Israel’s Netanyahu hints new deal under way to release Gaza hostages
The Israeli leader’s comments came after Qatar confirmed talks are on for a possible new truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made comments, suggesting that new negotiations were under way to recover hostages held by Hamas. In a televised press conference on Saturday, Netanyahu called the conflict an “existential war” that must be fought until victory, despite pressure and costs, and said Gaza would be demilitarised and under Israeli security control. His statements came a day after Israeli forces mistakenly killed three of more than 100 captives. Netanyahu said Israel’s offensive in Gaza had helped clinch a partial hostage-release deal in November and promised to maintain intense military pressure on Hamas. “The instruction I am giving the negotiating team is predicated on this pressure, without which we have nothing,” he said. Netanyahu’s comments came after the chief of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, met the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating between Israel and Hamas, and whose efforts resulted in a seven-day truce and exchange of hostages last month. Earlier on Saturday, Qatar confirmed that talks were under way for a possible new truce. Netanyahu sidestepped a question about the meeting reportedly held in Europe, but confirmed he had given instructions to the negotiating team. “We have serious criticisms of Qatar … but right now we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages,” he said. A Hamas statement later said the group “affirms its position not to open any negotiations to exchange prisoners unless the aggression against our people stops once and for all”. “The movement communicated this position to all mediators,” it added. On Friday, Israeli forces admitted to mistakenly killing three Hamas-held hostages, all in their 20s, in the Shijaiyah area of Gaza City, where the troops are engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas. Israel continues to pound Gaza, killing nearly 19,000 Palestinians since October 7. Thousands more are feared buried under rubble. Israel says at least 1,147 people were killed in the Hamas attack on its soil two months ago. The 10-week war has flattened much of northern Gaza and displaced 85 percent of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 61 asylum seekers drown after shipwreck off Libya: IOM
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, International Organization for Migration’s Libya office quotes survivors as saying the boat was carrying about 86 people. At least 61 refugees and migrants, including women and children, have drowned following a “tragic” shipwreck off Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. The organisation’s Libya office early on Sunday quoted survivors as saying the boat was carrying around 86 people. A “large number of migrants” are believed to have died because of high waves which swamped their vessel after it left from Zuwara, on Libya’s northwest coast, the IOM’s Libya office said in a statement. Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe, via Italy. In the latest incident, most of the victims – who included women and children – were from Nigeria, Gambia and other African countries, the IOM office said, adding that nearly 25 people were rescued and transferred to a Libyan detention centre. An IOM team “provided medical support” and the survivors are all in good condition, the organisation said. Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that more than 2,250 people died this year on the central Mediterranean migrant route, a “dramatic figure which demonstrates that unfortunately not enough is being done to save lives at sea”. On June 14 this year, the Adriana, a fishing boat loaded with 750 people en route from Libya to Italy, went down in international waters off southwest Greece. According to survivors, the ship was carrying mainly Syrians, Pakistanis and Egyptians. Only 104 survived and 82 bodies were recovered. More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli captives mistakenly killed in Gaza held white flag, official says
Rules of engagement breached in incident that resulted in death of three hostages, all in their 20s. Three Israeli hostages killed mistakenly in Gaza by Israeli forces were shirtless and one of them was holding up a white flag, according to an initial inquiry into the incident, a military official has said. The incident took place in an area of intense combat where Hamas fighters operate in civilian attire and use deception tactics, the Israeli official said on Saturday. A soldier saw the hostages emerging tens of metres from Israeli forces in the area of Shujayea, the official added. “They’re all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they’re terrorists, they [forces] open fire, two are killed immediately,” said the military official. The third captive was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew. “Immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there’s another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also dies,” said the official. “This was against our rules of engagement.” Mourning and anger The military on Friday identified the three as Yotam Haim, 28, and Alon Shamriz, 26, abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Samer Talalka, 25, abducted from nearby Kibbutz Nir Am, by Hamas. About 300 people turned out to mourn Talalka at his funeral on Saturday in his hometown of Hura, in southern Israel, The Associated Press news agency reported. “We had so many hopes, expectations, that he would come back to us,” his cousin, Alaa Talalka told Israel’s public broadcaster Kan. “We’re not going to start pointing fingers, who is guilty and who is not. It is just not the time,” Talalka said. “The families are thinking only of how to bring the hostages back alive. This is the time to ask for the war to end.” They were among about 240 people taken captive during Hamas’s October 7 attacks in Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Promising to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages, Israel launched a massive military offensive against the Palestinian group that has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins. The territory’s Hamas-run government says the war has killed at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of hostages as an “unbearable tragedy”. Hundreds of people are expected to gather on Saturday in Tel Aviv to call on Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of 129 hostages still held in Gaza. Several returned home during a pause in hostilities which saw the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel jails. Adblock test (Why?)
