Tag: Israel

  • IDF ‘accidentally’ killed three Israeli hostages

    IDF ‘accidentally’ killed three Israeli hostages

    Israeli troops “mistakenly” killed three Israeli hostages in the course of combat with Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

    The incident took place in Shejaiye, a densely populated area in northern Gaza.

    Israeli forces “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat,” the military said in a statement. “As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed.”

    “During searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a briefing on Friday.

    “Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.”

    Identified as Samer Talalka, Yotam Haim and Alon Shimriz, these captives were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.

    The three are believed to have escaped their captors or had been “left behind” because of the fighting in the area, Hagari explained what the IDF so far believes.

    Israeli soldiers are now being instructed to “exercise additional caution” when confrontating people in civilian clothes, another IDF spokesperson, Jonathan Conricus, said.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deemed the incident as an “unbearable tragedy”, adding that Israel will “learn the lessons” of the incident.

    “Along with all the people of Israel, I bow my head with deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped,” he said.

  • After losing his family, Wael Dahdouh targeted in Israeli attack

    After losing his family, Wael Dahdouh targeted in Israeli attack

    Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh is currently in critical condition after being targeted by Israel in a reported targeted attack while he was covering news near Haifa school in Khan Younis.

    Another journalist was also reportedly severely injured in the attack. On October 25, Wael Aldahdouh, one of the most prolific journalists in Gaza, buried his wife, son, daughter, and grandson, who had been killed in an Israeli air raid that hit the house they were sheltering in.

  • CNN’s Clarissa Ward first Western reporter to enter Gaza without Israeli supervision

    CNN’s Clarissa Ward first Western reporter to enter Gaza without Israeli supervision

    CNN’s chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward has become the first Western journalist to have gone into the Gaza Strip without the Israel Defense Forces’ supervision, reporting from sight what she deemed “absolute horror.”

    Ward entered the besieged strip on Wednesday with UAE medical volunteers and visited a field hospital setup by the Gulf country.

    “Even in that brief window, you really got a sense of the absolute horrors that have been taking place in Gaza,” she said speaking to CNN.

    “I can honestly say I don’t think we’ve ever seen it quite on this scale.” she expressed while reviewing the destruction she witnessed.

    International coverage of Gaza depends on reports from Palestinian journalists, aid teams, health workers, and social media because of Israel’s entry bans.

    As of yet, at least 63 journalists have been killed since October 7 in Israeli airstrikes.

    Ward was initially accused of staging a video in which she can be seen trying to seek a safe place from attacks during live coverage near the Israel-Gaza border. CNN, however, rebutted these assertions, contending the authenticity of the video.

  • Huda Beauty’s founder willing to risk her business for truth and justice

    Huda Beauty’s founder willing to risk her business for truth and justice

    Huda Kattan, the founder of Huda Beauty, posted a video on December 11, stating that she will “not be intimidated” by the backlash she has faced for speaking up against Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

    “I am speaking on behalf of humanity, and I will not be intimidated,” Kattan said in her video.

    “We can’t be afraid to lose anything; we have to trust the process. If we lose something, something else will come to us the right way because we are doing good work — I believe that wholeheartedly,” she said.

    She also asserted that she is willing to risk her business for what’s right and fair.

    “I am willing to risk my entire business, everything that I have on that, in search of the truth and justice,” Kattan stressed.

    “I’m not antisemitic; I’m not anti any people and never will be. I stand against that,” Kattan added, pointing at the attempts being made to redefine terms related to genocide and that Israel is jeopardizing Jewish people.

    @hudaheidi #freepalestine #fyp #foryou @Huda Beauty @Huda ♬ كلام عينيه – شيرين

  • Turkish member of parliament suffers heart attack during speech

    Turkish member of parliament suffers heart attack during speech

    Turkish member of parliament Hasan Bitmez suffered a heart attack while delivering a passionate speech against the government’s policy towards Israel, reports Al-Jazeera.

    Hasan, 54, collapsed in the parliament while addressing the House. He was taken to a hospital in Ankara where he died two days later, on Thursday. He was a member of the Islamist Saadet Partisi or Felicity Party.

    In his speech, Hasan called out President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government for the duplicity of its policies, “You allow ships to go to Israel, and you shamelessly call it trade. … You are Israel’s accomplice.” He criticised Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in his speech on Tuesday and raised a poster on the podium that said, “Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP.”

