'The best show in town': From a hilltop in Israel, observers have a sinister view of Gaza bombings
"When I see and hear a missile fall on Gaza, I am happy," Afik said, grinning in his shorts and brightly colored T-shirt, his pack of cigarettes and phone in front of him. On his device screen, the watch shop manager showed a photo of Avi Megira, his uncle, killed on his motorcycle in the streets of Sderot by a Hamas member during the massacres of October 7.
Facing his two friends, a trader and an employee at the large printing plant in Kibbutz Be'eri, adjacent to the Gaza Strip, the young man, "frightened" by the proximity of the border with the Palestinian enclave, said he believed that freeing the last 50 Israeli hostages, of whom only about 20 are thought to be alive, could only happen through a violent military operation. Even if "millions" of Palestinians must die, he added. According to the latest figures shared by NGOs and international organizations on the ground, more than 58,000 people, the majority of them civilians, have already been killed by the Israeli army since October 7.
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Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
E3 leaders make new renewed call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
The leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, known as the E3, on Saturday issued a new call for an end to the Gaza war, describing the situation in the besieged enclave as appalling. According to a UK government statement, the three leaders, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President of France Emmanuel Macron, and Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, spoke Saturday morning by phone. They emphasised the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to lift all restrictions on aid and urgently provide those suffering in Gaza with the food they so desperately need, the statement said. "They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan, building on their collaboration to date, which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region," the statement added. Saturday's call follows that of Friday, where the European allies called for an immediate ceasefire, saying that "withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable." What could the E3 nations' action be? The leaders stated that they "stand ready to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region," but did not specify what that action may be. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognise a Palestinian state, drawing a backlash from the US and Israel. In Friday's joint statement, the leaders urged all parties to bring an end to the conflict and also called for an unconditional release of all hostages who have been held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023. While their call comes amid a breakdown of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, Starmer, Macron, and Merz stressed that the disarmament of Hamas remains imperative. "Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza. We reaffirm our commitment to supporting the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt," Friday's joint statement said. Gaza Starvation deaths rising This week, the world has woken up to grim images of children suffering malnutrition and dying from starvation in Gaza. Experts have warned that Gaza is being pushed closer to famine after months of Israel entirely blocking food or letting in only limited amounts. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says nearly one in three people in Gaza has not been eating for days at a time, warning that malnutrition is rising, with around 90,000 children and women now in need of urgent treatment. In the past three weeks, at least 50 people died of causes related to malnutrition, including 28 adults and 22 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. That's up from 12 children who died in the five previous months of 2025, according to the ministry. UK to airdrop aid in Gaza On Saturday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air-drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance. In its statement on the call with Macron and Merz, the British prime minister said they all agreed it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace. They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 25
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the dead included nine people killed in three separate air strikes in Gaza City. Eleven people were killed in four separate strikes near the southern city of Khan Yunis, while two were killed in a drone strike in Nuseirat refugee camp, he added. Bassal said three people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid in three separate incidents in northern, central and southern Gaza. One of the three was killed "after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid" northwest of Gaza City, the agency said. Witnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area. One of them, Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire "while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point", located near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah. The Israeli military told AFP that its troops fired "warning shots to distance the crowd" after identifying an "immediate threat". The civil defence agency said another man was killed by a drone strike near Khan Yunis, while one was killed by artillery fire in the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza. The Israeli military said it was continuing its operations in Gaza, adding that it killed members of a "terrorist cell" which it accused of planting an explosive device. It said the air force had "struck over 100 terror targets" across Gaza over the previous 24 hours. Bassal said civil defence teams also recovered the bodies of 12 people following Israeli bombardment north of Rafah the previous night. The recovery operation was conducted in coordination with the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), he said, adding that the bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Euronews
7 hours ago
- Euronews
Trumps tees off in Scotland amid nationwide protests
US President Donald Trump played golf on Saturday at his course in Scotland while citizens around the country took to the streets to protest his visit. Trump and his son Eric played with the US ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family's company took over in 2008. Hundreds of protesters gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the US Consulate about 160 kilometres away in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Speakers on a makeshift stage told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and they criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff US tariffs on goods imported from the UK. Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a 'Stop Trump Coalition." 'I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him and we should not accept him here,' said June Osbourne, 52, a photographer and photo historian from Edinburgh who protested wearing a red cloak and white hood, recalling "The Handmaid's Tale." Osbourne held up picture of Trump with 'Resist' stamped over his face. The dual-US-Scottish citizen said the Republican president was "the worst thing that has happened to the world, the US, in decades.' Saturday's protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that came out across Scotland when Trump played at the resort during his first term in 2018. But bagpipes played, people chanted 'Trump Out!' and raised homemade signs that said 'No red carpet for dictators," 'We don't want you here' and 'Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.' Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow. While in Scotland, Trump is set to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president.
