Latest news with #Yasser
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Israel acknowledges it is backing armed alternatives to Hamas in Gaza
The new system has been marred by chaos, with dozens killed since its inception last week, while attempting to get aid. Witnesses say Israeli forces have fired on crowds gathered near the distribution centres, but Israel says its troops have only fired warning shots. GHF paused aid delivery earlier this week in wake of the deaths, but resumed again on Thursday. Netanyahu did not specify what support Israel was giving to the clans, or what specifically their role would be. His announcement came hours after a political opponent criticised him for arming unofficial groups of Palestinians in Gaza. In a video posted to his X account, Netanyahu said the government made the move on the advice of 'security officials', to save the lives of Israeli soldiers. Though it has been known in southern Gaza throughout the war, the Abu Shabab group emerged publicly in the past month, posting pictures of its armed members, with helmets, flak jackets and automatic weapons. It declared itself a 'nationalist force' protecting aid. The Abu Shabab family renounced Yasser over his connections with the Israeli military in a recent statement, saying he and anyone who joined his group 'are no longer linked' to the family. The group's media office said in response to emailed questions from the Associated Press that it operates in Israeli military-controlled areas for a 'purely humanitarian' reason. It described its ties with the Israel military as 'humanitarian communication to facilitate the introduction of aid and ensure that it is not intercepted.' 'We are not proxies for anyone,' it said. 'We have not received any military or logistical support from any foreign party.' It said it has 'secured the surroundings' of GHF centres in Rafah but was not involved in distribution of food. Loading It rejected accusations that the group had looted aid, calling them 'exaggerations' and part of a 'smear campaign'. But it also said, 'our popular forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab only took the minimum amount of food and water necessary to secure their elements in the field,' without elaborating how, and from whom, they took the aid. Abu Shabab and about 100 fighters have been active in eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, areas under Israeli military control, according to Nahed Sheheiber, the head of the private transportation union in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups. He said they used to attack aid trucks driving on a military-designated route leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, the main entry point for aid. 'Our trucks were attacked many times by the Abu Shabab gang and the occupation forces stood idle. They did nothing,' Sheheiber said, referring to the Israeli military. 'The one who has looted aid is now the one who protects aid,' he said sarcastically. An aid worker in Gaza said humanitarian groups tried last year to negotiate with Abu Shabab and other influential families to end their looting of convoys. Though they agreed, they soon reverted to hijacking trucks, the aid worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk the media. The aid worker said he saw Abu Shabab's men operating in Israeli-controlled areas near the military-held Morag Corridor in southern Gaza in late May. They were wearing new uniforms and carried what appeared to be new weapons, he said. Loading Jonathan Whittall, the head of the United Nations humanitarian office for the occupied Palestinian territory, said that 'criminal gangs operating under the watch of Israeli forces near Kerem Shalom would systematically attack and loot aid convoys ... These gangs have by far been the biggest cause of aid loss in Gaza.' The war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-linked militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has decimated Gaza, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis that has left the territory on the brink of famine after an 11-week food blockade. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, more than half of them women and children. The ministry, which is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. Hamas is still holding 56 hostages. About a third are believed to be alive, though many fear they are in grave danger the longer the war goes on. Israel said it had recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages from Gaza on Thursday in a secret operation. Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday killed at least 22 people in Gaza, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in the territory. The military said it targeted a militant in that strike. Israeli forces also bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight, sending thousands of people fleeing on the eve of a Muslim feast day and prompting accusations by top Lebanese officials that Israel was violating a ceasefire deal. Israel said it was targeting sites that Hezbollah was using to make drones. The strikes were carried out about 90 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings. It was the fourth time that Dahiyeh has been bombed since the United States brokered a truce in November that ended a year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed movement. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday in an unprecedented retaliation over the war tribunal's cases regarding alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan and over the court's issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the judges - Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia - were 'actively engaged in the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel'. The Hague-based court said it 'deplores' the sanctions, calling them an attempt to undermine its independence. The decision to impose them follows President Donald Trump's executive order in February authorising sanctions on ICC officials who investigate the US and its allies. Loading The court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last November year over allegations of war crimes in Gaza. The Israeli government has denied the accusations, and the Biden administration rejected the court's authority. Neither the US nor Israel is a party to the court, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and other atrocities. It has issued 60 arrest warrants, including for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has detained 21 people.
