Israeli forces intercept the Madleen aid ship headed to Gaza
Video from Al Jazeera Mubasher showed the crew of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition's Madleen in life jackets with their hands raised as the ship was about to be raided by Israeli forces. Communications with the vessel were cut shortly after.
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Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
US military says it has killed senior ISIL (ISIS) leader in Syria's Aleppo
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) forces have killed a senior ISIL (ISIS) leader and his two sons affiliated to the group in Syria's Aleppo region, the US military has said. A post on X on Friday said, 'Early this morning in al Bab, Aleppo Governate, Syria, CENTCOM Forces conducted a raid resulting in the death of senior ISIS Leader, Dhiya' Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons, Abdallah Dhiya al-Hardani and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba al-Hardani.' 'These ISIS individuals posed a threat to US and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government, ' it added. 'We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they are. ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide. Alongside our partners and allies, U.S. Central Command is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS terrorists that threaten the region, our allies, and our homeland,' General Michael Erik Kurilla, US CENTCOM commander, said. In late May, ISIL claimed responsibility for an attack on the Syrian army, representing the armed group's first strike at government forces since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, according to analysts. In a statement regarding that attack, ISIL said its fighters had planted an explosive device that struck a 'vehicle of the apostate regime' in southern Syria. ISIL, which views the new government in Damascus led by President Ahemd al-Sharaa as illegitimate, has so far concentrated its activities against Kurdish forces in the north. The fledgling Syrian government has had to contend with Israeli bombardment and incursions into its territory since al-Assad's overthrow, as well as the eruption of sustained sectarian violence in the southern city of Suwayda in recent weeks. CENTCOM Forces Kill Senior ISIS Leader in Al Bab, Syria Early this morning in al Bab, Aleppo Governate, Syria, CENTCOM Forces conducted a raid resulting in the death of senior ISIS Leader, Dhiya' Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons, Abdallah Dhiya… — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 25, 2025
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
‘Shoot them': Sheikh Hasina ordered firing on Bangladesh protesters in 2024
Former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, 'issued an open order' to 'use lethal weapons' on students protesting against her government's policies last year and shoot 'wherever they find them', her secret phone call recordings, accessed by Al Jazeera, have revealed. Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for 15 years, resigned from office and fled to India on August 5 after weeks of bloody protests and brutal action by government forces killed nearly 1,400 people and wounded more than 20,000, according to the country's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). The Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (I-Unit) had the recordings analysed by audio forensic experts to check for AI manipulation, and the callers were identified by voice matching. In one call, recorded on July 18 by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), Hasina told an ally that she had ordered her security forces to use lethal force. 'My instructions have already been given. I've issued an open order completely. Now they will use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them,' she said.. 'That has been instructed. I have stopped them so far … I was thinking about the students' safety.' Later in the call with Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, the mayor of Dhaka South and a relative of Hasina, the former PM talks about using helicopters to control demonstrations. 'Wherever they notice any gathering, it's from above – now it's being done from above – it has already started in several places. It has begun. Some [protesters] have moved.' At the time, Bangladeshi security forces had denied firing on protesters from the air, but Shabir Sharif, an accident and emergency doctor at the Popular Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, told the I-Unit that shots were fired from a helicopter 'targeting our hospital entrance'. He added that doctors attended to student protesters with unusual bullet wounds. 'The bullets entered either the shoulder or the chest, and they all remained inside the body. We were receiving more of these types of patients at that time,' he said. 'When we looked at the X-rays, we were surprised because there were huge bullets.' Al Jazeera has not been able to verify what type of bullets were used. The calls may be presented by prosecutors as evidence before the ICT, which has charged Hasina, her ministers and security officials with crimes against humanity. Hasina and two other officials were indicted on July 10, and the trial is scheduled to begin in August. Hasina's surveillance network, the NTMC, recorded these conversations. The NTMC has previously been accused of spying on not just opposition figures but even Hasina's political allies. Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor for the ICT, said the former prime minister knew she was being recorded. 'In some cases, the other side [would say we] … 'should not discuss this over telephone'. And the reply was from the prime minister, 'Yes, I know, I know, I know, I know, it is being recorded, no problem.'' 