Israeli raid on Jenin kills Palestinian/node/2356626/middle-east
Israeli raid on Jenin kills Palestinian
Palestinian carries blanket to protect himself from gas during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces amid an Israeli military operation, in Jenin. (File/Reuters)
Israel launched near-nightly raids in response to a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks
Updated 17 August 2023
AP
TEL AVIV, Israel: Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in a raid on a militant stronghold in the northern occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the latest violence in a city that has seen some of the worst bloodshed in the current round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
Violence has gripped the region since last spring, when Israel launched near-nightly raids in response to a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks. The violence has escalated into the fiercest fighting in the West Bank in some two decades, and along with increased violence by radical Jewish settlers and settlement expansion by Israel’s far-right government, has fueled tensions in the region.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man killed as Mustafa Al-Kastouni, 32. It was not immediately clear if the man was affiliated with a militant group. The Hamas militant group said its fighters engaged in a gunbattle with Israeli troops in Jenin and lobbed explosives at the forces.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Jenin, a city where Palestinian security forces have little presence, has long been a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. The city and an adjacent refugee camp have been the focus of Israel’s monthslong operation, with an intense 2-day offensive last month the height of those efforts. Israel deployed armed drones and hundreds of troops, leaving vast destruction and killing 12 Palestinians, most of them militants. An Israeli soldier also died.
Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see the violence as a natural response to 56 years of occupation, including stepped-up settlement construction by Israel’s government and increased violence by Jewish settlers.
The ongoing violence in the West Bank has surged to levels unseen in nearly two decades, with more than 170 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of 2023, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations also have been killed.
At least 27 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis since the beginning of the year.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.
Wounded and dead overwhelm southern Gaza hospital as Israelis step up attacks
Palestinian Health Ministry says 316 have been killed since Friday in Gaza since the truce expired
Updated 13 sec ago
Reuters
GAZA: In southern Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, a young man cradled the lifeless body of his brother and then reached out to try to grab a medic running past him in the corridor.
“My brother!” the man yelled out, crying and slapping the floor as others crowded around him, seeking treatment for their wounded and mourning their loved ones on Sunday, the third day of renewed warfare and Israeli bombardment.
The hospital is one of only a handful operating in Khan Younis, a southern city that residents say is one of the focuses of the Israeli offensive that resumed on Friday after the collapse of a truce with Hamas.
Nearby, doctors stepped over bodies and pools of blood as they rushed to their next case, and relatives brought more dazed and sometimes unconscious children through the main doors.
Footage taken by Reuters showed about a dozen young people needing treatment, several of them with what looked like serious injuries.
The UN and aid groups say dozens of medics have been killed since the war began and basic supplies, including fuel to run generators, are running short in hospitals and clinics.
More than 15,500 people have been confirmed killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday that 316 had been killed since Friday in Gaza since the truce expired following the breakdown in talks over an exchange of prisoners and hostages.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the reports of Sunday’s strikes.
The Israeli military earlier ordered Palestinians to evacuate several areas in and around Khan Younis and posted a map highlighting shelters they should go to.
But residents said that areas they had been told to go to were themselves coming under attack.
One man at Nasser Hospital told Reuters that an air strike had hit a house in the city, and he had carried a young boy who was injured to the hospital, but the boy had died in his arms on the way.
Elsewhere in Khan Younis, families gathered at funerals.
One man, Akram El-Rakab, said he was burying his son as well as a sister and a nephew.
Palestinian man killed in West Bank in settler raid
Updated 4 min 19 sec ago
Reuters
RAMALLAH: Israeli settlers attacked two Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, killing one man and torching a car, Palestinian authorities said.
The Palestinian ambulance service said a 38-year-old man in the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, in the northern West Bank, was shot in the chest and died as residents confronted settlers and Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli military said soldiers arrived at the scene and used riot dispersal means and live fire to break up the confrontation between residents and settlers.
It said Palestinians shot fireworks in response, and an Israeli and four Palestinians were injured.
It said the incident was being examined and handed over to police.
In another incident, Wajih Al-Qat, head of the local council of the village of Madama near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, said a group of about 15 settlers burned the car and broke the windows of a house with stones.
The attacks are the latest in a series of similar incidents involving settlers that have drawn condemnation from world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, whose administration is set to impose visa bans on extremist settlers.
The West Bank, which the Palestinians want as part of a future independent state, has seen a surge of violence in recent months as Jewish settlements have continued to expand and US-backed peacemaking efforts have stalled for nearly a decade.
The violence, at a more-than-15-year high this year, surged further after Israel launched an invasion of the separate enclave of Gaza in response to an attack by Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Yesh Din, a human rights group that monitors settler violence, said there had been at least 225 incidents of settler violence in 93 Palestinian communities since the war started.
Before Saturday’s incident, it said at least nine Palestinians had been killed in such attacks.
