Category World News

An intense 12‑day conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, 2025, after Israel launched air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites, killing key nuclear scientists and military commanders.

More than 200 Israeli fighter jets hit more than 100 nuclear and military facilities along with residential neighbourhoods across Iran.

Iran retaliated with hundreds of ballistic missiles against Israeli cities. In the days that followed, Israel and Iran traded missiles as casualties mounted on both sides.

The United States entered the military clash on June 22 with bunker-buster strikes on Iran’s Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear facilities.

A fragile ceasefire was brokered by the US on June 24, hours after Iran had fired missiles at its largest airbase in the Middle East, based in Qatar.

How many people were affected in Iran?

According to Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, thousands of people were injured, hundreds were killed, and public infrastructure was damaged.

As of June 24:

• Total injured: 4,746, including 185 women

• Total people killed: 610, including 49 women and 13 children. The youngest was two months old.

• Injured healthcare workers: 20

• Healthcare workers killed: 5

• Damaged ambulances: 9

• Damaged hospitals: 7

• Damaged health units: 4

• Damaged emergency bases: 6

In Iran, as the bombardment began, thousands of Iranians tried to flee the capital and other major cities towards northern provinces bordering the Caspian Sea.

Nearly nine million people headed out in cars from the major cities, especially Tehran.

Among them was Zein*.

Zein, 34, says he left his home in Tehran and headed to Kelardasht in Mazandaran province, north of the capital, on the Caspian Sea coast. The road trip took nearly 16 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic out of the city.

“In our area, there are many military zones nearby. Because of the warnings they had given, we didn’t feel safe or have peace of mind,” he says. “I think Tehran felt very panicked, and we were just thinking about getting ourselves out of Tehran and reaching somewhere where we could feel more secure. ”

Unlike his parents’ generation, who lived through the devastation of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, this was Zein’s first time experiencing such intense military conflict.

“The fear of not knowing whether you’ll ever return to your home or not. Whether your home will still be there or not. You have to leave your city with a thousand worries, and in such a terrifying situation, because of the roads, the traffic, and the lack of management, you somehow have to get yourself to safety,” he says.

“And there’s no support – you have to figure everything out on your own. ”

How widespread were the attacks on Iran by Israel?

According to Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, Israel and the US launched at least 145 air strikes on Iran.

The actual count may be much higher, as another source, the Armed Conflict Location and Event data (ACLED) tabulated at least 508 air strikes by Israeli forces on Iran.

How did Iran retaliate and attack Israel?

According to ACLED, Iran attacked Israel at least 120 times. These strikes included ballistic missiles and drones. Many were intercepted with US help and some hit residential areas.

Iran mainly targeted Tel Aviv and areas around it, and one of the significant hits was the Soroka Medical Center – a strike that injured dozens. Among other targets were the Israeli Military Intelligence School, the Ministry of Interior in Haifa, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and an oil refinery and power plants.

According to the Israeli military, Iran launched up to 1,000 ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, and about 90 percent were intercepted.

How many people were affected in Israel?

According to Israel’s Ministry of Health, as of June 24, the number of people killed and injured across Israel was:

Total injured/hospitalised: 3,238

Total people killed: 28

The Iranian missiles and drones that were able to make it past Israel’s interceptors mainly struck neighbourhoods in Tel Aviv and Haifa, where there was damage to apartment buildings.

Many residents affected by the Iranian strikes from Tel Aviv to Haifa were able to escape into bomb shelters.

According to the Reuters news agency, many families with safe rooms spent most of the 12 days there, while others would use public shelters whenever an alert was raised.

*Name changed to protect the identity, at Zein’s request.  

In both Tehran and Tel Aviv, residents have faced heightened anxiety in recent days as the threat of missile strikes looms over their communities. Alongside the very real concerns for physical safety, there is growing alarm over the role of misinformation, particularly content generated by artificial intelligence, in shaping public perception.

GeoConfirmed, an online verification platform, has reported an increase in AI-generated misinformation, including fabricated videos of air strikes that never occurred, both in Iran and Israel.

