Latest news with #GolanHeights
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Good Morning Britain slapped with 318 Ofcom complaints over detail in Israeli war report
Good Morning Britain has been slapped with 318 Ofcom complaints after viewers took issue with an ITV war report. The complaints came after a map was broadcast on June 19 during coverage of the Israel conflict that depicted the Golan Heights as part of Israel. The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau located between Syria, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, and is widely seen as part of southwest Syria. In 1967, Israel's military occupied roughly two-thirds of the region during its so-called Six-Day War with several Arab States, including Syria. In 1981, Israel went on to effectively annex this part of the Golan Heights and last year seized the whole region after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The UK Government recognises the Golan Heights as occupied territory. GMB was flooded with complaints after the map showing the territory as part of Israel was flashed on screen during a live report from Tel Aviv by Richard Gaisford. Another ITV reporter was forced to provide a clarification for the use of the map on air Some viewers noticed the map and took to social media to share their thoughts. One penned on X: 'The Golan Heights is part of Syria, but #GMB continues to show it as part of Israel.' Another added: 'Disgusting 'reporting' and total misinterpretation of Golan Heights.' The next day, reporter Sean Fletcher gave a 'clarification' of the map. He said: 'Yesterday we showed a graphic map which included the Golan Heights as part of Israel. 'The UK government views the Golan Heights as occupied territory and does not recognise Israel's annexation of the land, and we are happy to clarify that.' It comes after Good Morning Britain viewers shared a lot of complaints as Martin Lewis replaced Richard Madeley this week. Typically, the ITV news programme features Susanna Reid and Richard as presenters, but on Wednesday's instalment, the consumer guru stepped up to host. Susanna and Martin worked their way through the day's top stories but some watchers weren't best pleased about the shake-up. Many took to social media to share their thoughts on Martin co-hosting the show and one penned on X: 'Ruins my morning having to listen to Martin - time for Eamonn I think.' 'Martin Lewis with his shouty "do this" "do that" and jumping over furniture so early in the morning may just be too much for me,' another added. Someone else said: 'I just don't have the head for Martin Lewis at this time of the morning.' Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 from 6am and is available to stream on ITVX.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Good Morning Britain slapped with 318 Ofcom complaints after 'disgusting' blunder during ITV war report
Good Morning Britain has been slapped with 318 Ofcom complaints after a blunder during an ITV war report. The complaints come after an incorrect map was broadcast on June 19 during coverage of the Israel conflict. A map displayed on the show depicted the Golan Heights to be part of Israel. However, the basaltic plateau is actually located in southwest Syria, along the border of Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. According to the Mirror, presenter Ranvir Singh introduced Richard Gaisford who was reporting live from Tel Aviv when the inaccurate map appeared on screen. The UK Government recognises the Golan Heights as occupied territory. Some viewers noticed the map and took to social media to share their thoughts. One penned on X: 'The Golan Heights is part of Syria, but #GMB continues to show it as part of Israel.' Another added: 'Disgusting 'reporting' from and total misinterpretation of Golan Heights.' The next day, according to the Mirror, reporter Sean Fletcher clarified the mistake. He said: 'Yesterday we showed a graphic map which included the Golan Heights as part of Israel. 'The UK government views the Golan Heights as occupied territory and does not recognise Israel's annexation of the land, and we are happy to clarify that.' It comes after Good Morning Britain viewers shared a lot of complaints as Martin Lewis replaced Richard Madeley this week. Typically, the ITV news programme features Susanna Reid and Richard as presenters, but on Wednesday's instalment, the consumer guru stepped up to host. Some viewers noticed the map and took to social media to share their thoughts. Susanna and Martin worked their way through the day's top stories but some watchers weren't best pleased about the shake-up. Many took to social media to share their thoughts on Martin co-hosting the show and one penned on X: 'Ruins my morning having to listen to Martin - time for Eamonn I think.' 'Martin Lewis with his shouty "do this" "do that" and jumping over furniture so early in the morning may just be too much for me,' another added. Someone else said: 'I just don't have the head for Martin Lewis at this time of the morning.' Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 from 6am and is available to stream on ITVX.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who are Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli ministers facing sanctions?
