Israel
'Will no longer be complicit in genocide': US Air Force personnel sets himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in Washington
An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force was critically injured Sunday after setting himself ablaze outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., while declaring that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide,” a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The man, whose name wasn’t immediately released, walked up to the embassy shortly before 1 p.m. and began livestreaming on the video streaming platform Twitch, the person said. Law enforcement officials believe the man started a livestream, set his phone down and then doused himself in accelerant and ignited the flames. At one point, he said he “will no longer be complicit in genocide,” the person said. The video was later removed from the platform, but law enforcement officials have obtained and reviewed a copy.
The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Police did not immediately provide any additional details about the incident.
Read: Israel vows to target Lebanon's Hezbollah even if cease-fire reached with Hamas in Gaza
The incident happened as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking the cabinet approval for a military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah while a temporary cease-fire deal is being negotiated. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, however, has drawn criticisms, including genocide claims against the Palestinians.
Israel has adamantly denied the genocide allegations and says it is carrying out operations in accordance with international law in the Israel-Hamas war.
In December, a person self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta and used gasoline as an accelerant, according to Atlanta’s fire authorities. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene, and the act was believed to be one of “extreme political protest.”
Read: Israeli officials to meet on a proposed pause in Gaza while the Cabinet is set to OK a Rafah plan
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington said its officers had responded to the scene outside the Israeli Embassy to assist U.S. Secret Service officers and that its bomb squad had also been called to examine a suspicious vehicle. Police said no hazardous materials were found in the vehicle.
Also read: Netanyahu seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in Gaza in new postwar plan
Saudi Arabia to US: No diplomatic ties with Israel without an independent Palestinian state
In a decisive statement released by the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday (February 07, 2024), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has clarified its stance to the United States regarding the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry articulated that such relations depend upon the recognition of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem serving as its capital. This announcement underscores the kingdom’s unwavering position on the Palestinian issue, emphasizing the necessity for the Palestinian people to secure their legitimate rights.
Read more: ICJ should work to achieve its goal: Palestine Ambassador
The statement further demanded an immediate cessation of Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip and the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the area. This stance was conveyed amidst discussions on the Arab-Israeli peace process, particularly in response to comments attributed to the US National Security Spokesperson.
Saudi Arabia also renewed its appeal to the permanent members of the UN Security Council, urging those who have not yet recognized the Palestinian state to do so promptly. The goal is to ensure that the Palestinian people attain their legitimate rights and to pave the way for a comprehensive and just peace for all parties involved.
This development comes in the wake of White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby’s remarks on Tuesday, indicating optimistic signals that Saudi Arabia and Israel are open to continuing normalization discussions. The move would follow in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords.
Read more: Silencing Palestinian perspectives: CNN staff criticize network’s pro-Israel bias
Silencing Palestinian perspectives: CNN staff criticize network’s pro-Israel bias
In a striking revelation reported by the Guardian, CNN faces internal criticism and a growing backlash over its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Journalists from CNN’s newsrooms, both in the United States and internationally, have raised concerns about the network’s editorial policies. These policies, they claim, have led to the dissemination of Israeli perspectives while marginalizing Palestinian voices in the coverage of the war in Gaza.
The core of the discontent centers around the network’s handling of key events, particularly the October 7 Hamas massacre and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory attack on Gaza. One CNN staffer lamented, “The majority of news since the war began, regardless of how accurate the initial reporting, has been skewed by a systemic and institutional bias within the network toward Israel,” branding it as “journalistic malpractice.”
According to detailed accounts from six CNN staff members and a review of over a dozen internal communications, the daily news output is heavily influenced by directives from CNN headquarters, the Guardian says. These directives have imposed strict guidelines on reporting, including significant restrictions on quoting Hamas and presenting Palestinian perspectives, while often uncritically broadcasting Israeli government statements.
Read more: UN experts condemn killing, silencing of journalists in Gaza
Mark Thompson, CNN’s new editor-in-chief and CEO, who assumed his role shortly after the October 7 incident, is at the heart of the controversy. Staffers express concern over Thompson’s history of yielding to external pressures in his previous position at the BBC, fearing a similar pattern at CNN. The coverage, as a result, has been criticized for disproportionately highlighting Israeli suffering and narratives, with a notable deficiency in reporting on the Palestinian civilian casualties and the devastation in Gaza.
