Bereaved Gazans clear charred remains after deadly strike on camp

Bereaved Gazans clear charred remains after deadly strike on camp
A boy holds the shoes of a toddler who was killed from shrapnel following an Israeli strike at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. (AFP)
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Updated 05 December 2024
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Bereaved Gazans clear charred remains after deadly strike on camp

Bereaved Gazans clear charred remains after deadly strike on camp

KHAN YOUNIS: Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip worked on Thursday to clear bent metal sheets and charred personal belongings from tents incinerated by an Israeli airstrike on a displacement camp.

Gaza’s Civil Defense agency said that the strike on the tents in the Al-Mawasi area — designated a humanitarian zone by the Israeli army — killed 21 and injured 40, “most of them children, women and the elderly.”

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said that at least five children were among the dead, most of whose bodies were left completely burnt by fires caused by the bombing.

“We heard a huge explosion, so we rushed to the place. I saw fire and smoke in the area of the displaced people’s tents. There was chaos everywhere,” said Mahmoud Shurrab, 39, who lives in his home in Al-Mawasi.

“The bodies were burned, limbs were everywhere, and there was a huge fire in dozens of tents,” said Shurrab, who lost four family members in the strike.

AFP could not independently verify Shurrab’s allegations but saw the large fire caused by the bombings Wednesday night.

On Thursday, an AFP journalist saw a large crater several meters deep in the sandy ground caused by the bomb’s impact, as well as piles of bent metal sheets that had been used for makeshift shelters.

Men carried a body away from the rubble wrapped in blankets used as a shroud.

The Israeli army said that the strike targeted “senior Hamas terrorists who were involved in terrorist activities” in Al-Mawasi.

Eyewitnesses told AFP journalists on the ground that about 50 tents for the displaced were burned in fires caused by the strike.

“A missile explosion shook the area, and a mass of flames and fire set the area alight,” Ahmad Al-Siqali, a displaced man in Khan Younis, said as he stood surrounded by the remains of the shelters that previously housed displaced families.

“Seconds later, the remains of the martyrs, women and children, who were safe in their tents, were scattered ... in the streets and on top of the tents,” Siqali added.

Ezz El-Din Abu Subha, a civil defense agency paramedic who was dispatched to the site, said that after the first Israeli strike, “we were helping the injured and helping the citizens and also retrieving the bodies, and the place was targeted again.”

“The place is full of tents for the displaced, sheltering people from all areas, most of them from different families displaced from Rafah, and each family has a tent,” he added.

Al-Mawasi is a coastal area in Khan Younis that Israeli forces unilaterally declared a humanitarian zone in the early days of the war, urging displaced Palestinians to move there.

As the nearly 14-month-long war has dragged on and almost all of Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced, tents and makeshift shelters have covered the sandy area.

The area has repeatedly been hit by Israeli forces, including in significant deadly strikes in September and July.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack sparked the war in Gaza.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 44,580 deaths, mostly civilians, according to data from the territory’s Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.


Norway to host talks on Mideast two-state solution

Updated 29 sec ago
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Norway to host talks on Mideast two-state solution

Norway to host talks on Mideast two-state solution
  • It will be the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution
OSLO: Dozens of countries will send delegates to Norway on Wednesday as part of a global alliance aiming to find a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Norway’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, the head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini, and UN envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland are among those due to attend.
It will be the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, whose creation was announced in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“While we must continue to work for an end to the war (in Gaza), we must also work for a lasting solution to the conflict that guarantees self-determination, security and justice for both the Palestinians and the Israelis,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.
“There is broad support for a two-state solution, but the international community must do more to make it a reality.”
Representatives of more than 80 countries and organizations are expected to take part in the meeting, though no official Israeli delegation has been announced.
Israel was angered when several countries — including Norway — decided to recognize the Palestinian state.
The war in Gaza, sparked by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’s attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, has revived discussions of a two-state solution.
Analysts say however the possibility remains more remote than ever, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — firmly backed by US President-elect Donald Trump — vehemently opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
The first two meetings of the global alliance were held in Saudia Arabia in late October and in Brussels in late November.

Turkiye detains 2013 bombing suspect inside Syria

Turkiye detains 2013 bombing suspect inside Syria
Updated 48 sec ago
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Turkiye detains 2013 bombing suspect inside Syria

Turkiye detains 2013 bombing suspect inside Syria

ANKARA: Turkiye’s intelligence agency conducted a cross-border operation inside Syria and seized a man suspected of perpetrating a 2013 bomb attack near the Syrian border that killed dozens of people, a Turkish security source said on Monday.
Twin car bombs ripped through the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province on May 11, 2013, killing 53 people. At the time, Turkiye accused a group loyal to Syria’s then-President Bashar Assad of carrying out the attacks. Damascus denied any involvement.
Turkiye’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) found out that Muhammed Dib Korali, who was suspected of planning the attack and providing the bombs, was inside Syria, the source said. The MIT captured him in a cross-border operation into Syria and handed him over to Hatay police, the source added.
Yusuf Nazik, a Turkish national who was sentenced to life in prison for planning the 2013 bomb attack, was also seized inside Syria by the MIT in 2018.


Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones

Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones
Updated 2 min 33 sec ago
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Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones

Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones

DUBAI: A thousand new drones were delivered to Iran’s army on Monday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, as the country braces for more friction with arch-enemy Israel and the United States under incoming US president Donald Trump.
The drones were delivered to various locations throughout Iran and are said to have high stealth and anti-fortification abilities, according to Tasnim.
“The drones’ unique features, including a range of over 2,000 kilometers, high destructive power, the ability to pass through defense layers with low Radar Cross Section, and autonomous flight, not only increase the depth of reconnaissance and border monitoring but also boost the combat capability of the army’s drone fleet in confronting distant targets,” the news agency added.
Earlier this month, Iran started two-months-long military exercises which have already included war games in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.


Qatar hands Israel, Hamas “final” draft of Gaza ceasefire deal, official tells Reuters

Qatar hands Israel, Hamas “final” draft of Gaza ceasefire deal, official tells Reuters
Updated 59 min 23 sec ago
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Qatar hands Israel, Hamas “final” draft of Gaza ceasefire deal, official tells Reuters

Qatar hands Israel, Hamas “final” draft of Gaza ceasefire deal, official tells Reuters
  • A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight

JERUSALEM: Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Monday.
A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s spy chiefs, President-elect Trump’s Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister, the official said.
US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said. US officials are racing to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts underway to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free the remaining hostages there, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone.
Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,” it said.

Israeli foreign minister said there has been progress on a hostage deal, and that Israel wants a deal, soon we will see if the other side wants the same thing

Israel's Smotrich says Gaza deal taking shape is a "catastrophe"

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of one of the hard-line nationlist religious parties in the ruling coalition, denounced a deal being worked out in Qatar to end the fighting in Gaza and return hostages as a “surrender” deal.
“The deal that is taking shape is a catastrophe for the national security of the state of Israel,” Smotrich said in a statement.
Earlier, an official briefed on the negotiations said Qatar had handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.


What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkiye’s 40-year Kurdish conflict

What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkiye’s 40-year Kurdish conflict
Updated 13 January 2025
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What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkiye’s 40-year Kurdish conflict

What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkiye’s 40-year Kurdish conflict
  • The objective evolved into a campaign for autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkiye

ANKARA: Talks between politicians from Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish party and jailed Kurdish leaders have been gathering steam as they try to end 40 years of fighting between the state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The latest peace effort comes at a time of heightened instability and fundamental changes reshaping the region. These include the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon, and the reconfiguration of power in Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad.
The cautious process was initiated in October by Devlet Bahceli, a firebrand ultranationalist who has usually opposed any concessions to Kurdish identity or rights.
Since then, the fall of Assad in a lightning rebel offensive has triggered intensified fighting between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in northern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who have controlled northeast Syria for the past decade, are under attack from the Syrian National Army, an umbrella of militias fighting on behalf of Turkiye, which regards the SDF as an extension of the PKK and wants to neutralize it as an independent fighting force.
Recently, senior members of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, met jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and Selahattin Demirtas, another imprisoned figurehead of the Kurdish movement. They have also met with the leaders of other political parties to explain their discussions.
What is the PKK?
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged an armed insurgency against Turkiye since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country. Over time, the objective evolved into a campaign for autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkiye.
The conflict between militants and state forces, which has spread beyond Turkiye’s borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people. The PKK is considered to be a terror group by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.
Who is Ocalan?
Abdullah Ocalan, who as a student of political science in Ankara became deeply involved in leftist movements, formed the PKK in 1978 as a Marxist organization. He fled to Syria in 1979, along with other PKK members, where he remained until 1998, when Syria expelled him under intense pressure from Turkiye.
Ocalan was captured in Kenya in 1999 and imprisoned on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara, where he remains to this day. His death sentence for treason was commuted to a life term in prison after Turkiye abolished the death penalty.
The 75-year-old endures as a symbol for Kurdish independence and rights and continues to wield influence over the Kurdish movement, with past messages relayed through family members or lawyers resonating beyond Turkiye, in Iraq and Syria.
In a message relayed by his nephew in December, Ocalan said he has the power to end the conflict if the conditions are right.
Renewed effort for peace
In October, Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggested Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands the PKK. It was a major shift for the hard-line politician who had previously strongly supported the state’s military action against the militant group and its affiliates in neighboring Syria and rejected any notion of negotiation.
Erdogan appears to have endorsed Bahceli’s stance.
There is a mixed reaction among politicians and analysts to suggestions of a new peace effort. Some describe it it as a historic opportunity, while others strongly oppose any notion of leniency toward Ocalan or the PKK.
A recent attack on Turkiye’s key aerospace company outside of Ankara that killed several people was claimed by the PKK, complicating the debate.
Past peace efforts
There have been several peace efforts between the Turkish state and the PKK over the years, including secret negotiations held in Oslo, Norway from 2009 until 2011. However, none have yielded results.
The last attempt to reach a peace deal took place between 2013 and 2015 with a series of talks between Turkish officials and Ocalan, who declared a ceasefire and withdrew fighters to bases in northern Iraq.
Turkish officials took steps to improve Kurdish rights, including allowing Kurdish-language broadcasts. The process collapsed in July 2015, after a series of violent attacks, including one by the Daesh group that killed 33 pro-Kurdish activists.
Since then, Turkiye has cracked down on its pro-Kurdish movement and has jailed thousands of people, including the former leader of the main pro-Kurdish political party, Selahattin Demirtas, over alleged links to the PKK.
Why now?
The latest peace effort comes at a time when Turkiye and the Kurds are both seeking security to face the challenges in the Middle East.
However, some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.
Bahceli has openly called for a new constitution, saying it was essential to keep Erdogan in power for Turkiye’s future. Erdogan and Bahceli are reportedly seeking parliamentary support from the DEM.