GAZA: Heavy battles and bombardment hit Gaza City’s Shujaiya district for a fourth day on Sunday, months after Israel declared Hamas’s command structure dismantled in the northern area.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the devastated neighborhood, where the army said it has fought Palestinian militants both “above and below ground” in tunnels.
Months of on-and-off talks toward a Gaza truce and hostage release deal have meanwhile made little progress, with Hamas saying Saturday there was “nothing new” in a revised plan presented by US mediators.
The Israeli military said ground and air forces had carried out raids on compounds used by militants and “eliminated several terrorists” over the past 24 hours.
It also reported clashes in central Gaza and the southern Rafah area, a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the “intense phase” of the war raging since October 7 was nearing an end.
The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA estimated that “60,000 to 80,000 people were displaced” from Shujaiya since new fighting broke out there on Thursday and the army issued evacuation orders.
For those who remain, “our lives have become hell,” said 50-year-old Shujaiya resident Siham Al-Shawa.
She told AFP people were trapped as strikes could happen “anywhere” and “it is difficult to get out of the neighborhood under fire.”
“We do not know where to go to protect ourselves.”
Netanyahu said Israeli “forces are operating in Rafah, Shujaiya, everywhere in the Gaza Strip.”
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, he told his cabinet that “dozens of terrorists are being eliminated every day.”
The war started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,877 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Six people were killed in an air strike at dawn targeting a house in Rafah, said medics at Nasser Hospital where the bodies were taken.
Artillery shelling also rocked parts of the city, witnesses said.
The Israeli military launched a ground operation in Rafah in early May, leading to the closure of a key aid crossing.
United Nations and other relief agencies have voiced alarm over the dire humanitarian crisis and threat of starvation the war and Israeli siege have brought for Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
“Everything is rubble,” said Louise Wateridge from UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, speaking Friday from the city of Khan Yunis.
“There’s no water there, there’s no sanitation, there’s no food. And now, people are living back in these buildings that are empty shells.”
In Israel, thousands of protesters again took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding greater efforts to return the remaining captives, and calling for early elections.
Former hostage Noa Argamani, 26, who was rescued in a June 8 raid, said in a video address that “we can’t forget about the hostages who are still in Hamas captivity, and we must do everything possible to bring them back home.”
About a month after US President Joe Biden outlined a truce plan, Washington last week presented “new language” for parts of the proposed deal, according to US news site Axios.
A Hamas official in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, confirmed that the Islamist movement had received the latest proposal but said it presented “no real progress in the negotiations.”
Hamdan labelled the proposals “a waste of time” that aimed to give Israel “additional time... to practice genocide.”
Hamas has called for a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, demands repeatedly rejected by Israel.
Netanyahu on Sunday said “Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of our hostages.”
With military and diplomatic “pressure... we will return them all,” he said.
The Gaza conflict has also led to soaring tensions on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the army has traded cross-border fire with the Hezbollah movement, an Iran-backed Hamas ally.
Threats of a full-blown war have escalated this month.
Iran’s mission to the UN, on social media Saturday, said it “deems as psychological warfare” Israeli “propaganda about intending to attack Lebanon.”
It also warned its arch foe that, “should it embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensue” that could draw in more Tehran-aligned armed groups in the region.
Hezbollah on Sunday claimed several attacks on Israeli military positions, and Lebanese official media reported Israeli strikes in the border area.
The Shiite Muslim movement announced three deaths among its ranks.
Fighting rages in Gaza City’s Shujaiya for fourth day; 80,000 Palestinians displaced
https://arab.news/gymm9
Fighting rages in Gaza City’s Shujaiya for fourth day; 80,000 Palestinians displaced
- Israeli tanks fire shells toward several houses, leaving families trapped inside and unable to leave
- Israel’s military operations in Rafah aimed at eradicating the last armed battalions of Hamas
Rats, dogs and torn clothes amid the ruins of Gaza homes
- Much of the rest of Gaza City also lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting
- Like many displaced Palestinians, Al-Harsh faces uncertainty as she tries to salvage what remains
JABALIA, Gaza: The rats and dogs scavenging amid the ruins of her neighborhood in northern Gaza make Manal Al-Harsh’s return to her wrecked home even more miserable.