The two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers facing sanctions from the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway are critical to the political survival of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2022 Netanyahu formed the most rightwing government in Israel's history, brokering a coalition with Bezalel Smotrich, whose Religious Zionism party has 14 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose Jewish Power party has six seats. They account for just 20 of his coalition's 67 seats in parliament but carry outsize influence because if they quit – which both repeatedly threaten to do – the government will fall. Netanyahu is currently on trial for corruption and fending off calls for an official inquiry into the 7 October 2023 attacks, and keen to avoid early elections. Here are short details of both men's lives and careers before entering government. Smotrich is a messianic settler who was born in the occupied Golan Heights in 1980, now lives in the occupied West Bank and has repeatedly called for Israeli settlers to return to Gaza. He believes Jews have a divine right to all land that made up biblical Israel. A commitment to expanding the area controlled by Jewish Israelis – both in de facto terms and through legal annexation – runs through his personal and political life. In 2005, he was arrested by the Shin Bet security services and questioned for weeks about his role in protests over Israel's plans to withdraw from Gaza, allegedly on suspicion of planning to block roads and damage infrastructure to try to block the withdrawal. He was released without charges being brought, set up an influential rightwing NGO focused on control of occupied land and won his first parliamentary seat in 2015. Smotrich is a self-declared 'fascist homophobe' who backed segregated maternity wards separating Jewish and Arab mothers and called for government reprisal attacks on Palestinians. He once organised an anti-gay 'Beast Parade' protest against Gay Pride. Ben-Gvir embraced extremism so young that Israel's domestic security forces barred him from serving in the country's army as a teenager. Born in 1976 to a family of Iraqi heritage in a small town outside Jerusalem, he became a far-right activist while still at school, and continued while studying law. By his early 30s he had been convicted of incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organisation. Those convictions did not stop him from becoming a lawyer, and he specialised in representing Jewish Israelis charged with terrorism-related offences. For years his living room was decorated with a portrait of the mass murderer Baruch Goldstein, who gunned down 29 Palestinians in a Hebron mosque in 1994. Goldstein, like Ben-Gvir, was an admirer of the extremist rabbi Meir Kahane. Having spent most of his life as a figure on Israel's political fringe, Ben-Gvir was given the security portfolio when he joined Netanyahu's government. He now controls the police forces that once arrested him, and the jails where he was once held.
Al Jazeera
7 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Iran, Israel trade missiles as US bombing of nuclear sites escalates crisis
Iran and Israel have exchanged a barrage of missiles after the United States bombed key Iranian nuclear sites, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iran on Sunday launched two volleys of 27 missiles, targeting Israel's main Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, research facilities, and command centres, an Iranian state news agency reported. Air raid sirens were sounded across most of Israel, sending millions of people to safe rooms and bomb shelters as explosions and missile interceptions were seen above the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the port city of Haifa, and other parts of the country. At least 20 people were wounded, according to Israeli emergency workers. 'This is certainly the first time that we have seen two volleys coming in such close succession. Usually, there are hours between each volley of missiles. This time, it was less than half an hour,' said Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan. The targeted areas spanned the occupied Golan Heights in Syria to the Upper Galilee to northern and central Israel, affecting 10 separate sites either directly by missiles or by large shrapnel, Odeh said. 'There is extensive damage in those sites, especially in the Tel Aviv area and Haifa,' Odeh said. Videos from Tel Aviv and Haifa towards the north showed rescue teams combing through debris, apartments reduced to rubble, mangled cars along a street filled with debris, and medics evacuating injured people from a row of blown-out houses. In a statement, the Israeli army said it was investigating why no air raid warnings were sounded in Haifa. Israel also carried out another wave of bombings on 'military targets' in western Iran. The Israeli military earlier said its strikes destroyed Iranian missile launchers and targeted soldiers. The latest exchange of missiles between the Middle Eastern enemies followed the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, with President Donald Trump saying the attacks had 'obliterated' the three facilities. Trump said Iran's future held 'either peace or tragedy' and that there were many other Iranian targets that could be hit. 'If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill,' he said. Iran responded by saying it 'reserved all options' to defend itself and warned of 'everlasting consequences' if the US joined the war. In a statement, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the US attacks on its nuclear facilities as a 'gross and unprecedented violation' of international law. 'The world must not forget that it was the United States that, in the midst of a diplomatic process, betrayed diplomacy' by supporting Israel's 'aggressive action', and is now waging 'a dangerous war against Iran,' the ministry said. It has become clear that the US 'adheres to no rules or ethics, and in order to advance the aims of a genocidal and occupying regime, spares no lawlessness or crime', it added. Meanwhile, Israel said it will temporarily reopen its airspace for flights from 11:00 GMT on Sunday as it repatriates thousands of citizens left stranded overseas by its war with Iran, the country's airport authority said. Ben Gurion Airport 'will open for landings from 02:00pm-8:00pm as part of Operation Safe Return', the authority said in a statement, referring to the government's efforts to bring home citizens. Most airlines continue to avoid large parts of the Middle East after the US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, according to the flight tracking website, FlightRadar24.
LBCI
20-06-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Media blackout and missile fire: Israel's war footing under pressure
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian The ballistic missile launched Friday morning disrupted Israeli assessments following a calm night in the south and center after an unusually intense day of strikes—meanwhile, drones launched from Iran unsettled residents in the north, the Golan Heights, and Haifa. Despite military efforts—which officials said included intercepting three similar missiles—the missile struck, causing destruction to buildings, commercial centers, and Microsoft offices and disabling a train station. At the same time, military censors tightened restrictions on the media, prohibiting the publication of any details related to targeted military and strategic sites. Reports conflicted over the intended targets of the Iranian missiles. Debate intensified after an Israeli official stated that Iran was heavily focused on hitting military and sensitive targets. His remarks drew widespread backlash and were later shortened on news websites. One week into the war, Israel faced mounting internal rifts Friday, as contradictions between security officials, military leaders, and experts grew sharper. While warnings emphasized Israel's inability to destroy Iran's nuclear program and the growing risks to Israeli civilians, it was revealed that the military had begun rationing the use of its missile defense systems amid concerns it could deplete its stock before Iran exhausts its ballistic arsenal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has kept the war front open. Amid the conflict, Israel's Tax Authority said it is processing 30,735 damage compensation claims filed by civilians. Damage to military and strategic sites, however, remains classified.
