AFP fact check: the US presidents did not swear allegiance to China

‘They can’t kill the story’, say protesters at New York rally for slain journalists in Gaza

Here, in the heart of New York City, several hundred protesters from the Palestinian Youth Movement have been holding a protest right outside the headquarters of The New York Times newspaper, demanding that US media organisations condemn the attacks.

They’re doing it in solidarity with our Al Jazeera colleagues who were murdered in Gaza City. They are passing out stickers with photos of Anas al-Sharif, and the words say: “They can’t kill the story, the coverage continues.”

They have paintings of our murdered Al Jazeera colleagues right in front of the main entrance to The New York Times, and they are chanting for an end to the genocide.

Protesters in New York say legacy media ‘running cover for Israel’s genocide’

We’ve spoken to one of the protesters who gathered outside the building of The New York Times newspaper in New York City about the reason for their demonstration.

Nas Issa, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, a group which organised the protest, said the demonstration had been prompted by outrage over Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera journalists, including Anas al-Sharif, earlier this week.

“We’re here in front of The New York Times because of the role that legacy media institutions like the Times have played in running cover for Israel’s genocide,” she said.

“We know these media institutions have the ear of the powerful. We know they have a role to play in building a political will to end the genocide and the starvation campaign, and this far they’ve refused to do so.”

She added: “We’re here to say they have the blood of Anas and all of the over 200 journalists who have been murdered by Israel, on their hands.”

_{People around the world have mourned and paid tribute to the journalists, including Anas al-Sharif, who was well known for his reporting from northern Gaza}

Protesters in Canada’s Toronto denounce Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza

Footage on social media shows protesters gathered outside the offices of Canada’s CTV television network in Toronto, holding up portraits of Palestinian journalists slain by Israel.

The demonstration, one of many around the world, was held to condemn Israel’s murder of the journalists, including four Al Jazeera staff, in Gaza on Sunday, and to denounce media bias in coverage of Israel’s actions.

At the protest in front of CTV, images of six journalists killed by Israel were held up to demand accountability.

“Every time the media lies…” pic.twitter.com/6deukFi530

— Nur Dogan (@nurdogandiyorki) August 13, 2025

Hind Rajab Foundation chief discusses ICC case filed over journalists’ murder in Gaza

Two NGOs are bringing a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, against senior Israeli military commanders for allegedly authorising the murder of the four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers.

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have named the Israeli chief of general staff and seven others. They also accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “presiding over a strategy to eliminate journalists”.

Their case is based on investigations reconstructing the attack, intelligence reports and expert military analysis. Dyab Abou Jahjah, the chairman of Hind Rajab Foundation, says court cases stand a chance of holding individuals responsible for killing journalists.

‘If you don’t speak up against genocide, you are complicit with it’: Cape Town protester

Usuf Chikte of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has told Al Jazeera from a vigil for the journalists killed in Gaza on Sunday, held in South Africa’s Cape Town, that silence is complicity.

“It has been 96 weeks, week upon week, that we have protested at the church, St George’s Cathedral, the church of Desmond Tutu who said that if you don’t speak up against a genocide, against an oppression then you are complicit with it,” he said.

“Israel is killing and silencing the journalists who are telling us what is happening [in Gaza],” he added.

_{People in Cape Town protest against journalists’ killings and the genocide in Gaza}

Protesters in London tape mouths shut at demonstration against Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza

Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency shows large numbers of protesters in central London gathered to demonstrate against Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza, including four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers.

Many attending the silent demonstration, held outside the Palestine House cultural hub in central London, had their mouths taped shut, to represent Israel’s silencing of the media, or held up pictures of the slain journalists, who were killed in an Israeli strike while working outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday.

The protest was one of many held in solidarity with the killed journalists around the world.

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

New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot’

Christopher Luxon says Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu had “lost the plot” as his country weighs up whether to recognise a Palestinian state.

“I think what’s happening in Gaza is utterly appalling. I think Netanyahu has gone way too far. I think he has lost the plot,” the prime minister told reporters.

He called Israeli attacks overnight on Gaza “utterly, utterly unacceptable” and said the forceful displacement of people and the annexation of Gaza would be a breach of international law.

“We have called these things out consistently … and he’s just not listening,” the leader added.

Luxon said earlier this week that New Zealand was considering whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the UK and France in announcing it would do so at a UN conference in September.

Unacceptable but all we'll do is utter some empty words in September...