The Age
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Israel acknowledges it is backing armed alternatives to Hamas in Gaza
The new system has been marred by chaos, with dozens killed since its inception last week, while attempting to get aid. Witnesses say Israeli forces have fired on crowds gathered near the distribution centres, but Israel says its troops have only fired warning shots. GHF paused aid delivery earlier this week in wake of the deaths, but resumed again on Thursday. Netanyahu did not specify what support Israel was giving to the clans, or what specifically their role would be. His announcement came hours after a political opponent criticised him for arming unofficial groups of Palestinians in Gaza. In a video posted to his X account, Netanyahu said the government made the move on the advice of 'security officials', to save the lives of Israeli soldiers. Though it has been known in southern Gaza throughout the war, the Abu Shabab group emerged publicly in the past month, posting pictures of its armed members, with helmets, flak jackets and automatic weapons. It declared itself a 'nationalist force' protecting aid. The Abu Shabab family renounced Yasser over his connections with the Israeli military in a recent statement, saying he and anyone who joined his group 'are no longer linked' to the family. The group's media office said in response to emailed questions from the Associated Press that it operates in Israeli military-controlled areas for a 'purely humanitarian' reason. It described its ties with the Israel military as 'humanitarian communication to facilitate the introduction of aid and ensure that it is not intercepted.' 'We are not proxies for anyone,' it said. 'We have not received any military or logistical support from any foreign party.' It said it has 'secured the surroundings' of GHF centres in Rafah but was not involved in distribution of food. Loading It rejected accusations that the group had looted aid, calling them 'exaggerations' and part of a 'smear campaign'. But it also said, 'our popular forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab only took the minimum amount of food and water necessary to secure their elements in the field,' without elaborating how, and from whom, they took the aid. Abu Shabab and about 100 fighters have been active in eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, areas under Israeli military control, according to Nahed Sheheiber, the head of the private transportation union in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups. He said they used to attack aid trucks driving on a military-designated route leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, the main entry point for aid. 'Our trucks were attacked many times by the Abu Shabab gang and the occupation forces stood idle. They did nothing,' Sheheiber said, referring to the Israeli military. 'The one who has looted aid is now the one who protects aid,' he said sarcastically. An aid worker in Gaza said humanitarian groups tried last year to negotiate with Abu Shabab and other influential families to end their looting of convoys. Though they agreed, they soon reverted to hijacking trucks, the aid worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk the media. The aid worker said he saw Abu Shabab's men operating in Israeli-controlled areas near the military-held Morag Corridor in southern Gaza in late May. They were wearing new uniforms and carried what appeared to be new weapons, he said. Loading Jonathan Whittall, the head of the United Nations humanitarian office for the occupied Palestinian territory, said that 'criminal gangs operating under the watch of Israeli forces near Kerem Shalom would systematically attack and loot aid convoys ... These gangs have by far been the biggest cause of aid loss in Gaza.' The war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-linked militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has decimated Gaza, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis that has left the territory on the brink of famine after an 11-week food blockade. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, more than half of them women and children. The ministry, which is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. Hamas is still holding 56 hostages. About a third are believed to be alive, though many fear they are in grave danger the longer the war goes on. Israel said it had recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages from Gaza on Thursday in a secret operation. Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday killed at least 22 people in Gaza, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in the territory. The military said it targeted a militant in that strike. Israeli forces also bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight, sending thousands of people fleeing on the eve of a Muslim feast day and prompting accusations by top Lebanese officials that Israel was violating a ceasefire deal. Israel said it was targeting sites that Hezbollah was using to make drones. The strikes were carried out about 90 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings. It was the fourth time that Dahiyeh has been bombed since the United States brokered a truce in November that ended a year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed movement. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday in an unprecedented retaliation over the war tribunal's cases regarding alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan and over the court's issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the judges - Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia - were 'actively engaged in the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel'. The Hague-based court said it 'deplores' the sanctions, calling them an attempt to undermine its independence. The decision to impose them follows President Donald Trump's executive order in February authorising sanctions on ICC officials who investigate the US and its allies. Loading The court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last November year over allegations of war crimes in Gaza. The Israeli government has denied the accusations, and the Biden administration rejected the court's authority. Neither the US nor Israel is a party to the court, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and other atrocities. It has issued 60 arrest warrants, including for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has detained 21 people.
