At least 31 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while heading to Gaza aid hub

Update At least 31 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while heading to Gaza aid hub
Displaced Palestinians push a cart with bodies after people were reportedly hit by Israeli fire as they headed to a food distribution center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 02 June 2025
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At least 31 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while heading to Gaza aid hub

At least 31 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while heading to Gaza aid hub
  • Witnesses say Israeli forces fired on crowds around a kilometer from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation

RAFAH, Gaza Strip: At least 31 people were killed and scores wounded Sunday as they were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, according to a Red Cross field hospital and multiple witnesses. The witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around a kilometer from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation.

The military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The foundation said in a statement that it delivered aid “without incident” early Sunday and has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited.

Officials at the field hospital said at least 21 people were killed and another 175 people were wounded, without saying who opened fire on them. An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of people being treated at the hospital.

New aid system marred by chaos

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ‘s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites. Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded according to local health officials.

The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.

The foundation said in a statement that it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday “without incident,” and dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”

‘The scene was horrible’

Thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn, congregating at the Flag Roundabout, about a kilometer (1,000 yards) away, as they waited for the site to open, according to witnesses. They said Israeli forces ordered people to disperse and come back later – before opening fire.

“There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones,” said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd.

He said he saw at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people, including women. People used carts to ferry the dead and wounded to the field hospital. “The scene was horrible,” he said.

Ibrahim Abu Saoud, another eyewitness, provided a nearly identical account. He said the military fired around 300 meters (yards) away.

Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.

Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading toward the distribution site. He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said.

“They opened heavy fire directly toward us,” he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative.

The hub is part of a controversial new aid system

Israel and the United States say the new system is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance. Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.

The UN system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its total blockade of the territory last month. Those groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Experts have warned that the territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory, displaced around 90 percent of its population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.


Vatican: Pope, Israeli PM speak by phone after Gaza church strike

Vatican: Pope, Israeli PM speak by phone after Gaza church strike
Updated 14 sec ago
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Vatican: Pope, Israeli PM speak by phone after Gaza church strike

Vatican: Pope, Israeli PM speak by phone after Gaza church strike
  • The pontiff also renewed his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and the end of the war
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV emphasized Friday the importance of protecting places of worship in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following Israel’s deadly strike on Gaza’s only Catholic Church, the Vatican said.
The pontiff also renewed his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and the end of the war, while reiterating his concern for the “dramatic humanitarian situation” in Gaza, it said in a statement.

Syrian government forces set to reenter Sweida province after renewed Druze-Bedouin clashes

Syrian government forces set to reenter Sweida province after renewed Druze-Bedouin clashes
Updated 17 min 48 sec ago
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Syrian government forces set to reenter Sweida province after renewed Druze-Bedouin clashes

Syrian government forces set to reenter Sweida province after renewed Druze-Bedouin clashes
  • Clashes have erupted again between Druze militias and Bedouin clans in southern Syria, Syrian Forces said they would deploy again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement
  • Israel agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on Friday

MAZRAA: Renewed clashes broke out overnight between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria, and government forces were preparing to deploy again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said.
Government security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Israel agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on Friday after days of bloodshed in and around Syria’s Druze city of Sweida
“In light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the (Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours,” the official, who declined to be named, told reporters.
Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the country’s fragile post-war transition.
The conflict drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before most of the fighting was halted by a truce announced Wednesday that was mediated by the US, Turkiye and Arab countries. Under that agreement, Druze factions and clerics would be left to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria’s interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said Thursday.
The clashes initially began between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Sunday before government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins’ side against the Druze. The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.
Israel intervened, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus in a major escalation of its involvement.
The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military.
After the ceasefire and withdrawal of government forces, clashes once again flared between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida province. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of displacement.
The governor of neighboring Daraa province said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of “attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups.”
Meanwhile, Bedouin groups arrived Friday from other areas of Syria to join the fight.
On the outskirts of Sweida, groups of them gathered in front of buildings that had been set ablaze. An armed man who gave his name only as Abu Mariam (“father of Mariam“) said he had come from the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor to “support the oppressed.”
“We will not return to our homes until we crush Al-Hijri and his ilk,” he said, referring to a prominent Druze leader opposed to the government in Damascus, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri. “We have nothing to do with civilians and innocent people as long as they stay in their homes.”
The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and have periodically clashed with the Druze over the years. The latest escalation began with members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
Ahmed Aba Zeid, a Syrian researcher who has studied armed groups in southern Syria, said there is “no specific reason” for the historic tensions between the groups.
“All of Syria is full of social problems that have no reason,” he said.
In this case, however, “The state exploited the latest problem to try to change the situation in Sweida, and this only increased the scope of it,” he said.
Israel’s deep distrust of Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership appears to be at odds with the United States, which said it did not support the recent Israeli strikes on Syria.
The US intervened to help secure the earlier truce between government forces and Druze fighters, and the White House said on Thursday that it appeared to be holding.
Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who has worked to establish warmer ties with the US, accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority.

