Palestinian carrying white flag shot dead by IDF, moment captured by ITV cameraman

Palestinian carrying white flag shot dead by IDF, moment captured by ITV cameraman
A group of five Palestinian men waving a white flag moments before one was shot dead by an Israeli soldier. (Screenshot)
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Updated 24 January 2024
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Palestinian carrying white flag shot dead by IDF, moment captured by ITV cameraman

Palestinian carrying white flag shot dead by IDF, moment captured by ITV cameraman
  • “Nowhere is safe in Gaza,” he told a cameraman moments before he was killed

LONDON: A Palestinian civilian in Gaza carrying a white flag was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while trying to rescue family members, and the scene was captured by an ITV News cameraman.

The tragedy unfolded just minutes after the victim, identified as Ramzi Abu Sahloul, was interviewed by the British news outlet.

Abu Sahloul, who spoke English, shared his family’s constant displacement due to Israel’s war on Gaza. Having initially fled Gaza City at the war’s onset, they found themselves uprooted again, this time evacuating Khan Younis for Rafah.

They are among hundreds of thousands of people trapped between the Egyptian border and advancing Israeli Defense Forces.

“Nowhere is safe in Gaza,” he told a cameraman working for ITV News.

“Everywhere you find the Israeli Army. They shoot at us at home, in any building and in the street.”

Speaking on camera, Abu Sahloul said that they were trying to reach his mother and brother to get to them to safety.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The interview was over, and the cameraman walked away. He then turned to take one last shot of the group of five men when there was a sudden, loud sound of shots.

The cameraman filmed the group standing still with their hands raised, one of whom was holding a white flag.

The five began to run, but Abu Sahloul collapsed to the ground within seconds. He had been shot in the chest. One of the men placed the flag over his wounds. They lifted him between them, and the white flag is seen turning red.

The 51-year-old husband and father was motionless, and it appears that he died almost instantly.

As they tried to carry him to safety, there was the sound of more gunfire and the whoosh of a bullet passing nearby suggested that the group was still being targeted.

Eventually, they moved the body to a safer location, where his widow began to cry and mourn her loss.

Abu Sahloul sold children’s clothes for a living.

In response to an inquiry from ITV News, the IDF denied the existence of “field executions.”
 


12 killed in blast at plant in northwest Turkiye

Updated 4 sec ago
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12 killed in blast at plant in northwest Turkiye

12 killed in blast at plant in northwest Turkiye
Istanbul: A powerful blast on Tuesday ripped through a plant in northwest Turkiye killing 12 people and injuring three others, the local governor said.
“According to preliminary information, 12 people died in the explosion” in the Karesi district of Balikesir, Ismail Ustaoglu told the private NTV broadcaster. Footage showed shards of glass and metal scattered outside the plant.

UN investigative team says Syria’s new authorities ‘very receptive’ to probe of Assad war crimes

UN investigative team says Syria’s new authorities ‘very receptive’ to probe of Assad war crimes
Updated 51 min 53 sec ago
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UN investigative team says Syria’s new authorities ‘very receptive’ to probe of Assad war crimes

UN investigative team says Syria’s new authorities ‘very receptive’ to probe of Assad war crimes
  • International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria, was the first since the organization was established by the UN General Assembly in 2016

UNITED NATIONS: The UN organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria said Monday the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus, and it is preparing to deploy.
The visit led by Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria, was the first since the organization was established by the UN General Assembly in 2016. It was created to assist in evidence-gathering and prosecution of individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.
Petit highlighted the urgency of preserving documents and other evidence before it is lost.
Since the rebel overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar Assad and the rebel opening of prisons and detention facilities there have been rising demands from Syrians for the prosecution of those responsible for atrocities and killings while he was in power.
“The fall of the Assad rule is a significant opportunity for us to fulfill our mandate on the ground,” Petit said. “Time is running out. There is a small window of opportunity to secure these sites and the material they hold.”
UN associate spokesperson Stephane Tremblay said Monday the investigative team “is preparing for an operational deployment as early as possible and as soon as it is authorized to conduct activities on Syrian soil.”
The spokesperson for the organization, known as the IIIM, who was on the trip with Petit, went further, telling The Associated Press: “We are preparing to deploy on the expectation that we will get authorization.”
“The representatives from the caretaker authorities were very receptive to our request for cooperation and are aware of the scale of the task ahead,” the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of not being named. “They emphasized that they will need expertise to help safeguard the newly accessible documentation.”
The IIIM did not disclose which officials in the new government it met with or the site that Petit visited afterward.
“Even at one facility,” Petit said, “the mountains of government documentation reveal the chilling efficiency of systemizing the regime’s atrocity crimes.”
He said that a collective effort by Syrians, civil society organizations and international partners will be needed, as a priority, ” to preserve evidence of the crimes committed, avoid duplication, and ensure that all victims are inclusively represented in the pursuit of justice.”
In June 2023, the 193-member General Assembly also established an Independent Institution of Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic to clarify the fate and whereabouts of more than 130,000 people missing as a result of the conflict.


US military says it conducts airstrike in Syria, killing two Daesh operatives

US military says it conducts airstrike in Syria, killing two Daesh operatives
Updated 24 December 2024
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US military says it conducts airstrike in Syria, killing two Daesh operatives

US military says it conducts airstrike in Syria, killing two Daesh operatives
  • The Daesh operatives were moving a truckload of weapons in Dayr az Zawr Province

WASHINGTON: The US military said on Monday it conducted an airstrike in Syria that killed two Islamic State operatives and wounded one.
The Daesh operatives were moving a truckload of weapons in Dayr az Zawr Province, an area formerly controlled by the Syrian government and Russians, when they were targeted with the airstrike, US Central Command said in a statement on social media platform X.


Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader in Iran

Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader in Iran
Updated 24 December 2024
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Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader in Iran

Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader in Iran
  • Minister’s comments mark first time Israel has admitted killing Ismail Haniyeh in Iran 
  • Admits Israel killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad

JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi group in Yemen.

The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has admitted killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July.

Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast, and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement.

In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh.

He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad, and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft systems.

“We will strike (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership,” he said.

“Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war, including a missile that landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday and wounded at least 16 people.

Israel has carried out three sets of airstrikes in Yemen during the war and vowed to step up the pressure on the militant group until the missile attacks stop.


Israel says intercepted projectile fired from Yemen

Israel says intercepted projectile fired from Yemen
Updated 24 December 2024
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Israel says intercepted projectile fired from Yemen

Israel says intercepted projectile fired from Yemen
  • “Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception”

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Tuesday it had intercepted a projectile fired from Yemen after air raid sirens sounded in the center and south of Israel.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago, a projectile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the Israeli army said on Telegram.
“Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception.”
Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, reported no injuries from the projectile.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned the Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen, who last week fired two missiles at Israel, including one that injured 16 people in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday.
“I have instructed our forces to destroy the infrastructure of Houthis, because anyone who tries to harm us will be struck with full force,” he told lawmakers, “even if it takes time.”
Israeli warplanes retaliated against ports and energy infrastructure, which the military said contributed to Houthi rebel operations, after a rebel missile badly damaged an Israeli school last week.
The Houthis said the Israeli strikes killed nine people.