Funeral of activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi takes place in Turkey



The American-Turkish activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank last week, has been buried in her family’s hometown in southwestern Turkey.

The activist’s body arrived in Turkey on Friday in a flat top coffin, wrapped in the Turkish flag and carried by soldiers, in a ceremony that is usually reserved for fallen troops.

Her coffin was placed outside Didim Central Mosque on Saturday, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects to the 26-year-old. A smaller event later took place at a cemetery where an imam read verses from the Quran and mourners laid white flowers on her grave.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/14/middleeast/aysenur-ezgi-eygi-funeral-procession-intl/index.html

‘We will hold accountable those who killed Aysenur’

Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has promised to hold accountable those who killed Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank as she attended a protest against illegal Israeli settlement expansion.

State officials are attending Eygi’s funeral in Didim, where she was born.

“Aysenur’s blood will not be in vain and we will hold accountable those who killed her in international courts,” Kurtulmus said.

He added that the responsibility for the killing “lies with Israel and its supporters”.

Israel ‘has impunity to kill Americans’

Israeli forces murdering American citizens and the US doing nothing but express sadness shows how “ridiculous” the US-Israel relationship has become, says Muslim scholar and human rights activist Omar Suleiman.

Hezbollah claims attacks on an Israeli base and a tank

The Lebanese armed group said it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at northern Israel, targeting a military base as well as logistical warehouses in the town of Ami’ad. It also claimed a missile attack on an Israeli Merkava tank in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfarchouba, saying the assault caused a fire and destroyed the vehicle.

Israel’s military confirmed the attack on the Upper Galilee, saying five projectiles crossed into Israeli territory but caused no casualties. It did not comment on the alleged tank assault.

Israeli military shoots down projectile from Lebanon

The military said its air force “successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed” from the territory of Lebanon. There were no casualties, it added.

Israeli jet raids Lebanon’s Kunin forest

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli fighter jet carried out an air attack on the forests of Kunin in the Bint Jbeil district in the country’s south in the early hours of the morning.

NNA also said Israeli spy planes and drones flew over the villages on the outskirts of the city of Tyre throughout the night and into the morning, while Israel’s military fired flares over villages near the Blue Line border between the two countries.

The agency also reported heavy Israeli fire near the town of Aita al-Shaab.

The attacks came as Lebanon’s Hezbollah also claimed several attacks on Israeli military sites overnight.

Israeli military says it targeted Hezbollah sites

The Israeli military said its fighter jets bombed a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon, from which rockets were fired into Israel’s Upper Galilee region earlier today. It also attacked a Hezbollah military structure in the Kafr Roman area, as well as several other areas of southern Lebanon, with artillery fire.

The Israeli military said 55 rockets in total have been fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel today. Some were intercepted and most fell into open areas, with no reported casualties.

Fires break out in northern Israel after rocket attacks

Israel’s Ynet News is reporting that rockets fired from Lebanon have sparked fires near Ami’ad in the north of the country. Six fire crews were battling the blaze, the outlet added.

As we reported earlier, Israel’s military said some 55 rockets were fired from Lebanon in two separate volleys into the country this morning. The military said it responded by attacking rocket launchers belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Drone strike launched in southern Lebanon: Report

A drone strike was launched on the city of Marjayoun in the western neighbourhood of Meiss el-Jabal town in the Qandouli area, Lebanese state media reports.

Earlier, the Israeli army said its fighter jets bombed a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon, from which rockets were fired into Israel’s Upper Galilee region.

Hezbollah claims to have attacked Israeli military unit in Yiftah Elifleet

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group says its fighters have bombed the base and headquarters of Israel’s 282nd Artillery and Precision Missile Brigade as well as its armament and emergency warehouses in Yiftah Elifleet, northwest of Lake Tiberias.

The group said the attack was carried out with dozens of Katyusha rockets in response to the Israeli attacks on the villages in Lebanon’s Kafr Ruman town.

Israel claims to have struck Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon’s Blida

Israeli fighter jets have struck “a military building” in southern Lebanon’s Blida where the Israeli military says it identified a group of Hezbollah operatives. Another building in Blida was also hit, the military added.