With Agencies


Syria tribes clash with Druze fighters near Sweida: combatants, monitor

Syria tribes clash with Druze fighters near Sweida: combatants, monitor
Updated 18 July 2025
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Syria tribes clash with Druze fighters near Sweida: combatants, monitor

Syria tribes clash with Druze fighters near Sweida: combatants, monitor
  • Armed tribes supported by Syria’s Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters outside Sweida Friday a day after government troops withdrew from the Druze-majority city

SWEIDA: Armed tribes supported by Syria’s Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters outside Sweida Friday a day after government troops withdrew from the Druze-majority city, the warring parties and a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported “clashes west of Sweida pitting tribal fighters and Bedouin supported by the authorities on one side, against Druze fighters on the other.”
Combatants on both sides confirmed the clashes and AFP correspondents reported hearing exchanges of fire.
Syrian government forces withdrew from Sweida province on Thursday after coming under heavy bombardment by Israel.
The pullout from Syria’s Druze heartland came on the orders of interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who said mediation by the United States and others had helped avert a “large-scale escalation” with Israel.
Nearly 600 people have been killed in Sweida province since Sunday, according to the Observatory, as Druze fighters clashed with Sunni Bedouin tribes, who were later joined by government forces.
A ceasefire took effect on Thursday, but Sharaa’s office accused Druze groups of violating the agreement.
Tribal fighters gathered around Sweida on Friday to reinforce the Bedouin, positioning themselves in several villages near the city.
AFP correspondents heard intermittent gunfire and explosions and saw smoke rising from the villages.
Druze fighters told AFP they were responding to the sources of fire.
Anas Al-Enad, a tribal chief from the central city of Hama, said he and his men had made the journey to the village of Walgha, northwest of Sweida, because “the Bedouin called for our help and we came to support them.”


Officials try to identify 18 bodies in deadly Iraq shopping mall fire

Officials try to identify 18 bodies in deadly Iraq shopping mall fire
Updated 18 July 2025
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Officials try to identify 18 bodies in deadly Iraq shopping mall fire

Officials try to identify 18 bodies in deadly Iraq shopping mall fire
  • The Corniche Hypermarket mall in the town of Kut in Wasit province had opened just days before the blaze
  • Officials said that most of those who died were trapped on the upper floors of the five-story building

BAGHDAD: Officials struggled Friday to identify more than a dozen bodies pulled from a deadly shopping mall fire in Iraq, amid ongoing investigations into what caused the blaze.

An Iraqi medical official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment said the final death toll was 63, including 18 bodies that could not be identified due to the severity of the burns and would undergo DNA testing.

The Corniche Hypermarket mall in the town of Kut in Wasit province, a five-story building containing restaurants, shops and a supermarket, had opened just days before the blaze, which officials said broke out late Wednesday on the second floor in an area selling perfume and cosmetics.

Civil defense crews were able to rescue 45 people from the burning building. Officials said that most of those who died were trapped on the upper floors.

While the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, officials blamed lack of safety standards in the building for the scale of the tragedy.

Provincial Gov. Mohammed Al-Miyahi has said that the building owner did not implement fire safety measures and had not applied for required permits.

The provincial council of Wasit on Thursday voted to form committees to carry out building safety inspections and to suspend the director of Kut municipality and the director of occupational safety until investigations into the fire are complete.

Al-Miyahi said Thursday that legal complaints had been filed against the building owner and shopping center owner, who could not be reached for comment. The governor said in a press conference that the son of the shopping center owner and other members of his family were among the victims in the blaze.

Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by highly flammable, low-cost type of “sandwich panel” cladding that is illegal in Iraq.

In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.


Libyan accused of war crimes has been arrested in Germany, ICC says

Libyan accused of war crimes has been arrested in Germany, ICC says
Updated 18 July 2025
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Libyan accused of war crimes has been arrested in Germany, ICC says

Libyan accused of war crimes has been arrested in Germany, ICC says
  • El Hishri will remain in Germany until his transfer to The Hague
  • The ICC thanked German authorities for their cooperation

THE HAGUE: A Libyan accused by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity and war crimes has been arrested in Germany on a sealed arrest warrant, the court announced Friday.
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was allegedly one of the most senior officials at Miriga Prison in Tripoli where thousands of people were detained. He was arrested Wednesday based on a warrant issued by the court on July 10.
“He is suspected of having committed directly himself, ordered or overseen crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, allegedly committed in Libya from February 2015 to early 2020,” the ICC said in a statement.
El Hishri will remain in custody in Germany until legal proceedings to have him transported to The Hague are completed.
The court relies on other countries to execute its arrest warrants. It paid tribute to German authorities for detaining El Hishri.
“I thank the national authorities for their strong and consistent cooperation with the Court, including leading to this recent arrest,” ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler said in a statement.
The United Nations Security Council called on the ICC to open an investigation in Libya in 2011 amid violence that led to the toppling of Muammar Qaddafi and morphed into a crippling civil war. The court issued a warrant for the longtime Libyan strongman, but he was killed by rebels before he could be detained.
The court has arrest warrants out for eight other Libyan suspects, including one of Qaddafi’s sons. Earlier this year, authorities in Libya accepted the court’s jurisdiction over the country from 2011 through to the end of 2027.