Times
17-05-2025
- Times
Clock is ticking in the hunt for Assad's stash of chemical weapons
Abdul Hamid walks slowly in a black Adidas tracksuit, head bowed, through a dusty graveyard. The cemetery, ringed by the remains of bombed-out buildings, bears silent witness to what unfolded in Syria. The 36-year-old tradesman stops, murmurs a prayer and begins pulling weeds from the earth around the sun-bleached gravestones. He points to them one by one: 'My cousin, my wife Sana, both of my children — the twins — another cousin and his daughter, two more cousins and one of his sons, both of my brothers Yasser and Abdul Karim and their children.' The list continues, an unrelenting rhythm of grief. Not a mass grave, but a mass death, all felled by a single, silent killer. On April 4, 2017, a sarin-laced rocket dropped
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
All the Mountains Give review – gripping portrait of smugglers on the Iran-Iraq border
In an immersive and sweeping debut feature, Kurdish film-maker Arash Rakhsha portrays the plight of his people with sheer cinematic poetry. Shot over six years, the film closely follows Hamid and Yasser, two Kurdish friends who work side by side as kolbars, smugglers of untaxed household goods across the Iran-Iraq border. Coloured in icy shades of blue, their lives are filled with terrifying dangers, yet there's also space for warmth and camaraderie amid the fog of precariousness. Getting paid per kilogram, the pair haul heavy loads on their backs through treacherous terrain. One moment they are wading upstream, the next they are hiking through the steep, snowbound ranges of the Zagros mountains. The kolbars also rely on mules for transport, though this means they are easier to detect by the border patrols. Landmines – active souvenirs from the Iran-Iraq war – are also hazards on the winding paths; every year, about 200 kolbars die en route. Taut and evocative, Aso Kohzadi and Mikail Asian's piano and strings-driven score further underlines the psychological tightrope of these treks. In wide shot, Hamid and Yasser are dwarfed by the majestic but melancholic landscape, fraught with unknowable pitfalls. The gripping, thriller-like atmosphere of the men's journeys is punctuated by touching moments of domestic calm. Gentle scenes of family bonds – Hamid tending to his ailing father, Yasser teaching Kurdish to his wife – glow with a painterly beauty. For this stateless ethnic group, their homes acquire an even more powerful meaning. The film's use of a wide aspect ratio is especially effective, turning seemingly ordinary acts of care into larger-than-life tableaux. These quiet moments are what nourish the kolbars with courage and strength, as they brave death on a daily basis. All the Mountains Give is at Bertha DocHouse, London from 11 April.
Express Tribune
23-02-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
Heart Tantrums review: the price of partnership
Memoirs generally open one's life to the world often in ways that may be hidden from public view. They express feelings, experiences, and thoughts that are sometimes very personal, baring open one's heart and mind. Usually they focus on one or two aspects of one's life, leaving aside many others, yet giving the readers an understandable peak into the author's life. One heart-felt memoir is Heart Tantrums: A Feminist's Memoir on Misogyny and Marriage by Aisha Sarwari, a public speaker, writer, women's rights advocate, and co-founder of Women's Advancement Hub. She has been working in the field of public affairs and communications for over 20 years. She writes for Dawn, The Express Tribune, the BBC, and The Guardian and has two published books: the first being Find Your Way Home and the other Heart Tantrums. Sarwari met Yasser, a passionate young man (now a human rights lawyer turned internationally acclaimed biographer of Pakistan's founding father, M. A. Jinnah), on an online message board, arguing about the subcontinent's history and setting facts about Pakistan straight. At this time both were studying in the US and were drawn towards each other by their mutual love for Pakistan, optimism about its future, and belief in its potential. After graduating from their respective universities, they both returned, albeit at different times to their ancestral country Pakistan, and got married. Her married life in Lahore was very different from that of her earlier life. Since Sarwari had never lived in South Asia, as she was born in Uganda and studied in the US, she initially faced difficulties living in the joint family system, struggling to meet cultural expectations, and fulfilling her desire for equality and acceptance. Moreover, the diagnosis of Yasser's brain tumour, which according to reports had started growing around the time they got married, made her life more difficult, as among other things the tumour affected his emotional regulation and expression, provoking aggressive outbursts. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is about Yasser's tumour, his altered personality, and the violence that he meted out to her because of his strange behaviour caused by the tumour. She begins her story some years into the marriage, when domestic violence in her relationship was at its worst, and when no one suspected that Yasser had a brain tumour which was the reason why he was not in control of his behaviour. Yasser is controlling, has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and always wants things his way. To add to that, he is outspoken on social media platforms which costs them friends and social support. But if he is in disagreement with someone or feels offended by someone's remark on social media, he not only blocks them himself but also forces Sarwari to block them, often resorting to violence to get it done. His comments often begin a backlash and somehow people call Sarwari to tell him to correct himself; any attempt on her part to tell him to tone down starts another fight. The author takes the reader through the painful episodes of her life. She talks about the verbal and physical abuse she faced in her marriage, her pain, loneliness, helplessness, anguish, and much more. Reading through her narration of the abuse she faced, one feels like asking how could a well-educated, financially independent, successful career woman like Sarwari, who is a committed feminist and a vocal advocate against cruelties towards women, accept such abuse and remain in a marriage that she indicts