Author: Steven Sahiounie

JERUSALEM: A knife-wielding assailant stabbed and seriously wounded a female Israeli soldier before being shot dead in annexed east Jerusalem on Monday, police said.“A person armed with a knife arrived at Shalem police station and stabbed a female soldier… border police forces neutralized the terrorist by shooting,” police said in a statement. Police, who did not give details about the assailant’s identity, said a female soldier was seriously wounded and another suffered light injuries.The Israeli emergency services said they had provided medical treatment to the wounded, both aged 20. The attack marks the latest violence to flare up in the…

ANKARA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was wrapping up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour on Monday in Turkiye after only limited success in his furious efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas. Blinken met in the Turkish capital of Ankara with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after a frantic weekend of travel that took him from Israel to Jordan, the occupied West Bank, Cyprus and Iraq to build support for the Biden administration’s proposal for “humanitarian pauses” to Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza.…

AMMAN: Jordan said it air-dropped medical supplies to a Jordanian military field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Monday, with Israel saying the operation was coordinated with them. Jordan’s King Abdullah wrote on X: “Our fearless air force personnel air-dropped at midnight urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza. This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza. We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren.” The Jordan news agency, Petra, quoted an unnamed army source as saying that a “Royal Air Force plane dropped urgent medical aid using…

Earlier we reported that an Israeli attack had damaged the solar panel system on a building at al-Shifa Hospital’s medical complex in Gaza City. Tarek Loubani, an emergency physician based in Canada who has volunteered in Gaza for more than a decade and helped set up the solar panel system, says the attack on the al-Quds building “does real damage” to the hospital’s capacity. “As well, it sends a clear message to all medical personnel that if al-Quds can be hit, then the main Shifa building, 20 metres away from it, can also easily be hit,” Loubani told Al Jazeera.…

Speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres said: “The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity.” Guterres highlighted how “the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” stressing that the protection of civilians is paramount. He stressed that Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children, stating that hundreds of girls and boys are being killed and injured every day as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression. More journalists have been killed over a…

GENEVA: A convoy of four ambulances transporting patients from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza arrived at the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt on Monday. They were accompanied by two International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles. “It is an immense relief to know that these patients are safe and will receive urgent medical care,” said William Schomburg, head of the ICRC office in Gaza. “I can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is that hospitals, medical personnel and patients are protected amid this violence. There are thousands of critically injured people in Gaza. It is an obligation under international humanitarian…

CAIRO: Queen Rania of Jordan on Sunday urged a collective call for a ceasefire in Gaza and said those who are opposed a truce were “endorsing and justifying the death of thousands of civilians.” In an in-depth interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, Queen Rania responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s rejection of a ceasefire while in Amman. After meeting Arab leaders on Saturday, Blinken said a ceasefire in Gaza would only enable more Hamas attacks. Queen Rania said: “There has to be a collective call for a ceasefire and I know some who are against a ceasefire argue…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned remarks from an Israeli minister who appeared to voice openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza. The Israeli minister’s comments showed the penetration of “extremism and brutality” among members of the Israeli government, a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said. “Moreover, not dismissing the minister and only freezing his membership constitutes the utmost disregard for all human standards and values,” it added. On Sunday Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu was suspended from government meetings “until further notice” after suggesting in an interview dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi says the Islamic Republic supports any joint global effort seeking to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as Israel continues its brutal attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip. Speaking in a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Raeisi added that Iran backs collective bids to lift the blockade on Gaza and provide aid to the oppressed Palestinian people in the war-hit territory. “The continuation of the killing of the Palestinian people has infuriated all the free nations in the world,” the president said, warning that the killings will have “extra-regional consequences.” It…

Israel has arrested scores of Palestinians, including prominent 22-year-old activist Ahed Tamimi, in several raids in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds. A spokesman for the Israeli army claimed on Monday that Tamimi was arrested “on suspicion of inciting violence and terrorist activities in the town of Nabi Salih” near the city of Ramallah. “Tamimi was transferred to Israeli security forces for further questioning.” She was arrested as she reportedly threatened settlers in a post on her Instagram account. Tamimi had a long record of protesting as a youngster against Israeli atrocities and policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. The 17-year-old…