Latest news with #IsraeliAirStrike
The National
3 days ago
- General
- The National
Israel attacks western Syria as indirect talks take place
Israel has bombed western Syria killing at least one person in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month, state media said on Friday. "A strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia," state television said. One civilian was killed 'as a result of an Israeli occupation air strike targeting the vicinity of Zama', state news agency Sana reported. This month, Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara said that his government is holding indirect talks with Israel to bring an end to Israeli attacks on Syria. The US called for a 'non-aggression agreement' between the sides. The Israeli military said it had "struck weapon storage facilities containing coastal missiles that posed a threat to international and Israeli maritime freedom of navigation, in the Latakia area of Syria". "In addition, components of surface-to-air missiles were struck," it said, adding it would "continue to operate to maintain freedom of action in the region, in order to carry out its missions and will act to remove any threat to the state of Israel and its citizens". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that jets likely to have been Israeli warplanes fired on military sites on the outskirts of Tartus and Latakia. Since 1948, Syria and Israel have technically been at war. The most notable event was when Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and carried out hundreds of strikes and several incursions. Israel said its strikes were aimed at stopping advanced weapons reaching Syria's new authorities, whom it considers as terrorists. This comes as the newly-appointed US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, visited Damascus and said he believed peace between Syria and Israel was achievable. Mr Barrack made his first trip to Damascus on Thursday and said "Syria and Israel are a solvable problem. But it starts with a dialogue.' The US official told the press that 'we need to start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders.' The US officially issued a sanctions waiver for Syria last week. Following the waiver, Mr Barrack met Mr Al Shara and Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in Istanbul.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Israel attacks western Syria despite recent indirect talks to calm tensions
Israel has struck western Syria, the Israeli military and Syrian state media have reported, in the first such aerial attack on the country in almost a month, the day after the United States envoy to Damascus said conflict between the neighbouring countries is 'solvable'. Syrian state media reported late Friday that one person was killed and three others injured by an Israeli air strike around the coastal city of Latakia. 'A strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia,' Syria's Alikhbaria state TV reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, meanwhile, reported that jets likely to be Israeli struck military sites on the outskirts of Tartous and Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast. The Israeli strike follows Syria acknowledging indirect talks with Israel earlier this month to calm tensions. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the strike, saying it had 'struck weapon storage facilities containing coastal missiles that posed a threat to international and Israeli maritime freedom of navigation, in the Latakia area of Syria'. 'In addition, components of surface-to-air missiles were struck in the area of Latakia,' it said, adding that it would 'continue to operate to maintain freedom of action in the region, in order to carry out its missions and will act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens'. The Israeli strike came a day after US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack's visit to Damascus aimed at rebuilding ties under Syria's new administration, during which he said the conflict between Israel and Syria is 'solvable' and needed to start with 'dialogue'. 'I'd say we need to start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders,' Barrack told journalists on Thursday. The two countries have technically been at war since the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. A state of heightened tension and deep enmity between Israel and Syria accelerated during the 1967 war, which also drew in Egypt and Jordan, and Israel's subsequent occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel has carried out frequent attacks in Syria both during the Bashar al-Assad rule and since his ouster. Shortly before the fall of al-Assad's regime, Israel seized more Syrian territory near the border, claiming it was concerned about President Ahmed al-Sharaa's interim administration, which it has dismissed as 'jihadist'. During a meeting between US President Donald Trump and al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier in May, the US leader urged al-Sharaa to normalise relations with Israel. While al-Sharaa has not commented on possible normalisation with Israel, he has stated his support for returning to the terms of a 1974 ceasefire agreement that created a United Nations buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Sligo-based doctor whose nine nieces and nephews were killed in Gaza: ‘I'm not seeking revenge, I just want this madness to end'
