Geneva: The United Nations said Tuesday that it had informed the Israeli authorities of the movements of a vehicle carrying UN staff which was hit in southern Gaza, killing an Indian.
One UN security services member was killed and another wounded in the attack on Monday, the United Nations said, marking the first death of a UN international employee in the Palestinian territory since the war began more than seven months ago.
The employee killed was an Indian national, UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told a media briefing.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Col Waibhav Kale, working for the UN Department of Safety and Security in Gaza,” India’s mission to the UN in New York confirmed on X.
“Our deepest condolences are with the family during this difficult time.”
A second UN DSS staff member who was in the vehicle at the time was wounded in the attack, Gomez said, adding that the two had been traveling to the European Hospital in Rafah when their vehicle was hit.
“The UN informs Israeli authorities of the movement of all of our convoys. That has been the case in any theater of operation. This is a standard operating procedure,” said Gomez.
“This was the case yesterday (Monday) morning, so we have informed them. And it was a clearly marked UN vehicle.”
He added: “This is a sheer illustration that there’s really nowhere safe in Gaza at the moment.”
When asked about the attack, the Israeli military sent AFP a statement apparently drafted on Monday saying that the DSS had informed it of the hit.
“An initial inquiry conducted indicates that the vehicle was hit in an area declared an active combat zone,” the military said, maintaining that it had “not been made aware of the route of the vehicle.”
“The incident is under review,” it said, without attributing responsibility for the strike.
Gomez said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had called for a full investigation.
“Of course we want accountability. This is the ultimate aim of this investigation. International humanitarian workers are not targets, so such attacks must end,” he said.
While Monday’s attack marked the first time a UN international employee has been killed in the Gaza war, a large number of local staff have been killed.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, alone has lost 188 of its 13,000 Gaza staff, according to UN figures.
“No one is safe in Gaza, including aid workers,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X, formerly Twitter.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 35,173 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
UN says informed Israel of vehicle fatally hit in Gaza
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UN says informed Israel of vehicle fatally hit in Gaza
- The employee killed was an Indian national, UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told a media briefing
- A second UN DSS staff member who was in the vehicle at the time was wounded in the attack
Israel buries soldier killed in Gaza more than 10 years ago
- Oron Shaul was 21 years old when he was killed during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City in 2014
JERUSALEM: An Israeli soldier killed during the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip was buried on Monday in Israel after his remains were recovered from the Palestinian territory by the army over the weekend.
Oron Shaul was 21 years old when the military vehicle he was in was blown up during an operation in Gaza City on July 20, 2014, claiming his life and those of six other soldiers.
Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, whose remains are still in Gaza, have been the focus of indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for years.
Shaul’s body was retrieved by Israeli forces during a special military operation over the weekend, according to the army.
Goldin and two civilians presumed to be alive who have been held in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively are among the hostages at the center of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect on Sunday.
Israel counts them in addition to the 91 people still being held in Gaza after they were abducted by Hamas militants during their unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The two civilians are also included among those set to be freed in hostage-prisoner exchanges during the ongoing first stage of the ceasefire.
Kuwait’s eighth aid plane to Syria arrives at Damascus Airport
- Al-Salam charity’s support in line with instructions of the Kuwaiti political leadership to help Syrians
LONDON: Kuwait sent its eighth aid plane to Syria on Monday with 10 tonnes of food and essential supplies to help Syrians cope with the harsh winter.
It was part of the Kuwait Is By Your Side campaign launched by the Al-Salam Association charity, in coordination with the ministries of Social Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Defense.
The aircraft landed at Damascus International Airport carrying food aid and winter supplies, including blankets and heavy clothing.
The volume of Kuwaiti aid sent to Syria since last December has reached 200 tonnes of various relief materials, including food and medicine, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent organization.
Hamad Al-Oun, the general manager of Al-Salam, told Kuwait News Agency that another aid plane was set to depart for Syria next Thursday as part of the association’s initiative.
Al-Salam’s support was in line with the instructions of the Kuwaiti political leadership to help those in need in Syria, he added.
