While Europe is distracted by soccer nonsense, the wars go on


UNIFIL says Israeli army conducted deliberate attack on its premises again

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says the Israeli army damaged one of its bases in Ras Naqoura, in what it said was a deliberate attack on its premises.

“In response to our urgent protest, the [Israeli army] denied any activity was taking place inside the UNIFIL position,” it said in a statement posted on X.

“Yesterday’s incident, like seven other similar incidents, is not a matter of peacekeepers getting caught in the crossfire, but of deliberate and direct actions by the [Israeli army],” it added.

The UN peacekeeping mission, which denounced similar attacks by the Israeli military on southern Lebanon in recent weeks, reiterated that the “deliberate and direct destruction of clearly identifiable UNIFIL property is a flagrant violation of international law and resolution 1701.”

Statement:

Yesterday, two IDF excavators and one IDF bulldozer destroyed part of a fence and a concrete structure in a UNIFIL position in Ras Naqoura. In response to our urgent protest, the IDF denied any activity was taking place inside the UNIFIL position. pic.twitter.com/gQm02hjNTG

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) November 8, 2024

UNIFIL targeted 40 times in southern Lebanon

The deputy spokesperson for UNIFIL, Kandice Ardiel, has told Al Jazeera the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon was targeted 40 times, amid continuing fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

Ardiel said eight attacks were confirmed to have originated from the Israeli army, which requested that UNIFIL evacuate 29 sites near the Blue Line.

The spokesperson said the UN mission is committed to staying in the area despite having witnessed several deliberate attacks.

Several people killed in Israeli attack on Lebanon’s Tyre

Several people have been killed and wounded in an Israeli attack on the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The report said air raids struck two buildings in the city, adding that paramedics are working on evacuating people to nearby hospitals, while civil defence teams are racing to extinguish multiple fires.

Three killed in Israeli attack on southern Lebanon’s Tyre

At least three people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in an Israeli attack that struck two buildings in Tyre a short while ago, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

The raids have also caused widespread destruction in the targeted areas, the report said. Earlier, NNA said paramedics are still working on evacuating people to nearby hospitals.

Israel denounces UN report on Gaza civilian deaths

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva says it “categorically rejects” a damning UN report on Israel’s conduct during its war on Gaza and accused the UN of relying on “unverified information”.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report that found 70 percent of verified war deaths in the Gaza Strip were women and children. The youngest death was a one-day-old boy and the oldest a 97-year-old woman. The highest number of children killed in Israeli attacks were five to nine years old.

“If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, further to a state or organizational policy, these violations may constitute crimes against humanity,” the UN report said

“And if committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, they may also constitute genocide.”

Palestine’s Foreign Ministry condemns anti-Arab violence in Amsterdam

Palestine’s Foreign Ministry has commented on the clashes involving hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in Amsterdam, saying it “strongly condemns the anti-Arab slogans and hostile actions carried out by supporters of an Israeli football club”.

Before the game on Thursday night, videos show crowds of Maccabi supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans during a rally in which they waved Israeli flags and took down Palestinian flags from several buildings.

The ministry condemned the “desecration and removal of the Palestinian flag from symbolic sites that signify solidarity with Palestinian rights and resistance against the ongoing occupation and the ongoing genocide in Gaza”.

“The Ministry calls on the Dutch government to conduct an immediate investigation into the instigators of these disturbances and to protect Palestinians and Arabs residing in the Netherlands.”

Palestine Football Association condemns ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ in Amsterdam

The Palestine Football Association (PFA) has issued a statement saying it was “gravely concerned by the sequence of violent events in Amsterdam”, after clashes involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans broke out in the Dutch capital.

The PFA condemned the “deplorable incitement to violence, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobia expressed by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, who also attacked homes and shops displaying the Palestinian flag in solidarity with the victims of the ongoing genocide”.

“The PFA had presented FIFA with extensive evidence of such hateful expressions, yet concrete action remains lacking,” it said. “The absence of accountability for such entrenched violence and normalised racism has only led to further unfortunate incidents, such as those in Amsterdam.”

Amsterdam bans protests after 'antisemitic squads' attack Israeli soccer fans

https://www.reuters.com/world/israels-pm-aware-very-violent-incident-against-israelis-amsterdam-his-office-2024-11-08/

Main points on November 8th

_{Dutch police officers make a security cordon around a bus after the football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, early on Friday morning
(Err, if they're under attack, shouldn't the police be facing the other way...)}

Israel’s overnight air strikes hit near Beirut’s Lebanese University: Report

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said the Israeli air strikes hit near the Lebanese University and the Burj al-Barajneh area in the city’s southern suburb.

Israeli aircraft also hit Beirut’s al-Jamous neighbourhood, which was not included in forced evacuation orders issued by Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman, Avichay Adraee, earlier in the night.

Beirut reverberated with the sound of the missile strikes, which were followed by flames and thick black smoke that blanketed parts of the city, NAA reported.