In a separate incident near Nablus, Palestinian authorities said a 14-year-old boy died of his wounds after he was shot during an incident in which the Israeli military said he brandished a knife at soldiers on a checkpoint.
EU’s mission in Cairo praises Egypt’s role in supporting humanitarian aid to Palestinians
Updated 9 min 17 sec ago
Gobran Mohamed
CAIRO: Annie Choi, the head of the EU’s delegation to Egypt, has praised Cairo’s role in facilitating the arrival of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
She has also welcomed Egypt’s role in peace negotiations.
Choi made the remarks during the opening of the “Youth for Reviving Humanity” initiative in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The initiative falls within the activities of the fifth edition of the World Youth Forum, which is taking place from Dec. 3-5.
She described the forum as “wonderful” and praised Egypt as a firm pillar in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
She stressed that the mission of the Egyptian side was not easy at all, but that it was accomplishing results.
She called on young people to look more broadly at what was happening in the world, noting that the global system was facing a complex situation.
She observed that wars now involve terrorists, minorities, and rebels, who may be within a state’s borders. That made peace negotiations with all parties complex.
She noted that once war breaks out, it is difficult to end. Therefore, the most important action was to help in avoiding conflict.
Choi pointed out that she had spent nearly 10 years negotiating for peace.
Meanwhile, participants in the sessions at Sharm El-Sheikh stressed the importance of achieving comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace in all parts of the world.
They called for the need to deal with and remove the roots of obstacles that stand in the way of peace, while stressing the importance of the media and cultural awareness in achieving this end.
The World Youth Forum initiated “Youth for Reviving Humanity” to advocate for global peace, while emphasizing youth’s role in reviving humane values.
Saudi FM, Gulf ministers take part in GCC Summit preparatory meeting in Doha
Other GCC foreign ministers and the group’s secretary-general, Jassim Albudaiwi, also took part in the session
Updated 03 December 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi minister of foreign affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan was among ministers who met at a preparatory meeting in Doha on Sunday for the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministerial meeting, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The meeting was chaired by Qatar’s Prime Minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, who is also chairman of the current session of the ministerial council.
Other GCC foreign ministers and the group’s secretary-general, Jassim Albudaiwi, also took part in the session.
During the meeting, they discussed a number of reports on the follow-up to the implementation of decisions made at the previous GCC Supreme Council summit in Riyadh.
They also discussed relations between member states, memoranda and reports submitted by the ministerial and technical committees as well as the Secretariat General.
Frankly Speaking: How Saudi aid is making a difference to Gaza
KSrelief supervisor general describes record Saudi donations via Sahem platform as proof of Arab world’s commitment to helping Palestinians
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah decries "exhausting" processes placed by Israel for aid delivery, lauds "instrumental" cooperation of Egyptian authorities
Updated 03 December 2023
Arab News
DUBAI: The outpouring of support to Gaza from both the Saudi government and people has demonstrated the Arab world’s commitment to helping Palestinians, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of Saudi aid agency KSrelief, has said.
He suggested one need look no further than the figure of more than SR536.25 million ($143 million) already collected in donations for the beleaguered Gaza Strip through Saudi Arabia’s Sahem platform, which allows Saudis to donate directly to KSrelief’s projects.
“Nobody can deny the evidence and the numbers, and I think the Sahem platform is seen by the world,” Al-Rabeeah, who is also a skilled pediatric surgeon and adviser to the Saudi Royal Court, told the latest episode of “Frankly Speaking,” the Arab News’ weekly current affairs show.
The chronically poverty-stricken and food-insecure Gaza Strip was in serious need of humanitarian and development aid even before the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted in early October.
Bombardment of the region by Israeli forces began on Oct. 7 after a series of Hamas attacks on and kidnappings in Israel. According to health officials in Gaza, more than 15,000 people, most of them civilians, have lost their lives in the enclave since that day.
With Israeli airstrikes showing no signs of abating and the humanitarian situation deteriorating, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Nov. 2 the start of a fundraising campaign for Gaza via Sahem.
In just five days, the donations had exceeded SR375 million. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman themselves donated SR30 million and SR20 million, respectively.
The sheer amount of donations — “one of the largest and quickest fundraising campaigns” in the long history of Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian efforts — flies in the face of many media reports that suggest that the Arab world does not care about Gaza.
Al-Rabeeah told Frankly Speaking that Israeli authorities have put limitations on the number of aid trucks and implemented a lengthy inspection process, causing potentially deadly delays in the delivery of food, shelter, and medicine. (AN Photo)
“We haven’t stopped yet,” Al-Rabeeah told Katie Jensen, the host of “Frankly Speaking,” on the subject of giving. “We have exceeded 1 million donors, which reflects the response of the people and their passion about the civilian situation and humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
The donations will continue to increase over the coming period, he said, adding that the record-breaking amount does not include in-kind donations.
He said: “Our businessmen have donated ambulances, medical equipment, food supplies, nutritious food and formula for children. These are not reflected on the platform, so we’re talking about a lot of donations.”