This follows a similar wave of manipulated footage that circulated during recent protests in Los Angeles, which were sparked by a rise in immigration raids in the second-most populous city in the United States.

The developments are part of a broader trend of politically charged events being exploited to spread false or misleading narratives.

The launch of a new AI product by one of the largest tech companies in the world has added to those concerns of detecting fact from fiction.

Late last month, Google’s AI research division, DeepMind, released Veo 3, a tool capable of generating eight-second videos from text prompts. The system, one of the most comprehensive ones currently available for free, produces highly realistic visuals and sound that can be difficult for the average viewer to distinguish from real footage.

To see exactly what it can do, Al Jazeera created a fake video in minutes using a prompt depicting a protester in New York claiming to be paid to attend, a common talking point Republicans historically have used to delegitimise protests, accompanied by footage that appeared to show violent unrest. The final product was nearly indistinguishable from authentic footage.

Al Jazeera also created videos showing fake missile strikes in both Tehran and Tel Aviv using the prompts “show me a bombing in Tel Aviv” and then a similar prompt for Tehran. Veo 3 says on its website that it blocks “harmful requests and results”, but Al Jazeera had no problems making these fake videos.

“I recently created a completely synthetic video of myself speaking at Web Summit using nothing but a single photograph and a few dollars. It fooled my own team, trusted colleagues, and security experts”, said Ben Colman, CEO of deepfake detection firm Reality Defender, in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“If I can do this in minutes, imagine what motivated bad actors are already doing with unlimited time and resources”.

He added, “We’re not preparing for a future threat. We’re already behind in a race that started the moment Veo 3 launched. Robust solutions do exist and work — just not the ones the model makers are offering as the be-all, end-all”.

Google says it is taking the issue seriously.

“We’re committed to developing AI responsibly, and we have clear policies to protect users from harm and govern the use of our AI tools. Any content generated with Google AI includes a SynthID watermark, and we add a visible watermark to Veo videos as well”, a company spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

‘ They don’t care about customers ‘

However, experts say the tool was released before those features were fully implemented, a move some believe was reckless.

Joshua McKenty, CEO of deepfake detection company Polyguard, said that Google rushed the product to market because it had been lagging behind competitors like OpenAI and Microsoft, which have released more user-friendly and publicised tools. Google did not respond to these claims.

“Google’s trying to win an argument that their AI matters when they’ve been losing dramatically”, McKenty said. “They’re like the third horse in a two-horse race. They don’t care about customers. They care about their own shiny tech”.

That sentiment was echoed by Sukrit Venkatagiri, an assistant professor of computer science at Swarthmore College.

“Companies are in a weird bind. If you don’t develop generative AI, you’re seen as falling behind and your stock takes a hit”, he said. “But they also have a responsibility to make these products safe when deployed in the real world. I don’t think anyone cares about that right now. All of these companies are putting profit — or the promise of profit — over safety”.

Google’s own research, published last year, acknowledged the threat generative AI poses.

“The explosion of generative AI-based methods has inflamed these concerns]about misinformation], as they can synthesise highly realistic audio and visual content as well as natural, fluent text at a scale previously impossible without an enormous amount of manual labour”, the study read.

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has long warned his colleagues in the AI industry against prioritising speed over safety. “I would advocate not moving fast and breaking things”, he told Time in 2023.

He declined Al Jazeera’s request for an interview.

Yet despite such warnings, Google released Veo 3 before fully implementing safeguards, leading to incidents like the one the National Guard had to debunk in Los Angeles after a TikTok account made a fake “day in the life” video of a soldier that said he was preparing for “today’s gassing” — referring to releasing tear gas on protesters.

Mimicking real events

The implications of Veo 3 extend far beyond protest footage. In the days following its release, several fabricated videos mimicking real news broadcasts circulated on social media, including one of a false report about a home break-in that included CNN graphics.

Another clip falsely claimed that JK Rowling’s yacht sank off the coast of Turkiye after an orca attack, attributing the report to Alejandra Caraballo of Harvard Law’s Cyberlaw Clinic, who built the video to test out the tool.

In a post, Caraballo warned that such tech could mislead older news consumers in particular.

