Category World News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel had engaged in armed gangs in Gaza to aid Hamas. His claim comes as a result of a recent wave of military strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip that resulted in the deaths of at least 52 Palestinians.

In a video statement released to X on Thursday, former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman accused him of using the tactic, Netanyahu claimed the government had “activated” powerful local clans in the enclave on the advice of “security officials.”

The government’s first public acknowledgment that it had supported powerful families that were based on powerful families, accused by aid workers of carrying out illegal attacks and stealing aid from trucks as hunger encircles the entire territory as a punishing Israeli blockade.

According to an Israeli official cited by The Associated Press, Yasser Abu Shabab, a leader of the local clan, was one of the groups Netanyahu was referring to.

The organization’s activities were reported on by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last month, despite the name “Anti-Terror Service” in the report, which claimed sources in Gaza claimed they were made up of roughly 100 armed men operating with the military’s helpless knowledge.

The Abu Shabab organization announced online in recent weeks that its fighters were assisting in the defense of supply deliveries to new, US- and Israeli-backed distribution centers run by the enigmatic Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

According to Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, a journalist in Amman, the Israeli opposition claims that there was no consultation between the Israeli government and the cabinet. According to Netanyahu, these armed bands “could essentially assist the Israelis in defeating Hamas in Gaza.”

“But it’s not going well in Israel, where people claim that these are Gaza Strip armed criminal enterprises.” That they shouldn’t be armed, and that these Israeli weapons are being used against them, she said.

Human abattoir

Netanyahu made his statement on yet another deadly day in Gaza, where the military has been pounding targets throughout the beleaguered coastal community where the population is on the verge of starvation.

Since last week, Israeli troops have opened fire on Palestinians seeking aid on four separate occasions, killing more than 100 and injuring many others at aid distribution sites run by the GHF.

Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness claimed that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s operations had made the area a “human abattoir” due to the organization’s operations.

He claimed that hundreds of civilians are herded like animals into fenced-off pens while being slaughtered like cattle.

GHF temporarily suspended operations on Wednesday in response to growing international condemnation, and announced the following day that it would reopen two aid distribution centers in the southern Gazan Rafah region. It did not specify when the distribution of aid would resume.

According to hospital sources who spoke to Al Jazeera, at least 52 Palestinians were killed on Thursday. According to the sources, 21 bodies were taken to Gaza City’s al-Ahli Arab and al-Shifa hospitals, and 31 bodies were already arriving at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

In an attack on the al-Ahli Hospital itself, also known as the Baptist Hospital, in Gaza City, Israel killed four journalists.

After running outside his tent to check on his children, Gaza City resident Fadi al-Hindi reported to Al Jazeera that he had witnessed one of the bombings on al-Nasser Street, close to the al-Shifa Hospital, and had witnessed scenes of the death.

“When I arrived, I noticed a man who was in pieces, bicycle riding, and body parts missing. We began bringing the pieces of the injured to the streets, where everyone was, and he said.

During the strike, reportedly, at least three Palestinians were killed, including children.

Additionally, a child was hurt near Bureij in central Gaza while five people were reported missing in the areas around Khan Younis, four west of Beit Lahiya in the north, and one south of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians attempting to enter a hospital close to Wadi Gaza, according to Wafa.

In the interim, Hamas’ head Khalil al-Hayya has stated in a prerecorded speech that the organization had instead requested some modifications to put an end to the conflict as well as stating in a prerecorded speech that it had accepted a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that had been made by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Donald Trump’s travel ban is the most recent example of the president’s anti-immigration campaign, according to supporters in Washington, DC.

Travelers from 12 different nations are barred and subject to restrictions by the decree, which was made public late on Wednesday.

Many people believe the president has other motivations to put the ban into effect, even though Trump has argued that it was intended to shield the country from “foreign terrorists.”