Despite the respite from Israeli bombardments that a ceasefire has brought, she still fears for her family’s security. They have trouble sleeping at night.
Even trying to find her children’s clothes amid the rubble of their house in Jabalia is a forlorn task.
Al-Harsh, 36, has erected a makeshift tent from salvaged blankets to provide shelter for her and her children.
“We are staying here, but we are afraid of rats and everything around us. There are dogs. There is no place to settle. We have children. It is difficult,” Harsh, 36, said as she stepped cautiously over the debris.
She said she had returned from the south of the Palestinian enclave when the ceasefire took effect but found her house destroyed.
Much of the rest of Gaza City also lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting and waves of Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages that left it a shell of the bustling urban center it was before the war.
“We are practically sleeping here, but we don’t sleep. We are afraid someone might come upon us. We are sleeping and scared,” she said.
“I want to retrieve some clothes for the children to wear. We came with nothing. Life here is expensive, and there is no money to buy anything.”
Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still have after months of being moved around as the battlegrounds shifted, had trekked 20 km (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway north.
Like many displaced Palestinians, Al-Harsh faces uncertainty as she tries to salvage what remains. She had managed to pick some clothes from the rubble but they were in a sorry state.
“It’s all torn. Nothing is good. As much as we do, as much as we retrieve, it is all stones,” she said.
“Death is better,” Al-Harsh said, her voice heavy with despair.
Sudan paramilitary chief admits setbacks, vows to expel army from Khartoum
- Dagalo acknowledged setbacks in the capital but urged his troops “not to think of the army entering the General Command or the Signal Corps... “
- Two weeks before its gains in Khartoum the army reclaimed the Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in a rare video address on Friday, acknowledged setbacks in the capital Khartoum but vowed to expel the army from the city again.
The war since April 2023 between Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million, according to the United Nations, and pushed millions to the brink of famine.
After months of apparent stalemate in Khartoum, the army one week ago broke an almost two-year RSF siege of its Khartoum General Command headquarters. On the same day, the army reported reclaiming its Signal Corps base in Khartoum North, and expelling the RSF from Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum.
In his address on Friday, Dagalo — commonly known as Hemeti — acknowledged setbacks in the capital but urged his troops “not to think of the army entering the General Command or the Signal Corps... or taking control of Al-Jaili or Wad Madani.”
Two weeks before its gains in Khartoum the army reclaimed the Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani, securing a key crossroads just south of the capital.
The RSF last week said army statements claiming they had broken the sieges and seized Jaili refinery were rumors intended to sway public opinion.
But on Friday, Dagalo promised his fighters that the army “will not enjoy the General Command for long, nor will they enjoy the Signal Corps.”
“We must think of what we intend to take,” he added.
Appearing behind a desk in military fatigues, with a camouflage scarf wrapped around his neck, the RSF leader said “we expelled them (from Khartoum), and we will expel them again.”
Dagalo has remained out of sight for most of the war, with his rare addresses usually delivered via voice message on social media.
His troops early in the war conquered much of Khartoum and pushed south. They still control almost all of Sudan’s vast western Darfur region.
Army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan — Dagalo’s former ally before they fell out in a power struggle — on Sunday visited his troops at the General Command, which is near central Khartoum and the airport.
His push into RSF-controlled Khartoum North, also known as Bahri, enabled the army’s biggest victory since it regained Omdurman, the third district of the capital, around a year ago.
According to an army source, who was not authorized to speak to the media, fighting continued Friday for the Kafouri neighborhood in eastern Bahri.
This month, the United States sanctioned both Hemeti and Burhan, accusing the former of genocide and the latter of attacking schools, markets and hospitals, as well as using food deprivation as a weapon of war.
Istanbul opposition mayor slams ‘judicial harassment’
- Ekrem Imamoglu: ‘We are experiencing the highest level of judicial harassment in Istanbul’
- He is accused of threatening, insulting and targeting an official and attempting to influence fair trial
ISTANBUL: Istanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, condemned on Friday what he described as “judicial harassment” targeting him, as thousands of supporters demanded justice outside the court.
Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, spoke after giving a statement in connection with two investigations opened against him earlier this month.
