Photos of Israel's underground parking lots and subways became bomb shelters amid war with Iran
Missile sirens triggered beachgoers to get out of the sun and go underground. As the days of back and forth strikes continued, until a June 24 ceasefire announcement, people opted to sleep there overnight, lining parking spaces and metro corridors with tents, bedding and pets in tow.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ukraine and Russia set to hold peace talks in Turkey
Kyiv and Moscow will hold a new round of peace talks — the first in seven weeks — on Wednesday in Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov is in Istanbul to meet with his Russian counterparts to discuss the war and hash out the terms for another prisoner of war exchange, Zelensky said. Despite Kyiv's push to reach a cease-fire deal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the world not to expect a 'miraculous breakthrough' from the meeting. Advertisement 3 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a new round of peace talks will be held with Russia on Wednesday in Istandbul. Oleksandr Medvetskyi 'We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning,' Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. A Turkish foreign ministry source told Reuters that the meeting at the Ciragan Palace would begin at around noon EST, with all eyes set on how Russia would proceed. 'The Ukrainian delegation has come to Turkey prepared to take significant steps toward peace and a full ceasefire, but everything will depend on whether the Russian side is willing to take a constructive approach,' the source said. Advertisement The Kremlin has remained steadfast in avoiding any progress on the peace talks, with last month's meeting yielding no results. Zelensky has repeatedly pushed for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him face-to-face to negotiate an end to the war, which has raged on for more than three years. 3 Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that he will not meet with Zelensky and would only pursue a peace deal if it meets his demands. AP Advertisement The Ukrainian president said Wednesday's meeting will continue to push for the meeting, noting that his team has been tasked with establishing 'the preparation of a leaders' meeting.' Putin, however, has previously stated that he has no interest in meeting with Zelensky, accusing the Ukrainian president of being an illegitimate leader due to the halt of presidential elections in Kyiv while the country is under martial law. Putin claimed earlier this week that he would be open to advancing the stalled peace talks, but only if all of the Kremlin's demands are met. 3 Russia continues to bomb residential buildings in Ukraine as the nightly drone attacks ramp up. STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE/HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock Advertisement Putin has said Russia will prioritize its goal of maintaining all the territories it has taken from Ukraine, as well as its demands for Kyiv to completely demilitarize. The Russian strongman has also scoffed at President Trump's 50-day deadline for a cease-fire, which if not reached would result in heavy secondary tariffs against Moscow. Trump also vowed to prop up Ukraine's military with 'billions of dollars' worth of weapons from NATO, which would help Kyiv defend itself in the face of the ever-escalating drone and missile attacks Russia launches on a daily basis. With Post wires
Fox News
15 minutes ago
- Fox News
Iran doubles down on refusal to end nuclear program, ready for war with Israel
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday doubled down on Tehran's refusal to abandon its nuclear program and said Iran is "fully prepared" for a renewed fight with Israel. The Iranian president's comments came just two days after Tehran's foreign minister confirmed to Fox News that Iran will not give up its enrichment program, but continues to claim Tehran is not interested in developing a nuclear weapon. "[US President Donald] Trump says that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and we accept this because we reject nuclear weapons and this is our political, religious, humanitarian and strategic position," Pezeshkian said in an interview with Al Jazeera. "We believe in diplomacy, so any future negotiations must be according to a win-win logic, and we will not accept threats and dictates," he added. Pezeshkian also said Trump's repeated claims that the U.S. "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program is "just an illusion." "Our nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists and not in the facilities," he said. The U.S. strikes – which came just days after Israel targeted top military figures and nuclear scientists – are believed to have set back Iran's nuclear program by up to two years. But security experts have told Fox News Digital that Iran continues to possess significant military strike capabilities, and questions remain over whether Iran was able to successfully move any enriched uranium off site prior to Washington's strikes. Pezeshkian acknowledged the blow that Israel levied against its