Ex-detainee recounts how Israeli guards forced Palestinian prisoners to ‘bark like dogs’

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has released video testimony from Palestinian lawyer Sari Huriyyah detailing the barbaric treatment of prisoners at Israel’s Megiddo prison, which he now calls “Abu Ghraib” after the notorious US prison camp during the US occupation of Iraq.

Huriyyah tells of how Israeli prison guards made some of the Palestinian prisoners “bark like dogs”.

“If they refused, the beat them until they started barking,” he tells the rights group.

Young Palestinian prisoners “were beaten and humiliated”, he says, recounting how “they forced the young guys to kiss an Israeli flag on the wall”.

“Whoever refused was abused. One of the female guards even took a picture with one of the detainees as he kissed the flag. There was constant beating, cursing and humiliation,” he says in his testimony.

Attn. Sari Huriyyah (53), a father of four from Shfaram, Israel, arrested over a Facebook post : "I was in Megiddo prison, which I now call Abu Ghraib".
To full testimony and video >> https://t.co/lYAO2Fnep6 pic.twitter.com/54prX7eYaM

— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) August 6, 2024

Israeli medic describes ‘horrifying’ sexual abuse of Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman

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.

Turkey submits request to join genocide case against Israel in UN court: Report

Turkey has filed a formal request with the International Court of Justice to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel, Turkey’s state-run news agency reports.

Turkey’s ambassador to The Netherlands submitted a declaration of intervention at the UN court in The Hague, Anadolu Agency reported. Turkey, one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, becomes the latest nation to seek to participate in the case.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of genocide, called for it to be punished in international courts and criticized Western nations for backing Israel.

Israel has strongly rejected accusations of genocide.

Man killed, 2 teenagers among 3 injured by Israeli gunfire during West Bank raids

Two teenagers are among three young Palestinians who have been injured by Israeli gunfire during a military raid on Beit Furik town, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that a 17-year-old was shot and wounded while two others – an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old – were hit by bullet fragments during the military raid on the town.

Earlier, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the Atuf plain, located to the south of Tubas city. Security sources told Wafa that the victim, identified as Rabi Muhammad Daraghmeh, was wounded and left to die by Israeli soldiers who prevented ambulance crews from reaching him to provide medical treatment.

Israeli military arrests were also reported southwest of Jenin where a 65-year-old man, identified as Muhammad Hussein Muhammad Ghawadra, was stopped at a military checkpoint and detained, Wafa reports.

Israeli forces beat a Palestinian man and his wife at a military checkpoint in Hebron’s Old City. After the attack, the man was detained and his wife released, the news agency reports.

Entire community in East Jerusalem at risk of forcible displacement, NGO says

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is warning that hundreds of Palestinians in the al-Bustan community in the Silwan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem are at risk of forcible displacement after Israeli forces demolished a home there.

The demolition – which displaced seven Palestinians, including two children – breaches international law prohibitions on forcible transfer and the wanton destruction of property, the group said. The demolished home belonged to Mohammed Odeh and is the first among several houses belonging to nine families that are slated to be destroyed by Israeli authorities in occupied East Jerusalem.

The NRC said Israel wants to displace Palestinians and increase the Jewish presence in al-Bustan as it is located near the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. The community is home to about 1,550 Palestinians and 150 housing units.

“All structures in Al Bustan are currently unprotected and at risk of demolition,” NRC said.

Three killed in Gaza City apartment attack

Israeli forces have attacked an apartment in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, killing at least three people and injuring others, report our colleagues on the ground.

It follows an attack yesterday evening on several homes and a tent camp in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah that also killed three people.

Woman killed in eastern Khan Younis

Israeli artillery attacks in the town of Khuza’a to the east of Khan Younis have killed a woman and injured others, report our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. As we’ve been reporting, Israeli forces have hammered eastern areas of Khan Younis, as well as sections of central Gaza, from the air in the last day.

