Gaza conflict: Israeli forces kill 51 as ceasefire urged
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
8 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Gaza conflict: Israeli forces kill 51 as ceasefire urged
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 51 people, including 24 at a seafront rest area, as fresh calls grow for a ceasefire in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The swift resolution of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt to the fighting in
1News
13 hours ago
- 1News
Police probe Bob Vylan's Glastonbury chants against Israeli military
British police have launched a criminal investigation into a televised performance at the Glastonbury Festival by rap punk duo Bob Vylan, who drew intense criticism after they led crowds of music fans in chanting "death" to the Israeli military. Meanwhile. the US State Department said it has revoked the US visas for Bob Vylan, who were set to go on tour in the United States later this year, after their "hateful tirade at Glastonbury". Rapper Bobby Vylan — who until the weekend was relatively little known — led crowds in chants of "free, free Palestine" and "death, death to the IDF" — the Israel Defence Forces — on Sunday at Britain's biggest summer music festival. The BBC said it regretted livestreaming the performance. "The anti-Semitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves," the broadcaster said, adding that it "respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence." ADVERTISEMENT British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UK politicians condemned the chants, saying there was no excuse for such "appalling hate speech". Avon and Somerset Police said Bob Vylan's performance, along with that by Irish-language band Kneecap, were now subject to a criminal investigation and have been "recorded as a public order incident". Bob Vylan perform on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. England. (Source: Associated Press) The BBC under heavy pressure Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has inflamed tensions around the world, triggering pro-Palestinian protests in many capitals and on college campuses. Israel and some supporters have described the protests as antisemitic, while critics say Israel uses such descriptions to silence opponents. Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, said it was "very concerned" about the BBC livestream and said the broadcaster "clearly has questions to answer". The BBC said earlier in its defence that it had issued a warning on screen about "very strong and discriminatory language" during its livestream of Bob Vylan's act. ADVERTISEMENT Bob Vylan perform on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. England. (Source: Associated Press) US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the visas for Bob Vylan's two members — who both use stage names for privacy reasons — have been revoked. "Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country," Landau said in a social media post Monday. Starmer said the BBC must explain "how these scenes came to be broadcast". Bob Vylan, which formed in 2017, have released four albums mixing punk, grime and other styles with lyrics that often address issues including racism, masculinity and politics. Bob Vylan perform on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. England. (Source: Associated Press) In a statement posted on social media, singer Bobby Vylan said he was inundated with messages of both support and hatred. ADVERTISEMENT "Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place," he wrote. Kneecap also being investigated Bob Vylan performed on Saturday afternoon just before Kneecap, another band that has drawn controversy over its pro-Palestinian stance. Liam Og, left, and Naoise O Caireallain of the hip hop trio Kneecap perform during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England. (Source: Associated Press) Kneecap led a huge crowd in chants of "Free Palestine" at the festival. They also aimed an expletive-laden chant at Starmer, who has said he didn't think it was "appropriate" for Kneecap to play Glastonbury after one of its members was charged under the Terrorism Act. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged with supporting a proscribed organisation for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London last year. On Saturday, a member of the group suggested fans "start a riot" outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance — though he then said "No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine". ADVERTISEMENT The BBC had already taken a decision not to broadcast Kneecap's Glastonbury performance live, though it did make available an unedited version of the set to its festival highlights page on BBC iPlayer service. The Israeli Embassy to the UK said over the weekend it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival". The acts were among among 4000 that performed in front of some 200,000 music fans this year at the festival in southwest England. International criticism over Gaza Israel has faced heavy international criticism for its war conduct in Gaza. In May, the UK, France and Canada issued a sharply worded statement calling for Israel to stop its "egregious" military actions in Gaza and criticising Israel's actions in the occupied West Bank. More than 6000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured in Gaza since Israel ended a ceasefire in March. Since the war began in October 2023 with a Hamas attack on Israel, Israeli attacks have killed more than 56,000 people and injured 132,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said that women and children make up more than half the dead. ADVERTISEMENT Israel says it only targeted militants and blamed civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding among civilians, because they operated in populated areas.
1News
14 hours ago
- 1News
'Make the deal': Trump calls for a ceasefire on the war in Gaza
US President Donald Trump overnight has urged progress in ceasefire talks in the 20-month war in Gaza, as Israel and Hamas appeared to move closer to an agreement. Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire, an Israeli official said. Plans were being made for Netanyahu to travel there in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a deal. Netanyahu was meeting with his security Cabinet on Sunday evening, the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that hadn't been finalised. "MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!" Trump wrote on social media early Sunday. Trump raised expectations on Saturday for a deal, saying there could be an agreement within the next week. Trump has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas to end the war. An eight-week ceasefire was reached just as he took office earlier this year, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps. ADVERTISEMENT Some Palestinians greeted the possibility of a new truce with scepticism after watching the last ceasefire shattered. "Since the beginning of the war, they have been promising us something like this: Release the hostages and we will stop the war," said Abdel Hadi Al-Hour. "They did not stop the war." Trump slams Netanyahu trial Trump also doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, calling it "a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem. (Source: Associated Press) In the post on Saturday evening, Trump said the trial interfered with ceasefire talks, saying Netanyahu "is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back". Last week, Trump called for the trial to be cancelled. It was a dramatic interference by an ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. It unnerved many in Israel, despite Trump's popularity there. ADVERTISEMENT The trial has repeatedly been postponed at Netanyahu's request, citing security and diplomatic developments. On Sunday, the court agreed to call off two more days of testimony by him scheduled this week. Major sticking point Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point — whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement. Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi accused Netanyahu of stalling progress on a deal, saying on social media that the Israeli leader insists on a temporary agreement that would free just 10 of the hostages. About 50 hostages remained, with less than half believed to be alive. Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri said that "Hamas was the only obstacle to ending the war", without addressing Merdawi's claim. During a visit on Sunday to to Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, Netanyahu said that the Israel-Iran war and subsequent ceasefire have opened many opportunities: "First of all, to rescue the hostages. Of course, we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both tasks." Hamas said it was willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war in Gaza. Israel rejected that offer, saying it would agree to end the war if Hamas surrendered, disarmed and went into exile, something that the group refused. ADVERTISEMENT The war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which militants killed 1200 people and took roughly 250 hostage. Gaza's Health Ministry on Sunday said that another 88 people have been killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, raising the war's toll among Palestinians to 56,500. The ministry, which operated under the Hamas government, didn't distinguish between militants and civilians in its count, but said more than half of the dead were women and children. Relatives of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip mourn their deaths at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. (Source: Associated Press) The war has displaced most of Gaza's population, often multiple times, obliterated much of the territory's urban landscape and left people overwhelmingly reliant on outside aid, which Israel has limited since the end of the latest ceasefire. Fewer than half of Gaza's hospitals were even partly functional, and more than 4000 children needed medical evacuation abroad, a new UN humanitarian assessment said. "We are exhausted, we are tired. We hope to God that the war will end," said one Palestinian, Mahmoud Wadi. New Gaza evacuations ordered ADVERTISEMENT The Israeli military ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians in large swaths of northern Gaza, home to hundreds of thousands of people who had returned during the ceasefire earlier this year. Colonel Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media. It included multiple neighbourhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as the Jabaliya refugee camp. The military would expand its escalating attacks westward to the city's centre, calling for people to move toward the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said. An Israeli military offensive aimed to move Palestinians to southern Gaza, so forces could more freely operate to combat militants. Rights groups said their movement would amount to forcible displacement.