Xi emphasizes China’s unwavering support for Lebanon sovereignty
- Xi Jinping said that China will provide assistance to the Lebanese in terms of economic development
- Israeli forces intensify activity in the south five days before withdrawal deadline
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun received a written message from Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, who affirmed his “readiness to work with Lebanon to develop the friendly relations between the two countries and to support cooperation in a way that better serves both peoples.”
The Chinese president emphasized in the message, delivered by the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Qian Minjian, “the unwavering support of his country for Lebanon in maintaining its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as providing assistance to the Lebanese side in economic development and improving the living conditions of its people.”
Forming the first government under Aoun remains a subject of consultations between the designated Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and the relevant parties.
Aoun has said “the swift formation of the government sends a positive signal to the outside world that Lebanon is on the right track.”
Israel, meanwhile, continued demolishing homes and infrastructure in several border areas of Lebanon.
Israeli tanks and bulldozers blocked the Wadi Saluki road on Mondah, which connects the border towns of Bani Hayyan and Qabrikha.
An Israeli tank stationed itself in the town of Tallousa, prompting the Lebanese Armed Forces to postpone redeployment in the town.
The Israeli activity has escalated five days before the expiration of the 60-day deadline for a complete withdrawal from the southern border area under the ceasefire agreement.
Israeli forces also bulldozed a cemetery in the town of Dhayra and uprooted trees in its vicinity.
Troops also advanced to Mays Al-Jabal, demolishing industrial and sports facilities, farms, and roads with bulldozers.
The Israeli military conducted an extensive sweep operation in the town of Khiam, setting properties on fire, with smoke rising in the area.
Three Lebanese farmers were arrested between Ain Arab and Wazzani, while artillery shelling targeted the Sadana area in the Shebaa Farms and the outskirts of Kafr Shuba.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese military reinforced its units in the city of Bint Jbeil, repositioning in Al-Dora area in the direction of the border town of Yaroun.
It established a presence at 10 sites along the main and secondary roads from Bint Jbeil to Yaroun, Maroun Al-Ras, and Aitaroun, areas where Israeli forces are still present.
Lebanese Army Command announced that “some units are continuing to reinforce their deployment in the towns of Ain Ebel, Dibel and Rmeish, the Bint Jbeil area in the western sector, and the towns of Bint Jbeil and Ainatha in the central sector, following the withdrawal of the Israeli forces.”
The operation was being conducted in coordination with UNIFIL and the Quintet Committee, which is supervising the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
The Army Command said specialized units were conducting engineering surveys, clearing roads, removing debris, and addressing unexploded ordnance and suspicious objects left behind by Israel.
The Lebanese Army prohibited citizens from approaching the area, urging them to “adhere to the instructions of military units until the deployment is completed.”
The municipality of Bint Jbeil has urged residents to delay their return to the city and the town of Ainata.
Civil defense teams are still working to retrieve the bodies and remains of Hezbollah fighters killed during clashes with the Israeli army in advanced positions in the south.
Remains were retrieved in Khiam, and a body was recovered in the town of Maroun Al-Ras.
The General Directorate of General Security, meanwhile, warned citizens in a statement on Monday of “the dangers of interacting with the SAWA page on Facebook, as it is likely linked to Mossad and aims to recruit Lebanese citizens to work for it.”
Last Friday, the Lebanese Army announced “the arrest of a Lebanese citizen from the southern town of Beit Lif on suspicion of being recruited by Israeli Mossad through Facebook.”
Security information indicated that the suspected agent “headed to Israel with the help of an Israeli drone that hovered above him and guided him to the path leading to crossing the Lebanese border. His mission involved photographing Hezbollah sites in exchange for monetary payments.”
A Lebanese person from the town of At-Tiri, who is a former combat medic for Hezbollah and served as a nurse at the party’s Al-Rasoul Al-Azam Hospital, was previously arrested after being recruited by Mossad through Facebook.
