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Israel military issues further calls to evacuate northern Gaza as airstrikes continue – Middle East crisis live

Israel military issues further calls to evacuate northern Gaza as airstrikes continue – Middle East crisis live

The Guardian25-03-2025
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Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel's continuing war on Gaza.
Gaza's health ministry said yesterday that 730 Palestinian people had been killed in Israeli attacks since the country's military resumed intensive bombardments across the strip last Tuesday, including about 60 people in the past 24 hours.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 23 Palestinians, including seven children, since midnight in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. Most of the attacks reportedly targeted areas in south and central Gaza.
The victims include three children and their parents who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their tent near the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser hospital which has received dead bodies throughout the war.
Three people were killed in an airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda hospital, while an Israeli airstrike on a residential building killed 5 people in Gaza City, according to officials. Palestinian children inspect the destruction after an Israeli airstrike on tents in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Photograph: APAImages/REX/Shutterstock
In other news: Hossam Shabat , a journalist for the Al Jazeera Mubasher channel , was killed in northern Gaza on Monday. Witnesses told the network that his car was targeted in the eastern part of Beit Lahiya . Earlier in the day, Mohammad Mansour , a reporter who worked for Palestine Today , was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military issued more calls to evacuate parts of northern Gaza, telling Palestinians to head towards 'known shelters' even though there is no guarantee of safety there. 'Terrorist organizations are once again returning to and firing rockets from populated areas... For your safety, head south toward the known shelters immediately,' the Israeli military spokesperson wrote on X, after issuing similar warnings for the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun .
In extraordinary blunder, top Trump cabinet members added the Atlantic magazine editor to a Signal group chat discussing secret military plans for recent attacks in Yemen. The major security breach sparked bipartisan outrage and calls from one Democratic group for Pete Hegseth to resign as defence secretary.
The Israeli military said earlier today it struck targets – 'Tadmur and T4' - at two Syrian military bases in Homs province, claiming they hosted 'military capabilities'.
Israel's defence ministry has announced the creation of an administration dedicated to the 'voluntary departure of Gaza residents to a third country', drawing outrage from Egypt, which borders Gaza and Israel. Cairo expressed 'its strong condemnation' of the creation of the authority. Share
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Experts identify 230kg bomb used in deadly Gaza cafe strike
Experts identify 230kg bomb used in deadly Gaza cafe strike

The National

time37 minutes ago

  • The National

Experts identify 230kg bomb used in deadly Gaza cafe strike

According to reports from the Guardian, shrapnel recovered from the strike has revealed the weight and scale of the explosive, which killed around 30 Palestinians when it was dropped on Al-Baqa cafe on Monday. International law experts have said the use of such powerful munitions in a civilian area was likely unlawful and could constitute a war crime. READ MORE: 4 members of Palestine Action charged over RAF break-in Ordnance experts analysed fragments of the explosive through photographs of the cafe ruins and found them to be remainders of an MK-82 general purpose 230kg bomb, a US-made device that has been commonplace in bombing campaigns in recent years. Trevor Ball, a weapons researcher and former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, identified a Jdam tail section and thermal battery suggesting either an MPR500 or an MK-82 bomb was dropped, an assessment echoed by another expert with extensive experience in recent conflicts, while a third said they could not make a reliable assessment from the pictures presented by the Guardian. The experts also said the crater left in the area was further indication of a large and powerful explosive being used. Victims from the explosion include a number of women and children, a journalist, an artist and a filmmaker. Inside the destroyed eatery, which was once a popular recreational spot for young people and families in Gaza City (Image: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Under international law, military forces are forbidden to carry out attacks that cause 'incidental loss of civilian life' that is 'excessive or disproportionate' to any potential advantages to be gained. Gerry Simpson, of Human Rights Watch, said: 'The Israeli military hasn't said exactly whom it was targeting but it said it used aerial surveillance to minimise civilian casualties, which means it knew the cafe was teeming with customers at the time. READ MORE: There will be an 'alternative' to Labour at next election, says Jeremy Corbyn 'The military would also have known that using a large guided air-dropped bomb would kill and maim many of the civilians there. 'The use of such a large weapon in an obviously crowded cafe risks that this was an unlawful disproportionate or indiscriminate attack and should be investigated as a war crime.' Al-Baqa cafe, founded over 40 years ago, was a two-storey building in Gaza City with an open upper deck and a lower floor that had views of the beach through its wide windows. The port area where Al-Baqa cafe was located was not covered by any evacuation orders issued by the IDF to warn of impending military operations.

