Sanctions on settlers not enough: Target Israeli gov’t, say campaigners
Israeli settlers and far-right ministers have been slapped with new Western sanctions. But human rights groups and Palestinian campaigners say the measures fail to address systemic state complicity in the occupation of Palestinian territories. While the latest actions have been framed as a decisive stand against settler violence, political analysts and legal experts argue that isolating individual actors serves to deflect from the lack of broader institutional penalties against the Israeli government itself. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list On June 9, 2026, the United Kingdom, alongside Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Norway, announced coordinated sanctions against networks financing and executing settler violence. The UK targeted six entities and one individual, while France banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, three settler group leaders, and 21 settlers from entering the country. Smotrich and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have been censored by several European countries previously for their rhetoric against Palestinians and support for settler violence. ‘Too little, too late’ Critics point out that the limited scope of the sanctions does not match the scale of the crisis. Jennifer Larbie, Christian Aid’s head of UK influencing, described the decision to sanction so few entities as “derisory” and a clear example of the UK government doing “too little too late” while Palestinians are forced from their land. This sentiment was echoed by Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative. He told Al Jazeera Arabic that Western leaders are facing unprecedented public backlash for their ties to Israel. Advertisement “These governments are trying to cover up their shortcomings with low-value measures,” Barghouti said, arguing that the sanctions reflect a need to manage public anger rather than a genuine shift in state policy. He stressed that the Israeli government itself is the entity that plans, funds, and executes settlement expansion. Israel has undermined the Oslo Accords, which called for the freezing of settlements. At the time of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, some 250,000 settlers lived in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlement population has now grown to more than 700,000, while some three million Palestinians live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Despite international legal obligations – and a July 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion explicitly stating that all states are under an obligation not to recognise or assist Israel’s illegal occupation – the European Union has largely failed to implement a blanket ban on trade with settlement-based entities. While EU guidelines state that agreements with Israel do not apply to the occupied territories, member states have routinely stopped short of imposing binding economic embargoes, allowing goods produced on stolen Palestinian land to continually enter European markets. Products such as Medjool dates, avocados, wines and cosmetics, among others produced in the occupied West Bank settlements, are exported to Europe. Shielding the architects By focusing on individual settler outposts or far-right figures like Israeli ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, Western states risk creating a false distinction between “extremist” settlers and the Israeli state apparatus. Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s crisis response manager, stated that targeting settler financing networks while ignoring the ministers who are running settler campaigns is not meaningful accountability. “It leaves the architects untouched,” Benedict said, calling on the UK to sanction Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and other senior officials. Netanyahu and Gallant face International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants for war crimes. An inquiry by the United Nations has previously found that Israeli authorities were directly involved in settler attacks that have killed, injured, and displaced Palestinians, with Israeli forces actively providing protection. Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have long track records of inciting violence and expanding the occupation. Following a deadly settler rampage in the Palestinian town of Huwara in early 2023, Smotrich notoriously declared that the village should be “wiped out” by the Israeli state. Advertisement Furthermore, Smotrich has used his dual role in the Defence Ministry to quietly transfer administrative powers over the West Bank from the military to civilian control, a move legal experts describe as de facto annexation. Meanwhile, Ben-Gvir has personally distributed thousands of assault rifles to settler “national guard” members, and has frequently praised settlers accused of murdering Palestinians, portraying them as heroes defending Israel. Mohanad Mustafa, an academic and expert on Israeli affairs, noted that figures like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir do not regularly travel to Europe and rely primarily on political and financial ties with the United States. “These sanctions do not target the Israeli government,” Mustafa told Al Jazeera Arabic, explaining that the measures inadvertently create a comfortable narrative for Israel by portraying the extremism as isolated to specific ministers rather than a state-sponsored enterprise. For its part, Israel swiftly rejected the sanctions. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oren Marmorstein called them “disgraceful measures” and an attempt to impose a political stance regarding the “right of Jews to settle in the Land of Israel”. Under international law, Israel’s settlements built on Palestinian lands are illegal. A UN resolution in September 2024 called for an end to the occupation within a year, but Israel has failed to comply. In fact, it has doubled down and announced more settlements. Israel routinely denies that its troops protect violent settlers, claiming such acts are rogue incidents that violate military protocol. But numerous reports by media and rights groups show Israeli forces’ complicity in attacks on Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians have been jailed without trial, and Palestinians have recounted horrific abuse inside Israeli custody. The arms and trade loophole Campaigners point out that Western countries’ actions come as they continue to sell arms and engage in free trade with Israel, which faces a case of genocide at the ICJ. Most rights organisations and genocide scholars have said that Israeli actions in Gaza do constitute genocide. The UK government recently updated its business guidance to explicitly advise against economic activity in illegal settlements, but it stressed that it continues to support trade with Israel within its 1967 borders. Larbie called
