TheNewsGuru

Tag: War

  • Israel Army advises Gaza City residents to flee to South

    Israel Army advises Gaza City residents to flee to South

    Following the crisis ravaging Israel and Hamas, Israel’s army has advised all Gaza City residents to evacuate their homes and head south of the territory “for their safety”

    .“The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza as shown on the map,” the army said in a statement.

    “In the following days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.”

    “The Hamas terrorist organisation waged a war against the State of Israel and Gaza City is an area where military operations take place,” the army said

    “Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent civilians,” the statement said.

    Meanwhile, Hamas on Friday rejected an Israeli order for 1.1 million residents to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of an expected ground incursion into the overcrowded Palestinian territory.

    “Our Palestinian people reject the threat of the occupation (Israeli) leaders and its call for them to leave their homes and flee from them to the south or Egypt,” the Islamist militant group said in a statement.

    “We are steadfast on our land and in our homes and our cities. There will be no displacement,” it said.

    The United Nations said an order by Israel to flee within 24 hours risked a “calamitous situation”.

    Israeli strikes on the coastal enclave have killed more than 1,530 people since Saturday, in retaliation for Hamas militants killing around 1,200 people in attacks in Israel.

    Egypt’s Rafah crossing is the only route out of Gaza not controlled by Israel and has been bombed on several occasions this week.

    President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt remains committed to ensuring the delivery of aid to Gaza, but urged Palestinians to “remain on their land” in a speech Thursday.

  • WAR: EPL releases emotional statement on Israel-Palestine conflict

    WAR: EPL releases emotional statement on Israel-Palestine conflict

    The English Premier League, known as  the EPL, has released an emotional  statement amid the ongoing crisis between Israel and Palestine.

    The EPL called for peace, while condemning the horrific and brutal acts.

    It was gathered that the crisis has led to the death of over 2000 persons while many are also left critically injured.

    Israel reports that 1200 people have been killed by Hamas’s deadly attacks, while Gaza claims over 1300 have died following the retaliatory strikes.

    However, in its reaction, the EPL via a statement on Thursday, sympathized with the victims and their families:

    The statement reads partly: “The Premier League is shocked and saddened by the escalating crisis in Israel and Gaza, and strongly condemns the horrific and brutal acts of violence against innocent civilians. We hope for peace, and our heartfelt sympathies are with the victims, their families and the communities impacted.”

    Meanwhile, the English Football League have also announced that a period of silence will be observed across fixtures in League One and League Two this weekend.

    The crisis in Israel and Palestine already taking its toll on football as UEFA already postponed the match between Switzerland and Israel meant to take place this weekend.

     

     

  • UN commission says ‘clear evidence’ of war crimes in Gaza and Israel

    UN commission says ‘clear evidence’ of war crimes in Gaza and Israel

    A United Nations commission monitoring conflict on Tuesday said there is “clear evidence” of war crimes committed by both sides during the intense violence in Israel and Gaza, including the targeting of civilians.

    All those who violated international humanitarian law or targeted civilians must be held accountable, demanded the Commission of Inquiry, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021.

    The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, said on Tuesday.

    “Reports that armed groups from Gaza have gunned down hundreds of unarmed civilians are abhorrent and cannot be tolerated. Taking civilian hostages and using civilians as human shields are war crimes.”

    The commission also said it is “gravely concerned with Israel’s latest attack on Gaza and Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on Gaza involving the withholding of water, food, electricity and fuel which will undoubtedly cost civilian lives and constitutes collective punishment.”

    The commission has begun collecting evidence of war crimes since the Islamist militant group Hamas launched massive attacks on Israel on Saturday and Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza.

    It said it would collect evidence to identify the attackers themselves as well as those who ordered attacks.

  • Hamas threathen to kill Israel hostage if attacks on Gaza civilians continue

    Hamas threathen to kill Israel hostage if attacks on Gaza civilians continue

    The Hamas versus Israel crisis has taken a new twist as the militant group in Palestine has threatened to kill one Israeli hostage every time Israel bombs a Palestinian home without warning as Israel mobilised some 300,000 reservists and imposed a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, denying the enclave’s millions of residents access to food, water and fuel.

    Hamas warned Israel on Monday after the death toll from the armed group’s surprise weekend attack climbed to 900 in Israel and revenge attacks by Israeli forces on the besieged Gaza Strip killed more than 700 people and left some 3,700 others wounded.

