Latest news with #sraeli
Mint
a day ago
- Politics
- Mint
Israel to show Greta Thunberg and activists October 7 terror footage after Gaza-bound yacht seized
sraeli naval forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg and 11 other international activists on Monday (June 9), accusing them of attempting to breach Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The boat, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was seized before reaching Palestinian waters and diverted to the Israeli port of Ashdod. 'I congratulate the IDF for the quick and safe takeover of the 'Madleen' flotilla,' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). Katz also ordered that the activists be shown footage of Hamas's October 7 attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. 'It is fitting that the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-supporting friends see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization is, which they came to support and for whom they are acting, and what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and who Israel is fighting against in its defense,' Katz said. Israel has dismissed the activists' voyage as a publicity stunt rather than a humanitarian mission. 'This wasn't humanitarian aid. It's Instagram activism,' said Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer. 'Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself… She's not here for Gaza — let's be blunt about it. She's here for Greta.' According to officials, the seized ship carried supplies amounting to less than a single truckload, far short of what is needed in the war-torn enclave. Greta Thunberg, 21, released a prerecorded message shortly after the boat was halted, urging supporters to pressure Swedish authorities. 'I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,' she said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said all 12 activists were undergoing medical checks and would be deported. They are currently held in a detention facility in Ramle. A photo released by the ministry showed Thunberg disembarking at Ashdod. The Swedish and French governments confirmed they were monitoring the situation. French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to allow six detained French citizens to return home quickly. Swedish officials stated that all passengers were aware of the risks and currently faced no danger. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the mission, condemned Israel's interception, claiming the ship was unlawfully boarded in international waters roughly 200 kilometers from Gaza. 'The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated,' the group said in a statement. Legal rights group Adalah called the seizure a violation of international law, stating: 'The arrest of the unarmed activists… amounts to a serious breach of international law.' The incident comes amid an intensifying humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israeli forces have allowed limited aid into the enclave following US pressure, but experts warn of famine as food, fuel, and medical supplies remain scarce. Israel has maintained a naval blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007. The country says the measure is necessary to prevent arms smuggling, but critics call it collective punishment for Gaza's 2 million residents. The war in Gaza has led to the deaths of more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli officials assert their campaign targets Hamas infrastructure and militants.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Health
- Express Tribune
Israel attacks Syrian military installations, weapons
sraeli soldiers stand on the Syrian side of the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as seen from the Golan Heights, December 10, Listen to article At least 95 Palestinians have been killed and 440 injured by Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The war in Gaza is having a devastating effect on pregnant women and nursing mothers, with an estimated 50,000 at serious risk due to shortages of food and essential medicines, according to a hospital in central Gaza, reported Al Jazeera. Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, said rates of miscarriage had increased sixfold since the outbreak of war and had been accompanied by a large rise in premature births, Wafa reported. That had left Gaza's embattled neonatal units overwhelmed, he said. Al-Daqran said Israel's targeting of the healthcare had brought it to the brink of collapse, with far-reaching impacts on patients in Gaza. More than 23 hospitals had been put out of action, with those that remained only partly functioning, as a result of severe shortages of medical supplies and fuel, he said. That meant more than 12,000 cancer patients were left without treatment, resulting in about five deaths a day, while dialysis patients were also dying through a lack of essential treatment. According to Middle East Monitor, 41% of kidney failure patients have died since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli assault, as a result of their inability to receive dialysis treatment due to the destruction of medical facilities and the collapse of essential health services. Aid suspended Meanwhile, the United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) suspended aid distribution in the war-torn territory on Wednesday, a day after Israeli forces again opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers near a GHF distribution site, killing at least 27 and injuring more than 100. Read: 27 killed, dozens injured by Israeli fire near Gaza aid site Israel's military also said that approach roads to the aid distribution centres will be 'considered combat zones' on Wednesday, and warned that people in Gaza should heed the GHF announcement to stay away. 'We confirm that travel is prohibited tomorrow on roads leading to the distribution centers…and entry to the distribution centers is strictly forbidden,' an Israeli military spokesperson said. In a post on social media, GHF said the temporary suspension was necessary to allow for 'renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work'. 