Gaza boy who lost 9 siblings speaks out as he’s evacuated to Italy
NewsFeed Video shows 11-year-old Adam al-Najjar arriving in Italy for treatment after surviving an Israeli strike that killed his father and nine siblings. As he speaks about the attack and his injuries, the UN says Israel is waging a “war on children.” Published On 12 Jun 202512 Jun 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
‘Catastrophic’ Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad: What we know
An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane has crashed close to an airport on the edge of India’s western city of Ahmedabad with at least 242 people on board. According to Reuters, rescue workers said between 30 and 35 bodies had been recovered from the crash site in a densely populated area of the city. So far, no survivors have been reported. Flight AI171 was headed to London Gatwick Airport on Thursday where it was due to land at 6:25pm local time (17:25 GMT). “Of these [on board], 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals,” Air India said in a statement. The airline described the incident as “a tragic accident”. “Many people” have died in the crash, the country’s health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda wrote in a post on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. “Have been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.” Advertisement This incident is the latest in a series of serious and fatal events in the civil aviation industry this year, including a midair collision in Washington in January between a military helicopter and an aircraft. Where and when did the plane crash? The plane crashed in a residential area called Meghani Nagar, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, head of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, told The Associated Press. The city of 7-8 million people is in President Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Modi has directed the Ministry of Civil Aviation to take “all possible action” to assist at the crash site. There is a large Gujarat population in Great Britain, and the Ahmedabad-London route is a popular one. According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the plane’s final signal was received just seconds after takeoff at 1:38pm local time (08:08 GMT). It had reached an altitude of 625 feet (190 metres) before crashing back to the ground outside the airport, close to densely populated residential areas on the outskirts of the city. The plane issued a mayday alert to air traffic control before all communications from the aircraft ceased. Ahmedabad airport has been closed and all flight operations have been suspended until further notice. Wreckage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site, showing part of its registration ‘VT-ANB’, where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025 [Amit Dave/Reuters] What do we know about the crash site? Footage shared on social media of the crash site showed debris on fire, with huge plumes of thick, black smoke rising into the sky near the airport. Advertisement They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances. India’s CNN News-18 TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of state-run B.J. Medical College hostel, killing many medical students as well. It showed a visual of a portion of the aircraft perched atop the building. “The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel…We have cleared almost 70 percent to 80 percent of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer also told reporters. Local journalist Sunil Vaidya told Al Jazeera: “The crash site is very close to a civil hospital where there is a medical college,” he said. “It is quite possible that students studying there are staying in a hostel nearby.” How bad is this incident? This could be a very serious crash, experts say. Alex Macheras, an independent aviation analyst, told Al Jazeera that the Boeing 787 is a long-haul craft, which means it has capacity for a large number of passengers. “This is probably going to be one of the worst aviation incidents for Indian aviation history in recent decades,” Macheras said. However, he added that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, of which there are 1,100 in operation around the world, has a very good track record for safety. “There has never been a fatal crash involving a 787 Dreamliner before this,” Macheras said. He said the incident would raise serious questions about what could have gone wrong with this flight and why the aircraft was “struggling to gain altitude” after takeoff. Advertisement What do we know about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner craft? “The 787 has been in service for 15 years – this is a mid to long-haul passenger aircraft, one of the latest from Boeing in terms of the development and the introduction of carbon-fibre aircraft,” Macheras told Al Jazeera. “It provides airlines with immense efficiency but also with the promise of stellar safety record that the 787 has. In fact, in its 15 years of commercial service globally, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has never been involved in a crash or a whole loss or a fatal accident,” Macheras said. “So combined, it’s an aircraft that the industry knows is of the highest standards in terms of meeting safety regulations globally, across different markets but also one that is trusted and essentially a workhorse of the skies when it comes to long-haul travel”. Macheras added that he is hearing from executives within the aviation industry who are “utterly shocked” at the footage. They “can’t quite believe that an aircraft with an impeccable safety record was involved in something that looks like is going to be so catastrophic”, he said. What are the authorities doing now? ANI news agency reported that at least 90 emergency response workers are currently deployed at the site of the crash. India’s Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he was “shocked and devastated” by the plane crash. “I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site.” Advertisement “My thoughts and
