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Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 16 March 2025

UNICEF say life-saving supplies for children must enter Gaza

The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, has called for life-saving health supplies to be allowed into Gaza.

“Without aid entering the Gaza Strip, roughly 1 million children are living without the very basics they need to survive – yet again,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa regional director, after a four-day mission to the West Bank and Gaza.

Beigbeder said there were more than 180,000 doses of childhood vaccines waiting outside Gaza, as well as 20 ventilators for neonatal intensive care units.

“Tragically, approximately 4,000 newborns are currently unable to access essential lifesaving care due to the major impact on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip,” Beigbeder said. “Every day without these ventilators, lives are lost, especially among vulnerable, premature newborns in the northern Gaza Strip.”

 

UK declines to condemn deadly Israeli attack on British charity in Gaza

As we reported yesterday, the UK-based Al Khair Foundation has said that eight of its “dedicated humanitarian aid workers” were “killed in violation of the agreed ceasefire in a drone airstrike” in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza on Saturday.

London-based media outlet Middle East Eye (MEE) is reporting that a spokesperson from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office declined to condemn the Israeli drone attack.

Instead, the office said it was “deeply saddened” by the attack, according to MEE journalist Imran Mullah.

“It is vital that – in all scenarios – civilians are protected, including journalists and humanitarian organisations, who must be enabled to deliver their essential work in safety,” the spokesperson told MEE.

“It is deeply saddening to hear of further loss of life in Gaza, and the UK wants to see the ceasefire continue,” the spokesperson added.



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SvennoJ on 16 March 2025

Main events on March 16th

  • Houthi-affiliated media reported two new attacks on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah as the death toll from the US’s air raids on Sunday rose to 53. The victims included five children and two women.
  • The Yemeni rebels claimed a missile and drone attack on the US aircraft carrier Harry S Truman after promising to meet “escalation with escalation”. US officials denied any hits on the vessel.
  • Israel continued its attacks and punishing blockade on Gaza, killing a 62-year-old man, as an Israeli delegation travelled to Cairo to discuss the details of the Gaza ceasefire with Egyptian officials.
  • US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised to keep up the “unrelenting” attacks on the Houthis until the rebel group backed down on its threat to resume attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea.
  • The US’s attacks drew global concern, with the United Nations calling for “utmost restraint and cessation of all military activities” in Yemen and Russia, urging an end to the use of force and the “importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue”.
  • Iran promised to respond “decisively and destructively” if targeted after US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran and told it to stop supporting the Houthis.

 

Israeli negotiators in Cairo as Netanyahu tries to fire Shin Bet chief

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that an Israeli delegation is currently in the Egyptian capital meeting with mediators to try and bridge some of those gaps between Israel and Hamas.

They’ve been at an impasse over disagreements about phase two of the deal.

The Israelis say they’ve accepted a proposal, outlined by the US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that calls for an additional 50-day pause in the fighting, in exchange for half of the Israeli captives still held in Gaza, both alive and dead.

Hamas has said that they want to move forward with phase two, which would ultimately mean an end of the war.

However, that’s not something Israel is willing to commit to.

In another turn of events, the Israeli prime minister says that he intends to fire the head of the Shin Bet – that’s Israel’s internal security agency – saying he doesn’t trust him to carry out his duties.

The attorney general has penned a letter to the Israeli premier, saying that the legality of all of this needs to be assessed before Netanyahu can make a decision like this.

Nonetheless, within Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, this is something that is being applauded.

The Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, has responded, saying that he intends to carry out his duties until all of the captives are brought back from Gaza.



SvennoJ on 16 March 2025

Israeli forces kill two people in Lebanon

The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) is reporting that Israeli forces launched air raids on the village of Ainata in southern Lebanon, killing at least two people.

The raid was followed by more Israeli shelling and drone attacks in southern Lebanon, the agency reported.

This included the towns of Yaroun and Kfar Kila.

Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in November, but has continued near-daily attacks on southern Lebanon, killing dozens of people.

US forces continue attacks against Houthis

The US military has just shared a video on X that shows a warplane taking off and says Central Command “forces continue operations against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists…”

The post comes soon after Houthi-affiliated media said the US has launched two new strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah.

According to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Reuters news agency on Saturday, the US military campaign of strikes against Houthi-held areas of Yemen could last days and maybe weeks.


