12 h. ago Tunisia denies Gaza aid flotilla boat was hit by drone at port

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) for Gaza said on Tuesday that one of its main boats was struck by a drone at a port in Tunisia, though all six passengers and crew were safe. Tunisia’s interior ministry said that reports of a drone hitting a boat at its Sidi Bou Said port “have no basis in truth”, and that a fire broke out on the vessel itself. The Portuguese-flagged boat, carrying the flotilla’s steering committee, sustained fire damage to its main deck and below-deck storage, the GSF said in a...

Events

14 h. ago Netanyahu warns ‘leave now’ as Israel intensifies Gaza City bombardment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told residents of Gaza City on Monday to evacuate, as the military ramped up its deadly assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre. Israel has been intensifying its bombardment of the city in preparation for an operation to conquer it, despite repeated entreaties from Western nations and aid agencies to stop. Gaza’s civil defence agency meanwhile said at least 39 people had been killed by Israel, including 25 in Gaza City, on Monday. The...

Events

31 h. ago UN human rights chief slams Israel’s ‘mass killing’ of Palestinians in Gaza

The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for its “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and “hindering of sufficient life-saving aid”, saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of UN staff had urged him to do. But in his opening address to...

Politics

8 d. ago Gaza aid flotilla departs Barcelona again after storms delayed departure

A Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and pro-Palestinian activists including environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg departed Barcelona again on Monday, several hours after winds forced it to return to the Spanish port, according to Agence France-Presse journalists at the scene. Around 20 vessels left the Spanish city on Sunday aiming to “open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people” amid the Israel-Gaza war, said the Global Sumud Flotilla –...

Events

8 d. ago Flotilla headed to Gaza leaves Barcelona for second time after storm delay

A flotilla carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Gaza left Barcelona’s port on Monday for a second time after the vessels were forced to return a day earlier because of bad weather. The Global Sumud Flotilla had departed on Sunday under much fanfare only to return a few hours later after a storm hit parts of Spain overnight. Facing winds of more than 56km/h (35mph), some of the smaller boats taking part in the mission would have been at risk, organisers said. It was not immediately clear...

Events

8 d. ago Flotilla leaves Barcelona in biggest attempt yet to break Israel’s Gaza blockade

A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to Gaza on Sunday with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea. This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing...

Politics

8 d. ago Flotilla leaves Barcelona in biggest attempt yet to break blockade of Gaza

A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to Gaza on Sunday with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea. This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing...

Politics

1 week ago Gaza aid flotilla ‘should not have to exist’ says rights activist Greta Thunberg

Aid flotillas such as the one preparing to leave for Gaza would not be necessary if governments upheld international law, rights activist Greta Thunberg told Agence France-Presse on Saturday. “It should not have to be up to us,” said the 22-year-old Swedish campaigner, who will join the flotilla when it sets off from Barcelona on Sunday. “A mission like this should not have to exist,” she added. “It is the responsibility of countries, of our governments and elected officials to act to try to...

Politics

1 week ago Israel to slow or stop aid into parts of Gaza soon as offensive expands

Israel will soon slow or halt humanitarian aid into parts of northern Gaza as it expands its offensive attempting to cripple Hamas, an official said on Saturday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that Israel would stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the arrival of aid trucks into the northern part of the strip as it prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents south. Israel on Friday...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘A lot of debt’: who will pay for Malaysia’s US$24 million Gaza aid pledge?

Malaysia’s plan to send 100 million ringgit (US$24 million) in aid to Gaza has become a lightning rod for economic anxieties as Malaysians weigh their long-standing support for war-ravaged Palestinians against mounting frustrations over spiralling living costs and government austerity measures. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the humanitarian package late on Sunday, addressing a crowd of some 20,000 at a solidarity rally for Palestine in Kuala Lumpur. He urged corporate leaders, affluent...

Economics

2 w. ago 4 Palestinians killed while seeking aid near Gaza City, witnesses say

Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinian aid-seekers travelling on Sunday through a military zone south of Gaza City that is regularly used to reach a food distribution point, a hospital and witnesses said. Gaza City is in famine after 22 months of war, while Israel’s military moves ahead with a planned offensive to seize the city, perhaps within days. Israel’s defence minister has warned that the city of hundreds of thousands of people could be destroyed. Al-Awda Hospital and two witnesses...

Events

3 w. ago Israel ‘deliberately starving’ Palestinians in Gaza, Amnesty says

Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza, as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian territory. Israel, while heavily restricting aid allowed into the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly rejected claims of deliberate starvation in the 22-month-old war. In a report citing testimonies of displaced Palestinians and medical staff who treated malnourished children, Amnesty said that “Israel is carrying out a...

Politics