US diplomat found dead in Myanmar, Thai woman in custody
The US Department of State confirms the fatality, but refuses to provide more information about the person’s death in Yangon. Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026 A United States diplomat has been found dead in Myanmar’s largest city, according to the US Department of State, and three members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman has been detained by police in connection with the investigation. The US State Department confirmed to the Associated Press news agency on Wednesday that a US diplomat serving at the US Embassy in Yangon had died. The department did not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the person’s death or its cause. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “Out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones, we have no further information to provide at this time,” it said. According to three people in the diplomatic community in Myanmar, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the case, Myanmar police are treating the death as a possible murder. They said the person was found dead two weeks ago at a hotel about 1.5 kilometres (one mile) from the US Embassy. The facility, with long-term rentals, is popular with diplomats, business people and other international visitors. Myanmar police have not publicly commented on the case. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said it has provided consular assistance to the woman in custody and notified her family, but would not comment further. Situation in Myanmar Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war that began more than five years ago when the country’s democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup. The military leadership that now governs Myanmar is estimated to control just 21 percent of the country after years of fighting against ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces. Advertisement More than 96,000 people have been killed, according to the international monitor the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). At least 3.6 million have been displaced, according to the United Nations. In April, former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to house arrest after President Min Aung Hlaing pardoned and commuted the sentences of thousands of prisoners. Suu Kyi, age 80, still has 13 years of detention remaining. Adblock test (Why?)
Bill Gates appears before Congress to testify over Epstein files
NewsFeed Microsoft founder Bill Gates appeared before Congress to voluntarily testify in a congressional probe into the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Gates said he hoped his testimony would support efforts to secure justice for victims. Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Iran strikes Bahrain and Jordan in retaliation for US attacks in Hormuz
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Strikes come after US attacked Iranian ports and islands in the Strait of Hormuz over the downing of a helicopter. Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026 Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed attacks on United States military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in retaliation for US strikes on Iranian ports and islands in the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement carried by state media on Wednesday, the IRGC said it launched drone attack on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait, as well as a long-range missile strike on an air base in Azraq, Jordan. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list It said it attacked 21 US targets and destroyed four of them, including an F-35 fighter jet hangar at the base in Jordan. It also claimed shooting down a US MQ-9 drone in the skies over the Iranian city of Jam. The latest flare-up comes after the US military attacked Qeshm Island and ports along the Iranian coast in the Strait of Hormuz after blaming Iran for the downing of a US Apache helicopter earlier on Tuesday. The IRGC said the US’s attacks had caused damage to a telecommunications tower in the town of Sirik and destroyed to water tanks there. It also warned that its forces remain fully prepared to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any US military actions, and said Washington would bear full responsibility for the consequences of further escalation. There was no immediate comment from the US. In Jordan, the military said it intercepted and shit down five missiles launched from Iran towards Azraq and said the operation “resulted in the fall of shrapnel without any human injuries or material damage”. The attacks prompted air raid alarms in Bahrain and Kuwait. Advertisement The Kuwaiti Army said earlier that it was intercepting “hostile aerial targets” in the country’s airspace, without elaborating further. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in the US, said that Iran is trying to respond “proportionately, but very harshly and swiftly against any American attack”. “Because otherwise, a new normal is established, one in which the United States can strike at Iran with more or less impunity,” Parsi told Al Jazeera. “The Iranians are trying to make clear that any attack on them would be responded to, regardless of the size and the scope,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Air Canada pilot accused of flying for 17 years without proper licence
Former airline captain charged with fraud after allegedly commanding more than 900 flights without required credentials. Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026 A former airline pilot in Canada has been arrested for allegedly flying hundreds of flights without a proper licence for nearly 17 years. Police in Peel, Ontario, said on Tuesday that they had charged former Air Canada captain Geoffrey Wall with fraud and other charges following a four-month investigation. