Latest news with #airraids
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel says it has attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port
Israel's military has launched new air raids on Yemen's Hodeidah port, targeting what it described as Houthi-linked sites used to stage drone and missile attacks against Israel and its allies. Minister of Defence Israel Katz on Monday said the military was 'forcefully countering any attempt to restore the terror infrastructure previously attacked'. The Israeli military claimed that the 'port serves as a channel for weapons used by the Houthis to carry out terrorist operations against Israel and its allies'. The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern Yemen, later claimed responsibility for drone and missile attacks on locations in Israel, including Ben Gurion airport, Ashdod and Jaffa. In a statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the strikes were a direct response to the attacks on Hodeidah and Israel's continued bombardment of Gaza. 'The drone attack successfully achieved its objectives,' he said, adding that operations would continue until Israel ends its offensive on Gaza and lifts the siege. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have carried out several attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has responded with repeated strikes on Houthi targets, particularly in Hodeidah, a key entry point for goods and aid into Yemen. 'The Houthis will pay a heavy price for launching missiles toward the State of Israel,' Katz said. Earlier this month, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on the Greek-owned vessel Eternity C, which maritime officials said had killed four people. In May, the United States brokered a deal with the Houthis to halt their bombing campaign in exchange for reduced attacks on international shipping. However, the Houthis clarified that the agreement did not extend to operations involving Israel.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Israel launches air and ground offensive on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza
Israel has launched substantial air raids and a ground operation in Gaza, targeting Deir al-Balah, the main hub for humanitarian efforts in the devastated Palestinian territory, amid urgent warnings of widening starvation in the coastal strip. The latest assault comes a day after the highest death toll in 21 months inflicted by the Israeli military on desperate Palestinians seeking food aid, with at least 85 killed on Sunday in what has become an almost daily slaughter. The UN food agency, the World Food Programme, said the majority of those killed on Sunday had gathered near the border fence with Israel, in the hope of getting flour from a UN aid convoy, when they were fired on by Israeli tanks and snipers. On Monday the UK and 24 other countries issued a sharply critical letter condemning the Israeli military's killing of hundreds of Palestinians seeking food in recent weeks and calling for an immediate end to the conflict. 'It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,' it said. Witnesses described massive airstrikes overnight in Deir al-Balah, the last remaining area of Gaza that has not suffered significant war damage and which is packed with Palestinians displaced from elsewhere in Gaza. Israeli sources had said the reason the army had previously stayed out was that they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Israel launched its renewed assault despite reports in the Hebrew media that Israeli officials believed Hamas was close to agreeing to a ceasefire. The latest Israeli assault followed forced evacuation orders for 50,000-80,000 people in Deir al-Balah, in the centre of the Gaza Strip, leaving almost 88% of the territory under such orders. 'With this latest order, the area of Gaza under displacement orders or within Israeli-militarised zones has risen to 87.8%, leaving 2.1 million civilians squeezed into a fragmented 12% of the strip, where essential services have collapsed,' the UN said in a statement released by its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha). With the growing threat of widespread starvation, Ocha emphasised the importance of Deir al-Balah for what remained of the struggling international aid effort. Warehouses, health clinics and a key desalination plant serving southern Gaza are located there. 'Any damage to this infrastructure will have life-threatening consequences,' the agency added. Amid increasing concern over the potential impact of the latest assaults, Ocha said the agency's local head in Gaza had decided to remain in Deir al-Balah. 'Just spoken to Jonathan Whittall,' Tom Fletcher, the UN's undersecretary for humanitarian affairs wrote on X late on Sunday night. 'He's in Deir el Balah, Gaza, with Israeli airstrikes intensifying … They are best of UN. And all of us.' The Israeli military said it had not entered the districts of Deir al-Balah subject to the evacuation order during the current conflict and that it was continuing 'to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area'. Deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza was underlined by claims from doctors that more than a dozen Palestinians had died from hunger in the past 24 hours. 'Nineteen people, including children, have died of hunger,' Khalil al-Daqran, a spokesperson for al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah told the BBC. 'Hospitals can no longer provide food for patients or staff, many of whom are physically unable to continue working due to extreme hunger. 'Hospitals cannot provide a single bottle of milk to children suffering from hunger, because all baby formula has run out from the market.' According to the World Food Programme, the killing of dozens of Palestinians who had gathered to get flour came after a convoy of 25 trucks carrying food assistance crossed into Gaza. 'Shortly after passing the final checkpoint … the convoy encountered large crowds of civilians anxiously waiting to access desperately needed food supplies,' the agency said. 'As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire. 'These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation,' it said, adding that the incident occurred despite assurances from Israeli authorities that aid delivery would improve. 'Shootings near humanitarian missions, convoys and food distributions must stop immediately.' Israel's military acknowledged the shooting but said it had fired 'warning shots to remove an immediate threat posed to the troops'. It said initial findings suggested the reported casualty figures were inflated, and it 'certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks'. The World Food Programme added: 'Gaza's hunger crisis has reached new levels of desperation. People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition is surging, with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment. Nearly one person in three is not eating for days.' The latest Israeli attacks in Gaza took place as a security official for Yemen's Houthi group said Israel had struck Hodeidah port on Monday, destroying a dock that had been rebuilt after it was damaged in earlier attacks. 'The bombing destroyed the port's dock, which had been rebuilt following previous strikes,' the official told Agence France-Presse, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Israel launches air and ground offensive on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza
