Israeli fire kills 8 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank

Update Israeli fire kills 8 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank
A Palestinian Muslim worshipper crosses an Israeli army checkpoint in Qalandia in the occupied West Bank to attend the first Friday prayers of the fasting month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem, on March 7, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 11 March 2025
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Israeli fire kills 8 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank

Israeli fire kills 8 Palestinians in Gaza Strip, 3 in the occupied West Bank
  • Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the army says had approached its troops
  • Israel last week suspended supplies of goods and electricity to the territory

WEST BANK: Israeli fire has killed eight people in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said, even as a fragile ceasefire with Hamas has largely held.
Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the army says had approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas in violation of the January truce.
Israel last week suspended supplies of goods and electricity to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians as it tries to pressure the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. That phase ended March 1. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

An Israeli airstrike kills 4 in Gaza
Palestinian first responders say an Israeli airstrike killed four people, including two brothers, in the Gaza Strip.
The Civil Defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government, said Tuesday’s strike was carried out near the Netzarim corridor, where Israeli forces had carved out a military zone bisecting the territory before withdrawing from the area as part of a fragile ceasefire.
The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike against a group of militants “engaged in suspicious activity.”
The fragile ceasefire has held since it began on Jan. 19, even as Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians. Israel says it has struck Palestinians who approached its troops, entered unauthorized areas or otherwise violated the terms of the truce.

Palestinians say settlers attacked a garage in West Bank
Palestinians say settlers attacked a garage in the occupied West Bank overnight, torching three cars.
Rafaat Sabah, the owner of the garage, said the attack overnight was not the first. He said settlers had broken into his garage previously and stolen oil, tools and other things. This time they set fire to cars belonging to his customers, he said.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident.
Marwan Sabah, head of the Umm Safa village council, said settlers have recently brought livestock to graze on village lands with the aim of eventually taking them over.
The West Bank has seen a surge in violence, including settler attacks on Palestinians, since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there.
Over 500,000 settlers with Israeli citizenship live in well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully-developed suburbs. The territory’s 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority administering cities and towns.

3 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank
The Palestinian Health Ministry says three Palestinians, including a 58-year-old woman, were killed by Israeli fire in the volatile West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said troops killed two militants in an exchange of fire in Jenin and arrested 10 others. It said its forces eliminated a third militant who had fired at them during the operation and destroyed two vehicles loaded with weapons.
Israel launched a large-scale military operation centered on Jenin shortly after reaching a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in January. Troops have destroyed homes and infrastructure, and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes across the northern West Bank.


Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen, army says

Updated 15 sec ago
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Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen, army says

Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen, army says
Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel
Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets

CAIRO: The Israeli military’s aerial defense system intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday following alarms sounding in several areas of Israel, the army said in a statement.

The Iran-backed Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel as well as attacking numerous vessels in global shipping lanes, in a campaign that they say is aimed at showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza since a deadly raid by the Palestinian militant group Hamas into southern Israel in October 2023.

Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

The launch, the second in two days, coincides with US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf. Trump announced earlier in May that he reached a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis that would halt attacks on US vessels.

Tunisia Jewish pilgrimage sees low turn out amid security concerns

Tunisia Jewish pilgrimage sees low turn out amid security concerns
Updated 34 min 21 sec ago
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Tunisia Jewish pilgrimage sees low turn out amid security concerns

Tunisia Jewish pilgrimage sees low turn out amid security concerns
  • The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa’s oldest, has in the past drawn thousands of pilgrims from Europe, Israel and beyond
  • This year’s activities were restricted to indoor events at the place of worship

DJERBA, Tunisia: Only about 30 people turned up Thursday at this year’s Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia’s island of Djerba amid safety concerns following a deadly 2023 attack and as the war in Gaza rages on.

The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa’s oldest, has in the past drawn thousands of pilgrims from Europe, Israel and beyond, attracting international and local tourists as well.

But after a 2023 deadly attack on the synagogue that killed two worshippers and three police officers, fewer pilgrims have been turning out to make the pilgrimage.

“It has been difficult for people to come, given what’s happening in the world,” Rene Trabelsi, the event organizer, told AFP.

“The pilgrimage has gone through many difficult periods in its history,” he said.

This year’s activities were restricted to indoor events at the place of worship.

“In 30 years, I have never seen the Ghriba synagogue so empty,” said Khoudhir Hanya, the synagogue’s manager.

“Usually even a week beforehand, pilgrims begin to arrive — sometimes up to 1,000 people.”
Earlier this month, a knife attack injured a local Jewish jeweller, but Trabelsi said it was unclear whether it was motivated by anti-Semitism, as authorities have not provided further details.

The pilgrimage is at the heart of Jewish tradition in Tunisia, where only about 1,500 members of the faith still live — mainly on Djerba. Many have left for Israel and France.

