Category World News

Osama al-Hussari’s home was flooded by the rain, which the storm that had earlier this week refused to relent.

The 57-year-old’s home in the Shati refugee camp had extended family members, including his brother’s children, who totaled 25 people, not just his wife Rawiya and their 10 children.

The home, which had survived two years of Israeli bombing, was severely damaged. Osama had to make an attempt on Tuesday to fix the leak because rain was leaking in from the roof, causing the inside to flood.

Osama told Al Jazeera, “I called a friend and neighbor who works in construction to help inspect the issue and seal the openings where water was coming in from.”

However, disaster struck as they climbed onto the roof. Mohammed al-Helou, 57, the neighbor, used a hammer to retrace one corner.

Then, the roof burst.

Mohammed was unreachable and stranded beneath the rubble for two hours. Two hours later, civil defense teams recovered his body.

Two children, among them, were the only ones who were hurt, some of whom were left with broken legs.

Osama tears away tears as she describes it as “absolutely terrifying, like a torrent of dust and stones exploding in my face.”

Our miracle brought about the sudden death of my dear friend and neighbor, who was without warning, and his immediate family.

The collapse

In Gaza, houses are uncommon, with the majority of the Palestinian enclave’s buildings being destroyed by Israel during its two-year genocidal war.

Osama chose to stay in his home despite its condition rather than spend his days sleeping in a tent like countless other Palestinians in Gaza do. After being displaced across the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire in October, many of his family members gathered to live with him.

We sighed a relief that it was still standing when we arrived at my house, according to Osama. However, given that more than three explosive robots had been detonated in the area, it was in poor shape and obviously heavily impacted.

He claims that those explosion-related twisted metal remnants are there nearby.

During the most recent ground invasion of northern Gaza in mid-September, the Israeli army frequently used explosive robot weapons.

“Everything in the area has been destroyed, and all the buildings that surround us have been bombed with the most powerful weapons.” Our home suffered a lot of damage, according to Osama.

The family chose to stay inside the cracked walls because it thought it was preferable to live in tents where people are currently passing away from the cold.

A tent is better than a concrete roof, we used to say. Even their supplies and tents are out of reach for us. But we never anticipated that it would nearly suffocate our heads and cause us all to lose consciousness.

Nowhere to go

The terrifying moment the building collapsed was described by Rawiya al-Hussari, 41, Osama’s wife.

When she realized Mohammed, her middle son, was still trapped beneath the rubble, she fled with her five children while everyone around her was screaming.

They then told me, “Your son Mohammed is with his uncle, and I ran out.” She hugs her 12-year-old son, who would survive, and says, “I completely lost my mind and ran back towards him.”

“I screamed “Mohammed, Mohammed, can you hear me?” and “I started screaming hysterically.” I’m here, save me, he said in a muffled voice. I’m okay, I just had to get rid of the stones with the help of some friends and family members. However, the man standing next to him didn’t respond because it appeared he had instantly passed away.

As they recounted their escape from the home before it completely collapsed, Rawiya and the other mothers with her trembled, unable to take any clothing or belongings.

We don’t know how to die, according to Rawiya, referring to the ruins, either by bombing or by crumbling buildings. It appears to have been hit by one or more missiles, as one or two of them would say.

Officials have warned that the number of houses in Gaza has likely increased as a result of the al-Hussari home’s collapse, which has increased to 17 since the start of the winter.

Emergency teams in Gaza have set up a committee to inspect and evacuate residents before the next storm arrives in response to the growing danger.

The al-Hussari family now finds themselves homeless overnight and without any other options as they struggle to deal with the shock.

Osama retorts furiously, “We slept here in the street last night, 12 children and women.” No tents or tarps were used to sleep outside. Either we pass away in the street or we pass away under crumbling walls.

“I wish we had all perished inside the house and been spared this life.”

One of the busiest maritime corridors in the world is being cited as having a growing number of “shadow fleet” or “rogue” tankers operating off its shores.

At least 27 of these ships crossed the Singapore Strait in early December, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data that was cited by international maritime authorities, and 130 more are tucked away around Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago.

Ship-spotters and analysts claim that the profile of some of the ships using these waters has recently changed despite the dense traffic through the strait and appearing routine (more than 80 000 vessels pass through it each year).

Why are there so many “rogue” tankers near Singapore?

Due to the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, sanctions from the West have increased against oil exports from nations like Russia and Iran. Both the Trump administration and the European Commission have recently renewed or extended sanctions against Venezuelan oil.

In response, a parallel, unofficial maritime network has developed to facilitate the movement of sanctioned oil.

Around one-third of the world’s traded goods will pass through the Singapore Strait at some point along its route, making it a crucial artery for international maritime trade. The strait, which serves as a natural gateway between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, is almost unavoidable for tankers at sea because it is a busy trade route.

