Israel raids a Syrian village and detains suspected militants; 1 person is killed
The Israeli military said those detained during the pre-dawn raid on Beit Jin were suspected of planning attacks against Israel, and that weapons also were found in the area. They were taken back to Israel for questioning, the military said.
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Los Angeles Times
15 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
A generation of Palestinians have had virtually no access to education since the war in Gaza began
KHAN YUNIS, Gaza Strip — Two years ago, Sarah Qanan was a star high school student preparing for final exams and dreaming of becoming a doctor. Today, the 18-year-old lives in a sweltering tent in the Gaza Strip and says she is just trying to stay alive. She's part of a generation of Palestinians from grade school through university who have had virtually no access to education in the territory since the war began in October 2023. Classes were suspended that month and schools were transformed into crowded shelters as hundreds of thousands fled their homes at the start of Israel's campaign of retaliation after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The closure of schools has removed a key social outlet for young people as they grapple with war, hunger and displacement. For younger children, it has meant missing out on basic skills like reading and simple arithmetic. For older students, advanced subjects, graduation exams and college applications have all been put on hold. Even if negotiations lead to another ceasefire, it's unclear when anything in Gaza will be rebuilt. Vast areas have been completely destroyed, and the U.N. children's agency estimates that nearly 90% of schools will need substantial reconstruction before they can function again. Like many in Gaza, Qanan's family has been displaced multiple times and is now living in a tent. When an Israeli airstrike destroyed their home in early 2024, she dug through the rubble in search of her books, but 'there was nothing left.' 'My sole dream was to study medicine,' Qanan said. 'I stopped thinking about it. All my thoughts now are about how to survive.' More than 650,000 students have had no access to education since the start of the war, according to the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF. That includes nearly 40,000 students who were unable to take university entry exams that largely determine their career prospects. It's the first time in decades that the exams were not administered in Gaza. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced 90% of Gaza's population. School-age children in crowded shelters and tent camps are often forced to help their families find food, water and firewood. A complete Israeli blockade imposed in early March that was only slightly eased 2 ½ months later has driven the territory to the brink of famine. Local education officials, working with UNICEF and other aid groups, set up hundreds of learning spaces to try and provide education during the war. 'We're trying to salvage what we can of the educational process, so that the next generation doesn't slip through our fingers,' said Mohamed al-Asouli, head of the education department in the southern city of Khan Yunis. During a six-week ceasefire in January and February, some 600 learning spaces provided lessons for around 173,000 children, according to UNICEF. But since March, when Israel ended the truce with a surprise bombardment, nearly half have shut down. 'The impact goes beyond learning losses,' said Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF spokeswoman. 'Children in Gaza have been trapped in a cycle not just of exposure to unprecedented violence, but also a cycle of fear, of toxic stress, of anxiety.' Some have tried to continue their studies through online learning, but it's not easy in Gaza, where there has been no central electricity since the start of the war. Palestinians must use solar panels or hard-to-find generators to charge their phones, and internet is unreliable. 'The mobile phone is not always charged, and we only have one at home,' said Nesma Zouaroub, a mother of four school-age children. She said her youngest son should be in second grade but does not know how to read or write. 'The children's future is ruined,' she said. Ola Shaban tried to continue her civil engineering studies online through her university after the campus was destroyed by Israeli forces in April 2024. She had to walk long distances to get a signal in her hometown near Khan Yunis, and she eventually gave up. 'I couldn't continue because of lack of internet, continuous displacement and the constant sense of fear,' she said. 'Two years of my life are gone.' Israel's offensive has killed over 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, does not differentiate between combatants and civilians but says over half the dead are women and children. Its figures are used by the U.N. and other international organizations as the most reliable statistics on war casualties. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251. They are still holding 50 hostages, less than half believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire deals or other agreements. Qanan's father, Ibrahim, a local journalist, said his family did everything it could to support Sarah's ambition to study medicine, only to see it go up in smoke when the war broke out. 'The war stunned us and turned our life upside down,' the father of six said. 'Our dreams and hopes were buried in the rubble of our home.' Magdy and Hana write for the Associated Press. Magdy reported from Cairo.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israeli forces push into parts of a Gaza city that the war had largely spared
Israeli ground troops for the first time on Monday pushed into areas of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in what appeared to be the latest effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors. Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that has not seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas militant group holds large numbers of hostages there. The main group representing hostages' families said it was 'shocked and alarmed' by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, and demanded answers from Israeli leaders. Israel says the seizure of territory in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, but it is a major point of contention in ongoing ceasefire talks. The UN food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza's Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine. In the latest sign of international frustration, the United Kingdom, France and 23 other Western-aligned countries issued a statement saying 'the war in Gaza must end now'. They harshly criticised Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid and called for the release of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in Deir al-Balah during repeated waves of mass displacement in Gaza. Associated Press reporters heard explosions and saw smoke rising from parts of the city that were ordered evacuated on Sunday. The Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said it was the first time ground troops had operated in the area. A man living in the evacuation zone, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Israel dropped pamphlets at dawn ordering people to evacuate. Two hours later, tanks rolled into the area. He said his 62-year-old father, who had spent the night elsewhere, fled from house to house as Israeli forces moved in and saw them flattening structures with bulldozers and tanks. Both men managed to leave the evacuation zone. The military declined to say if it had ordered the evacuation of aid groups based in the city, saying only that it maintains continuous contact with them and facilitates their relocation when necessary. Israel has taken over large areas of Gaza and split the territory with corridors stretching from the border to the sea as it seeks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages. In response to the Deir al-Balah incursion, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum warned in its statement that 'the people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages — both the living and the deceased. No one will be able to claim they didn't know what was at stake'. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Less than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ocasio-Cortez's Bronx office vandalized with accusations she funds ‘Gaza genocide'
NEW YORK — The front of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Bronx campaign office was defaced with red paint and a sign accusing her of funding 'genocide in Gaza,' police said Monday. The vandalism was reported to police in a 12:43 a.m. Monday 911 call. Red paint was splattered across the front of her office on Herschell Street near Westchester Avenue in Westchester Square. A sign made with red paint read, 'AOC FUNDS GENOCIDE IN GAZA,' police said. Police have made no arrests. Last week, the Democratic congresswoman, who has been critical of U.S. support to Israel, voted against an amendment to cut aid to Israel's defense. On Saturday, she said on X that she voted against the amendment because it cuts off 'Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue.' _____
