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UPI
11-08-2025
- Politics
- UPI
IDF says slain reporter was Hamas; journalist groups condemn killing
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that it killed an Al Jazeera reporter it accused of being a Hamas militant. File Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The Israeli military said it struck and killed Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, accusing him of being a Hamas militant, which attracted condemnation from journalist organizations. The Israel Defense Forces made the announcement Sunday on X, saying al-Sharif "was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops." "A press badge isn't a shield for terrorism," the IDF said on X. Al Jazeera reported that al-Sharif was one of four colleagues killed in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City, one of the few areas in the Palestinian enclave not under Israeli military control. Seven people were killed in the strike, the Qatar-based news organization said. In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network condemned what it called the "targeted assassination" of its correspondent, along with photographers Ibrahim Al Thaher and Mohamed Nofal. "As Al Jazeera Media Network bids farewell to yet another group of its finest journalists, who boldly and courageously documented the plight of Gaza and its people since the onset of the war, it holds the Israeli occupation forces and government responsible for deliberately targeting and assassinating its journalists," Al Jazeera Media Network said, adding that al-Sharif's death follows calls from Israeli officials to target him and his colleagues. The IDF has repeatedly criticized Al Jazeera and has accused several of its reporters in Gaza of being Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. Late last month, IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee accused al-Sharif in a video posted to Facebook of being a member of Hamas' military wing since 2013. Following al-Sharif's death, Adraee continued to post videos and photos to his Facebook account repeating his claims that the journalist was a militant. In its statement Sunday, the IDF cited Israeli intelligence and Gaza documents as proof that al-Sharif "was a Hamas operative integrated into Al Jazeera." Israel has killed at least 178 Palestinian journalists during its nearly two-year-old war in Gaza, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which said Israel has "a longstanding, documented pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without providing any credible proof." "Israel's pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect of press freedom," CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said in a statement in response to al-Shari's death. "Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted. Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable."
UPI
23-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Israeli warplanes attack Iran's air defense capabilities
Iranian ballistic missiles over the skies near Jerusalem in two salvos of missiles shot from Iran into Israel following the huge American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday, June 22, 2025. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo June 23 (UPI) -- Israel continued to attack Iran on Monday, targeting its air defense capabilities, as the Islamic regime vows retaliation after the United States bombed three of its nuclear facilities over the weekend. The Israel Defense Forces was posting updates of its assaults on Iran to X on Monday morning, saying warplanes were attacking military infrastructure in Kermanshah. It said more than 15 fighter jets destroyed several launch and storage sites for surface-to-surface missiles targeting Israel. It also said the air force struck six airports in western, eastern and central Iran. Runways, underground hangars, a refueling aircraft and F-14, F-5 and AH-1 aircraft were destroyed, it said. "The destroyed aircraft were intended for use against Israeli Air Force planes and to thwart their operations within Iranian territory," the IDF said. It explained the assaults were "part of efforts to deepen aerial superiority over Iranian airspace." The updates came as the IDF said it had detected several missiles launched from Iran targeting Israel. The launches triggered sirens in several northern Israeli regions, and the IDF said it was working to intercept the projectiles "and attack wherever necessary to eliminate the threat." The strikes come as Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel and the United States after U.S. warplanes bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday night, increasing fears of an expanding war and of Washington becoming involved in another Middle Eastern conflict. According to Iranian state-owned news organization Press TV, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps condemned the U.S. attack as illegal under international law while threatening to attack U.S. overseas military institutions. "As we have repeatedly emphasized, the number, dispersion and scale of U.S. military bases in the region are not a source of strength but a major vulnerability," the IRGC said in the statement. The U.S. attack "has granted the Islamic Republic of Iran, within the framework of its legitimate right to self-defense, the option to respond in ways that go beyond the delusional calculations of the aggressor alliance." "Those who violated this land must now await responses that will bring deep regret," it said.
