An Israeli strike hit near a charity kitchen in Gaza as Palestinians gathered for food

A Palestinian journalist inspects the debris and damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent used by journalists in the southern city of Khan Yunis on April 7, 2025. (AFP)
A Palestinian journalist inspects the debris and damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent used by journalists in the southern city of Khan Yunis on April 7, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 08 April 2025
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An Israeli strike hit near a charity kitchen in Gaza as Palestinians gathered for food

An Israeli strike hit near a charity kitchen in Gaza as Palestinians gathered for food
  • The strike hit around noon as the kitchen was distributing meals to displaced people living in tent camps
  • Israel’s campaign has killed more than 1,000 health workers and at least 173 journalists, according to the UN and the Committee to Protect Journalists

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: An Israeli strike on Monday hit next to a charity kitchen where Palestinians crowded to receive cooked meals as food supplies dwindle under Israel’s month-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, one of a string of attacks in the territory that killed more than 30 people, mostly women and children, hospital officials said.
Another strike hit a media tent outside a hospital, killing two people, including a local reporter, and wounding six other journalists, medics said. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a man whom it identified as a Hamas militant posing as a journalist.
Video footage showed people carrying the body of a little girl, her face covered with blood, from the blast that witnesses said hit a tent next to the charity kitchen outside the southern city of Khan Younis. Six other people were killed, including two women, and at least 10 people were wounded, hospital officials said.
The strike hit around noon as the kitchen was distributing meals to displaced people living in tent camps. Samah Abu Jamie said her nephew was among those killed and her young daughter was wounded as they waited with their pots to collect meals for their families.
“They were going to get food. I told her, ‘Daughter, don’t go’,” she said. “These were children, and they had nothing with them but a pot. Is a pot a weapon?”
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike.
‘Bombed and starved again’
Charity kitchens have been drawing bigger crowds of Palestinians because other sources of food are running out. More than a month ago, Israeli cut off all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies for Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people, forcing aid groups to ration their stocks.
The World Food Program has warned that its supplies to keep kitchens going could be depleted by next week. It had to stop distributing boxes of food staples directly to families last week, spokesperson Abeer Etefa said Monday. The bakeries it ran have also shut down for lack of flour, ending a main source of bread for hundreds of thousands of people.
Since it ended its ceasefire with Hamas last month, Israel has carried out bombardments across Gaza, killing hundreds of people, and ground forces have carved out new military zones. Israel says it is pressuring Hamas to free its remaining hostages, disarm and leave the territory. Under the ceasefire deal, it had agreed to negotiate for the hostages’ release.
The heads of six UN agencies operating in Gaza said in a joint statement Monday that the blockade has left Gaza’s population “trapped, bombed and starved again.” They said Israeli claims that enough supplies entered during the ceasefire “are far from the reality on the ground, and commodities are running extremely low.”
“We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life,” they said. “Protect civilians. Facilitate aid. Release hostages. Renew a ceasefire.”
Strikes hit journalists and homes
The strike outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis about 2 a.m. set the media tent ablaze, killing Yousef Al-Faqawi, a reporter for the Palestine Today news website, and another man, according to hospital officials.
The military said the strike targeted Hassan Eslaiah, claiming he was a Hamas militant who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that ignited the war. Eslaiah was among six journalists who were wounded in the strike, according to the hospital.
Eslaiah had occasionally contributed images to The Associated Press and other international media outlets as a freelance journalist, including on Oct. 7. The AP has not worked with him for over a year.
A strike that hit a street in Gaza City killed an emergency room doctor, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Israel’s campaign has killed more than 1,000 health workers and at least 173 journalists, according to the UN and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Hospitals in Khan Younis and the central town of Deir Al-Balah said they received the bodies of 33 people, 19 of them women and children, from strikes overnight and into the day on Monday, including those from the kitchen and the media tent attack.
Some of the strike reduced houses to rubble. Imad Maghari said the blast that hit his neighbors in Deir Al-Balah at 2 a.m. was like “an earthquake,” followed by the screams of women and children. He said one neighbor lost five family members and another a young boy.
“I don’t know what danger he poses. He’s 7 years old,” Maghari said.
Israel’s military offensive in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, whose count does not distinguish between militants and civilians. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the Gaza Strip and displaced around 90 percent of its population.
Israel says it tries to avoid civilian casualties and blames Hamas for their deaths because it operates among the population.
In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people. They are still holding 59 captives — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Protests in Israel as Netanyahu meets Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss Gaza and other issues.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem to call for an agreement to release the captives. Many fear that Netanyahu’s decision to resume the fighting has put the remaining hostages in grave danger and hope Trump can help broker another deal.
“Now the moment of truth has come,” said Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of Israeli American hostage Edan Alexander, addressing Netanyahu. “You are in the United States and you have to sit there with President Trump and close a deal so that everyone will be released home.”
 

 


Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector

Updated 6 sec ago
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Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector

Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defense sector
“We can easily say that there is a softening in CAATSA,,” he told reporters
The move soured ties between the two NATO member countries

ISTANBUL: Turkiye has seen an easing of US sanctions on its defense sector since Donald Trump became president, with steps toward ending the measure advancing quickly, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

“We can easily say that there is a softening in CAATSA,,” he told reporters while returning from a European summit, referring to US sanctions legislation.

In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system under a 2017 law known as CAATSA, which aims to limit Russia’s military influence.

The move soured ties between the two NATO member countries.

It also booted Turkiye out of its F-35 program, with Washington saying the presence of the S-400 would allow the Russians to collect information on the stealth jet’s capabilities.

