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Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Palestinians mourn journalist Anas Al-Sharif and colleagues
TOPSHOT - Mourners place the body of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, on a table ahead of a funeral procession in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP TOPSHOT - Mourners place the body of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, on a table ahead of a funeral procession in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP Mourner carry the body of Palestinian reporter Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, during his funeral in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP Mourner carry the body of Palestinian reporter Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, during his funeral in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP Relatives of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, carry his 15-month-old son Salah and 4-year-old daughter Sham during his funeral in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP Relatives of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, carry his 15-month-old son Salah and 4-year-old daughter Sham during his funeral in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP TOPSHOT - Mourners carry the body of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, during his funeral in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP TOPSHOT - Mourners carry the body of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was killed alongside other journalists in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, during his funeral in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP WAFA WAFA WAFA WAFA WAFA WAFA EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / TOPSHOT - Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / TOPSHOT - Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / TOPSHOT - Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / TOPSHOT - Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mourners march with the bodies of the Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City, from Al-Shifa hospital to their burial at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City on August 11, 2025. AFP
Powys County Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Lammy says he told Iran it would be a mistake to blockade Strait of Hormuz
David Lammy said he had told Iran it would be a 'mistake' to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, as he urged Iran to take the 'off-ramp' and engage in diplomacy. The Foreign Secretary said it would be a 'catastrophic mistake' for Tehran to fire at US bases in the region, after an American attack on Iran's nuclear programme over the weekend. Questions are being asked about whether the shipping channel or oil exports through it could be blocked amid the tensions. Important discussion with @SecRubio this evening on the situation in the Middle East. We will continue to work with our allies to protect our people, secure regional stability and drive forward a diplomatic solution. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 22, 2025 Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday morning, Mr Lammy said he had been 'crystal clear' that 'it would be a huge, catastrophic mistake to fire at US bases in the region at this time. We have forces in the region at this time. 'It would be a catastrophic mistake. It would be a mistake to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.' He said he thinks his counterpart 'gets that and understands that'. The UK has been pressing for Iran to engage in negotiations and diplomacy over the issues, and Mr Lammy told the same programme: 'Let's take the diplomatic off-ramp. Let's get serious and calm this thing down.' Mr Lammy is expected to address MPs in the Commons about the situation on Monday. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned on Sunday that there is a risk of the crisis escalating beyond the Middle East, telling reporters 'that's a risk to the region. It's a risk beyond the region, and that's why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.' Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Sunday, and Downing Street said the leaders agreed Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and called for Iran to return to negotiations. The conversation came after the air raid by American B-2 stealth bombers and a salvo of submarine-launched missiles hit Iran's nuclear facilities. 'They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,' Downing Street said. 'They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement.' — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2025 Mr Lammy suggested on Monday that the action by Mr Trump 'may well have set back Iran several years'. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the US President's rhetoric was 'strong' but that strikes had been 'targeted' to 'deal with Iran's nuclear capability'. The Foreign Secretary later added: 'Donald Trump made a decision to act to degrade that capability. It may well have set back Iran by several years. That was a decision that he took.' Mr Lammy has also spoken to his Iranian and Israeli counterparts 'to stress the need for de-escalation'. 'I urged a diplomatic, negotiated solution to end this crisis,' he said over the weekend. Overnight, Mr Trump called the future of the Iranian regime into question, posting on his TruthSocial platform: 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???'
Los Angeles Times
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as hundreds are reported dead
DUBAI — Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an offramp, were canceled. Israel's strikes have killed at least 406 people in Iran and wounded 654, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment Friday of Iranian nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign. Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades. Explosions shook Iran's capital, Tehran, around noon and again around 3:30 p.m. Semiofficial news agencies close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported one strike in the area of Vali-e Asr Square downtown and another in a neighborhood named for the air force, which is headquartered there. Sirens went off across much of Israel again around 4 p.m., warning of what would be Iran's first daytime assault since the fighting began. There were no immediate reports of casualties. President Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that if Israel's strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop.' He said the United States 'is a partner in these attacks and must take responsibility.' Israel said 14 people there have been killed and 390 wounded. Iran has fired more than 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country's sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses to make impact, according to Israeli figures. The country's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defense Ministry building early Sunday after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels. Araghchi said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf. He said Iran targeted 'economic' sites in Israel, without elaborating. Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural gas processing plant. The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air-defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting. In a sign that Iran expects Israeli strikes to continue, state television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night. In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven were missing. An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged or destroyed buildings, bombed-out cars and shards of glass. Some people could be seen leaving with suitcases. Four other people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for research in Rehovot, reported 'a number of hits to buildings on the campus.' It said no one was harmed. An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded. World leaders made urgent calls to de-escalate. The attack on nuclear sites set a 'dangerous precedent,' China's foreign minister said Saturday. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off such calls, saying Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.' Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. The United Nations atomic watchdog issued a rare censure of Iran last week. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to them and hoped the Iranians would return to the table. Iran's foreign minister on Saturday called the nuclear talks 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes. In a social media post early Sunday, Trump reiterated that the U.S. was not involved in the attacks on Iran and warned that any retaliation directed against the United States would bring an American response 'at levels never seen before.' 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' he wrote. In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility. U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told the Security Council that the aboveground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to be hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said. Israel also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said four 'critical buildings' were damaged, including Isfahan's uranium-conversion facility. The IAEA said there was no sign of increased radiation at Natanz or Isfahan. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday in line with official procedures, said it would take 'many months, maybe more' to restore the two sites. Gambrell, Melzer and Goldenberg write for the Associated Press. Gambrell reported from Dubai, Melzer from Nahariya, Israel, and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv. AP writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Sam Mednick and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