The administration’s latest travel ban is “absolutely part and parcel of their plan to systematically racial and religious minorities and those who disagree with them,” according to Laurie Ball Cooper, vice president for US legal programs at the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The move is intended to “placate” Trump’s supporters, according to Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

Ayoub told Al Jazeera, “This administration has taken the “tough on immigration” stance on a number of issues since coming into office.

The Trump administration has aggressively increased deportations, targeted foreign students critical of Israel, and pushed them out of the country in some cases since his inauguration in January.

Immigration experts said the travel ban had been anticipated since Trump’s executive order, which made it happen, was signed in January.

According to that decree, US officials were required to compile a list of nations “for which the lack of vetting and screening information warrants a partial or full suspension of national admission from those nations.”

Trump claimed in the statement announcing the ban that the targeted nations “remain deficient in terms of screening and vetting.”

2025 ban vs 2017 ban

Trump has also imposed a travel ban on several occasions. The US president’s ban was repeatedly reintroduced on Wednesday during his first term in office, adding to the order’s numerous predecessors.

Trump issued a ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations a week after taking office, a ban known as the “Muslim ban.”

He campaigned for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” and the 2017 proclamation sounded like it reflected that claim.

There are significant differences between the most recent law and the one that was put into effect in 2017, which initially addressed legal permanent residents and those with visas.

The order lists specific exceptions, including those for those who already have visas that will remain in effect. Additionally, immediate family members of US citizens can apply for and obtain visas.

Trump’s executive order was signed on Monday, five days after the original “Muslim ban,” which was immediately and chaotically implemented.

Additionally, the most recent travel ban affects nations with people from various religious backgrounds spread across four continents, making it difficult to raise a case for religious bias in court.

Additionally, before the Supreme Court upheld the third and final version of Trump’s administration, federal judges initially imposed the first and second terms of his first term.

According to Ayoub, “It seems like much more thought and reasoning was put into this.” He added that the ban is “not as bad” as the ban from 2017 and will be challenging in some ways.

Ayoub expressed his hope that the administration will grant more exemptions and collaborate with the countries in removing them from the list because it is unlikely that the courts would halt the order.

Cooper predicted a devastating impact from the ban.

For instance, people who have followed the rules and have been waiting for years to have their immigration interviews join their loved ones in the US are not included in the exemption for immediate relatives.

According to Cooper, “There are still people who are on the verge of reuniting with their families, who are about to enter safety in the United States, and who are prevented from that reunification and from that access to safety as a result of this travel ban,” Cooper said. “Families will be kept apart,” he said.

Why now, exactly?

The original “Muslim ban” was also changed on Wednesday, which is when the decree was issued. More than five months into Trump’s second term, it was.

Trump has linked the travel ban to a Sunday attack that US authorities linked to an asylum seeker from Egypt. In support of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, he was accused of using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to harm 12 protesters in Boulder, Colorado.

However, Egypt is not listed among the nations that are prohibited, and Trump claimed that Egypt is a US ally with “things under control” on Thursday when questioned about why not.

“And why now, then?” To be honest, I can’t say it can’t be done quickly enough.

We want to exclude bad people from our nation. We are removing some horrendous people from the Biden administration one by one.

Cooper claimed that by implementing the order in its wake in Colorado, the Trump administration is “exploiting the tragedy.”

In the end, she said, “I’m not convinced that this is a response to that given the way the travel ban operates.”

However, punishing groups of people based on their nationality because of what one other person allegedly did is not the right response, even if it were, even when there is a tragedy, even when something terrible happens.

Cooper added that the order is “arbitrary,” noting that there are exceptions for athletes competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics and the World Cup next year but not for students.

Trump has been accused of imposing the ban to distract from his domestic issues, including his feud with his ex-billionaire aide Elon Musk and his pending passage of a massive tax bill.

Senator Chris Murphy told MSNBC, “Anytime you ban people entering the United States from other countries, it has a real impact.”

The Mavi Marmara, a ship in a flotilla attempting to end Gaza’s siege, was taken by Israeli forces in 2010. Ten people died in the raid. The Madleen, a new ship, has now set sail with the same objectives and risks. Jamal Elshayyal, a journalist for Al Jazeera, first-hand accounts of the raid in 2010 and considers how it affected the country.