Israel’s Netanyahu survives opposition bid to dissolve parliament
Ultra-Orthodox parties in ruling coalition reach a deal on the divisive mandatory military service. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractious right-wing coalition has survived an opposition-backed bid to dissolve parliament after ruling lawmakers reached a deal regarding the divisive mandatory military service. The bill, which would have been a first step leading to an early election, was rejected early on Thursday by a majority of 61 lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset, while 53 supported it. “I am pleased to announce that after long discussions we have reached agreements on the principles on which the draft law will be based,” Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein said in a statement. The opposition had introduced the conscription bill, hoping to force elections with the help of ultra-Orthodox parties angry at Netanyahu over the contentious issue of forcing religious seminary students of draft age to serve in the army. “It’s more than ever urgent to replace Netanyahu’s government and specifically this toxic and harmful government,” Labour’s opposition lawmaker Merav Michaeli said ahead of the vote. Advertisement While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and left-wing groups, ultra-Orthodox parties, including Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), which are propping up Netanyahu’s government, had earlier threatened to back the motion. Military service is mandatory in Israel but under a ruling that dates to the country’s creation – when the ultra-Orthodox were a very small community, men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts are given a de facto pass. Efforts to scrap the exemption and the resulting blowback have intensified during Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza as the military looks for more soldiers to be deployed. Netanyahu is under pressure from his own Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on dodgers, a red line for the Shas party, who demand a law guaranteeing their members permanent exemption from military service. Netanyahu’s coalition, formed in December 2022, is one of the most right wing in the country’s history. Ahead of the vote, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich argued that bringing down the government during wartime would pose “an existential danger” to Israel’s future. “History will not forgive anyone who drags the state of Israel into elections during a war,” Smotrich told parliament, adding that there was a “national and security need” for ultra-Orthodox men to fight in the military. In the early hours of Thursday, Israeli media reported that most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers ultimately agreed not to support the proposal to dissolve parliament. Advertisement After the failed vote, the opposition will now have to wait six months to submit another bill. Adblock test (Why?)
Activists gather for march to Gaza
NewsFeed Activists from across the world are set to meet in Egypt where they plan to march on foot through the Sinai desert towards Gaza, aiming to challenge Israel’s siege and call for an end to the genocide against Palestinians. Published On 12 Jun 202512 Jun 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
UN nuclear watchdog board finds Iran not complying with nuclear obligations
IAEA resolution passes with 19 votes in favour , three against and 11 abstentions, diplomatic sources say. The United Nations nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors has approved a resolution declaring Iran is not complying with its commitment to international nuclear safeguards, diplomatic sources told Al Jazeera, prompting a swift response from Tehran. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors resolution passed on Thursday with 19 votes in favour, three against and 11 abstentions. A text of the resolution seen by Reuters news agency said that “Iran’s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019” to provide IAEA “with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations constitute non-compliance with its obligations” under its agreement with the UN agency. In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) announced in a joint statement that the country will build a new uranium enrichment facility “in a secure location”, adding that “other measures… will be announced later”. Advertisement In a sepate statement posted on X, the AEOI also announced also announced that it will replace the first-generation facilities at the Fordow nuclear site with “advanced sixth-generation” facilities, signaling that it will continue its nuclear enrichment. Iran’s Press TV also quoted the foreign ministry as saying that the board resolution “has no technical and legal basis.” Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Vienna, said that Russia, China and Burkina Faso were among the members of the 35-seat board to vote against the resolution. Ahelbarra described passage of the resolution as a “significant diplomatic development”, noting that it was the first time in almost 20 years that the IAEA had accused Iran of breaching its non-proliferation obligations. “Iran has a very small window to answer the resolution. Otherwise, it will face, massive, massive repercussions including the potential of further isolation and wide-range of sanctions.” The IAEA vote comes as Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi announced on Thursday that the US and Iran will hold a sixth round of talks over Tehran’s advancing nuclear programme on Sunday. Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said that the talks on Sunday in Oman would be “highly-influenced” by the IAEA resolution on Thursday. Our correspondent in Tehran also reported that Iran has written a letter to the UN warning that if the IAEA resolution triggers sanctions, that move could prompt Iran to exit from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, further complicating the US talks with Iran. Advertisement Reaching a new nuclear deal is one of the several diplomatic priorities being juggled by US President Donald Trump and his trusted friend and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump had until recently expressed optimism about the talks, but said in an interview published on Wednesday that he was “less confident” about reaching a deal. Trump also reiterated that he would not allow Iran to have an atomic bomb amid mounting speculation that Israel could strike Iranian nuclear facilities. On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad intelligence agency head David Barnea will travel to meet Witkoff ahead of the US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman. On Wednesday, Iran threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out. According to reports, the US has also evacuated non-essential staffers from several countries in the Middle East amid the ongoing regional tensions. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,204
These are the key events on day 1,204 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here’s where things stand on Thursday, June 12: Fighting A concentrated, nine-minute-long Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv in the middle of the night killed six people and injured 64, including nine children, Ukrainian officials have said. The Ukrainian military said it had struck a major Russian gunpowder plant in the western Tambov region overnight, causing a fire at the site. Russian mechanised infantry units have reached the western border of Ukraine’s Donetsk region and, along with a tank division, are continuing their offensive against the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said. Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. Half of the drones were downed over the southern Voronezh region, while the rest were intercepted over the Kursk, Tambov, Rostov region and the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,212 soldiers killed in its war against Russia, Kyiv officials said. The Kremlin said Ukraine returned the bodies of 27 Russian soldiers. Advertisement Regional security Russia sent long-range Tu-22M3 bomber planes on a flight over the Baltic Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry said, in what appeared to be a mission aimed at sending a message of business-as-usual following the stunning June 1 Ukrainian attack on Russian airbases in Siberia. Russia’s nuclear capability did not suffer significant damage due to the Ukrainian attacks on its airfields, and the scale of the damage has been exaggerated, the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking on state television, said 95 percent of weapons in Russia’s strategic nuclear forces were fully up to date. International relations The United States ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said the Ukrainian drone attack on Russian strategic bombers at their airbases earlier this month was “badass” but also “a little bit reckless, and a little bit dangerous”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing a conference of southeast European leaders in the Black Sea port of Odesa, said Russia was determined to destroy the south of his country as well as nearby Moldova and Romania, as he called for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent further military threats. Serbia’s Kremlin-friendly populist President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to Odesa for the regional summit. It is the first time the leader has visited Ukraine during his 12 years in power. Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said it had summoned a Russian diplomat over a suspected June 10 violation of Finnish airspace by Russian aircraft, the second such event in under three weeks. Slovakia will not back the European Union’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia unless the European Commission provides a solution to the situation the country faces if the bloc phases out Russian energy as planned, the country’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. Germany’s imports of goods from Russia fell by 95 percent in the 2021-2024 period, while its exports of goods to Russia were cut by 72 percent, the country’s statistics office Destatis has reported. The EU as a whole cut its imports from Russia by 78 percent and exports by 65 percent over the same timeframe, leading to a trade deficit of 4.5 billion euros ($5.1bn) in 2024 compared with 147.5 billion euros ($170bn) in 2022, Destatis added. Advertisement Russian affairs A court in western Russia has ruled that opposition politician Lev Shlosberg be placed under house arrest for two months and face unspecified restrictions on his activities for “discrediting” the Russian army after describing the war in Ukraine as a game of “bloody chess”. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Russian dissident Leonid Volkov, a prominent ally of late opposition leader Alexey Navalny, was sentenced in absentia to 18 years in prison for spreading fake news about the war in Ukraine and “justifying terrorism”. Adblock test (Why?)
