Israel's Bigotry
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Hamas leader’s killing risks ‘wider conflict’, OIC chair warns
The chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has told a summit that the “heinous” killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh risks tipping the Middle East into “wider conflict”, AFP reports.
Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara spoke at the beginning of an extraordinary OIC session in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
The gathering of foreign ministers was called in part by Iran, where Haniyeh was killed last week in an attack the Islamic republic has blamed on Israel.
“This heinous act serves only to escalate the existing tensions potentially leading to a wider conflict that could involve the entire region,” said Tangara, whose country currently chairs the OIC.
Iran urges West to end support for Israel
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on the United States and other Western countries to halt their support for Israel as tensions soar over the killing of a Hamas leader, AFP reports.
“If the United States and Western countries want to prevent war and insecurity in the region they should immediately stop selling arms and supporting the Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said in a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
“The United States and the Western countries support a regime that does not adhere to any of the international laws and regulations,” Pezeshkian added, according to his website.
Nearly 40,000 and counting: the struggle to keep track of Gaza deaths
With much of Gaza reduced to rubble by 10 months of Israeli offensive, counting the dead has become a challenge for the territory’s health ministry, as the death toll nears 40,000.
Two AFP correspondents witnessed health facilities enter deaths in the ministry’s database.
Gaza health officials first identify the bodies of the dead, by the visual recognition of a relative or friend, or by the recovery of personal items. The deceased’s information is then entered into the health ministry’s digital database, usually including name, gender, birth date and ID number.
‘He embodies their cruelty’: Israelis decry new Hamas leader
Israelis have railed against new Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar with some hoping he will meet the same fate as his predecessor who was killed last week, AFP reports.
Near Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, whose circular fountain is ringed with tributes to Israel’s Gaza hostages and war dead, Sinwar’s appointment was met with disquiet.
“The choice speaks for itself,” said Hanan, manager of a logistics company, who did not want to give his family name.
Germany calls on citizens not to wait for evacuation from Lebanon
Rumours of a possible evacuation operation from Lebanon have given German citizens there a false sense of security, a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said according to Al Jazeera, urging them to leave the country immediately.
“The time now has come to leave Lebanon,” the spokesperson said, calling on citizens to organise their own exit even if this means travelling via Turkey or paying high prices for flights.
Gaza needs ‘swift and safe’ vaccines, UNRWA
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has stressed the need for more vaccines in Gaza, where diseases such as hepatitis and meningitis have spread.
Lazzarini said that UNRWA, with support from its partners, has vaccinated 80 percent of the enclave’s children since the war broke out, helping to curb the spread of diseases despite dire living conditions.
The agency is now planning a vaccination campaign for young children against polio, which has been detected in Gaza’s wastewater, he added.
“The swift and safe delivery of vaccines is key,” said Lazzarini in a post on X. “More importantly, a ceasefire to reach every child with vaccines is urgent.”
Israeli military detained three siblings during raid
Israeli forces detained three siblings during a military operation into the Qalandia refugee camp north of the occupied city of Jerusalem, Wafa reported.
Local sources told Wafa that Israeli forces detained three brothers after breaking into and searching their home in the camp.
Israeli forces assaulted several young men during the raid on several homes in the camp, causing a fracture in one of the sibling’s legs.
A Palestinian detainee endures horrific sexual abuse
An Israeli medical staffer has spoken to The Wall Street Journal about the “shocking” condition of the Palestinian detainee whose sexual abuse at Israel’s Sde Teiman prison triggered a military investigation last week.
The staffer said the detainee’s wounds were so severe they required surgery.
The life-threatening injuries included broken ribs, “obvious signs of assault” to the abdomen and chest, and a severe injury to the rectum most likely caused by the insertion of a foreign object, the staffer said.
“It was pretty horrifying,” the staffer was quoted as saying. “It’s just setting the bar so low that I don’t know how we can deteriorate more morally. I was aware things like that could happen but I’ve never witnessed anything like that.”
WSJ, citing lawyers and medics, said the case only came about because the victim was transferred to a civilian hospital and people treating him had raised concerns.
Hamas fired rockets from aid warehouses, Israel army claims
The Israeli army has accused Hamas of firing “dozens of projectiles” towards southern Israel from launchers “near two humanitarian aid and distribution warehouses run by international organizations” over the past week.
The army alleged that the humanitarian warehouses were run by international organisations, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
It added that the air force conducted “precision strikes on the launch sites” and that the “secondary explosions” that were identified after their attack indicated “the presence of additional weapons in the area”.
Israel vows to target new Hamas chief
Israel’s military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in an interview that Israel is still focused on killing Sinwar, who has been elected as the new leader of Hamas’s political bureau.
He has been named the new chief in the wake of the Ismael Haniyeh's assassination. He was targeted in Tehran, a couple of days ago.
Americans stand behind US efforts for peacekeeping in Gaza, Poll
The poll conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs showed that while the majority of the American public opposed sending US troops to defend Israel, most of them favoured soldiers taking part in a peacekeeping force in Israel and Palestine.
Some 54 percent favoured the deployment of US troops to enforce a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, with 62 percent of Democrats saying they agreed with such a decision. About 51 percent of Independents and 48 percent of Republicans also said they favoured such a move.
Pro-Israel Lobby: US legislator Cori Bush loses primary contest
Progressive Congresswoman Cori Bush has lost the Democratic Party’s primary contest in the state of Missouri, AP reported, after a pro-Israel lobby spent $8.5m to remove her over her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza.
With nearly all ballots counted from Tuesday’s vote, Bush won 45.8 percent while her rival, St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, won 51 percent, according to AP.
Bell’s campaign had received a big financial boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) through its super political action committee, United Democracy Project (UDP).
In June, the Super PAC also spent $15m in June to defeat another progressive congressman, Jamaal Bowman.
Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.
The UDP said the wins by Bell and Latimer, along with John McGuire’s defeat of US Representative Bob Good in a Republican primary last week in Virginia, are “further proof that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics on both sides of the aisle”. It added that it will continue its “efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the US-Israel alliance while countering detractors in either political party”.
Hezbollah pledges to respond alone or with allies to Israeli killing of commander
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Hezbollah on Tuesday (Aug 6) pledged a "strong and effective" response to the killing of its military commander by Israel last week no matter the consequences and said Hezbollah would act either alone or with its regional allies.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah would wait for the right moment to respond but did not hint at its form or timing.
Flurry of diplomacy to ease Mideast tensions as Israel awaits Iran attack
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Diplomatic pressure mounted on Monday (Aug 5) to avoid an escalation between Iran and Israel following high-profile killings that have sent regional tensions soaring, while numerous governments urged their citizens to leave Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Sunday that his country was "determined to stand against" Iran and its allied armed groups "on all fronts".
Hamas names Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar as new political leader
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas named its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar as successor to former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week, the group said on Tuesday (Aug 6), in a move that reinforces the radical path pursued since the Oct 7 attack on Israel.
Sinwar, the architect of the most devastating attack on Israel in decades, has been in hiding in Gaza, defying Israeli attempts to kill him since the start of the war.
Blinken warns Iran but also Israel not to 'escalate'
ANNAPOLIS (United States) (AFP) – Both Iran and Israel should avoid escalating conflict, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, in his most direct wording toward US ally Israel on the Middle East's spiraling tensions.
"No one should escalate this conflict. We've been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel," Blinken told reporters.
