A boy in Gaza was killed by an Israeli airstrike, as his father held him and wouldn’t let go

A Palestinian man holds the body of his child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, on Jul. 9, 2024. (AP)

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Updated 11 July 2024

AP

July 11, 2024 16:52

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A boy in Gaza was killed by an Israeli airstrike, as his father held him and wouldn’t let go

Nael Al-Baghdadi held his 12-year-old son, Omar, and held him tight
Omar, who was playing outside near his home, had been killed Tuesday in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike

Updated 11 July 2024

AP

July 11, 2024 16:52

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: He wouldn’t let go.
Nael Al-Baghdadi held his 12-year-old son, Omar, and held him tight. But it was already too late. Omar, who was playing outside near his home, had been killed Tuesday in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike.
In the photo made by Associated Press photographer Abdel Kareem Hana after the strike, Al-Baghdadi’s eyes are shut. He holds his son, whose small body rests limply in his arms. His right hand and right shirt sleeve are streaked with blood. Grief is etched upon the father’s face, but more than that there is an expression of deep love for the child he has just lost. So much love that he insisted on holding Omar, uninterrupted, until the child could be shepherded hours later to his grave.
Omar and his three friends were playing soccer in the street near their house in the Bureij refugee camp around noon Tuesday, under a blistering sun, when the Israeli airstrike hit and sent the street into a swirl of dust, blood and chaos. Al-Baghdadi was already in nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah with his injured brother. His cousin ran toward the wreckage, found Omar and took him to an ambulance.
From there, he called the father and broke the news: His son had been killed; be ready to receive him. According to Al-Baghdadi, he met the ambulance when it rolled into the hospital, picked up his son’s body and carried it to the morgue, weeping all the way.
He refused to put his son on the ground inside the morgue, holding him gently until he was shrouded and the funeral prayer was performed before a quick burial.
One image, one moment — a child lost, a father’s grief, an excruciating goodbye.

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GCC, ASEAN officials discuss strengthening tie

Updated 6 sec ago

Arab News

July 31, 2024 17:28

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GCC, ASEAN officials discuss strengthening tie

Parties speak of coordination to achieve mutually desired goals

Updated 6 sec ago

Arab News

July 31, 2024 17:28

RIYADH: The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jassim Al-Budaiwi has said that the GCC and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are committed to strengthening cooperation and coordination to achieve mutually desired goals.

Al-Budaiwi made his remarks during a visit to the ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta, where he was received by ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

Al-Budaiwi said that his visit was part of GCC countries’ efforts to build close relations with other countries and blocs, and to enhance cooperation between the GCC and ASEAN, based on shared interests and deep historic ties.

The two officials spoke of the need to implement decisions reached by the GCC and ASEAN at the Riyadh Summit, which was held on Oct. 20, 2023, and discussed topics of common interest, including upcoming meetings, particularly the second summit between the bodies which is to be hosted by Malaysia in 2025.

The latest developments in the regional and international arenas were also discussed. These included the situation in the Gaza Strip, with the two officials stressing the need of an immediate ceasefire to help resolve the crisis in accordance with relevant international resolutions.

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Topics: GCC ASEAN

The war in Gaza might complicate Haniyeh’s replacement

Updated 19 min 17 sec ago

AP

July 31, 2024 17:12

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The war in Gaza might complicate Haniyeh’s replacement

The group’s Shoura council, the main consultative body, is now expected to meet soon, likely after Haniyeh’s funeral in Qatar, to name a new successor
Hani Al-Masri, an expert on Palestinian organizations, said the choice is now likely between Khaled Mashaal and Khalil Al-Hayya