The use of explosive weapons in cities must stop
On April 15, we awoke to news that war had broken out in Sudan. From our screens, my family, our Sudanese community, and I followed media outlets and WhatsApp groups, hungry for information on what was happening overseas. We watched from afar as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces spilled into Khartoum, causing chaos, and transforming the once vibrant and familiar capital into a trail of destruction. We saw videos circulated around social media of frightened passengers cowering on the floor of the Khartoum International Airport as it came under heavy bombardment. We saw doctors wheeling their patients out of Al Shaheeda Salma hospital on stretchers and beds after it was bombed. As we watched the dissolution happening on our screens, we ran to our phones to check up on family and loved ones back home. Eight months later we are still glued to our phones as Khartoum and other parts of Sudan continue to suffer under the bombardment. As of December, the fighting had killed more than 12,000 people and displaced 6.7 million, in what the United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has called “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history”. I have watched in agony as cities have transformed into warzones and my mental image of “home” has crumbled under the barrage of rockets, artillery, and bombs. Like many other Sudanese families, we have had to mourn the deaths of loved ones from an imposed distance, including most recently my grandfather, who had lost access to health care due to the war. From the onset of the conflict, explosive weapons have destroyed homes, including my own family’s home, entire neighbourhoods, and infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, and water treatment plants. In early November, the monumental Shambat Bridge connecting Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri was bombed and destroyed. Truces that should have allowed civilians to evacuate cities under bombardment have collapsed or ended too quickly, effectively pinning civilians to their homes in precarious situations due to bombardment. Explosive weapons encompass a range of surface-fired and air-dropped weapons and other munitions, including aerial bombs, artillery and mortar projectiles, and rockets and missiles. These weapons frequently are too inaccurate, or their blast radius is too large for them to be used in populated areas without causing unlawfully indiscriminate harm. The situation in Sudan represents just one example of what happens when hostilities occur in cities. We also have Gaza, Syria, and Ukraine where we see the use of explosive weapons make cities unliveable. In Syria, recent shelling and air raids in Idlib and Aleppo have displaced more than 120,000 people, while in Ukraine, Russian forces’ air raids, rocket attacks and other munitions have hit vital ports and grain facilities and damaged schools and hospitals among other civilian infrastructure. The Israeli army’s widespread use of explosive weapons has turned Gaza, as the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put it, into a “graveyard for children”. Large parts of once densely populated neighbourhoods have been completely levelled. Palestinian armed groups have also fired thousands of rockets towards Israeli population centres. Explosive weapons not only kill and injure civilians, but they also cause massive damage to power lines, water supplies and other essential infrastructure. This damage can result in so-called reverberating, or long-lasting, effects that can cause harm for decades to come. Additionally, unexploded remnants of war present a threat to civilians during and after hostilities and prevent the safe return of refugees and displaced people. While this landscape of despair and ruin may seem inevitable, a product of 21st-century warfare, there is potential for action on a global scale to reduce the use of explosive weapons. Last year, 83 countries adopted the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, which for the first time officially recognises the need to address this issue urgently and directly. The declaration commits governments and militaries to adopt policies and rules of engagement that better protect civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It