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AFP

  • Jordanian, Emirati planes drop 25 tonnes of aid over Gaza

    Jordanian, Emirati planes drop 25 tonnes of aid over Gaza

    Amman: Two Jordanian and one Emirati plane dropped 25 tonnes of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Jordanian army said in a statement.

    “The Jordanian Armed Forces on Sunday carried out three air drops on the Gaza Strip carrying humanitarian and food aid, one of which was with the United Arab Emirates,” the statement said, adding that they were carrying 25 tonnes of aid.

    The United Nations said it would try to reach as many starving people as possible in Gaza after Israel announced it would establish secure land routes in for humanitarian convoys.

    The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it had enough food in, or on its way to, the region to feed the 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip for almost three months.

    UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said on X he welcomed the announcement of “humanitarian pauses”.

    “In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window,” he said.

    WFP said the pauses and corridors should allow emergency food to be safely delivered.

    “Food aid is the only real way for most people inside Gaza to eat,” it said in a statement.

    It said a third of the population had not been eating for days, and 470,000 people in Gaza “are enduring famine-like conditions” that were leading to deaths.

    WFP said more than 62,000 tonnes of food assistance was needed monthly to cover the entire Gaza population of two million.

    The agency noted that, on top of Sunday’s “pause” announcement, Israel had pledged to allow more trucks to enter Gaza with quicker clearances along with “assurances of no armed forces or shootings near convoys”.

    “Together, we hope these measures will allow for a surge in urgently needed food assistance to reach hungry people without further delays,” it said.

  • Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza

    Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza

    Jerusalem: Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, the military said, a day after confirming another soldier had died of wounds sustained last week.

    “We have lost three young soldiers– some of our finest,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X.

    The two soldiers, aged 20 and 22, served in the Golani Infantry Brigade’s 51st Battalion.

    Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armoured vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Yunis.

    Military correspondents from several Israeli media outlets said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device detonated by a militant who emerged from a tunnel.

    An investigation was underway.

    In a separate incident on Sunday, an officer and a reservist were severely wounded in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said.

    According to an AFP toll based on data from the Israeli army, 462 soldiers have been killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27, 2023.

    Israel launched its Gaza military campaign after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

    The Israeli campaign has killed 59,821 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

  • Greece gets EU help to battle disastrous wildfires

    Greece gets EU help to battle disastrous wildfires

    ATHENS: Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations for a second day on Sunday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.

    The fronts were raging Sunday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia and Kythera, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn.

    Forecasters predicted the strong winds that have fanned the flames would die down on Sunday in most areas but warned that Kythera continued to face “worrying” windy conditions.

    Evacuation messages were sent to people on the island, which lies off the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese, early on Sunday as the fire was raging unabated.

    “Houses, beehives, olive trees have been burnt,” Giorgos Komninos, deputy mayor of Kythera, told local outlet ERT News.

    “A monastery is in direct danger right now,” he said, adding that half of the island had been burnt.

    Dozens of firefighters supported by three helicopters and two aircraft were battling the Kythera blaze, which erupted Saturday morning and forced the evacuation of a popular tourist beach.

    Greece had requested help from EU allies and two Italian aircraft were expected Sunday, according to the fire brigade, with units from the Czech Republic already at work.

    Heatwave conditions

    Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk, according to officials.

    Firefighters are working in several areas of the Peloponnese and there were several flare-ups overnight on the island of Evia, near Athens, where the flames have laid waste to swathes of forest and killed thousands of farm animals.

    Further south on Crete, reports said fires that broke out on Saturday afternoon and destroyed four houses and a church and largely been contained.

    Greece has endured heatwave conditions for almost a week, with temperatures passing 40 degrees Celsius in many areas, though the heat is expected to die down from Monday.

  • Egypt state-linked media says aid trucks entering Gaza

    Egypt state-linked media says aid trucks entering Gaza

    CAIRO: Egyptian state-linked media on Sunday reported that aid trucks had begun entering the Gaza Strip as Israel announced a “tactical pause” in parts of the devastated territory to allow deliveries.

    “Egyptian aid trucks begin to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing,” Al-Qahera News posted on X, alongside footage of aid convoys moving in the border area.

    The Israeli military said Sunday the daily pause in the enclave, running from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, would apply only to specific areas, including Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah, and parts of Gaza City, where Israeli troops are not currently operating.

    It added secure routes had been opened across the enclave to facilitate UN and aid agency convoys.

    The move comes amid mounting international pressure over Gaza’s worsening hunger crisis. Israel began air-dropping food into the territory, following similar announcements from the UAE and UK.

    However, humanitarian officials remain skeptical. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned air drops were “expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians”.

    Israel insists it is not restricting aid and claims some UN agencies are failing to distribute supplies already inside Gaza.

    But relief organisations accuse the military of limiting access and creating dangerous conditions near distribution centres.

    On Saturday, over 50 Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, including some waiting for aid.