'Due to the ongoing updates, entry to the distribution centre areas is slowly prohibited! Please do not go to the site and follow general instructions. Operations will resume on Thursday. Please continue to follow updates,' the group said. The temporary suspension of aid comes as more than 100 Palestinian people seeking aid have been reported killed by Israeli forces in the vicinity of GHF distribution centres since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27. The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies triggered mounting international outrage with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanding an independent inquiry into the deaths and for 'perpetrators to be held accountable'. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said. The Israeli military has admitted it shot at aid seekers on Tuesday, but claimed that they opened fire when 'suspects' deviated from a stipulated route as a crowd of Palestinians was making its way to the GHF distribution site in Gaza. 'Syrian weapons struck down' Separately, the Israeli military said in a statement it struck weapons belonging to the Syrian regime in southern Syria, in a second attack that Israel launched after claiming that two projectiles were fired from Syria into Golan Heights on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the two projectiles, according to Reuters. Syrian state news agency and security sources reported a series of Israeli strikes, the first major ones in nearly a month, targeting several sites in the Damascus countryside and Quneitra and Daraa. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had said earlier that he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible for the two projectile launches. "We consider the president of Syria directly responsible for any threat and fire toward the State of Israel, and a full response will come soon," Katz claimed. אנו רואים בנשיא סוריה כאחראי ישירות לכל איום וירי לעבר מדינת ישראל והתגובה המלאה תגיע בהקדם. לא נאפשר חזרה למציאות של ה-7 באוקטובר. — ישראל כ'ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 3, 2025 The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that reports of the launches towards Israel had not been verified yet and reiterated that Syria has not and will not pose a threat to any party in the region, state news agency SANA reported. "We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests," the Syrian foreign ministry added. Syria and Israel have recently engaged in direct talks to ease tensions, a significant development in relations between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades. The Israeli military earlier said that two projectiles crossed from Syria towards Israel and fell in open areas. Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named "Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades," an apparent reference to Hamas' military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024. Reuters could not independently verify the statement. Syrian state media earlier reported an Israeli strike in the southern Daraa province, an attack the Syrian foreign ministry later said resulted in "significant human and material losses." Local residents said Israeli mortars were striking the Wadi Yarmouk area, west of Daraa province, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The area has witnessed increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli military incursions into nearby villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops. Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure. It also has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and taken more territory in the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December, citing lingering concerns over the past of the country's new rulers. Around the same time that Israel reported the projectiles from Syria, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Israel's Jaffa with a ballistic missile. The group says it has been launching attacks against Israel in support of Palestinians during the Israeli war in Gaza. Read: Israel 'without a doubt' committed war crimes in Gaza: Mathew Miller War crimes Moreover, Hamas described recent comments made by US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller on Sky News, where he acknowledged Israeli war crimes as a "significant acknowledgement", Al Jazeera reported. In an interview with the Trump 100 podcast, Matthew Miller, who served as the State Department spokesperson under President Joe Biden, offered an unusually candid assessment of the administration's foreign policy challenges, particularly surrounding Israel's military operations in Gaza. 'It is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,' Miller said, adding that Israeli soldiers were not being held accountable and that there were ongoing policy disagreements inside the administration over the US-Israel relationship. Miller served from 2023 until the end of Mr Biden's term and was responsible for publicly defending US foreign policy decisions, including during the Israel-Gaza conflict and the war in Ukraine. Speaking after leaving office, Mr Miller disclosed that there were both 'small and big' disagreements over how to manage relations with Israel, especially during the 2024 escalation in Gaza. In a statement to Al Jazeera, Hamas said the remarks 'denounce the Israeli occupation, validate its atrocities, and reveal efforts by the US administration to conceal the reality of this brutal war targeting innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.' Israel's war on Gaza The total death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 54,607 killed and 125,341 injured since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian health sources. Israel has killed 4,335 Palestinians and injured 13,300 since breaking a ceasefire in March this year. Israel's atrocities have displaced around 90% of Gaza's estimated two million residents, created a severe hunger crisis, and caused widespread destruction across the territory. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
Ya Libnan
01-05-2025
- Climate
- Ya Libnan
Wildfires rage near Jerusalem, Israel PM asks many countries for help