In protest of a bill supported by a far-right coalition partner, which they claim is an attack on indigenous people, three Maori Party MPs were ordered to leave New Zealand’s Parliament. Despite being defeated, there are still high tensions.

Little is known about the woman the boat’s name is named after: Madleen Kulab, the only fisherwoman in Gaza, as the Madleen sails toward Gaza in an effort to deliver life-saving aid to its residents.

Madleen Kulab, who Al Jazeera first met three years ago, had two children, was expecting her third, and lived relatively quiet life in Gaza City with her 32-year-old husband, Khader Bakr, who is also a fisherman.

Madleen, now 30, would sail fearlessly wherever she wanted to go if Israel’s gunship blockade allowed her to recover fish she could use to feed her family.

When Israel launched a rocket attack on Gaza in November 2023, Madleen’s family was in fear and heartbroken before the family was devastated.

They emigrated to Khan Younis, Rafah, Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat, and Madleen, who was nearly nine months pregnant, with them.

When the Israeli army granted displaced people’s retreats in the north in January, they are now back in what is left of their home in Gaza City, which is severely damaged.

pride and responsibility

Madleen has three of her four children sitting next to her, one of whom is one, Safinaz, five, Safinaz, and Jamal, who she was expecting when Al Jazeera first met her, in her deteriorated living room.

She describes hearing from an Irish activist friend that the ship carrying the flag of Gaza would be named after her.

“I was moved a lot. She smiles and says, “I felt a lot of responsibility and a little pride.”

She describes the group of 12 activists, which includes French member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, as “I’m grateful to these activists who dedicated themselves, left their lives and comforts behind, and stood with Gaza despite all the risks.”

In the face of danger, this is the highest form of humanity and sacrifice.

Sandy, age 6, and Khader share a different couch. He poses his phone while the Palestinian flag is flying over his shoulder.

Madleen has been fishing since she was 15 years old, becoming well-known as a pro-international solidarity activist and familiar face when she departs from her father’s boat.

Madleen is a skilled cook by hand, making seasonal fish dishes that were so popular that she had a list of customers waiting to buy them from her. The dishes made with Gaza’s omnipresent sardines were particularly well-liked.

She and Khader can no longer fish because Israel destroyed their boats and a ton of fishing-related equipment during the war, but neither can she.

She claims, “We’ve lost everything; it’s been the fruit of a lifetime.”

However, she lost more than just money. Her deep ties to fishing and the sea are the center of identity. Even the simple pleasure of eating fish, which she used to “drinks 10 times per week,” is discussed.

If you can find fish anywhere, it’s too expensive right now. Many fishermen, she claims, risk their lives by only keeping a small amount of fish alive.

“Everything has changed,” he declared. In the middle of this famine that we are currently experiencing, we now crave fish.

newborn in her arms, sleeping on a bare floor

Following Israeli army advice that they would be safer there, Madleen’s family first moved there after the airstrike near the family home in November 2023.

They ended up with 40 other displaced relatives in a small apartment before Madleen gave birth to her child.

“It was a difficult, brutal birth,” the mother said. No medical care or pain relief. Right after giving birth, I was forced to leave the hospital. Because of the numerous wounded, there were no beds, she claims.

Things were just as bad when she went back to the shelter. We neither the children nor me had a mattress or blanket, she said.

“My newborn baby and I had to sleep on the floor.” Physically exhausting, indeed.

Then, in an enclave where baby formula, diapers, and even the most basic food items were almost indisputable, she had to take care of four of them.

She claims that her understanding of suffering and hardship has changed as a result of the war.

Between Israel’s gunship blockade and the frequent destruction of their boats, she and Khader were struggling to make ends meet in 2022. Being a mother with young children and carrying such physically demanding tasks added to that burden.

However, things are getting worse right now.