A particularly contentious point is the editorial process, where every story related to the conflict requires approval from the Jerusalem bureau, effectively filtering the content that reaches the public. This process has been condemned for introducing biases, as reports undergo modifications that detract from the Palestinian plight, according to some CNN journalists.
Critics within the network have pointed out a notable imbalance, citing an early November directive by David Lindsay, senior director of news standards and practices, that limited the reporting of Hamas statements, labeling them as “inflammatory rhetoric and propaganda.” This contrasts starkly with the network’s approach to Israeli officials’ statements, which have been aired frequently and often without challenge.
Amidst these editorial decisions, CNN’s coverage has been accused of utilizing a framework that implicitly justifies Israeli actions by continuously referencing the Hamas attack as the conflict’s “immediate cause.” This narrative, staff members argue, marginalizes other contexts and histories that are crucial for a balanced understanding of the conflict.
The network’s spokesperson has defended CNN’s reporting, emphasizing the care taken to attribute claims across their coverage. However, the restrictions on foreign journalists’ access to Gaza, except under Israeli Defense Forces control, have further complicated efforts to present a balanced view, keeping the full impact of the war on Palestinians largely unseen on CNN and similar channels.
This internal critique of CNN’s coverage echoes past accusations of bias, reminiscent of the network’s approach post-9/11 and its coverage of the Afghan conflict. The current discontent among CNN staff highlights a deep-seated concern over journalistic integrity and the challenge of maintaining balanced reporting amidst external pressures and editorial mandates.
Read more: Hamas shows signs of resurgence in parts of Gaza where Israeli troops largely withdrew weeks ago
ICJ should work to achieve its goal: Palestine Ambassador
Ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh, Yousef S. Y. Ramadan, on Thursday said the recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gives a sense of optimism for the Palestinians to be independent after 75 years of struggle.
"It's the first step on the way. We can build upon this," he said while speaking at the DCAB Talk at Jatiya Press Club.
BNP and Jamaat still haven’t uttered a single word against genocide in Palestine: Foreign Minister
Responding to a question, Ambassador Ramadan said they should not just stop there.
"No. We wanted to wait and see. We want to provide ICJ with the evidence that Israel did commit genocide. This is our duty. This is the duty of everyone," he said.
PM Hasina denounces Israeli attacks on Palestine, calls for ending the war
The envoy added, "That's what we need ....to continue. And ICJ should continue the work to achieve its goal. It should not just relax."
The ambassador said they are extremely grateful to Bangladesh and South Africa for their role. Bangladesh supported the genocide case filed by South Africa with the ICJ.
Creation of Palestine state urgent; US key actor in bringing this to reality: Dr Yunus
Lauding Bangladesh's position, he said this was a very courageous move from Bangladesh.
In the ICJ proceedings, South Africa contended that Israel is violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention with its military assault on Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023, after the attack by Hamas in Israel, which killed 1,200 people and wounded many more. Around 240 people were also taken hostage in the attack.
During oral hearings earlier this month, Israel sought to have the case dismissed by the ICJ judges — a motion that was rejected last Friday (January 26).
The landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) offers the first concrete hope to protect civilians in Gaza enduring apocalyptic humanitarian conditions, destruction, mass killing, wounding and irreparable trauma, UN experts said today.
“The ruling is a significant milestone in the decades-long struggle for justice by the Palestinian people,” the experts said.
The ICJ found it plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide and issued six provisional measures, ordering Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocidal acts, including preventing and punishing incitement to genocide, ensuring aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza, and preserving evidence of crimes committed in Gaza.
“We echo the sense of urgency demonstrated by the Court in its short, two-week deliberation, as hundreds of Palestinians, primarily women and children, are being killed by Israeli forces every day, resulting in a death toll of 26,751 people in Gaza over the past three months. This amounts to over 1% of the population,” they said.
Ambassador Ramadan said that the international community is gradually abandoning Israel that has so far been enjoying impunity just because it is powerful.
On January 30, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain is ready to bring forward the moment when it formally recognises a Palestinian state.
He said Palestinians had to be given a political horizon to encourage peace in the Middle East, BBC reported.
When his attention was brought to that, the ambassador said the UK should have been the first to recognise the Palestinian State because all the problems of Palestine were created because of British policy.
He said US President Joe Biden is working very hard to find a solution but he should have done it much earlier.