'She has dug a very deep ditch for others. Now she's in the ditch,' Islam said. Student protests started peacefully in June 2024 after the high court reintroduced an unpopular quota system that reserved state jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. Many students felt the system favoured supporters of the ruling Awami League party, which had led the freedom movement, and that many jobs in the civil service were not awarded on merit. On July 16, student protester Abu Sayed was shot dead by police in the northern city of Rangpur. His death was a turning point in the July uprising, leading to a national outcry and intensifying the protests. In one secret phone recording of Hasina's ally and economics adviser, Salman F Rahman, he is heard trying to get hold of Sayed's postmortem report. During the call, Rahman quizzes inspector general of police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, wanting to know what had happened to the report. 'Why is it taking so long to get the postmortem report? Who's playing hide and seek? Rangpur Medical?' he asked, referring to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, which was carrying out the autopsy on Sayed. Rangpur Medical College Hospital's Dr Rajibul Islam told Al Jazeera that police forced him to change Sayed's postmortem report five times to remove any reference to multiple bullet wounds. 'They wanted to write a report stating that Abu Sayed Bhai died due to injuries from stone-throwing … [whereas] he died from police bullets.' Twelve days after Sayed's death, his family were flown to Dhaka for a televised event with the prime minister. In all, about 40 families were gathered – all of them had relatives killed in the protests. 'Hasina forced us to come to Ganabhaban,' said Sayed's father, Maqbul Hossain, referring to the PM's residence. 'They forced us to come; otherwise, they might have tortured us in another way.' As the cameras recorded the event, Hasina handed out money to each family. She told Sayed's sister, Sumi Khatun: 'We will deliver justice to your family.' Khatun replied to the PM: 'It was shown in the video that the police shot him. What is there to investigate here? Coming here was a mistake.' In a statement to Al Jazeera, an Awami League spokesperson said Hasina had never used the phrase 'lethal weapons', and did not specifically authorise the security forces to use lethal force. 'This [Hasina's phone] recording is either cherry-picked, doctored or both.' The statement added that government efforts to investigate Abu Sayed's death were 'genuine'.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel kills two Palestinian minors amid raids across occupied West Bank
Two Palestinian teenage boys have been killed by Israeli forces in the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency, in the latest deadly violence in the territory continuing in tandem with Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. The bodies of 15-year-old Ahmad Ali Asaad Ashira al-Salah and 17-year-old Muhammad Khaled Alian Issa, who were killed at dawn, were withheld by the Israeli army, the report said, adding that two more children were also injured in the gunfire. The deadly incident came as Israeli forces arrested at least 25 Palestinians in multiple raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Wafa. The arrests include 10 Palestinians in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron; two in the town of Idhna, west of Hebron; three in the town of Dura al-Qari, north of Ramallah; one in the city of Ramallah; five in the village of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah; and four in the city of Nablus. 'Making Palestinian lives impossible' Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated dramatically, with near-daily reports of mass arrests, killings and Israeli settler attacks, often supported by Israeli soldiers. Settlers have been rampaging with impunity, attacking and killing Palestinian civilians and burning their properties and olive groves. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 948 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli soldiers since October 7, 2023. Of that figure, at least 204 are children. Meanwhile, from the beginning of 2024 until the end of June 2025, more than 2,200 Israeli settler attacks were reported, resulting in more than 5,200 Palestinian injuries, according to OCHA figures. In that same period, nearly 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced across the occupied West Bank due to Israeli military operations, settler violence or home demolitions carried out by the Israeli government. The Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank is part of the Israeli government's strategy for preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to Amjad Abu El Ezz, a lecturer of international relations at the Arab American University. The increased number of killings, and the destruction of Palestinian homes and vehicles by Israeli settlers in coordination with the Israeli army, aim to encourage Palestinians to leave their land, Abu El Ezz told Al Jazeera from Ramallah. Israel is weakening the governing Palestinian Authority, 'making Palestinian lives impossible', while at the same time 'building Israeli facts on the ground' to prevent the Palestinians from building their own state, he added. 'We are talking about more than 700,000 Israeli settlers. They have weapons, they are acting as an army in parallel to the Israeli army,' Abu El Ezz said. On Wednesday, Israel's parliament approved a symbolic measure calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank. Knesset lawmakers voted 71-13 in favour of the motion on Wednesday, a non-binding vote which calls for 'applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley' – the Israeli terms for the area. The motion, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, is declarative and has no direct legal implications, though it could place the issue of annexation on the agenda of future debates in the parliament. The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement has called the Israeli parliament's non-binding vote on the annexation of the occupied West Bank a 'dangerous escalation'. In a statement on Telegram, the group said the move was a 'clear disregard for the international community' and a way for Israel to implement 'its criminal plans targeting the land of Palestine and its people'. The West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since then, Israeli settlements have expanded exponentially, despite being illegal under international law and, in the case of settlement outposts, Israeli law.