    Hasan delivered a 20-minute-long speech before collapsing where he warned the President by saying, “Even if you escape the torment of history, you will not be able to escape the wrath of God.” He was immediately given first-aid after the coronary episode.

    Hasan, a prominent figure of the opposition, graduated from Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, worked for Islamic nongovernmental groups and was chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research.

    His speech accused the government of continuing friendly economic relations with Israel during its assault on Gaza, which has killed nearly 19,000 Gazans.

    As he delivered the speech, he was mocked by AK Party members.

  • Can the US Veto in UN be bypassed to end Gaza genocide? Here’s how you can help

    Can the US Veto in UN be bypassed to end Gaza genocide? Here’s how you can help

    The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution on Friday, December 8, backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. In this emergency meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99, a rare move to force a vote on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where two million people are displaced and more than 18,000 people have been killed.

    The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

    The US is facing criticism from all over the world and domestic backlash, but there is a way to sign a petition to appeal to the respective ambassador to the UN asking them to invoke article 377 A to get around the US Veto and call for a permanent ceasefire.

    What is Article 377 A?

    The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 377 A is known as the ‘Uniting for Peace Resolution’ states that in any case where the Security Council, because of a lack of unanimity among its five permanent members (P5) fails to act as required to maintain international security and peace, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately and may issue appropriate recommendations to the UN members for collective measures, including the use of armed forces when necessary, to maintain or restore international security and peace.

    How is this done?

    Using social media is effective but there are other concrete ways to invoke Article 377 A.

    This can be done by writing to the UN Ambassador to demand they invoke UNGA’s resolution 377A.

    A copy of the email needs to be sent to the undesa@un.org and inquiries2@un.org

    The petition has to be signed and available on the @call2actionnow page.

    Here’s the link to the petition for Pakistan: https://chng.it/qdb9VVqtwt

  • Yemenis turn captured Israeli-linked cargo ship into tourist attraction for locals

    Yemen’s Houthi movement has lately attacked and captured a number of Israeli-linked ships crossing through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait — a pathway for the world’s oil shipment.

    Among the captured ships was an Israeli-linked cargo ship known as Galaxy Leader.

    Yemenis are now utilising the ship as a tourist spot for the locals.

    Visitors can be seen enjoying themselves as they dance, make videos and take pictures.

    Houthis have been targeting Israeli-linked ships following the failure of the international community to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza where more than 18,000 people have been killed because of heavy Israeli attacks and blockade of humanitarian aid.

  • Did Taylor Swift attend a comedy show raising money for Gaza?

    Did Taylor Swift attend a comedy show raising money for Gaza?

    Taylor Swift attended a fundraising comedy show hosted by Rami Youssef in New York on Friday.

    Other celebrities present at the event include Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, Anya Taylor Joy and Zoë Kravitz.

    The show was a part of Youssef’s More Feelings tour and Friday’s event was sold out while its profits are reportedly to go in aid for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza through American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA).

    Earlier this month, when Time magazine revealed Taylor Swift as person of the year, criticism poured in from across social media as people asserted that it is the journalists from Gaza who deserve to grace the cover page.

    Journalists in Gaza have been risking their lives and reporting from ground, unveiling Israeli atrocities being committed against Palestine. On the other hand, Taylor Swift is among the many famous, highly influential celebrities who has not spoken a single word in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza nor condemned Israeli attacks.

  • Julia Fox, Penelope Cruz join the call for a ceasefire strike, Fox switches sides after signing Gal Gadot letter supporting Israel

    Julia Fox, Penelope Cruz join the call for a ceasefire strike, Fox switches sides after signing Gal Gadot letter supporting Israel

    Palestinian activists and organisations across the world called for a global strike on Monday, December 11, to demand immediate ceasefire of the Israeli attacks on Gaza that have intensified with time.

    Here are some celebrities who posted in support of Gaza:

    1. Angelina Jolie

    2. Julia Fox

    Previously, Fox had signed a petition by shared by Gal Gadot in support of Gaza. Now, however, she joined the call for Global Strike for Palestine.

    3. Penelope Cruz

  • Journalist in Gaza killed by an Israeli sniper

    Journalist in Gaza killed by an Israeli sniper

    Bisan, a reporter from Gaza, announced the death of another journalist, Mohamed Abu Samra, who has been killed by an Israeli sniper.

    Only days before his death, his twin brother Ahamad was killed in an air strike that targeted their home.

    As of December 10, the Committee to Protect Journalist’s preliminary investigations documented that at least 63 journalists and media workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7.