DEIR AL-BALAH: Israel struck a hospital in northern Gaza early Sunday, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified.
The pre-dawn strike hit Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, after Israel issued an evacuation warning, according to Gaza’s ministry of health. One patient, a girl, died during the evacuation because medical staff were unable to provide urgent care, it said.
Strikes on Palm Sunday
The hospital is run by the Diocese of Jerusalem, which condemned the attack in a statement, saying it happened on “Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week, the most sacred week of the Christian year.” Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Israel said it struck a command and control center used by Hamas at the hospital to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, without providing evidence. It said prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm, including issuing warnings, and using precise munitions and aerial surveillance.
In a statement Sunday, Hamas denied the allegations that the hospital was used by militants and called for an independent international investigation.
Hours later, a separate strike on a car in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, killed at least seven people — six brothers and their friend — according to staff at the morgue of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. The brothers, of whom the youngest was 10, were buried in Deir Al-Balah.
Their father, Ibrahim Abu Mahadi, said his sons worked for a charity that distributes food to Palestinians in Gaza. “For what sin were they killed?” he said.
Associated Press reporters saw the mangled, bloodied car after the attack as relatives wept over the bodies.
Other strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis killed at least three people, according to staff at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
The Israeli military also said they targeted another command and control center in the area of Deir Al-Balah when many Hamas militants were present and planning to carry out an attack against Israeli soldiers. This was not connected to the strike on the car in the same area, which the army said it was looking into.
In the last 24 hours, Gaza’s health ministry said that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.
The war started after Hamas killed 1,200 people during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, mostly civilians, and took 250 people captive, many of whom were eventually freed in ceasefire deals.
More than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have so far been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the health ministry there, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children.
Israel expands across Gaza
The strikes came hours after Israel’s defense minister said that military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza and that people would have to evacuate from “fighting zones.” Israel also announced Saturday the completion of the Morag corridor, cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, with the military saying it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.
Israeli authorities have vowed to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, and accept proposed new ceasefire terms.
The director of Al-Ahli Hospital, Dr. Fadel Naim, said they were warned of the attack before it was struck. In a post on X, he wrote that the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, impacting more than 100 patients and dozens of medical staff.
The health ministry said the strike destroyed the ward for outpatients and laboratories and damaged the emergency ward.
Images of the aftermath showed the hospital’s caved-in cement roof, surrounded by debris. Dr. Munir Al-Boursh, the health ministry’s director general called the evacuation frightening, with people carried out into the streets in hospital beds.
“It was very scary for the patients ... we did not know what happened,” he said. The health ministry said patients have since been transferred to three other hospitals in Gaza City, including Shifa, Al-Quds and the Red Crescent Field Hospital.
The aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians said this was the fifth attack on the hospital since the war began.
Medical facilities often come under fire in wars, but combatants usually depict such incidents as accidental or exceptional, since hospitals enjoy special protection under international law. In its 18-month campaign in Gaza, Israel has stood out by carrying out an open campaign on hospitals, besieging and raiding them, some several times, as well as hitting multiple others in strikes while accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters.
Last month Israel struck Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city, the largest in southern Gaza, killing two people and wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s health ministry said. The facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel ended the ceasefire with a surprise wave of airstrikes.
Israel intensifies strikes across Gaza on Palm Sunday, targets hospital in territory’s north
https://arab.news/c726k
Israel intensifies strikes across Gaza on Palm Sunday, targets hospital in territory’s north
- Separate strike on a car in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza killed at least seven people — six brothers and their friend
- Their father, Ibrahim Abu Mahadi, said his sons worked for a charity that distributes food to Palestinians in Gaza
Detained Palestinian activist in Vermont prison says he’s ‘in good hands,’ focused on peacemaking
The US Justice Department has not said why he’s being detained
VERMONT, USA: A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University and was recently arrested during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship says he’s “in good hands” at the Vermont prison where he is being held.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident, was arrested April 14 in Colchester, Vermont. He met Monday with US Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, a Democrat, who posted it on X.
“I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said in Welch’s video. “This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country, because I believe in the principles of this country.”
Welch’s office said Mahdawi was being detained at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont. His case is scheduled for a status conference Wednesday. His lawyers have called for his release.
The US Justice Department has not said why he’s being detained. The New York Times reported April 15 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote a memo that says Mahdawi’s activities could “potentially undermine” the Middle East peace process.
“We do not comment on on any ongoing litigation,” the State Department press office said in response to an email seeking comment.
Rubio has cited a rarely used statute to justify the deportation of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. It gives Rubio power to deport those who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
An immigration judge ruled April 11 that Khalil can be forced out of the country as a national security risk, after lawyers argued the legality of deporting the activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. His lawyers plan to appeal.
Mahdawi said that in studying for his citizenship test, he learned “that the freedom of speech and religion and assembly is guaranteed to everyone in the United States, which is part of the foundation of this country.”
Mahdawi said his work “has been centered on peacemaking.”
“My empathy, as I mentioned before, extends beyond the Palestinian people and my empathy extends to the Jews and to the Israelis,” he said. “And my hope and my dream is to see this conflict, if one might say, to see an end to the war, an end to the killing, to see a peaceful resolution between Palestinians and Israelis. How could this be a threat to anybody, except the war machine that is feeding this?”
Welch responded, “It would be good for everybody for us to have peace.”
Mahdawi said, “I want to tell everyone that I feel so loved and so supported. And I am here in good hands. I am centered, I am clear, I am grounded. And I don’t want you to worry about me.”
According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall.
As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024.
