Israeli strike kills nearly 100 in Gaza school refuge, civil defense officials say

Update Israeli strike kills nearly 100 in Gaza school refuge, civil defense officials say
Palestinians react at the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, August 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 11 August 2024
Follow

Israeli strike kills nearly 100 in Gaza school refuge, civil defense officials say

Israeli strike kills nearly 100 in Gaza school refuge, civil defense officials say
  • Civil defense said 11 children, six women among those killed at school shelter
  • Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 92,000 others, according to the Health Ministry
  • Arab countries condemn airstrike

CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City school compound housing displaced Palestinian families killed around 100 people, the Gaza Civil Emergency Service said on Saturday, while Israel said the toll was inflated and 19 militants were among the dead.
Video from the site showed body parts scattered among rubble and more bodies being carried away and covered by blankets. Empty food tins lay in a puddle of blood, and burned mattresses and a child’s doll lay in the debris.
In another video, men prayed over a dozen body bags laid on the ground of the Tabeen school complex.
The Israeli strike drew condemnation from Arab states, Turkiye, France, Britain and the European Union and an expression of deep concern from the US, which has been working with partners to prevent the 10-month-old Gaza conflict from escalating into a regional war.
“Yet again far too many civilians have been killed,” US Vice President Kamala Harris, said during a campaign stop in Phoenix when asked for her reaction to the Gaza City strike.
Reiterating US calls, Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate running for election in November, told reporters: “We need a hostage deal and a ceasefire.”
Gaza’s Civil Emergency Service, which has a credible record in stating casualty numbers, and the Hamas-run government media office said in separate statements that the complex had been attacked while its occupants were performing dawn prayers.
“So far, there are more than 93 martyrs, including 11 children and six women. There are unidentified remains,” Palestinian civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told a televised press conference.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought shelter in Gaza’s schools, most of which have been closed since Israel’s war against Hamas began.
Around 350 families had been sheltering at the compound, Bassal said — some of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.
The upper floor housing families and the lower floor, used as a mosque, were both hit, he said.
The Israeli military said the death toll was inflated.
“The strike was carried out using three precise munitions, which can not cause the amount of damage that is being reported,” the military said in a statement.
It added that no severe damage was caused to the compound, and provided aerial photos and videos which it said proved this.
The compound, and the mosque that was struck within it, served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility,” Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said on X, without providing evidence.
An Israeli army official said the part of the mosque that was struck was reserved for men.
Israel says Palestinian militants embed themselves among Gaza’s civilians, operating from within schools, hospitals and designated humanitarian zones — which Hamas and its allies deny.
Hamas said the strike was a horrific crime and a serious escalation. Izzat El-Reshiq of Hamas’ political office said the dead did not include a single combatant.
A separate strike on Saturday killed three Palestinians in Al-Nuseirat in central Gaza and another killed one person in nearby Deir Al-Balah, medics said.
Later in the day an Israeli strike killed three Palestinians in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics said.
Separately, the Israeli military said the head of general security in Hamas’ military wing, Walid Alsousi, had been killed in southern Gaza. There was no immediate Hamas comment.

NEW ROUND OF CEASEFIRE TALKS
With regional tensions high after the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, US President Joe Biden urged Iran not to attack Israel. Iran, which supports Hamas, has blamed Israel and vowed to “punish” it. Israel has not confirmed or denied responsibility.
When a reporter asked on Saturday for his message to Iran, Biden mouthed the word “don’t.”
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon said it launched a drone attack against military positions in northern Israel. Israel’s military said unspecified damage was reported but no casualties and that it struck several Hezbollah military structures in southern Lebanon.
The White House said it was “deeply concerned” about the Gaza school compound strike and asked Israeli officials for further details.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on X that he was horrified by the images from the school.
A spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, urged Israel’s ally Washington to end “blind support that leads to the killing of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.”
A Hamas official told Reuters the group was studying a new ceasefire proposal for discussion but did not elaborate.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera television, Khalil Al-Hayya, the head of the Hamas team for the indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, said statements of condemnation were no longer sufficient.
“Dismiss (Israeli) ambassadors, close down embassies and sever ties with the occupation,” he said.
Egypt, the United States and Qatar have scheduled a new round of ceasefire negotiations for Thursday, as fears grow of a broader conflict involving Iran and Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will not end the war until Hamas no longer poses a threat to Israelis, said he would send a delegation.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich pushed back against the White House’s accusation on Friday that he was “dead wrong” in asserting that the ceasefire deal on the table would be a surrender to Hamas.
In a post on X, Smotrich, one of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, thanked the US for its support for Israel but insisted it “will not submit to any external pressure that would harm Israel’s security.”
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry.
Gaza health officials say most of the fatalities have been civilians but Israel says at least a third are fighters. Israel says it has lost 329 soldiers in Gaza.