The Maritime and Port Authority keeps tabs on vessel movements in Singaporean waters. However, international law restricts what can be done once ships enter high seas, effectively allowing shadow fleets to flourish in regulatory grey areas.

Suspect shipping activity has recently been documented in international waters, far outside the jurisdiction of the city state, just outside Singapore’s territorial waters, which is roughly 22 kilometers from its coast.

How do “shadow fleets” avoid sanctions and what are they?

The number of falsely flagged ships on the world has more than doubled this year to over 450, the majority of which are tankers, according to the International Maritime Organization database, as a result of record sanctions by Western governments in recent years over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, and, most recently, Venezuela’s campaign.

A flag that identifies the legal authority governing the operation of ships at sea must be carried by all vessels. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the body that grants ship nationalities.

A shadow ship, or “ghost ship,” has a long history of being in disrepair and having obscure ownership. When the US seized the tanker, Skipper, off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month, the neighboring government of Venezuela declared it was “falsly flying the Guyana flag” and stated that it was not registered there.

Operators of shadow ships also falsify registration information, broadcast false geo-location information, or even completely disable tracking systems to avoid detection and evade UNCLOS regulations.

These vessels typically transport military equipment and other restricted items, including sanctioned oil. They frequently conduct dangerous ship-to-ship cargo transfers without being discovered at night. This poses a significant risk to both the environment and safety.

Additionally, it’s even more difficult to identify the locations of the tankers because the majority of them are owned by shell companies in jurisdictions like Dubai, where quick transactions by newly formed or anonymous companies can occur.

The growing number of shadow fleets poses a “real challenge,” according to Jennifer Parker, a specialist in maritime law at the Australian University of New South Wales.

Because of the [murky] paper trail surrounding them, Parker claimed that it has been “incredibly difficult to find out who owns them and who insures them.”

She continued, “often they would do what is known as bunkering, which involves moving fuel between ships at sea.” So it becomes difficult to determine the origin of that ship and the source of that oil.

She continued, “Sometimes, what they do is actually mix oil,” so you will have a legitimate ship that will ship the oil to a shadow fleet and mix it so it becomes difficult to really trace where the oil came from, avoiding sanctions.

What issues do these tankers bring about?

Accidents involving older, uninsured vessels can result in environmental disasters like oil spills.

A shadow tanker spill, which can seriously harm the environment, wildlife, and local coastlines, can cost up to $1.6 billion in response and cleanup alone, according to Bunkerspot, a specialist maritime publication.

Russian authorities worked to stop two 50-year-old tankers from spilling oil into the Kerch Strait last December after they were seriously damaged by a stormy weekend. The extent of the damage and the associated cleanup costs are still undetermined.

They can also lead to environmental harm from illegal waste disposal and chemical leaks, among other things.

Who makes the most of shadow fleets?

Ghost Fleet Trading primarily benefits Russia. Despite Western sanctions, Moscow has largely kept its oil exports, keeping its war in Ukraine steady. Iran and Venezuela also sell fossil fuels through ghost fleets, though not in the same way.

Russia and China, which are currently the biggest buyers of Russian crude, profit from steep discounts, frequently purchasing oil far below the $60 per barrel cap, which was set by the West in December 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s shadow tanker fleet was heavily dependent on it in 2025, according to S&amp, P Global, and Ukrainian intelligence tracking. Between January and September, India has been the main source, importing about 5.4 million tonnes of Russian crude oil via shadow tankers.

About 15% of that share is held by China, which is still a smaller but significant portion. Overall, the shadow fleet plays a significant role in this trade, highlighting the fact that the majority of Russian seaborne crude moves outside Group of Seven (G7)-compliant shipping.

What steps have governments taken to combat shadow fleets?

Many shadow tankers have departed from major shipping lanes to avoid being subject to sanctions. This is partly due to European authorities’ recent requirement for physical inspections during ship-to-ship transfers, which makes it riskier for these vessels to travel on conventional routes.

For instance, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland, and Estonia have recently started examining tankers’ insurance status while they are moving through the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. This aims to enforcing the 2022 sanctions against Russian oil.

In order to reduce Russia’s shipping capacity and reduce its energy earnings, the United Kingdom imposed measures in July 2025, including restrictions on access to UK ports, insurance, and financial services, on 135 shadow fleet vessels and two linked firms.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province, rebels are regaining control of the important city they seized last week. However, not everyone in the neighborhood they were occupying seems relieved to see them leave.

More than a week ago, there was a recent uprising in violence in the DRC’s east. The last true eastern haven for the Congolese army was attacked by fighters from the M23 rebel group, which has been fighting the government for years.

The rebel fighters have waged bloody hostilities with Congolese soldiers and their allies’ “Wazalendo” militias, which the United Nations and the United States claim are supporting from Rwanda. M23 earlier this year seized other regional capitals from the government’s control.

A regional peace agreement between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame was signed just days after M23 launched its offensive in the United States, and a separate agreement was signed in Qatar to put an end to years of conflict between M23 and the DRC government.