U.S. contractors tell the AP that their colleagues are shooting at Palestinians seeking food in Gaza
U.S. contractors tell the AP that their colleagues are shooting at Palestinians seeking food in Gaza

NBC News

time41 minutes ago

  • NBC News

U.S. contractors tell the AP that their colleagues are shooting at Palestinians seeking food in Gaza

BEERSHEBA, Israel — American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press. Two U.S. contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were revealing their employers' internal operations, said they were coming forward because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous and irresponsible practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished. They said their colleagues regularly lobbed stun grenades and pepper spray in the direction of the Palestinians. One contractor said bullets were fired in all directions — in the air, into the ground and at times toward the Palestinians, recalling at least one instance where he thought someone had been hit. 'There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,' the contractor said. He said American staff on the sites monitor those coming to seek food and document anyone considered 'suspicious.' He said they share such information with the Israeli military. Videos provided by one of the contractors and taken at the sites show hundreds of Palestinians crowded between metal gates, jostling for aid amid the sound of bullets, stun grenades and the sting of pepper spray. Other videos include conversation between English-speaking men discussing how to disperse crowds and encouraging each other after bursts of gunfire. NBC News has not obtained or reviewed the videos. The testimonies from the contractors — combined with the videos, internal reports and text messages obtained by the AP — offer a rare glimpse inside the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the newly created, secretive American organization backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip's population. Last month, the U.S. government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operations — the first known U.S. donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque. Journalists have been unable to access the GHF sites, located in Israeli military-controlled zones. The AP and NBC News cannot independently verify the contractors' stories. On Wednesday, officials in Switzerland initiated proceedings to dissolve the Geneva branch of the GHF, citing legal shortcomings in its establishment, Reuters reported. The group is registered in the U.S. state of Delaware and had registered an affiliate in Geneva on February 12. The Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA), a Swiss regulatory body, told Reuters the GHF had not fulfilled certain legal requirements including having the correct number of board members, a postal address or a Swiss bank account. 'GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered (branch),' the ESA said in a statement obtained by Reuters. A spokesperson for Safe Reach Solutions, the logistics company subcontracted by GHF, told the AP that there have been no serious injuries at any of their sites to date. In scattered incidents, security professionals fired live rounds into the ground and away from civilians to get their attention. That happened in the early days at the 'the height of desperation where crowd control measures were necessary for the safety and security of civilians,' the spokesperson said. Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, setting off the 21-month war, Israel has bombarded and laid siege to the strip, leaving many teetering on the edge of famine, according to food security experts. For 2 1/2 months before GHF's opening in May, Israel blocked all food, water and medicine from entering Gaza, claiming Hamas was stealing the aid being transported under a preexisting system coordinated by the United Nations. It now wants GHF to replace that U.N. system. The U.N. says its Gaza aid operations do not involve armed guards. Over 57,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the war erupted, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants. GHF is an American organization, registered in Delaware and established in February to distribute humanitarian aid during the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis. Since the GHF sites began operating more than a month ago, Palestinians say Israeli troops open fire almost every day toward crowds on roads heading to the distribution points, through Israeli military zones. Several hundred people have been killed and hundreds more wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and witnesses. In response, Israel's military says it fires only warning shots and is investigating reports of civilian harm. It denies deliberately shooting at any innocent civilians and says it's examining how to reduce 'friction with the population' in the areas surrounding the distribution centers. AP's reporting for this article focuses on what is happening at the sites themselves. Palestinians arriving at the sites say they are caught between Israeli and American fire, said the contractor who shared videos with the AP. 