Ambassador Ramadan said the international community for long has ignored the Palestinians' issue just because Israel is powerful.
"Israel is there fighting us. But who are the countries standing beside it? The powerful countries," he said.
Ambassador Ramadan said he does not represent Hamas or Fattah but the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“This is a very hot issue. Talk about this,” he said, expressing disappointment over the lack of unity among the Muslim countries while he referred to the unity in Europe.
The ambassador said he never felt like a refugee during his nine-year stay in Bangladesh as he always received warmth and love from the people here.
DCAB President Nurul Islam Hasib and its General Secretary Ashiqur Rahman Apu also spoke.
Key takeaways from UN court’s ruling on Israel’s war in Gaza
The U.N. world court on Friday came down hard on Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to “take all measures” to prevent a genocide of the Palestinians. But it stopped short of demanding an immediate cease-fire, as the South African sponsors of the case had hoped.
All sides tried to claim victory with the ruling, seizing on different elements that buttressed their positions.
Israel celebrated the court’s rejection of the cease-fire request and said it had endorsed the country’s right to self-defense. Yet harsh criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza could further dent its image in the court of public opinion.
The Palestinians welcomed what amounted to an overwhelming rebuke of Israel’s wartime tactics by a lopsided majority of judges over the heavy death toll and humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The six measures in the ruling were approved by margins of 15-2 and 16-1, with even Israel’s representative on the court joining the majority on two of the questions.
As Israel presses ahead with its offensive, Friday’s ruling adds to the growing international criticism of Israel and could put more pressure on it to scale back or halt the operation altogether.
Airstrikes in central Gaza kill 15 overnight while fighting intensifies in the enclave's south
Here are some takeaways from Friday’s ruling:
NO RULING ON GENOCIDE
The court did not rule on the core issue of whether Israel’s devastating military offensive against Hamas amounts to genocide. That question likely won’t be answered by the court for years.
But it did not rule out the possibility that Israel is conducting genocidal acts. In imposing “provisional measures,” the court found that concerns about possible genocide merit further review.
It called on Israel “to take all measures within its power” and “ensure with immediate effect” that its military does not commit genocidal acts, including those causing the unnecessary deaths of Palestinians or humanitarian suffering.
It also called on Israel to prevent “public incitement to commit genocide,” pointing to a series of inflammatory statements by Israeli leaders. Israel was ordered to report back to the court within one month on steps it is taking to meet these demands.
The court said it was gravely concerned about the fate of the hostages and called for their immediate and unconditional release. But the decision focused almost entirely on the plight of Gaza’s Palestinian civilians and urged Israel to do more to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid.
Yuval Shany, an expert on international law at the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, said the ruling was “not great” but could have been worse.
“The finding that South Africa’s claims are plausible is not good,” he said. “But it’s something that Israel can live with.”
Top UN court stops short of ordering cease-fire in Gaza and demands Israel contain deaths
THE WAR GOES ON
Nothing in the court’s ruling requires Israel to halt the war from a legal standpoint.
Israeli leaders vowed Friday to press aheagotchd with the offensive, insisting that they already are in compliance with international law and committed to allowing humanitarian supplies into the besieged territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the genocide allegation as “outrageous,” noting that the ruling came on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Netanyahu pointed out that Hamas, which killed 1,200 and kidnapped 250 on Oct. 7, seeks Israel’s destruction.
Barak Medina, a human rights expert at Hebrew University’s law school, said the effects of the ruling on the battlefield are “marginal.”
He said calls to ramp up humanitarian aid and crack down on incitement might have some small effects on policies. “But in terms of the main aspect of the military operation, one would not expect any change on the ground,” he said.
INCREASED SCRUTINY
While Israel moves ahead on the battlefield, Friday’s ruling shined an additional bright and critical spotlight on the Israeli offensive.
The war, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, has killed over 26,000 Palestinians and led to widespread destruction, displacement and disease, according to local health officials and international aid agencies.
The United States, Israel’s closest and most important ally, has repeatedly voiced concerns about the civilian death toll and the broader international community has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire. The tough language adopted by the court, coupled with the requirement to report back to it, added to the global scrutiny and puts more pressure to scale back or stop the offensive.
Merav Michaeli, leader of Israel’s opposition Labor Party, called the ruling a “yellow card” against a government that she said “is causing enormous international damage to the country.”