also commits them to develop new norms and standards against bombing and shelling in populated areas. Many countries whose civilians have suffered from explosive weapons in armed conflict endorsed the declaration, such as Cambodia, Central African Republic, and Palestine. It was also signed by producers and exporters of explosive weapons including France, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States. Sudan has recognised and acknowledged the harm caused by explosive weapons in populated areas, but it has yet to commit to action on the declaration in a national capacity. While the declaration is not legally binding, it is a major step in efforts to curb human suffering during armed conflict. Effective implementation and a humanitarian interpretation of the declaration is crucial and imperative to safeguarding civilians. More states need to sign the declaration and stand in solidarity with families like mine, the Sudanese people, and all those caught under the barrage of war. We should seize this moment and work to uphold the tenets of the declaration to diminish the devastating toll of explosive weapons on civilians. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
British teen ‘abducted’ by mother years ago to be repatriated from France
Alex Batty, who went missing aged 11 during a holiday in Spain, has been found in France after six years of nomadism. A British teenager who went missing six years ago and was found this week in France is set to be reunited with his family in the United Kingdom. Alex Batty, who was “abducted” by his mother at the age of 11, will be repatriated on Saturday, a prosecutor in Toulouse told the AFP news agency. He will take off for London from the southern French city “accompanied by several British police officers”, said magistrate Antoine Leroy. Batty will be returned to his maternal grandmother, with whom the British justice system entrusted his custody before he disappeared in 2017 during a holiday with his mother and grandfather in Malaga, Spain. Toulouse deputy prosecutor Antoine Leroy said on Friday the youth had spent the past two years in different areas of southern France, living in “spiritual communities” with his mother, never staying more than several months in the same place. The grandfather died about six months ago, said Leroy, adding that the boy’s mother might currently be in Finland. The teen was found in the middle of the night by a delivery driver after he had escaped and had been along a road for four days, Leroy said at a news conference on Friday evening. Greater Manchester Police GMP earlier said they were working with French authorities to bring Batty home to his grandmother. France’s BFM TV has reported a search operation was under way to find Batty’s mother. ‘Nomadic life’ Six years ago, Batty’s mother and grandfather took him on what was meant to be a two-week family holiday in Spain. Instead, it turned out to be a six-year odyssey through Morocco, Spain and southwest France, living an off-the-grid life. Now 17 years old, Batty told French investigators that he, his mother and her father had moved from house to house, carrying their own solar panels, growing their own food, living with other families, meditating and contemplating reincarnation and other esoteric subjects. “It was a nomadic life,” police officer Lea Chambonnière said at the news conference in Toulouse. “The only constants, the only things they carried with them, were the solar panels and their vegetable plants.” Batty reappeared on Wednesday, when a delivery driver found him walking alone on a remote French road and delivered him to the French police. “When his mother indicated that she intended to leave for Finland with him, this young man understood that this journey had to stop,” Leroy, the prosecutor, said. “He was never locked up,” he added. “But he was always obliged to live in these conditions.” I cannot begin to express my relief and happiness that Alex has been found safe and well,” the teen’s grandmother, Susan Caruana, said in a statement released by British police. She said they spoke by video call and “it was so good to hear his voice and see his face again”. “I can’t wait to see him.” Adblock test (Why?)
Will oil prices rise after Red Sea shipping curbs amid Houthi attacks?