 


Libya’s factions progress in central bank crisis talks, says UN Libya mission

Libya’s factions progress in central bank crisis talks, says UN Libya mission
Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

Libya’s factions progress in central bank crisis talks, says UN Libya mission

Libya’s factions progress in central bank crisis talks, says UN Libya mission

CAIRO: Libya’s rival factions made progress on talks over the central bank crisis and will continue discussions on Thursday to reach a final agreement, the UN Libya mission said on Wednesday, in a bid to defuse a crisis that has slashed oil output and exports.
“The participants of the two (legislative) chambers made progress in agreeing on the general principles governing the interim period leading to the appointment of a new governor and board of directors for the Central Bank,” the United Nations Libya mission (UNSMIL) said in a statement.
The meeting hosted by UNSMIL featured representatives from the Benghazi-based House of Representatives, the High Council of State and the Presidential Council, which are both based in Tripoli.
The standoff began last month when western Libyan factions moved to oust a veteran central bank governor, prompting eastern factions to declare a shutdown to all oil output.
Although Libya’s two legislative bodies said last week they agreed to jointly appoint a central bank governor within 30 days, the situation remains fluid and uncertain.
Libyan oil exports fell around 81 percent
last week, Kpler data showed on Wednesday, as the National Oil Corporation canceled cargoes amid a crisis over control of Libya’s central bank and oil revenue.


Turkish-American activist’s family awaits body for burial

Turkish-American activist’s family awaits body for burial
Updated 36 min 10 sec ago
Follow

Turkish-American activist’s family awaits body for burial

Turkish-American activist’s family awaits body for burial
  • Her family is still waiting for Eygi’s body to arrive and is hoping to bury her in the southwestern town of Didim on Friday

DIDIM, Turkiye: The family of a Turkish-American activist killed during a protest in the occupied West Bank is expecting to bury her in Turkiye, her uncle told AFP on Wednesday.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot dead last week while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank town of Beita.
The United Nations rights office has accused Israeli forces of having shot Eygi, 26, in the head.
The Israeli army has acknowledged opening fire in the area and said it was looking into the case.
Her family is still waiting for Eygi’s body to arrive and is hoping to bury her in the southwestern town of Didim on Friday.
“It’s sad but it’s also a source of pride for Didim,” Eygi’s uncle Ali Tikkim, 67, told AFP.
“It’s important that a young girl, martyred and sensitive to the world is buried here.”
Eygi was a frequent visitor to the Aegean seaside resort.
“It’s likely that the funeral will take place on Friday but nothing is certain,” said Tikkim, who said he believed her body was still in Israel.
“Israel asked for an autopsy” but Eygi’s parents refused and have “hired a lawyer” to inform Israeli authorities, Tikkim said.
The US embassy in Turkiye’s capital Ankara said it was “following the case” but refused to comment.
Tikkim said that Eygi’s mother, who lives in Seattle on the US west coast, arrived in Didim on Wednesday and that her father was on his way.
The family wanted Eygi to be buried in Didim, where her grandfather lives and her grandmother has been laid to rest, said Tikkim.
“Aysenur was here about two weeks ago. She came here twice a year when she could, to swim and visit her family,” he said.
“Then she told us she was going to Jordan. She went to Palestine for humanitarian reasons.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to ensure “that Aysenur Ezgi’s death does not go unpunished.”
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for Israel to provide “full accountability” for Eygi’s death.