_{Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs on Saturday morning following Israeli air strikes}

New Israeli air strikes shake Lebanon’s capital Beirut 


_{A cloud of smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in the south of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday morning}

Israel claims to have attacked Hezbollah military targets in Beirut suburbs

The Israeli army has “raided command headquarters, a weapons production site, and other infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital’s suburbs, according to its spokesperson Avichay Adraee.

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic earlier reported that 14 Israeli air attacks were carried out last night on the outskirts of Beirut.

Lebanon’s cultural heritage under Israeli attack in historic Baalbek

<sub>Heavy damage to buildings and historical structures following Israeli strikes near the Roman ruins in Baalbek, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site


A view of the destruction following Israeli air strikes on the historic Manshiya building near the world-renowned Roman ruins in the city of Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on Friday</sub>

Death toll from Israeli attack in Lebanon’s Tyre rises

At least nine people are now confirmed dead, including a pregnant woman and a child, and 38 were wounded following an Israeli attack on the Lebanese city of Tyre. Previously, we reported that Israeli fighter jets had struck two buildings in the southern Lebanese city on Friday, causing widespread damage.

Hezbollah claims to have attacked Israeli military base near Haifa

The Lebanese armed group says its fighters have launched missiles at the Zvulon military industries base north of Haifa city.

Five rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel: Army

The Israeli military says five rockets were launched from Lebanon towards the upper Galilee and Haifa Bay area. Some were intercepted and others fell in open areas, it said on X.

Videos show major destruction of Ruwais area in Beirut’s southern suburbs

أثار الغارات على منطقة الرويس في الضاحية الجنوبية pic.twitter.com/bTelg806Xv

— magazine azhar (@MajaletAzhar_) November 9, 2024

Video shows damage at Lebanese University in Beirut’s southern suburbs

Footage on social media shows significant damage around the Lebanese University in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli air strike that targeted the Hadath area last night.

The video has been verified by Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency.

7 killed, dozens wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s Tyre

At least seven people were killed and 46 injured following Israeli air raids on Lebanon’s coastal city of Tyre. The dead toll includes two young girls, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. The search continues for people missing under the rubble.

Late last month, Israeli air raids pounded Tyre – an ancient city in Lebanon renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage Site – leaving swaths of it in ruins.

Tyre is a 2,500-year-old city 80km (50 miles) south of the capital, Beirut. Before Hezbollah and Israel started trading fire across the border last year, at least 50,000 people lived in Tyre, home to Christians and Muslims.

Israeli strikes kill 11 people in south Lebanon

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, five people were killed in a strike on the southern village of Hanaway.

The ministry also said that six rescuers were killed and two wounded in a strike on the village of Deir Qanun.

25 rockets launched from Lebanon, says Israeli army

The military says 25 projectiles were fired from Lebanon towards the Upper and Western Galilee. In a post on X, it added some were intercepted while the rest fell into open areas.

Series of Israeli air raids target Tyre in southern Lebanon

A series of Israeli air strikes again targeted areas of Tyre city in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reports.

Several Lebanese news outlets released footage, verified by Al Jazeera, showing consecutive hits in the al-Housh area and its environs in the region with plumes of smoke billowing out of buildings following the bombardment.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill at least 31 people

A wave of Israeli strikes on eastern and southern Lebanon has killed at least 31 people, the Health Ministry said.

German lawmakers pass resolution restricting criticism of Israel

Germany’s Bundestag has passed a controversial motion equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Dozens of Jewish academics have opposed the resolution, saying it will endanger Jewish Germans by associating them with the actions of the Israeli government.

Israel hails German court’s ban of pro-Palestine phrase ‘river to the sea’

New Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised a decision by a court in Berlin this week that convicted an Iranian national of incitement for writing “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” on her Instagram.

Sa’ar wrote he welcomed the ruling to outlaw the phrase and “to enforce punishment against those who say it”. “The new anti-Semitism that is based on the denial of the Jewish state’s right to exist must be uprooted,” he added.

Palestinian supporters say the phrase expresses the desire for freedom from oppression across the historical land of Palestine.

I welcome the decision of the Berlin Regional Court to outlaw the phrase ״from the river to the sea- Palestine will be free״ and to enforce punishment against those who say it.The new anti-Semitism that is based on the denial of the Jewish state's right to exist must be uprooted!

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) November 9, 2024

UK activist’s Gaza hunger strike reaches two-week mark

Lizzie Greenwood’s hunger strike over the UK’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza is nearing the two-week mark. The former candidate for UK parliament and Holocaust Education Trust youth ambassador told Al Jazeera why she felt she had no choice but to take such drastic action.

Demonstration inside Israel to protest wars on Gaza and Lebanon

Hundreds of Palestinians from Israel took part in a demonstration in the city of Umm al-Fahm, southeast of Haifa, to demand an end to the Israeli wars on Gaza and Lebanon, video verified by Al Jazeera show.

Protesters raised banners condemning the Israeli war on Gaza and calling for the release of detainees in Israel prisons.