The uncle of nine girls and boys from one family who were killed in an Israeli air strike last week has called on Ireland to end Israeli 'impunity' and play its role in bringing 'accountability' to those responsible for death and destruction in Gaza . Dr Ali Al Najjar, a Palestinian doctor who works at Sligo University Hospital , said he hoped to see the Dáil pass the Occupied Territories Bill without delay and that he believed the legislation could prompt a domino effect in other countries. 'It worked with South Africa; maybe if we did the same with Israel and isolated Israel economically and politically,' Dr Al Najjar told RTÉ's Liveline programme. Last Friday, Dr Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician living and working in Khan Younis, lost nine of her 10 children in an Israeli air strike on the city. A few hours after the strike, the charred bodies of seven of the children were brought to the hospital where she worked, while two other bodies remain buried under the rubble. Just one of her children, 11-year-old Adan, and her husband, Hamdi, survived the attack. Both father and son were severely wounded. READ MORE The names of the children who died in the air strike were Yahya, Rakan, Eve, Jubran, Ruslan, Revan, Sayden, Luqman and Sidra. Sidra's twin Sidar died aged three months due to an infection and lack of medication, Dr Al Najjar said on Wednesday. 'The whole point of sharing my voice is I hope the tragedy Alaa had is going to be the last tragedy. If what happened, happened for a reason, and puts more pressure to end this war of injustice and end this nightmare, I will be satisfied. 'I'm not seeking revenge from anyone, I just want this madness to end. I wish no one else to go through what we are going through.' Dr Al Najjar, who is currently visiting family in Saudi Arabia, recalled how he spoke with his sister by phone three weeks before the air strike. She told him life in Gaza had become 'doomsday' and that when neighbours great each other, they say 'farewell'. She said, 'We don't know when we'll meet again. Anyone is expecting his moment at any time.' During this conversation, his sister said her children remained 'resilient'. Two of the children of the Al-Najjar family who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 24th. Photograph: Reuters/Hussam Al-Masri Eleven-year-old Adan, the only surviving child of doctor Dr Alaa al-Najjar, lies in a bed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after an Israeli airstrike hit their home. Photograph: Hani Alshaer/Anadolu Last Friday, he learned about the deaths of his nieces and nephews through a mix of news reports, social media posts and sporadic messages in family WhatsApp groups, he said. Asked what Ireland can do in response to the ongoing war in Gaza, Dr Al Najjar said the international community should no longer 'tolerate' the Israeli government's calls 'for the erasure of Gaza openly'. 'They are very honest and they don't feel shame about publicly verbalising it. We need accountability; they feel they have impunity to do whatever they want.' Dr Al Najjar said his sister had three requests – that people pray for her surviving son and husband; that the bodies of her two children be retrieved from the rubble; and that the destruction of her family become a turning point that 'will hopefully end this mad war'. Nearly 54,000 Palestinians, including more than 16,500 children, have been killed across the territory since the war began, according to the Gaza health ministry. Isam Hammad, a former manager of a medical equipment company in Gaza who was reunited with his family in Ireland last year, recalled spending time in the Al Najjar household before the war began. [ 'We are dying of hunger': Palestinians storm aid centre in southern Gaza Opens in new window ] 'I met Hamdi in the house where they were bombed; this family used to have a medical clinic. It's a terrible story but this is going on every day. So many families have been wiped from the face of this earth. Even if she lost one child or two, it's the same, it's just killing.' Mr Hammad, who is still awaiting a residency permit for his family after more than a year in Ireland, agrees that sanctions should be taken against Israel without delay. 'When Russia invaded Ukraine sanctions were put in action in no time. But now, we're still thinking and talking about whether to impose sanctions or not. There's no point in talking about human rights any more, countries are not responding. Palestinian lives have no value.'