Israeli security and rescue personnel work near Latrun in central Israel, as wildfires due to extreme heat and winds broke out in central Israel, April 30, 2025 REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon JERUSALEM- Wildfires raged on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of communities and the closure of a main highway as Israel appealed for international assistance to help fight the blaze. TV footage showed fires burning along the main Route 1 Jerusalem to Tel Aviv highway and people abandoning cars and running away from the flames as thick smoke billowed over the surrounding hilltops. Israel has requested international aid to fight the wildfires , which were still spreading as of Wednesday evening. Officials had reached out to Britain, France, Greece, Italy and other countries for assistance, according to the Israeli government Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Italy and Croatia were expected to send three firefighting planes to help extinguish the flames. sraeli media reported that 120 fire and rescue services had mobilised dozens of teams, aircraft and helicopters to try to contain the fires and the military said its search and rescue forces were assisting the operations. Three communities were evacuated, police said, and at least 13 people were injured. There were no reports of fatalities. The fire broke out on Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and many ceremonies marking the eve of its Independence Day were cancelled, including the main state event due to be held in Jerusalem. Israel's largest ever' The Fire and Rescue Service's Jerusalem District commander says that today's fires may be the largest in Israel's history and that firefighters have a long way to go before the blazes are contained. 'We are amidst a very large wildfire, maybe the largest there has ever been in this country,' Shmulik Friedman says during a press conference held in Eshtaol this evening. 'Regarding our activity, it will continue for a very long time. We are far from having control [over the fires],' he says. He said that the blazes, which began near Mesilat Zion at around 9:30 a.m., were carried west by strong winds. The fires have since shifted direction eastward. The senior firefighter warns that winds are expected to pick up this evening and could reach speeds of up to 90-100 kilometers per hour (56-62 mph), which could worsen the spread of the wildfires. When asked about the underlying causes, Friedman replies: 'We do not currently know what caused the fire, we have absolutely no clue, and we are not yet dealing with this. Reuters/ Times of Israel
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel pulls out of key Gaza corridor as Cairo to host crisis talks
Following the latest hostage-for-prisoner exchange under the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli military withdrew from the strategic Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The corridor divides the coastal strip into northern and southern halves. The army's departure means internally displaced people can return from the south of the Gaza Strip to their largely destroyed homes in the north in even greater numbers than before. The Islamist Palestinian group Hamas celebrated the withdrawal of troops from the corridor as a "victory" for the Palestinian people and a defeat for Israel. Israel had already begun withdrawing from parts of the Netzarim Corridor after the current ceasefire with Hamas took effect on January 19. Under the agreement, the army was expected to vacate the area entirely, except for a one-kilometre-wide buffer zone along the Israeli border. Hamas released three more hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, followed by the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. It was the fifth such swap. The hostages - named as Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami - were paraded in front of a crowd in central Gaza by Hamas fighters. The men were made to speak into a microphone on a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross. They were then transferred to the Israeli military and were reunited with their families in Israel. Palestinians: Israeli troops kill four in Gaza despite ceasefire sraeli soldiers have shot dead four people in the northern Gaza Strip despite the current ceasefire, according to Palestinian officials on Sunday. Three young men were killed in the al-Zaytun district of Gaza City, officials of the Hamas-controlled civil defence said. Residents told dpa by phone that the victims had filmed Israeli military units near the border fence with Israel, whereupon the soldiers had opened fire. An elderly woman was also shot dead as she tried to reach her house in the south of the Gaza Strip, reported the Ministry of Health, which is also controlled by Hamas. The Israeli military told dpa that soldiers in northern Gaza opened fire on several suspects who had approached their positions. There had been hits and the suspects had then retreated, officials said. The army again called on all residents of the Gaza Strip not to approach Israeli troops under any circumstances. The statements by both sides could not initially be independently verified. The Gaza war started on October 7, 2023, after gunmen of Hamas and allied groups killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted around 250 people to the coastal strip. According to Palestinian data, more than 48,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, died in the following 15 months of fighting between Hamas and Israel. A ceasefire, initially agreed for six weeks, has been in place since January 19. Cairo to host meeting on Gaza's future Meanwhile, Egypt said on Sunday it would host an emergency Arab summit later this month, after US President Donald Trump floated a plan to takeover the Gaza Strip and displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the war-devastated territory to other countries. The summit will be held in Cairo on February 27 to discuss the "latest and serious developments" of the Palestinian issue, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement. Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last week, Trump said the US would take over Gaza, which he said could become "the Riviera of the Middle East." He did not say how he would relocate some 2 million Palestinians from their land or where they would go, though he had previously asked Egypt and Jordan to take them in. Both countries, as well as many other Arab and Western nations, rejected and criticized Trump's idea. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Egypt along with the US and Qatar brokered the current ceasefire deal.