Erdogan said Turkiye had raised the sanctions issue with Trump and his newly-appointed envoy to Ankara, Tom Barrack

“With my friend Trump taking office, we have achieved a more open, more constructive and more sincere communication on these issues,” Erdogan added, saying Turkiye valued “every positive step in this direction.”

“I believe we will overcome the CAATSA process much faster. As two great NATO allies, there should be no restrictions or obstacles in the field of defense between us,” he said.

Turkiye’s partnership with the United States was “of vital importance for the establishment of stability in our region and the world” he said.

In March, Erdogan spoke to Trump about the need to finalize a deal to let Turkiye buy US F-16 fighter planes and be readmitted to the development program for F-35 warplanes.

Turkiye has been seeking to modernize its airforce, and has been seeking to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoons which are built by a four-nation consortium grouping Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy.

Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
Updated 26 min 19 sec ago
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Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

Israel says killed Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
  • One person was killed in an Israeli “drone strike” on a vehicle in south Lebanon’s Tyre district
  • The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “struck and eliminated... a commander“

BEIRUT: Israel’s military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander on Saturday in south Lebanon, where authorities reported one dead in the fourth Israeli strike within days despite a November ceasefire.

Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli “drone strike” on a vehicle in south Lebanon’s Tyre district.

An AFP correspondent saw the charred wreckage of a vehicle in Abu Al-Aswad, an area around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “struck and eliminated... a commander” involved in “the re-establishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in south Lebanon.

Israel has continued to launch strikes on its neighbor despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah militants including two months of full-blown war.

The Israeli military said that “the rebuilding of terrorist infrastructure and related activity constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Earlier this week, the Israeli military said three separate strikes in south Lebanon targeted Hezbollah operatives.

Under the ceasefire, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south.

Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems “strategic.”

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.

At an Arab summit in Baghdad on Saturday, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced “daily Israeli violations” of Lebanese sovereignty and “the ongoing Israeli occupation of positions” in the south.

He said Lebanon was working to “fully implement” a United Nations Security Council resolution that formed the basis of the ceasefire.

The resolution says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.

Salam again urged international pressure “to oblige Israel to stop its attacks and immediately and fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory.”


Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes
Updated 17 May 2025
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Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

Flights resume at the rebel-held airport in Yemen’s capital, more than a week after Israeli strikes

CAIRO: Flights resumed on Saturday to Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, held by the country’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, more than a week after massive Israeli airstrikes disabled the airport.
The Israeli strikes on May 6 — a rare daytime attack — destroyed the airport’s terminal and left craters on its runway, according to Khaled Al-Shaif, the head of the airport. At least six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to the national carrier, Yemen Airway or Yemenia, he said.
On Saturday, a flight operated by Yemenia landed at the Sanaa International Airport with 136 passengers on board, according to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel.
The flight had departed from Jordan’s capital, Amman, earlier in the day, the airliner said. Three more flights were scheduled on Saturday between Sanaa and Amman.
The Israeli offensive was in response to a Houthi ballistic missile that hit the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which briefly halted flights and commuter traffic.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout Israel’s war with the militant Hamas group in Gaza, in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on the Red Sea. The attacks have raised the Houthis’ profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
Since mid-March, the US military under President Donald Trump launched an intensified campaign of daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis. The two sides reached a deal to halt the US campaign in return for the Houthis halting their attacks on shipping.
However, the US-Houthis deal did not stop the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israel, which in turn responded with attacks on Yemen’s Red Sea ports held by the Houthis.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it struck the Hodeida and Salif ports, claiming that the Houthis were using the two facilities to transfer weapons. The Houthi-run health ministry said at least one person was killed and 11 others were wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.


Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest

Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest
Updated 17 May 2025
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Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest

Turkiye evacuates 82 nationals from Libya after unrest

ISTANBUL: Turkiye evacuated 82 of its nationals from the Libyan capital Tripoli after several days of fatal clashes between armed groups, foreign ministry sources said late Friday.
“Eighty-two citizens who wanted to return to Turkiye were assisted in their departure from Libya and allowed to return home,” the source said, referring to “the conflict and insecurity” that has gripped the North African nation in recent days.
The move came a day after the Turkish embassy said in a post on Facebook that it was preparing to evacuate its nationals via a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul from the Libyan port city of Misrata, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tripoli. It said it would organize bus transport from the capital.
The ministry did not give details about those who returned home and didn’t say whether more flights were planned.
Violence flared in the Libyan capital late on Monday between loyalist forces and powerful armed groups that the government is trying to dismantle.
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Friday said “at least eight civilians” were killed in heavy clashes, which took place over the following days, bringing air traffic to an almost total standstill.
Although relative calm returned to Tripoli earlier on Friday, the situation remained highly volatile.
Turkiye, which backs the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, called on Wednesday for a truce and said it was “closely monitoring” the situation.
Libya has struggled to recover from years of unrest since the NATO-backed 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi, with the country split between Dbeibah’s government in the west and a rival authority backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east.


Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report

Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report
Updated 17 May 2025
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Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report

Putin to host first Russia-Arab summit in October, Russian agencies report

Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited all leaders and the secretary general of the Arab League for the first Russia-Arab summit on October 15, Russia's news agencies reported on Saturday, citing a statement from the Kremlin.
"I am confident that this meeting will contribute to the further strengthening of mutually beneficial, multifaceted cooperation between our countries and will help in finding ways to ensure peace, security, and stability in the Middle East and North Africa," Interfax agency cited Putin as saying in the statement.
The Arab League, a regional organisation of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, has 22 member states who have pledged, among others, to cooperate on political, economic and military affairs in the region.
The reports came following a four-day trip by U.S. President Donald Trump through the Gulf region this week, during which Washington said it had secured several deals, including a $600 billion commitment by Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S., $142 billion in arms sales to the kingdom, and an AI partnership with the United Arab Emirates.