Netanyahu ‘impervious’ to international condemnation due to US support

A former Israeli diplomat says that Benjamin Netanyahu seems largely impervious to the “tsunami” of diplomatic pressure being directed at his government, but should be wary of leaving his country’s fortunes to the whims of Donald Trump.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv, Alon Pinkas said that although Israel was becoming an international outcast, with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying Netanyahu had “lost the plot” and other Western countries preparing to recognise a Palestinian state, Netanyahu seemed to “relish” the criticism.

“He seems to be somewhat impervious to these kinds of pressures,” said Pinkas, adding that Netanyahu’s attitude was “us against the world”.

Crucially, the US had not joined in the statements criticising Israel, and had dismissed talk of recognising a Palestinian state as “premature and unhelpful”.

He said that support from the US made Netanyahu less concerned about diplomatic pressure from other countries – but that Netanyahu should be wary of becoming so isolated from other allies while assuming that Trump’s support would always be there.

“If I were Netanyahu, I would be very cautious, because he’s now reliant and dependent … on the whims of one person, Donald Trump. That’s not a place Israel needs to be.”

Israeli army chief greenlights ‘main framework’ for next phase of Gaza war

The Israeli military says its chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, has signed off on the “main framework for the [Israeli military’s] operational plan” in Gaza, a week after the security cabinet approved plans to seize Gaza City.

Despite earlier reported disagreements with Prime Minister Netanyahu over the war’s direction, Zamir approved the “central concept” for its next stage during a meeting with the military’s supreme command, Shin Bet representatives and commanders, according to the military statement published on Telegram.

During the meeting, he “emphasised the importance of increasing troop readiness and preparedness for reserve recruitment, while conducting proficiency training and providing breathing space ahead of the upcoming missions”, said the military statement.

Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza City have drawn broad international consternation, including from the UN and Western countries such as the UK, Germany, Italy France and Canada.

Israeli ex-diplomat describes Netanyahu as ‘unhinged messiah’ driven by ‘delusions of grandeur’

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, has told Al Jazeera that international condemnation of Israel’s murder of journalists in Gaza will do nothing to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach, which appears increasingly driven by “messianic and self-ordained historic missions”.

Speaking from Tel Aviv, Pinkas said recent comments by the Israeli leader that he feels he is on a “historic and spiritual mission”, and is “very” attached to the vision of a so-called Greater Israel, were “extraordinarily dangerous”.

“I believe him and that is what worries me – he has become an unhinged messiah,” said Pinkas. “He has delusions of grandeur.”

Palestinian group condemns Netanyahu’s remarks about ‘Greater Israel’ vision

The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement has reacted to the Israeli prime minister’s interview with the i24 broadcaster, in which he declared himself attached to the vision of a “Greater Israel”.

The term refers to Israel, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.

The Palestinian group said the statement threatens “Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon in a clear indication of the premeditated aggressive intentions towards the nations”.

“These statements are a blatant aggression against the sovereignty of the Arab states and Arab national security. Accordingly, we call for taking clear Arab positions towards these criminal Zionist intentions and plans,” the group said in a statement published on Telegram.

Jordan condemns Netanyahu’s remarks on ‘Greater Israel’

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he expressed his attachment to what he called “Greater Israel vision”.

The ministry said the remark was a dangerous and provocative escalation, a threat to the sovereignty of states, and a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.

The ministry spokesperson, Sufyan Qudah, said that the Israeli statements and practices reflect the critical situation of the Israeli government, coinciding with its international isolation amid its ongoing aggression on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Qudah emphasised the need for the international community to act immediately to stop all provocative Israeli actions and statements that threaten the region’s stability and international peace and security.

Qatar condemns Netanyahu’s ‘Greater Israel’ remarks

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the so-called “Greater Israel vision”, describing them as an extension of Israel’s “arrogant” approach that fuels crises, infringes on state sovereignty, and violates international law.

In a statement, the ministry warned the comments risk provoking further violence and chaos in the region, and stressed they would not undermine the legitimate rights of Arab nations and peoples.

It called for international solidarity to confront such “provocations” and reaffirmed its support for a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace.

Saudi Arabia condemns Netanyahu’s ‘Greater Israel’ remarks

Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the so-called “Greater Israel vision”, rejecting what it described as settlement and expansionist plans by Israeli authorities.

In a statement carried by state news agency SPA, the Foreign Ministry reaffirmed the Palestinian people’s historical and legal right to establish an independent and sovereign state on their own land, in line with international law.

Riyadh warned the global community that Israel’s “flagrant violations” undermine international legitimacy, infringe on state sovereignty, and threaten both regional and global peace and security.

Israel, South Sudan in talks over forced transfer of Palestinians: Report

Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about forcibly relocating Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country, according to six people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press.

The proposal is part of an Israeli effort to displace Palestinians from Gaza – a move human rights groups warn would amount to forcible expulsion and ethnic cleansing, and would violate international law.