'We have come here to get food for our families. We have nothing,' he recounted Palestinians telling him. 'Why does the [Israeli] army shoot at us? Why do you shoot at us?' A spokesperson for the GHF said there are people with a 'vested interest' in seeing it fail and are willing to do or say almost anything to make that happen. The spokesperson said the team is composed of seasoned humanitarian, logistics and security professionals with deep experience on the ground. The group says it has distributed the equivalent of more than 50 million meals in Gaza in its food boxes of staples. GHF says that it has consistently shown compassionate engagement with the people of Gaza. Throughout the war, aid distribution has been marred by chaos. Gangs have looted trucks of aid traveling to distribution centers and mobs of desperate people have also offloaded trucks before they've reached their destination. Earlier this month, at least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded while waiting for the U.N. and commercial trucks to enter the territory, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and a local hospital. Israel's military acknowledged several casualties as soldiers opened fire on the approaching crowd and said authorities would investigate. AP spoke to the two contractors for UG Solutions, an American outfit subcontracted to hire security personnel for the distribution sites. They said bullets, stun grenades and pepper spray were used at nearly every distribution, even if there was no threat. Videos of aid being dispensed at the sites seen by the AP appear to back up the frenetic scenes the contractors described. The footage was taken within the first two weeks of its distributions — about halfway into the operations. In one video, what appear to be heavily armed American security contractors at one of the sites in Gaza discuss how to disperse Palestinians nearby. One is heard saying he has arranged for a 'show of force' by Israeli tanks. 'I don't want this to be too aggressive,' he adds, 'because this is calming down.' At that moment, bursts of gunfire erupt close by, at least 15 shots. 'Whoo! Whoo!' one contractor yelps. 'I think you hit one,' one says. Then comes a shout: 'Hell, yeah, boy!' The camera's view is obscured by a large dirt mound. The contractor who took the video told AP that he saw other contractors shooting in the direction of Palestinians who had just collected their food and were departing. The men shot both from a tower above the site and from atop the mound, he said. The shooting began because contractors wanted to disperse the crowd, he said, but it was unclear why they continued shooting as people were walking away. The camera does not show who was shooting or what was being shot at. But the contractor who filmed it said he watched another contractor fire at the Palestinians and then saw a man about 60 yards (meters) away — in the same direction where the bullets were fired — drop to the ground. This happened at the same time the men were heard talking — effectively egging each other on, he said. In other videos furnished by the contractor, men in grey uniforms — colleagues, he said — can be seen trying to clear Palestinians who are squeezed into a narrow, fenced-in passage leading to one of the centers. The men fire pepper spray and throw stun grenades that detonate amid the crowd. The sound of gunfire can be heard. The contractor who took the video said the security personnel usually fire at the ground near the crowds or from nearby towers over their heads. During a single distribution in June, contractors used 37 stun grenades, 27 rubber-and-smoke 'scat shell' projectiles and 60 cans of pepper spray, according to internal text communications shared with the AP. That count does not include live ammunition, the contractor who provided the videos said. One photo shared by that contractor shows a woman lying in a donkey cart after he said she was hit in the head with part of a stun grenade. An internal report by Safe Reach Solutions, the logistics company subcontracted by GHF to run the sites, found that aid seekers were injured during 31% of the distributions that took place in a two-week period in June. The report did not specify the number of injuries or the cause. SRS told the AP the report refers to non-serious injuries. More videos show frenzied scenes of Palestinians running to collect leftover food boxes at one site. Hundreds of young men crowd near low metal barriers, transferring food from boxes to bags while contractors on the other side of the barriers tell them to stay back. Some Palestinians wince and cough from pepper spray. 'You tasting that pepper spray? Yuck,' one man close to the camera can be heard saying in English. SRS acknowledged that it's dealing with large, hungry populations, but said the environment is secure, controlled, and ensures people can get the aid they need safely.

