Verify investigation
The Israeli military has admitted to BBC Verify that it conducted a previously unacknowledged strike on the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza, which reportedly killed at least one Palestinian and injured 30 strike took place on Sunday - hours after 31 Palestinians were killed in an incident near a new aid distribution centre in the city of Rafah, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence reviewing footage purporting to show the incident near the aid distribution centre, BBC Verify identified a separate strike in the nearby city of Khan blast was not previously announced by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which regularly publishes operational updates online. It was only when approached by BBC Verify that the IDF admitted it had carried out an artillery strike and said the incident was the result of "technical and operational errors".They said troops had fired towards a "target" but the artillery had "deviated" and "wrongfully hit the Mawasi area" - a coastal strip of Khan Younis. The IDF did not provide evidence for these IDF rarely acknowledges such "errors". A BBC Verify analysis of statements on the IDF's official Telegram account could only find four previous instances of it admitting to making a "mistake", "technical" or "operational" error relating to the war in Gaza since it began in October footage we reviewed from the Khan Younis blast first began to emerge late on Sunday evening. It showed bloodied bodies surrounded by dust clouds in an area where Palestinians were living in tents. Women and children could be seen running and screaming as they watched injured people carried away. The Israeli strike hit an area where a number of displaced Palestinians had been sheltering. The UN has estimated that 90% of the strip's population of 2.1 million people have been forced to flee their arrived on the scene to collect the injured shortly after the incident. BBC Verify identified a number of the same injured Palestinians in both the footage from the scene and later images from the hospital where they were Palestinian was killed and 30 others were injured by the strike, according to the Kuwaiti Field footage was initially falsely linked to killings near a controversial new aid distribution site in BBC Verify geolocated the footage to a location in Khan Younis - 4.5km (2.8 miles) away from the distribution Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said "Israeli gunfire" had killed 31 Palestinians near the aid distribution centre. The Israeli army at first said it did not fire on Palestinians near the site, but a military source later told BBC Verify that troops had fired warning shots. We used the position of the sun to ascertain that the footage was filmed in the evening, shortly before sunset. A local journalist who filmed footage of the scene also told BBC Verify that the incident occurred around 19:00 local time on Sunday - hours after the killings near the aid IDF statement did not offer a figure for those killed in the Khan Younis blast and said that "the incident is under review".The footage showing the strike has been at the heart of a dispute between the BBC and the White Monday, BBC Verify reviewed the footage and debunked claims that it was connected to the killings near the distribution centre in debunk post was then picked up by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who wrongly claimed that it showed the BBC had retracted its coverage of the aid centre a statement, the BBC said her comments were "misleading", adding that she had been "conflating" the two stories."We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism," the BBC statement launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken least 54,607 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,335 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
The National
an hour ago
- The National
SNP activists reveal HQ silenced Reform strategy concerns
Davy Russell had won the by-election for Scottish Labour, becoming the party's 23rd MSP with 31.5% of the total vote. The SNP were second, with their candidate Katy Loudon picking up 29.4% of the vote, while Reform UK's Ross Lambie was a close third with 26.2%. The SNP had been the bookies' favourites to retain the seat, which was won by the late Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie in the 2021 elections, and the result was a shock for campaigners and leadership alike. Just after the results were announced, an SNP source told The National it was "time to hit the independence button," and since, other activists reacted to the news. READ MORE: What the Hamilton by-election tells us about SNP chances for 2026 One member who was regularly on the doors said the campaign shift in the last two weeks, from highlighting Labour failures to focussing on Reform UK, "doesn't look like the smartest move in hindsight". Campaigners and elected representatives in the party raised the issue with the campaign team, the activist revealed, adding: "It felt like HQ were not receptive to that". Another echoed these claims, telling The National activists were "publicly shut down" for questioning the strategy. They said: "I was deeply sceptical of the whole "two-horse race between us and Reform" narrative when it was being first pushed. I wasn't alone. Several of us felt the same way. "At one point, a well known activist was publicly shut down by the campaign management team for merely questioning the strategy. "Throughout the campaign, it felt like if you weren't a paid staffer, your opinion meant nothing. That needs to change, in my view. Especially since this time, they were clearly very wrong." "In my view, the real issue was the campaign's shift in focus toward Reform in the final two weeks," an activist from Glasgow tells me. "Early on, when we concentrated on holding Labour to account -particularly by highlighting the failures of the Labour-run South Lanarkshire Council – we saw much more enthusiasm on the doorstep. "Dropping the focus on local issues like school bus cuts and garden waste charges in favour of putting Farage front and centre on our leaflets and comms doesn't look like the smartest move in hindsight." They added: "I'm not entirely convinced that going nuclear on independence now is the right approach." Another agreed, saying the party didn't "need to have a knee jerk reaction to it". "A definite 'back to the drawing board' needed but hinging the outcome of one by-election result on the future of Scotland isn't practical. Independence does need to be the focus," they argued. Several others shared the sentiment, but others called on leadership to "put