The announcement on X said that the Israeli army used artillery fire to attack southern Lebanon’s Aita al-Shaab area.

New study challenges Israel’s claims on Gaza’s hunger crisis

Refugees International (RI), an advocacy group, said its research in the Gaza Strip found evidence of a severe hunger crisis as well as indications that famine-like conditions occurred in the enclave’s north during the first half of 2024.

The findings contradict the Israeli government’s claims that warnings of famine in the enclave earlier this year were overblown, the group said.

It added that the “ebbs and flows in hunger conditions are closely linked” to Israel’s restrictions and concessions on aid access and said global pressure on the country deferred “an otherwise imminent descent into widespread famine” in Gaza in April.

“However, this improvement was short-lived, and conditions have again been deteriorating badly since the Rafah offensive in May,” RI said.

“Without a more widespread and enduring course-correction on aid access, civilian protection, and humanitarian security, there remains a grave risk of famine conditions spiralling once again,” it added.

Gaza’s Health Ministry appeals for action after paramedic’s death confirmed

The Health Ministry in Gaza has confirmed the death of Palestinian paramedic Hamdan Abu Anaba, who it said was arrested with his colleagues in early December from Nasser Medical Complex, in southern Gaza.

“The Ministry of Health calls on all international and human rights institutions to reveal the fate of dozens of health workers who were kidnapped from hospitals while performing their humanitarian duty,” the ministry said in a statement.

Evacuation of northern Gaza ‘prelude’ to annexation: Ministry

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has warned of “the dangers posed by Israel’s actions to evacuate Palestinians from northern Gaza, viewing it as a prelude to the annexation of Gaza and significant parts of the territory for settlement purposes”.

It also said Israel is attempting to divide Gaza into three parts.

The ministry said Israel was also mobilising all its resources to escalate tensions in the occupied West Bank, “with the aim of facilitating its annexation and overthrowing the Palestinian National Authority”.

“This agenda is openly promoted by [Finance Minister] Smotrich and [National Security Minister] Ben-Gvir under the slogan of preventing the realisation of a Palestinian state,” it said.

“The international community’s failure to stop these acts of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement grants Israel’s extremist government the necessary time to implement its colonial plans in both Gaza and the West Bank.”

Gaza’s health workers wrap up first phase of polio vaccination drive

Gaza’s health workers said they faced down attacks and threats from Israeli forces during the first phase of the polio vaccination campaign that ended on Friday.

“We went throughout the dangers and the threats to help the children and to get our blessings from Allah Almighty,” one female health worker told Al Jazeera in North Gaza. “My message to the world is to move quickly and save the rest of the Palestinian children. Enough is enough.”

UN agencies call for another round of humanitarian pauses for polio vaccination

WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA have called on the warring parties in Gaza to commit to another round of humanitarian pauses so that the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign can proceed.

The agencies, working with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, administered the first dose of the vaccine to some 558,963 children under the age of 10 in Gaza from September 1 to 12, and say the children need their second dose within four weeks.

“The progress made in this first round is encouraging, but the job is far from done,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF special representative in the State of Palestine. “We are poised to finish the task and call on all involved to ensure we can do so in the next round in four weeks’ time for the sake of children everywhere,” she added.

Former Israeli army official says Israel ‘stuck in Gaza and bleeding’

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the Israeli army’s former head of operations, Major General Israel Ziv, has criticised the continuing war and said that Israel is “stuck in Gaza and bleeding”, and describing it as a “dire quagmire”.

Ziv, who previously led the Gaza Division, asserted that the war has become a source of political stability for Netanyahu and his government. He suggested that Netanyahu might be prolonging the war to maintain his political position and delay his corruption trial, which could lead to imprisonment.

Ziv added that after a year of what he called the longest and most exhausting war in Israel’s history, the country finds itself trapped in a continuous security crisis with no end in sight.

He noted that the situation is not improving and lacks a clear path towards resolution. He emphasised that the war, which Netanyahu claimed was on the verge of victory six months ago, now appears endless.

China’s defence minister calls for talks to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict

China’s top annual security conference is taking place in Beijing, with delegates from more than 90 countries in attendance.