Critics of the transfer plan fear Palestinians would never be allowed to return to Gaza, and that mass departure could pave the way for Israel to annex the enclave and re-establish illegal Israeli settlements there, as called for by far-right ministers in the Israeli government.

South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out shortly after independence in 2011, killing nearly 400,000 people and leaving parts of the country facing famine. It already hosts a large refugee population from conflicts in neighbouring countries.

Wtf? South Sudan needs aid, not 2 million more starving people. Plus the country is barely 14 years old with 12 million population.

Food lifeline fading for millions in South Sudan hit by conflict and climate shocks
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165458

Earlier this month, the UN agency began airdropping emergency food assistance in Upper Nile state after surging conflict forced families from their homes and pushed communities to the brink of famine.

Nationwide, the picture is just as alarming, with half the country’s population – more than 7.7 million people – officially classified as food insecure by UN partner the IPC platform. This includes more than 83,000 facing “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.

“The scale of suffering here does not make headlines, but millions of mothers, fathers and children are spending each day fighting hunger to survive,” said WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau, following a visit to South Sudan last week. 

South Sudan denies having talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza

South Sudan is not in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, South Sudan’s foreign ministry has said.

On Tuesday, The Associated Press news agency, citing six people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Israel was holding discussions with Juba to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in the East African nation.

“These claims are baseless and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Many world leaders are horrified at the idea of forcibly displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.

In March, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland also denied receiving any proposal from the US or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move.

Israeli attacks kill seven near Deir el-Balah, Gaza City

Reports are emerging of more casualties in central and northern Gaza. Medical sources cited by the Wafa news agency say Israeli forces shot and killed at least four people near Deir el-Balah in central Gaza this morning.

Wafa also reported a deadly attack in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood that left at least three people dead. Rescuers are still searching for people missing under the rubble, it added.

Palestinians flee Israeli attacks in Gaza City


_{A Palestinian family walks with their belongings after Israeli army attacks on the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, Gaza on Tuesday}

Gaza City’s Zeitoun, Sabra, Sheikh Radwan areas hammered overnight

It was a sleepless night, with explosions clearly heard from the eastern part of Gaza City, particularly near the Zeitoun neighbourhood and surrounding areas as far as the Sabra neighbourhood.

There, people were scrambling for shelter as bombs fell on the main roads. Seven people were reported killed overnight from a mixture of heavy artillery and air strikes targeting major residential clusters.

Within a couple of hours of those attacks, another one took place in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in the northwestern part of Gaza City. Three more people were reported killed as they were leaving the area.

What we’re seeing on the ground are signs that the [Israeli military] operation [to seize Gaza City] is in preparation and may have started initially in these areas.

Footage shows huge explosions rock Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood

Video verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency shows huge explosions caused by Israeli demolition operations in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.

As we reported earlier, at least 12 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in the Zeitoun neighbourhood.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNSUm-zME0v

Israeli assault on Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood destroys 300 homes

Israeli forces have carried out a days-long intensive assault on Zeitoun, one of Gaza City’s largest neighbourhoods, destroying more than 300 homes in the past three days, Wafa news agency says, citing Gaza’s Civil Defence.

The neighbourhood has faced continuous bombardment and demolitions since Tuesday. Civil Defence officials said entire families were killed when their homes were blown up without warning using high-explosive bombs that also levelled surrounding buildings.

They added that rescue crews have been blocked from reaching the wounded or recovering bodies, worsening the humanitarian situation.

The assault comes as Israel’s military chief approved plans to fully seize Gaza, starting with Gaza City. The plan reportedly involves forcing around one million residents southwards before surrounding the city and launching incursions into residential areas, followed by an expansion into refugee camps in central Gaza, Wafa said.

Gaza death toll rises

At least 123 Palestinians, including 21 aid seekers, have been killed and 437 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

In the same period, at least eight people, including three children, have starved to death in the territory, bringing the total count of hunger-related deaths to 235, including 106 children, the ministry said.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a total of 61,722 Palestinians and injured 154,525 since October 7, 2023, the ministry added.

The total number of aid seekers killed since May 27, when Israel introduced a new aid distribution mechanism through the US-based GHF, has reached 1,859, with more than 13,594 injured, the statement said.

Shootings, stampedes at northern Gaza’s Zikim crossing

Aid distribution centres are still death traps. But the vast majority of people here do not have any other option but to show up at them and try to get their hands on whatever is available for their hungry families.

One area that has become deadly for Palestinians is the Zikim crossing in the north. Trucks are allowed from this area, but the number of trucks is very minimal compared with the large crowds, demand created by months of devastation and destruction. More people are dying there, either from deliberate Israeli military fire or from the stampede.