UPI
19-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Netanyahu says latest Gaza military offensive making progress toward 'full control'
Israeli tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers massed on the border with Gaza on Sunday amid a major new military offensive to take control of the strip, defeat Hamas and recover 58 hostages, live and dead, still being held. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo May 19 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a four-day-old military ground offensive in Gaza was succeeding in bringing Israel closer to controlling the Palestinian enclave. "Intensive and large-scale military activity in Gaza" meant the Israeli military was "moving toward full control of the entire Strip," Netanyahu said as he hit back at criticism from Israel's far-right of his decision to end an 11-week aid-blockade. Netanyahu said he understood their concerns but warned that people starving in Gaza would only derail Israel's war aims of defeating Hamas and getting back the remaining hostages abducted from southern Israel in the Oct. 7 attacks. "It's important to know the facts. We must avoid a situation of famine, both in substance and in perception. If there is famine, we will lose international support and won't be able to achieve victory," Netanyahu said. While this had been the case whenever Israel halted humanitarian aid to prevent it falling into the hands of Hamas, he said Israel was "approaching the red line", with its allies and friends letting him know they "cannot handle images of starvation, of mass starvation." The iron grip delivered by Israel's massive military offensive, codenamed Operation Gideon's Chariot, would, in turn, allow the Israeli military to stop Hamas from stealing the aid being brought in, he added. Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel would allow in minimal aid, "just enough to prevent hunger." His comments came amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes overnight targeting the Indonesian Hospital and the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza and the city of Khan Yunis in the south, with hospitals saying more than 100 people had been killed in the past day. Israel Defense Forces confirmed it had five divisions, around 50,000 troops, fighting for "complete control" and that it was moving the population out of harm's way. Evacuation orders were issued to residents of Khan Yunis, Bani Suhaila and Abasan governorates Monday morning, warning of an "unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations in this area." "You must evacuate immediately west to the Mawasi [designated humanitarian] area. From this moment, Khan Yunis Governorate will be considered a dangerous combat zone. Terrorist organizations have brought you disaster. For your safety, evacuate immediately," IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote in a post in Arabic on X. The 2.1 million Palestinians living in Gaza were at "critical risk" of famine, according tp the United Nations, while other aid agencies said Israel's aid blockade constituted a starvation policy which could be a war crime.
UPI
18-05-2025
- Health
- UPI
Hamas leader's body found as peace talks with Israel pick back up
1 of 3 | Smoke rises from inside the Gaza Strip as seen near an Israeli field of sunflowers in full bloom inside southern Israel on Sunday. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo May 18 (UPI) -- Israel reported Sunday it found the body of Hamas' de facto leader, Muhammad Sinwar, in a tunnel in Khan Younis after he was killed in a series of airstrikes last week. At least 100 people have been killed in the latest series of airstrikes, and Sinwar's body was found as Hamas has offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day military stand down in an effort to slow down the fighting in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader in Gaza. Another brother, Zakaria Sinwar, was killed in an airstroke Saturday night, other reports claimed. It's the third Sinwar brother to be killed in the ongoing battle. Israeli forces overtook a hospital in northern Gaza Saturday as an offensive to seize territory on the Gaza Strip continues, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Forces seized the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, preventing patients, staff and medical supplies from arriving, the ministry said on Sunday, according to the BBC, leaving the medical facility inoperable. Hamas made its hostage release offer on Saturday following a new round of peace negotiations in Qatar. Officials said there could also be a larger deal in the works to end the fighting that would include a Hamas withdrawal.
New York Post
18-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Israel launches new major ground offensive in Gaza Strip, claims to have killed ‘dozens of terrorists'
The Israeli military has launched a large-scale ground operation across the Gaza Strip over the weekend as part of a major new offensive against Hamas. 'Over the past day, IDF troops in the Southern Command, both the standing army and reserves, began a broad ground operation throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip, as part of the start of Operation Gideon's Chariots,' the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. Smoke rises from inside the Gaza Strip as seen near an Israeli field of sunflowers in full bloom inside southern Israel. Jim Hollander/UPI/Shutterstock Israeli soldiers work on preparing their Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) in a forward staging area near the Gaza Strip border. Jim Hollander/UPI/Shutterstock The latest assault is aimed at destroying Hamas' weapons deports, terror cells, tunnel network and anti-tank launch sites, the IDF said. So far, the IDF claims to have killed 'dozens of terrorists' and dismantled many of Hamas' bases above and below ground. This is a developing story. Please check back for more information.
