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War on Gaza

Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah

Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah
An Israeli tank takes position in the background as displaced Palestinians evacuate from the northwestern outskirts of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 28, 2024. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 25 July 2024
Reuters
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Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah

Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah
  • Fighting in recent days has centered around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara
  • Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators to conclude a ceasefire deal seem to be on hold
Updated 25 July 2024
Reuters
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CAIRO: Israeli forces advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US lawmakers he was actively engaged in bringing hostages home.
Fighting in recent days has centered around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara, where the army said on Wednesday it had found the bodies of five Israelis who were killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and held in Gaza since.
Hamas militants took more than 250 hostages in the early morning raid into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel retaliated by vowing to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a nine-month war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say.
Several were wounded in the eastern towns during Israeli tank and aerial shelling, while an airstrike east of Khan Younis killed four people, Palestinian health officials said.
Israeli bombardment intensified in several areas in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, as tanks operated north, west and in the town center, residents and medics said. Several Palestinians were also wounded in Israeli fire earlier on Thursday.
The Israeli military said forces operating in Khan Younis killed dozens of militants and dismantled around 50 military infrastructures, while it continued activities in Rafah, killing two militants.
In a speech to the US Congress, Netanyahu said his government was actively involved in seeking the release of remaining hostages and was confident they would succeed.
DISAPPOINTING SPEECH
Hamas described the comments by Netanyahu as “pure lies” accusing him of thwarting efforts to end the war.
Netanyahu’s comments also disappointed many displaced Palestinians who had hoped for a clearer signal of an imminent end to the fighting, which has laid the overcrowded enclave to waste and created a humanitarian crisis.
“It was depressing, he didn’t even mention ceasefire at all, not even once,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a resident of Gaza City, now displaced in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
“People awaited some surprise, a ceasefire announcement by Netanyahu as a gift to (US President Joe) Biden, but they slept with much disappointment, as Netanyahu said he was determined to pursue war,” Burai said via a chat app.
Deir Al-Balah, where tanks haven’t yet invaded, is currently overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, displaced from other areas of the enclave, home to 2.3 million people.
“Netanyahu spoke in a play, he spoke to clowns,” said Burai.
Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators, backed by the United States, to conclude a ceasefire deal, seemed to be on hold, as Israel was expected to send a delegation for more talks next week.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan suburb killed four people, medics said, while seven Palestinians arrived at a hospital in central Gaza who had been detained by Israeli forces and released in an area close to the border.

Topics: War on Gaza Gaza Israel rafah

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They fled war in Sudan. But they haven’t been able to flee the hunger

They fled war in Sudan. But they haven’t been able to flee the hunger
Updated 59 min 1 sec ago
AP
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They fled war in Sudan. But they haven’t been able to flee the hunger

They fled war in Sudan. But they haven’t been able to flee the hunger
  • Food in the markets is sparse, prices have spiked and aid groups say they struggle to reach the most vulnerable as warring parties limit access
  • Aid workers say funding is not enough
Updated 59 min 1 sec ago
AP

