Gaza Dispute
Live Reporting
9 UNRWA staff may have been involved in Oct 7 attack on Israel: UN
The United Nations has said that nine staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) may have been involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and they will be fired, Reuters reports.
“For nine people, the evidence was sufficient to conclude that they may have been involved in the seventh of October attacks,” Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
He was referring to findings of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, which he said had completed its investigation into the alleged involvement of 19 UNRWA staff members in the attacks.
“OIOS made findings in relation to each of the 19 UNRWA staff members alleged to have been involved in the attacks,” he said.
Gaza officials say 80 Palestinian corpses handed over by Israel
Gaza’s Civil Defence agency has said it has received the bodies of 80 unidentified Palestinians from Israel which it buried in a mass grave.
“We received 80 bodies inside 15 bags, with more than four martyrs in each bag, each wrapped in a single shroud”, Civil Defence director Yamen Abu Suleiman told AFP.
Abu Suleiman said Israeli authorities did not provide any information about the bodies, including their names or where they were found or taken from.
“We do not know if they are martyrs [killed in Gaza] or prisoners from [Israel’s] jails”, he added.
AFP journalists on the scene saw men in hazmat suits inspecting the corpses wrapped in blue plastic sheeting, before unloading them from the shipping container they had arrived in.
Senate passes resolution on Ismail Haniyeh's martyrdom
The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution against martyrdom of Ismal Haniyeh, condemning the brutal war crimes of Israel against innocent Palestinians.
PPP’s Senator Palwasha Khan presented the resolution in which deep sorrow was expressed over the martyrdom of slain leader.
It was adopted in the resolution that the house condemned the violation by Israeli government which has killed thousands of Palestinians since October 7.
Malaysia summons Meta over removed PM posts about Hamas leader
The Malaysian government has said it has met with Meta representatives to demand an apology and explanation as to why posts about the death of a Hamas leader were removed from the prime minister’s social media accounts, AFP reports.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office said his posts on Facebook and Instagram about Ismail Haniyeh’s death had been removed last week by parent company Meta.
Anwar’s posts included a video showing the premier on a phone call with a Hamas official, offering his condolences.
Israeli army claims assassination of Gaza’s deputy minister of economy
The Israeli army claimed responsibility for the assassination of Abdul Fattah Al-Zeriei, the deputy minister for economy in Gaza, in an airstrike on Sunday that also killed his mother, Anadolu Agency reports.
A military statement said that an airstrike “eliminated Abdul Fattah Al-Zeriei,” claiming that he was an “operative in the Manufacturing Department of Hamas’ Military Wing, who also served as Hamas’ minister for economy in the Gaza Strip.”
The statement further claimed that Al-Zeriei was responsible for the distribution of fuel, gas, and funds for hostile purposes.
'Punishing Israel is necessary', Iran spokesperson
Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry says Tehran believes that “punishing Israel is necessary” to prevent further instability.
He said Tehran has no wish to fan the flames in the region.
Israel ramps up assault, claiming 40 lives in 24 hours
The Israeli military is intensifying its attacks in Gaza resulting in the deaths of 40 people in the last 24 hours.
The health ministry says that 40 people have met their maker and 71 others sustained injuries in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours.
Israeli forces unleash destructive tactics
Israeli forces are not afraid to play hardball with both humans and establishments, employing all negative tactics to inflict a devastating blow to the Palestinians.
The Wafa news agency reported that the forces destroyed two houses in the village of al-Jalameh, northeast of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
Radwan Shaaban, head of the village council, talking to Wafa said that Israeli forces demolished the two houses as they stormed the village with three bulldozers.
One of the houses, measuring 170 square metres (1,830 square feet), belonged to Jamal Abu Farha, and the second, measuring 220sq metres (2,368sq feet), belonged to Hashem Mahmoud Abu Farha.
Shaaban said Abu Farha completed preparations on his home for his son, who is soon to get married and scheduled to live in the now demolished house.
Number of demolition operations by the forces are increasing with every passing day as last month, authorities launched 98 demolition operations, hitting 135 facilities, including 12 agricultural facilities, 62 inhabited homes, and 14 uninhabited ones.
Japan urged citizens to make a swift exit from Lebanon
By issuing a travel warning, the Japanese Foreign Ministry, asked its citizens present in Lebanon to flee the country following the rising tensions in the Middle East.
Like Japan, many other countries have also sounded the alarm to their citizens.
Tension griped the Middle East following the demise of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
The deceased Haniyeh was the Hamas’s political chief.
President Biden seeks calm in Middle East?
In a bid to deescalate tension in the Middle East, the US President Joe Biden is expected to talk to Jordan’s King Abdullah.
The US President will discuss the escalating tensions in the Middle East following the killing of Hamas leader, Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran.
On the contrary, Iran reiterated its pledge to retaliate against Israel who assassinated Haniyeh on its territory.
Israel's misstep: Iran vows to avenge Haniyeh's killing
Ignoring the US pressure, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian again vowed to avenge the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader.
Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran.
Talking to the visiting foreign minister of Jordan, Pezeshkian said that Israel made a “big mistake” in killing the Hamas leader.
Israel's school attack: Children in crosshairs
Israel's attack on schools left at least 30 people dead.
Rescuers said 80 percent of the victims were children from the Hassan Salama and Nassr schools.
France, Italy urge citizens to leave Lebanon
France and Italy on Sunday urged their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country due to the risk of military escalation in the Middle East, their foreign ministries said.
Tensions have soared following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Palestinian group Hamas, in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a top military commander from Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Jordan FM holds talks in Iran as Middle East tensions soar
TEHRAN (AFP) – Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks Sunday during a rare visit to Iran, as fears of an escalation between Tehran and Israel grew following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
The political head of Palestinian group Hamas was killed early on Wednesday in Tehran, where he had attended the inauguration of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Travellers rush to leave Lebanon amid spiking tensions, cancelled flights
BEIRUT (Lebanon) (AFP) – Travellers waited in long lines at Beirut airport on Sunday, some after cutting summer holidays short, as airlines have cancelled flights and fears have grown of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
"I'm not happy to leave. I wanted to spend the whole summer in Lebanon then go back to work" in France, said Joelle Sfeir from the crowded departures hall at Beirut airport.
Gaza civil defence says Israel strike on schools kills 30
GAZA STRIP (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli strike hit two schools in Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, while the military reported it had struck Hamas command centres.
These bring to at least 11 the number of schools in Gaza to be struck since July 6, killing around 150 people, based on a tally of tolls previously given by officials in the Hamas-run territory.