Updated 19 min 17 sec ago

AP

July 31, 2024 17:12

BEIRUT: The militant Palestinian group Hamas has a history of swift and smooth replacement of fallen leaders killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in the Iranian capital early Wednesday comes at a time when Hamas is under extreme pressure since the war in Gaza started nearly 10 months ago following the group’s attack on southern Israel.
“We are not discussing this matter now,” a Hamas official told The Associated Press, on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, when asked about the process to replace Haniyeh.
Haniyeh headed the group’s political bureau until his death. His deputy was Saleh Arouri, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut in January and would have been the automatic replacement. Arouri’s post remained empty since his death.
The group’s Shoura council, the main consultative body, is now expected to meet soon, likely after Haniyeh’s funeral in Qatar, to name a new successor. The council’s membership is kept secret but represents regional chapters of the group, in Gaza, the West Bank and diaspora and those imprisoned.
One of Haniyeh’s deputies was Zaher Jabarin, who has been described as the group’s chief executive officer because of the important role he plays in managing the group’s finances, and with that, his good offices with Iran.
Hani Al-Masri, an expert on Palestinian organizations, said the choice is now likely between Khaled Mashaal, a veteran Hamas official and former leader, and Khalil Al-Hayya, a powerful figure within Hamas who was close to Haniyeh.
“It will not be easy,” said Al-Masri, who also heads the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research and Strategic Studies.
Hamas’ new political leader will have to decide on whether to continue the military option, and become essentially a guerrilla and underground group, or choose a leader that can offer political compromises — an unlikely option at this stage.
Mashaal has political and diplomatic experience, but his relations with Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have soured over his support for Arab protests in 2011. When he was in Lebanon in 2021, Hezbollah leaders reportedly refused to meet with him. But Mashaal has good relations with Turkiye and Qatar and is considered a more moderate figure who headed the group until 2017. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called him on Saturday to offer his condolences for the killing of Haniyeh.
Yahya Sinwar, the powerful Hamas figu re leading the war in Gaza, is at the opposite end of that spectrum and is unlikely to support Mashaal’s leadership.
Al-Hayya is considered close to Haniyeh, a prominent leader living in exile and originally from Gaza, with important international connections and good relations with the military wing as well as with Iran and Türkiye.
After years of cold relations with the Iran-led “axis of resistance” over Hamas’s backing the opposition against Syrian President Bashar Assad during Syria’s conflict that began in March 2011, Hamas began mending its relations with Iran and reconciled with Assad.
Al-Hayya headed a delegation that went to Syria in 2022 and met Assad. Al-Hayya also has good relations with Iran, Türkiye and Hezbollah.
“He is like Haniyeh, who was balanced and flexible and both sides didn’t see his leadership as problematic,” Al-Masri said.
The role of the group’s leader is important in maintaining relations with Hamas’ allies outside the Palestinian territories and the choice is likely to be influenced by the group’s choices in the coming days.
Al-Masri said any choice will have to be temporary until elections in the political bureau which were supposed to take place this year but have been derailed by the war.
The Hamas leadership meeting may also be complicated by efforts to reach Sinwar, who remains influential and will be consulted on the choice.
With ceasefire talks faltering, Israel’s strategy so far appeared to have left the group with a few options now: surrender or continue war.
A third possible contender, said Al-Masri, is Nizar Abu Ramadan, who had challenged Sinwar for the role of Gaza chief, and is considered close to Mashaal.
The war in Gaza started on Oct.7 after the Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 people. The group also took 250 others hostage. Israel’s retaliatory operation has obliterated entire neighborhoods in Gaza and forced some 80 percent of the population to flee their homes. Over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

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Topics: War on Gaza Hamas Ismail Haniyeh Israel Iran #4IR

Australian government affirms policy on Golan Heights after FM references ‘Israeli town’

Updated 31 min 17 sec ago

Arab News

July 31, 2024 16:59

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Australian government affirms policy on Golan Heights after FM references ‘Israeli town’

Wong’s remarks sparked wave of online reactions on whether she had acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over occupied site

Updated 31 min 17 sec ago

Arab News

July 31, 2024 16:59

LONDON: The Australian government has reiterated its stance that the Golan Heights is occupied territory, following recent comments by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who referred to the area as a “northern Israeli town,” The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

Wong’s remarks, made in a statement posted on social media platforms X and Instagram, sparked a wave of online reactions questioning whether she had acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over the region, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.

It follows a rocket attack on a town football pitch in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children.

The controversy arose from Wong’s post, which began with the statement: “Australia unequivocally condemns the strike on the northern Israeli town of Majdal Shams.” Notably, the statement did not refer to the Golan Heights as occupied territory.

This omission prompted concern from groups such as the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, which described the language used as “alarming,” highlighting that international recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is limited, predominantly acknowledged only by Israel and the US under the Trump administration.

In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade clarified that there had been no change in Australia’s policy. “There is no change in our position that the Golan Heights are occupied by Israel, as determined by the UN Security Council,” the spokesperson told Guardian Australia. “Our longstanding position is that the Golan Heights are a matter for Israel and Syria to determine through negotiations in the context of a comprehensive peace settlement.”

A government source explained that the intent behind Wong’s statement was to underscore the dangers of escalation and to condemn the strikes that resulted in civilian casualties in Majdal Shams. The source added that the post “acknowledged the fact that the town is administered and occupied by Israel.”

The issue gained further attention following a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Majdal Shams, a predominantly Druze village, where he vowed a “harsh” response to a recent rocket attack that claimed the lives of 12 children. Netanyahu’s visit was met with protest from some local residents. Israeli and US officials have attributed the attack to Hezbollah, although the Lebanese militant group has denied involvement.

The international community has long contested Israel’s control of the Golan Heights. A UN Security Council resolution in November 1967 asserted “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” and called for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories. Further, in 1981, the Security Council unanimously declared that “the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect.”

In a notable departure from international consensus, former US President Donald Trump announced in 2019 that the US would recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a decision justified by him as essential for Israel’s security and regional stability.

The situation has led to calls for clarity on Australia’s position. Jordon Steele-John, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Australian Greens, has urged Minister Wong to reconcile her statement with the department’s official policy, saying, “The community deserves to know why the minister’s position is seemingly contradictory with her own department.”

This controversy comes in the wake of Australia’s decision last August to formally describe the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as Occupied Palestinian Territories, aligning with international law and the stance of several allies, including the UK.