Hijackings, missile strikes and drone assaults on ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have forced AP Moller-Maersk, a Danish shipping and logistics giant, and Hapag-Lloyd, a German shipping and container transportation company, to pause shipments through the Red Sea. Their decisions, announced on Friday, are a sign that major corporations are taking the security situation in the Red Sea increasingly seriously. But the consequences might also be felt by the world’s oil markets and the cost of energy that consumers need to bear – though the extent of any disruption might depend on how major global players respond to the looming crisis, said experts. Maersk said in a statement that its decision stemmed from the company’s concerns about the “highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden” over the past few weeks. Recent missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels represent a “significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers,” it said. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd together operate almost a quarter of the world’s shipping fleet. The growing insecurity in the Red Sea is a result of Israel’s war on Gaza which began on October 7. Since Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian enclave began 10 weeks ago, the Houthis have attacked at least eight ships in the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait separating Eritrea and Djibouti on one side from the Arabian Peninsula on the other. Only 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, the Bab el-Mandeb is a vital route for international trade –10 percent of the world’s seaborne crude flows through this strait – meaning any disruptions become a global problem. The Houthis have been targeting vessels which are at least partly owned by Israelis or by anyone shipping cargo to Israel via the Red Sea. In November, the group said it had taken over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, which it claimed was Israeli owned. But Israel described it as a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo vessel with no Israeli nationals on board. That ship was headed for India. The rebels, who have been in control of large parts of Yemen since 2014, have promised to continue carrying out such attacks until a full ceasefire is implemented in Gaza. This is part of a strategy aimed at raising the costs for the US and others of supporting Israel in various ways. Such hostilities also serve to demonstrate that the Houthis are a force with staying power in Yemen and an increasingly bold and determined part of the so-called “axis of resistance”. This also includes Hamas in Gaza, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Syrian government and various Syrian and Iraqi non-state actors backed by Tehran. This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen’s Houthi fighters’ takeover of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023 [Houthi Movement via Getty Images] Oil market ‘taking more notice’ There is little to suggest that the Houthi attacks will stop any time soon. What does that mean for the oil market? Colby Connelly, a senior analyst at Energy Intelligence, a Washington-based energy information company, told Al Jazeera that there has been a “fairly limited” but “not intangible” impact of these attacks on the oil market. “As these attacks have gone on, markets have taken more and more notice, so crude prices did end the week higher than they’ve been for the last couple of days or so, especially as these attacks don’t look like they’re going to stop until there’s a stronger effort to actually stop them,” he commented. As tensions heighten, it is difficult to tell where this crisis in the Red Sea is headed. “If the Bab el-Mandeb is constrained to oil traffic due to tensions in the region there is a good chance the price of oil to some places will go up due to a crisis and war premium on insurance and the products themselves,” said Paul Sullivan, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, in an interview with Al Jazeera. “Given the present circumstance, this is doubtful, but in the increased tensions in the region just about anything is possible. If it gets bad enough that all sorts of cargoes will be redirected around Africa, this could reconfigure many cargo contracts, including of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). And prices will have upward pressures. The softening of overall oil prices may mitigate that, but not for long,” added Sullivan. This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen’s Houthi fighters’ takeover of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023, in the Red Sea, Yemen [Houthi Movement via Getty Images] No discernible pattern to attacks One of the factors which makes this situation challenging is that the Houthi missile and drone attacks do not necessarily follow a discernible pattern. “The Houthis are acting in a way that makes it more difficult to determine what they’re going to do next as they do more,” said Connelly. If the Houthis were to try to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it “would have a massive impact” because of the risks in shipping insurance, the costs of alternative routes and the potential for supply disruption, among other factors, said Connelly. “But I don’t think that’s something they have the capability to do and something like that would be certain to draw a very stern response, very quickly.” Indeed, the Houthis’ disruptive actions in the Red Sea have much potential to result in significantly greater pressure on them from players such as China, India, the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Iran and Western powers. “Because of the negative impacts on its economy, China is against any interruption to global trade, especially in routes as strategic as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal. Hence, China and Iran — at China’s request — may pressure the Houthis to reduce their hostile activities in the Red Sea,” Amin Mohseni, a senior lecturer in economics at American University, told Al Jazeera. “It is important to