ADRE:For months, Aziza Abrahim fled from one village in Sudan to the next as people were slaughtered. Yet the killing of relatives and her husband’s disappearance aren’t what forced the 23-year-old to leave the country for good. It was hunger, she said.
“We don’t have anything to eat because of the war,” Abrahim said, cradling her 1-year-old daughter under the sheet where she now shelters, days after crossing into Chad.
The war in Sudan has created vast hunger, including famine. It has pushed people off their farms. Food in the markets is sparse, prices have spiked and aid groups say they’re struggling to reach the most vulnerable as warring parties limit access.
Some 24,000 people have been killed and millions displaced during the war that erupted in April 2023, sparked by tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces. Global experts confirmed famine in the Zamzam displacement camp in July. They warn that some 25 million people — more than half of Sudan’s population — are expected to face acute hunger this year.
“People are starving to death at the moment ... It’s man-made. It’s these men with guns and power who deny women and children food,” Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told The Associated Press. Warring parties on both sides are blocking assistance and delaying authorization for aid groups, he said.
Between May and September, there were seven malnutrition-related deaths among children in one hospital at a displacement site in Chad run by Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF. Such deaths can be from disease in hunger-weakened bodies.
In September, MSF was forced to stop caring for 5,000 malnourished children in North Darfur for several weeks, citing repeated, deliberate obstructions and blockades. US President Joe Biden has called on both sides to allow unhindered access and stop killing civilians.
But the fighting shows no signs of slowing. More than 2,600 people were killed across the country in October, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which called it the bloodiest month of the war.
Violence is intensifying around North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher, the only capital in the vast western Darfur region that the RSF doesn’t hold. Darfur has experienced some of the war’s worst atrocities, and the International Criminal Court prosecutor has said there are grounds to believe both sides may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.
Abrahim escaped her village in West Darfur and sought refuge for more than a year in nearby towns with friends and relatives. Her husband had left home to find work before the war, and she hasn’t heard from him since.
She struggled to eat and feed their daughter. Unable to farm, she cut wood and sold it in Chad, traveling eight hours by donkey there and back every few days, earning enough to buy grain. But after a few months the wood ran out, forcing her to leave for good.
Others who have fled to Chad described food prices spiking three-fold and stocks dwindling in the market. There were no vegetables, just grains and nuts.
Awatif Adam came to Chad in October. Her husband wasn’t making enough transporting people with his donkey cart, and it was too risky to farm, she said. Her 6-year-old twin girls and 3-year-old son lost weight and were always hungry.
“My children were saying all the time, ‘Mom, give us food’,” she said. Their cries drove her to leave.
As more people stream into Chad, aid groups worry about supporting them.
Some 700,000 Sudanese have entered since the war began. Many live in squalid refugee camps or shelter at the border in makeshift displacement sites. And the number of arrivals at the Adre crossing between August and October jumped from 6,100 to 14,800, according to government and UN data., though it was not clear whether some people entered multiple times.
Earlier this year, the World Food Program cut rations by roughly half in Chad, citing a lack of funding.
While there’s now enough money to return to full rations until the start of next year, more arrivals will strain the system and more hunger will result if funding doesn’t keep pace, said Ramazani Karabaye, head of the World Food Program’s operations in Adre.
During an AP visit to Adre in October, some people who fled Sudan at the start of the war said they were still struggling.
Khadiga Omer Adam said she doesn’t have enough aid or money to eat regularly, which has complicated breastfeeding her already malnourished daughter, Salma Issa. The 35-year-old gave birth during the war’s initial days, delivering alone in West Darfur. It was too dangerous for a midwife to reach her.
Adam had clutched the baby as she fled through villages, begging for food. More than a year later, she sat on a hospital bed holding a bag of fluid above her daughter, who was fed through a tube in her nose.
“I have confidence in the doctors ... I believe she’ll improve, I don’t think she’ll die,” she said.
The MSF-run clinic in the Aboutengue camp admitted more than 340 cases of severely malnourished children in August and September. Staff fear that number could rise. The arid climate in Chad south of the Sahara Desert means it’s hard to farm, and there’s little food variety, health workers said.
People are fleeing Sudan into difficult conditions, said Dr. Oula Dramane Ouattara, head of MSF’s medical activities in the camp.
”If things go on like this, I’m afraid the situation will get out of control,” he said.

Topics: Sudan Unrest

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Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN

Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP
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Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN

Nearly 50,000 displaced in Syria in recent days: UN
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Nearly 50,000 people have recently been displaced in Syria, where an Islamist-led militants alliance has wrested swathes of territory from control of President Bashar Assad’s government, the UN’s humanitarian agency reported Monday.
“The displacement situation remains highly fluid, with partners verifying new figures daily,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement. “Over 48,500 people have been displaced as of 30 November.”
 

 

Topics: Syria Iran Turkiye

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Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests

Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP
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Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests

Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests
  • Ben Gvir called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned Monday the arrests of a senior prison official and two police officers linked to him as an attempt to oust him.
The three, who media say are close to Ben Gvir, were arrested on suspicion of bribery, abuse of office and breach of trust, according to reports.
Police have not commented on the arrests.
“This is a coup d’etat... a political decision,” Ben Gvir said in televised comments.
He called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The decision to investigate police officers and a senior prison service official who are clearly and fully implementing my policy... is a political decision,” Ben Gvir added.
Israeli media said on Monday the prison service official questioned by police was the chief, Kobi Yaakobi, a close friend of Ben Gvir who was appointed in January.
Ben Gvir on Monday posted on his Telegram channel a photo with Yaakobi and the words: “Kobi, we love you.”
Last week the minister gave his “full” support to four people working in his office, who Israeli media said were questioned by police as part of a probe into the alleged issuing of weapons permits illegally.
Ben Gvir also directly attacked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who had previously provoked the ire of some ministers in the current government.
“In order for the right-wing government to function, without the legal adviser preventing it, we must stop this crazy campaign and legal coup,” Ben Gvir said.
He urged Netanyahu to discuss in Sunday’s cabinet meeting ending Baharav-Miara’s mandate.
In March last year, it was Baharav-Miara who deemed “illegal” one of Netanyahu’s public interventions on proposed judicial system reforms then dividing the country.