Man missing after reported shark attack off Israel’s coast
- Shark attacks have not been reported in Israel for decades
- Police spokesman Aryeh Doron said that “several findings have been sent for examination“
HADERA, Israel: Israeli police have been searching for a man reported missing following a suspected shark attack off the country’s Mediterranean coast, the force said on Tuesday.
Shark attacks have not been reported in Israel for decades.
Police spokesman Aryeh Doron said that “several findings have been sent for examination,” without specifying the nature of the recovered evidence.
Search operations continued Tuesday in the southeastern Mediterranean, near the area of the central city of Hadera where the swimmer had disappeared.
“The search area is very large, very complex, especially due to the danger posed by diving near sharks,” said Doron Elmashali, commander of the fire and rescue unit involved in the operation.
He said underwater cameras were being used in the operation.
Emergency organizations Magen David Adom and Zaka on Monday said they had been informed of a man’s disappearance off the coast near Hadera, after witnesses said he had been attacked by a shark.
An AFP journalist at the site saw shark silhouettes with dorsal fins breaking through the water’s surface.
Israeli media have broadcast several videos in recent days showing sharks swimming near bathers, including children. One video appears to show a swimmer being attacked.
Police said Tuesday that a ban on entering the sea along large stretches of the coast would remain in effect.
Shark attacks in the calm waters of the Mediterranean are rare, but shark sightings, particularly off the coast of Hadera, are well documented, as dozens are known to gather near the local power station in winter months.
The plant uses sea water to cool its turbines, then discharges the warm water which is believed to attract sandbar and dusky sharks.
Although these species can grow to several meters in length, they are generally not aggressive toward humans.
The seasonal shark population off Hadera has increased in recent years, likely due to the expansion of the power plant and the implementation of legislation prohibiting their capture.
The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority and the Israeli diving association have issued warnings urging divers drawn by the presence of the sharks not to approach them.
Oman, China discuss strategic relations in political, economic sectors
- China commended Oman’s role ‘in promoting the settlement of regional hotspot issues’
- Two sides discussed their bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields
LONDON: Oman and China held the 14th round of strategic consultations in Beijing to deepen their political, economic and cultural cooperation this week.
Khalifa Ali Al-Harthy, the undersecretary of the Omani foreign ministry for political affairs, and Liu Bin, the Chinese assistant minister of foreign affairs, led their respective delegations.
The two sides discussed their bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields on Monday, exploring ways to enhance strategic relations, the Oman News Agency reported.
Special Envoy Zhai Jun, of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, said that the strategic partnership between Beijing and Muscat had continued to develop steadily, with successful cooperation in various fields.
“China appreciates the important role played by Oman in promoting the settlement of regional hotspot issues and easing regional tensions,” Jun said, according to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.
Khalifa met Jun and Zhang Xiaoqiang, executive vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the ONA reported.
Nasser Mohammed Al-Busaidi, the Omani ambassador to China, and Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Hosni, head of the Asia and Pacific Department at the Foreign Ministry, attended the consultations session.
Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties
- Jafar Hassan’s comments follow arrest of 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seizures of missiles, explosives and firearms
- ‘Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests’ and there is no tolerance for ‘subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,’ he says
LONDON: Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan cautioned on Tuesday against acts of “political opportunism” and any activities that might undermine public safety.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Ajloun, he said: “The Jordanian state’s forbearance cannot be subjected to testing, nor can any entity prevail against it through performative displays or populist demagoguery, or jeopardize public welfare for any cause whatsoever,” the Jordan News Agency reported.
“Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests” and there is “no space for external loyalties or subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,” he added.
“Within Jordan’s borders, sovereignty is exclusively vested in constitutional legitimacy, with authority concentrated solely in state institutions and our independent judiciary.”
The prime minister’s comments came a week after Jordanian authorities said they foiled a series of plots that threatened the country’s national security. They arrested 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seized weapons including missiles, explosives and firearms.
Hassan said national unity is essential to the country’s strength and any attempt to compromise it “constitutes direct opposition to Jordan’s national interests and its citizenry.”
Syria arrests Assad-era officer accused of ‘war crimes’: ministry
- The statement accused Tinawi of involvement in “committing war crimes against civilians, including a massacre” in the Damascus countryside in 2016
DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said Tuesday they had arrested a former officer in the feared security apparatus of ousted ruler Bashar Assad, the latest such announcement as the new government pursues ex-officials accused of atrocities.
The interior ministry announced in a statement that security forces in the coastal province of Latakia had arrested the “criminal brigadier-general Sultan Al-Tinawi,” saying he was a key officer in the air force intelligence, one of the Assad family’s most trusted security agencies.
The statement accused Tinawi of involvement in “committing war crimes against civilians, including a massacre” in the Damascus countryside in 2016.
It said he was responsible for “coordinating between the leadership of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and a number of sectarian groups in Syria.”
Tinawi has been referred to the public prosecution for further investigation, the statement said.
A security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that Tinawi held senior administrative positions in the air force intelligence when Jamil Hassan was head of the notorious agency.
Hassan has been sentenced in absentia in France for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, while the United States has accused him of “war crimes,” including overseeing barrel bomb attacks on Syrian people that killed thousands of civilians.
Tinawi had been “head of the information branch of the air force intelligence” before Assad’s ouster late last year, the security source told AFP, describing the branch as “one of the most powerful and secret security agencies in the country.”
Since taking power in December, Syria’s new authorities have announced a number of arrests of Assad-era security officials.
Assad fled to Moscow with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom have reportedly fled to neighboring countries or taken refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority community.