Israel has launched substantial air raids and a ground operation in Gaza, targeting Deir al-Balah, the key hub for humanitarian efforts in the devastated Palestinian territory amid mounting warnings of widening starvation in the coastal strip. The latest assault comes a day after the highest death toll in 21 months inflicted by the Israeli military on desperate Palestinians seeking food aid, with at least 85 killed on Sunday in what has become a grim and almost daily slaughter. The UN food agency, the World Food Programme, said the majority of those killed on Sunday had gathered near the border fence with Israel in the hope of getting flour from a UN aid convoy when they were fired on by Israeli tanks and snipers. Witnesses described massive airstrikes overnight in Deir al-Balah – the last remaining area of Gaza that has not suffered significant war damage. Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out is that they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Israel launched its renewed assault despite reports in the Hebrew media that Israeli officials believed Hamas was close to agreeing to a ceasefire. The latest Israeli assault followed forced evacuation orders for between 50–80,000 people in Deir al-Balah, in the centre of the Gaza Strip, leaving almost 87% of the territory under such orders. 'With this latest order, the area of Gaza under displacement orders or within Israeli-militarised zones has risen to 87.8%, leaving 2.1 million civilians squeezed into a fragmented 12% of the strip, where essential services have collapsed,' the UN said in a statement released by its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair. With the growing threat of widespread starvation, OCHA emphasised the importance of Deir al-Balah for what remains of the struggling international aid effort as warehouses, health clinics and a key desalination plant serving southern Gaza are located there. 'Any damage to this infrastructure will have life-threatening consequences,' the agency added. Amid mounting concern over the potential impact of the latests assault OCHA said the agency's local head in Gaza had decided to remain in Deir al-Balah. 'Just spoken to Jonathan Whittall,' Tom Fletcher, the UN's under secretary for Humanitarin Affairs wrote on X late on Sunday night 'He's in Deir el Balah, Gaza, with Israeli airstrikes intensifying,' adding: 'They are best of UN. And all of us.' The Israeli military said it had not entered the districts of Deir al-Balah subject to the evacuation order and that it was continuing 'to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area'. Deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza was underlined by claims from doctors in Gaza that at least 19 Palestinians have died from hunger in the past 24 hours. 'Nineteen people, including children, have died of hunger,' Khalil al-Daqran, a spokesperson for al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah told the BBC. 'Hospitals can no longer provide food for patients or staff, many of whom are physically unable to continue working due to extreme hunger.' 'Hospitals cannot provide a single bottle of milk to children suffering from hunger, because all baby formula has run out from the market.' According to the World Food Programme, the killing of dozens of Palestinians who had gathered to get flour came after a convoy of 25 trucks carrying food assistance crossed into Gaza. 'Shortly after passing the final checkpoint … the convoy encountered large crowds of civilians anxiously waiting to access desperately needed food supplies,' the agency said. 'As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire.' 'These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation,' it said, adding that the incident occurred despite assurances from Israeli authorities that aid delivery would improve. 'Shootings near humanitarian missions, convoys and food distributions must stop immediately.' Israel's military acknowledged the shooting, but said it had fired 'warning shots to remove an immediate threat posed to the troops.' It said initial findings suggested the reported casualty figures were inflated, and it 'certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks'. The World Food Programme added: 'Gaza's hunger crisis has reached new levels of desperation. People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment. Nearly one person in three is not eating for days.' The latest Israeli attacks in Gaza took place as a security official with Yemen's Houthi group said Israel struck Hodeida port on Monday, destroying a dock that had been rebuilt after it was damaged in earlier attacks. 'The bombing destroyed the port's dock, which had been rebuilt following previous strikes,' the official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Al Jazeera
13-07-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Israelis kill Palestinian children near water distribution point
Published On 13 Jul 2025 13 Jul 2025 Israeli air raids across the Gaza Strip have killed more than 30 Palestinians, at least 10 of them near a water distribution point, including six children, according to Palestinian Civil Defence. Mahmoud Basal, civil defence spokesman, told the AFP news agency there were multiple Israeli strikes on Gaza City overnight and early morning on Sunday, resulting in eight deaths, 'including women and children', with additional injuries reported. An Israeli attack on a home near the Nuseirat refugee camp in the south of Gaza City caused '10 martyrs and several injured', he said. An Israeli drone attack in central Gaza 'hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people', killing eight Palestinians, including six children, with several others wounded. Additionally, three people died when Israeli jets struck a tent housing displaced Palestinians in the southern coastal area of al-Mawasi, according to Basal. On Saturday, Israeli forces killed at least 110 Palestinians across Gaza, including 34 people waiting for food at the controversial GHF distribution site in Rafah. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 57,882 people and wounded 138,095 others, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.
