At least three dead including 3.5- month-old baby after horror blaze breaks out at 26-story apartment block in Turkey
The inferno tore through a 26-story building after starting on the fourth floor at around 10pm on Saturday, local media reported.
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20 people were hospitalised, with one in critical condition, according to Anadolu Agency.
They also reported that firefighters took about four hours to put out the raging blaze.
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The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
At least 20 killed in crush at Gaza aid point – Middle East crisis live
Update: Date: 2025-07-16T08:01:29.000Z Title: GHF claims 20 people killed in Khan Younis near aid distribution site Content: At least 20 people were killed in an incident in Gaza's Khan Younis on Wednesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has claimed. The Israeli-backed logistics group, which uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid supplies into Gaza, claimed that 19 victims were trampled and one was stabbed during what it described as a 'chaotic and dangerous surge, driven by agitators in the crowd'. Palestinian heath officials told Reuters at least 20 people had died of suffocation at the site. One medic said lots of people had been crammed into a small space and had been crushed. This comes as Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 22 others, including 11 children, according to hospital officials, the Associated Press (AP) reports. The GHF, which began distributing food packages in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on humanitarian supplies, has previously rejected UN criticism, accusing it of spreading misinformation. The UN has called the GHF's model 'inherently unsafe' and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards. Update: Date: 2025-07-16T07:59:57.000Z Title: Opening summary Content: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has claimed at least 20 people were killed in an incident in Gaza's Khan Younis on Wednesday. The Israeli-backed logistics group, which uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid supplies into Gaza, claimed that 19 victims were trampled and one was stabbed during what it described as a 'chaotic and dangerous surge, driven by agitators in the crowd'. Palestinian heath officials told Reuters at least 20 people had died of suffocation at the site. One medic said lots of people had been crammed into a small space and had been crushed. The UN rights office said on Tuesday it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the GHF and convoys run by other relief groups, including the UN. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of GHF sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys. Malnutrition rates among children in the Gaza Strip have doubled since Israel sharply restricted the entry of food in March, the UN said on Tuesday. New Israeli strikes killed more than 90 Palestinians, including dozens of women and children, according to health officials. Hunger has been rising among Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians since Israel broke a ceasefire in March to resume the war and banned all food and other supplies from entering Gaza, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. It slightly eased the blockade in late May, allowing in a trickle of aid. Unrwa, the main UN agency caring for Palestinians in Gaza, said it had screened nearly 16,000 children under age 5 at its clinics in June and found 10.2% of them were acutely malnourished. By comparison, in March, 5.5% of the nearly 15,000 children it screened were malnourished. In other developments: US president Donald Trump will meet with Qatar's prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Wednesday to discuss negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire deal. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since 6 July, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the conflict. 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. Israel has launched bombing raids against two of its neighbours, hitting government forces in southern Syria and what it said were Hezbollah targets in eastern Lebanon. In Syria, the strikes hit forces loyal to the transitional government that had been sent south to the province of Sweida, which is near Israel. Syrian state media also reported Israeli strikes on Tuesday in the nearby province of Deraa. The EU will start the process of reinstating UN sanctions on Iran from 29 August if Tehran has made no progress by then on containing its nuclear programme, the bloc has announced. Speaking at a meeting of his EU counterparts, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said: 'France and its partners are … justified in reapplying global embargos on arms, banks and nuclear equipment that were lifted 10 years ago. Without a firm, tangible and verifiable commitment from Iran, we will do so by the end of August at the latest.' Arms dealers affiliated with Houthi militants in Yemen are using X and Meta platforms to traffic weapons – some US-made – in apparent violation of the social media firms' policies, a report has revealed. The report by the Washington DC-based Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which focuses on accountability for big tech, found Houthi-affiliated arms dealers have been openly operating commercial weapon stores for months, and in some cases years, on both platforms. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday he had asked Israel to 'aggressively investigate' the killing of US citizen Sayfollah Musallet who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, describing it as a 'criminal and terrorist act.' Relatives of Musallet are calling for the Trump administration to arrest and prosecute those responsible for his killing. The 20-year-old from Tampa was visiting his family in an area near Ramallah, and died last week trying to protect their farm from invaders, they said at an emotional press conference in Florida on Monday afternoon. 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. Explosive-laden drones hit three oilfields in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdistan region early Wednesday, Kurdish forces said, a day after a similar attack shut operations at a US-run field. In the past few weeks, Iraq and particularly the Kurdistan region have seen a spate of unclaimed drone and rocket attacks. Wednesday's attacks have raised the number of oilfield hit in Kurdistan to five within a week.
