Israelis recover bodies of three people killed in October 7 attack
The Israeli military said yesterday that it had recovered the remains of three hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
The military identified the remains as those of Yonatan Samerano (21), Ofra Keidar (70) and Shay Levinson (19). All three were killed during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war.
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Irish Daily Mirror
9 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Social Democrats criticised for 'quietly' readmitting suspended TD Eoin Hayes
People Before Profit has criticised the Social Democrats for 'quietly' readmitting suspended TD Eoin Hayes, reiterating calls for the politician to resign his seat in the Dáil. Mr Hayes was allowed to rejoin the Social Democrats parliamentary party yesterday after nearly eight months sitting as an independent TD. He had been suspended weeks after his election last November, when it emerged that he had provided incorrect information to the media about the sale of shares in his former employer, Palantir Technologies. The company has a number of IT contracts with Israel and the US military. Today, People Before Profit accused the Social Democrats of 'cynically' announcing his readmission late on a Friday evening during the Dáil recess in order to minimise scrutiny. 'Eoin Hayes was rightly suspended in December after it was revealed he had profited to the tune of nearly €200,000 from shares in Palantir, a company deeply embedded in the Israeli war machine for close to its entire existence as a company,' it said in a statement. The party claimed that the Social Democrats had offered 'no transparency' on the matter since the suspension of Mr Hayes, accusing it of prioritising Dáil seats and opinion polls above ethical standards and public trust. 'This is not just a political scandal, it is a direct contradiction of the values the Social Democrats claim to stand for,' the People Before Profit statement read. 'Since their foundation 10 years ago, they have positioned themselves as the party of integrity and higher standards in public life, claiming to be an alternative to the corruption and cynicism of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. 'For many voters and members, that commitment to honesty and transparency has been central to their appeal. The handling of the Hayes affair will come as a real disappointment to many of those supporters, and rightly so.' People Before Profit welcomed the announcement that Mr Hayes would donate a sum of money to Palestinian charities, but added that there were still questions to answer about his actions. 'This whole situation raises serious questions, not just about Eoin Hayes' judgment, but about the standards the Social Democrats are willing to accept,' said Cllr Conor Reddy of People Before Profit. The statement noted that the party had called on Mr Hayes to resign last December, and reiterated that call following his readmission to the Social Democrats. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
25 killed by Israeli fire across Gaza, says civil defence
Gaza's civil defence agency has said Israeli fire has killed 25 people in the Palestinian territory devastated by more than 21 months of war. Agency spokesman Mahmoud 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 Younis, while two were killed in a drone strike in Nuseirat refugee camp, he added. Mr 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 said 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 said 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 Younis, 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. Mr 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 Younis. 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 7 October 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.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Gaza aid airdrops won't solve 'deepening starvation'
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said that planned airdrops of aid into Gaza would not solve severe food shortages caused by months of restrictions on the entry of supplies. "Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X, calling the wave of hunger affecting Gaza "man made". An Israeli official said yesterday that aid drops in Gaza would resume soon, adding they would be conducted by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with international NGOs warning of soaring malnutrition among children. "Lift the siege, open the gates & guarantee safe movements + dignified access to people in need," Mr Lazzarini said, referring to the various entry points under Israeli control that regulate access into Gaza. Israel imposed a total blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza on 2 March after talks to extend a ceasefire broke down. It began to allow a trickle of aid to enter again in late May. The UN and NGOs on the ground have decried the severe scarcity facing Gaza's 2.4 million people, with shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel. #Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction & screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates & guarantee safe movements… — Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 26, 2025 Israel's military said that the country did "not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip", and that humanitarian organisations and the UN were not collecting the aid once it was inside the territory. Humanitarian organisations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions on the goods allowed into Gaza and on the routes made available to transport the aid to distribution points. The United Arab Emirates, Jordan, France and other countries carried out airdrops in Gaza in 2024, at a time when the transport of aid on land routes also faced restrictions. Many in the humanitarian community consider such drops to be ineffective and dangerous due to the relatively small volumes of deliveries and the risk of aid seekers being killed by landing crates, as has previously happened in Gaza. UK 'taking forward' plan to airdrop food into Gaza Earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told French and German leaders that the UK will be "taking forward" plans to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance in Gaza with partners like Jordan. Mr Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz agreed to work "closely together on a plan" to "pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region", Downing Street said. In a readout of the Prime Minister's call with the French President and German Chancellor, a Number 10 spokesperson said: "The three leaders talked about the situation in Gaza, which they agreed is appalling, and 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 leaders all agreed it would be "vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace". 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." "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. Mr Starmer also rejected calls from MPs to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, while Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. Some 221 MPs have signed a letter urging the British Government to recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN next week. The UK would follow in the footsteps of France if it did, after Mr Macron announced on Thursday that France would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. Senior Labour MP Sarah Champion, who co-ordinated the cross-party letter, said recognition "would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people". While Mr Starmer said he was "unequivocal" about wanting to see a Palestinian state, he insisted this needed to be part of a "wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis". The UK and its allies must work together to broker a peace, he added, likening the effort to the coalition of the willing to support Ukraine. US President Donald Trump, who is currently visiting Scotland, has said Mr Macron's announcement was "not going to change anything". Ms Meloni meanwhile said that while she was very much in favour of a Palestinian state, she was "not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it". "If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't," Ms Meloni added. France's decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Yesterday, Italy's foreign minister said recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with recognition of Israel by the new Palestinian entity. A German government spokesperson said that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution.
