TUNIS: Tunisia’s coast guard on Monday recovered the bodies of eight African refugees who drowned after their boat sank off the country’s coast as it tried to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe. a security official told Reuters, adding that 29 other people were rescued.
The vessel sank in waters off the city of Abwabed near Sfax, a departure point often used by African migrants. Search operations were underway for survivors and 29 had been found alive, national guard officer Houssem Eddine Jebabli said. The refugees were “all foreigners,” including some from sub-Saharan Africa and others of different nationalities, he said.
Tunisia is grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis and has replaced Libya as a major departure point for both Tunisians and others in Africa seeking a better life in Europe. It is a key transit country for thousands of sub-Saharan refugees seeking to reach Europe by sea each year, with Italy’s island of Lampedusa only 150 kilometers away.
This month authorities began dismantling informal camps near Sfax holding thousands of migrants, mainly from Sub-Saharan African countries. With the EU’s mounting efforts to curb migrant arrivals, many refugees feel stranded in Tunisia.
Tunisia signed a $290 million deal with the EU In 2023, nearly half of it earmarked for tackling irregular migration. The deal, strongly supported by Italy’s hard-right government, aimed to bolster Tunisia's capacity to prevent boats leaving its shore.
Frontex, the EU's border agency, has said that irregular border crossings were down 64 percent last year until September for the central Mediterranean route.
Tragedy as another refugee boat sinks in the Mediterranean
https://arab.news/8cfbx
Tragedy as another refugee boat sinks in the Mediterranean
- Tunisia’s coast guard recovers bodies of eight African victims from sea, 29 survive
How many hostages are left in Gaza?
The Israeli military identified them as Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19. All three were killed during the initial attack and their bodies were taken into Gaza. Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son’s remains were returned on what would have been Yonatan’s 23rd birthday.
The military did not provide details about the operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is committed to returning the remaining hostages even as it wages a new military campaign against Iran.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 55,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Here are details on the hostages:
Total hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023: 251
Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4, including 2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war
Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 148, of whom 8 were dead
Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 49
Hostages rescued alive: 8
Hostages still in captivity: 50, of whom Israel believes 27 are dead. Netanyahu has said there are “doubts” about the fate of several more.
The hostages in captivity include four non-Israelis: 2 Thais and 1 Tanzanian who have been confirmed dead, and a Nepalese captive.
Israel, US crossed ‘very big red line’ with attack: Iranian FM
- Abbas Araghchi also said that he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin
ISTANBUL: The US and Israel crossed a major red line in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, just hours after a US strike on its nuclear facilities.
“There is no red line that they have not crossed. And the last one, and the most dangerous one, happened only last night. They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities,” he said.
Araghchi also said that he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday following the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“I’m going to Moscow this afternoon” and will hold “serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow” morning, Araghchi said at a press conference in Istanbul on the sidelines of an OIC summit.
Iran missile barrage hits three areas in Israel, 23 hurt
- Public broadcaster KAN 11 showed images of a devastated building surrounded by mounds of rubble
JERUSALEM: Three areas of Israel including coastal hub Tel Aviv were hit Sunday morning during waves of Iranian missile attacks, with at least 23 people injured, according to rescue services and police.
Several buildings were heavily damaged in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv, with holes torn in the facades of apartment blocks.
“Houses here were hit very, very badly,” Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters at the scene. “Fortunately, one of them was slated for demolition and reconstruction, so there were no residents inside.
“Those who were in the shelter are all safe and well. The damage is very, very extensive, but in terms of human life, we are okay.”
The Israeli police said in a statement that they had been deployed to at least two other impact sites, one in Haifa in the north and another in Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv.
A public square in a residential area of Haifa was left strewn with rubble and surrounding shops and homes have been heavily damaged, AFP photos showed.
Eli Bin, the head of Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom, told reporters that a total of 23 people had been wounded nationwide in the attacks, with “two in moderate condition and the rest lightly injured.”
Two waves of missiles were launched at Israel from around 7:30 am (0430 GMT), the Israeli military said.
Sirens rang across the country, with air defenses activated shortly afterwards, causing loud explosions heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israeli police reported “the fall of weapon fragments” in a northern area encompassing the port of Haifa, where local authorities said emergency services were heading to an “accident site.”
Reporting on missile strikes is subject to strict military censorship rules in Israel, but at least 50 impacts have been officially acknowledged nation-wide and 25 people have been killed since the war began with Iran on June 13, according to official figures.
Tel Aviv, the southern city of Beersheba and the northern port of Haifa have been the three areas most frequently targeted by Iran.
Israel’s sophisticated air defenses have intercepted more than 450 missiles along with around 1,000 drones, according to the latest figures from the Israeli military.
Additional US embassy staff left Iraq due to ‘regional tensions’: US official
- The departures were a continuation of a process that started last week
- The embassy and the consulate remain operational
BAGHDAD: More personnel from the United States diplomatic mission departed Iraq over the weekend as part of ongoing efforts to reduce embassy staffing amid “regional tensions,” a US official said Sunday after Washington attacked Iranian nuclear sites.
“As part of our ongoing effort to streamline operations, additional personnel departed Iraq on June 21 and 22,” the US official told AFP.
The departures were a continuation of a process that started last week “out of an abundance of caution and due to heightened regional tensions,” he added.
The embassy and the consulate remain operational.
Earlier on Sunday, Washington joined Israel’s war with Tehran as President Donald Trump announced US strikes on Iran’s main nuclear sites.
Iran had threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out.
Fears are growing in Iraq over a possible intervention by Iran-backed armed factions, who have threatened Washington’s interests in the region if it were to join Israel in its war against Iran.
Iraq, which has for years been navigating a delicate balancing act between Tehran and Washington, has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.
Airlines keep avoiding Middle East airspace after US operation in Iran
- Choose other routings such as north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia
- New flight paths result in higher fuel and crew costs and longer flight times
Airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East on Sunday after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges.
“Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week,” FlightRadar24 said on social media platform X.
Its website showed airlines were not flying in the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. They have chosen other routings such as north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, even if it results in higher fuel and crew costs and longer flight times.
READ: Trump tells Iran ‘peace or tragedy’ in special address after main nuclear sites bombed
Missile and drone barrages in an expanding number of conflict zones globally represent a high risk to airline traffic.
Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, carriers have suspended flights to destinations in the affected countries, though there have been some evacuation flights from neighboring nations and some bringing stranded Israelis home.
Israel’s two largest carriers, El Al Israel Airlines and Arkia, said on Sunday they were suspending rescue flights that allowed people to return to Israel until further notice. El Al said it would also extend its cancelation of scheduled flights through June 27.
Israel’s airports authority said the country’s airspace was closed for all flights, but land crossings with Egypt and Jordan remained open.
Japan’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan. It said it was the second such evacuation since Thursday and that it would conduct further evacuations if necessary.
New Zealand’s government said on Sunday it would send a Hercules military transport plane to the Middle East on standby to evacuate New Zealanders from the region.
It said in a statement that government personnel and a C-130J Hercules aircraft would leave Auckland on Monday. The plane would take some days to reach the region, it said.
The government was also in talks with commercial airlines to assess how they may be able to assist, it added.
