Foreign News
Israel Targets Militant Commanders, Gaza Tunnel Network
Israel’s military said on Monday it had targeted militant commanders and the tunnel network in the Gaza Strip, as Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets towards Israel.
In spite of international calls for a ceasefire, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza is entering its second week with no sign of letting up.
Israel’s army said it had shelled the homes of nine senior commanders from the Islamist Hamas movement overnight.
Some were used as weapons caches, according to the Israeli military.
Another target, a commander of the Islamic Jihad militant group in the northern Gaza Strip was killed in a separate attack, Israel said.
Hasem Harbid apparently led an Islamic Jihad unit in the north of the strip.
More than 1,500 targets had been attacked in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Netanyahu said the operation would continue at full force.
At night, 54 fighter jets were deployed to attack the underground tunnel network in Gaza, the army said.
It said that some 15 kilometres of tunnels were destroyed.
The Palestinian side said the airstrikes were the heaviest yet in densely populated Gaza and the rocket fire from Gaza had been equally intense.
Some 3,150 rockets have been fired at Israel since last Monday, according to the Israeli military.
About 460 of the rockets never made it across the border and went down in Gaza territory, it added.
The Iron Dome missile defence system had an interception rate of about 90 per cent, it said.
By comparison, a total of 4,481 rockets were fired at Israel during the entire 51-day Gaza war in 2014.
At least 192 people have been killed in Gaza, including 58 children, according to the coastal territory’s health ministry.
On May 15, during the night, 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli army attacks on homes in Gaza, the ministry said.
In Israel, rocket fire has killed 10 people since last Monday, according to rescuers.
Israel blames Hamas, the Islamist militants in control of the Gaza Strip for any attacks from there.
The group is classified as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union.
International diplomatic efforts to calm tensions have had little apparent effect so far.
In an unusual intervention, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pope Francis that Palestinians would continue to be massacred, if the international community did not sanction Israel.
“The pope’s messages about and reactions to this issue are of great importance in terms of mobilising the Christian world and the international community,’’ Erdogan said in a phone call with Francis.
Around 42,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fled their homes because of Israel’s air attacks on the coastal territory.
They have sought shelter in 50 schools run by the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for the organisation said.
More than 2,500 people have been left homeless after their homes were destroyed.
Israel says it is only targeting militant positions, but some of those are in the middle of highly crowded residential areas.(dpa/ NAN)
Israel has sent two planes to evacuate fans from Amsterdam after violent clashes between Israeli supporter and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the fringes of Ajax versus Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa Cup match.
“The Prime Minister has directed that two rescue planes be sent immediately to assist our citizens,.
“The harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked’’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office posted on X on Friday morning.
The Israeli leader’s office called the incident horrifying and demanded that the Dutch government and security forces take vigorous and swift action against the rioters, and ensure the safety of our citizens.
This clash was however unclear and yet to be unfolded.
The exact events remain unclear. The violent disturbances occurred around the Europa League football match between Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday evening. Ajax won 5-0.
There were clashes in several locations in the centre of the Dutch capital; though it was not specified which side started the violence.
Around 60 people were detained temporarily on Thursday evening, the police said.
Amsterdam TV station AT5 reported that demonstrators threw chairs at Maccabi fans.
The police’s mobile units reportedly shielded the Israelis and escorted them to their hotels.
There were also clashes in the afternoon between Israeli football fans and security forces in the city centre.
According to police, about a dozen people were arrested for disturbing public order and illegal possession of fireworks.
Even before the match, there were isolated altercations near the stadium in the south-east of the city, the police said.
More than 200 demonstrators attempted to reach the venue, according to the police.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned these “unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis’’ on X and said he had since spoken with Netanyahu.
Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders called it a pogrom.
“We have become the Gaza of Europe,’’ he said, adding that Muslims with Palestinian flags were hunting down Jews.
Israel’s UN ambassador also referred to the incident on X as a pogrom.
Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel condemned the incident.
“Chasing and beating up Israeli soccer fans is not anti-war protest.
“It is criminal and intolerable and we must all stand against it. As a European I am ashamed to see such scenes in one of our great cities,’’ he wrote on X.
However the Reaction from the United States (U.S.).
In New York, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), described itself as the world’s largest anti-hate organisation.
He demanded that the Dutch government ensure the safety of Israeli fans, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators and apologise for the violence.
“This is exactly what ‘globalise the intifada’ looks like,’’ Greenblatt wrote on X, saying there were mobs of hate-filled people who had attacked Israelis who came to Amsterdam to enjoy a football game.
Even New York Attorney General Letitia James chimed in on X, calling the attacks against Jews in Amsterdam “deeply disturbing and horrifying.’’
New York State, particularly metropolitan New York City, has a large Jewish population.
“We must do everything in our power to protect Jews in America and across the world.
“This anti-Semitism and violence must end now,’’ she wrote. (dpa/NAN)
Three Israelis are missing following clashes between Israeli football fans and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the fringes of football club Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match in Amsterdam, according to Israeli authorities.
Ten people were injured in the violence, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Friday morning.
The degree of their injuries was initially unclear.
The ministry urged its citizens to use public transport to travel to the airport, after Israel had announced it was sending two planes to evacuate the fans.
Local security forces had been deployed, the ministry said.
The ministry had initially advised fans not to leave their hotels.
It also advised its citizens not to wear Jewish or Israeli symbols in public.
(dpa/NAN)
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is to travel to France for talks with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday evening, following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
The talks are expected to focus on the consequences of Trump’s victory.
In particular for the future support for Ukraine, which has been fighting for more than two and a half years against Russia, as well as for European defence policy?
Washington has been a central provider of military support to Ukraine, which Trump has long criticized.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine in a very short time and has held Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jointly responsible for the war.
(dpa/NAN)
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