Latest news with #MiddleEastEye
Middle East Eye
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israel kills Palestinian journalist and family in Gaza strike
An Israeli air strike killed Palestinian journalist Walaa al-Jabari along with her entire family in Gaza City on Wednesday, raising the number of media workers killed during Israel's war on Gaza to at least 231. Jabari, who was pregnant at the time, was killed when her home in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in southwest Gaza City was bombed. The strike also killed her husband, Amjad al-Shaer, and four of their children. Local reports said the force of the blast was so intense it ejected her unborn child from her womb. Images circulating on social media show a fetus wrapped in a shroud, though Middle East Eye could not independently verify their authenticity. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Jabari worked as a newspaper editor for several local media outlets and is one of many Palestinian journalists killed in what rights groups and press advocates have called targeted Israeli attacks on the media. Her death brings the total number of journalists killed by Israeli forces since October 2023 to at least 231, according to Gaza's Government Media Office. Earlier this week, Israeli forces shot and killed photojournalist Tamer al-Zaanin during a raid near a Red Cross facility in Rafah. During the same operation, an undercover Israeli unit detained Dr Marwan al-Hams, the director of field hospitals in the Gaza Strip. 'Systemic crimes against journalists' The Government Media Office called on international organisations and the broader international community to condemn what it described as 'systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals'. AFP warns Gaza journalists risk starving to death amid ongoing Israeli siege Read More » "We also call on them to exert serious and effective pressure to stop the crime of genocide, protect journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip, and stop the murder and assassination of them," the office said. "We ask God Almighty to grant all our martyred colleagues and journalists mercy, acceptance, and Paradise, and to grant their families and the Palestinian press family patience and solace. We also wish a speedy recovery to all the wounded journalists." Israel's war on Gaza has been described as the "worst ever conflict" for journalists, according to a report published in April by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. The report, titled News Graveyards: How Dangers to War Reporters Endanger the World, said the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip since October 2023 had "killed more journalists than the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined".
Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Business
- Middle East Eye
Why Turkey abruptly cancelled an Iraqi oil pipeline agreement
Turkey's decision on Monday to cancel its 50-year-old crude oil pipeline agreement with Iraq raised eyebrows across energy markets. In a decree published in the Turkish Official Gazette, Ankara announced that the agreement, originally signed in the 1970s along with all subsequent protocols, will be terminated effective July 2026. The 1.6 million barrel per day Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been offline since 2023 when an international arbitration panel ordered that Ankara pay $1.5bn in damages for allegedly facilitating unauthorised Iraqi oil exports between 2014 and 2018. Before the suspension, the pipeline was a key energy conduit between northern Iraq and the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in southern Turkey. While Turkey appeals the decision, the pipeline has remained shut with that closure now set to become permanent unless a new agreement can be reached. Sources familiar with Ankara's strategy told Middle East Eye that Turkey is eager to negotiate a new agreement with Baghdad, which reflects the changes in the geopolitical and economic landscape since the 1970s. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters On Monday, Iraqi news agencies reported that Turkey had already submitted a draft proposal to Baghdad, seeking to renew and expand energy cooperation in areas including oil, gas, petrochemicals and electricity. Turkish sources explained that one key motivation for the shift is the current nature of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline agreement. The old agreement treats the infrastructure as a single entity spanning both countries, making any modifications dependent on agreement from both states. That means negotiating changes to the entire pipeline even when only the Turkish side needs modification. 'Since Ankara's discovery of oil reserves in Turkey's Gabar region in 2023, there have been plans to explore whether this new production could be connected to the Ceyhan pipeline,' one source told MEE. "Ankara wants to take care of its own pipeline under the new deal," rhe source added. Gabar oil reserves In 2023, Turkish Petroleum announced a billion barrel oil deposit in the Gabar region, which has already become functional. The Turkish energy ministry reported production had reached 81,000 barrels per day as of May this year. Ankara is optimistic that continued drilling in the region will uncover additional reserves and daily production is expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day in the near future. The Turkish public asks: After Israel's attack on Iran, are we next? Read More » A Turkey-based energy expert, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Ankara has for years monitored so-called 'tie-ins' on the Iraqi side of the border. 'Iraq has faced serious challenges, including armed extremist groups tapping into the pipeline via side valves to siphon oil,' the expert noted. 'There are also concerns about the integrity of certain sections of the infrastructure.' The expert added that transporting Gabar oil by truck is only a temporary solution; if production increases, a pipeline connection will become essential. Prioritising Turkish interests need not come at the expense of ties with Iraq, another source explained. 'Turkey could support Iraq by investing in and sharing expertise on renewables, such as solar and wind power,' the source said. Possible areas of cooperation could extend deep into Iraq's south, with a new pipeline from Basra to Turkey on the cards as part of Iraq's Development Road initiative. Such a line would bypass Iraq's Kurdish region entirely. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told S&P Global Commodity Insights in April that Ankara has proposed building new pipelines to transport oil and natural gas from southern Iraq to Ceyhan, augmenting Turkey's ambition to become an energy hub. 'From Basra, goods, gas, and crude would travel north to Haditha before reaching Silopi in southern Turkey, largely bypassing Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdistan region,' the report said. Bayraktar said that a 'principal agreement' has been reached between Turkey and Iraq for the new pipelines and an additional electricity transmission line. The official expressed confidence that studies will be completed 'soon' and an overarching energy framework agreement will be signed 'in the upcoming months'.
Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Four more Palestinians die from starvation amid Israeli-imposed famine
Four Palestinians died from malnutrition under an Israeli-imposed famine in the Gaza Strip, medical officials said on Tuesday. Three of them were children identified as the infant Yousef al-Safadi, Abdel Hamid al-Ghalban, 14, and Ahmad Hasant. The four person was a 32-year-old woman with special needs named Raheel Rosros. Medical officials confirmed the deaths occurred across Gaza's north and south, underscoring widespread starvation amid severe shortages of food and aid. Rosros' father, Muhammad Rosros, told Middle East Eye that his daughter's suffering from malnutrition and dehydration began over a month ago. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "From before the start of the war, she used to eat whatever she wanted, but she had lost everything she once used to ask for," he said. He indicated that she could not stomach the types of food brought into Gaza in the past few months. 'I stopped fearing for my children from the constant shooting and strikes. Now, I am afraid for them because of hunger' - Muhammad Rosros, Palestinian father Several Palestinians have previously told MEE that upon receiving their box of aid they found the supplies to be woefully inadequate. Rosros explained that his daughter used to weigh around 50 kilograms. She died weighing less than 25 kilograms. He added that her sister, who also had special needs, was killed as a result of Israeli bombing earlier this year. "One died as a result of shelling, the other died due to malnutrition," he said. "Praise be to God." Rosros worries that he might lose his other tow children, one deaf and the other autistic, from malnutrition. "I stopped fearing for my children from the constant shooting and strikes. Now, I am afraid for them because of hunger, that's all," he said. "The hunger that has struck us is not normal. We would have never imagined. No one cares about us, not any Arab, Muslim or western country, none of them sympathise with us and what is happening to our children." Israel 'starving civilians' The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, accused Israel on Sunday of 'starving civilians', including a million children, through its siege on vital food and medical deliveries into the Gaza Strip. Unrwa called on Israel to lift its blockade and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely. At militarised distribution sites run by the US- and Israel-backed GHF civilians trying to access the food are being shot and killed by the Israeli army. Meanwhile, Gaza's civil defence agency reported that infant deaths caused by starvation are rising. Gaza extermination: What is your last thought when you're starving to death? Read More » 'These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,' civil defence spokesperson Mahm0ud Bassal told AFP. Since Israel broke a six-week ceasefire in March, Israel has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza. Although limited aid has trickled in since late May, supplies accumulated during the truce have run out, pushing the territory into the worst shortages since the war began. The situation is particularly dire for pregnant women and newborns. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says its clinics are seeing record numbers of malnutrition cases. 'Many babies are being born prematurely due to widespread malnutrition among pregnant women,' said MSF doctor Joanne Perry. According to Palestinian medical officials, at least 23 people have died from malnutrition in the past two days alone. In total, 86 Palestinians, including 76 children, have died due to lack of food.
Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
SDF denies US-Turkiye deadline for Syria tie-up
Shafaq News – Kurdistan On Monday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) denied claims made in the British outlet, Middle East Eye, that the United States and Turkiye had given the group a 30-day deadline to end its integration process with the Syrian government. In a statement, the SDF described the claims as 'baseless' and part of a deliberate attempt to mislead public opinion. 'The information suggesting that negotiations are underway regarding the future of our forces or their restructuring and integration into Syrian government institutions is false,' the statement read. The Middle East Eye report, citing unnamed 'informed sources,' claimed that a meeting was held in Syria last week between US, Turkish officials, and SDF leadership, during which the group was allegedly told to accelerate its merger with Damascus within 30 days. The report also alleged that some SDF units would not be incorporated into the Syrian army, while others would be disarmed. Earlier, Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack agreed on the need to integrate the SDF units into national institutions to restore full state sovereignty.
Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Trump 'caught off guard' by Israeli strikes on Syria, White House says
US President Donald Trump was "caught off guard" by Israel's bombing of Syria, the White House said on Monday, signalling a potentially new sour point in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "He was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of the Catholic Church in Gaza," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Her remarks come after Middle East Eye first reported that the US was "upset" by Israel's targeting of Syrian forces entering the country's south and the strikes on Syria's ministry of defence and the outskirts of the presidential palace. Middle East Eye also reported that Saudi Arabia was "angry" about Israel attacking Syrian soldiers and dictating military deployments to Damascus. Sweida has been the site of sectarian violence between the majority Druze community and Sunni Bedouins. Israel has framed its military intervention as being in support of the Syrian Druze. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Current and former Arab, Israeli, and US officials say Israel is trying to carve out a zone of influence in Syria that conflicts directly with the vision of a unitary post-war Syria put forward by Tom Barrack, Trump's special envoy and ambassador to Turkey. With Damascus strikes, Israel seeks to tear up Trump's vision for Syria Read More » "I think Potus and others in the administration have been crystal clear about the path for Syria," a US official in the region who was monitoring the Israeli strikes told MEE last week, referring to President Trump. MEE reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia told the Trump administration that Syrian security forces should be able to deploy to Sweida. A fragile ceasefire struck late last week was holding on Monday amid reports of atrocities committed by both sides. Israel's strikes came as the US was trying to broker a normalisation of ties between Syria and Israel. The Trump administration has heralded Syria as a model for its version of Middle East statecraft underwritten by Turkish military might and Gulf cash. Trump announced in May that he was lifting all US sanctions on Syria despite objections from Israel and some of his own advisors. Trump said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were responsible for convincing him to make the decision.
