Latest news with #Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
At least 72 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza as truce talks stall
Israeli forces have continued to pound the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 72 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, as ceasefire talks stall amid a deepening fuel and hunger crisis. An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least five people who were seeking aid on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The killings raised the death toll of Palestinians killed near aid sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to 838, according to Wafa. In Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza, an Israeli strike on a displacement camp killed nine people and wounded many others. In central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, four people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a commercial centre, Wafa said. Israeli forces also resumed stepping up attacks in northern Gaza and Gaza City. Israeli media reported an ambush in Gaza City, with a tank hit by rocket fire and later, with small arms. A helicopter was seen evacuating casualties. The Israeli military later confirmed that three soldiers were killed in the incident. Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israeli forces responded with 'massive air strikes in the vicinity of [the] Tuffah and Shujayea neighbourhoods, levelling residential buildings'. The Wafa news agency said at least 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City and dozens more were wounded. The attacks come as UN agencies continue to plead for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where famine looms and a severe fuel shortage has brought the already battered healthcare sector to its knees. Gaza's water crisis has also intensified since Israel blocked nearly all fuel shipments into the enclave on March 2. With no fuel, desalination plants, wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations have largely shut down. Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result. 'Nothing has changed [on the ground],' Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels. 'A real catastrophe' The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes. When asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on the implementation. Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains 'catastrophic'. 'There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,' he said. Meanwhile, stuttering ceasefire talks entered a second week on Monday, with mediators seeking to close the gap between Israel and Hamas. The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear to still remain deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of captives and a 60-day ceasefire. An official with knowledge of the talks said they were 'ongoing' in Doha on Monday, the AFP news agency reported. 'Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza,' the source reportedly said. 'Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations,' the source added on condition of anonymity. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants to see the Palestinian group destroyed, of being the main obstacle. 'Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement,' the group wrote on Telegram. Netanyahu is under growing pressure to end the war, with military casualties rising and public frustration mounting. He also faces backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called 'humanitarian city' from scratch on the ruins of southern Gaza's Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold. Israel's security establishment is reported to be unhappy with the plan, which the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said amounts to plans for a 'concentration camp'.
Times of Oman
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Iran's Prez Pezeshkian sustained minor leg injuries while escaping Israeli attack
Tehran: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian was lightly injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council in Tehran on June 15, Al Jazeera reported, citing a senior Iranian official statement. Pezeshkian sustained minor leg injuries and was forced to escape through an emergency exit. Further, the official confirmed that the assassination attempt targeted the heads of the three branches of government in an effort to overthrow them. "This attempt will not pass without Israel paying a price," he said. According to Al Jazeera, the Israeli strike targeted a high-level meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in western Tehran, where President Masoud Pezeshkian and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government, along with other senior officials, were in attendance. The building's entrances and exits were hit by six missiles to block escape routes and cut off air flow. Electricity was severed following the explosions, but Iranian officials managed to escape through a pre-designated emergency hatch, including the president, who is said to have sustained minor leg injuries while evacuating, as per Al Jazeera. The news agency said authorities launched an investigation into the possible presence of Israeli spies, given the accuracy of the intelligence the "enemy" possessed. Meanwhile, in an interview last week with US media figure Tucker Carlson, Pezeshkian said Israel tried to assassinate him. "They did try, yes ... but they failed," he said. "It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting... They tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting." The comments come less than a month after Israel launched its unprecedented June 13 bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists. According to Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, at least 1,060 people were killed in Iran during the conflict. The Israeli attacks drew waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Brazil's FM: Is BRICS anti-West?
Mauro Vieira discusses whether BRICS is anti-West and whether global governance must change to reflect today's realities. In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera , Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira discusses Brazil's role in the expanding BRICS bloc and whether the group is positioning itself as a challenge to Western dominance. Speaking from Rio de Janeiro after the BRICS summit, Vieira explains President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's call for a global trade currency, critiques the current state of the United Nations, and explains what Brazil envisions for a more balanced multipolar world. With absent leaders, rising tensions, and growing ambitions, is BRICS reshaping global power, or just talking about it?
