Author: Steven Sahiounie

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes this evening on the Al- Shejaeya neighborhood to the east of Gaza City, killing at least one Palestinian and injuring many others, some of them seriously. WAFA correspondent said Israeli warplanes unleashed a barrage of missiles on the eastern area of the neighborhood, causing widespread destruction and chaos. The strikes led to the tragic death of at least one Palestinian civilian and left many others wounded. At least eight Palestinians have been killed and many others injured since early morning today in a series of Israeli aerial and artillery attacks on the…

An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei has congratulated Palestinian fighters for launching the biggest attack on Israel in years, the semi-official ISNA news site has reported. “We congratulate the Palestinian fighters,” it quoted Rahim Safavi as saying. “We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.” Source: Aljazeera

Saudi Arabia has called for an “immediate halt to the escalation of conflict between Palestinians and Israel” after Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack on daybreak Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement that it “is closely following developments in the unprecedented situation between a number of Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation forces, which has resulted in a high level of violence taking place on a number of fronts there.” “We recall our repeated warnings of the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation,” the statement said. It also called…

The modern world needs an alternative international payment system based on national currencies, Rasigan Maharajh says The growing use of national currencies in international trade removes the ‘privileged role’ of the US dollar, which is exactly what the global majority needs right now, according to an economist. Rasigan Maharajh, the chief director of the South-African Institute for Economic Research on Innovation at Tshwane University of Technology, spoke to RT on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club meeting in Sochi on Thursday. According to him, the dollar itself and the financial institutions based on this currency have outlived themselves and…

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today said that ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is the only guarantee for peace, security and stability in the region. “We have repeatedly warned of the consequences of a deadlock in the political horizon and not granting the Palestinian people their legitimate right to self-determination and their state. We have also warned of the consequences of the daily provocations and attacks, the continued terrorism of settlers and occupation forces, and the raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Christian and Islamic holy sites,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.…

The Israeli police southern district has said that the fighting is likely to continue in the days ahead. “This will probably go on for days. Some of the casualties are police officers,” the police said, according to remarks quoted by Israeli Haaretz newspaper. The newspaper added that rocket sirens continue to sound in Israeli areas close to the border fence and in the southern city of Sderot. Source: AL Jazeera

Cross-border sales were halted last month in a bid to stabilize the domestic market The Russian government has lifted restrictions on diesel exports, but a ban on gasoline shipments out of the country remains in place, the press service of the Council of Ministers announced on Friday. The measures were introduced last month in an effort to stabilize the domestic fuel supply. Diesel shipments can resume under two conditions – if the fuel is delivered to the ports by pipeline and if the manufacturer supplies at least 50% of diesel it produces to the domestic market. Friday’s announcement comes less…

We’ve just received the first images from our colleagues at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where dozens of casualties have been brought after the Israeli bombardment. A large number of grieving families rushed to the hospital after receiving the news. Source: Aljazeera

Reporting from Ashkelon in southern Israel, Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds says the unprecedented attack has left Israelis in “tremendous shock”. “I spoke by text with an acquaintance in Tel Aviv. She says she was hurrying to get into a bomb shelter. The fact that several villages including some towns were attacked and captured – this is something that has never happened before,” Reynolds said. “This took a lot of planning, strategising from Hamas,” he noted. “It is also [near the anniversary] of the October War of 1973, when Israel was taken by surprise by Egypt and Syria. It appears maybe…

Egypt is in close contact with the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to achieve the de-escalation of the situation, Egyptian broadcaster reported on Saturday. Earlier in the day, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on both sides to exercise restraint and avoid endangering civilians. Source: Sputnik