The Guardian
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘It's just daily life': Kyiv residents get used to overnight Russian drone attacks
It only occurred to Iryna Yakymehuk to make use of the local bomb shelter after the Shaheed kamizake drone struck her nextdoor neighbour's fifth-floor flat at 2am on Tuesday, taking a messy bite out of the bedroom. The 22-year-old had returned to her home in Kyiv's Obolon district from the underwear shop where she works as an assistant at about 9pm. She ate macaroni while swiping through some funny TikTok videos before getting into bed at 11pm. Russia has stepped up its aerial attacks on Kyiv in recent days. From the safety of Washington, Donald Trump had warned that Vladimir Putin's response to Ukraine's audacious Operation Spiderweb attack on Russia's nuclear-capable bombers a week earlier 'wouldn't be pretty'. But Yakymehuk doesn't look for that sort of content on TikTok. Air raid sirens, and talk of drones and missiles, have been par for the course for Kyiv's residents since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion three years ago. A car dealership was destroyed by falling debris from a shot-down missile a couple of years ago, but otherwise the Obolon district in north Kyiv, 6 miles from the government buildings in the city centre, has avoided the worst. 'I am a deep sleeper, so I don't normally hear the drones,' Yakymehuk said as she was queueing with others in front of a blue tent where police were taking down details and volunteers were giving out compensation forms to fill in. 'It's just daily life, I don't think about it,' she added, squinting up in the morning sun at the demolition workers dangling from cranes at the corner of the 25-storey apartment building as they sought to make the site safe. The window frame of her bedroom had been blown in, and was dangling at an angle. On Monday the drones did wake her. They seemed to be on top of her, she said. And the persistent, nagging buzz of what seemed to be a large number of them was getting louder, as if someone was slowly bringing a electric shaver ever closer to her face. Then the first massive explosion that made her heart jump. And a second. This one sent 'sparks' flying across her bedroom window on the fifth floor, she said. Yakymehuk ran down the stairs from her flat, as did others, out of the building and to the bomb shelter – a dusty cellar, in reality, below another building, 100 metres away. The door to it is not always unlocked. But it was tonight. There were hundreds in there already, 'maybe 500 people', she said. Others in the queue outside the tent on Tuesday morning said they heard 10 explosions in all. Black smoke was still bellowing from the neighbouring industrial estate at mid-morning. This appears to have been the target. One woman in the Obolon district had been killed. Across Kyiv, four were said to be injured. Seven of Kyiv's 10 districts reported being hit in one of the largest drone attacks on the city since the war started. Yakymehuk might not sleep so well in future. Kyiv could be any European capital during the day. It is a far cry from the opening months of the war, when it resembled European cities during the pandemic. Then the streets were empty. The shops locked up. There was a nervous energy among the soldiers at checkpoints that would make everyone else anxious. And the Russians wanted Kyiv. They had been at the edge of the city and could come back. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Today, the atmosphere is different. The nightlife is lively, restaurants full, and those with money flash it around. Some people are nervous as it gets dark. That's when the Russian bombers and their drones come, increasingly so in recent weeks, even before Operation Spiderweb. The nerves are especially acute among those who live near factories and industrial estates, which the Kremlin suspects of playing a role in Ukraine's war effort. They listen in their beds for the drones to drop, breathing a little easier as they pass by. But others, maybe the majority, ignore the air raid sirens and assure themselves that the drones won't come for them. They get on with it. It is only when an attack from the air comes to your own doorstep that the reality of the situation bites, said Elvira Neehyporenko, 34, whose red Honda, parked just below where the Shaheed drone struck, had taken a hefty blow, leaving it with smashed windows and a caved-in roof. Neehyporenko lives in the same block as Yakymehuk but further away from the where the drone struck. She laughed as she admitted that when the explosions began, a little distant at first, it was her dog Molly, an American Staffordshire terrier, who had the sense to run into the bathroom. Neehyporenko, whose boyfriend is in the army and fighting in Kharkiv, followed the dog. She stayed there for a while on the cold tiles, before the biggest explosion forced her down to the first floor, where she stayed for fear of what she had heard was a Russian tactic of striking at people as they flee from damaged buildings. Standing watching all the commotion outside the flats mid-morning on Tuesday was Oksana Kodynets, 23, who lives in the apartment block opposite where the drone struck. She was taking her 18-month-old daughter, Maria, for a walk. Her husband is in the army and had been working an overnight shift in the city. She had been alone last night and was a little shaken this morning, she admitted. She had recorded the sound of the explosions, including the largest one, just over the way, and had been listening to them this morning. It was a kind of metallic sound, nothing like she had heard before, she said, as she played it from her phone. Does she worry? 'I did last night,' she said with a half-smile. 'I thought it was going to be the last day of my life.'