War of words grows over pro-Palestine protest at arts centre
War of words grows over pro-Palestine protest at arts centre

The Herald Scotland

time2 hours ago

  • The Herald Scotland

War of words grows over pro-Palestine protest at arts centre

The Art Workers for Palestine Group has stepped up pressure for senior figures to be 'removed' amid claims that participants in a sit-in protest were 'kettled, brutalised and oppressed.' Read more: The CCA, which has been targeted over a refusal to publicly support a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, has expressed 'regret' over the impact of last week's protest. However it has claimed it was forced to call in 'law enforcement' in response to a 'forced entry' of its building. The CCA in Glasgow city centre has been running since 1992. Social media posts by the campaign group on the morning of June 24 had urged supporters to 'mobilise' and 'enter the building' at 12 noon after the group was refused permission to stage a programme of their own events in a 'liberated zone.' The CCA has claimed the group demanded that the venue agreed in advance that the police would not be called 'under any circumstances,' and was refused permission due to the venue's 'safeguarding responsibilities.' The centre, which insisted the planned events would have 'breached' the venue's licensing and insurance obligations, said it had been advised to close the building by the police and security staff. However the CCA has denied claims that it had 'colluded' with the police and 'pre-arranged' for officers to be in the area before the forced entry of the building. Last month the CCA said that its board had been "unable to reach a consensus" over whether to endorse the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, despite calls from more than 800 supporters of an online petition. At the time, the centre said it would be instigating a "transparent, values-based consultation with our staff and the broader CCA community to address the substantive issues." The AWFPS group announced plans for five days of events at the CCA, saying: 'It is up to us to reclaim our arts institutions that are heading in an increasingly disturbing direction.' On the morning of June 24, the group told supporters: 'We are shocked that the CCA are saying that they will not let art workers run our liberated zone programme or allow us to enter the building. 'We need as many people as possible to mobile at CCA at 12 noon to enter the building and reclaim the public courtyard so that the liberated zone can go ahead.' A new statement issued by the CCA said: 'The CCA Board was unable to reach a consensus on publicly endorsing the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) at its last board meeting. This is due to the potential legal complexities and implications for a charity to do so. 'To fulfil its charitable aim, the organisation must remain independent politically. CCA is responsible for maintaining and supporting employment in the arts, including funding programmes of artist development, and must therefore always consider its financial and legal sustainability very carefully. 'The CCA does not hold any investment in companies, Israeli or international, that are involved in the violation of Palestinian rights. We also do not have any partnerships with Israeli academic or cultural institutions. 'We review commercial and programming decisions on a case-by-case basis and recognise the need to develop a formal ethical framework to guide these decisions in future. 'On June 23 Art Workers for Palestine Scotland (AW4PS) announced a week-long programme of events to take place in the CCA's courtyard space. 'AW4PS included in their notification that CCA would agree not to contact the police or security personnel under any circumstances, which in light of our safeguarding responsibilities and legal duties, we were not able to host. 'There was no agreement reached, and security, legal, and insurance concerns remained unresolved. 'AWFPS had not entered into an agreement with the CCA to ensure that contracting, safeguarding, risk assessment, and access considerations were in place for a five-day event, involving a wide range of participants, including children, which was announced with only 24 hours' notice. 'CCA would have been in breach of its legal obligations regarding licensing and insurance if we had allowed the event to go ahead. 'On the morning of June 24, the CCA was closed to the public, with access for staff, cultural tenants and contract hires only. 'AWFPS made a post on social media saying that they needed 'as many people to mobilise at CCA at 12 noon to enter the building and reclaim the public courtyard.' 'At noon, groups gathered outside both entrances. Only after a group entered the building, the police were called. 'We regret the impact on all those involved inside and outside of the building. We can confirm that CCA has not called for any charges that have been pressed, nor have we had further contact with police regarding this matter.' The AWFPS group said it was 'deeply disturbed and appalled' at the CCA's latest statement, and stepped up its demand for the "removal" of interim director Steve Slater, chair Jean Cameron and board member Steve Slater. It said: 'Rather than taking accountability for their actions, the CCA's leadership continues to misrepresent events, discredit organisers and align itself with a growing culture of state repression that seeks to delegitimise protest and Palestinian solidarity. 'Most importantly, the CCA fails to apologise to the many people that were kettled, brutalised and oppressed last Thursday. 'The CCA's invocation of 'safeguarding to justify their actions rings hollow when their immediate response was to call the police, a move that is inherently unsafe for many of the very communities they claim to support. 'Framing police involvement as care is not safeguarding, it is harm. 'We are not outsiders. We are arts workers, artists who have exhibited at the CCA, community members, and people who one imagined the CCA as a platform for sharing radical, thoughtful and collective practice.' The CCA was opened in 1992 at the home of the former Third Eye Centre, which was founded in 1974. Writers, artists and performers who have shown work or performed there include Allen Ginsberg, Whoopi Goldberg, John Byrne, Billy Connolly, Edwin Morgan, Kathy Acker, Damien Hirst, Sophie Calleite, Nathan Coley, Jacqueline Donachie, Louise Hopkins, Carol Rhodes, Richard Wright, David Shrigley and Ross Sinclair. The venue has had a number of difficulties over the last decade, including being forced to close for several months due to the impact of the 2018 Glasgow School of Art fire, a long-running dispute over the pay and conditions of workers at its cafe-bar, and financial problems, which forced the venue to close temporarily in December. The venue finally reopened in April after securing a new £3.4 million Scottish Government funding deal for the next three years.

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