Latest news with #ישראלכ'ץ
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Video: Anchor flees as Israeli strike hits Syrian state TV studio during live broadcast
A Syrian TV anchor ran off camera mid-broadcast after an Israeli airstrike hit the state television building in central Damascus, amid escalating regional tensions. The moment was captured live as explosions rocked the area during the newscast. The anchor was seen fleeing for safety as alarms sounded and the broadcast cut off abruptly. החלו המכות הכואבות — ישראל כ'ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 16, 2025 Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz later confirmed the strike on social media, stating: 'The warnings in Damascus have ended – now painful blows will come.' He added that the Israeli military would 'continue to operate forcefully' in Suweida, in southern Syria. Israel has recently expanded its military operations into Syria, particularly in Suweida, where clashes have erupted between the minority Druze community and other armed groups. Addressing Israel's own Druze citizens, Katz said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would protect their community in Syria. 'Prime Minister Netanyahu and I, as Minister of Defence, have made a commitment – and we will uphold it,' Katz said, sharing footage of the live Syrian TV broadcast that was interrupted by the airstrike. נגמרו האיתותים בדמשק – כעת יבואו מכות כואבות. צה'ל ימשיך לפעול בעוצמה בסווידא להשמדת הכוחות שתקפו את הדרוזים עד לנסיגתם מלאה. אחינו הדרוזים בישראל, אתם יכולים לסמוך על צבא ההגנה לישראל שיגן על אחיכם בסוריה. רה'מ נתניהו ואני כשר הביטחון נטלנו התחייבות – ונעמוד בה. — ישראל כ'ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 16, 2025 In a statement released hours before the latest attacks on Damascus, the Syrian presidency described Israel's actions in the south as 'criminal and illegal behaviour.' The statement also addressed the ongoing conflict between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes in the Suweida region, calling the fighting 'unacceptable under any circumstances' and 'contradictory to national principles.' Reiterating its commitment to internal stability, the Syrian government said it would 'investigate all related incidents' and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. It vowed not to allow any party to compromise Syria's 'security and stability.' The government also assured residents of Suweida — a predominantly Druze city — that their rights would be protected and that Damascus would not 'allow anyone to influence their security or stability.' US Secretary of State said Washington is 'talking to all relevant sides' and reiterated the administration's position that it 'wants the fighting to stop.' 'Hopefully [we] will have some updates on the situation later,' Rubio said when asked about the Israeli strikes during a press briefing.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Video: Anchor Runs Mid Telecast As Israel Bombs Syria's State TV
As Israel bombed Syria, a TV anchor ran off camera during a live broadcast as a state TV building in central Damascus got attacked by Israeli airstrikes. החלו המכות הכואבות — ישראל כ'ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 16, 2025 Israel's defence minister Israel Katz shared a statement on social media saying, "The warnings in Damascus have ended - now painful blows will come." He also added that the Israeli military will "continue to operate forcefully" in Suweida. Israel has recently intervened in clashes in Suweida, the area of southern Syria, where there are ongoing clashes between the minority Druze community and other armed groups. He addressed the Druze community in Israel saying that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) will protect the community in Syria. "Prime Minister Netanyahu and I, as Minister of Defence, have made a commitment - and we will uphold it," he adds. He proceeded to share the video of a live TV news broadcast which showed a TV anchor running off for cover as the building in Damascus got hit by a strike.
Middle East Eye
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Collective punishment is a war crime. Israel is doing it anyway
Israel Katz made remarks this week that solidified something legal experts have long stated: Israel is collectively punishing the people of Gaza. The defence minister published a video directly addressed to 'the residents of Gaza', issuing a 'last warning'. 'Soon, the evacuation of the population from combat zones will resume, and what follows will be far more severe: you will pay the full price,' he warned. He called on Palestinians in the enclave to return Israeli captives and expel Hamas. 'The alternative is utter destruction and devastation.' Collective punishment - defined as an action taken against a group in response to an act committed by individuals thought to be part of that group - is a war crime. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters During armed conflict, collective punishment is prohibited against prisoners of war and 'protected persons'. Palestinian civilians in Gaza are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention, as non-combatants living under occupation. And yet, in recent days, Israeli rhetoric and actions appear to be punishing a group which bears no responsibility for any crimes. This is a message to the residents of Gaza: The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza, and the second Sinwar will bring its complete ruin. Soon, the evacuation of the population from combat zones will resume, and what follows will be far more severe—you will pay the full price. Return the… — ישראל כ'ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 19, 2025 'Using civilians as an instrument for waging war, by promising 'total devastation' if the hostages are not returned and Hamas removed, is fundamentally contrary to international humanitarian law,' Shane Darcy, a senior lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Galway, told Middle East Eye. For over two weeks, Israel has blocked all aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip. Electricity has been cut for over a week now. Doctors Without Borders accused Israel of blocking aid 'as a bargaining chip in war'. Egypt and Saudi Arabia labelled the cutting of electricity as collective punishment. 'Israel's current policies amount to collective punishment but more specifically starvation as a method of war,' Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, a researcher at the London School of Economics focused on the international regulation of war, told MEE. Such extreme measures have been utilised by Israel consistently since the war began in October 2023. Darcy, who is an expert on collective responsibility and punishment, said the denial of food, electricity and aid by Israel was 'the most egregious example of collective punishment in this or indeed any recent conflict'. 'The extreme nature of such collective punishment, including those imposed more recently, points to the genocidal logic underpinning such actions by Israel.' He noted that collective punishment was something Israel had been doing for decades in the Palestinian territories. 'The demolition of houses as a form of punishment - a practice based on British Mandate-era regulations and repeatedly upheld by the Israeli courts - is one of the clearest examples.' Katz could be sought for arrest by ICC Israel's resumption of war this week has also been labelled as collective punishment by Ireland's prime minister. Israeli forces unilaterally ended the fragile Gaza ceasefire on Tuesday morning with a wave of devastating attacks in densely populated areas. The military said the target was Hamas commanders and infrastructure. But it was hundreds of civilians who were waking up to eat pre-dawn meals during Ramadan who were massacred. Of over 600 killed since Israel resumed the war, more than 200 were children. In Katz's video address, a day after the attacks began, he said it was 'only the first step' and what would follow would be 'significantly worse'. 'I expect that the ICC prosecutor will eventually request arrest warrants against him as well' - Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, academic 'What Katz does is signal that the objective of the military operation is to cause terror among the civilian population,' said Gurmendi Dunkelberg. 'This also means that he is acknowledging that it is this civilian population, and not exclusively Hamas, that is the object of the attack.' The researcher added that such a statement was relevant not only for war crimes prosecution, but also genocide. 'I expect that the ICC prosecutor will eventually request arrest warrants against [Katz] as well.' Katz's predecessor, Yoav Gallant, is already being sought by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. He along with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, are charged with starvation of civilians as a method of war, wilfully causing great suffering, wilful killing, intentional attacks on a civilian population and extermination, among other charges. Darcy said that Israel's most recent violations, alongside numerous other potential crimes, should be the subject of prosecution in Israel, in international courts and in the courts of other countries under the principle of universal jurisdiction. 'The double standards at play, however, have seen Israel's political and military leaders evade accountability,' he said. 'Such selective justice both undermines the international legal system and denies justice to Palestinian victims.'
