Latest news with #siege
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Detained Gaza aid boat activists launch hunger strike: NGO
JERUSALEM: More than a dozen activists being held by Israel after their aid boat was intercepted en route to Gaza launched a hunger strike on Monday to protest their detention, according to a local NGO assisting them. At least five of the 21 passengers of the Freedom Flotilla vessel Handala have agreed to be summarily deported after the boat was stopped and boarded by the Israeli navy while attempting to break a military blockade of the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The legal aid group Adalah said that on Monday afternoon, 'hearings concluded at Givon Prison, concerning the continued detention of the 14 volunteers who... refused to consent to an expedited deportation process.' 'During the hearings, the volunteers stressed that their mission was humanitarian — motivated by the need to act against Israel's illegal siege and the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,' the group said in a statement. One US activist reported 'severe physical violence by Israeli forces,' while others described being held in poor conditions, Adalah said. 'The activists told the tribunal that they remain on an open hunger strike in protest of their unlawful detention,' it added. It later said the tribunal had 'upheld the continued detention of the 14 volunteers.' Israel has been treating their cases as immigration violations, which Adalah maintains is illegal, saying they were brought into the country against their will from international waters. The Handala's 21 passengers hailed from 10 countries, and included two French lawmakers and a pair of Al Jazeera journalists. Adalah said at least one of the lawmakers, the two journalists and two other passengers were already on their way out of the country. Two passengers who were Israeli-American dual nationals were released after being interrogated, according to the organization. A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9. It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel.
Al Bawaba
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Houthis announce stage four of escalation with Israel
Published July 28th, 2025 - 05:48 GMT ALBAWABA -Houthis, also known as the Ansar Allah group, announced to further escalate its military operations against Israel, a military official confirmed. The Yemeni group also announced the start of the fourth phase of the siege on the Israeli enemy. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the fourth phase launched by the group includes "targeting all ships belonging to any company dealing with enemy ports, and in any location that is accessible." بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن الإعلان عن المرحلة التصعيدية الرابعة من الحصار البحري على العدو الصهيوني واستهداف كافة السفن التي تتعامل الشركات المالكة لها مع موانئ فلسطين المحتلة.بتاريخ27_7_2025م — العميد يحيى سريع (@army21yemen) July 27, 2025 In a televised statement, Saree said that companies that ignore the warnings will have their ships attacked, regardless of their destination and nationality. He added, "The Yemeni Armed Forces warn all companies to stop dealing with Israeli ports, starting from the moment this statement is announced. If they do not respond, their ships, regardless of their destination, will be targeted anywhere that is accessible or within the reach of our missiles and drones." © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 28 July 2025
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I'm Camille Bianchi. Israel says it will stop military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza to allow for the delivery of food and supplies. The Israeli Government is also allowing other countries to drop supplies into Gaza. In Gaza City, Rewaa Abu Foul says the journey to get food is dangerous. "We have been going more than once. We have been going for two and a half weeks and we have not been able to get anything. We want the war to end, the siege to be lifted, and aid to reach us. We want bread, we want food and drink. There are children who were all run over. When we were walking, the truck passed and we saw one of them get run over. All of this is caused by the siege and the famine we are in." Victorian Labor politicians are planning to demand the federal government recognises a Palestinian state. But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says more steps are needed to achieve a two-state solution. Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says the federal government needs to do more to end the suffering in Gaza. "Words do not feed starving children. It is time for the Australian government to join with the international community and recognise Palestinian statehood. The recognition of Palestinian statehood is in the ALP platform. It is time that they action it. The Australian government should join with the international community in applying sanctions to the state of Israel." Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to talk with eachother in Malaysia later today to try to end to the recent fighting. At least 33 soldiers and civilians have been killed, while thousands of Thai and Cambodian nationals have been displaced in the past week. United States President Donald Trump says he is the reason these peace talks are happening. "I asked my people, I said: 'how are we doing with Cambodia, and how are doing with Thailand?' And they say they're going to be coming in at some point to talk. I said: 'well, let's call them right now'. So I called the prime ministers of each, and I said we're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war. And I spoke to both of the prime ministers, and I think by the time I got it off, I think they want to settle now. I know they're meeting today or tomorrow, and we're going to work with them." In car racing and Formula One, Australian Oscar Piastri has won the Belgian Grand Prix. Piastri passing finished 3.415 seconds faster than the second-place rival, Lando Norris. Piastri says it feels good to achieve his sixth win of the season - the most by an Australian in any season in F1 history. "It was a a great race. I knew that trying to take the leader lap one was my best chance of winning. And I was able to make it happen, which was nice. I got a good run out of one and yeah, I had to be pretty brave and try and stay as close as I could - and then I got the slipstream - and got it done. So very, very happy."
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel says it's distributing aid in Gaza, so why are people starving?