China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun on Friday touted negotiations as the “only way” of resolving issues like Israel’s war on Gaza and wider tensions in the Middle East, as well as the war in Ukraine.

Riyad Mansour meets with new UNGA president

Palestine’s ambassador to the UN met with new UN General Assembly (UNGA) President and Cameroonian politician Philemon Yang, on Friday at UN headquarters in New York.

The Wafa news agency said Riyad Mansour raised the UNGA’s upcoming meeting of the Tenth Emergency Special Session, which on September 17 will tackle Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.

At the meeting, UN members are expected to vote on a draft resolution – based on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation – calling for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the West Bank within six months.

The 79th session of the UNGA opened on September 10, with Palestine enjoying upgraded rights as an observer state for the first time.

Today I had a good meeting with Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.

We discussed the upcoming meetings of the General Assembly regarding the situation in Palestine.

As of the 79th session, Palestine enjoys… pic.twitter.com/thfYKa34Wd

— UN GA President (@UN_PGA) September 14, 2024

Turkish intelligence chief, Hamas leaders discuss Gaza ceasefire

Turkey’s media outlet Hurriyet is reporting that the country’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief, Ibrahim Kalin, held talks with Hamas leaders in Ankara to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza.

The report said that the discussions focused on the ongoing negotiations, including sticking points such as the release of captives, as well as ways to facilitate the entrance of humanitarian aid.

At least two people killed in another Israeli attack on Gaza City school

The Palestinian Civil Defence says at least two people have been killed in an Israeli air attack on Shuhada al-Zeitoun School in Gaza City. The Israeli military acknowledged that it carried out this attack, saying it hit a military command room at the school-turned-shelter for displaced people.

It also claimed that it took steps to “mitigate civilian harm in the strike”.

Death toll of Israeli attack on Gaza City school rises to five

The Palestinian Civil Defence says at least five people have been killed in an Israeli air attack on Shuhada al-Zeitoun School in Gaza City. It said among those killed were two children and a woman and efforts are ongoing to find survivors and recover bodies.


UNRWA staff fear being targeted as Israel hits Gaza shelters: UN official

A senior UN official says teachers and other UN staff working in Gaza fear they are now targets after an Israeli air strike hit yet another school-turned-shelter.

Wednesday’s strike on the UN-run al-Jaouni school in central Gaza, which is now housing displaced Palestinians, killed 18 people, including six employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

It was the deadliest single incident for the agency in more than 11 months of war and drew international condemnation.

“One colleague said that they’re not wearing the UNRWA vest anymore because they feel that that turns them into a target,” UNRWA Senior Deputy Director Sam Rose told the AFP news agency after visiting the shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

“Another one said that that morning, their children had stopped them from coming into the shelter,” he said, speaking from Gaza.

2 million displaced people need help ‘before it’s too late’: Gaza’s Government Media Office

Gaza’s Government Media Office says it is sending out a “humanitarian SOS” to the international community to help 2 million internally displaced people in the besieged coastal enclave “before it’s too late”.

The office said it is making an urgent plea for help with the beginning of autumn and the possibility of experiencing dipping temperatures and “difficult weather conditions”.

“More than 74 percent of the tents of those who are internally displaced are not safe or suitable for use,” it said.

‘Genocidal conduct’: Israel destroys Palestinian food sovereignty, envoy says

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, has accused Israel of deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza.

“The way Israel is destroying Palestinian food sovereignty will be studied not only as a shocking example of genocidal conduct, but also as a textbook case of sadistic disrespect for human life and dignity,” she said in a social media post.

She referenced a report by UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri, who said Israel is subjecting Palestinians to “a starvation campaign”.

“Life in Gaza is defined by the sea. Small-scale fishers are the heart of that life. Since October 7, Israel has denied all fishers access to the sea destroying more than 75 percent of the fishing sector,” Fakhri said in his report.