Israel keeps the pressure on Gaza as Qatar confirms truce talks
Attacks on Saturday heavily targeted Khan Younis in the south, where thousands have been forced to flee. The Israeli army has continued to pound areas across the Gaza Strip to devastating effect as Qatar has confirmed that talks are once more under way to evaluate if a new truce can be reached. The Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday that talks are continuing. “Qatar affirmed its ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause and expressed hope for building upon the progress made to accomplish a comprehensive and sustainable agreement that would end the war, stop the bloodshed of our Palestinian brethren, and lead to serious negotiations and the launch of a political process that yields a comprehensive, permanent, and just peace in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative,” the ministry said in a statement. The Israeli ground, air and naval forces launched attacks on the besieged enclave on Saturday, leaving many dozens dead. At least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, after Hamas launched an attack inside Israel killing about 1,200 people. Attacks on Saturday heavily targeted Khan Younis in the south, where thousands have been forced to flee, as Israel has expanded its ground military presence in the north and towards the south. Al Jazeera journalists Samer Abudaqa and Wael Dahdouh were covering the aftermath of an Israeli bombing of a school in Khan Younis on Friday when they were targeted by a drone strike. Cameraman Abudaqa died after paramedics were prevented from reaching him for hours, and Gaza bureau chief Dahdouh walked to a hospital after suffering injuries from shrapnel. Abudaqa was the 13th Al Jazeera journalist killed since the founding of the news network, and one of at least 57 Palestinian journalists killed while covering the war on Gaza. The Israeli army said on Saturday it raided two schools in Gaza City, in the north of the Strip, claiming it killed 25 fighters and captured 50 more. Since the war started, the military has repeatedly legitimised attacks on civilian infrastructure, including United Nations-run schools and hospitals, to target Hamas fighters. However, reports from the ground show that scores of civilians have been killed in most of these strikes. Earlier on Saturday, several Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli attack targeting the vicinity of the al-Mazraa School run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip. No significant progress has been made on stopping the war – even temporarily – since last month, when Israel pulled back its Mossad negotiators from Doha after an agreement with Hamas could not be reached through Qatari mediation. Reports on Saturday suggested Israel may be looking to revive the talks that had earlier led to a week-long truce and the exchange of dozens of captives held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This comes after Israel admitted to mistakenly killing three of its captives held inside Gaza who were initially believed to be fighters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under increasing pressure from the families of the people held in Gaza to secure their release. Another large demonstration was held in Tel Aviv on Friday to demand the release of captives. Adblock test (Why?)
‘No place for genocide’: Qatar football fans stand for Gaza against Israel
Doha, Qatar – While football players and fans around the world are being reprimanded for displays of solidarity with Palestine, thousands gathered at the Education City Stadium in Qatar to show their support and help raise money for Palestinians facing the wrath of Israel’s war on Gaza. As the sun set on a windy Friday evening at the former Qatar World Cup 2022 venue on the outskirts of the capital, Doha, fans dressed in Palestinian colours and waving the Palestinian flag flocked to the venue in high spirits. The Stand with Palestine charity match was arranged by the Qatar Foundation. It was based on an initiative by a group of students hoping to raise money through ticket sales and create awareness about the situation in Gaza, where nearly 19,000 people, including more than 7,000 children, have been killed in the Israeli bombardment since October 7. Karim Abbas, one of the Palestinian students involved in organising the event, said the match was being played “for the children of Palestine”. “As a Palestinian myself, it’s very hard to see those videos [from Gaza] but then I imagine the people living through the oppression and I realise it’s much more difficult to endure,” a visibly emotional Abbas told Al Jazeera. The participating teams comprised students from two Qatar-based schools and international footballers, including former Spanish World Cup winner Javi Martinez, Morocco international Soufiane Boufal and several Qatar national team players. One team represented Qatar, the other Palestine. Moroccan footballer Badr Benoun signs a fan’s Palestine flag [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] ‘We have not forgotten’ Despite the presence of global and regional stars, fans inside the 40,000-capacity stadium remained focused on their main job for the night – waving the Palestinian flag and