US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says 5 aid workers killed in attack
Bus carrying more than two dozen Palestinians attacked by Hamas, organisation says. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the United States and Israel-backed organisation established to supplant the aid work of the United Nations, has accused Hamas of killing five staff and wounding multiple others in an attack on a bus en route to a food distribution centre. A bus carrying more than two dozen Palestinians working with the organisation was “brutally attacked” while travelling to a distribution centre west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the foundation said in a statement on Wednesday night. While the organisation was still gathering facts, “at least” five people were killed and there were “multiple injuries”, the foundation said, adding there were fears that some of its staff had been taken captive. “We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms. These were aid workers. Humanitarians, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others,” the foundation said. “Our hearts are broken and our thoughts and prayers are with every victim, every family, and every person still unaccounted for.” Advertisement Hamas, which governs Gaza, did not immediately comment on the claims. Hamas earlier this week denied that it had threatened the foundation after the organisation accused the Palestinian group of making “direct threats” against its operations. The aid organisation, which is led by Johnnie Moore, an evangelical Christian who advised US President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has been mired in controversy since beginning operations on May 27. The UN and aid groups have boycotted the foundation over concerns that it does not meet basic humanitarian standards and is not independent of Israel. Numerous Israeli attacks on Palestinians have taken place near the foundation’s distribution sites in Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor, with more than 220 people killed since the group began operations, according to Gaza health authorities. In its statement, the foundation, which on Saturday reported that it had been unable to distribute aid due to Hamas threats, said the attack “did not happen in a vacuum”. “For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers, and the civilians who receive aid from us. These threats were met with silence,” the foundation said. “Tonight the world must see this for what it is: an attack on humanity,” the foundation added. “We call on the international community to immediately condemn Hamas for this unprovoked attack and continued threat against our people simply trying to feed the Palestinian people.” Adblock test (Why?)
US evacuates personnel from Middle East in sign of growing regional tension
The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and has authorised “the voluntary departure” of dependants of US personnel from locations across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as regional security concerns rise. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised the departure of military dependants in the region and that CENTCOM was “monitoring the developing tension”. Orders for all nonessential personnel to depart the US Embassy in Baghdad – which was already on limited staffing – was based on a commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad”, the Department of State said. Speaking on Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump said the order to move staff out had been given because the region “could be a dangerous place”. “We’ll see what happens. We’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. Trump then added in reference to Iran: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We’re not going to allow that.” Advertisement Uncertainty has been growing in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme appear to have hit an impasse. US news broadcaster CBS reported late on Wednesday that US officials have been informed that Israel is “fully ready” to launch an attack on Iran and that Washington “anticipates” that Tehran could retaliate by targeting “certain American sites in neighbouring Iraq”. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said there have been clear signs in recent days of high-level discussions between senior military officials and the Trump administration amid concern around the ongoing talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. “Donald Trump has in the last couple of days … expressed his concern that a deal might not be able to be done,” Fisher said. “Therefore, we are seeing, effectively, the partial evacuation of the embassy in Baghdad with non-military personnel and non-essential staff being moved out. And the voluntary evacuation of other embassies in the region,” he said. “They’ve done this sort of thing before,” Fisher said, noting the Baghdad embassy was partially evacuated previously over “concerns that the embassy could become a target for Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq”. “Clearly, there is some concern that the discussions with the Iranians aren’t going well. Or, it could be that this is all designed to put pressure on Iranians. Because, you