One hundred twenty-seven people, 85 of them children, have died from hunger or malnutrition as a result of Israel's siege of Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked all aid to Gaza in March, claiming that it was to pressure Hamas into accepting a ceasefire that Israel broke unilaterally later that month. This week, the Israeli government has blamed the United Nations for the situation, even accusing its aid agency of working with Hamas to restrict food from getting to people. This was not the first time Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza. In March 2024, Israel stopped UN aid convoys from reaching northern Gaza as it attempted to starve the population there into fleeing. In September, 15 international aid organisations said Israel was blocking 83 percent of Gaza's aid. In both instances, Israel denied blocking aid, blaming either UN inefficiency or Hamas for aid not reaching people in areas it has claimed to control for much of the war. So, what has Israel said, and does it accept that a man-made famine is under way in Gaza? Here's what we know. So is there no aid system in Gaza now? After receiving much criticism over the increased threat of famine that its siege had inflicted on Gaza, Israel, along with its US ally, backed the creation of the GHF in May. The GHF was intended to replace the UN and international aid agencies, which have operated some 400 aid distribution points across Gaza, with four erratically operated distribution points in Gaza's centre and south. Since May, the Israeli military and private contractors, understood to be American, have killed more than 1,000 people trying to access food at GHF distribution points. There are still some limited UN aid distribution operations, but they are so severely restricted that their effect cannot be felt. Does Israel accept that there's starvation in Gaza? It does not. On Friday, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for coordinating aid into Gaza, contradicted the claims of numerous aid agencies, asserting that 'there is no famine in the Gaza Strip'. However, it said, there were 'pockets' across Gaza where people had 'issues of access to food'. So Israel claims that there's enough aid being distributed? Not so much. Israel claims that shortfalls are occurring because much of the aid lies 'rotting in the sun' because the UN has not distributed it. Israel's military radio, Kan, recently reported that the Israeli army has burned or buried some 1,000 trucks' worth of aid that it deemed spoiled or expired. David Mencer, a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office, told the BBC on Friday that the UN in Gaza is a 'billion-dollar racket' and accused the UN of working with Hamas to 'restrict … aid to its own people'. Mercer did not provide any reason as to why the UN might do that, or any evidence to back his claims. Is the UN working with Hamas? Not according to the UN itself. On Wednesday, addressing the UN Security Council, Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, accused UN aid chief, Tom Fletcher, as well as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, of somehow being affiliated with Hamas. Danon provided no evidence. Responding in writing the following day, Fletcher said, 'I expect the Israeli authorities to immediately share any evidence that led them to make such claims.' In January 2024, Israel accused another UN aid body, the UN Relief and Works Agency, of working with Hamas. An independent review into Israel's allegations concluded in April 2024 that it had provided no evidence to support its claim. Is Hamas stealing aid? Not according to Israel's military and its principal ally, the US. Citing unnamed Israeli military officials, The New York Times reported on Saturday that the UN aid operation was relatively reliable and less vulnerable to interference than others, adding that there was no evidence Hamas regularly stole from the UN. An internal report by the US's development agency, USAID, in late June also concluded that there was no evidence of the systematic looting of US-provided aid by Hamas. So far, the only evidence of aid being systematically looted points to criminal gangs now partnering with Israel and the GHF. So, why isn't aid reaching people in Gaza? Months of Israel's siege have led to the effective breakdown of Gaza's society, with food convoys at risk of being overwhelmed by starving, desperate crowds, the UN says. To deliver aid to where it is needed, the UN would need the support of the Israeli military. On Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said half of the 16 food distribution requests submitted to the Israeli military had been refused. 'Bureaucratic … and other operational obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities; ongoing hostilities and access constraints within Gaza; and incidents of criminal looting, and more shooting incidents that have killed and injured people gathering to offload aid supplies along convoy routes' have limited efforts to deliver aid, Dujarric told reporters. What is the outcome of that? Starvation. As we noted above, 122 people, most of whom are children, have already died of starvation in Gaza. Death through hunger occurs over three stages. The first starts as early as a skipped meal; the second comes with any prolonged period of fasting when the body relies on stored fats for energy. The third, and often fatal, stage is when all stored fats have been depleted and the body turns to bone and muscle as sources of energy. It is, according to Dr Omar Abdel-Mannan, a British-Egyptian paediatrician and neurologist who has volunteered in Gaza, 'a very cruel, slow death'. Why have more children died than adults? Because their bodies are using less to do more. Children, especially infants and toddlers, have much less muscle and fat to draw on during famine, while their basic metabolism is working harder as they grow. The outcome is that they have a much-reduced buffer when food intake stops. What are the chances that Israel's siege might end? Nobody knows. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition has so far seemed immune to international outrage and internal dissent over its war on Gaza. It dismisses the accusations of engaging in crimes against humanity and disregarding international law as 'anti-Semitic' and 'blood libel'. In the minds of most analysts, the only power with the influence capable of restraining Israel in Gaza and the region is US President Donald Trump. However, predicting how the notoriously mercurial US president may behave is generally regarded as a job beyond the abilities of most analysts.
The National
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
One poet's journey through wars in Sudan and Gaza
Ahmed Sarsour, a Sudanese-Palestinian poet, fled war in Sudan in 2023 and now finds himself trapped in Gaza, where he uses poetry and social media to share the harsh realities of life under siege