He is also fighting several other legal cases.
“We are experiencing the highest level of judicial harassment in Istanbul,” he told the crowds, standing on the roof of a bus after leaving Istanbul’s Caglayan court.
Imamoglu, who belongs to the main opposition CHP party and was re-elected mayor last year, vowed not to give up.
“We will keep on fighting against injustice,” he said.
His statement on Friday was in connection with two investigations into remarks he made about Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor and about a court-appointed expert witness involved in cases against CHP-run local councils.
He is accused of threatening, insulting and targeting an official and attempting to influence fair trial.
In his statement to the prosecutor, a copy of which was seen by AFP, Imamoglu denied all the allegations, saying he was simply exercising his right to free speech.
“There was no threat or targeting in my words. What I said was freedom of expression,” he said.
“Freedom of expression is a constitutional right… (which) includes the right to criticize judicial authorities and the way they function,” he said.
Addressing the huge crowd, Imamoglu said there was a “conspiracy” against him.
Ankara’s opposition mayor Mansur Yavas, who was there to support him, accused the government of turning Turkiye into an “open prison.”
Turkish authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers and elected political representatives, especially since the failed 2016 coup.
An Istanbul court on Thursday ordered the arrest of an opposition TV journalist for broadcasting an interview the authorities allege was conducted without the consent of the interviewee — none other than the court-appointed expert Imamoglu had criticized.
Among the crowd, some supporters wore Imamoglu face masks while others waved banners. There was a significant police presence.
“The government is trying to limit the space for opponents, including journalists, and intimidate them with unfair accusations,” said Fethi Kocaer, 71, holding a banner reading: “We will fight together.”
“Mayor Imamoglu’s courage and strong stance will help unite us. We will not give up but will step up the fight against injustice,” he said.
Fevziye Yalcin, 57, said the cases against Imamoglu were meaningless.
“It just makes us even stronger in our desire to fight them. We will hold the government to account at the ballot box,” she said defiantly.
“Imamoglu will never walk alone.”
EU restarts Rafah border crossing mission, says foreign policy chief Kallas
- ‘The EU’s civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah Crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis’
- The crossing would now be run by members of the Palestinian Authority and European monitors
BRUSSELS: The European Union has restarted its civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, a key entry and exit point for the Palestinian territory, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday.
Kallas announced on Monday that there was broad agreement among member states’ foreign ministers that the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) could play a “decisive role” in supporting the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas group that administers Gaza.
“The EU’s civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah Crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis. It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care,” she posted on X.
Palestinian and Hamas officials said the crossing would now be run by members of the Palestinian Authority and European monitors.
It will be opened for 50 injured militants and 50 wounded civilians, along with individuals escorting them, according to the officials, who said a further 100 people, most likely students, would be allowed through on humanitarian grounds.
A civilian EU mission to help monitor the crossing began work in 2005 but was suspended in June 2007 as a result of Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip.
In its standby mode, the mission had 10 international and eight local staff.
Italy has said it will send seven paramilitary Carabinieri officers to join the Rafah mission in addition to two Italians already there, while Germany’s interior and foreign ministries are discussing sending a German contingent.
Any forced halt of UNRWA’s work would jeopardize Gaza ceasefire, agency says
- For now, its work in Gaza and elsewhere continues despite an Israeli ban that was due to take effect on Jan. 30
GENEVA: The UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said on Friday that if its humanitarian work in Gaza is forced to halt, it would put a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas at risk.
The agreement has paused a 15-month-old war between Israel and Gaza’s rulers Hamas that has decimated the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destabilized the Middle East.
The deal has allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid and enabled the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails.
“If UNRWA is not allowed to continue to bring and distribute supplies, then the fate of this very fragile ceasefire is going to be at risk and is going to be in jeopardy,” Juliette Touma, director of communications of UNRWA, told a Geneva press briefing.
For now, its work in Gaza and elsewhere continues despite an Israeli ban that was due to take effect on Jan. 30, she added.
However, she said that its Palestinian staff located in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing difficulties, citing examples of stone-throwing and hold-ups at checkpoints.
“They face an exceptionally hostile environment as a fierce disinformation campaign against UNRWA continues,” she said.