The demonstration was attended by Sheikh Raed Salah, the influential leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

52 UN countries sign a letter calling for an immediate halt to Israel arms sales

More than 50 countries have signed a letter urging the UN Security Council and General Assembly to take immediate steps to halt arms sales to Israel. The letter accuses the Israeli government of not doing enough to protect the lives of civilians during its assault on Gaza.

Amsterdam clashes call to attention Israel’s participation in global sports

Clashes this past week in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, between Israeli football fans and apparent pro-Palestinian protesters are being framed as anti-Semitic attacks – an unfortunate framing, says Dima Said from the Palestine Football Association.

“It was very unfortunate for us as Palestinians, to keep framing this incident [as] anti-Semitic, instead of addressing the main question, which is, why are Israeli clubs like Maccabi Tel Aviv permitted to compete on international stages while Israel is committing acts of genocide, occupation and dispossession of Palestinians?” she told Al Jazeera, speaking from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“Allowing those Israeli teams to participate in global sports kind of contradicts with the values of peace and unity that FIFA and UEFA claim to support, while Israeli actions actually violate the international law.”

Said noted the clashes began due to Israeli fans singing anti-Palestinian chants.

“The Israeli fans were saying things like, there are no more schools left in Gaza. No children left in Gaza … burning the Palestinian flag, chanting death to the Arabs,” the football association official said. “Those are all incitement chants, and they’re the ones that kind of inflated the situation.”

She said they have asked Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to suspend Israeli teams from participating in international sporting events, on the basis that Israel is committing “genocidal acts”.

“This goes against all the sports values we [learn],” said Said.

Hundreds march in Netherlands, condemning Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon

Hundreds of Arab communities and supporters of Palestine have marched in the Dutch city of Utrecht, condemning the ongoing Israeli wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

In videos verified by Al Jazeera, Palestinian and Lebanese flags are seen being waved during the march to protest the Dutch government’s support for the Israeli wars and complicity in its crimes.

The protesters chanted slogans demanding the liberation of Palestine now and a complete and immediate ceasefire.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCJxERVo2IT

Danish ship denied entry to Spanish port amid allegations of weapons transport to Israel

The container vessel has been denied entry to Algeciras, shipping company Maersk said, denying that the vessel is transporting arms to Israel.

“The cargo to be transshipped through the port does not include any military weapons or ammunition,” Maersk said in a communique.

Spanish daily El Pais earlier this week had cited Spanish government officials saying that the ship, as well as another also belonging to Maersk and due to dock later this month, “will not stop in Spain” because its cargo includes weapons being delivered to Israel.

“To gain clarity for future operations, we have consulted the Spanish authorities to understand why entry was denied for cargo no different than previous shipments that have routinely been transshipped through this port without incident,” the Danish company said.

“It is our understanding that Spain has in its discretion changed its criteria and is now rejecting vessels that carry anything military related going to, or from, Israel, notwithstanding such cargo being legal.”

Spain, which is seeking to convince other European countries to recognise a Palestinian state, has refused docking to shops transporting arms to Israel.

Act now to stop ‘all-out catastrophe’ in besieged, bombed, starved north Gaza: WFP chief

Cindy McCain, executive director of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), said immediate steps must be taken to prevent an “all-out catastrophe” in northern Gaza where Israeli forces have maintained a monthlong siege on as many as 95,000 civilian residents amid a brutal military offensive in the area.

“The unacceptable is confirmed: Famine is likely happening in north Gaza,” McCain wrote on social media.

Steps must be taken immediately, McCain said, to allow the “safe, rapid [and] unimpeded flow of humanitarian [and] commercial supplies” to reach the besieged population in the north of the war-torn territory.

Earlier, a group of global food security experts reported that famine is likely “imminent within the northern Gaza Strip”.

The unacceptable is confirmed:

Famine is likely happening or imminent in north Gaza.

Immediate steps MUST BE TAKEN to allow safe, rapid & unimpeded flow of humanitarian & commercial supplies to prevent an all-out catastrophe. NOW. https://t.co/KmNSiKBDu9

— Cindy McCain (@WFPChief) November 8, 2024

WHO chief sounds alarm on famine warning in besieged north Gaza

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has added his voice to rising concerns that the monthlong Israeli military siege of northern Gaza – where as many as 95,000 civilians could be trapped – has caused famine conditions.

“Deeply alarming,” Tedros said in a post on social media, with the attached report by the Famine Review Committee alert regarding the perilous situation in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Deeply alarming — @theIPCinfo warns there is a strong likelihood that famine in northern #Gaza is imminent.

We call for an immediate scale-up and safe access for humanitarian aid — primarily food and medicines for severe malnutrition — within days not weeks. https://t.co/YZtdPs4RXk

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 8, 2024

1/11 Everyone in Gaza feels as if they have been put on death row. If not killed by bombs or bullets, they are slowly suffocating from a lack of the basic means of survival. The only difference is the speed at which you die. The world has failed #Gaza. A🧵… pic.twitter.com/UGgXsLI9Vh

— Jonathan Whittall (@_jwhittall) November 7, 2024