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Peel Regional Police said Wall, 59, had used fraudulent pilot licences to command more than 900 domestic and international flights between 2009 and 2025. Police said they obtained evidence to suggest that Wall had deceived both Air Canada and civil aviation authorities about his credentials before his retirement in 2025. While Wall did hold a valid commercial pilot licence, he did not have an airline transport pilot licence, the highest level of pilot certification required to captain commercial aircraft, police said. Wall faces one count of fraud, two counts of uttering forged documents, three counts of possessing a counterfeit trademark, and one count of public mischief. Al Jazeera was unable to locate Wall’s legal representatives for comment. “This case is deeply concerning and strikes at the heart of public trust and safety, as the accused is alleged to have put hundreds of thousands of passengers at risk across more than 900 domestic and international flights,” Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a statement. Air Canada said that while it viewed the pilot’s alleged actions with “utmost seriousness”, passenger safety had not been compromised, as all pilots undergo mandatory training every six months to assess their competency, in addition to an annual flight check with a certified pilot. Advertisement The airline said that Wall had “successfully met or exceeded” his training requirements and demonstrated “a high level of competency to safely operate large aircraft”. The Canadian flag carrier also said it had found no other instances of non-compliance with licensing requirements following an audit of its pilots. “Immediately upon Air Canada’s discovery of this, the individual was removed from active duty, and the company voluntarily reported the matter to Transport Canada,” the airline said in a statement. Hassan Shahidi, a licensed pilot who heads the US-based Flight Safety Foundation nonprofit, described the charges against Wall as an “exceptionally rare case”. “If the allegations are proven, the key issue isn’t that an untrained person was flying airliners, but that this pilot bypassed a fundamental regulatory requirement for many years,” Shahidi told Al Jazeera. “The case could point to weaknesses in licence verification and oversight processes, particularly if fraudulent credentials were able to evade detection for so long.” Shahidi said that Wall’s alleged actions did not appear to have exposed passengers to the same level of risk that they would have faced if an untrained pilot were at the controls. “The larger concern is the apparent failure of a regulatory safeguard that is supposed to ensure trust in the system,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Bolivia approves military measures against nationwide protests
NewsFeed Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz has authorised military force against protesters amid the country’s worst economic crisis in 40 years, after roadblocks paralysed the nation. At least 10 people have been killed since the unrest began. Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
US lists China’s BYD, Alibaba, Baidu as ‘Chinese military companies’
The United States has designated Chinese corporate giants Alibaba, BYD and Baidu as companies that support China’s military, expanding its blacklist to some of the country’s best-known commercial brands. The Pentagon included the firms in an update on Monday that is likely to complicate the fragile detente between Washington and Beijing after years of rocky relations. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list China’s embassy in Washington, DC, condemned the listing as “discriminatory” and an example of the US government “overstretching” the concept of national security. “Chinese companies that do business overseas have been strictly observing laws and regulations of their host countries,” an embassy spokesperson said. “The US should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.” Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce company, said there was “no basis” for its inclusion on the blacklist. “Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy,” a company spokesperson said. “We will take all available legal action against attempts to misrepresent our company.” BYD and Baidu did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon’s list of “Chinese military companies,” which is updated annually, now includes 188 firms, up from 134 in 2025. Firms included on the list, which was created in 2021, and entities under their control will be barred from consideration for US defence contracts under rules set to come into effect later this month. Advertisement The Pentagon defines “Chinese military companies” as entities owned or controlled by the Chinese military, or that contribute to China’s “military civil fusion”, referring to Beijing’s strategy of melding civilian and defence-related research and innovation. Companies must also carry out some of their operations in the US to be designated. In its updated list, the Pentagon said Alibaba, BYD and Baidu supported China’s military development via their affiliations with the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Republican lawmaker John Moolenaar, who chairs the House of Representatives’ committee on strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party, said the updated list served as a warning about Chinese companies working against US national interests. “Any of them that are publicly traded on US exchanges should be immediately delisted and their products should be removed from supply chains our country depends on,” Moolenaar said in a statement. “American companies must stop doing business with these threats to our national security, otherwise they are enabling China’s military ascendance.” The expansion of the blacklist comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing for a two-day summit aimed at lowering the temperature in their countries’ years-long trade war and tech rivalry. Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD are among China’s most prominent brands, claiming the top spots in the e-commerce, internet search and electric vehicle markets, respectively. The addition of several household brands not normally associated with the defence sector mirrors last year’s designation of tech firm Tencent, the owner of the ubiquitous messaging app WeChat. Other additions to the list include RoboSense Technology, an AI and robotics company with headquarters in Shenzhen, and Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics. RoboSense Technology and Unitree Robotics did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Dennis Wilder, a national security expert who worked on China at the CIA and the White House’s National Security Council, expressed scepticism about the feasibility of implementing such a “broad-brush” blacklist. “Although it may make some US firms wary of engaging with the labelled entities, in fact, many US firms already have deep relationships with these entities that they are not going to give up unless there are real penalties attached to working commercial deals with them,” Wilder told Al Jazeera. Advertisement “Sanctions that range this widely are sanctions that don’t work. Unless the US is willing to decouple from the Chinese economy altogether, these sanctions are simply performative,” Wilder said. Adblock test (Why?)
