Army says ‘high probability’ Israel air strike caused deaths of 3 hostages in November

Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza since October rally near the residence of the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem to demand their release on Spetember 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 15 September 2024
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Army says ‘high probability’ Israel air strike caused deaths of 3 hostages in November

  • “The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF air strike,” the military said

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military on Sunday said there was a “high probability” an Israeli air strike was responsible for the deaths of three hostages who were killed in Gaza in November.
The bodies of the three hostages, Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and French-Israeli Elia Toledano, were brought back to Israel in December.
“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF air strike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” the military said in a statement, referring to the three captives.
“This assessment is based on the location of where their bodies were found in relation to the strike’s impact, performance analysis of the strike, intelligence findings, the results of the pathological reports, and the conclusions of the Forensic Medicine Institute.”
“This is a high-probability assessment based on all of the available information, but it is not possible to definitively determine the circumstances of their deaths,” the military said.
The bodies of the three hostages were recovered on December 14.
The military said its investigation revealed that the three captives had been held in a tunnel complex from which Ghandour operated.
“At the time of the strike, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound,” the military said.
“Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages.”
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has so far killed at least 41,206 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide details of civilian and militant deaths.
While 105 hostages were released during a one-week truce in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, three captives were killed by Israeli fire.
Yotam Haim, Samer El-Talalqa and Alon Shamriz were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in December in north Gaza, according to the military.


Israeli settlers perform ‘epic prostration’ after storming Al-Aqsa Mosque

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Israeli settlers perform ‘epic prostration’ after storming Al-Aqsa Mosque

  • Israeli settlers regularly tour Al-Aqsa under the protection of Israeli police
  • 13,064 settlers entered the site in the first quarter of 2025

LONDON: Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, conducting a provocative tour in front of Palestinian worshippers.

Settlers regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers.

On Thursday, they performed Talmudic rituals in front of the Dome of the Rock Mosque, chanting loudly in the presence of Palestinian worshippers, eyewitnesses told the Wafa news agency.

Some settlers performed the Talmudic ritual known as “epic prostration,” in which the worshipper bows low to the ground in a display of humility and reverence, while others raised Israeli flags.

In April, thousands of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa compound to mark the Jewish holiday of Passover. In the same month, several Arab countries condemned a video generated by artificial intelligence that depicted the destruction of Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock mosques, which was attributed to Israeli settlers.

The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem governorate reported that 13,064 settlers visited the site in the first quarter of 2025.


Devastated father wonders why an Israeli strike killed his 4-year-old daughter

Updated 31 min 51 sec ago
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Devastated father wonders why an Israeli strike killed his 4-year-old daughter

  • That afternoon, an Israeli strike hit a tent on the side of the road, killing Massa and some of the other children
  • “She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll?” her father said

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Massa Abed, 4, brought a rubber ball and her doll to play with friends on the street near her family’s home on Sunday. It was a mundane day in Zawaida, the central Gaza town where the Abeds returned weeks ago, with calm largely restored in the area.
But that afternoon, an Israeli strike hit a tent on the side of the road, killing Massa and some of the other children.
Her older brother, 16, grabbed Massa’s little body and rushed to the hospital on a donkey cart. When she was pronounced dead, he wailed, holding her.
Days later, Massa’s father, Samy Abed, turned the green ball in his hand, describing the incident to The Associated Press.
“She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll?” he said. “She’s 4 years old. What can she do? She can’t even carry a rock.”
The Israeli army did not respond to requests for comment on the strike, and it remains unclear why the area — near the city of Deir Al-Balah — was struck or who was targeted. Israeli officials have often blamed Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the Palestinian militant group regularly operates from residential areas and hospitals and accusing it using civilians as human shields.
Since Israel resumed attacksmore than a month ago, at least 809 children have been killed, said Zaher Al-Wahidi, a spokesperson with Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Overall, the ministry says, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, in October 2023. Ministry officials do not differentiate between civilians and militant deaths but say that more than half the dead have been women and children. Israel says it has killed over 20,000 militants, without providing details on those deaths.
On March 18, a surprise Israeli bombardment shattered a six-week ceasefire mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt; hundreds of Palestinians were killed. Mediation efforts to restore the ceasefire have faltered, and Israel has vowed more devastation if Hamas doesn’t release the remaining hostages kidnapped in its rampage on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
That Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others. Israel says 59 hostages remain in captivity, at least 35 of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, not allowing food, medicine, or assistance to enter the strip. The United Nations World Food Program said its stockpiles that it used to feed over 600,000 people daily are empty. Israel says the blockade’s aim is to increase pressure on Hamas to release the rest of the hostages and to disarm.
At the hospital where Massa’s brother brought her, bodies of her young playmates lay nearby — a reminder, relatives said, of children in danger as attacks continue.
Massa had the confidence and bubbly personality of a teenager, socializing and conversing with everyone, her father said as he scrolled through photos and videos where she played and posed for the cameras.
He soon turned to photos of her body at the hospital.
“We see her when we’re asleep. When we wake up, we remember her,” he said.
Majdi Abed, Massa’s uncle, says he has regular visions of her. “I was sitting right here at 7 a.m., and I felt the girl coming toward me,” he said, describing how he frequently bursts into tears upon realizing it’s not really Massa.
The family still expects her to show up at their breakfast table.
But, her father said, “her spot is empty.”


