Author: Steven Sahiounie

UNESCO on Thursday asked for a “full and transparent investigation” to determine the circumstances behind the killing of Anadolu freelance cameraman Montaser Al-Sawaf in Gaza. “I deplore the death of Montaser Al-Sawaf. The protection of journalists as civilians is a requirement under international law, including UN Security Council Resolution 2222/2015 on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of conflict,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement. “I call for a full and transparent investigation to determine the circumstances of this tragedy,” Azoulay added. Al-Sawaf, an Anadolu freelance cameraman reporting from Gaza, was killed in…

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, 3,714 students have been killed and 5,700 injured in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 7. A ministry statement, cited by the official Wafa news agency, said the number of students who have been killed in Gaza is 3,679 with 5,429 wounded. In the West Bank, 35 students have been killed, with 271 others injured and 82 arrested, according to the statement. The ministry added that 209 teachers and school administrators were also killed and 619 injured in Gaza, while two teachers were injured and 65 arrested in the occupied West…

US should no longer block any UN cease-fire resolutions,’ Fidan says, adding that other Western countries are also complicit in Israel’s attacks Türkiye’s foreign minister blasted the US on Thursday for blocking UN resolutions for a cease-fire in Gaza, which has seen an intense Israeli air and ground offensive since the flare-up of conflict on Oct. 7. “Only the US stands between massacre and cease-fire in Gaza,” said Hakan Fidan. “It should no longer block any UN cease-fire resolutions,” he added, referring to the widely criticized US vetoes of two UN Security Council cease-fire resolutions in October and earlier this…

Pedro Sanchez says he hopes the bloc’s member states will reach an agreement on the situation in Gaza and reiterated that Spain supports a ceasefire. “The ceasefire should open the door to diplomacy and to the realisation of a two-state solution,” he said at the EU summit in Brussels. The Spanish prime minister has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire and an end to killings in Gaza. Source: AlJazeera

The vote of 221 to 212 was along strict party lines, with every Republican voting for it and every Democrat against. The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives voted Wednesday to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden based on his son Hunter’s controversial international dealings — a move Biden himself slammed as a “baseless” stunt. Republicans have yet to provide evidence of corruption by the president, and the Democratic-led Senate would be unlikely to convict Biden even if the inquiry did lead to an actual impeachment trial. The vote of 221 to 212 was along strict party lines,…

A young man has died from his wounds following an Israeli military raid on the West Bank city of Jenin for the third day in a row, Wafa news agency reported, citing the Palestinian Health Ministry. This raises the death toll to 11, with at least 10 people injured, including two seriously. The Israeli military has said its troops were operating “to expose explosive devices planted under roads to attack the security forces”. Source: AlJazeera

The Ministry of Health said today that 18,682 Palestinians have been killed and more than 50,000 wounded since the start of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It said in its daily report that 18,400 were killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, and that more than 50,000 were wounded, while 282 were killed in the West Bank. It explained that the vast majority of the dead, or 70%, were women and children, while thousands are still missing under the rubble in the bombed homes and buildings. Source: WAFA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, for a meeting on Wednesday, the Turkish presidency said. No further information was provided about the meeting held at the presidential palace in the capital Ankara. Separately, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted Saleh in Ankara. The Foreign Ministry did not share further details about the closed-door meeting. Turkish Parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus also held a face-to-face meeting with Saleh. Türkiye’s first priority regarding Libya is to ensure political stability in Libya and to take the prosperity and economic development in Libya to further…

The US-based Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre identified the staff members as General Manager Mustafa Sheta and Artistic Director Ahmed Tobasi and said they were taken from their homes. Tobasi’s brother, Mohammed, was also taken. “We have no information on the whereabouts or condition of these two vital members of a beloved cultural institution in Jenin. The last word we had from Ahmed Tobasi was, ‘They are going house to house. They are taking everyone,’” the organisation said in a statement. “More than 100 Palestinians have been seized in Jenin … The Israeli army has repeatedly, violently invaded the…

The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia said the kingdom’s stance on the crisis in Gaza is identical with that of Iran, calling for constant collective efforts to end the Israeli onslaught against Palestinians. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud held a meeting on the sidelines of the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva on Wednesday. The two senior diplomats discussed a range of bilateral, regional and international issues in the meeting, particularly ways to end the Zionist regime’s strikes on Gaza. Bin Farhan said Saudi Arabia shares views with Iran on the need to…