Botswana diamond slump hits miners living on the edge of survival
Orapa, Botswana – It is a year since Motshwegwa Rakhudu lost his job after 14 years working as an installer at Debswana diamond mining operations in northern Botswana. He says he had been on rolling three-year renewable contracts with Enabler Hires (Pty) Ltd, and expected the arrangement would continue through to 2027. Instead, he was retrenched and made redundant without warning. “The shock was too much,” Rakhudu, (not his real name), told Al Jazeera. “In early 2025, I took a loan of 26,000 pula (about $1,900) to buy a car because I believed my job was secure. By mid-May, I was out of work.” He said the sudden retrenchment left him struggling with debt and household responsibilities, including school fees, with no compensation received. “Being caught unprepared has been very difficult. Jobs are scarce, and even when work is available outside mining, the pay is much lower. I am still looking for work,” he said. Rakhudu said he has considered farming or starting a small business, but lacks the capital. Selling his car, he added, would only cover the outstanding loan. “I would want to go into farming, but if I sell the car, the money will only clear the loan,” he said. Al Jazeera contacted Gaotlhobogwe Radikwata, a senior management official at Enabler Hires (Pty) Ltd, for comment on the retrenchments. “I am not going to answer your questions even if you convince me you are from Al Jazeera. Who gave you my number? I never shared my contacts with journalists. I am not at liberty to share information,” she said. Advertisement Jobs vanish as diamond production slows The retrenchments come as Botswana’s diamond sector, the backbone of its economy, slows sharply. Debswana Diamond Company, a joint venture between the government and De Beers, cut production by about 27% in 2024 to 17.9 million carats amid weak global demand, and plans further reductions to around 15 million carats in 2025. The company accounts for roughly 90% of Botswana’s diamond sales. That slowdown has rippled through the wider economy. Botswana’s output contracted by about 5.3% in the second quarter of 2025, the sharpest fall since the pandemic, driven largely by declining diamond production, according to Reuters. Diamonds account for around 70% of export earnings and roughly a third of government revenue, according to Reuters and S&P Global Ratings, which in 2025 downgraded Botswana’s sovereign credit rating to BBB-, citing sustained pressure from the global diamond downturn and weakening fiscal revenues. Household pressure builds across mining communities For workers, the impact is no longer abstract. “The diamond downturn is no longer just a business issue. It is a human issue affecting workers, families, contractors and entire mining communities,” said Mbiganyi Gaekgotswe, General Secretary of the Botswana Mineworkers Union. He said uncertainty now defines everyday life. “The first question on everyone’s mind is whether they will still have a job next year,” he said. “Will contracts be renewed? Will overtime be reduced? These are not abstract concerns. They affect school fees, loans, medical bills and family responsibilities.” Even where jobs remain, pressure is rising as wages stagnate while food and transport costs increase. Beyond diamonds: searching for new growth Restructuring has already filtered through contractors and service providers, with more workers shifted onto short-term agreements, said Dominic Obusitse Mapoka, Chairperson of the Botswana Diamond Workers Union. “Workers who remain employed are increasingly on short-term or temporary contracts,” he told Al Jazeera. “This makes it difficult for families to plan because they do not know whether contracts will be renewed.” He said many earn between $190-250 a month, while the cost of living continues to increase, with knock-on effects for small businesses tied to mining activity. Since independence in 1966, Botswana’s diamond wealth has transformed what was once among the world’s poorest countries into a middle-income economy, financing infrastructure, public services and sustained growth. Advertisement But that success has also left it heavily exposed to global shocks. The sector is now under pressure from weak demand, competition from lab-grown diamonds and reduced luxury spending in key markets, according to S&P Global Ratings. The downturn exposes the risks of economic concentration, said Levy Ndou, a political scientist at Tshwane University of Technology. “When citizens depend heavily on one sector, a fall in global demand becomes very damaging.” He called for faster diversification into agriculture and beef production, alongside stronger regional trade links. Botswana’s Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Pius Mokgware, said the government is responding by trying to absorb job losses, including expanding copper mining and opening new projects. He added that diversification efforts are also targeting agriculture, tourism and Information and Communication Technology. Minister of Minerals and Energy, Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Tshepo Modibedi, President of the Small Scale Miners Association of Botswana, said smaller operators remain largely excluded from the diamond value chain, which is dominated by large firms. While not directly involved in diamonds, the downturn still spreads through households nationwide, he said. “Lab-grown diamonds and strict regulations are challenges,” he told Al Jazeera. “But they could also be opportunities, if policy becomes more inclusive.” For Rakhudu, however, structural shifts in the global diamond market remain distant from daily survival. “I am still looking,” he said. “I just want another chance to work.” Adblock test (Why?)