  • Iran executes two men over ties to exiled Mujahideen-e-Khalq group

    Iran executes two men over ties to exiled Mujahideen-e-Khalq group

    TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday executed two men after convicting them of carrying out armed operations for the exiled opposition People’s Mujahedin of Iran (Mujahideen-e-Khalq), the judiciary said.

    “The death sentences of two operational members of the… terrorist group were carried out this morning after legal procedures and confirmation by the supreme court,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.

    The men, identified as Mehdi Hasani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, were found guilty of manufacturing improvised launchers and mortars and conducting attacks that targeted civilians, homes and public and charitable institutions.

    The judiciary said they aimed to “disrupt social order and endanger the safety of innocent citizens”.

    Both men were described as long-time affiliates of the MEK, a group Iran designates as a terrorist group.

    Authorities said the pair operated from a safe house in Tehran and engaged in “propaganda and sabotage”, including filming their activities for broadcast on MEK-linked channels.

    The timing and details of their arrest were not immediately disclosed.

    The pair were convicted of baghi (armed rebellion), moharebeh (waging war against God), and conspiracy to undermine national security.

    Iran enforces capital punishment for a range of serious crimes and ranks as the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.

    Executions in Iran are typically carried out by hanging at dawn.

  • Three drones detected in Japan nuclear plant

    Three drones detected in Japan nuclear plant

    TOKYO: Three drones were detected in a Japanese nuclear power plant where two reactors are being decommissioned, the country’s nuclear watchdog said Sunday.

    The unmanned aerial vehicles were spotted Saturday night by the operator of Genkai Nuclear Power Station in the southwestern Kyushu region, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said.

    Unauthorised drone flights over and near nuclear power plants are prohibited in Japan, the NRA and police said.

    “No abnormalities were detected after the incident was reported, while drones have not been found inside the premises of the power plant,” a spokesman for the NRA told AFP.

    Police spokesman Masahiro Kosho said they have not located the drones and do not know who flew them or for what purpose.

    Kyushu Electric Power Co operates the Genkai plant in Saga prefecture where two of its four reactors are being decommissioned.

    The plant’s other reactors resumed operation after strict safety standards were introduced following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which was triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan.

    A law allowing nuclear reactors to operate beyond 60 years took effect in Japan last month, as the government turns back to atomic energy 14 years after the Fukushima catastrophe.

  • Israeli troops seize Gaza-bound activist boat

    Israeli troops seize Gaza-bound activist boat

    Israel seized a boat with the pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla that was sailing towards Gaza on Saturday.

    “The Israeli navy has stopped the vessel Navarn from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza,” the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X.

    “The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe.”

    The activists’ own broadcast showed them sitting on deck, holding their hands up and whistling the Italian anti-fascist song “Bella Ciao”, as the soldiers took control of the vessel.

    Three video live feeds of the scene, which had been broadcast online, were cut minutes later.

    The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory’s Palestinian residents.

    In a message on social media, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition declared: “‘Handala’ has been intercepted and boarded illegally by Israeli forces whilst in international waters,” using an alternative name for the boat.

    Israel had earlier vowed to enforce its blockade of Gaza, and its statement Saturday said “unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.”

    An online tracking tool set up to plot the Handala’s course showed the boat’s position as roughly 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Egyptian coast and 100 kilometres west of Gaza when intercepted.

    The Handala was carrying 19 activists, including European politicians, and two Al Jazeera journalists, who were able to broadcast from the vessel until shortly before its interception.

    Two French lawmakers were among those detained, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. Their party leader, Jean-Luc Melenchon of France Unbowed (LFI), condemned Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    “Netanyahu’s thugs boarded Handala. They attack 21 unarmed people in territorial waters where they have no right. A kidnapping in which two French parliamentarians are victims,” he posted on X.

    Melenchon demanded the French government take action.

    Gaza is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with the United Nations and NGOs warning of an imminent famine.

    The Handala’s crew said in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.

    The last boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was intercepted by the Israeli army in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

    It carried 12 campaigners on board, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel.

    Read more: Israel resumes airdrop aid to Gaza, military says

    Israel air drops humanitarian aid packages into Gaza

    Israel said Saturday that it air dropped aid into the Gaza Strip and would open humanitarian corridors, as it faced growing international condemnation over the deepening hunger crisis in the Palestinian territory.

    Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume.

    Before Israel announced the delivery of seven aid packages, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them.

    The decision to loosen the flow of aid came as the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.

    The same day, Israeli troops boarded a boat carrying activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as it attempted to approach Gaza from the sea and deliver a small quantity of supplies to the aid-starved population.

    The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with international NGOs warning of soaring malnutrition among children.

  • Activist aid boat Handala approaching Gaza shores, group says

    Activist aid boat Handala approaching Gaza shores, group says

    Jerusalem: The activist group Freedom Flotilla announced Saturday that its latest aid boat dispatched to Gaza was approaching the territory and planned to land there the following morning in defiance of an Israeli blockade.

    The vessel, named the Handala after a popular Palestinian cartoon character, was just 105 nautical miles (194 kilometres) from its destination, organisers said — closer to Gaza than its predecessor the Madleen was when it was intercepted in June.