US forces attack northern Yemen: Report

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV is reporting a new US raid on the northern Yemeni province of al-Jawf.

The satellite channel says US forces hit a government complex in the district of al-Hazm.

Earlier, Al Masirah said there had been two attacks on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.



SvennoJ on 16 March 2025

US raids hit hijacked Israel-linked ship in Yemen

We’ve been reporting on the US’s latest raids on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The official Saba news agency is now reporting that the raids hit “the command post of the detained Israeli ship Galaxy Leader”.

Saba, citing a military official, said the US targeted the ship with two air strikes.

Houthi fighters hijacked the Galaxy Leader in November 2023, detaining its 25-member crew, who hail from the Philippines, Mexico, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, for 430 days. They were released in January after the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect.

The ship, meanwhile, has remained in the Hodeidah port. It is owned by a British company that is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar, according to The Times of Israel.


People ride a boat near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen’s Houthis in November 2023, off the coast of as-Salif, Yemen on December 5, 2023


Houthis claim second attack on US warship

The rebel group says it attacked the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier for the second time in the past 24 hours, launching “a number of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles” at the warship.

The assault “lasted for several hours” and “succeeded in thwarting a hostile attack the enemy was preparing to launch against our country”, the group said.

There was no immediate comment from the US.

As we’ve been reporting, the Houthis claimed another missile and drone attack on the USS Harry Truman earlier on Sunday.

The US dismissed the claim, with an official telling Reuters that US forces shot down 11 Houthi drones, none of which came close to the aircraft carrier, and also tracked a missile that splashed down off the coast of Yemen.


US attacks hit cancer facility, cotton shop in Yemen

We have more on the destruction from US’s attacks on Sunday.

The official Saba news agency, citing local authorities, is reporting that US forces carried out a number of air strikes on a cancer facility that is being built in the city of Saada on Sunday, causing “widespread destruction”.

Mohammed Awad, the governor of Saada, told a meeting of local officials that several residential neighbourhoods were also hit.

“He pointed out that the US enemy’s targeting of residential neighborhoods and civilian facilities, including the cancer tumor building, confirms the state of failure, enemy confusion [and] reveals America’s ugly and criminal face,” Saba reported.

The Ministry of Agriculture also condemned the targeting of a cotton shop in the Zabid district of Hodeidah govenrorate, according to Saba.

The ministry said the targeting of civilian infrastructure is aimed at doubling the human suffering in Yemen.



SvennoJ on 17 March 2025

Deadly Israeli attacks continue on Lebanon despite ceasefire

Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire in place with Hezbollah.

On Sunday, Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon killed four people, Lebanese state media and the Health Ministry said.

“The Israeli enemy strike this evening on the town of Ainata led to the death of two people,” Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said, citing the Health Ministry’s emergency service. Earlier, the ministry confirmed one person was killed in an Israeli raid on Meiss el-Jabal and NNA reported one other death in Bint Jbeil.

The NNA said it was the third Israeli attack on southern Lebanon within 24 hours.


Israeli military targets vehicle in southern Lebanon

The army directed an air raid at a van in the village of Yohmor, in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least one person was killed while local media reported another was wounded.

The Israeli military has maintained attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire signed in November. Defense Minister Israel Katz said it struck “Hezbollah terrorists”, adding Israel will show “zero tolerance towards any violation” of the truce.


Lebanon residents say Israel ‘doesn’t want us to return’

Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets are becoming more frequent. One person has been killed in Yohmor in southern Lebanon today after an Israeli attack on a vehicle.

“We came back and started to remove the rubble,” said Abu Rabih, a resident of Kfar Kila.

“Just three days ago, we set up this prefabricated house, and then there was an Israeli strike. They warned us to leave the area. They don’t want us to return,” he told Al Jazeera.

Fatima, another resident of the area, said she just wants the Israeli attacks to finally stop after an air strike blew up her family’s bakery despite the Hezbollah-Israeli ceasefire.

“We were refugees for more than a year. Then my son invested whatever money he had left, and he also borrowed money to buy equipment to set up this bakery. We just want to be able to survive without needing anyone’s help,” she said.

Lebanon Health Ministry says two killed in Israeli strike

Earlier, we reported that the Israeli military said it had carried out an air strike on Yohmor in southern Lebanon, striking Hezbollah fighters.

