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Gaza civil defense says Israel strike kills 17 at school compound

Gaza civil defense says Israel strike kills 17 at school compound
Gaza’s civil defense agency said an Israeli strike struck a school compound in Gaza City on Saturday, killing at least 10 people. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 04 August 2024
AFP
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Gaza civil defense says Israel strike kills 17 at school compound

Gaza civil defense says Israel strike kills 17 at school compound
  • Bassal said the compound was housing Palestinians displaced from their homes in the ongoing war
  • The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilian facilities as command and control centers
Updated 04 August 2024
AFP
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GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli bombardment of a school compound in Gaza City killed at least 17 people Saturday, as Israel’s military reported it had hit a Hamas command center.
“There are 17 martyrs and several wounded due to Israeli shelling on Hamama school,” the agency said in a statement, updating an earlier toll of 10 killed.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it had hit a Hamas command and control center located inside the compound.
Earlier, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the compound was housing Palestinians displaced from their homes in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants.
Israel’s military said the compound was being used by Hamas militants to manufacture weapons, adding it was a “hiding place for Hamas terrorists.”
It has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilian facilities as command and control centers or to hide their commanders and militants. The Palestinian group denies the accusation.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, which resulted in the death of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held hostage in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel’s military campaign has killed at least 39,550 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Hamas Israeli strike

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Italy to host G7 leaders’ call on MidEast crisis -Meloni’s office

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Updated 4 sec ago
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Italy to host G7 leaders’ call on MidEast crisis -Meloni’s office

Italy to host G7 leaders’ call on MidEast crisis -Meloni’s office
  • Meloni told her cabinet on Wednesday that there was “deep concern” about latest developments
Updated 4 sec ago
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ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will host a call of Group of Seven (G7) leaders later on Wednesday to discuss the crisis in the Middle East, her office said.
Meloni told her cabinet on Wednesday that there was “deep concern” about latest developments, including Iran’s missile attack against Israel and the growing instability Lebanon, her office said.

Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel

Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel
Updated 14 min 5 sec ago
Reuters
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Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel

Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel
  • Kremlin spokesman: Moscow condemns any action that caused the death of civilians
Updated 14 min 5 sec ago
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MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday said the situation in the Middle East was developing in an alarming direction and called on all sides to exercise restraint.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had contacts with all sides in the region and said Moscow condemned any action that caused the death of civilians.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that regular infantry and armored units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon, stepping up pressure on Hezbollah, as Israel prepared to retaliate against a barrage of Iranian missile strikes.
“This situation is developing according to the most alarming scenario,” Peskov said.
“We call for restraint by all sides against the backdrop of what is happening. And of course, we condemn any actions which lead to the deaths of civilians.”
Asked what Moscow would do next and whether it would support Iran in the event of Tehran entering a full-scale conflict with Israel, Peskov said:
“We have contacts with all sides in this conflict, we continue to have these contacts and call on all sides for restraint.”

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Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies

Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies
Updated 02 October 2024
AP
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Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies

Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies
  • The civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations are shocked at the destruction underway in Lebanon
  • An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care
Updated 02 October 2024
AP

BEIRUT: When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen.
About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies — including children’s — from the rubble, along with 60 survivors.
The children’s bodies broke his heart, said Arkadan, 38, but his team of over 30 first responders’ inability to help further pained him more. Firetrucks and ambulances haven’t been replaced in years. Rescue tools and equipment are in short supply. His team has to buy their uniforms out of pocket.
An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care. Political divisions have left the country of 6 million without a president or functioning government for more than two years, deepening a national sense of abandonment reaching down to the men whom the people depend on in emergencies.
“We have zero capabilities, zero logistics,” Arkadan said. “We have no gloves, no personal protection gear.”
War has upended Lebanon again
Israel’s intensified air campaign against Hezbollah has upended the country. Over 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Sept. 17, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, sleeping on beaches and streets.
The World Health Organization said over 30 primary health care centers around Lebanon’s affected areas have been closed.
On Tuesday, Israel said it began a limited ground operation against Hezbollah and warned people to evacuate several southern communities, promising further escalation.
Lebanon is “grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, who said the UN had allocated $24 million in emergency funding for people affected by the fighting.
Exhausted medical staff are struggling to cope with the daily influx of new patients. Under government emergency plans, hospitals and medical workers have halted non-urgent operations.
Government shelters are full
In the southern province of Tyre, many doctors have fled along with residents. In Nabatiyeh, the largest province in southern Lebanon, first responders say they have been working around the clock since last week to reach hundreds of people wounded in bombings that hit dozens of villages and towns, often many on the same day.
After the bombing in Sidon nearly 250 first responders joined Arkadan’s team, including a specialized search-and-rescue unit from Beirut, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) to the north. His team didn’t have the modern equipment needed to pull people from a disaster.
“We used traditional tools, like scissors, cables, shovels,” Arkadan said.
“Anyone here?” rescuers shouted through the gaps in mounds of rubble, searching for survivors buried deeper underground. One excavator removed the debris slowly, to avoid shaking the heaps of bricks and mangled steel.
Many sought refuge in the ancient city of Tyre, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the border with Israel, thinking it was likely to be spared bombardment. More than 8,000 people arrived, said Hassan Dbouk, the head of its disaster management unit.
He said that there were no pre-positioned supplies, such as food parcels, hygiene kits and mattresses, and moving trucks now is fraught with danger. Farmers have been denied access to their land because of the bombings and the municipality is struggling to pay salaries.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic
Meanwhile, garbage is piling up on the streets. The number of municipal workers has shrunk from 160 to 10.
“The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” Dbouk said.
Wissam Ghazal, the health ministry official in Tyre, said in one hospital, only five of 35 doctors have remained. In Tyre province, eight medics, including three with a medical organization affiliated with Hezbollah, were killed over two days, he said.
Over the weekend, the city itself became a focus of attacks.
Israeli warplanes struck near the port city’s famed ruins, along its beaches and in residential and commercial areas, forcing thousands of residents to flee. At least 15 civilians were killed Saturday and Sunday, including two municipal workers, a soldier and several children, all but one from two families.
It took rescuers two days to comb through the rubble of a home in the Kharab neighborhood in the city’s center, where a bomb had killed nine members of the Al-Samra family.
Six premature babies in incubators around the city were moved to Beirut. The city’s only doctor, who looked after them, couldn’t move between hospitals under fire, Ghazal said.
One of the district’s four hospitals shut after sustaining damage from a strike that affected its electricity supply and damaged the operations room. In two other hospitals, glass windows were broken. For now, the city’s hospitals are receiving more killed than wounded.
“But you don’t know what will happen when the intensity of attacks increases. We will definitely need more.”
Making do with what they have
Hosein Faqih, head of civil defense in the Nabatiyeh province, said that “we are working in very difficult and critical circumstances because the strikes are random. We have no protection. We have no shields, no helmets, no extra hoses. The newest vehicle is 25 years old. We are still working despite all that.”
At least three of his firefighters’ team were killed in early September. Ten have been injured since then. Of 45 vehicles, six were hit and are now out of service.
Faqih said he is limiting his team’s search-and-rescue missions to residential areas, keeping them away from forests or open areas where they used to put out fires.
“These days, there is something difficult every day. Body parts are everywhere, children, civilians and bodies under rubble,” Faqih said. Still, he said, he considers his job to be the safety net for the people.
“We serve the people, and we will work with what we have.”