independence at the centre of what we do". One SNP candidate said: "I can't stand 'vote X to stop X' as a message no matter who is using it. It was a big mistake for us to talk up Reform rather than hammering Labour on their dreadful record in government and betrayal of their voters. "Every SNP campaign needs to put independence at the centre of what we do. We need to make it clear that we are forced into mitigating Westminster policies and are opposed to the managed decline of their austerity agenda." An SNP staffer shared that while they don't like being negative, their initial thoughts were "this was one of Labour's best-performing central belt seats in 2021" and "it would also be one of Reform's best performing seats in a Scottish Parliamentary election". They stressed that this was important, despite it being "undoubtedly discouraging", as it is "far too early to say the roof is caving in as I've seen some others suggest". They added: "That being said, I do think the party needs to be a bit more inspirational, and there needs to be a concerted effort by Scottish Government to materially deliver on past promises. 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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Netanyahu defends arming Palestinian clans accused of ties with jihadist groups
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has admitted arming clans in Gaza that he says are opposed to Hamas, following accusations that members of these criminal gangs allegedly looted humanitarian aid and have ties to jihadist groups. Netanyahu's comments came after Israeli media reports quoted defence sources as saying Netanyahu had authorised giving weapons to a clan reportedly led by a man known as Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity. Israel allegedly provided Abu Shabab's group, which calls itself the 'Anti-Terror Service', with Kalashnikov assault rifles, including weapons seized from Hamas. 'On the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What's wrong with that?' Netanyahu says in a short video he posted on social media. 'It only saves the lives of Israeli solders,' he continued – 'and publicising his only benefits Hamas.' On Thursday, following the allegations circulating in the media, Netanyahu's office said Israel 'was working to defeat Hamas through various means, based on the recommendations of all the heads of the security establishment'. The former defence minister and opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman repeated the allegations and alleged that Abu Shabab's group was affiliated with the Islamic State terror group. 'The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister,' Lieberman, who heads the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, told Kan Bet public radio. The basis for Lieberman's allegation of ties to IS was unclear. Abu Shabab's group has previously been accused of involvement in smuggling operations linked to Egyptian jihadi groups. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Yasser Abu Shabab's involvement with Israeli troops was confirmed last week through several videos circulating on social media in Gaza, showing him operating alongside Israeli soldiers in IDF-controlled areas. Last week, Abu Shabab's family issued a statement disowning him, accusing him of collaborating with Israeli forces. 'We, like everyone else, were surprised by video footage broadcast by the resistance showing the involvement of Yasser's groups within a dangerous security framework, reaching the point of operating within undercover units and supporting the Zionist occupation forces, who are brutally killing our people,' it said. 'We affirm that we will not accept Yasser's return to the family. We have no objection to those around him liquidating him immediately, and we tell you that his blood is forfeit.' On 28 May, Jonathan Whittall, the head of United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in occupied Palestinian territories, said: 'The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces, and they were allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza.' When contacted by the Guardian, Whittall confirmed he was 'referring to gangs such as Abu Shabab. On several posts on Facebook, reported by local media, Abu Shabab denied the allegations, saying he was taking the goods only to feed himself and his family. Strong criticism of the initiative has come from opposition parties in Israel. In a social media post on X, Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats in the Knesset, said: 'Netanyahu is a threat to Israel's national security. Instead of bringing about a deal … bringing the hostages home and providing security for Israeli citizens, he is creating a new ticking timebomb in Gaza'. Despite nationwide protests demanding a ceasefire deal and the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza after Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, Netanyahu's coalition remains solid, buoyed by the steadfast support of far-right parties. That unity, however, may soon be tested, after the ultra-Orthodox Shas party in Netanyahu's coalition announced it would support dissolving the Knesset. The Shas party's decision comes after no significant progress in advancing a law effectively exempting the ultra-Orthodox from the military draft. Israel has mandatory army service but for decades made an exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, also known as Haredi, who are allowed to continue full-time Torah study. But an alternative plan seeks to extend the duration of military service for conscripts and raise the age for reservists, while also urging an end to the customary exemptions granted to yeshiva students. Due to the continuing war in Gaza, the IDF is seeking yeshiva students must be drafted, as it urgently needs an additional 10,000 combat soldiers and about 3,000 soldiers for other roles. Meanwhile, Israeli jets continued to pound Gaza on Thursday and Friday. According to Gaza's health officials, at least 52 Palestinians have been killed in attacks in Gaza across the strip, as the UN says that the number of Gaza children facing acute malnutrition has soared since February, with more than 2,700 suffering from it. The US backed-Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Friday that all of its aid distribution sites in the enclave remained closed and a reopening date would be announced later, urging residents to stay away from these sites 'for their safety'. Work at the sites was halted in response to a series of deadly shootings by Israeli soldiers that on Tuesday killed 27 Palestinians and injured hundreds as they were waiting for food.