The first batch of Saudi aid arrived in Port Said on Nov. 25, with more than 1,000 tons of food, medical supplies, and shelter materials making its way towards Gaza.
The third relief ship departed from the Jeddah Islamic Port on Saturday, carrying 300 large containers, or 1,246 tons, of food, medical help, and supplies for shelter.
The first Saudi relief plane left Riyadh for Egypt’s El-Arish Airport on Nov. 9, carrying 35 tons of aid. By Dec. 1, KSrelief had operated its 24th aid relief flight for Gaza, which carried 31 tons of food and shelter materials.
While there is certainly no shortage of material support for the people of Gaza, Al-Rabeeah has denounced the processes that Israeli authorities have imposed before aid deliveries reach the Gaza Strip.
“The situation is challenging,” he said, drawing on his observations during recent visits to El-Arish Airport, where Saudi aid destined for Gaza arrives, and the Rafah crossing, the only border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
He noted that aid trucks “have to go more than 50 kilometers to be examined and cleared by the Israeli forces, and then come back 50 kilometers.”
He added: “The assessment takes days to clear each truck. And then they must go through the Rafah corridor. This by itself is a significant challenge. It’s delaying the aid for those who are in extreme need.”
Al-Rabeeah said that despite the UN saying that Gaza requires a minimum of 400 trucks of aid per day, Israeli authorities were only allowing a maximum of about 140 each day.
These obstacles can be a matter of life and death, he said, pointing out that particularly vulnerable people, such as pregnant women, children, the elderly and the injured, cannot afford delays.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSrelief, met with Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, in Egypt. (SPA)
He said: “We’re talking about life by the minute. So, any delay means, as far as I’m concerned as a doctor, a risk of death.
“We have to gain every minute, we have to gain every hour, and we have to allow as many trucks (as we can) that are carrying nutrition for children, food for adults, and also medications that will maintain life.”
A more severe and obvious danger is present on the ground, one which Al-Rabeeah said is preventing Saudis from doing more to aid Palestinians.
Multiple reports from academics, humanitarian aid agencies and media groups have accused Israeli forces of killing healthcare and aid workers in Gaza, by targeting shelters, refugee camps, hospitals and ambulances.
Not even the UN has been spared Israeli targeting, with the organization reporting the deaths of more than 100 workers from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees since the Israeli military operation began in October.
Al-Rabeeah said: “For me, it is (painful) to see anybody attack and deliberately actually kill aid workers or health workers, or attack hospitals or even mosques, churches — you name it.
“Those acts are against all rules that we know of, against international humanitarian law, against also the principles of human beings. We hope that those attacks will stop immediately and no civilian, or health worker, or humanitarian worker is attacked or targeted.”
If their safety is guaranteed, he said, KSrelief was ready to send volunteer healthcare workers to help save lives in Gaza.
He added: “If the security situation allows, my team will be more than happy to go to Gaza and ensure that those people who are in dire need will receive the aid. We also want to see that the distribution (of aid) is appropriate.”
Despite the hurdles to be overcome, local and regional authorities are doing their best to facilitate humanitarian deliveries, according to Al-Rabeeah.
KSrelief has signed agreements with multiple international agencies, including UNRWA, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
He added: “We have teams also in El-Arish who are located there to coordinate with the UN agencies, international agencies and regional agencies such as the Egyptian Red Crescent and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Al-Rabeeah said Egyptian authorities had been very cooperative and had been instrumental to the work of KSrelief. (AN Photo)
“The flights are continuing from Riyadh to El-Arish daily, as are the shipments by sea. We have plans to keep those ships going on, and the flights going on, to ensure that we have enough supplies close to the corridors so that we can access them as quickly as we can.”
KSrelief and the Egyptian Red Crescent on Nov. 23 signed a memorandum of understanding for the cooperation of aid delivery to Gaza, facilitating the sending of aid by land and air routes.
Al-Rabeeah said: “The Egyptian authorities have been very cooperative. They have been instrumental to our work, and they have helped us a lot, either at El-Arish Airport or at the sea port of Port Said.”
He added that KSrelief had held multiple virtual meetings with the Palestine Red Crescent Society and UNRWA “to ensure that their … logistic needs are met.”
In addition to coordinating the massive undertaking of supporting Gaza with aid, Al-Rabeeah has a personal connection to the region.
He has performed dozens of operations in the last 30 years to separate conjoined twins as part of the Saudi Program for the Separation of Conjoined Twins, and in the process has helped make the Kingdom the world’s leader in such surgeries.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund reported that Haneen was alive and well in May this year, but her fate is now unknown.
Al-Rabeeah said: “Now I am not sure as of today whether Haneen is alive, whether her parents are alive, or all of this work that has been done by Saudi Arabia has been lost.
“It’s painful for me until I know that Haneen and her parents are alive.”