By last Wednesday, M23 had taken control of Uvira and pushed the army out.

We made it there the day after the takeover, joining the first group of international reporters since then.

On the way there, we could see and smell the remains of war: corpses piled up soldiers and some civilians, military vehicle burns, and displaced people walking in groups.

As M23 made its way through territories towards Uvira, many of the people we spoke to were returning from Uvira to the towns and cities they had fled when they were attacked recently.

We witnessed the destruction caused by the most recent fighting as we made our way to the city. Trucks were destroyed all around us, some of which had burned soldiers’ bodies inside, emptied homes, and unexploded bombs in the streets.

When we finally arrived in Uvira, the streets and city were quiet and empty. Residents waited in line in front of their homes to see what was happening, but no cars moved along the streets.

Members of the Red Cross were gathered the bodies along various avenues. Residents told Al Jazeera that many people died in the crossfire and fervor as the army and militias retreated as M23 stormed in, despite it being difficult to determine how many of those people had died.

We haven’t been able to independently verify the death toll from the violence, which the government claims was more than 400.

versus reassurance

In Uvira, there was a sense of fear immediately following M23’s takeover. Some residents expressed concern about the city’s potential as a result of the rebels’ presence.

Businesses suffered when the group seized control of Goma, the capital of neighboring North Kivu province, in January and then seized Bukavu, South Kivu’s capital, in February. Government employees, civil servants, and other professionals without formal employment.

No banks have operated in Goma since M23 took control, for instance, where I have worked as a reporter there for four years.

However, some residents seem relieved in the midst of the fears. Many people said they were relieved that the city had escaped a bloody conflict between M23 and the Congolese army, which had the potential to besiege and bombard Uvira for weeks.

Residents of the city were evicted from their homes on Saturday as M23’s control of the city came into effect. Those who could have worked resumed their jobs, opened shops, and went on with their lives as of Monday.

Many Kinshasa residents are more concerned about the daily struggle of getting by without the threat of violence, despite the fact that the residents we spoke with are aware that political discussions are taking place there. Some people believe the Congolese army and its militias, who started massing in the area this year to serve as a base for M23, have turned their quiet lives around less than by the rebels.

We shared the armed groups’ suffering.

More than ten years ago, M23 was created as a result of a conflict within the national army of the Congo. The group, which consists primarily of Tutsis, claims to fight for the rights of members of its ethnic minority who have been subjected to state marginalization.

A coalition of Congolese forces, the UN, and international troops forced the rebels to surrender in 2012 when M23 captured Goma.

However, the group reappears in late 2021 thanks to the UN’s claim that Kigali denies. Around 4, 000 Rwandan soldiers are responsible for for fortifying the claim. Since then, this stronger, more recent M23 has made significant gains, capturing Goma once more this year, Bukavu and other important regions.

The Congolese army has joined other armed organizations to support M23’s advance in battling the rebels.

However, according to critics, the government lacks effective control over these diverse militias, with many reporting abuses in the areas under their control.

Uvira, an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika, directly across from Bujumbura, Burundi’s largest city, became a symbol of resistance after the M23 seized Goma and Bukavu. The gatherings included politicians from Kinshasa, militia leaders, and military leaders.

But for many residents, putting themselves in the shoes of those soldiers and militia groups has meant seven to eight months of uncertainty. Many Uvira residents claimed that the militias had traumatized them and that some of them had allegedly beaten and stolen from locals.

They are relieved that at least the gunshots stopped when the rebels took control of the city, even though they do not necessarily support the M23 rebels.

Eliza Mapendo, one of the many people who blame the army and militias for overruling the area and occasionally harassing the community, said, “We suffered here a lot with the armed groups operating under the government.”

“For the moment, we feel confident and secure; this is how we operate in this industry.” They [the armed militias] have the power to systematically beat you and take your business. However, Mapendo said, “It’s okay here right now.”

We don’t have any issues with anyone, they say.

Both the UN and the US demanded that the rebels leave Uvira shortly after the M23’s capture.

In a “unilateral trust-building measure,” the group eventually began pulling out on Wednesday to give the peace process a chance to succeed.

On Thursday and Friday, a horde of fighters scurried through the city and departed from it with large cars, weapons, and heavy machinery.

Some Uvira residents were content because they believed the change would bring back administrative order.

Others, however, expressed concern for Al Jazeera. Will the militia groups return and take action against us when the rebels leave? some enthousiasm.

The Congolese military resumed firing on some of the M23’s positions close to Uvira on Friday, keeping the situation in South Kivu fragile.

Most people in the city, in contrast, are just happy to see someone take the reins of the violence.

Feza Mariam, a resident, told Al Jazeera, “We don’t know anything about the political process they are talking about.” “Peace is all we need,” he says. Anyone who can calm us down is welcome here. We as citizens don’t care about it for the rest.

Another city resident, Bishi Bishala, experiences similar emotions.