with charges of domestic violence and even infidelity. However, Sarwari, quite early in the book, writes: 'I have spent the last few years utterly confused, torn between wanting to leave and wanting to stay—only because science tells me that Yasser is not the one who is the jerk here. So, I have stayed, but staying has meant putting myself in harm's way.' Also, she stayed for their daughters, and, of course, out of her love for him. At places, she recalls happy moments with Yasser and the times when he stood by her. For instance, when he stays by their daughter's bedside holding her hand to comfort her in hospital, and when he supports her when she wants to terminate the pregnancy; he tells the doctor: 'No I will not try to convince her; she has convinced me. This is Aisha's body. And what is in her body is also hers. We have come to you with that together.' It shows his love for her and respect of her wish, as well as his feminist side. Going further back in time, in the second part, she recalls her upbringing in Uganda, her relationship with her parents, losing her father in early adolescence, and leaving behind her family home in Uganda to go and live in Kenya with her mother's family who were more conservative and try to discipline her. She had been taught by her mother to be quiet, make almost no noise in her actions, and practically have a presence so faint that it cannot even be registered. Because the opposite was just plain 'batameezi' [bad-manners]. And 'the worst thing you can be, besides being a girl, is being a batameez [badmannered girl].' She recalls her parents' home in Uganda and her childhood. She loved her father and is devastated at his death. Though she loved her mother, she feels hurt from the days back in her old house, recalling events when she felt betrayed by her; yet she is always compassionate, even while blaming her. 'Ami was a victim of Abu, I a victim of her family. Ami and I shared a trauma.' She mentions how her mother lied when she was hurt to save herself from her husband's anger; how in her aunt's house she would let others berate her and wouldn't speak up for her when she was routinely humiliated. Here, too, one can see references to patriarchy and misogyny; her mother is afraid of her husband and later is not ready to speak up for her daughter to her brother. She talks about the differences in her parents' families, both families' lifestyles, and her father's love for both Pakistan and Uganda. He had come to Uganda years ago and always considered it home, though supported Pakistan and Jinnah, which perhaps instilled in her the love for Pakistan. In the third part she talks about what it was like living with Yasser and his mom, her separation from Yasser, and her workplace problems including workplace harassment, etc. She describes how some of her bosses treated her and manipulated her to their advantage, and the misogyny she faced. In the job market, she realised, 'Men were my gateway to surviving in the pay-cheque world. Someone had to sign the pay-cheque. Men were it. They had to do important things or tell other important men to do it for them... If I wanted money in my bank I had to kiss up to The Man.' After the death of Yasser's father, his tumour diagnosis and treatment followed and she had become the primary breadwinner of the family. She had to relocate for better paying jobs, and even live apart from her family for some time. It put a lot of strain on Sarwari as she was now not only the primary breadwinner but Yasser's care-giver as well. The financial troubles and familial dysfunction as she moves between Lahore and Islamabad makes them question the point of it all. Though a lot of space is given to Yasser's tumour, the book is not just about that. It is about identity and belonging, misogyny and motherhood, and patriarchy and partnership. It touches on themes like the experience of living as immigrants, establishing one's identity, oppression faced in families, living and navigating through the nuances of Pakistani society, all the while suffering from systemic misogyny. Sarwari talks about the tumultuous times faced by her, the catastrophic events that unfolded in her life, the multitude of issues that she faced in her domestic life and how she navigated her way through whatever life threw at her. Though she has not elaborated on it, Sarwari does mention 'Good things have also happened. I have benefitted from the systems I have fought against. Having a husband has protected me from far more misogyny that I could have been subjected to and has given me the permission to have a voice without fighting society for it—just that one permission slip has eased my life considerably. …' It is interesting to note that the author does not only talk about the problems she had to face and the attitude and behaviour of others in her life, she is also critical of her own behaviour through the pressure-cooker moments of life. 'There were times when I didn't take it lying down. I gave my own share of sorry-assed sucker punches, hurling them on Yasser's jaw. I called him inappropriate names, …' she writes. Then later, 'In my audits with my therapist, I confess that I am worst off than Yasser. My rage has no basis. I didn't start off as broken and yet here I am a savagely destructive woman.' In his Foreword to the book, her husband, Yasser, admits to violence and infidelity 'Which almost broke us apart.' He acknowledges, 'Aisha stood with me through thick and thin. … I was thoroughly undeserving of a partner like Aisha. I plucked a beautiful flower and then trod on it.' Sarwari mentions that she never meant to write a book in the first place; the publisher literally pulled it out of her after her article about Yasser's tumour, his book on Jinnah, and her care-giver fatigue from supporting her husband during his illness, on The 'seemed to hit the nerve'. She confesses that when asked to write a book she first resisted and said 'I am sorry, but there is no story here.' But here we are with a great book in our hands that is an honest look at the challenges that women face, whether it is love, loss, or finding ourselves. It is a story about balancing what society expects from us with what we truly need. At the same time, it is a beautiful reminder that women deserve to prioritise their own happiness and strength. Rizwana Naqvi is a freelance journalist and tweets @naqviriz. She can be reached at naqvi59rizwana@ All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer
