Latest news with #SalahAl-Bardawil
Al-Ahram Weekly
26-03-2025
- Health
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Israeli attacks continue on Gaza - World - Al-Ahram Weekly
Israel's resumption of its attacks on Gaza have let to the deaths of nearly 700 more Palestinians and the wounding of over 1,000 others At least 41 Palestinians were killed in pre-dawn Israeli air attacks across the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Among the dead was Hamas senior leader Salah Al-Bardawil, who was killed along with his wife in a tent shelter in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Since Israel unilaterally terminated a two-month ceasefire last week and renewed its attacks on the Strip, 673 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,233 wounded, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The Israeli army issued orders for the full evacuation of the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah in southern Gaza, designating the area as a 'dangerous combat zone' and forcing thousands to flee their homes and face displacement during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. At approximately 2:20am on 18 March, Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza, shattering hopes for a lasting ceasefire and plunging the besieged enclave into yet another wave of destruction, as the Israeli Army launched sudden aerial attacks on heavily populated parts of the Strip, including Rafah, Khan Yunis, Deir Al-Balah, Nuseirat, Bureij, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Karama, Beit Hanoun and Gaza City, ending a two-month-old ceasefire. Hostilities erupted after ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the second phase of the hostage-swap deal, which took effect on 19 January, collapsed. Before the attack, Israel had tightened its blockade on Gaza, banned the entry of humanitarian aid and cut electricity since 1 March. The initial wave of attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 413 Palestinians, mostly women and children, health officials in Gaza said. The Israeli offensive has dramatically worsened the already dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, pushing the besieged enclave into a renewed cycle of violence and devastation. Amid relentless bombardment, severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies, and the collapse of the healthcare system, civilians are bearing the brunt of the renewed hostilities in what has become an unlivable war zone. Mohanad Mortaja, a high school student, described the 18 March attacks as the deadliest since the first weeks of the conflict that started in October 2023. 'It felt just like the first day of the war. My mother was preparing Sohour [the Ramadan dawn meal] for us as we sat together under the dim glow of a battery-powered light. It was a bitterly cold night, and we had only a little food to sustain our fast for the next day.' 'Suddenly, a powerful airstrike shook the ground, hitting a building at the end of our street. We screamed in terror, and our bodies trembled. In shock, my mother dropped the plates, while her hands shook with fear,' he added. Hundreds more people were killed as Israel sent its troops deeper into areas it had already withdrawn from in the central Gaza Strip, and issued evacuation orders for several neighbourhoods in the wake of last week's attack. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that leaflets were dropped over Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in the shattered north of the Strip, as well as eastern Khan Younis in the south, ordering residents once again to leave their homes. As the strikes continue, families are scrambling to find shelter. Hadeel Al-Madhoon, 56, from Beit Hanoun pitched her tent in the Islamic University courtyard in Gaza City. 'Where will we go? I'm staying here, even though it's all rubble,' she said. 'Every place in Gaza has been destroyed. This is the tenth time I've had to move, but it doesn't matter anymore. It's an evil world.' The sight of tents filling the streets of Gaza is a painful reminder of loss. These are not just pieces of fabric, but stories of homes reduced to rubble, memories torn apart, and dreams cast into uncertainty. Each person in these tents once had a home. Now, the open sky is their only roof, and the streets are their only shelter. Since 18 March, Gaza has been engulfed in a severe humanitarian crisis. Israeli airstrikes have resulted in substantial civilian casualties. The heaviest of the coffins have been the smallest, since 173 children have been among the over 400 Palestinians killed as Israel resumes its military operations, health officials in Gaza said. Baby Banan Al-Salut never got to celebrate a single birthday, for example. She was born in the war and killed in the war. Images of her body in her rainbow clothing went viral and were among the first from Gaza after Israel broke the ceasefire. Mohamed Naim Shaaban, nine months old, was killed alongside his mother, uncles, and cousins. Mohamed, Tareq, Lana, Aya and Wateen Al-Hamaedah were siblings who were killed by an Israeli airstrike while they were sleeping in a tent. Sisters Jannat and Misk were killed alongside their mother Shadha in Deir Al-Balah. Bisan and Ayman were siblings who were killed in Israeli attacks on Khan Younis. Entire Palestinian families remain trapped under the rubble, while civil-defence teams race to respond to the pleas of others who have lost