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Israel strikes kill 42 in Gaza as UN head urges halt to conflict

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3 years ago

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Israeli strikes killed 42 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the worst daily toll in almost a week of deadly clashes, as UN Security Council talks fizzled despite global alarm at the escalating conflict.

Israeli warplanes continued to pummel the Palestinian enclave overnight Sunday to Monday, carrying out dozens of air strikes across the densely populated territory in just a few minutes and causing power cuts, AFP journalists said.

The Israeli army said in the first hours of Monday its fighter jets were “striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded for an immediate end to the “utterly appalling” violence and warned of an “uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis”.

But the council meeting, already delayed by Israel’s ally the United States, resulted in little action.

The heaviest exchange of fire in years — sparked by unrest in Jerusalem — has killed 197 in Gaza and 10 in Israel since Monday, according to authorities on either side.

Israel said Sunday morning its “continuing wave of strikes” had in the past 24 hours struck over 90 targets across the coastal enclave, where an Israeli strike that destroyed a building housing journalists’ offices sparked international outrage.

The death toll kept rising in Gaza as rescuers extracted bodies from vast piles of smoking rubble and the bereaved wailed in grief.

“We were sleeping and then all of a sudden there were rockets raining down on us,” said Lamia al-Koulak, 43, who lost relatives in a dawn bombardment.

“The children were screaming. For half an hour we were bombarded without prior warning. We came out to find the building next door flattened.”

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the campaign would “take time” to finish.

“Our campaign against the terrorist organisations is continuing with full force,” he said in a televised address. “We are acting now, for as long as necessary, to restore calm and quiet to you, Israel’s citizens.”

‘Hatred and revenge’

Israel’s army said about 3,000 rockets had been fired since last Monday from Gaza towards Israel — the highest rate ever recorded.

Around 450 fell within the coastal strip, while the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted over 1,000, according to the army.

Rockets have wounded over 280 people, hitting districts previously well beyond the range of Hamas’ rockets.

Army chief Aviv Kochavi said Israel had reacted with unprecedented force.

“Hamas misjudged the strength of our response,” he said.

Two doctors and at least 58 children have died in Gaza, local health authorities said. More than 1,200 people have been wounded and entire city blocks smashed to rubble.

Gaza health authorities said 40,000 people had been displaced from their homes, and the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, announced over 40 of UNRWA’s schools had been converted into shelters.

Save the Children warned that life-saving services were “at breaking point” after Israeli strikes damaged power lines.

The Israeli army says it takes all possible precautions to avoid harming civilians, and blames Hamas for deliberately placing military targets in densely populated areas.

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki urged the Security Council to act, accusing Israel of “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

But Israel’s UN ambassador blamed Gaza militants for the bloodshed.

“It was completely premeditated by Hamas in order to gain political power,” Gilad Erdan said.

Media offices destroyed

The Israeli army said it had targeted the infrastructure of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including a vast tunnel system, weapons factories and storage sites.

Israeli air strikes also hit the home of Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas’s political wing in Gaza, the army said, releasing footage of plumes of smoke and intense damage, but without saying if he was killed.

Balls of flame and a cloud of debris shot into the sky Saturday afternoon as Israel’s air force flattened a building housing Al Jazeera and AP news agency, after giving journalists an hour to evacuate.

Netanyahu on Sunday defended the strike, alleging the building also hosted a Palestinian “terrorist” intelligence office.

AP called for an independent investigation. Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, accused Israel of trying “to silence media that are witnessing, documenting and reporting the truth”.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on the International Criminal Court to determine whether the strike on a building housing media outlets constitutes war crimes.

‘It was hell’

The cross-border fire has sparked inter-communal violence between Jews and Arab-Israelis, as well as deadly clashes in the occupied West Bank, where 19 Palestinians have been killed since Monday.

A rocket on Sunday damaged a synagogue in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, shortly before prayers for the Shavuot Jewish holiday.

And a car-ramming attack wounded seven police officers in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, police said, adding that the attacker had been “neutralised”.

Sheikh Jarrah has been at the heart of the flare-up, seeing weeks of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces who have cracked down on protests against the planned expulsion of several Palestinian families from their homes there.

Palestinians have also been outraged by police actions against worshippers protesting at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

China on Sunday accused the US of blocking a Security Council statement on the violence.

“Simply because of the obstruction of one country, the Security Council hasn’t been able to speak with one voice,” said Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The United States, Israel’s main ally, had already delayed the Council session and shown little enthusiasm for a resolution.

President Joe Biden’s administration says it is working behind the scenes and that a Security Council statement could backfire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoke to officials in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and France, according to the State Department, reiterating calls to end the violence.

The Biden administration has publicly backed Israel’s right to self-defence, while urging de-escalation.

— AFP

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International

Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for U.S. President, calls for calm leadership

Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, calling her a “steady-handed, gifted leader.” In an Instagram post to her 283 million followers, Swift urged fans to research candidates’ stances and expressed concerns over AI-generated misinformation falsely linking her to Trump.

Published

9 hours ago

on

11 September 2024

By

In a bold statement shared on her Instagram account, Taylor Swift has endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for president in the upcoming 2024 election. The post, published shortly after the U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday night, positioned Harris as the candidate who would champion the rights and causes Swift holds dear.

“As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can,” Swift wrote to her 283 million followers, adding: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election.”

Swift emphasized her support for Harris, describing her as a “steady-handed, gifted leader” capable of steering the country with calmness, in contrast to the “chaos” she associates with other candidates.