Topics: Itamar Ben Gvir far-right Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

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Turkiye could benefit from militant offensive in Syria: experts

Turkiye could benefit from militant offensive in Syria: experts
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP
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Turkiye could benefit from militant offensive in Syria: experts

Turkiye could benefit from militant offensive in Syria: experts
  • Ankara and Damascus broke off ties in 2011 when the war started with Erdogan backing the militants
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkiye could be one of the big winners from the new Syria crisis, giving it a chance to tackle its Syrian refugee problem and the Kurdish threat along its border, observers say.

Although Syrian President Bashar Assad spurned an offer of help from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara now appears to have an increasingly important role in decisions that will affect Syria’s immediate future.

Omer Ozkizilcik, an Atlantic Council associate researcher in Ankara, said Turkiye has a “complex and difficult relationship” with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the terrorist alliance that led last week’s militant offensive.

“We can clearly say there was indirect Turkish support (for the offensive) but no direct Turkish involvement,” he said.

Although the attack was due to take place “seven weeks ago... Turkiye stopped the militants from launching this military offensive,” he added.

Assad’s ally Russia has also been “heavily” bombing militants positions in the northwest to stymie an attack on his government.

Charles Lister, an expert at Washington’s Middle East Institute agreed, saying “the Aleppo offensive was initially planned for mid-October but Turkiye put a stop to it.”

It was only after Ankara’s efforts to normalize ties with the Assad goverment were rebuffed as it pushed for a political solution, that Turkiye gave its green light, Ozkizilcik said.

Turkiye has pushed back against the expansion of HTS into the “security zone” in northwest Syria it has carved out for itself, and has put pressure on the radical group to drop its Al-Qaeda affiliation.

It has also pressed it to avoid attacking Christian and Druze minorities, analysts say.

“The HTS of today is not what it was in 2020,” Ozkizilcik said.

Although Turkiye has some influence over the group, Firas Kontar, a Syrian Druze origin and author of “Syria, the Impossible Revolution,” believes Erdogan “no longer has the means to stop HTS.”

Ankara and Damascus broke off ties in 2011 when the war started with Erdogan backing the militants.

However, since late 2022 the Turkish leader has been seeking a rapprochement, saying in July he was ready to host Assad “at any time.”

But Assad said he would only meet if Turkish forces withdrew from Syria.

Ankara is hoping a rapprochement would pave the way for the return of the 3.2 million Syrian refugees still on its soil, whose presence has become a major domestic hot potato.

“Now with the changing situation on the ground, the balance of power in Syria has shifted: Turkiye is the most powerful actor at the moment inside Syria, and Iran and Russia will likely try to negotiate with Turkiye,” Ozkizilcik said.

Since 2016, Turkiye has staged multiple operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria which has given it a foothold in areas bordering the frontier.

The aim is to oust Kurdish fighters from the border zone, notably the YPG (People’s Protection Units) which are backed by Washington as bulwark against Daesh group terrorists.

But Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the PKK which has fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkiye and is banned as a terror group by Washington and Brussels.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, pro-Turkiye militans on Sunday seized Tal Rifaat, a town north of Aleppo and the surrounding villages, where some 200,000 Syrian Kurds were living.

Tal Rifaat lies just outside Turkiye’s “security zone” with the move prompting Kurdish residents to flee to a safe zone further east.

Turkiye’s secret service said it had killed a PKK leader in the area.

“Turkiye has already made and probably will make many gains against the YPG terror group to secure its national security,” said Ozkizilcik.

Topics: Syria Turkiye Iran Russia

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Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza

Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP
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Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza

Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza
  • At least 44,466 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza
Updated 03 December 2024
AFP

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army called on Monday for some areas of the southern Gaza Strip to be evacuated, warning that Palestinian militants were launching rockets from there.
It is the first such call in weeks relating to the south of the embattled Palestinian territory after the military turned its attention to the north in October.
“Terrorist organizations are once again firing rockets toward the State of Israel from your area,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post in Arabic on X, addressing residents of the Khan Yunis area.
“For your safety, you must evacuate the area immediately and move to the humanitarian zone,” he said, sharing a map of the area in question.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said in a statement that “one projectile that crossed into Israeli territory from Khan Yunis was intercepted” by the Israeli air force.
Hamas’s armed wing later claimed responsibility, saying it had fired rockets toward southern Israel.
Israel has destroyed large swathes of Gaza since it launched a retaliatory military offensive following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
At least 44,466 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
 

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza US

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They fled war in Sudan. But they haven’t been able to flee the hunger
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