The way Israel is destroying Palestinian food sovereignty will be studied not only as a shocking example of genocidal conduct, but also as a textbook case of sadistic disrespect for human life & dignity.
Among the many UN Independent Experts who have denounced the genocide in… https://t.co/BR0hoNFVs7

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) September 14, 2024

Israel’s militarism in the West Bank: ‘The worst part is not behind us’

Israel has used its genocidal war on Gaza to execute similar policies – though not at the same scale yet – in the occupied West Bank. There’s been a military deployment of a size not seen since the early 2000s. Clearly, the Israelis are up to no good in the West Bank.

We’ve seen the expansion of settlements, the theft of land and the military incursions into Palestinian cities. The killing in the West Bank is now happening on a huge scale, perhaps unprecedented, and it seems it’s going to continue. The worst part is not behind us. The fanatics in the Netanyahu government are threatening that after Gaza, the West Bank is next.

When it comes to Israel’s allies, there is no accountability. We must continue to demand justice and the end of American hypocrisy, but we must also recognize that this is – and long has been – part and parcel of American-Western foreign policy.

Israeli settlers, troops attack Palestinians near Bethlehem

Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian houses in the area of Khalayel al-Louz, southeast of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wafa reports, quoting local sources.

Resident Mahmoud Sweis told the news agency a group of Israeli settlers, with military support, grazed their sheep on Palestinian land, which spurred landowners to try to stop them. Israeli soldiers fired volleys of live ammunition and tear gas canisters towards the Palestinians.

Sweis said the settlers attacked several houses in the area, intimidating residents, including women and children.

Settler violence against Palestinians has surged since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.

Gaza ceasefire only way for Israel to return residents to its north: Hezbollah

Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, made the remarks during a ceremony for slain fighter Hani Ezzedine, according to Lebanon’s National News agency.

“The support front in Lebanon will continue as long as the war in Gaza continues, and the pace of this support increases as Israel increases its aggression, especially when it targets civilians,” he was quoted as saying.

“There is no way for the settlers in the north to return except by stopping the war on Gaza.”

Qassem said Israel threatens war against Lebanon but the conflict would only increase the displacement from northern Israel, the report said.

Residents have been evacuated from northern Israel and southern Lebanon due to the near-daily exchange of fire across the border between Hezbollah and Israel since October 8, the day after the war in Gaza began.

Hezbollah warns ‘large losses on both sides’ if Israel attacks Lebanon

Hezbollah’s second-in-command warns a full-scale war launched by Israel aimed at returning 100,000 displaced people to their homes near Lebanon’s border would instead displace “hundreds of thousands” more.

In a speech in Beirut, Naim Qassem said: “We have no intention of going to war as we consider that this would not be useful. However, if Israel does unleash a war, we will face up to it – and there will be large losses on both sides.

“If they think such a war would allow the 100,000 displaced people to return home, … we issue this warning: Prepare to deal with hundreds of thousands more displaced.”

The comments come after Defence Minister Yoav Gallant recently said Israel is determined to restore “security” to its northern front and “we are preparing for anything that may happen.”

Israeli air force bombs Lebanon’s Bekaa and Baalbek areas

Israeli fighter jets continue to pound southern Lebanon with the latest strikes over the past hour on the Bekaa and Baalbek regions.

“In addition, warplanes attacked military depots and a military structure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in seven different areas in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.

Three children were among four people wounded in Bekaa’s Hermel district, 140km (85 miles) from the Israeli border, Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry said.

On October 8, Hezbollah began launching attacks on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza as Israel waged war on the enclave. Israel has carried out nearly four times more attacks than Hezbollah, tallying more than 7,800 strikes along the 120km (75-mile) border.

Israel renews ‘anti-Semitism’ jibe against EU’s Borrell after criticism

Israel’s foreign minister has again accused EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell of “anti-Semitism” after he expressed outrage at the killing of UN staff in Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

“Josep Borrell is an anti-Semite and Israel-hater who consistently tries to pass resolutions and sanctions against Israel in the EU, only to be blocked by most member states,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

On Thursday, Borrell said he was “outraged” by the killing of six employees from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after Israel attacked a UN school-turned-shelter for displaced people in central Gaza the day before.

The attack flattened part of the al-Jaouni school. Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said at least 18 people were killed. UNRWA said six of its staff were among the dead. It was the deadliest single incident for the agency.