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
‘We belong to this land': Syrians navigate landmines to battle wildfires
Qastal Maaf, Latakia, Syria – Abu Jameel Muhammed's weathered hands, blackened by soot and ash, trembled as he patted the scorched earth around what remained of his beloved olive tree. At 80, the Syrian elder had survived a brutal civil war, economic collapse, and international sanctions – but the sight of his charred courtyard companion reduced him to tears. 'Villagers rescued me as flames approached my home … I survived, but my only daughter on this land was consumed by fire. It was the last thing left for me here,' Abu Jameel said haltingly, his voice breaking as he referred to the cherished tree that had graced his small home in the Qastal Maaf area of Syria's coastal Latakia province for decades. The elderly man lives alone in what has become the epicentre of wildfires that have ravaged Latakia for more than a week, surviving on money sent by daughters who married and moved abroad – a common story in a country where economic devastation has forced millions to seek opportunities elsewhere. 'My home was the smallest but sweetest in the village… I surrounded it with rose bushes and had one precious olive tree in the courtyard. Now all is gone,' he told Al Jazeera, after the blaze consumed much of his village and forced thousands into displacement. The scene around Abu Jameel's destroyed home reflects a broader catastrophe unfolding across Syria's Mediterranean coast. Wildfires have consumed more than 14,000 hectares (34,600 acres) of land over the past week, according to Syria's Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed al-Saleh, who spoke to Al Jazeera by phone from the front lines. A landscape transformed by fire The steep, narrow roads leading to villages in Latakia's highlands are covered in layers of black mud and ash, making access treacherous for emergency vehicles fighting the wildfires, which have continued despite the best efforts of the Syrian Civil Defense. The air is thick with acrid smoke that burns the throat and stings the eyes, while the once-green mountainsides have been transformed into a moonscape of charred earth and skeletal tree remains. Civil Defense volunteer Muhammed Baradei, 32, emerged from a cordoned-off area in Qastal Maaf during a rare break from battling the flames. His uniform was stained black by ash and humidity, and beads of sweat mixed with the soot covering his forehead and forearms. 'I cancelled my leave when fires started near Latakia. I came from Idlib province to help,' Baradei said, describing a roughly 100km (62-mile) journey that would have been unthinkable during Syria's civil war, as it meant crossing the line between the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition. 'We faced unexploded ordnance from past conflicts, steep terrain and shifting winds. Crews from multiple provinces contained many hot spots, but new fires kept igniting.' The inferno, which broke out on July 2, has been fuelled by high temperatures reaching about 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and strong, dry winds characteristic of Mediterranean summers. But this year's fires carry particular significance for Syria, marking the first major natural disaster response since the fall of longtime dictator al-Assad, and the regime his father established more than 50 years ago, in December. Landmines ignite fires Beyond the immediate challenges posed by steep terrain and unpredictable winds, firefighting teams face a uniquely Syrian hazard: the deadly legacy of more than a decade of conflict. 'One of our greatest challenges was encountering unexploded ordnance and remnants of war,' said Wesam Zeidan, 29, a Civil Defense volunteer who drove from Hama province, far to the southeast of Latakia, to join the firefighting efforts. 'These posed grave risks, forcing us to work with extreme caution and delaying access to affected zones.' According to the United Nations, Syria remains one of the world's most contaminated countries in terms of explosive remnants of war, with an estimated 11.5 million people living in areas affected by explosive hazards. The UN also estimates that there are 300,000 landmines still spread across Syria, ready to be ignited by people unknowingly setting them off. Just between December and June, 369 people were killed as a result of what the UN terms 'explosive ordnance-related accidents', including landmines and other explosive devices left behind by the war. These explosives can also be set off by fires raging in their vicinity. The hidden dangers, scattered across the landscape during years of fighting, now complicate every aspect of the firefighting response. Minister al-Saleh, who joined teams on the front lines, described the scale of damage to Syria's forests as 'heart-wrenching'. According to a statement from the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, at least 12 people have been injured in the firefighting efforts: 10 volunteers suffered severe exhaustion, respiratory distress, fractures or contusions, while two civilians sustained minor burns. 'During my field visits, I saw tremendous efforts to save Syria's forests. Yet challenges grow with intense winds and buried landmines,' al-Saleh stated, highlighting the intersection of natural disaster and conflict legacy that defines much of Syria's contemporary challenges. Years of mounting fire risk Syria has grappled with increasingly severe annual wildfires that have stretched the country's sanctions-hit resources thin even as they were already strained by more than a decade of conflict. The 2020 fires were the worst ever recorded in Syria's history, consuming tens of thousands of hectares across multiple provinces. This past experience, Baradei noted, drove villagers to evacuate promptly as flames approached their homes. 'This significantly lowered the possibility of casualties,' he said. However, the dispersed nature of small, sometimes unofficial settlements scattered throughout the highlands has hampered firefighting efforts, he explained. Zeidan said dense forests and a lack of firebreaks have worsened the spread. The absence of firebreaks – vegetation-free zones intentionally created within forests to block wildfire spread and provide safety areas for ground crews – has been attributed to years of governmental neglect. 'No sooner do we extinguish one fire than another ignites. Due to the dry season, unprecedented heatwaves and intense wind speeds, new hot spots keep erupting,' Zeidan said, his exhaustion evident after days of round-the-clock firefighting. Wind speeds increased dramatically on the second day of the fires, prompting multiple Syria Civil Defense centres and firefighting units from several provinces to mobilise. While they initially controlled numerous hot spots, flames had spread to new areas by the following morning, creating a cycle of containment and reignition that has defined the past week. 'Now the situation is different' The change in Syria's political landscape has fundamentally altered the firefighting response, according to volunteers and officials. During the 2011-2024 civil war, residents from opposition-controlled areas couldn't enter government-held provinces due to security concerns and military checkpoints. 'Before the Assad regime was toppled, we couldn't visit these forests. We didn't care that much when we saw similar news of fires in past summers,' Baradei explained. 'But now the situation is different. We are here and we have to do something.' This newfound unity has mobilised firefighting teams from across Syria's Civil Defense and Forestry Department. Syrian, Turkish, Jordanian and Lebanese aircraft hover above the blazes, providing aerial support for containment operations – a level of cooperation that would have been impossible under the previous government's international isolation. Despite the threats posed by buried landmines and unexploded ordnance scattered across the landscape from years of conflict, Baradei said morale among Civil Defense teams remains high. 'We are acutely aware of how dangerous these wildfires are for Syria,' he said. 'These forests are part of our shared heritage. This is precisely what drives us … because we all belong to this land.' This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.