Now, Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operation Center has announced two people were killed in the strike. Two others were wounded, it said.


Israel claims more strikes across southern Lebanon

The latest statement comes after Lebanese authorities confirmed two people had been killed in an Israeli strike in Yohmor.

Several more strikes have since been reported across the region, although the Israeli military did not give a location of the latest attacks. It said it had struck “military sites of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah”.

The military “will continue to act to remove any threat to the states of Israel and prevent any attempt to restore and consolidate the terrorist organisation Hezbollah”, it added.



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SvennoJ on 17 March 2025

Fighting erupts along Lebanon-Syria border after three Syrian soldiers killed

Fighting erupted along the border between Lebanon and Syria after three Syrian soldiers were killed in clashes. Lebanese troops have been deployed in large numbers in the area.

Syrian state media, citing an unnamed Defence Ministry official, said the Syrian army shelled “Hezbollah gatherings that killed the Syrian soldiers” along the border.

Syria’s interim government accused Hezbollah fighters of crossing northeastern Lebanon into Syria on Saturday, kidnapping three soldiers, and killing them on Lebanese soil. Hezbollah denied any involvement.

The Lebanese military said it delivered the bodies of the three killed soldiers to their Syrian counterparts.


Lebanese army confirms trading fire with Syria near border

The Lebanese army says three Syrians were killed after fighting on the Lebanon-Syria border near the Qasr-Hermel area last night.

The bodies have now been handed over to the Syrian military.

The army said Lebanese villages and towns were subjected to shelling from Syrian territory. It added that its “military units responded to the sources of the fire with appropriate weapons, reinforced their deployment, and maintained security”.

“Contacts continue between the army command and the Syrian authorities to maintain security and stability in the border area.”


Lebanon president orders army to respond to Syria border fire

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says he ordered the army to respond to sources of fire from northern and eastern borders with Syria.

According to a statement by the president’s office, Aoun said the state “would not allow” clashes along the borders to continue.

The comments come following an exchange of fire between Syrian troops and Lebanese soldiers and armed groups in northeast Lebanon overnight and into Monday.


Lebanon deploys more troops to Syrian border as clashes continue

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports border fighting is ongoing after Syrian shelling.

The Lebanese army announced it has undertaken “exceptional security measures and intensive communications” that led to the return of the bodies of three Syrian soldiers to Syrian authorities.

However, Lebanese border towns and villages have seen “shelling from the direction of Syrian territory”, the military said, noting army units responded with “appropriate weapons, reinforced their deployment and controlled the security situation”.

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said one child has been killed and six people wounded by Syrian shelling, adding that many civilians have fled the border area.

At least seven people killed in clashes on Syria border: Lebanese Health Ministry

The Lebanese Health Ministry says at least seven people have been killed in fighting on the border with Syria since the violence began again on Sunday night. Another 52 have been wounded.

Lebanese President Aoun has sent the army to respond after several skirmishes over the weekend, in which three Syrian soldiers were killed in separate incidents.

The interim government in Syria has blamed the fighting on Hezbollah although the group has denied the claim.



SvennoJ on 17 March 2025

Syrian state news agency reports strikes on Deraa

More details on the latest strikes, which were reported by state news agency SANA, were not immediately available.

Earlier this month, Israel bombed several Syrian military assets in the same area of southern Deraa province.

At the time, the Israeli military said the sites, which included bases and radar systems, posed a threat and the strikes were meant to “eliminate future threats”.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December.


Israel says attacking ‘military targets’ in southern Syria as deaths reported

The military says its targets have included military headquarters containing weapons and military equipment that had been controlled by ousted Syrian leader al-Assad.

As it said earlier this month after similar strikes, the military said the sites “constitute a threat to the state of Israel” and Israel will continue to act against such threats.

Syria’s state news agency earlier reported Israel had struck locations in the southern province of Deraa. It reported that two people had been killed and 19 wounded in the Israeli strikes.


Israeli attacks on Deraa part of strategy to make southern Syria defenceless

Just hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Israel started to bomb Syria – north, east, south, central and the coastal regions of Syria.

This is an Israeli strategy to reduce the country’s military capacity – particularly the air defence capacity.

And now Israel is moving further, saying it does not want any Syrian military presence in the south of Syria.

