Author: Gulf News Week
The youth of Sebastia have learned to hide in their homes whenever Israeli soldiers approach the town.Sebastia, occupied West Bank – When Israeli military vehicles approach, news of the latest incursion begins cascading through Sebastia from one person to another, and the young people run home as fast as possible. They try to get back before invading soldiers reach their street, knowing all too well the potentially grave consequences if they don’t. The warning cries often originate from those walking near the vantage point of Sebastia archaeological park’s scenic summit. From here, people can spot army vehicles on the roads…
At least 80 children are among 101 Palestinians who have died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza since the war erupted, according to the enclave’s hospitals.Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians as they were trying to access food in Gaza since the United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations at the end of May, according to the United Nations. “As of July 21, we have recorded 1,054 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food; 766 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites and 288 near UN and other humanitarian organisations’…
Qatar signaled its interest as an Olympic Games host with established infrastructure from 2022 FIFA World Cup a key selling point.The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) said it was taking part in “ongoing discussions” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the election process for the host city of the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the organisation said in a media release on its website. The country, which hosted football’s World Cup in 2022 and the Asian Cup in 2024, is the latest to join the race to stage the 2036 Games after confirmed bids from Indonesia, Turkiye, India and Chile.…
In a joint statement, the countries demand that Israel end its war on Gaza. Here’s who signed and what they said.On Monday, 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, and numerous European nations, issued a joint statement calling on Israel that the war on Gaza “must end now”, marking the latest example of intensifying criticism from Israel’s allies. The joint statement, signed by the foreign ministers of these countries, condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food”. The statement comes as global pressure…
Before the war, the official number of Afghan refugees and migrants in Iran was at least 6.1 million people; only about 780,000 have been given refugee status.Tehran, Iran – The wave of Afghan refugees and migrants being sent back from Iran has not stopped, with more than 410,000 being pushed out since the end of the 12-day war with Israel on June 24. More than 1.5 million Afghan refugees and migrants have been sent back in 2025, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), while the Red Cross says more than one million people more could be sent back…
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says continuing enrichment is a matter of ‘national pride’ after US and Israeli attacks caused ‘serious’ damage.Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran cannot give up on its uranium enrichment programme, which was severely damaged by waves of US and Israeli air strikes last month. “It is now stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe, but obviously, we cannot give up our enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists, and now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” Araghchi told the US broadcaster Fox News…
Houthis promise more attacks unless Israel ends its offensive on Gaza and lifts the siege.Israel’s military has launched new air raids on Yemen’s Hodeidah port, targeting what it described as Houthi-linked sites used to stage drone and missile attacks against Israel and its allies. Minister of Defence Israel Katz on Monday said the military was “forcefully countering any attempt to restore the terror infrastructure previously attacked”. The Israeli military claimed that the “port serves as a channel for weapons used by the Houthis to carry out terrorist operations against Israel and its allies”. The Houthi movement, which controls large parts…
The countries also denounced Israel’s aid delivery model in Gaza, saying it ‘deprives Palestinians of human dignity’.More than two dozen countries have called for an immediate end to the war on Gaza, saying that suffering there had “reached new depths” in the latest sign of allies’ sharpening language as Israel’s international isolation deepens. The statement on Monday came after more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s more than two million residents. Israeli allies the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the European Union, said in a joint statement that…
The Hind Rajab Foundation called the questioning of Israeli soldiers a ‘turning point in global accountability’.Belgian authorities have interrogated two members of the Israeli military following allegations of serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Brussels said. The two people were questioned after legal complaints were filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Global Legal Action Network. The complaints were submitted on Friday and Saturday as the soldiers attended the Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium. “In light of this potential jurisdiction, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office requested the police to locate and interrogate…
Political and technical considerations can no longer be an excuse to overlook the starvation of Palestinians.On July 9, 2024, no fewer than 11 experts mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a mayday call about famine in Gaza. “We declare that Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza. We call upon the international community to prioritise the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire,” their statement read. Among the experts…