A former head of the Israeli military’s international law department said the decision would worsen Israel’s global standing and undermine legitimacy for the war.
“It’s a huge threat,” said Pnina Sharvit Baruch, now a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. “It eventually impacts also our national security. We need our allies. We cannot manage here on our own.”
UN court keeps genocide case against Israel alive as Gaza death toll surpasses 26,000
PRESSURE ON THE US
Despite its concerns about harm to civilians, the United States has so far backed the Israeli war effort, shielding Israel from international criticism and continuing to deliver weapons to the military.
Friday’s ruling draws unwelcome attention to the U.S. position — a stance that has put it at odds with allies and threatened to hurt President Joe Biden’s standing with the Democratic Party’s progressive wing as he seeks re-election.
“States now have clear legal obligations to stop Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza and to make sure that they are not complicit,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.
It said the provisional ruling “should serve as a wakeup call for Israel and actors who enabled its entrenched impunity.”
The ministry is part of the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized self-rule government in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The U.S. has said it would like to see a revitalized authority, ousted by Hamas in 2007, return to power in Gaza after the war.
Balkees Jarrah, the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group that has accused Israel of committing war crimes in past rounds of fighting, said Friday’s “landmark decision puts Israel and its allies on notice.”
“The court’s clear and binding order raises the stakes for Israel’s allies to back up their stated commitment to a global rules-based order by helping ensure compliance with this watershed ruling,” she said.
UN court keeps genocide case against Israel alive as Gaza death toll surpasses 26,000
The death toll from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip surpassed 26,000 on Friday as the International Court of Justice was set to give its decision on whether to order Israel to halt its offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said that 26,083 people have been killed and more than 64,400 wounded since Oct. 7, the day militants from the territory launched a surprise attack in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
South Africa has accused Israel of genocide and asked the world court in The Hague, Netherlands, to impose interim measures as the case proceeds. The requested measures include ordering Israel to stop its offensive, to allow Gaza residents access to aid and to take "reasonable measures" to prevent genocide.
Israel has denied committing genocide and asked the court to throw out the case.
Currently:
— Israel vows to fight Hamas all the way to Gaza's southern border. That's fueling tension with Egypt.
— How genocide officially became a crime, and why South Africa is accusing Israel of committing it.
— Georgia lawmakers, in support of Israel, pass a bill that would define antisemitism in state law.
— The U.S. and the U.K. sanction four Yemeni Houthi leaders over Red Sea shipping attacks.
— Find more of AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Israel vows to fight Hamas all the way to Gaza’s southern border. That’s fueling tension with Egypt
Here's the latest:
TOP UN COURT REFUSES TO THROW OUT GENOCIDE CASE AGAINST ISRAEL
The United Nations' top court has refused to throw out the genocide case that South Africa filed against Israel.
The International Court of Justice is not deciding Friday whether Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip but only ruling on South Africa's request for interim measures, including an order for Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza.
While Israel asked the court to throw out the case, court president Joan E. Donoghue said a panel of 17 judges concluded that it has appropriate jurisdiction and therefore "cannot accede to Israel's request for the case to be removed."
Donoghue opened the hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, by noting that Israel's war against Hamas "is causing massive civilian casualties, extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and the displacement of the overwhelming majority of the population in Gaza.
"The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering," the judge said.
HAMAS OFFICIAL SAYS GROUP WOULD ABIDE BY A COURT-ORDERED CEASE-FIRE
RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian delegation plans to be in The Hague when the International Court of Justice announces whether it is ordering Israel to suspend its offensive against Hamas militants and to take other steps to protect Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The world court is delivering its preliminary decisions in a genocide case that South Africa brought against Israel. The court is set to rule Friday only on South Africa's request for interim measures to ease the suffering in Gaza while the case proceeds, a process expected to take several years.
"By moving quickly and issuing the ruling only two weeks after the oral hearings, the court acknowledges the urgency of the situation on the ground," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a top official with Hamas says his group will abide by a cease-fire if the court in the Netherlands calls for one.
Osama Hamdan said Thursday that Hamas also would be ready to release the remaining hostages it is holding if Israel releases Palestinian prisoners.
Hamdan says Hamas is open to all initiatives for an exchange but that the hostages would not return home until there was "a comprehensive cease of the aggression against our people." He added that any delays or procrastination "means more deaths among (Israelis)."
Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza from Gaza says ‘Last time you see me with this heavy, stinky vest’
ISRAELI STRIKES ON A REFUGEE CAMP KILL 15 PALESTINIANS
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Fifteen Palestinians, including an infant, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two apartment buildings in the central Gaza Strip, according to an Associated Press journalist who saw the bodies at a local hospital Friday.
The strikes hit the Nuseirat refugee camp on Thursday evening, and the dead were taken to the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah.
One of the bombardments killed seven members of the Rawah family, including a 5-month-old baby.
The strikes came as the Israeli army continued to expand its assault on the southern half of war-stricken Gaza, with a focus on Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city.
The Israeli military said its troops were engaging in close, urban combat with Hamas fighters in neighborhoods of Khan Younis. The military says it is calling in airstrikes and attack helicopters to hit militants allegedly spotted with rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.
Earlier this week,the military ordered civilians to evacuate most of the western half of the city and the Khan Younis refugee camp.
Hamas has reported that troops from the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the group's military wing, are battling Israeli forces in the heart of the city.
MORE THAN 26,000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED IN GAZA SINCE THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR STARTED, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 26,000, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday.
The ministry said the total number of dead is 26,083, with 64,487 Palestinians wounded since the start of the war on Oct. 7. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its death toll, but has said about two-thirds of those killed were women and children.
In the past 24 hours, 183 people were killed and 377 others were injured, ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.
Israel's blistering ground and air offensive has decimated vast swaths of Gaza during the nearly 4-month-old war. The conflict broke out on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted some 250.
21 Israeli soldiers are killed in the deadliest single attack on the army since the war began
SOUTH AFRICA ISSUES A STATEMENT AHEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT'S INTERIM RULING EXPECTED FRIDAY
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa's foreign ministry said in a statement that it was seeking an interim ruling that "Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians, ensure that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance, including adequate food, water, fuel, medical and hygiene supplies, shelter and clothing."
The statement late Thursday also said Israel should "take necessary steps to punish those involved in the genocide and preserve the evidence of genocide." Israel has denied the allegations of genocide.
South Africa will be represented at the ruling at The Hague by Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, who spoke with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken by phone Thursday, according to the State Department. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken spoke about the need to protect civilians in the war in Gaza and ensure there was humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, while working toward lasting regional peace that "ensures Israel's security and advances the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."
"The secretary reaffirmed support for Israel's right to ensure the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7 can never be repeated," Miller said.
An Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital killed at least 5 Iranian advisers, officials say
An Israeli strike on the Syrian capital on Saturday destroyed a building used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, killing at least five Iranians, Syrian and Iranian state media reported.
The Syrian army said the building in the tightly guarded western Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh was entirely destroyed, adding that the Israeli air force fired the missiles while flying over Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military did not comment.
A few hours later, an Israeli drone strike on a car near the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre killed two Hezbollah members who were in the vehicle and two people who were in a nearby orchard, an official with the group and Lebanon's state news agency said. One of those killed was Ali Hudruj, a local Hezbollah commander, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, without giving further details.
Nour News, which is believed to be close to Iran’s intelligence apparatus, identified two of the dead in Damascus as Gen. Sadegh Omidzadeh, the intelligence deputy of the guard's expeditionary Quds Force in Syria, and his deputy, who goes by the nom de guerre Hajj Gholam. The guard later issued statements identifying the five dead as Hojjatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi and Mohammad Amin Samadi. It gave no ranks for them. The difference in information could not be immediately reconciled.
An opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least six people — five Iranians and a Syrian — were killed in the missile attack that struck while officials from Iran-backed groups were holding a meeting. The Observatory's chief, Rami Abdurrahman, said three of the Iranians were commanders, adding that four other people are still missing under the rubble.
The Telegram channel for Iranian state TV reported that Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the Israeli attack on Damascus, adding that “the Islamic Republic will not leave the crimes of the Zionist regime unanswered.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the Israeli strike in a statement saying that “without any doubt, the blood of these high-ranking martyrs will not be wasted.”
Iran also tried again to link Israel to the Islamic State group, something its leaders have been trying to do since a suicide bombing by the extremists in early January in Iran killed more than 90 people.
Security forces deployed around the destroyed four-story building as ambulances and fire engines were seen in the area. A search for people trapped under the rubble was underway. Windows were also shattered in nearby buildings.
