Gaza civil defence says 17 killed in Israel strikes
The dead included six civilians who had been waiting for humanitarian aid, said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
'The Israeli occupation forces are intensifying their raids in the Zeitun area' of Gaza City, he said.
The Israeli military has yet to comment.
'For the fourth consecutive day, the area has been subject to a military operation, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries,' said Bassal.
Arab nations denounce Netanyahu remarks on 'Greater Israel'
'Since dawn today, we have received 28 calls from families and residents of this neighbourhood, some of whose children have been killed.
'Many people cannot leave these areas due to artillery fire,' the spokesperson added.
Maram Kashko, a resident of Zeitun, said the strikes had increased over the past four days.
'My nephew, his wife and their children were killed in a bombardment,' he told AFP.
An AFP videographer said their bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City and buried shortly afterwards at the Sayyid Hashim cemetery.
On Wednesday, the head of the Israeli military said he had approved a new plan for operations in the Gaza Strip aimed at freeing all hostages and defeating Hamas.
The military intends to take control of Gaza City and neighbouring refugee camps, some of the most densely populated areas in the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by more than 22 months of war.
Over the past three days, Zeitun has been the target of repeated air strikes, according to multiple sources, including the military.
Adding to the dire humanitarian situation, Gaza has been experiencing a spell of extreme heat, which is particularly difficult for displaced residents living in tents and makeshift shelters.
'The heat is unbearable. We live in a nylon tent – it's like an oven. We cannot stay inside during the day, there is no ventilation,' said Umm Khaled Abu Jazar, 40, displaced in the Al-Mawasi camp.
'My children have developed skin rashes. Even the water we drink is hot from the sun. There is nothing to cool us down. The heat only adds to our daily suffering,' the mother of five told AFP.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Global plastic pollution treaty talks collapse over lack of consensus
Five previous rounds over the past two and a half years failed to seal an agreement on dealing with plastic pollution Photo: JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP Talks aimed at striking a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution fell apart Friday as countries failed to find consensus on how the world should tackle the ever-growing scourge. Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground. A large bloc wants bold action such as curbing plastic production, while a smaller clutch of oil-producing states want to focus more narrowly on waste management. The stalemate was a resounding failure for the environment and for international diplomacy at a time when its frailties are in the spotlight. Delegates speak after talks on a global treaty on combating plastic pollution were extended an extra day in Geneva Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP Countries voiced anger and despair as the talks unravelled, but said they wanted future negotiations -- despite six rounds of talks over three years now having failed to find agreement. "We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently," said Cuba. Colombia added: "The negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement." Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific small island developing states, said: "For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture." Read More: Clock ticks down on plastic pollution treaty The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the European Union, Britain and Canada, and many African and Latin American countries, wanted to see language on reducing plastic production and the phasing out of toxic chemicals used in plastics. The cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group -- including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, and Malaysia -- want a much narrower remit. These countries railed against the negotiations being based on the entire life-cycle of plastic: from the petroleum-derived substance right through to waste. "Our views were not reflected... without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track," said Kuwait. Bahrain said it wanted a treaty that "does not penalise developing countries for exploiting their own resources". France's Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said: "I am disappointed, and I am angry," blaming a handful of countries, "guided by short-term financial interests", for blocking an ambitious treaty. "Oil-producing countries and their allies have chosen to look the other way," she said. The talks in Geneva -- called after the collapse of the fifth and supposedly final round of talks in South Korea late last year -- opened on August 5. With countries far apart, Vayas produced two different draft texts on Wednesday and early Friday. The first was immediately shredded by countries, but while the second gained some traction, by sunrise, the game was up. Talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso said the session had merely been adjourned rather than ended. He told AFP that countries and the secretariat "will be working to try to find a date and also a place" for resuming the talks. The negotiations were hosted by the UN Environment Programme. UNEP chief Inger Andersen told AFP that the Geneva talks had fleshed out the deeper details of where countries' red lines were. "They've exchanged on these red lines amongst one another -- that's a very important step," she said. However, environmental NGOs warned that without radically changing the process to better reflect the majority view, future talks would hit the same dead end -- while plastic garbage would continue choking the environment. The Center for International Environmental Law's David Azoulay said the talks had been an "abject failure" because some countries were out to "block any attempt at advancing a viable treaty". "We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result," said Greenpeace's delegation head Graham Forbes, blaming "fossil fuel interests" and "a handful of bad actors" for exploiting the consensus-based process to skewer meaningful action. The World Wide Fund for Nature said the talks exposed how consensus decision-making "had now "outplayed its role in international environmental negotiations". More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled. Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter. The plastic pollution problem is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. On current trends, annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics will nearly triple by 2060 to 1.2 billion tonnes, while waste will exceed one billion tonnes, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Taliban mark fourth year in power in Afghanistan, now officially recognised
KABUL: Afghanistan's Taliban authorities marked the fourth anniversary of their takeover on Friday, buoyed by Russia's first official recognition of their government, a step they hope other countries will follow. Parades were planned in several cities, including in central Kabul, where helicopters were set to drop flowers and the white-and-black flags of the Taliban's 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' fluttered across the city to mark their capture of the capital on August 15, 2021. Taliban members gathered on Thursday night at a square near the shuttered US embassy – seat of their enemy during their 20-year insurgency – waving flags and setting off fireworks, an AFP journalist said. The military parade held last year with much fanfare at the Bagram airbase, once the linchpin for US-led operations, was cancelled this year, without public explanation. The Taliban government remains largely isolated on the global stage over restrictions imposed under their severe interpretation of Islamic law, targeting women in particular. The International Criminal Court issued in July arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity over the persecution of women and girls, who are banned from most education and work, as well as parks, gyms and travelling without a male guardian. But the authorities scored a victory in early July when Russia became the first country to officially recognise their administration. Kabul also enjoys close ties, despite lacking official recognition, with countries including Central Asian states, China and the United Arab Emirates. On the Western front, the Taliban government reported talks in Kabul with officials from Norway, Britain and the United States, among others. Taliban celebrate 3 years since Afghanistan takeover with military show The authorities face almost no internal opposition, though steep challenges stem from economic fragility, international aid cuts and the influx of four million Afghans expelled from neighbouring countries. Independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday called on the international community not to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities and to reject their 'violent and authoritarian rule'. 'Operating without legitimacy, the Taliban enforces an institutionalised system of gender oppression, crushes dissent, exacts reprisals, and muzzles independent media while showing outright contempt for human rights, equality and non-discrimination,' the experts said in a statement. AFP
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Ukraine targets Russian oil refinery, apartment block
KYIV: Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil refinery and an apartment block in an overnight attack just hours before US President Donald Trump hosts his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a high-stakes summit in Alaska. Kyiv has targeted Russia's oil depots and refineries in long-range drone attacks in what it calls retaliatory strikes for Moscow's nightly barrages of Ukrainian cities and its energy grid. The Ukrainian military said Friday it hit a large oil refinery in the central Russian city of Syzran, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) behind the front line. 'The Syzran oil refinery in the Samara region of Russia, one of the largest in the Rosneft system, was hit,' Ukraine's general staff said, referring to the network of facilities owned by Russian state-run energy giant Rosneft. It said the facility produced aviation fuel and supplied the Russian army. Unverified images on social media showed multiple fires and grey smoke billowing from the site at dawn on Friday. Ukraine's drone attack kills three, targets Moscow, Russia says A separate Ukrainian drone strike on an apartment block in the Russian border region of Kursk killed one person and wounded 10 others, local Russian officials said. 'Unfortunately, a 45-year-old woman died on the spot,' Governor Alexander Khinshtein said in a video on Telegram, standing in front of a blown-out window. Russian attacks also continued, with Ukrainian officials in the frontline Kharkiv and Donetsk regions reporting six civilians killed in strikes over the last 24 hours. Ukraine has previously vowed to step-up its long-range strikes against Russia as Moscow launched record numbers of missiles and drones at Ukraine in June and July. The attack comes as Putin and Trump are to meet on Friday in Alaska with Trump pushing for an end to the Ukraine war, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion. Russia has advanced on the ground ahead of the talks and Trump has publicly mooted the idea of a territorial swap between the warring sides. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the Alaska summit, has ruled that out. Russia's army said Ukraine fired 53 drones overnight, while Ukraine's air force said Moscow launched 97. AFP