Sweden eyes charges against suspect over 2014 killing of Jordan pilot in Syria
- The suspect has previously been convicted for involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016
- No individuals have so far stood trial for the killing of the Jordanian pilot Mouath Al-Kasaesbeh
STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors have requested the detention of a Swedish man on suspicion of war and terrorism crimes over the killing of a Jordanian air force pilot in Syria a decade ago, they said on Monday.
The man, named in Swedish court documents as Osama Krayem, has previously been convicted for involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016.
The Daesh militant group, which once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, captured Jordanian pilot Mouath Al-Kasaesbeh in December 2014 and later published a video of him being burned alive in a cage.
“The man now requested for detention is suspected of having executed the pilot, together with other perpetrators belonging to IS,” the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement.
The prosecutors said Krayem, 32, alongside others, forced the pilot into the cage. The killing of the pilot violates the laws of war, and the killing and video constitute terrorist activities, they said.
No individuals have so far stood trial for the killing of the Jordanian pilot, the prosecutors said.
Krayem’s Swedish lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sweden will request that Krayem, who is currently held in France, be transferred to Sweden in the case of a trial in the Nordic country, the prosecutors said.
Daesh group controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, and was defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019.
Under Swedish legislation, courts can try people for crimes against international law committed abroad.
Gazans begin searching for people under rubble on day two of ceasefire
- “We are searching for 10,000 martyrs whose bodies remain under the rubble,” said Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Services
GAZA/CAIRO: Palestinians began searching on Monday for thousands of Gazans believed still buried under rubble, as residents expressed shock at the devastation wrought by 15 months of war on the enclave on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The truce in the 15-month-old conflict, which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East, took effect on Sunday with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.
Now attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave which the Israeli military has demolished in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
That assault killed 1,200 people with around 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In the subsequent conflict, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza’s health ministry says.
“We are searching for 10,000 martyrs whose bodies remain under the rubble,” said Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Services.
At least 2,840 bodies were melted and there were no traces of them, he said.
Displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa lost his brother and nephew in the war.
“It was a big shock, and the amount (of people) feeling shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes — it’s destruction, total destruction. It’s not like an earthquake or a flood, no no, what happened is a war of extermination,” he said.
With a growing flow of aid into the Palestinian enclave, residents flocked into markets, with some expressing happiness at the lower prices and the presence of new food items like imported chocolates.
“The prices have gone down, the war is over and the crossing is open to more goods,” said Aya Mohammad-Zaki, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who has been sheltering in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
The deal requires 600 truckloads of aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel. Half of the aid trucks would be delivered to the north, where experts have warned famine is imminent.
Warning shots
Residents and medics in Gaza said that for the most part the ceasefire appeared to be holding, although there were isolated incidents. Medics said eight people had been hit by Israeli fire since Monday morning in the southern city of Rafah, without giving details of their condition.
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots against suspects who approached troops deployed according to the ceasefire agreement.
One of the Israeli women hostages released on Sunday, Emily Damari, posted a message on Instagram on Monday.
“I have returned to life, my loved ones,” she wrote, “I am the happiest in the world, to just be,” said Damari, a British-Israeli citizen.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where most of the freed Palestinian detainees returned, Nidaa Zaghebi was finally able to embrace her three children who she had left behind after her arrest by Israeli forces.
Zaghebi’s daughters Sadan and Cilla were in tears as they hugged their mother when she arrived at their home, wearing a crown of flowers and wrapped in a traditional Palestinian scarf.
“I used to dream of them every night, and imagine what they were doing. I know the family here were very supportive and took good care of them, but motherhood overcomes all other feelings,” she told Reuters.
Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild Gaza after the war. A UN damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.
A UN report from last year, said rebuilding Gaza’s shattered homes could take at least until 2040, but could drag on for many decades. The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos, with some refugee camps struck during the war known to have been built with the material.
A UN Development Programme official said on Sunday that development in Gaza has been set back by 69 years as a result of the conflict.
Israel said its goal in the war was to eradicate Hamas and destroy the tunnel network it built underground.