Swift’s post also featured an image of her with her beloved cat, Benjamin Button, nodding to comments made by Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, who had previously mocked senior Democratic leaders as “childless cat ladies.” Swift embraced the label, signing off her statement with “Childless cat lady.”

Swift’s endorsement didn’t come without addressing misinformation. She referred to AI-generated images, circulated by former President Donald Trump’s campaign in August, falsely depicting her and her fans endorsing Trump. Swift expressed her concerns over AI’s potential for spreading falsehoods, calling it a key reason for her public clarification of her voting intentions.

“I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter,” Swift said, urging her followers to research candidates’ positions on issues that matter to them.

In response to Swift’s endorsement, the Trump campaign dismissed her support as further evidence of the Democratic Party’s alignment with “wealthy elites,” with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stating, “There’s many Swifties for Trump out there in America.” Republican congressman Matt Gaetz also commented on Swift’s political stance, remarking, “I love her songs, but I want to live in a world where liberals make my art and conservatives make my laws and policies.”

However, Swift’s backing of Harris has garnered significant attention among her fanbase, with some already mobilizing in support of the Democratic candidate. The Swifties for Kamala Coalition, launched in August, has raised over $138,000 for the Harris campaign, further bolstering the vice president’s candidacy.

Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, expressed his gratitude to Swift during an MSNBC interview, stating, “Her endorsement took courage, and that’s the kind of courage we need in America.”

Historically, celebrity endorsements have had measurable impacts on elections. A study from Northwestern University and the University of Maryland estimated that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Barack Obama ahead of the 2008 Democratic primary earned him around one million votes. Whether Swift’s massive following, particularly among Gen Z and women, will have a similar effect remains to be seen.

Swift’s endorsement marks a significant moment in the 2024 election, highlighting the intersection of pop culture and politics. As the election approaches, her influence may yet play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome, particularly among younger voters and those concerned with women’s rights.

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International

Netanyahu faces mounting protests amid hostage deaths and ceasefire dispute

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces intense protests after six hostages were killed by Hamas, with critics accusing him of prioritizing personal interests. As calls grow for a ceasefire, Netanyahu’s refusal to withdraw troops from Gaza’s border fuels further outrage at home and abroad.

Published

6 days ago

on

5 September 2024

By

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing increasing public pressure from families of hostages, political critics, and Middle Eastern leaders following the deaths of six hostages held by Hamas.

On Wednesday, protests erupted across Israel, including outside the Likud headquarters and at the homes of key lawmakers, as frustrations mounted over Netanyahu’s handling of the hostage crisis and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The protests intensified after Netanyahu publicly rejected calls to withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza-Egypt border, a key demand in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

The prime minister has insisted that maintaining a military presence in the so-called Philadelphi corridor is crucial to prevent Hamas from using the area for arms smuggling. His stance has been widely criticized both domestically and internationally, with many seeing it as a significant obstacle to progress in negotiations.

Families of the slain hostages have expressed their outrage after the release of a video by Hamas, showing one of the hostages, Eden Yerushalmi, accusing the Israeli government of abandoning her and other captives.

Yerushalmi, 24, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October, appeared gaunt and emotionally distressed in the two-minute video, which was posted by Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades on Monday. In the video, she pointedly blamed Netanyahu for failing to secure their release, further fueling anger among the families of hostages and the public.

The video’s release coincided with the funerals of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from a tunnel near the Gaza-Egypt border.

Among the dead were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi. Yerushalmi’s family authorized the release of a short clip from the video, which has since been widely circulated as a grim reminder of the failed negotiations. The Hostage Families Forum condemned the video as “shocking psychological terror” aimed at inflicting further pain on the families.

Hamas also released a separate video of Lobanov and Gat, who, like Yerushalmi, criticized the Israeli government for its failure to negotiate their release. Lobanov accused Netanyahu of neglecting the hostages, referencing the Shalit deal in which Israel released over a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli soldier.

“You failed and neglected us on October 7, and now you continue to fail in every attempt to release us alive,” he said, highlighting the dire conditions under which they were held and the bombing by Israeli forces.

Similarly, Gat, who had been in captivity for nearly 11 months, pleaded with the government to stop the bombing and prioritize their release.

Both hostages called on Israeli citizens to take to the streets and protest, urging the government to act. The release of these videos has intensified public anger and fueled ongoing protests demanding action from Netanyahu’s administration.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor has drawn sharp criticism from his former war cabinet colleague, Benny Gantz, and international condemnation from Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

While Gantz acknowledged the importance of the corridor for Israel’s security, he stressed that the return of hostages must be prioritized over territorial control.

Critics have also pointed out that Netanyahu’s personal interests may be at play in prolonging the conflict.

Facing charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases filed in 2019, Netanyahu’s continued tenure as prime minister is seen by many as a strategic move to avoid legal repercussions.

If convicted, Netanyahu could face up to 10 years in prison, and some argue that staying in power shields him from potential imprisonment.

His critics claim that Netanyahu is willing to risk regional stability and global peace to remain in office, as losing his political position could leave him vulnerable to prosecution, potentially leading to a life behind bars.

As tensions escalate, Netanyahu faces a critical test in navigating the hostage crisis and the broader conflict, with both domestic and international pressure mounting.

Many are questioning whether his decisions are driven by national security or personal survival, adding to the growing discontent within Israel and beyond.

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