top officials, but said it "completely failed" to "eliminate" the hierarchy of Iran's nuclear program. He further warned that Iran is ready to take on Jerusalem should another conflict break out. "We are fully prepared for any new Israeli military move, and our armed forces are ready to strike deep inside Israel again," Pezeshkian said. Iran and Israel are still operating under a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Qatar following last month's 12-Day War, but the Iranian president said he is not confident this truce will hold. "We are not very optimistic about it," Pezeshkian said. "That is why we have prepared ourselves for any possible scenario and any potential response. Israel has harmed us, and we have also harmed it," he added. "It has dealt us powerful blows, and we have struck it hard in its depths, but it is concealing its losses." Delegations from France, Germany and the U.K. (E3) are set to travel to Tehran on Friday to discuss nuclear negotiations. The E3 visit will come just three days after officials from Russia and China, who are also signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPAO), visited on Tuesday to discuss negotiations and how Iran can avoid sanctions, though details of the talks remain unknown. Iran began initiating international talks after the E3 last week threatened to employ snapback sanctions – which would see the entire 15-member U.N. Security Council enforce strict economic ramifications – should Iran not enter into a nuclear agreement by the end of August. The timeframe is consistent with the time needed for the JCPOA signatories to recall snapback sanctions prior to the Oct. 18 expiration date when the economic tool can no longer be employed en masse per the 2015 terms of the agreement.
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
Gaza aid crisis: Why Gazans are dying of hunger or being killed by Israel on a near daily basis
Twenty-one months into Israel's war in Gaza, the enclave is gripped by escalating scenes of death and hunger, with some killed while trying to reach aid, others dying of starvation and growing condemnation of Israel's conduct even among many of its closest allies. The United Nations says more than a thousand people have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking food since late May, when a controversial new Israel- and US-backed aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating. Of those, hundreds have died near GHF sites, according to the UN. The GHF was created to replace the UN's aid role in Gaza and has been widely criticized for failing to improve conditions. All 2.1 million people in Gaza are now food insecure. On Tuesday, Gaza's health ministry said 900,000 children are going hungry, and 70,000 already show signs of malnutrition. But how did it come to this? Before the war, Gaza was already one of the most isolated and densely populated places on earth, with around two million people packed into an area of 140 square miles. Israel has maintained tight control over the territory through a yearslong land, air and sea blockade, with severe restrictions on the movement of goods and people. More than half of its residents were food insecure and under the poverty line, according to the UN. Between 500 and 600 truckloads of aid entered Gaza daily before the conflict. That number has since plummeted to an average of just 28 trucks per day, a group of humanitarian organizations said Wednesday. It's unclear if the figure includes trucks used in GHF's operations. Following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, which left 1,200 people dead and more than 250 taken hostage, Israel ordered a 'complete siege' of Gaza, halting the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel. A humanitarian crisis swiftly unfolded, as trapped residents faced both hunger and a devastating Israeli military campaign in response. Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Israel's use of food as a 'weapon of war' and accused it of imposing 'collective punishment.' Following international pressure, the first trucks carrying aid entered Gaza in late October. A temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on November 24, 2023, slightly increasing aid flow. But the truce collapsed a week later. Aid deliveries subsequently dwindled again, and stringent Israeli inspections further delayed shipments. Israeli authorities said screening was necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies but humanitarian officials accused Israel of deliberately throttling aid. Further compounding the crisis was the Israeli campaign against the UN and its aid delivery system, which Israel said was ineffective and allowed aid to fall Hamas' hands. The UN denies this. Among the agencies targeted was the UN's Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which Israel accused of having staff involved in the October 7 attack. A UN investigation found that nine of UNWRA's 13,000 Gaza-based employees 'may have' participated and no longer worked at the agency. In January this year, Israel banned UNRWA from operating in Gaza, cutting off viral services like food, health care and education to hundreds of thousands of people. As Israel's campaign leveled much of Gaza, displacing most of its residents and weakening Hamas' grip on the territory, lawlessness began to spread. Looting became a new hurdle for UN trucks, and casualties mounted at aid delivery points. Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas and armed gangs for the chaos. The UN warned just weeks into the war that civil order was beginning to collapse, with desperate Palestinians taking flour and hygiene supplies from warehouses. By November 2024, the UN again raised the alarm, saying the capacity to deliver aid was 'completely gone.' In 'one of the worst' looting incident, over 100 trucks were lost, it said. Drivers were forced to unload trucks at gunpoint, aid workers were injured, and vehicles were damaged extensively. As Hamas' grip on Gaza waned and the territory's police force was hollowed out, gangs emerged to steal aid and resell it. Israel has also armed local militias to counter Hamas – a controversial move that opposition politicians have warned will endanger Israeli national security. The arming of militias appears to be the closest that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come to empowering any form of alternate rule in the strip. Since the start of the war, the Israeli leader has refused to lay out a plan for Gaza's governance once the conflict ends. On January 19, another temporary ceasefire was reached. Aid resumed, but remained well short of what was needed. Israel reinstated a total blockade of Gaza on March 2 after the truce expired. Two weeks later, it resumed fighting, with officials saying the goal was to force Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms and release hostages. By July, the World Food Programme (WFP) assessed that a quarter of Gaza's population was facing famine-like conditions. At least 80 children have died of malnutrition since the conflict began, the Palestinian health ministry says. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most of these occurred after the March blockade. In May, GHF, the controversial new Israeli- and American-backed organization, announced it would begin delivering with Israel's approval. Just days before GHF began operating, its director Jake Wood resigned, saying it was impossible to do his work 'while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.' The foundation was created to replace the UN's role in Gaza, while complying with Israeli demands that the aid not reach Hamas. The GHF said it would coordinate with the Israeli military, but that security would be provided by private military contractors. The UN has refused to participate, saying the GHF model violates some basic humanitarian principles. Critics have noted that there are only a small number of GHF distribution sites, in southern and central Gaza – far fewer than hundreds under the UN's previous model. This has forced massive crowds to gather at limited locations. The GHF has defended its system, saying it is a 'secure model (that) blocks the looting.' But soon after it began operating on May 27, the plan turned deadly as those seeking aid increasingly came under fire near GHF aid sites. Palestinian officials and witnesses have said Israeli troops are responsible for most of the deaths. The Israeli military acknowledged firing warning shots toward crowds in some instances, but denied responsibility for other incidents. And the deaths aren't limited to the vicinity of GHF aid sites. On Sunday, Israeli forces killed dozens waiting for aid in northern Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israel said troops fired warning shots after sensing an 'immediate threat' The ministry of health recorded 10 deaths due to famine and malnutrition in 24 hours from Tuesday, bringing the total of Palestinians who died of starvation to 111. On Wednesday, 111 international humanitarian organizations called on Israel to end its blockade and agree to a ceasefire, warning that supplies in the enclave are now 'totally depleted' and that humanitarian groups are 'witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.' An Israeli official said at a press briefing on Wednesday that they expect more aid to enter the enclave in the future. 'We would like to see more and more trucks entering Gaza and distributing the aid as long as Hamas is not involved,' the official said. 'As we see for now, Hamas has an interest: First, to put pressure on the State of Israel through the international community in order to (have) an effect in the (ceasefire) negotiation process; and second, to collapse the new mechanism that we have established that is making sure that they are not involved in the aid delivery inside Gaza.' International pressure continues to mount on Israel, including from the United States. And on Monday, the foreign ministers of 25 Western nations slammed Israel for 'drip feeding' aid into the Gaza Strip. Israel's foreign ministry said it 'rejects' the statement, calling it 'disconnected from reality.' CNN's Tim Lister, Mostafa Salem, Catherine Nicholls, Oren Liebermann, Eugenia Yosef, Dana Karni, Mike Schwartz, Mick Krever, Eugenia Yosef and Jeremy Diamond contributed reporting.