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Topics: Australia Golan Heights Israel

Israelis fear for hostages after Hamas chief’s killing

Updated 54 min 45 sec ago

AFP

July 31, 2024 16:33

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Israelis fear for hostages after Hamas chief’s killing

Haniyeh’s killing “was a mistake as it threatens the possibility of having a hostage deal,” said Anat Noy, a resident of the coastal city of Haifa
“What stresses me now is the reaction of Hamas and Hezbollah,” Binyamini, 25, told AFP

Updated 54 min 45 sec ago

AFP

July 31, 2024 16:33

HAIFA, Israel: Concerns grew among Israelis on Wednesday over the fate of dozens of hostages still held captive in Gaza following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Haniyeh’s killing “was a mistake as it threatens the possibility of having a hostage deal,” said Anat Noy, a resident of the coastal city of Haifa, in her 50s.
“We woke up today with a sense of fear in our hearts that this can escalate even more. There is no calm... we are afraid.”
On Wednesday, Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced that Haniyeh, 61, had been killed in Tehran in an Israeli air strike.
He was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in on Tuesday of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
As the political chief of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Haniyeh was overseeing the negotiations for a deal to end the war in Gaza and release hostages held in the territory in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said Haniyeh’s killing takes the war with Israel to a “new levels,” warning of “enormous consequences for the entire region.”
The war began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military have confirmed dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,445 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry, which does not provide details of civilian and militant deaths.
Months of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with the support of the United States, between Hamas and Israel have failed to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Both Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the delay in striking the deal.
“We will be happy when the hostages come back home and the war will be over,” said another Haifa resident, Avi Ben-Ishai.
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum acknowledged the military gains of the past nearly 10 months of the war, but said “true achievement” can come only with the return of the hostages.
“Time is of the essence, and we implore the Israeli government and global leaders to decisively advance negotiations,” it said in a statement released after Haniyeh’s killing was announced.
“This is the time for a deal.”
Tel Aviv resident Shahar Binyamini said she was anxious over how Hamas and allies like Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement would react to Haniyeh’s killing.
“What stresses me now is the reaction of Hamas and Hezbollah,” Binyamini, 25, told AFP as she canceled plans to go to the beach out of fear.
“My partner was in reserve service in the north since September and was told to be on standby.”
An Israeli strike late Tuesday targeted Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr in a building in a south Beirut suburb, hours before Haniyeh was killed.
Shukr’s death has yet to be confirmed by the Lebanese group.
Tel Aviv resident Jacob, who only gave his first name, said he was unsure whether Haniyeh’s killing would resolve the conflict.
“Our goal first of all should be the release of the hostages, and the war of October 7 should not have happened,” he said.
“Israel is doing its best to exist in the Middle East in peace, all we do is defend ourselves all the time.”

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Topics: War on Gaza Israel Hamas Hostages Ismail Haniyeh

Mediterranean heatwave ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change: scientists

Updated 31 July 2024

AFP

July 31, 2024 16:07

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Mediterranean heatwave ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change: scientists

A deadly heatwave brought temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius to southern Europe and North Africa
Scorching heat claimed more than 20 lives in a single day in Morocco, fanned wildfires in Greece and the Balkans

Updated 31 July 2024

AFP

July 31, 2024 16:07

PARIS: The punishing heat experienced around the Mediterranean in July would have been “virtually impossible” in a world without global warming, a group of climate scientists said Wednesday.
A deadly heatwave brought temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) to southern Europe and North Africa, where such extreme summer spells are becoming more frequent.
Scorching heat claimed more than 20 lives in a single day in Morocco, fanned wildfires in Greece and the Balkans, and strained athletes competing across France in the Summer Olympic Games.
World Weather Attribution, a network of scientists who have pioneered peer-reviewed methods for assessing the possible role of climate change in specific extreme events, said this case was clear.
“The extreme temperatures reached in July would have been virtually impossible if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels,” according to the WWA report by five researchers.
The analysis looked at the average July temperature and focused on a region that included Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
Scientists used this and other climate data to assess how the heat in July compared to similar periods in a world before humanity began rapidly burning oil, coal and gas.
They concluded the heat recorded in Europe was up to 3.3C hotter because of climate change.
Beyond the Mediterranean, intense heat reached Paris this week where athletes competing in the Olympic Games withered as temperatures hit the mid-30s this week.
“Extremely hot July months are no longer rare events,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, a co-author of the study.
“In today’s climate... Julys with extreme heat can be expected about once a decade,” she said.
Scientists have long established that climate change is driving extreme weather and making heatwaves longer, hotter and more frequent.
This latest episode came in a month when global temperatures soared to their highest levels on record, with the four hottest days ever observed by scientists etched into the history books in July.
The past 13 months have been the warmest such period on record, exceeding a 1.5C limit that scientists say must be kept intact over the long term to avoid catastrophic climate change.

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Topics: Mediterranean Europe Morocco heatwave climate change

A boy in Gaza was killed by an Israeli airstrike, as his father held him and wouldn’t let go

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A boy in Gaza was killed by an Israeli airstrike, as his father held him and wouldn’t let go

A boy in Gaza was killed by an Israeli airstrike, as his father held him and wouldn’t let go

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