And, of course, for the new government in Damascus, that is a huge challenge. Practically, that means it would not be in control of the southern cities of Syria, namely Quneitra, Sweida and Deraa.

So that’s why we’re seeing that almost on a daily basis Israel is conducting air strikes. Until now, there have been up to 1,000 Israeli air strikes [on Syria since the fall of al-Assad], significantly reducing the air defence capacity of Syria.

And many officials here say this is making the new administration extremely vulnerable and almost leaving it without any protection against foreign aggression.


Death toll in Israel strike on Syria rises to three: SANA

The state news agency has reported that those killed in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Deraa were civilians.

Israel has said it conducted the strikes on military bases and facilities used by the former government of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.

It has pledged to continue to strike Syrian sites it considers a threat.



SvennoJ on 17 March 2025

Parents in Gaza struggling to feed their children again, UN says

The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) is calling for the immediate flow of supplies into Gaza.

“Parents in Gaza are struggling to feed their children. Hospitals are running out of supplies – again,” OCHA wrote. “It is critical to open up Gaza immediately.”

One mother, identified as Reem, recounted her situation. “We’ve run out of food, water, diapers for kids and detergents,” she said. “What we have can barely suffice us for at most 2-3 days. What would happen to us then.”



Israel makes water and other resources increasingly more scarce in Gaza

The desalination plant in Gaza, which was powered by an Israeli electricity line, was cut in the past few days – that is how Israeli forces have reduced the amount of drinking water distributed to Palestinians.

The desalination plant was producing 17,000 cubic metres (17 million litres) of water. After the power cut, only 2,000 cubic metres (2 million litres) is being produced.

It is not only the water. It has been 16 days since any aid truck has entered Gaza. No health supplies, medicine, fuel or cooking gas have entered. This has forced people to queue up again for water, bakeries, food distribution points and community kitchens.

What is available in the market is very little, and prices are skyrocketing, with most people unable to purchase what is available. UN officials have been warning that the situation is catastrophic.

Hospitals, like the one I’m at right now, will also collapse if nothing is allowed in.


One million children in Gaza ‘struggling to survive’

UNICEF, the UN’s agency for children, has described the dire situation in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli blockade on all aid.

It is “urgent” to allow at least some water and electricity to reach the enclave in order to save children’s lives, said UNICEF regional director Edouard Beigbeder from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.


Community kitchens forced to close due to Israeli blockade

Charities that have been feeding thousands of people are being forced to close as Israel’s complete blockade on Gaza continues. Those still able to operate are winding down services, as essentials like cooking gas, water and other items are no longer available.

“The markets are running out of products, and much of what little is available is now unaffordable,” said Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah.

“Community kitchens, once feeding thousands, are now fighting their own battle against time, scarcity, and worsening starvation.”

Mohammed Abu Hamza, owner of a local kitchen, said: “Community kitchens have been a lifeline for countless displaced families in Gaza, but with border crossings sealed, the humanitarian situation has worsened dramatically. There is no food, no gas, no wood — nothing left to keep these kitchens running, as hunger tightens its grip on Gaza.”



Nations must confront Israel’s ‘starvation policy’ in Gaza: Qatar

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has emphasised the need to help Palestinians in Gaza during a meeting with the UN’s reconstruction coordinator for the enclave, Sigrid Kaag.

Mohammed said the international community must “shoulder its responsibilities to address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and to firmly confront the starvation policy by the Israeli occupation in its brutal war against brotherly Palestinian people”, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said.



SvennoJ on 17 March 2025

Casualties after Israeli air strikes in central, southern Gaza

Multiple Palestinians have been killed and wounded after Israeli air raids on the central and southern parts of the Gaza Strip.

Three young men were killed and others injured after Israeli warplanes bombed a gathering of civilians in the Wadi Gaza Bridge area in central Gaza, according to Wafa news agency.

Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground reported at least three more Palestinians were wounded after an Israeli drone bombed al-Jnaina, east of Rafah city in southern Gaza.


Palestinian home sheltering dozens of people collapses in Gaza

Heavily damaged Palestinian homes are collapsing months after being targeted by the Israeli military.

A video documented the moment a damaged three-storey house came down in the al-Fakhoura area of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Journalist Islam Badr, who posted the video, said more than 30 people, mostly children and women, lived in the house. They were all able to evacuate and survived.