A grocer near the scene of the strike said he heard five consecutive explosions at about 10:15 a.m., adding that he later witnessed the bodies of a man and a woman being taken away as well as three wounded people.
“The shop shook. I stayed inside for a few seconds then went out and saw the smoke billowing from behind the mosque,” the man, who asked that his name not be used for security reasons, told The Associated Press.
“What happened was terrifying. I collapsed,” said Khaled Mawed, who lives nearby.
The strike came amid widening tensions in the region as Israel pushes ahead with its offensive in Gaza. Israel’s assault there, one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, caused widespread destruction and uprooted over 80% of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes.
Israel launched the offensive after an unprecedented cross-border attack into Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage. Roughly 130 hostages are believed by Israel to remain in Hamas captivity. The war has stoked tensions across the region, threatening to ignite other conflicts.
Last month, an Israeli airstrike on a suburb of Damascus killed Iranian general Seyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria. Israel has also targeted Palestinian and Lebanese operatives in Syria over the past years.
Iranian and Syrian officials have long acknowledged Iran has advisers and military experts in Syria, but denied there were any ground troops. Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups took part in Syria's conflict that started in March 2011, helping tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar Assad.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years.
Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Earlier this month, a strike said to be carried out by Israel killed top Hamas commander Saleh Arouri in Beirut.
Over the past weeks, rockets have been fired from Syria into northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, adding to tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border and attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Apparent Israeli strike kills senior Hamas figure in Beirut and raises fears conflict could expand
An apparent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed Hamas' No. 2 political leader Tuesday, marking a potentially significant escalation of Israel's war against the militant group and heightening the risk of a wider Middle East conflict.
Saleh Arouri, who was the most senior Hamas figure killed since the war with Israel began, was also a founder of the group's military wing. His death could provoke major retaliation by Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia.
The strike hit an apartment in a building in a Shiite district of Beirut that is a Hezbollah stronghold, and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to strike back against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire almost daily over the Israeli-Lebanese border since Israel's military campaign in Gaza began nearly three months ago. But so far the Lebanese group has appeared reluctant to dramatically escalate the fighting. A significant response now could send the conflict spiraling into all-out war on Israel's northern border.
Top Hamas official Saleh Arouri, who headed West Bank operations, killed in Beirut blast
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike was carried out by an Israeli drone, and Israeli officials declined to comment. Speaking to reporters, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari did not directly mention Arouri's death but said, "We are focused and remain focused on fighting against Hamas."
"We are on high readiness for any scenario," he added.
The killing comes ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, even as the United States has tried to prevent a spread of the conflict, repeatedly warning Hezbollah — and its regional supporter, Iran — not to escalate the violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the assault in Gaza until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed, which he has said could take several more months. At the same time, Israeli officials have increasingly warned in recent days of stepped-up action against Hezbollah unless its cross-border fire stops.
BEIRUT STRIKE
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to kill Hamas leaders wherever they are. The group's Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 240 others were taken hostage.
Israel claims to have killed a number of mid-level Hamas leaders in Gaza, but this would be the first time it has reached into another country to target the group's top leaders, many of whom live in exile around the region.
Arouri was the deputy of Hamas' supreme political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and headed the group's presence in the West Bank. He was also a key liaison with Hezbollah.
Tuesday's blast shook a residential building in the Beirut suburb of Musharafieh, killing four people, according to the Lebanese news agency. Hamas confirmed that Arouri was killed along with six other members of the group, including two military commanders.
Haniyeh said the movement was "more powerful and determined" following the attack. "They left behind them strong men who will carry the banner after them," he said of those killed.
Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza in a possible precursor to a scaled-back offensive
Hezbollah called the strike "a serious attack on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty and resistance."
"We affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment," it said.
Since the Gaza conflict began, Lebanese have feared their country could be pulled into a full-fledged war. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006, when Israeli bombardment wreaked heavy destruction in southern Lebanon.
GAZA COMBAT CONTINUES
Israel's air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,100 people in Gaza, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The campaign has driven some 85% of Gaza's population from their homes, forcing hundreds of thousands of people into overcrowded shelters or teeming tent camps in Israeli-designated safe areas that the military has nevertheless bombed. Israel's siege of the territory has left a quarter of Gaza residents facing starvation, according to the United Nations.