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israeli strike on Gaza school kills more than 30
More than 30 people are believed to have been killed in an Israeli air strike on the site of a school being used as a shelter in northern Gaza. Footage, apparently from the aftermath of the blasts, showed a little girl trying to find her way out of the destroyed building in Gaza City as it became engulfed in flames. Other images showed badly burned corpses and a charred toddler, who appeared to be dead, being moved from the scene by rescue workers. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school was being used by terrorists as a command and control centre, and that steps had been taken to mitigate civilian casualties. The reported deaths were among at least 46 from strikes at multiple locations overnight on Sunday, including one that killed 15 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to the Shifa Hospital, which said it received the bodies. It comes as Israel expands its military offensive in Gaza with the aim of seizing and holding swathes of territory in an attempt to finally defeat Hamas. Five divisions are now conducting operations in the Strip and all civilians are expected to be ordered to the south to designated humanitarian zones. There is mounting disquiet in the international community regarding the civilian cost, with Donald Trump, regarded as Benjamin Netanyahu's staunchest ally, voicing concern. Sources have reported that the US, through its Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, is exerting heavy pressure on Israel to end the war. The raid on the school compound in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City also wounded 55 people, according to Fahmy Awad, from the health ministry's emergency service. He said a father and his five children were among the dead. The health ministry is under control of Hamas, which has been accused of inflating mortality figures and failing to distinguish between civilians and combatants. It has been suggested that one of the dead was Muhammad Yusuf al-Kaseeh, also known as Abu Yusuf, the head of investigations unit at the Beit Lahia police station, alongside his five children. The IDF did not comment. Israel cut off aid into the Strip at the beginning of March and began to let in some trucks last week, amid escalating fears of famine. However, the government's attempt to establish a new model of aid distribution got off to a shaky start as the head of the Israeli government's new aid partner resigned on humanitarian grounds late on Sunday. Jake Wood, formerly a US Marine, stepped down as the chief executive of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, saying: 'It is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.' The foundation has been accused of being made up largely of former mercenaries with no experience of aid distribution. It was selected by Mr Netanyahu's office, over the heads of IDF commanders, with the stated aim of establishing a new model of aid-giving that would prevent supplies falling into the hands of Hamas. Critics have accused Israel of using food supplies as a ' weapon of war '. The UN and other NGOs have so far said that they would not work with the new system, which was due to begin on Monday. However, Israeli military chiefs insist that Hamas was previously able to regenerate by seizing aid supplies and selling them back to the population. It came as three projectiles were fired from southern Gaza towards Israeli communities on Monday morning. Two fell within the Strip, while the third was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force. A joint statement from the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency said: 'Overnight [Sunday], the IDF and ISA struck key terrorists who were operating within a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control centre embedded in an area that previously served as the 'Faami Aljerjawi' School in the Gaza City area. 'The command and control centre was used by the terrorists to plan and gather intelligence in order to execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence. 'The terrorist organisations systematically violate international law, exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activity.'
Arab News
25-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Father in intensive care after nine children killed in Israeli strike on Gaza
GAZA/CAIRO: The father of nine children killed in an Israeli military strike in Gaza over the weekend remains in intensive care, said a doctor on Sunday at the hospital treating him. Hamdi Al-Najjar, himself a doctor, was at home in Khan Younis with his 10 children when an Israeli air strike occurred, killing all but one of them. He was rushed to the nearby Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza where he is being treated for his injuries. Abdul Aziz Al-Farra, a thoracic surgeon, said Najjar had undergone two operations to stop bleeding in his abdomen and chest and that he sustained other wounds including to his head. 'May God heal him and help him,' Farra said, speaking by the bedside of an intubated and heavily bandaged Najjar. The Israeli military has confirmed it conducted an air strike on Khan Younis on Friday but said it was targeting suspects in a structure that was close to Israeli soldiers. The military is looking into claims that 'uninvolved civilians' were killed, it said, adding that the military had evacuated civilians from the area before the operation began. According to medical officials in Gaza, the nine children were aged between one and 12 years old. The child that survived, a boy, is in a serious but stable condition, the hospital has said. Najjar's wife, Alaa, also a doctor, was not at home at the time of the strike. She was treating Palestinians injured in Israel's more than 20-month war in Gaza against Hamas in the same hospital where her husband and son are receiving care. 'She went to her house and saw her children burned, may God help her,' said Tahani Yahya Al-Najjar of her sister-in-law. 'With everything we are going through only God gives us strength.' Tahani visited her brother in hospital on Sunday, whispering to him that she was there: 'You are okay, this will pass.' On Saturday, Ali Al-Najjar said that he rushed to his brother's house after the strike, which had sparked a fire that threatened to collapse the home, and searched through the rubble. 'We started pulling out charred bodies,' he said. In its statement about the air strike, the Israeli military said Khan Younis was a 'dangerous war zone.' Practically all of Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians have been displaced after more than 20 months of war. The war erupted when Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 more. The retaliatory campaign, that Israel has said is aimed at uprooting Hamas and securing the release of the hostages, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, Gazan health officials say. Most of them are civilians, including more than 16,500 children under the age of 18, according to Gaza's health ministry.