Organizers say more than 5,000 people, mostly from abroad, attended the pilgrimage in 2023, whereas up to 8,000 pilgrims had attended in previous years.

Security at the synagogue had already been tightened after previous attacks.

A suicide truck bombing in 2002, claimed by Al-Qaeda, killed 21 at the synagogue, and another attack in 1985 killed four worshippers and a police officer.


US top diplomat Rubio meets Syrian counterpart; discuss Israel, human rights

US top diplomat Rubio meets Syrian counterpart; discuss Israel, human rights
Updated 50 min 58 sec ago
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US top diplomat Rubio meets Syrian counterpart; discuss Israel, human rights

US top diplomat Rubio meets Syrian counterpart; discuss Israel, human rights
  • Rubio underscored the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians

ANTALYA: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani in Turkiye on Thursday, the State Department said in a statement.

“(Rubio) welcomed the Syrian government’s calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran’s influence in Syria, commitment to ascertaining the fate of US citizens missing or killed in Syria, and elimination of all chemical weapons,” the department said.

“The Secretary underscored the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion,” the department said.


UN rules out role in US-backed foundation’s Gaza aid operation

UN rules out role in US-backed foundation’s Gaza aid operation
Updated 15 May 2025
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UN rules out role in US-backed foundation’s Gaza aid operation

UN rules out role in US-backed foundation’s Gaza aid operation
  • UN participates in aid operations if they are in accordance with its basic principles, spokesperson says

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations on Thursday ruled out involvement with a new US-backed foundation for aid to Gaza, as Israel’s months-long blockade brings severe shortages to the war-battered territory.
“I made it clear that we participate in aid operations if they are in accordance with our basic principles,” said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.
“As we’ve stated repeatedly, this particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this,” he added.
The US State Department said last week the non-governmental foundation would soon announce its plans, effectively sidelining the UN.
Israel has imposed a blockade for over two months on Gaza, leading UN agencies and other humanitarian groups to warn of shrinking fuel and medicine supplies to the territory of 2.4 million Palestinians.
Since returning to office in January, US President Donald Trump has stopped the vast majority of the country’s international assistance.
Israel has already leveled most of Gaza’s buildings following militants’ unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on the country.
But it has rejected claims that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding and has vowed to increase pressure on Hamas.
Israel has long criticized involvement of the UN, seeing it as biased, and has banned work of the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees.
Little is known about the new organization, although a listing in Switzerland showed the establishment in February of the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.”
Swiss newspaper Le Temps earlier reported that the foundation was looking to hire “mercenaries” to work in the distribution of aid, sparking alarm in Amnesty International’s Swiss chapter.
Haq said: “The UN have a plan, an excellent plan, that is ready to be implemented as soon as we’re allowed to do our work.”
“I’ve talked about how we have trucks ready to go. We have more than 171,000 metric tons of food, on top of other life-saving supplies, and they’re ready to go the minute that Israel opens the gates,” he added.
But Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to “recalculate” the body’s approach to what would be a “major” operation.
He added that Israel would not be contributing to its costs, but would allow it to go ahead.
“We will not fund those efforts. We will facilitate them,” he said.
“We will enable them. Some of them will have to cross through territory that we operate, but we will definitely not fund them.”


At UN Nakba commemoration, Palestinian president urges action on Gaza

At UN Nakba commemoration, Palestinian president urges action on Gaza
Updated 15 May 2025
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At UN Nakba commemoration, Palestinian president urges action on Gaza

At UN Nakba commemoration, Palestinian president urges action on Gaza

UNITED NATIONS: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, at a UN event Thursday commemorating the Nakba, urged more action to end the war in Gaza, linking the historical displacement during Israel’s creation to the current conflict.

The United Nations has since 2023 commemorated the “Nakba” — “catastrophe” in Arabic — which refers to the flight and expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

This year the anniversary is particularly painful, as Palestinians say history is being repeated in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza and an aid blockade threatens famine, while Israeli leaders continue to express a desire to empty the territory of Palestinians as part of the war sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

“History is indelible and justice is not time bound,” Abbas said in a speech read out here by the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour.

“Today we stand before you, not only to commemorate the somber anniversary, but to renew the pledge that the ‘Nakba’ was not and will not be the permanent and inevitable faith of our people.”

Abbas said the war Israel has been waging for 19 month is a continuation of the “Nakba,” with the world standing by as Israel engages in “genocide” and starvation.

He said Israel’s goal was to remove the Palestinians from Gaza and steal land that should be part of a sovereign Palestinian state.

“The time has come for real and effective international action to stop this historic injustice and ongoing tragedy which has become a disgrace to humanity,” Abbas said.

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to hold a conference in June to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It will be co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia.

“Peace will require tangible, irreversible and permanent progress toward the two-state solution, an end to the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza as integral part,” said Khaled Khiari, assistant secretary-general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.