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  • There was no announcement from the Israeli military about rocket fire from Yemen
Updated 02 October 2024
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SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis targeted military posts deep in Israel with three winged ‘Quds 5’ rockets, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Wednesday.
There was no announcement from the Israeli military about rocket fire from Yemen on Wednesday.
The Houthi militants, backed by Iran, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians, since the Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The group said the continuous support to Israel from the United States and the United Kingdom will put their interests ‘under fire’.
“We will not hesitate in broadening our military operations against the Israeli enemy and who is behind it until the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon ends,” Saree added.

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Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel

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Updated 02 October 2024
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Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel

Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel
  • Neighboring countries have closed their airspace and airline crews are navigating alternative routes to avoid the escalating conflict
Updated 02 October 2024
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DUBAI: Several airlines operating in the Gulf have adjusted their flight routes to ensure passenger safety following Iran’s attack on Israel.

Neighboring countries have closed their airspace and airline crews are navigating alternative routes to avoid the escalating conflict.

Etihad Airways

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said it is rerouting several flights on Wednesday due to airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East. Etihad said it is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates as the situation evolves.

Emirates Airlines

Emirates canceled all flights to and from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran, and Jordan on Oct. 2 and 3. The airline is closely monitoring the situation in the region and is in contact with relevant authorities regarding any developments.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq and Iran due to airspace closures.

Flydubai

Flydubai canceled flights to Jordan, Iraq, Israel, and Iran on Oct. 2 and 3 due to the temporary closure of airspace, according to a statement provided to Reuters.

Kuwait Airways

Kuwait Airways said on Tuesday it had adjusted the flight routes for some of its services, resulting in changes to destination timings.

“This is in application of necessary security measures and to ensure the safety of passengers,” the airline said.

A spokesperson for tracking service FlightRadar24 said flights diverted “anywhere they could,” and a snapshot of traffic in the region showed flights spreading in wide arcs to the north and south, with many converging on Cairo and Istanbul.

FlightRadar24 said Istanbul and Antalya in southern Turkiye were becoming congested, forcing some airlines to divert south.

Iran launched the strikes in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, and Israel vowed a “painful response” against its enemy.

Eurocontrol, a pan-European air traffic control agency, earlier sent a warning to pilots about the escalating conflict.

“A major missile attack has been launched against Israel in the last few minutes. At present the entire country is under a missile warning,” it said in an urgent navigation bulletin.

Shortly afterwards it announced the closure of Jordanian and Iraqi airspace as well as the closure of a key crossing point into airspace controlled by Cyprus.

An Iraqi pilot bulletin said its Baghdad-controlled airspace was “closed due to security until further notice.”

Iraq’s transport ministry later announced the reopening of Iraqi airspace to incoming and outgoing civilian flights at Iraqi airports. FlightRadar24 said on X that “it will be a while before flights are active there again.”

Jordan also reopened its airspace after closing it following the volley of Iranian missiles fired toward Israel, the Jordanian state news agency reported.

Lebanon’s airspace will be closed to air traffic for a two-hour period on Tuesday, Transport Minister Ali Hamie said on X.

The latest disruptions are expected to deal a further blow to an industry already facing a host of restrictions due to conflicts between Israel and Hamas, and Russia and Ukraine.

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