“What’s worrying is how easy it is to repeat. Within ten minutes, I had multiple versions. This makes it harder to detect and easier to spread”, she wrote. “The lack of a chyron]banner on a news broadcast] makes it trivial to add one after the fact to make it look like any particular news channel”.

In our own experiment, we used a prompt to create fake news videos bearing the logos of ABC and NBC, with voices mimicking those of CNN anchors Jake Tapper, Erin Burnett, John Berman, and Anderson Cooper.

“Now, it’s just getting harder and harder to tell fact from fiction”, Caraballo told Al Jazeera. “As someone who’s been researching AI systems for years, even I’m starting to struggle”.

This challenge extends to the public, as well. A study by Penn State University found that 48 percent of consumers were fooled by fake videos circulated via messaging apps or social media.

Contrary to popular belief, younger adults are more susceptible to misinformation than older adults, largely because younger generations rely on social media for news, which lacks the editorial standards and legal oversight of traditional news organisations.

A UNESCO survey from December showed that 62 percent of news influencers do not fact-check information before sharing it.

Google is not alone in developing tools that facilitate the spread of synthetic media. Companies like Deepbrain offer users the ability to create AI-generated avatar videos, though with limitations, as it cannot produce full-scene renders like Veo 3. Deepbrain did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Other tools like Synthesia and Dubverse allow video dubbing, primarily for translation.

This growing toolkit offers more opportunities for malicious actors. A recent incident involved a fabricated news segment in which a CBS reporter in Dallas was made to appear to say racist remarks. The software used remains unidentified.

CBS News Texas did not respond to a request for comment.

As synthetic media becomes more prevalent, it poses unique risks that will allow bad actors to push manipulated content that spreads faster than it can be corrected, according to Colman.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced during the highly anticipated draft night of the world’s most renowned basketball league, “The Houston Rockets select Khaman Maluach” with the 10th pick of the 2025 NBA Draft.

“From Rumbek, South Sudan, the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal and Duke]University]”, Silver added as the cameras cut to an emotional Maluach, who bowed his head and shook in disbelief during the ceremony on Wednesday at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team.

After stepping up to the stage and picking up his draft hat, the 18-year-old eventually shed his tears and cried out loudly in his close circle.

One fan wrote, “Khaman Maluach’s reaction to being drafted is what sport is all about,” after seeing the moving footage.

The young player said it was a day he would “never forget” in his life as he capped off an incredible journey from the refugee camps in Africa to basketball’s highest stage.

What is the complete Maluach information:

Khaman Maluach, who is he?

Born on September 14, 2006 in Rumbek, a city in the centre of South Sudan, Maluach moved to neighbouring Uganda after a civil war erupted in his home country in 2013.

He was born and raised in Kawempe, a village on the outskirts of Kampala, a refugee camp in Uganda.

Khaman Maluach began playing basketball when and how?

Maluach picked up basketball quite late, at the age of 13, when the push towards the game came from an unexpected source: A motorcyclist, who stopped when he saw Maluach walking down a road in Uganda, and offered some unsolicited yet prophetic advice.

“You should start playing basketball, said he. You’ll be a tall person in three to four years, Maluach said in a statement to the website for the 2023 Olympic Games.

The soft-spoken player began playing seriously after attending a local championship organised by South Sudan’s basketball great Luol Deng in 2019.

He told the Ugandan basketball website Pro Insight in 2023, “I didn’t know basketball for a long time because of the lack of facilities there.”

“I had to walk at least 45 minutes to play basketball because it’s different out there.”

How tall is Khaman Maluach?

In Kawempe, Uganda, Maluach, who was 7-foot-2 (218cm), stood out among boys his age.

In his interview, Maluach said, “When I went to Deng’s tournament, I saw guys my height and felt like I belonged on a basketball court.”

Maluach will he join the NBA?

When Maluach was chosen for the NBA draft on Wednesday, a chance he had previously feared was a delusion, he realized his long-term dream.

“]It was] me being delusional about my dreams, believing that I’m going to make it to the NBA one day and now, I’m here – I just got drafted”, an emotional Maluach told reporters shortly afterwards.