Omani, Iraqi foreign ministers hold talks in Muscat

Updated 01 May 2025
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Omani, Iraqi foreign ministers hold talks in Muscat

  • Discussion focused on achieving greater benefits for the people of Oman and Iraq

LONDON: Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al-Busaidi discussed regional and international developments with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Muscat on Thursday.

The ministers highlighted the need for continued coordination to enhance regional security, stability and peace through dialogue, diplomacy and respect for sovereignty and international law.

They also talked about securing common interests and achieving greater benefits for the people of Oman and Iraq.

Qais Saad Al-Amri, the Iraqi ambassador to Oman, and other senior officials attended the meeting.


Damascus sectarian killings ‘unacceptable,’ says UN envoy

Syrian Red Crescent workers collect bodies off a highway of a convoy of Syrian Druze fighters on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP)
Updated 01 May 2025
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Damascus sectarian killings ‘unacceptable,’ says UN envoy

  • Geir Pedersen appeals for calm after clashes involving Druze minority
  • Israel threatens further attacks after series of strikes on Syrian capital

NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s special envoy for Syria condemned a spate of sectarian violence in Damascus as well as Israeli strikes on the capital as “unacceptable.”

It follows a week of killings and tensions in the predominantly Druze towns of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and Jaramana, on the outskirts of Damascus.

Fighting broke out earlier this week in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya when gunmen attacked a security checkpoint.

A second clash occurred a day earlier in Jaramana, with at least 30 people, including civilians, being killed in the two attacks.

“The reports of civilian casualties, and casualties among security personnel, are deeply alarming,” Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said in a statement. “Immediate steps must be taken to protect civilians, de-escalate tensions and prevent any further incitement of communal conflict,” he added.

Syrian security forces intervened in an attempt to quell tensions, closing off roads and sending armed personnel, the interior ministry said.

Tensions were compounded by Israel’s intervention with a series of strikes on the outskirts of Damascus.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had launched attacks on an “extremist group that was preparing to attack the Druze population south of Damascus.”

A second Israeli strike in the Damascus countryside killed a Syrian security officer.

Maj. Gen Eyal Zamir, Israel’s chief of staff, threatened to carry out strikes on Syrian government sites “if the violence against the Druze does not stop.”

Pedersen condemned the Israeli attacks and said that “Syria’s sovereignty must be fully respected.”

He called on Syrian parties to engage in “genuine inclusion, trust-building and meaningful dialogue” in a bid to reduce tensions.

The condemnation came a week after Pedersen’s appearance before the UN Security Council alongside Asaad Al-Shaibani, Syria’s foreign minister.

There, Pedersen hailed the “opening of a new chapter in Syria’s history” and praised the Syrian people, “who, amidst continued suffering, and many uncertainties and dangers, show overwhelmingly that they want this political transition to succeed.”

The events in Damascus follow months of sectarian violence around Latakia and the Syrian coast, involving clashes between members of the Alawite minority and other groups.

“The people of Syria have suffered too much for too long,” Pedersen said. “They deserve peace, dignity, and a future built on dialogue, not destruction.”


PKK claims Iraq attacks on Kurdish security forces

Updated 01 May 2025
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PKK claims Iraq attacks on Kurdish security forces

  • The post would close a road between two regions “in an attempt to destroy and besiege our forces,” the PKK said
  • It is one of many posts that the peshmerga have started building in an area considered “strategic” to the group

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq: The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed on Thursday two attacks in northern Iraq that wounded five Kurdish security personnel earlier this week.
The attacks occurred on Monday and Tuesday, targeting peshmerga bases in Dohuk province in the northern autonomous Kurdistan region, which has seen repeated clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK.
The regional authorities, who have close ties with Ankara, said on Tuesday that two separate drone attacks targeted its security forces, blaming them on a “terrorist group.”
The PKK said in a statement that it launched “minor” attacks to avoid casualties in response to the Kurdistan security forces — the peshmerga — building a new post in the area.
The post would close a road between two regions “in an attempt to destroy and besiege our forces,” the PKK said.
It is one of many posts that the peshmerga have started building in an area considered “strategic” to the group, the PKK added.
Kamran Othman of the US-based Community Peacemakers Teams, which monitors Turkish operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, told AFP Tuesday that the peshmerga were establishing a new post in a “sensitive area” long marked by tensions between the PKK and Turkish forces.
Blacklisted as a “terrorist group” by Ankara, the European Union and the United States, the PKK has fought the Turkish state for most of the past four decades.
The group maintains rear bases in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkish forces have also long operated bases.
The drone attacks came weeks after the PKK announced a ceasefire with Turkiye in response to their jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan’s historic call to the group to dissolve and disarm.
Despite the ceasefire, skirmishes between the foes continue in several areas of northern Iraq.
The regional authorities said the attacks aimed to “obstruct the peace process and the stability of the region.”
The PKK said in their statement that they “don’t want to enter a war with any side.”