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Al-Ahram Weekly
15 hours ago
- General
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 15 - War on Gaza
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 15 people in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, as the military expanded ground operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli strikes on the Al-Shati camp west of Gaza City killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 50. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the 21 months of conflict, and the Al-Shati camp, on the Mediterranean coast, hosts thousands of people displaced from the north in tents and makeshift shelters. Raed Bakr, 30, lives with his three children and said he heard "a massive explosion" at about 1:40 am on Tuesday (2240 GMT Monday), which blew their tent away. "I felt like I was in a nightmare. Fire, dust, smoke and body parts flying through the air, dirt everywhere. The children were screaming," Bakr, whose wife was killed last year, told AFP. With private cars off the road due to fuel shortages, neighbours carried some of the wounded on foot. "There were no vehicles or even donkey carts," he said. Muhannad Thabet, 33, who also lives at the Al-Shati camp, called it "a night of terror" due to "non-stop air strikes and explosions". He said he carried a six-year-old child to get treatment and said the nearby Shifa hospital -- once one of Gaza's largest -- was overwhelmed with wounded people. The civil defence agency's Bassal said two more people were killed in Deir el-Balah, where the Israeli army said it would expand its ground operations, having ordered the evacuation of much of the area. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were living in the area, which until now had been considered relatively safe. Some 30,000 were living in displacement sites. AFP footage from central Gaza showed a large plume of smoke rising over Deir el-Balah on Tuesday while a surveillance drone was heard buzzing overhead. OCHA said nearly 88 per cent of the entire Gaza Strip was now either under evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, forcing the population of 2.4 million into an ever-shrinking space. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
New Straits Times
16 hours ago
- General
- New Straits Times
15 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, over 50 injured
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 15 people in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, as the military expanded ground operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli strikes on the Al-Shati camp west of Gaza City killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 50. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during 21 months of conflict and the Al-Shati camp, on the Mediterranean coast, hosts thousands of people displaced from the north in tents and makeshift shelters. Raed Bakr, 30, lives with his three children and said he heard "a massive explosion" at about 1.40am on Tuesday (2240 GMT Monday), which blew their tent away. "I felt like I was in a nightmare. Fire, dust, smoke and body parts flying through the air, dirt everywhere. The children were screaming," Bakr, whose wife was killed last year, told AFP. With private cars off the road due to fuel shortages, neighbours carried some of the wounded on foot. "There were no vehicles or even donkey carts," he said. Muhannad Thabet, 33, who also lives at the Al-Shati camp, called it "a night of terror" due to "non-stop air strikes and explosions." He said he carried a six-year-old child to get treatment and said the nearby Shifa hospital – once one of Gaza's largest – was overwhelmed with wounded people. The civil defence agency's Bassal said two more people were killed in Deir el-Balah, where the Israeli army said it would expand its ground operations, having ordered the evacuation of much of the area. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were living in the area, which until now had been considered relatively safe. Some 30,000 were living in displacement sites. AFP footage from central Gaza showed a large plume of smoke rising over Deir el-Balah on Tuesday while a surveillance drone was heard buzzing overhead. OCHA said nearly 88 percent of the entire Gaza Strip was now either under evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, forcing the population of 2.4 million into an ever-shrinking space.--AFP
Observer
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Gaza reports 43 dead as truce talks deadlocked
GAZA: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip. But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit. Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said. Israel's military blamed a technical problem for that strike, saying it had been targeting a member of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad. "As a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target," a statement read. "The incident is under review." Reports of casualties were being examined, it added. Khaled Rayyan said that he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat. "Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble," he said. Another resident, Mahmud Al Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war. "What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough." Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign. The UN considers those figures reliable. UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached "critical levels", threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory. The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries". A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated an openness "to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement". Meanwhile, a Gaza-bound boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Sicily on Sunday, over a month after Israel detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel. The Handala, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left the port of Syracuse shortly after 12:00 pm, a journalist saw, carrying about fifteen activists. Several dozen people, some holding Palestinian flags and others wearing keffiyeh scarves, gathered at the port to cheer the boat's departure with cries of "Free Palestine". The former Norwegian trawler — loaded with medical supplies, food, children's equipment and medicine -- will sail for about a week in the Mediterranean, covering roughly 1,800 kilometres, in the hope of reaching Gaza's coast. In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid an impasse in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May. The boat will make a stop at Gallipoli, in southeastern Italy, where two members of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) are expected to join. The initiative comes six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, another ship that left Italy for Gaza transporting aid and activists, including Greta Thunberg. — AFP
Express Tribune
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
43 dead in Israeli strikes as truce talks deadlocked
An Israeli air strike hit a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on July 13. Photo AFP Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip. But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit. Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said. Khaled Rayyan told AFP he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat. "Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble," he said. Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure a deal. "What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough." Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's campaign. The UN considers those figures reliable. UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached "critical levels", threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. "Only 150,000 litres of fuel have been allowed in over the past few days — an amount that covers less than one day's needs," the head of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, Amjad Shawa, told AFP on Sunday. "We require 275,000 litres of fuel per day to meet basic needs." Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 percent of the territory. The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries"
Business Recorder
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Israeli strikes kill 43 in Gaza as truce talks stalls
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip. But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit. Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said. Israel's military blamed a Jihad. 'As a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target,' a statement read. 'The incident is under review.' Reports of casualties were being examined, it added. Khaled Rayyan told AFP he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat. 'Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble,' he said. Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war. 'What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity,' he said. 'Enough.' The Israeli military, which has recently intensified operations across Gaza, said in a statement that in the past 24 hours the air force 'struck more than 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip'. It released aerial footage of what it said were fighter jet strikes attacking Hamas targets around Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, showing explosions on the ground and thick smoke in the sky. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached 'critical levels', threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. On Sunday, the Handala — a former Norwegian trawler loaded with medical supplies, food and children's equipment — set off from Sicily. The pro-Palestinian activists on board hope to reach Gaza, despite Israel having recently detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel, the Madleen, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal.