will remember, that Donald Trump said that if they couldn’t get some sort of deal, then … there could be some sort of military action against the Iranians.” Advertisement As reports of US embassy staff and dependants departing the Middle East region emerged, Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted on social media that “Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability”. “Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t change the facts,” the Iranian mission said. “Diplomacy – not militarism – is the only path forward,” it added. Threats of “overwhelming force” won’t change facts:Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and U.S. militarism only fuels instability. CENTCOM’s legacy of fueling regional instability, through arming aggressors and enabling Israeli crimes, strips it of any credibility to speak on… — I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) June 11, 2025 Separately, Iranian Defence Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh told reporters earlier that he hoped talks with the US would be successful, though Tehran stood ready to respond to any aggression. “If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” he said. “We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.” The next round of talks – the sixth – between the US and Iran on limits to Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions on the country have been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, according to reports, and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is still scheduled to attend. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Fashion brands accused of shortcuts on climate pledges overlooking workers
A new report accuses fashion giants of not considering the welfare of workers affected by climate change in garment factories in Southeast Asia. Fashion brands including luxury label Hermes, sportswear giant Nike, and fast fashion chain H&M are in the hot seat amid new allegations of climate greenwashing after making commitments to slash carbon emissions in Asia, which is home to more than 50 percent of global garment production. A report released this morning by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), titled, The Missing Thread, analysed 65 global fashion brands. It found that while 44 of them had made public commitments to reduce carbon emissions, none had adopted what is known as a “Just Transition” policy, a concept first introduced during COP27 in Egypt in 2022. A Just Transition ensures that workers are not left behind as industries shift towards a low-carbon economy. Only 11 companies in the study acknowledged the climate-related impact on workers in their social and human rights policies. Just four provided any guidance on managing heat-related stress. Only two companies among those deemed the most ambitious by the report mentioned the welfare of workers. These included Inditex, the Spanish retail giant that owns the fast fashion company Zara, and Kering, the parent company of Gucci. Advertisement “Decarbonisation done without workers as critical and creative partners is not a just transition, it’s a dangerous shortcut,” said Natalie Swan, labour rights programme manager at BHRRC, in a news release. Currently, the global textile industry relies on 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources per year, such as oil and fertiliser. At current trends, the fashion industry is on track to be responsible for more than 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “The fashion industry’s climate targets mean little if the people who make its products are not taken into consideration,” Swan said. “It’s not enough to go green. It has to be clean and fair.” “Brands must stop hiding behind greenwashing slogans and start seriously engaging workers and their trade unions, whose rights, livelihoods and safety are under threat from both climate change and the industry’s response to it. A just transition is not just a responsibility, it’s a critical opportunity to build a fairer, more resilient fashion industry that works for people and the planet.” Al Jazeera reached out to Nike, Hermes, H&M, Inditex and Kering. None of them responded to a request for comment. Extreme weather The effects of climate change have already hit much of Southeast Asia hard. Garment workers in countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have experienced extreme weather events such as surging temperatures and severe flooding. In Bangladesh, workers reported fainting from heat-related illnesses. According to the report, factories allegedly failed to provide fans or drinking water. Similar challenges were noted in Cambodia, where temperatures regularly exceeded 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) during a 2022 heatwave. Advertisement A third of workers said they had already lost work due to automation. In Bangladesh’s garment sector, 30 percent reported job losses stemming from technological changes. These shifts have disproportionately affected female workers, who are less likely to receive training on new technologies and are often excluded from on-the-job learning opportunities that could help them adapt to evolving industry demands. Adblock test (Why?)