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

Contrary accounts of deadly Israeli attack on central Gaza

A woman at the scene has described the killing of three Palestinian men by an Israeli drone in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza, earlier today.

“We were sitting and suddenly the drone came on top of our heads. I felt very scared and I moved to stay near the rubble of our home,” she said.

“The young men were busy, not very far away from me, collecting firewood. But without warning, a missile hit them. Some other people were injured. We climbed a hill to try to help them, and we were shocked to see a quadcopter overhead. We are so terrified.”

Israel’s army said the men were “terrorists” planting bombs near its troops.

This is not the first time we’re seeing this happen since the ceasefire began on January 19. The attack site was in the eastern part of the Bureij refugee camp. Two brothers and a third person believed to be their cousin were hit.

The reason they tried to collect firewood is because of the lack of cooking gas from the Israeli blockade on all Gaza crossings. Today is the 16th day of that suffocating blockade, which is making all places run out of resources.

Just now, a drone is hovering above in the western part of Gaza City. It is buzzing and casting fear on the population. The streets have been emptied of people because of concerns over more attacks.


Gaza Civil Defence recovers 57 more bodies from grounds of al-Shifa Hospital

Since Friday, the agency has been recovering the bodies of Palestinians buried on the hospital’s grounds throughout the war.

They have estimated that as many as 160 bodies may be buried in the yard of the Gaza City hospital, which was one of the largest medical complexes in the enclave. It has been largely destroyed amid repeated Israeli attacks and raids.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said that of the 57 bodies recovered today, 40 remained unidentified. A total of 135 bodies have so far been recovered.



SvennoJ on 17 March 2025

What’s happening in the occupied West Bank this morning?

Israeli raids and arrests have continued across the occupied West Bank this morning:

  • Palestinian sources said that Israeli forces stormed Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, at dawn.
  • Israeli soldiers surrounded a house during a raid on Qaffin, near Tulkarem.
  • Israeli forces arrested freed prisoner Ali Khaled Zawahra after raiding his home during a raid on Bethlehem.
  • Palestinian media reported that the Israeli army also stormed the Shu’fat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, al-Aqsa TV reported that Palestinian Authority security forces arrested Fida Abu Amireh, a young man from the town of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, at dawn.


Children among Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces across West Bank

Israeli forces have arrested more Palestinians in the occupied territory, including during raids that we reported earlier this morning.

At least three people were arrested during Israeli raids in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, including two young brothers, according to the Wafa news agency.

During a dawn raid on Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, two children were arrested. Both are 15 and were taken from their family homes after they were raided.

Three more people were taken at dawn from their homes in Qaffin near besieged Tulkarem.

In Hebron, Israeli forces arrested a freed Palestinian in Qalqas, and raided more homes in the eastern part of the city. Another arrest was reported south of Hebron.


Israeli military sends more troops to Jenin camp

Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles continue to be positioned around Jenin and its refugee camp, and more reinforcements have been filmed arriving.

On the 56th day of assaults on the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reports that tank fire was heard in the refugee camp and Israeli forces were observed moving in the al-Jabriyat area.

Israeli vehicles were accompanied by water tanks as warplanes flew over Jenin city.

At least 21,000 people – or one-quarter of the population – have now been displaced from the camp, Jenin Mayor Muhammad Jarrar said in a statement. He said nearly 8,000 commercial establishments have been closed with entire neighbourhoods forced out.

Israel notifies PA of land seizure in West Bank

Israeli authorities have notified the Palestinian Authority about the seizure of 12 hectares (30 acres) of land in the town of Jalbun, north of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The mayor of the town told Wafa the land is owned by Palestinians who have grown olive trees there for more than 50 years.

In February, Israeli officials documented the seizure of half a hectare (1.5 acres) of Palestinian land, and designated 1,600 hectares (3,950 acres) for settlers to graze their cattle, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

The Jenin area has been under a devastating Israeli siege for nearly two months with more than 20,000 people forced from their homes.


Israel sending reinforcements for Tulkarem raids: Wafa

The Palestinian news agency has reported that reinforcements have been sent to several neighbourhoods in the city in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli operations in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps have displaced thousands of residents in recent weeks.

Wafa reported that Israeli military bulldozers destroyed parts of Nur Shams and that more displacements took place in the Tulkarem camp.