The Hill
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Hamas says it released American-Israeli hostage in goodwill gesture toward Trump administration
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli-American soldier held hostage for more than 19 months in the Gaza Strip was released Monday, Hamas said, in a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel. The Israeli military confirmed that Edan Alexander had been turned over to the Red Cross and was being brought to Israeli forces. Alexander was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza. His release would be the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, unleashing fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds. Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing the territory and displacing much of its population again. Days before the ceasefire ended, Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis and sparking warnings about the risk of famine if the blockade isn't lifted. Israel says the steps are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel's terms. Israel says 59 hostages including Alexander remain in captivity, with about 24 of them said to be alive. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 2023 attack were freed in ceasefire deals. Television footage showed Alexander's mother, Yael Alexander, arriving at the Reim military base in southern Israel, where her son was expected to be taken first. Alexander's grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, said she had barely been able to sleep and had baked Edan's favorite foods, some of which she sent to the military base. Hamas on Sunday announced its intention to release Alexander, shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to arrive Tuesday in the Middle East on the first official foreign trip of his second term. Trump on Sunday called the planned release 'a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones.' 'Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!' Trump said on social media. Trump, who is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is not scheduled to stop in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday with the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and discussed efforts to release the remaining hostages, his office said. 'To this end, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed that a negotiations team leave for Doha tomorrow,' the prime minister's office said, adding that Netanyahu had 'made it clear that the negotiations would only take place under fire.' The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages, welcomed the news that an Israeli delegation was headed to Doha for talks. 'While Edan Alexander's release gives us hope, all 58 of our loved ones must come home. Time is running out. These negotiations must bring everyone back,' the group said in a statement. 'Trump's plan offers a real path to freeing all hostages immediately. Every passing day puts their lives at greater risk. We cannot wait any longer.' On Monday, a statement from Netanyahu's office said Israel was not granting any concessions for Alexander's release. The statement said Israel did not commit to a ceasefire or the freeing of Palestinian prisoners as part of the release and that it had only agreed to create a 'safe corridor' to allow for Alexander to be returned. The statement said Israel would carry on with plans to ramp up its offensive in Gaza. Israel says it won't launch that plan until after Trump's visit to the Middle East, to allow for a potential new ceasefire deal to emerge. A statement by the office on Sunday said the U.S. had told Israel that Alexander's release could lead to a new deal with Hamas to free more hostages. Israel's involvement in Alexander's expected release wasn't immediately clear. But it created a backlash against Netanyahu, with critics accusing him of having to rely on a foreign leader to help free the remaining hostages. At the opening of his trial for alleged corruption, where he is giving testimony, a woman in the courtroom asked whether he was 'ashamed that the president of the United States is saving his citizens, and he is leaving them to die there in captivity.' Critics assert that Netanyahu's insistence on keeping up the war in Gaza is politically motivated. Netanyahu says he aims to achieve Israel's goals of freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas. Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in the 2023 attack. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians. Israel's offensive has obliterated vast swaths of Gaza's urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, often multiple times. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
CNA
22-04-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hamas team heads to Cairo for Gaza talks as Israel strikes kill 26
CAIRO: A Hamas delegation left for Cairo to discuss "new ideas" aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, an official from the group said, as rescuers reported 26 dead in Israeli air strikes on Tuesday (Apr 22). The renewed diplomatic effort follows Hamas's rejection last week of Israel's latest proposal to secure the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Talks have so far failed to produce any breakthrough since Israel resumed its air and ground assault from Mar 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. The Hamas delegation, led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya, "will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss new ideas aimed at reaching a ceasefire", said the official. The discussions come a day after new US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged Hamas to accept a deal that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for humanitarian aid entering Gaza. "When that happens, and hostages are released which is an urgent matter for all of us, then we hope that the humanitarian aid will flow and flow freely knowing it will be done without Hamas being able to confiscate and abuse their own people", Huckabee said in a video statement. Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid, which Palestinian militant group denies. Israel blocked all aid to Gaza on Mar 2, days before its renewed offensive began. "Gaza has become a land of desperation," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said on X on Tuesday. "Hunger is spreading and deepening, deliberate and manmade.... Humanitarian aid is being used as a bargaining chip and a weapon of war." Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, brokered a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas which began on January 19 and enabled a surge in aid, alongside exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. But the truce collapsed after disagreements over the terms of the next stage. Hamas had insisted that negotiations be held on a second phase of the truce, leading to a permanent end to the war, as outlined in the January framework announced by former US president Joe Biden. Israel, however, sought to extend the first phase. Following the impasse, Israel blocked aid and resumed its military campaign. On Tuesday, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 26 people across the Hamas-run territory. Nine people died when a house was struck in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, civil defence official Mohammad Mughayyir told AFP, adding that others were trapped. "We found people torn apart," said Ahmad Shourab who witnessed the strike. "They were all women and children. What do they want from us?" Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said air strikes also destroyed bulldozers and other equipment belonging to the Jabalia municipality in northern Gaza. "We relied on them for rescue operations to clear debris and recover the bodies of martyrs from beneath the rubble", as well as to "save lives, pull people from the rubble", Bassal said. The Israeli military said it struck some "40 engineering vehicles used for terror purposes, including during the October 7 massacre", referring to Hamas's 2023 attack that sparked the war. "Hamas has used these vehicles for planting explosives, digging underground routes, breaching fences and clearing rubble to locate weapons and military equipment hidden by the terrorist organisation beneath the rubble". At least 1,890 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,266, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel-Hamas war