Meanwhile, whatever is available in the market is beyond anyone’s financial capacity.

Footage shows frail aid seeker treated in hospital after being shot by Israeli forces in Gaza

Video verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agencu shows a 55-year-old frail Palestinian man receiving care at Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis after he was reportedly shot near an aid site by the Morag Corridor.

In the footage, a medic is seen attending to the injured man, who appears exhausted and extremely thin, in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNSNd47sL3_

Israeli drone attack kills two people in Khan Younis

Two Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli drone strike in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, staff at the Nasser Medical Complex have told Al Jazeera.

The victims were among more than 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks since dawn, hospital sources in Gaza say.

Israeli forces kill 12 aid seekers north of Gaza City

At least 12 aid seekers have been killed in Israeli attacks north of Gaza City, medical sources at hospitals in the coastal enclave have told Al Jazeera Arabic.

‘Action needed’ behind statements calling for end to Gaza famine

A political scientist says a joint statement by the EU’s top diplomat and foreign ministers from 24 countries calling for an end to “famine” in Gaza is a welcome step, but more action is needed.

Xavier Abu Eid, a former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said the recent statement, signed by the foreign ministers of European countries, as well as those of Australia, Japan and Canada, was important. But its demands – for international aid shipments to be allowed into Gaza, and an end to lethal force at distribution sites – should have been happening already.

“It’s something we have been witnessing for the past two years,” Abu Eid told Al Jazeera from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“Some of the countries that signed … were actually among those who gave a blessing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back in October 2023 to launch this genocide.”

He said a number of the signatories of the statement had also announced that next month they would recognise a Palestinian state, which he said would be a positive step towards statehood, but would also require further concrete action, including sanctions on Israel.

“Recognition on its own is not going to work,” he said.

European countries ‘should ban Netanyahu from their airspace’

Xavier Abu Eid, a former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), says that Western countries that signed a joint statement calling for an end to “famine” in Gaza need to follow up their word with actions, including preventing the Israeli leader from using their airspace.

“Let’s remember that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is a wanted person by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.

He said some of the signatories to Tuesday’s joint statement, including France and Greece, had been allowing Netanyahu to travel through their airspace during his trips to the United States.

“Are they going to take the same action now that Prime Minister Netanyahu will most probably be going to the United Nations next month? That’s a question that they should be asking,” he said.

He said other signatories should back up their condemnation of Israel with action by preventing Israeli weapons from travelling through their ports.

“It’s very important to remember that when countries issue such a statement, it means that they have all the information to know what’s going on on the ground,” he said. “What we’re talking about here is a genocide.”

Israeli firm Elbit inks $1.64bn weapons deal with unnamed European country: Report

Israeli military technology company Elbit Systems has secured a $1.64bn deal with a European country for the supply of its long-range precision strike artillery-rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, The Times of Israel newspaper has reported.

The newspaper said the unnamed European country ordered a suite of AI-powered unmanned aerial combat systems, including personally operated drones for tactical and operational use.

The five-year contract is for the supply of Elbit’s long-range precision artillery rockets, and defence products equipped with its advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, known as ISTAR, as well as communications and signal intelligence systems, it reported.

It also includes the delivery of advanced electro-optical and night-vision systems, the report said.

FUCK Europe.

US most complicit in Gaza genocide: Ireland’s ex-president Robinson

US President Donald Trump must realise that his country is the most complicit in the genocide in Gaza, says Mary Robinson, ex-president of Ireland and ex-UN high commissioner for human rights.

She visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Monday as part of a delegation from the Elders group of global leaders, founded by former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2007.

Here are some of the other points she made in her interview with Al Jazeera Arabic:

So put sanctions on Israel and the USA. Enough with the empty words.

International condemnation of Israel has not brought any relief to starving Gaza

There has been growing international condemnation of Israel for creating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with dozens of countries calling for Israel to allow in significant aid flows and put an end to the famine.

But that pressure hasn’t changed the way things are being conducted on the ground at all. We’re seeing more restrictions, more manoeuvres by the Israeli military.

They gave permission for some aid trucks to enter Gaza, to create a media buzz that there is food coming in. But that has nothing to do with what’s going on, on the ground. More people are still dying on a daily basis of enforced starvation.

What we’re hearing from people working in the field is that they need close to three months’ worth of a constant flow of aid coming in, a thousand trucks on a daily basis, to make up for the lack of food for the past five months as a result of Israel’s total humanitarian blockade.

So, trucks coming in, in their tens, are not addressing the deepening humanitarian crisis.