Hamas meets with mediators in Doha over Gaza truce

Hamas meets with mediators in Doha over Gaza truce
Updated 11 September 2024
Follow

Hamas meets with mediators in Doha over Gaza truce

Hamas meets with mediators in Doha over Gaza truce
  • The Palestinian group said they had discussed “developments concerning the Palestinian cause and the aggression on the Gaza Strip“
  • Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a halt to the fighting

DOHA: A Hamas delegation met Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha on Wednesday to discuss a truce in Gaza and a potential hostage and prisoner exchange, the militant group said in a statement.
Hamas said its lead negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
The Palestinian group said they had discussed “developments concerning the Palestinian cause and the aggression on the Gaza Strip” without indicating that talks had resulted in a breakthrough.
Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a halt to the fighting between Hamas and Israel, with the exception of a one-week truce beginning in late November.
During the sole pause in the now 11-month war, 105 hostages were released to Israel in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners under the deal struck by mediators.
Recent rounds of mediation held in Doha and Cairo have been based on a framework laid out in May by US President Joe Biden and a “bridging proposal” presented to the parties in August.
The Hamas statement reiterated its “readiness for the immediate implementation of the ceasefire agreement based on President Biden’s declaration.”
Pressure for a deal has intensified after Israeli authorities announced the deaths of six hostages at the start of September when their bodies were recovered from a Gaza tunnel.
But in the face of the external calls for an agreement, both Israel and Hamas have publicly signalled deeper entrenchment in their negotiating positions.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down in his calls for Israeli control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border — a key sticking point in negotiations — saying it was necessary to stop Hamas from rearming
Last week, Egypt and then Qatar rejected the charge that the border was being used to arm Hamas, accusing Netanyahu of trying to distract Israeli public opinion and obstruct a ceasefire deal.
In the statement on Wednesday, Hamas also restated its demand for Israel’s withdrawal from “all Gaza territories.”
The militant group also claimed it had not placed any further demands on negotiators and at the same time was “rejecting any new conditions to this agreement from any party.”


Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war

Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war
Updated 11 September 2024
Follow

Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war

Iran’s president slams the West over Gaza war

BAGHDAD: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has slammed the West, saying that Israel is “committing massacres” in the war in Gaza and using European and American weapons to do so.

Pezeshkian, who spoke in Baghdad at the start of his first visit abroad since taking office, hopes to cement Tehran’s ties to Baghdad.

“The Israeli entity is committing massacres against women, children, young men, and the elderly. They bomb hospitals and schools,” Pezeshkian said.

“All these crimes are being committed by using European and American ammunition and bombs,” he added.

Ahead of Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion struck a site near Baghdad International Airport used by the US military on Tuesday night. There were no reported casualties, and the circumstances of the explosion were unclear.

The US Embassy later described it as an “attack” on the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, an American diplomatic facility, and that it was “assessing the damage” and the cause of the explosion. It did not provide further details.


US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah

US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah
Updated 11 September 2024
Follow

US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah

US sanctions Lebanese network over alleged oil, LPG smuggling for Hezbollah
  • The sanctions target three people, five companies and two vessels that the US Treasury Department said were overseen by a senior leader of Hezbollah’s finance team

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Wednesday issued sanctions on a Lebanese network it accused of smuggling oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to help fund the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
The sanctions target three people, five companies and two vessels that the US Treasury Department said were overseen by a senior leader of Hezbollah’s finance team and used profits from illicit LPG shipments to Syria to aid generate revenue for the group.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith, in a statement, said Hezbollah “continues to launch rockets into Israel and fuel regional instability, choosing to prioritize funding violence over taking care of the people it claims to care about, including the tens of thousands displaced in southern Lebanon.”