Israel announced Monday that it would withdraw five brigades, or several thousand troops, from Gaza in the coming weeks. Still, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said it would be a mistake to think that Israel is planning on halting the war.
"The feeling that we will stop soon is incorrect," he said Tuesday. "Without a clear victory, we will not be able to live in the Middle East."
Israel has said it's close to achieving operational control over most of northern Gaza, where ground troops have been battling militants for over two months. But Gallant said several thousand Hamas fighters are believed still to be in the north, and residents reported clashes in several parts of Gaza City, as well as in the nearby urban Jabaliya refugee camp.
Fierce fighting has continued in other parts of the Palestinian territory, especially the south, where many of Hamas' forces remain intact and where most of Gaza's population has fled.
Palestinians reported heavy airstrikes and artillery shelling in the southern city of Khan Younis and farming areas to the east. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israel bombed its headquarters in the city, killing five people. At least 14,000 displaced people are sheltering in the building, it said.
Fighting was also underway in and around the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. The army issued evacuation orders to people living in parts of nearby Nuseirat camp. A strike Tuesday leveled a building in Nuseirat, killing at least eight people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Associated Press footage showed people pulling several children out of the wreckage.
Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza as combat focuses on enclave's main southern city
GENOCIDE CASE
In other developments, officials said Israel will defend itself before the United Nation's top court against charges that it has engaged in genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The announcement set the stage for what is likely to be a landmark case in international law.
South Africa launched the case Friday at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, saying the Israeli military campaign targeting Hamas has resulted in enough death, destruction and humanitarian crisis in Gaza to meet the threshold of genocide under international law. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its attacks in Gaza.
Israel rarely cooperates in international court cases against it, dismissing the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased. Its decision to respond to the charge signals that the government is concerned about potential damage to its reputation.
The genocide charge strikes at the heart of Israel's national identity. The country sees itself as a bulwark of security for Jews after the Holocaust killed 6 million Jews, and world support for Israel's creation in Palestine in 1948 was deeply rooted in outrage over Nazi atrocities.
The convention against genocide was drawn up by world powers the same year in hopes of preventing similar atrocities.
Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office, accused South Africa of "giving political and legal cover" to Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack triggered Israel's campaign.
"The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel," he said.
Many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel's policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa's past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects such comparisons.
Israeli strikes across Gaza kill dozens of Palestinians, even in largely emptied north
Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza on Thursday, killing dozens of people in a widening air and ground offensive against Hamas that has forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters in recent days.
The war has already killed over 20,000 Palestinians and driven around 85% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Much of northern Gaza has been leveled, and it has been largely depopulated and isolated from the rest of the territory for weeks. Many fear a similar fate awaits the south as Israel expands its offensive to most of the tiny enclave.
Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas — which is still putting up stiff resistance, even in the north — and bring back more than 100 hostages still held by the militants after their Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. The assault killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Also read: Israel launches heavy strikes across central and southern Gaza after widening its offensive
Israeli officials have brushed off international calls for a cease-fire, saying it would amount to a victory for Hamas.
The United States — while providing crucial support for the offensive — has urged Israel to take greater measures to spare civilians and allow in more aid. But humanitarian workers say the amount of food, fuel and medical supplies entering is still far below what is needed, and 1 in 4 Palestinians in Gaza is starving, according to U.N. officials.
STRIKES FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
An Israeli airstrike on a home in the northern town of Beit Lahiyeh — one of the first targets of the ground invasion that began in October — buried at least 21 people, including women and children, according to a family member.
Bassel Kheir al-Din, a journalist with a local TV station, said the strike flattened his family house and severely damaged three neighboring homes. He said 12 members of his family — including three children ages 2, 7 and 8 — were buried and presumed dead, and that nine neighbors were missing.
In central Gaza, Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the built-up Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, leveling buildings, residents said. Israel said this week it would expand its ground offensive into central Gaza. The Israeli military typically launches waves of airstrikes and shelling before troops and tanks move in.
Also read: Lose a limb or risk death? Growing numbers among Gaza's thousands of war-wounded face hard decisions
A hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah received the bodies of 25 people killed overnight, including five children and seven women, hospital records showed Thursday. Nonstop explosions could be heard throughout the night in the town where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter, with many spending cold nights sleeping on sidewalks.
“It was another night of killing and massacres,” said Saeed Moustafa, a resident of the Nuseirat camp. He said people were still crying out from the rubble of a house hit Wednesday by an airstrike.