There is no such thing as “difficult” any longer. Nothing can compare to the humiliation, suffering, and horror of this war,” she claims.

a ship with the name Madleen

Madleen kept in touch with international friends and solidarity activists she had met throughout the conflict.

She says, “I would tell them about reality.”

Through me, they understood the situation. They resembled family, ” “

She is grateful for her friends’ financial and emotional support, saying they showed her that Gaza wasn’t forgotten and that people still cared.

She is also appreciative of being remembered for the Madleen’s name, but she worries that Israeli authorities won’t allow the ship to enter Gaza, citing previous intercepted attempts.

The least of it would be to intercept the ship, they say. The possibility of a direct assault similar to the one that occurred on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010 and resulted in several fatalities is more concerning.

Regardless of what happens, Madleen believes that the mission’s true message has already been communicated.

“This is a call to the breaking of the global silence and to the attention of the entire world,” he said. This war must end right away, and the blockade must end.

On the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, almost an hour after the Israeli army forced residents to leave areas that it claims contain underground Hezbollah facilities, an Israeli airstrike targeted southern Beirut suburbs.

Israel bombs Beirut for the fourth time since a Hezbollah ceasefire ended in November. It has ordered assassinations and launched strikes that it claimed targeted Hezbollah sites.

According to the Lebanese government led by President Joseph Aoun, Arab countries, and rights organizations, Israel has been violating the ceasefire for almost seven months. Recently, Aoun has urged the United States and France to oust Israel.

Aoun criticized the Israeli aggression and called it a flagrant violation of international law on the eve of a holy religious holiday in a statement released on Thursday following the strikes.

Prior to the attacks, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had instructed people to flee the suburbs of Dahiyeh’s suburbs who lived close to buildings in the Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Burj al-Barajneh neighborhoods.

In a social media post with a map of the eight buildings being targeted in four different locations, Adraee wrote, “You are next to Hezbollah’s infrastructure.” Israel would soon bomb the area, according to the Arabic message.

According to Lebanese media, the area was almost completely deserted of its residents after the evacuation order. According to the reports, it was kept secret so that “warning strikes” could be heard.

Residents of the southern Lebanese village of Ain Qana were also advised to stay away from two buildings that appeared to be targeted by the Israeli military on Thursday night. East of Sidon, on the coast, is where Ain Qana is located.

“A lot of panic.”

In the immediate aftermath of the strikes, Beirut correspondent Zeina Khodr reported that “people were making their way out here. As you can see, this certainly caused a lot of anxiety. The army has carried out air strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time since a ceasefire ended in November, but this is the largest attack.

Up to eight buildings were targeted in four densely populated neighbourhoods, according to Khodr, adding that everyone in the area had to flee as a result of the airstrikes.

Given that Israel has been killing people for three, four months, Rami Khouri, an analyst, told Al Jazeera, “the attack was not a surprise.” After the ceasefire agreement, they have continued to occupy five locations in South Lebanon.

He claimed that the Israelis have always relied on military force to enslave their allies. The irony is that it hasn’t worked, though. We’ll have to wait and see what it means because Hezbollah suffered a hit last year, and they’re obviously regrouping, he said. They are regrouping, he continued, despite not knowing what exactly they were doing.

People rushed away after the evacuation warning, according to video that Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency verified.

حركة نزوح كثيفة من الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت بعد تهديد الجيش الاسرائيلي pic. twitter.com/yuqA4giy4v

In “blatant violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon,” the Israeli military accused Hezbollah of producing drones there.

A Hezbollah official denied that the locations where drones were being produced had been in use.

The Israeli military “will work to stop any attempt to reestablish the terrorist organization Hezbollah” and “deter any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” the military said.

As Israel advises people to leave on the eve of a significant religious holiday, Khodr said, “If you talk to people here, what they will tell you is that this is terrorism.”

Nawaf Salam, the prime minister of Lebanon, also condemned the strikes. He demanded that Israel be prevented from “continuing its aggressions” and that it be required to formally withdraw from Lebanese territory.