Israeli warplanes again break sound barrier over Lebanon

Israeli jets have just created a sonic boom in the skies over Lebanon at least twice, causing loud booming sounds to echo over its capital, Beirut. The first sonic boom was extremely loud as heard from east Beirut’s Achrafieh neighborhood, while the second was fainter.

Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace and perform mock air raids over areas of the country, terrifying residents.

Yesterday, Israeli jets caused what Beirut residents say was the loudest sonic boom yet, with many saying that for moments, they were convinced that bombs had been dropped.

At a cafe in Achrafieh moments ago, patrons paused momentarily, shocked by the noise, before returning to their coffees and laptops, as the sounds of Israeli warplanes flying away could be heard in the distance.

US, Australia urge de-escalation in the Middle East

The US and Australia’s top diplomats and defence officials have issued a statement underscoring the “urgent need to de-escalate tensions” in the Middle East, and calling for the release of captives held by Hamas as well as an “immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza”.

The statement – by the US’s Blinken, Austin, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles – said “terrorism, the large-scale loss of civilian lives, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are all unacceptable”.

It reiterated Washington and Canberra’s commitment to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state, and called for a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Sinwar’s appointment highlights Iran, Hamas’s control: Israel’s FM

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has again taken to social media to slam Hamas’s appointment of Yahya Sinwar as its leader.

In a new post on X, Katz said Sinwar’s promotion sends “a clear message to the world that the Palestinian issue is now completely controlled by Iran and Hamas”.

The Israeli minister also claimed Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is justified because it is the only thing stopping Hamas from fully taking over. He also blamed Iran, a Hamas ally, for allegedly trying to smuggle weapons into Jordan and the occupied West Bank.

“Israel must maintain control over security and foreign affairs to prevent the establishment of another Iranian-Islamist extremist stronghold and enable Palestinians to manage their internal affairs,” said Katz.

Iran will never remain silent in the face of aggression, president says

Iran will never remain silent in the face of aggression against its interests and security, President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, state media reported.

The comments come amid an increase in regional tensions following the killing in Tehran last week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Iran’s response to Hamas leader’s killing will happen at ‘right time’

Iran’s response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran will take place “at the right time and in the appropriate shape”, Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said in a statement.

Iran and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas accuse Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination on July 31. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility.

Lebanon will pay heavy price in war, Israeli defence minister says

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has warned that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah may drag Lebanon into a full-blown war, for which the country would pay a heavy price.

“As things stand, Nasrallah may drag Lebanon into paying extremely heavy prices. They can’t even imagine what might happen,” Gallant was quoted as saying to troops of the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade by The Times of Israel.

“This may also deteriorate into a war. It’s not theoretical, it’s real,” he added, according to the Israeli newspaper.

Egypt asks its airlines to avoid Iran airspace for three hours on Thursday

Egypt has instructed all its airlines to avoid Iranian air space for a three-hour period on Thursday morning.

Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs), safety notices provided to pilots on Wednesday, said the instruction would be in effect from 01:00GMT to 04:00GMT. It provided no further details as to why the notice was issued.

“All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran (Flight information Region) FIR. No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory,” the notice said, referring to the three-hour period provided.

An Egyptian official was quoted by the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV as saying that Iranian authorities gave “military exercises” as the reason behind the request.

Many airlines are revising their schedules to avoid Iranian and Lebanese airspace while also calling off flights to Israel and Lebanon, as many fear a possible broader conflict after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

On Sunday, Jordan’s authorities asked all airlines landing at its airports to carry 45 minutes worth of extra fuel.

Israel continues raids on Khan Younis ‘safe zones’

Israeli forces targeted a tent belonging to displaced Palestinians in the suburb of Abasan, eastern Khan Younis, an area that had been designated by Israeli forces as a “safe zone”. At least six Palestinians were reported killed.

Israeli forces also targeted the western part of Khan Younis, a very busy area where at least four Palestinians were killed. There was also another air strike in the Hamad area that hit an apartment building.

Palestinians have nowhere to go, and Israeli forces continue their raids on areas designated as safe zones. Palestinians in Khan Younis do not know where to go and are relying on setting up their tents on agricultural lands and in deserted areas.