Sky News
20 minutes ago
- Sky News
At least 19 killed in crowd crush near distribution site, says Israel-backed aid group
At least 20 people have been killed in an incident in Khan Younis, according to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel and US-backed organisation. In a statement, it said 19 people were trampled and one was stabbed in a surge "driven by agitators in the crowd". "We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd - armed and affiliated with Hamas - deliberately fomented the unrest," it said. "For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated. An American worker was also threatened with a firearm by a member of the crowd during the incident." The statement is unusual for the GHF, as the controversial group, which has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups, rarely acknowledges trouble at its distribution sites. The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory. It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates. Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid. The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner. It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants. After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the UN has called the GHF's aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards. In response, a GHF spokesperson said: "The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys." The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups - which refuse to work with the GHF - had "nearly all of their aid looted" by Hamas or criminal gangs. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Houthi-linked dealers sell arms on X and WhatsApp, report says
Arms dealers affiliated with Houthi militants in Yemen are using X and Meta platforms to traffic weapons – some US-made – in apparent violation of the social media firms' policies, a report has revealed. The Houthis, an Iran-backed group of rebels who have controlled swathes of Yemen since 2014, are designated as a terrorist organisation by the US, Canada and other countries. The report by the Washington DC-based Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which focuses on accountability for big tech, found Houthi-affiliated arms dealers have been openly operating commercial weapon stores for months, and in some cases years, on both platforms. Meta, which owns WhatsApp, and X are scaling back their content moderation policies at a moment when experts say disinformation and illicit trafficking is on the rise. The 130 Yemen-based X accounts and 67 WhatsApp business accounts identified by TTP offered high-powered rifles, grenade launchers and other military equipment for sale. Many of the arms dealers sold what appeared to be US-produced weapons, some emblazoned with 'Property of US Govt', as well as other western military weapons that were stamped with 'Nato'. The report does not specify the arms dealers' customers but given the high price of the weapons, with some rifles being sold for as much as $10,000 (£7,500), it is likely buyers could be other militants. X and Meta prohibit arms dealing on their platforms. Many of the arms dealers were subscribers to X Premium and users of WhatsApp Business – services that are supposed to be moderated. Katie Paul, the director of TTP, said: 'X and WhatsApp both have policies against weapons sales but they are allowing arms traders linked to a US-designated terrorist group to traffic weapons on their platforms. In some cases these companies may be profiting off violations of their own policies that create risks for US national security.' More than half of the X accounts listed their location as Sana'a, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, and many regularly shared pro-Houthi content. Others sold weapons in containers marked with the Houthi logo, which states 'God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse be upon the Jews, victory to Islam'. Several accounts identified by TTP were subscribed to X Premium, which allowed them to post extended videos. One account featured an 'unboxing' video of an American M249 SAW, a light machine gun used by the US military. Other accounts used the tip feature, which allows X users to directly send donations to them. X prohibits the use of its platforms by individuals who 'promote [terrorist organisations'] illicit activities', and says it does not allow terrorist groups to use its premium services. Adverts appeared in the comments of posts selling weapons, suggesting X could be making money off the posts. In one instance, X placed an ad for a company selling Tesla accessories under a post where an arms dealer offered an 'all-American' Glock 17 handgun. After Elon Musk bought X in 2022, he laid off about 80% of the company's trust and safety team, which was dedicated to content moderation. A previous report by TTP found that more than 200 accounts affiliated with terrorist and other sanctioned groups had blue ticks and were subscribed to X Premium. A few of the Houthi-linked arms dealers interacted with Musk himself on X. When Musk posted a video of himself firing a Barret .50-caliber sniper rifle in September 2023, three arms dealers replied to him advertising their own guns, which included two AR-15s. X declined to comment on the findings of TTP's investigation when approached by the Guardian. Many of the arms dealers also used WhatsApp business accounts with the 'catalogue' feature, which allows a slideshow of products to be displayed, to showcase a catalogue of weapons. One such account offered dozens of guns, including a Glock pistol wrapped in a custom skin showing images of the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and an American colonial-era soldier with the words 'Preserve, Protect, Defend' written on it. WhatsApp says it reviews business account profiles and checks images before they are added to catalogues. It is unclear why the review process missed the images and accounts, many of which clearly identify themselves as arms dealers and link to Yemeni bricks-and-mortar gun shops in their biographies. A spokesperson for WhatsApp said: 'If we identify or are made aware of US-designated terrorist organisations attempting to use our service, we will take appropriate action – including banning accounts – to comply with our legal obligations.' WhatsApp then banned two accounts sent by the Guardian. It clarified that it did not make profit from the type of accounts in question, but it did not otherwise reply to questions as to how the company's review processes initially missed the arms dealers' accounts. Meta has laid off thousands of employees in the last two years, many dedicated to safety. In January, Meta vowed to roll back content moderation, in what seemed to be an acknowledgment of Donald Trump's complaints of censorship on social media platforms. TTP found that the vast majority of the Houthi-affiliated arms dealers' accounts on X and WhatsApp were created after the layoffs at both companies. Paul said: 'Both Meta and X have the capital, the tools and the human resources to address this problem, but they're not doing so.' Besides content moderation issues, TTP's findings also raised questions about global arms smuggling. Taimur Khan, the head of Gulf regional operations at Conflict Armament Research, said tracing exactly how US-made weapons got to Houthi-held territory was difficult and there were several possible explanations. Some of the weapons, particularly the American M4 rifles, were possibly from stocks supplied to Yemeni government forces before 2014 that were seized by the Houthis when they launched their insurgency. Khan said other US weapons being sold by the accounts appeared 'to have been diverted more recently' and were made for civilian customers rather than soldiers. Those weapons could have been trafficked from the US to Yemen through the Gulf and elsewhere in the region or by other means, he added. Non-American weapons are also smuggled into Yemen along other regional trafficking routes. They are also supplied directly to the Houthis via their allies, such as Iran. Earlier this year, the US imposed sanctions on a Houthi arms smuggling network that was accused of procuring 'tens of millions of dollars'' worth of Russian weapons with the assistance of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. 'The arms that are being advertised in Houthi-controlled areas by weapon dealers, who are at some level linked to the Houthis, reflect all the different vectors of supply in Yemen,' Khan said.