Trump warns Netanyahu: ‘You’ll be on your own’ if attacks on Iran continue
United States President Donald Trump has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he might find himself fighting on his own if Israel returns to war with Iran. The warning on Monday came as Israel and Iran said they would pause attacks following their most serious escalation since a ceasefire took effect in April. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Trump, who has reportedly grown increasingly exasperated with Netanyahu, demanded that both sides stop “shooting” in a post on his Truth Social platform and said that “final negotiations” towards peace would proceed “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way”. He also called Netanyahu and told him to stop the strikes, according to media reports. In an interview with Axios, Trump said he had warned Netanyahu about the consequences of continuing the war. “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon’,” Trump said. The flare-up began on Sunday, triggered by Israel’s deadly bombardment of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Iran – which has long said any peace deal with the US depends in part on an end to the fighting in Lebanon – responded with a wave of missiles at northern Israel. Trump reportedly called Netanyahu on Sunday evening and asked him not to retaliate, but Israel launched attacks on Iran early on Monday. Israeli forces struck Iranian air defence systems and a petrochemical plant, while Iran retaliated by hitting a similar facility in Haifa and targeting two Israeli airbases. Many of the missiles were intercepted over the occupied West Bank. Advertisement No deaths were reported on either side. Israel plays down tensions The exchanges complicated Trump’s push to end a war that the US and Israel launched on February 28. A ceasefire announced on April 8 paused all-out warfare. But flare-ups in the Gulf have continued. For his part, Netanyahu said in a televised statement that he had told Trump that “Israel has a full right to self-defence, and we are exercising it as required”. “Right now, the fire at the front is contained, because after we hit the terrorist regime in Tehran, it stopped attacking us,” he said. Netanyahu also warned that should Iran “make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force”. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, downplayed reports of tension between the US and Israeli leaders, telling Fox News that “sometimes, lovers have a spat”. He said that while Netanyahu had “decided” to “lower the temperature” at Trump’s request, the US president understands “full well” that Israel cannot “absorb ballistic missiles into our country without responding.” Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, blamed Washington for the escalation. “The US is directly responsible,” he said. “They are party to the ceasefire negotiations. Therefore, any act in violation of the ceasefire, be it through the interception of vessels [in the Strait of Hormuz], the targeting of southern Lebanon by Israel, or any other event, will cause the United States to be directly responsible for the escalation in the region.” Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said the operation against Israel, dubbed “Nasr” or victory, showcased “a new level of deterrence from mighty Iran” and that Israel had been “forced to beg once again” for a ceasefire. Behind the scenes, diplomatic efforts continue. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X that Tehran was still “at the negotiating table”, while Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said that Washington and Tehran, through Pakistan as an intermediary, are “presenting and exchanging views” towards an agreement. Iravani told The Associated Press news agency he was hopeful that “very soon” the two sides would reach “a conclusion”. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said efforts for a peaceful diplomatic solution was ongoing “earnestly and painstakingly” and called for restraint, “especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved”. He also said Israel and Iran’s exchange of fire was a “reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to”. Advertisement Attacks on Lebanon continue The escalation on Monday also drew in Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The group fired missiles at Israel early in the morning and declared a complete ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, warning that all Israeli movements would be considered “legitimate military targets”. Later on Monday, air raid sirens sounded in the Israeli port city of Eilat, with the military saying a suspected aerial target was launched from Yemen. Violence has also continued in southern Lebanon. An Israeli strike killed five people in the city of Tyre, while another, in the Nabatieh district, left seven dead. A third strike in Marwanieh killed two people, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, said Trump was trying to give an impression that he was tougher on Israel than he actually is. “The words could be significant if they were matched by actions,” she told Al Jazeera. “As long as they’re sending billions of dollars directly to the Israeli military, and as long as they’re protecting Israel from being held accountable in the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, as long as those actions don’t change, the words just don’t mean very much,” she added. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Lives turned in a second’: Family of baby Sam, shot dead by Israel, grieve
