Israeli forces deepen raid in Rafah, kill 27 people across Gaza

Israeli forces deepen raid in Rafah, kill 27 people across Gaza
Rescuers work to recover the body of a Palestinian girl from under the rubble of a house hit in an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City September 19, 2024. (REUTERS)
Short Url
Updated 20 September 2024
Follow

Israeli forces deepen raid in Rafah, kill 27 people across Gaza

Israeli forces deepen raid in Rafah, kill 27 people across Gaza
  • Palestinian health officials said shelling by Israeli tanks killed eight people and wounded several others in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central area of Gaza, and s
  • Six others were killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City

CAIRO: Israeli forces killed at least 27 Palestinians in tank and air strikes on north and central areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, as tanks advanced further into northwest Rafah near the border with Egypt.
The unrelenting fighting between the Israelis and Hamas militants in the enclave carried on even as a parallel conflict in the Lebanon-Israel border area involving Hamas’ allies Hezbollah intensified.
Meanwhile, some Palestinians displaced by the Israeli assault on Gaza said they feared their temporary beachside camp would be inundated by high waves.
Palestinian health officials said shelling by Israeli tanks killed eight people and wounded several others in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central area of Gaza, and six others were killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City.
In the northern town of Beit Hanoun, an Israeli strike on a car killed and wounded several Palestinians, medics said.
It was not clear how many of the casualties were combatants and how many were civilians.
In the southern city of Rafah, where the Israeli army has been operating since May, tanks advanced further to the northwest area backed by aircraft, residents said.
They also reported heavy fire and explosions echoing in the eastern areas of the city, where Israeli forces blew up several houses, according to residents and Hamas media.
“Our fighters are engaged in fierce gunbattles against Israeli forces, who advanced into Tanour neighborhood in Rafah,” Hamas armed wing said in a statement.
The Israeli military has said that forces operating in Rafah had in past weeks killed hundreds of Palestinian militants, located tunnels and explosives and destroyed military infrastructure.
Israel’s demand to keep control of the southern border line between Rafah and Egypt has been the focus of an international effort to conclude a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The United States and mediators Qatar and Egypt have for months attempted to secure a truce but have failed to bring Israel and Hamas to a final agreement.
Two obstacles have been especially difficult — Israel’s demand that it keep forces in the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt, and the specifics of an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

ENCROACHING SEA
In a new challenge to Palestinians displaced in the Al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza, many were concerned about the danger of high waves. Some tents put up close to the beach flooded last week.
“Enough, enough, enough. We were pushed by the occupation (Israel) to the sea, where we believed it was safe, last week the sea flooded and washed away some tents, and that could happen again, where would we go?” said Shaban, 47, an electrical engineer displaced from Gaza City.
This latest war in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered last Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.
Israel says it aims to eradicate the Iran-aligned Hamas, which it deems a threat to its own existence.


Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast

Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast
Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast

Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast
  • The 87-year-old had previously declared Monday a global day for prayer and fasting for peace, following similar initiatives for other conflicts in recent years

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Monday slammed the “shameful inability” of world powers to end the conflict in the Middle East, on the first anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
“A year ago, the fuse of hatred was lit; it did not sputter, but exploded in a spiral of violence, in the shameful inability of the international community and the most powerful countries to silence the weapons and put an end to the tragedy of war,” he said in an open letter to Catholics in the Middle East.
“Blood is still being shed, as are tears. Anger is growing, along with the desire for revenge, while it seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired: dialogue and peace.”
The 87-year-old had previously declared Monday a global day for prayer and fasting for peace, following similar initiatives for other conflicts in recent years.
In his letter, the leader of the world’s almost 1.4 billion Catholics offered solidarity with followers in the region — “a small, defenseless flock” — on what he called “this sad day.”
But the pope also addressed “the men and women of every confession and religion who in the Middle East are suffering from the insanity of war: I am close to you, I am with you.”
“I am with you, who have no voice, for despite all the talk of plans and strategies, there is little concern for those who suffer the devastation of war, which the powerful impose on others; yet they will be subject to the inflexible judgment of God,” he added.


Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says
Updated 5 min 44 sec ago
Follow

Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says
  • The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said

CAIRO: Fighting between the Sudanese military and its rival paramilitary in Sudan ‘s North Darfur killed at least 13 children and injured four others, UNICEF said.
The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said in a statement on Sunday.
The Sudanese army on Friday launched airstrikes that targeted a market in the town of Al Kuma, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, the local Daily Sudan Post reported.
The airstrikes, which also hit the city of Mellit, killed at least 45 people and injured dozens of others, according to the Sudan Tribune news portal and the Central Observatory for Human Rights.
Hamrat Al-Sheikh in North Kordofan was also struck, according to Mohammed H. Al-Ta’ishi, a former member of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who said Saturday that the strikes targeted areas that “haven’t seen any form of confrontation since the war began.”
War between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread across the country. Darfur has seen particularly intense fighting.
“These attacks on children are unacceptable. Children have no role to play in wars or civil conflict, but children are the ones who are suffering the most as the conflict in Sudan grinds on,” said Sheldon Yett, a UNICEF representative to Sudan.
“Children should be safe everywhere, in their homes, neighborhoods, and on the streets,” Yett added.
The UN estimated that 20,000 people have been killed and thousands injured since the conflict began. The war has also displaced over 10 million people, including 2.4 million who fled to neighboring countries and other nations.


Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity

Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity
Updated 45 min 17 sec ago
Follow

Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity

Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity
  • Jordan FM Ayman Safadi stressed his country’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression

BEIRUT: Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Beirut on board a Jordanian aid plane, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The aircraft was the seventh aid plane dispatched to Lebanon since the onset of the war, carrying 13 tonnes of food, relief items and medical supplies, according to the Jordanian foreign minister.
As part of his “solidarity visit,” Safadi met with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and stressed Jordan’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression.
He reiterated his country’s commitment to achieving ceasefire and providing Jordan with the necessary aid to overcome the repercussions of the intense Israeli bombing.
Safadi is scheduled to meet Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Joseph Aoun during his visit.


Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’
Updated 07 October 2024
Follow

Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’
  • The Israeli army deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Monday vowed to keep up the fight against Israeli “aggression,” on the anniversary of its militant group ally Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese have paid a “heavy price” for the Iran-backed group’s decision to open a “support front” for Gaza on October 8, but “we are confident... in the ability of our resistance to oppose the Israeli aggression,” it said in a statement, calling Israel a “cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli troops in a south Lebanon border village on Monday, as the Israeli army said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon.
Hezbollah fighters “bombed... a gathering of Israeli forces in the Maroun Al-Ras park with a rocket salvo,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement, after announcing separately it had targeted several areas of northern Israel and military positions across the border.

The Israeli army on Monday said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon — making it the third troop grouping at division strength to be used in the ground fight against Hezbollah.
“The soldiers of the 91st Division began localized and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon,” said a statement from the army.

 


“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal
Updated 07 October 2024
Follow

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

DUBAI: Hamas’ former leader Khaled Mashaal said what is happening in Gaza is a “holocaust” in a speech he delivered on Monday morning. 

Mashaal said the Oct. 7. attacks happened because all political horizons were closed and has achieved "strategic results" since. 

He thanked Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran for supporting Hamas and called on Arab countries to provide financial support to Gaza.

Mashaal said Israel opened the war front in Lebanon after failing to achieve its goals in Gaza and claimed that Israel is conspiring against Jordan and Egypt.

A year after Oct. 7, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel since the war in Gaza began.

“Israel is defeated although it has achieved accomplishments against Iran and Hezbollah,” added Mashaal.

Mashaal concluded by asking the people of Gaza not to despair and promised them victory soon.

Over the past year in Gaza, more than 40,000 people, including over 10,000 children, have been killed by Israel’s forces, exacting indiscriminate and disproportionate vengeance for the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Advisor to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Al-Habash said Mashaal's statements are "empty slogans that achieve nothing".

Al-Habash said "real victory is protecting our people" and added that Hamas should have moved towards unity with the Palestinian authority. 

Globally, people have hit the streets to protest against Israel’s deadly military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.

Demonstrators expressed outrage against the Israeli aggression, demanding an end to the war in Gaza, describing the situation as “genocide,” and calling upon the global community to act.

Protests have taken place from the Middle East to Europe, the US, India, Pakistan and Far East Asia.