Unarmed Palestinian brothers killed in Israeli raid on West Bank’s Nablus
A Palestinian man in a red cap walks down the narrow alleyway in Nablus’s old city towards a group of Israeli soldiers, clearly unarmed. He attempts to talk to the soldiers, who had flooded into the occupied West Bank city in the early hours of Tuesday as part of Israel’s latest military raid – believed to be the largest carried out in Nablus in two years. The soldiers immediately kick and shove the man – 40-year-old Nidal Umairah – before his brother walks over, attempting to intervene. Gunfire follows, and soon the two brothers are lying dead. [embedded content] Nidal and his brother 35-year-old brother Khaled were the latest victims of Israel in the West Bank, after they were killed late on Tuesday. It is unclear which brother had initially been detained, but witnesses were adamant that the behaviour of the Israeli soldiers was an unnecessary escalation that led to the deaths of yet more Palestinians. Ghassan Hamdan, the director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Nablus, was at the scene of the killings. Advertisement “There were at least 12 soldiers and they all fired their automatic machine guns at once,” said Hamdan. After the two men fell to the ground [medics] asked the soldiers if we could treat their wounds. They answered by firing at all of us.” “We all took cover behind the walls of the old city,” he told Al Jazeera. Hamza Abu Hajar, a paramedic at the scene, said that the Umairah brother who had initially approached the Israeli soldiers had been trying to go to his house to move his family out and away from the Israeli raid. “They lifted his shirt up to prove he was unarmed,” Abu Hajar said. “They then started shooting at him, and at us as well.” The Israeli army said it acted in self-defence after one of the Umairah brothers tried to seize a weapon from a soldier. It said that four soldiers had been injured in the incident. West Bank raids The raid in Nablus, which lasted more than 24 hours, is the latest Israel has conducted in the West Bank. Israel has taken advantage of the world’s focus on its own war on Gaza since October 2023 to escalate its land theft and violence in the West Bank. During that span, Israel has killed at least 930 people in the West Bank, 24 of whom were from Nablus, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Many of these deaths are the result of violent Israeli raids ostensibly aimed at clamping down on Palestinian fighters in the West Bank, but which have resulted in mass destruction and thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes. Advertisement According to Hamdan, Israeli troops mainly targeted Nablus’s old city by storming into hundreds of homes in the middle of the night. Dozens of people were also reportedly arrested. Young people in the city protested by burning tyres and throwing rocks at Israeli troops, yet they were met with heavy tear gas, injuring at least 80 Palestinians in the raid. In the past, Palestinian protesters have been imprisoned on “terrorism” charges or shot and killed for simply resisting Israel’s occupation by throwing rocks or defying Israeli soldiers. This time around, the Israelis classified the entire old city in Nablus as a closed military zone for 24 hours. No ambulances or medics were allowed inside to aid distressed residents, said Hamdan. “Nobody was allowed in or out. Nobody was allowed to make any movement at all. We [as medics] could not enter the area during the entire raid to try and help people in need,” he told Al Jazeera. Assault and vandalism During the raid, Israeli troops stormed into several apartments after blowing off door hinges with explosives. Umm Hassan, a 58-year-old resident who did not want to give her full name, recalls feeling terrified when several Israeli soldiers broke into her home. About five months ago, her husband passed away from cancer, an illness that also claimed two of her children years ago. Umm Hassan is also battling cancer, yet she said Israeli soldiers showed her no mercy. They flipped her television on the ground, broke windows and tossed her paintings off the walls and onto the living room floor. Advertisement They even vandalised her books by throwing them on the ground, including the Quran. “I told them to leave me alone. I was alone and so scared. There was nobody to protect me,” Umm Hassan told Al Jazeera. Another woman, Rola, said that Israeli soldiers stormed into her home two times in the span of six hours during the raid. When Israeli soldiers returned the second time, Rola said that they attacked her elderly father, hitting him on the head and chest with the butts of their guns. Rola described her three nieces and nephews – all small children – cowering with fear as Israeli soldiers vandalised and destroyed their home. “The second time they came to our home, they put us all in a room and we weren’t able to leave the room from 8am until 3:30pm,” said Rola. “We [Palestinians] always talk about being resilient. But the reality is when Israeli soldiers come into your private home, then you get very scared. It’s natural. We are humans and humans get scared,” she told Al Jazeera. Psychological warfare More than 80 Palestinians received treatment from the Palestine Red Crescent Society during the raid, 25 of them as a result of gunshot wounds. While Israel says its raid was “precise”, inhabitants of Nablus say that the attack on the city was the latest attempt to intimidate and frighten Palestinians. “Honestly, what were Israeli soldiers searching for in my home? What did they think they were going to find?” asked Rola. “The reason for their raids [violence] is to uphold the [illegal] occupation.” Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)