    The Israeli navy said it would likewise block the new vessel from reaching the war-torn Palestinian territory.

    “The [Israeli army] enforces the legal maritime security blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with directives of the political echelon,” an army spokesperson told AFP on Saturday.

    Carrying 19 activists and two journalists from various countries, the Handala first set sail from Sicily on July 13 in a bid to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza and deliver aid to its population.

    The territory is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with the United Nations and NGOs warning of an imminent famine.

    The Handala’s crew said in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.

    The last boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was intercepted by the Israeli army in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

    It carried 12 campaigners on board, including prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

  • Trump says speaking with Cambodia, Thailand about ceasefire

    Trump says speaking with Cambodia, Thailand about ceasefire

    US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was talking with the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand in a bid to end their border conflict that has left at least 33 people dead.

    “Just spoke to the Prime Minister of Cambodia relative to stopping the War with Thailand,” Trump, who is on a visit to Scotland, said in a post on his Truth Social network.

    “I have just spoken to the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand, and it was a very good conversation,” he said soon after in a new post.

    “Thailand, like Cambodia, wants to have an immediate Ceasefire, and PEACE,” he added.

    “I am now going to relay that message back to the Prime Minister of Cambodia. After speaking to both Parties, Ceasefire, Peace, and Prosperity seems to be a natural. We will soon see!”

    Tensions flared over long-contested ancient temple sites before fighting spread along the countries’ rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.

    Clashes, now in their third day, broke out Saturday in the countries’ coastal regions where they meet on the Gulf of Thailand, around 250 kilometres (160 miles) southwest of the main frontlines.

    “I am trying to simplify a complex situation! Many people are being killed in this War, but it very much reminds me of the Conflict between Pakistan and India, which was brought to a successful halt,” Trump said.

    Trump also indicated he would not move forward on trade deals with either nation until fighting has stopped.

  • Lebanese schoolteacher back home after 40 years in French jail

    Lebanese schoolteacher back home after 40 years in French jail

    Kobayat, Lebanon: One of France’s longest-held inmates, the pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant and former schoolteacher Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, arrived in his hometown on Friday, having been released after more than 40 years behind bars for the killings of two diplomats.

    AFP journalists saw a convoy leaving the Lannemezan prison in southwest France, and hours later, the 74-year-old was placed on a plane and deported back to Lebanon, to be welcomed by family members on his return to Beirut at the airport’s VIP lounge.

    Back in his hometown of Kobayat, near the Syrian border in north Lebanon, hundreds of men, women and children gathered to welcome Abdallah.

    “Whether or not we agree with his ideas… we first and foremost salute the man,” lawmaker Jimmy Jabbour, who is from the area, told AFP, hailing Abdallah’s “perseverance”.

    “The whole village is happy that he’s back… 41 years in prison, others would have probably lost their minds,” said Kobayat resident Claudette Tannous, 68.

    Earlier at Beirut airport, an AFP correspondent said dozens of supporters, some waving Palestinian or Lebanese Communist Party flags, gathered near the arrivals hall to give him a hero’s reception.

    In his first public address after being released, Abdallah took aim at Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, where human rights organisations have warned of mass starvation.

    “The children of Palestine are dying of hunger while millions of Arabs watch,” he said. “Resistance must continue and intensify,” added the former schoolteacher.

    Lebanese Resistance Icon Georges Abdallah Returns after 40 Years

    There was no official comment on his return from the Lebanese government.

    Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris.

    – ‘Past symbol’ –

    The Paris Court of Appeal had ordered his release “effective July 25” on the condition that he leave French territory and never return.

    While he had been eligible for release since 1999, his previous requests were denied with the United States — a civil party to the case — consistently opposing his leaving prison.

    Inmates serving life sentences in France are typically freed after fewer than 30 years.

    Abdallah’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, visited him for a final time on Thursday.

    “He seemed very happy about his upcoming release, even though he knows he is returning to the Middle East in an extremely tough context for Lebanese and Palestinian populations,” Chalanset told AFP.

    The charge d’affaires of the Lebanese Embassy in Paris, Ziad Taan, who saw Georges Abdallah before his departure, told AFP that he was “well, in good health, very happy to return to Lebanon to his family and to regain his freedom”.

    AFP visited Abdallah last week after the court’s release decision, accompanying a lawmaker to the detention centre.

    Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) activist George Ibrahim Abdallah is escorted by a French Gendarme as he arrives at Lyon courthouse, July 10, 1986.

    The founder of the Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions (FARL) — a long-disbanded Marxist anti-Israel group — said for more than four decades he had continued to be a “militant with a struggle”.

    After his arrest in 1984, French police discovered submachine guns and transceiver stations in one of his Paris apartments.

    The appeals court in February noted that the FARL “had not committed a violent action since 1984” and that Abdallah “today represented a past symbol of the Palestinian struggle”.

    The appeals judges also found the length of his detention “disproportionate” to his crimes, and pointed to his age.