raising their voices for the people of Gaza. “We are here to tell the people of Gaza that we have not forgotten them,” Abdellah Abdul Razzaq, a Qatar-based Canadian, said ahead of the match. “In 2023, there’s no place for genocide.” Abdellah Abdul Razzaq said he wants his young son to learn to stand on ‘the right side of history’ by supporting Palestine [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] In the build-up to the match, star footballers walked on to the pitch and interacted with fans by giving autographs and posing for photos. As the players went back to their dressing rooms and the fans waited for the match to get under way, a familiar tune blared from the PA system and the crowd instantly jumped to its feet. The popular Palestinian song “Dammi Falasteeni” (my blood is Palestinian) rang around the compact stadium and fans of all ages, economic backgrounds and nationalities sang and danced along. Fans of all ages sang and danced along to ‘Dammi Falasteeni’ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] For the Palestinians present in the stands, the crowd’s loud rendition of the song’s chorus brought a gush of emotions. “To see all these people, whether they are Palestinian or not, supporting the cause of Palestine makes me very happy,” Abdel Wahab al-Masri, a Palestinian based in Doha, told Al Jazeera. “If people in Gaza were able to see this support, it would give them strength and greater power to resist the occupation,” he added. Al-Masri and his five compatriots held up a large Palestinian flag as he explained how the people of his country find the courage to resist Israel’s occupation of their land. “The courage and resistance you see is something all Palestinians grow up with,” he said, referring to social videos of Palestinian children vowing to remain steadfast in the face of adversity. “The mental toughness to understand that it [Gaza] is their land and, once the war ends, they will have to reclaim it is part of their upbringing,” al-Masri said, as the song kept playing on loop. Abdel Wahab al-Masri (third left) and his compatriots hold up a large Palestine flag [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] ‘An unprecedented war’ Emotions were running high for everyone in the crowd, and not just the Palestinians. For Chique Leo, from the Philippines, it was a matter of showing the “disgusting” world leaders that Palestinians are not alone. “It breaks my heart to see civilians dying in their hundreds every day – parents losing their daughters and sons, children losing their parents but they [world leaders] don’t care because they are busy enjoying their comfortable lifestyles,” the 55-year-old said as her voice trembled with anger. “This is an unprecedented war and the way the world is letting this continue and dehumanising Palestinians is unbearable.” Players in action during the Stand with Palestine football match [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] As kickoff approached, the number of people in the stands grew and so did the fundraising figures. According to the organisers, 20 million Qatari riyals ($5.5m) had been raised by the end of the match. Light-hearted, on-field action was no match for the charged crowd, which kept “Palestine!” in their chants throughout the match. Drum beats were followed by roars of “Falasteen”, Mexican waves turned into Palestinian waves as thousands of flags were raised in unison. The match ended in a 4-3 (penalty shoot-out) win for Palestine, but it was hard to tell which team represented the home crowd, as players from both sides came together to wave the red, white, black and green flag one more time. The crowd kept up their chants for Palestine throughout the event [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] Adblock test (Why?)
John Mearsheimer: Israel is choosing ‘apartheid’ or ‘ethnic cleansing’
US political scientist John Mearsheimer on Israel’s ‘punishment campaign’ against the civilian population in Palestine. Israel has gone far beyond “going after Hamas” in the first 10 weeks of its war on Gaza, according to one of the United States’ leading political scientists, John Mearsheimer. He tells host Steve Clemons that murdering hundreds of civilians daily and starving the rest is a “punishment campaign” and “should be unacceptable to decent people all over the world”. In this episode, Mearsheimer, who teaches international relations at the University of Chicago, looks into Israel’s long-term strategies and explains why the elites in the US, Europe and the Arab world are not taking concrete steps to stop Israel’s bombing campaign. Adblock test (Why?)
Al Jazeera journalist Abudaqa killed in Israel attack on Gaza laid to rest
Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abudaqa, 45, has been laid to rest in southern Gaza, with dozens of mourners, including journalists, paying their respects to the cameraman killed in an Israeli drone attack. The funeral was held on Saturday in the city of Khan Younis. Abudaqa’s family, friends and colleagues bid a tearful farewell as his body was lowered into the ground. Abudaqa, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Arabic in Gaza, was hit while reporting at Farhana school in Khan Younis. His colleague, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Wael Dahdouh, who lost his wife, son, daughter and grandson in a previous Israeli bombing, was wounded. Journalists in Gaza are carrying a “human and noble message” for the world amid the continuing war and will continue to work despite Israeli attacks, Dahdouh said in his eulogy. “We will continue to do our duty with professionalism and transparency,” he said, as mourners around him wept. Adblock test (Why?)