their loved ones due to the intensifying Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Meanwhile, in Khan Younis rescue teams managed to pull a 25-day-old toddler, Ella Osama Abu Dagga, from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building after an Israeli airstrike. Sadly, Ella lost her brother and parents, and she is now in the care of her aunt Soad Abu Dagga. Gaza's Civil Defence Spokesman Mahmoud Basal warned of the devastating impacts of the massive Israeli campaign on Gaza's infrastructure, pointing out that relief efforts to retrieve bodies from the debris are extremely difficult in the light of the continuous Israeli airstrikes and lack of equipment. He urged the international community to take urgent action and ensure the swift delivery of humanitarian aid to address the growing needs of those affected. The resumption of hostilities in Gaza has further strained municipal services, leading to increased displacement and infrastructure damage. According to American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), an NGO, as of 24 February Gaza City alone has seen the accumulation of approximately 170,000 tons of waste in streets and temporary landfills. This crisis has been exacerbated by restricted access to the main landfill east of the city and the destruction of nearly 80 per cent of the municipality's vehicles. Between 2 and 15 March, the Palestinian Water Authority and the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility reported a daily average production of 127,022 cubic metres of water across the Gaza Strip. Of this, 33 per cent was sourced from operational seawater desalination plants and Israeli supply lines, while 67 per cent came from municipal groundwater wells. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a news briefing that the closure of the crossings into Gaza is severely disrupting relief operations and worsening an already catastrophic situation. Humanitarian organisations have raised the alarm over severe shortages of essential supplies, including food, potable water, clothing, and blankets. The ongoing war and strict restrictions on humanitarian aid have also dramatically exacerbated hunger. The people of Gaza are no longer looking for complete meals due to the depletion of stocks such as of flour and sugar and prices that have risen by about 300 per cent. Many families survive on barely any or no food. Hana Said, 40, told the Al-Ahram Weekly that she can barely cook breakfast for her family. 'We depend on lentils and water, if available. There are no vegetables, no meat, no chicken, and if they were available, I couldn't afford to buy them,' she said. Around 30 community kitchens that sporadically provided hot meals to displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip have been forced to close since 18 March. According to the UN, distributions have been interrupted due to the escalating violence and the location of distribution sites near evacuation zones. Israel has breached a two-month truce and resumed a ground and aerial campaign in the Gaza Strip, saying it wants to push Hamas to release the remaining hostages in its captivity. Israel says Hamas holds 59 more Israeli hostages in the enclave, 24 of whom are alive. It has pushed the Gaza Strip into a new famine, as essential food supplies become scarce and unaffordable. Palestinian analyst Akram Atallah, based in London, told the Weekly that Israel had already placed Gaza in a dire humanitarian crisis before resuming its military campaign by closing crossings, blocking humanitarian aid, and cutting electricity. 'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using food as a weapon against two million people living in war-ravaged Gaza to serve his political interests, both to appease his coalition and to support US President Donald Trump's plan to expel Palestinians from the devastated territory,' Atallah said. According to Atallah, the key to ending the crisis lies in regional mediators pressuring the US into halting the hostilities in Gaza, resuming the ceasefire negotiations, and forcing Israel to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. Since the resumption of the Israeli military operations last week, Gaza's healthcare system has been critically compromised. The destruction of Gaza's only specialised cancer hospital by Israeli forces has further diminished healthcare capacity, eliminating essential services for critically ill patients. The international rights group Human Rights Watch condemned the devastation of infrastructure, severe resource shortages, and relentless hostilities that have left hospitals in Gaza overwhelmed and struggling to provide proper care for the sick and wounded. According to the Health Ministry, 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 wounded by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since 7 October 2023. * A version of this article appears in print in the 27 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Saba Yemen
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Palestinian killed by Israeli sniper's bullets
Gaza - Saba: A Palestinian citizen was killed by Israeli enemy forces in the central Gaza Strip. The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported that a citizen was killed by an Israeli sniper's bullets in the Al-Maghraqa area in the central Gaza Strip. Facebook Whatsapp Telegram Print Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns enemy's attempts to "legalize" settlements in West Bank Hamas leader Salah Al-Bardawil, his wife killed in Israeli shelling of Khan Yunis Sirens sound in central occupied Palestine following missile launch from Yemen Zionist enemy continues aggression against Jenin city, camp for 62nd day New York: Solidarity rally with Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, protesting arbitrary detention Israeli enemy establishes administration to oversee voluntary departure of Gaza residents to third country Martyrs, wounded as result of ongoing Zionist enemy shelling of Rafah, Khan Yunis Israeli prisons impose humiliating measures against Palestinian lawyers during visits to detainees One martyr, 61 wounded arrived at Gaza hospitals in 24 hours Demonstration in Hamburg condemns resumption of Israeli aggression on Gaza
Arab News
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Hamas says Israeli strike kills political bureau official Salah Al-Bardawil
GAZA CITY: Palestinian group Hamas confirmed on Sunday that Salah Al-Bardawil, a senior member of its political bureau, was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza the previous day. Bardawil, 65, was killed along with his wife in a camp in Al-Mawasi, near Khan Yunis, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement. He is the third member of the political bureau to be killed since Israel resumed air strikes on Tuesday, after Yasser Harb and Essam Al-Dalis, the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military confirmed Sunday that it had targeted Bardawil, saying that 'as part of his role, (he) directed the strategic and military planning' of Hamas in Gaza. His 'elimination further degrades Hamas' military and government capabilities,' it added. Bardawil, born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, joined Hamas when it was founded in 1987, serving as a spokesman before rising through the ranks and being elected to the political bureau in 2021. He spoke against security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and supported armed struggle against Israel. Detained by Israel in 1993 and interrogated for 70 days, according to Hamas, Bardawil was also arrested several times by the security forces of the Palestinian Authority. In the flare-up since last week, Hamas has also announced the deaths of interior ministry head Mahmud Abu Watfa, and Bahjat Abu Sultan, the director general of the Internal Security Services. Hamas sources said on Sunday that Mohammed Hassan Al-Amur, the bodyguard of slain leader Yahya Sinwar, was killed in an overnight strike on his home in Khan Yunis. Hamas has been considerably weakened by the deaths of many of its leaders, both inside and outside the Gaza Strip, since the start of the war triggered by its deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The head of Hamas's political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran on July 31, 2024, in an explosion claimed by Israel. His successor Sinwar died on October 16 in Gaza.
Al Manar
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Manar
Hamas Mourns Senior Leader Salah Al-Bardawil, Martyred in Israeli Airstrike on Gaza
The Islamic Resistance Movement 'Hamas' mourned the death of Salah Al-Bardawil, a key figure in its political bureau and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his family tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The attack, which also claimed the life of his wife, was described by Hamas as a 'treacherous Zionist assassination.' In its statement, Hamas vowed that the martyrdom of al-Bardawil, along with that of all martyrs, would continue to fuel the ongoing struggle for liberation and return. 'With every martyr, the flame of resistance burns brighter until the occupation is eliminated,' the statement declared. 🚨Footage : The devastation left behind after Israel targeted the tent of Hamas political bureau member Salah Al-Bardawil and his family overnight in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis southern Gaza. — Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) March 23, 2025 A Distinguished Leader and Scholar Martyr Salah Al-Bardawil was born in 1959 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, with roots tracing back to the occupied village of Al-Joura, near Gaza. He was an accomplished academic, earning degrees in Arabic language and Palestinian literature from Cairo University and Sudan. His work as an educator and writer also contributed to his prominent role in establishing the Palestinian Writers Union and the National Gathering for Thought and Culture. Al-Bardawil's political involvement with Hamas began in the early 1990s. In 1996, he founded Al-Risalah, the first official media outlet of Hamas, and served as its editor-in-chief. Through his weekly satirical column, 'From the Streets of the Homeland,' he critiqued the Palestinian Authority, which led to multiple arrests by Israeli forces. He also led Hamas's media department and played a central role in the formation of the National Salvation Party in 1996. In 2006, al-Bardawil was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, representing Khan Younis. Over the years, he held various senior positions within Hamas, including overseeing the movement's internal and external planning while maintaining strong connections with fellow leaders. The ongoing attacks, including the death of Salah Al-Bardawil, highlight the continuing struggle for Palestinian sovereignty and resistance against occupation.