“We are unable to get them out. We hear their screams, but we don’t have equipment," he said.
Farther south, in Khan Younis, the Palestinian Red Crescent said a strike near its Al-Amal Hospital killed at least 10 people and wounded another 12. Much of the city’s population has left, but many are sheltering near Al-Amal and another hospital, hoping they will be spared from the bombardment.
A strike Thursday evening destroyed a residential building in the town of Rafah, at the southernmost end of Gaza, killing at least 23 people, according to the media office of the nearby Al-Kuwaiti Hospital said.
Outside of Gaza, Israeli security forces shot and killed a Palestinian man who they say got out of his car and stabbed two security workers at a checkpoint between the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The security workers were in moderate condition, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
The occupied West Bank has experienced a surge in violence since Oct. 7, with more than 300 Palestinians killed in unrest and clashes with Israeli forces.
ANOTHER WAVE OF DISPLACEMENT
Rami Abu Mosab, who lives in the Bureij refugee camp, said thousands of people have fled their homes in recent days because of the intense bombardment. He plans to remain there because nowhere in Gaza is safe.
“Here is death and there is death,” he said, “To die in your home is better.”
Bureij and Nuseirat are among several camps across the region that were built to house hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. They have since grown into crowded residential neighborhoods.
Some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during that conflict, an exodus the Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. Some 1.9 million have been displaced within Gaza since Oct. 7.
As Israel has broadened its offensive, fleeing Palestinians have packed into areas along the Egyptian border and the southern Mediterranean coastline, where shelters and tent camps are overflowing. Even in those areas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets.
Also read: Egypt floats ambitious plan to end Israel-Hamas war and create transitional Palestinian government
The U.N. humanitarian office said the scale and intensity of the fighting impedes its aid deliveries. The office, known as OCHA, cited blocked roads, a scarcity of fuel and telecommunications blackouts as some of the obstacles hampering the humanitarian response.
Still, it said the U.N. World Food Program provided food parcels to about a half-million people in U.N. shelters in southern and central Gaza since Saturday.
The Israeli military blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas, which positions fighters, tunnels and rocket launchers in dense residential areas. But the military rarely comments on individual strikes.
Israel's offensive in Gaza has already been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than 21,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Another 55,600 have been wounded, it says. Those counts do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The military says it has killed thousands of militants, without presenting evidence, and that 167 of its soldiers have been killed and hundreds wounded in the ground offensive.
US civil liberties group sues Biden for ‘failure to prevent genocide’ in Gaza
A civil liberties organisation in New York is suing US President Joe Biden for allegedly failing in his duties under international and US law to prevent Israel from committing genocide in Gaza.
The case filed by the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of multiple Palestinian groups and individuals said that Israel's acts, including "mass killings," targeting of civilian infrastructure, and forced expulsions, amount to genocide, reports The Guardian.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib accuses Biden of supporting genocide in Gaza, says colleagues more focused on silencing her
According to the CCR, the 1948 international treaty against genocide demands the United States and other countries to utilise their strength and influence to put an end to the killings, it said.
“As Israel’s closest ally and strongest supporter, being its biggest provider of military assistance by a large margin and with Israel being the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II, the United States has the means available to have a deterrent effect on Israeli officials now pursuing genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” mentioned the complaint.
Biden calls for humanitarian 'pause' in Israel-Hamas war
The complaint, filed in federal court in California, seeks the court to prevent the United States from providing Israel with weapons, money, and diplomatic support. It also demands the president, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “to take all measures within their power to prevent Israel’s commission of genocidal acts against the Palestinian people of Gaza.” These include putting pressure on Israel to stop bombing Gaza, ease its siege, and prevent the forceful deportation of Palestinians, the report said.
The CCR, which won a landmark case in the US Supreme Court in 2004 establishing the rights of prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay, stated that the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were abducted, does not provide legal justification for the scale of Israel's assault on Gaza, which has killed over 11,000 Palestinians, including 4,600 children, and displaced 1.5 million people, it added.
Biden wraps up his visit to wartime Israel with a warning against being 'consumed' by rage
The case is being filed at the same time that the International Criminal Court is investigating Israel and Hamas for suspected war crimes. However, legal academics argue that genocide is a more difficult crime to establish and question whether the US president can be forced to conclude that Israel is committing genocide and so must intervene.