Fahd Abu Haikal, 41, is still in shock at the sudden death of his seven-month-old son, who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier as he travelled through the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Friday. Sam was in the backseat of a car with his mother Dania Salameh, 28, and his brother Kinan, 11, as the father drove his mother, Ferial, 61, back to her home in Hebron, following a brief stay with the family in Bethlehem. As they approached Tel Rumeida, a Hebron neighbourhood containing a large Israeli settlement where Ferial lives, a group of soldiers appeared out of the darkness. Fahd stopped the car and raised his hands, but despite all attempts to make it clear they were not a threat, a soldier took aim and fired at the vehicle. A bullet pierced the windshield, went through Fahd’s hand, and hit Sam, who sat behind him, in the face. It killed him instantly. The same bullet that killed Sam then travelled through his mother’s jaw, leaving a fragment lodged in Dania’s body, close to her heart. Doctors decided not to remove the shrapnel, fearing an operation so close to a major artery would endanger her life. [Sari Jaradat/Al Jazeera] Fahd called an ambulance, but with blood pouring from his wife’s and son’s bodies, he could wait no longer, so he flagged down a passing car and headed to the hospital. Due to Dania’s critical condition, he waited a day before telling her that their son was dead. “After seeing the injuries, the soldiers withdrew from the scene without offering any assistance or doing anything about it,” Fahd told Al Jazeera. “We were shot with intent to kill; the soldier who shot us was on the front left side [of the vehicle].” Advertisement Fahd intends to file a case against the soldier who fired the fatal shot, but he has little hope of accountability, particularly after the steps taken by the army at the scene of the boy’s death. “After the incident, the soldiers confiscated the security camera footage from the area, but no one has contacted us about investigating the crime,” Fahd said. “My eldest son, Kinan, is in a very difficult psychological state after losing his only brother, whom he had waited for, for so long. Our lives were turned upside down in an instant.” Fahd Abu Haikal inspects the car where his seven-month-old child, Sam, was shot dead [Sari Jaradat/Al Jazeera] Ferial remembers the harrowing moment she saw her grandson killed. “When I heard the gunshots, I thought the soldiers were just warning us, but then I realised a bullet pierced the car and hit the baby,” she told Al Jazeera. “I screamed at the top of my lungs in the street, and people gathered around. I felt like I’d lost my mind when I saw the blood covering Sam’s face and clothes.” Before leaving her son’s home, Ferial filmed Sam on her phone as he sat in his stroller, exactly seven months to the day he was born. “He was a quiet, cheerful baby who didn’t cry much, was obedient, and laughed constantly,” she said. “I used to take pictures and videos of him with my phone camera so I could watch them when I got home because I always missed him so much.” Troubled neighbourhood Hebron is one of the most oppressive environments in the West Bank for Palestinians, due in part to the presence of Israeli settlers in and around the city. Israeli forces have tightened their grip over Hebron since October 7, 2023, particularly the area around the Ibrahimi Mosque and Kiryat Arba settlement, where Tel Rumeida is situated. A thousand Palestinian families there are now effectively confined to an open-air prison. An Israeli flag is set atop the Palestinian Ayoub Abdel-Basit al-Tamimi family home, which was allegedly taken over by Israeli settlers overnight, in Hebron city near the Israeli settlement area of Tel Rumeida in the occupied West Bank on March 24, 2025 [AFP] “We fear they are digging under our homes, just like they are doing in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem, so that the house will collapse and they can seize everything,” Ferial said of her experiences living in Tel Rumeida. Violence against Palestinians, including children, in Hebron is also increasing. In December, Israeli soldiers opened fire on a vehicle in the Bab al-Zawiya area of central Hebron, killing a sanitation worker and a boy. His body is still being held by Israeli authorities. Advertisement A month later, Israeli forces shot dead a 58-year-old Palestinian man as he drove in the area with his daughter and four grandchildren, wounding one of the children. Issa Amro, coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements group and a resident of Tel Rumeida, said Israeli forces have established a ring of checkpoints around the neighbourhood. Palestinians are not only prevented from entering Tel Rumeida to visit family there, but a wave of Israeli violence has also made it an unsafe place for the local population to remain. “We live in constant fear and feel like we are being targeted,” Amro said. “Anyone living in this area expects to be shot at point-blank range without any justification. We live in hell and terror, constantly fearing for ourselves and our children.” Adblock test (Why?)