Maluach, a proud African, says his story inspires others to follow him wherever they are and keeps him going.

I explain to them that playing in the NBA is not rocket science and not crazy.

” Sometimes it’s OK to be delusional about your dreams and they end up happening. “

He is the most recently selected former NBA Academy Africa player.

How did Maluach transition to the NBA from South Sudan?

Maluach was selected by the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal in 2021, where he honed his basketball skills and worked hard to add muscle to his skinny frame.

He attributes his success to the academy.

A day before the NBA draft, Maluach told ESPN, “They guided me, put me in the right place at the right time for me to succeed.”

In 2024, he made his way to the United States after signing with one of the top college basketball programs in the country at Duke University.

Maluach will play for which NBA team?

While Maluach’s pick was announced by Houston Rockets on draft night, he will play for the Phoenix Suns in his NBA rookie season, as his draft rights had already been traded to the Arizona club in a trade involving superstar Kevin Durant earlier in the week.

After finishing with a 36-46 regular season record, Phoenix was unable to make the NBA playoffs in the 2024-25 season.

After his draft, what did Maluach say?

” It’s such a special moment for me]to be picked], “he said while still in tears shortly after his draft.

I was just so happy because my family and I were able to have my head coach and my circle around me, who had the best day of my life and who had the opportunity to witness it with me.

Maluach was open and proud to discuss his African heritage without a blunder.

” I’m here representing the whole continent of Africa, “he said.

A smiling Maluach unveiled the inside of his jacket before the show, which had South Sudan’s and Uganda’s flags on one side.

I had the continent on my back when I lived in Africa, giving hope to young people and inspiring the next generation of African basketball players.

Maluach said he would send his draft hat back to Africa.

I’ll send it to my two Ugandan basketball players, who taught me the fundamentals.

Khaman Maluach:
☑️ Born in South Sudan 🇸🇸
grew up in Uganda
Standing tall throughout the entire continent twitter.com/UzmCwzdHYV

The family of Khaman Maluach is where?

Maluach said his parents were watching the NBA Draft back in Uganda, but some of his family members surrounded him when his name was announced.

He later thanked his parents for elevating him to the status of a “good young man.”

I want to thank them a lot for raising me the way they should and for teaching me good values about life.

In a previous interview, Maluach said he wants to change his mother’s life by bringing her to the US.

Has South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach represented them?

When Maluach represented his country, South Sudan, at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, he was the youngest player at the time.

He was also part of their squad at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Khaman Maluach: Will Trump’s “Africa visa ban” affect him?

When the US government revoked all existing visas issued to South Sudanese passport holders and barred further entries of the country’s nationals due to a failed deportation case in April, it signalled an escalation of the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigration.

While announcing the move, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that South Sudan had taken advantage of Washington by not cooperating fully with the African nation’s transitional government and that the country had not “taken advantage of” it. Since Donald Trump’s election as president, this was the first time a country has received a blanket ban.

At the time of the announcement, Maluach was still at Duke on a student visa and the university said it was” aware of the announcement”.

However, Maluach’s visa category is likely to change as his team, the Phoenix Suns, prepares to play there.

South Sudan’s basketball rank: what?

The African nation is ranked 23rd in FIBA’s rankings but are the top-ranked team on the continent.

Why does South Sudan play basketball so well?

South Sudan became the only African team to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024, joining the youngest nation at the FIBA World Cup in 2023.

According to the team’s head coach, Royal Ivey, the players ‘ resilience and hard work are to be credited for their success.

The coach of the Bright Stars said during the World Cup that “they know how to work, they push forward, they fought day in, day out, and we got here because of the hard work and the sweat we put in every day.”

Former two-time NBA All-Star Deng assumed the presidency of the South Sudanese Basketball Federation in 2019, recruited diaspora players, and briefly led the team on his own.

South Sudan’s leading scorer, Carlik Jones of the Chicago Bulls, credits Deng as one of the main reasons for the game’s development in the conflict-ridden country.

This doctor in Gaza attempted to save children who had been torn apart at GHF aid sites by Israeli bombs and bullets. She questioned how the world could continue to starve people while she spoke to Al Jazeera.