Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) has said it accidentally killed three Israeli nationals taken hostage by Hamas, explaining that the “tragic” error occurred in a Gaza neighborhood where troops had come under heavy fire. IOF spokesman Daniel Hagari described the incident during a press briefing on Friday, noting that the three Israeli captives were mistaken for hostile fighters in the Shejaiya region of northern Gaza. “As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” Hagari said, adding that “Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.” Asked whether the…

Filippo Grandi, head of the UN’s refugee agency, made these comments in reference to the possibility that the thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza could flee to Egypt as Israel’s military operations move further south. “I want to be clear: what is already a massive displacement crisis within Gaza must not turn into yet another refugee crisis,” he said at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva. “Many more [people] have been displaced into an already impoverished corner of an already tiny sliver of land. That violence must stop.” Source: AlJazeera

“Al Jazeera Media Network condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli drone attack on a Gaza school that resulted in the killing of cameraman Samer Abudaqa. “The Network holds Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families. In today’s bombing in Khan Younis, Israeli drones fired missiles at a school where civilians sought refuge, resulting in indiscriminate casualties. Following Samer’s injury, he was left to bleed to death for over 5 hours, as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and rescue workers from reaching him, denying the much-needed emergency treatment. “Al Jazeera Media Network extends its sincere…

During Thursday phone call, President Erdogan and US counterpart Joe Biden discussed developments in Gaza in depth, with Erdogan saying now is time for the US to step in Israel is now heading towards international isolation, a trend which will only grow in the coming days, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after performing prayers in Istanbul, Erdogan said that during a phone call Thursday with his US counterpart Biden, they extensively discussed developments in Gaza, with Erdogan telling Biden that now is the time for the US to step in. During the phone call,…

During his meeting with US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan, Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated the necessity of opening all crossings into Gaza to allow the urgent delivery of food, aid and water supplies. He also urged the US to intervene and pressure Israel into ceasing its violence in the occupied West Bank. Abbas also emphasised that Gaza is an “integral part” of the state of Palestine and any attempt to isolate it is “unacceptable”, reiterating the call for a two-state solution that comprises the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. The meeting comes after Sullivan’s visit to Israel…

Tim Dawson, deputy general secretary at the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), says journalists in Gaza are in “the most extraordinary situation”. “They have suffered the most extraordinary losses and they’re showing the most extraordinary bravery in continuing to do their work,” he told Al Jazeera, describing the conflict as “unlike any other” in recent history in terms of media workers’ deaths. Dawson added that institutions like the International Criminal Court must prepare themselves for the “many” cases that will arise out of this conflict. “It’s important for everybody in Palestine … to see international law applies to and protects…

Speaking to reporters from a foreign ministers’ meeting in Norway, Riyad al-Maliki says Israel’s war on Gaza is aimed at “eliminating the presence of Palestinians” in the enclave and “wiping out the Palestinian people”. The war also aims to “make Gaza uninhabitable”, the Palestinian foreign minister said. He called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. “What we are looking for is to try and rebuild the health system that has collapsed completely,” he added. source: AlJazeera

The Israeli prime minister’s office says the opening of the Karem Abu Salem crossing will allow Israel to permit the entry of 200 trucks of aid per day, agreed upon in a temporary ceasefire deal brokered and implemented last month. Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt could only facilitate the entry of 100 trucks per day, Israel said. “We welcome this significant step,” said Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, adding that he was informed of the decision before departing Israel. “President Biden raised this issue in recent phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and it was an important topic…

Ayman Safadi says if the Oslo Accords of the 1990s were implemented, then the situation today would be very different – but the Jordanian foreign minister said Israel “reneged on its commitments”. “The Oslo Accords were made on the basis on the land-for-peace formula. Israel is no longer committed to the … formula,” he said from the foreign ministers’ meeting in Norway. The accords, he said, were meant to be a “short transition to a Palestinian state”. Instead, the Israeli occupation is being “consolidated”, he told reporters. “The priority at the moment is to stop this aggression, stop the killing,…

Abudaqa joined Al Jazeera in June 2004, working as a cameraman and editor. He was injured while on duty alongside fellow Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh in an Israeli attack at Farhana School in the centre of the city of Khan Younis. Dahdouh was able to reach a hospital, but Abudaqa was unable to be transferred due to widespread destruction in southern Gaza. Abudaqa, born in 1978, was the father of three boys and a girl. He was a resident of the town of Abasan al-Kabira near Khan Younis. Source: AlJazeera