Author: Steven Sahiounie

Israeli attacks on Gaza on Monday morning have killed at least 10 more people, according to Hamas officials who earlier reported the killing of 60 others in overnight attacks. The Hamas-controlled government media office in the blockaded Gaza Strip said in a statement that “more than 60 were martyred in the [Israeli] raids” during the night, including 17 who were killed in a single raid on a house in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza. At least 10 other people were killed in new raids, the media office said in a separate statement, bringing the overall death toll since Sunday night to…

LONDON: Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al-Qasimi, chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation, has directed the organization to provide relief aid worth AED 30 million ($8.1 million) to Palestinians in Gaza, Emirates News Agency reported on Sunday. The move comes amid Israel’s escalating military operations in the besieged enclave, which has left its population facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis without access to food, housing, clean water, electricity, medical supplies, or other needs. Sheikha Jawaher, wife of the ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, emphasized that supporting the Palestinian people is a long-held tradition of the UAE. She also stated…

LONDON: Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday met with World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain in Amman to discuss the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the Jordan News Agency reported. The monarch emphasized the role of global organizations such as the WFP in urging the international community to step up efforts to ensure the delivery of food, water, medication, and fuel to Gaza, as well as safeguarding medical and relief infrastructure in the strip. The meeting also explored ways to enhance the partnership between Jordan and the WFP, particularly in addressing the challenges of food insecurity…

LONDON: Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has donated $8.5 million to a national campaign providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, Bahrain News Agency reported on Saturday. Bahrain TV launched a telethon called “Day of Solidarity with Our People in Gaza — We Are with You” on Friday in cooperation with the Royal Humanitarian Foundation and the National Committee for Supporting the Palestinians in Gaza. Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the king’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs, stated that this humanitarian initiative reflects the kingdom’s unwavering support for the just Palestinian cause, as well as…

RIYADH: The Arab League on Sunday highlighted the region’s efforts to provide immediate support to the Palestinian people to mitigate the consequences of Israel’s intensifying military operations in Gaza, Saudi Press Agency reported. The statement came during a joint press conference organized by the Arab League in partnership with the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization, held in Cairo to address the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Haifa Abu Ghazaleh said that children, women, and the elderly comprise 70 percent of the casualties in Gaza. The number of internally displaced individuals in the besieged…

RAMALLAH, SARAJEVO: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on Sunday on the international community to create “united front” to stop Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip. “We place at the top of our priorities stopping the Israeli aggression and bringing in medical and relief aid to prevent a major humanitarian catastrophe,” Shtayyeh said during a meeting with 25 ambassadors, representatives and consuls. Meanwhile, several thousand people gathered in Sarajevo city center on Sunday, waving Palestinian and Bosnian flags and demanding a halt to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Some chanted: “Genocide, genocide,” while a large and prominent banner read “Yesterday Srebrenica,…

The United States military is deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and multiple Patriot missile defense systems to the West Asia region, reports from the Pentagon said amid the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip. In a statement issued on Saturday night, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he had “activated the deployment of a THAAD battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout [West Asia].” Austin claimed that in response to “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East region,” he directed a series of additional steps “to further strengthen the Department…

Thousands of people have held demonstrations in European cities, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which has been under incessant Israeli bombing since October 7. The pro-Palestinian protests were held in Brussels, Sarajevo and Paris on Sunday. The protesters gathered in front of the EU headquarters in Brussels, chanting “free, free Palestine” and “boycott Israel” while waving Palestinian flags. Some people booed at the mention of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was criticized for not being fast enough to declare publicly that the bloc expected Israel to abide by international law, which has been widely seen as…

The head of the UN Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has appealed for an end to Israel’s relentless attacks on places such as schools, hospitals and the homes of his staff across Gaza. In a statement released over the weekend, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the protection of civilians must be upheld as “the non-negotiable legal obligations” at all times. “Let me be clear: protecting civilians in times of conflict is not an aspiration or an ideal; it is an obligation and a commitment to our shared humanity,” the statement read. Lazzarini also called on Israel to…

An American professor of international law and former UN special rapporteur says Israel’s ongoing brutal aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip amounts to “genocidal violence” that ushered in a “new threshold of criminality” by the occupying regime. Richard Falk made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Sunday, the 16th day of Israel’s barbaric onslaught on the Palestinians, which has so far killed more than 4,650 Gazans and left a lot more injured. “The genocidal violence created a new threshold of criminality in the treatment by Israel of the Palestinian people,” Falk said, stressing that the Western…