    Residential apartment blocks, hospitals, schools and a mosque have been among the sites attacked by Israeli fighter jets, artillery and drones, according to media reports and witnesses.

    Gallant said Israel would impose a “complete siege” on Gaza. “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed.”

    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply distressed” by the siege announcement and warned that Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation will now “only deteriorate exponentially”.

    Guterres also said some 137,000 people were taking shelter with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at schools across Gaza.

    Nearly half a million people have also not received food rations this week in Gaza as UN food distribution centres have been forced to remain closed amid the Israeli onslaught, UNRWA said.

  • Israeli airstrikes kill 558 people in Gaza

    Israeli airstrikes kill 558 people in Gaza

    Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 558 people on the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave says.

    More than 65 extra people have been counted as dead, upping the total, while more than 2,800 have been injured.

    Israel launched the counterattack after a major assault by the Palestinian organisation Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

    About 700 people have been killed in Israel and around 2,400 others injured in the worst civilian bloodshed in Israeli history.

    More than 100 Israelis have also been taken hostage into the Gaza Strip and Hamas says four hostages were killed by the Israeli air raids.

    Hamas is classified as a terrorist organisation by the EU, the U.S. and Israel.

  • War: Nigerian government takes position on crisis between Israel and Hamas

    War: Nigerian government takes position on crisis between Israel and Hamas

    The Federal Government of Nigeria on Saturday took a position on the latest crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas’ militant group.

    Nigeria has called for the de-escalation of the crisis, saying there should be ceasefire.

    The Federal Government, in a statement signed by Amb. Yusuf M. Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Nigeria is deeply concerned about the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the early hours of Saturday.

    The cycle of violence and retaliation that the current escalation has assumed, only serves to perpetuate an unending cycle of pain and suffering for the civilian population that bears the brunt of every conflict.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria, therefore, calls on both sides to exercise restraint, prioritize the safety of civilians and give room for humanitarian considerations.

    “We are therefore calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue,” the statement said.

  • Syria’s al-Assad arrives China for first visit since civil war

    Syria’s al-Assad arrives China for first visit since civil war

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Thursday for a multi-day visit in his first trip to the country since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011.

    According to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Al-Assad would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday.

    Besides bilateral talks, al-Assad has also been invited to a banquet hosted by Xi, with guests including Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah and South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck Soo.

    The 19th Asian Games, which run until October 8, would see athletes from more than 40 Asian countries compete in 61 events.

    The last visit by al-Assad to China was in 2004.

    China, along with Iran and Russia, have been supporting al-Assad since the uprising against his rule in 2011.

  • War in spotlight as Biden, Zelensky to address UN General Assembly

    War in spotlight as Biden, Zelensky to address UN General Assembly

    U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would address world leaders gathered at the United Nations on the first day of the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate week.

    To speak at the set 78th General Debate in New York on Tuesday are; the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

    Others are the Iranian Prime Minister Ebrahim Raisi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz all in attendance.

    The week got going on Monday with a pre-debate summit on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    From Tuesday onwards, more than 140 prime ministers and heads of state will give speeches at the General Debate.

    Zelensky, who is attending the event in New York in person for the first time since the beginning of the war and is likely to attract the most attention in the meeting.

    He would also attend a blizzard of sideline meetings.

    Russia’s war against Ukraine, which started in February 2022, is likely to play an important role in many of the UN speeches.

    Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday afternoon with his wife, Olena Zelenska.

    He wrote on social media that he would put out a concrete proposal to UN member states on how to fortify the principle of territorial integrity.

    It would also improve the UN’s capacity to thwart and halt aggression.

    He also noted that he will meet with Biden in Washington later in the week, along with members of Congress and the military leadership.

    Russian President Putin will not attend the General Assembly and just like in 2022, his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be his proxy at the New York meeting.

    In March, the International Criminal Court in the The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin for his alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

    The Russian leader has since been reluctant to travel outside his home country, skipping a meeting of the G20 nations in India and another one of the developing BRICS countries in South Africa.

  • War looming as Niger Junta exposes how France is mobilizing forces, war equipment ahead of invasion

    War looming as Niger Junta exposes how France is mobilizing forces, war equipment ahead of invasion

    The Niger military administration has accused France of building up forces, and war equipment in several neighbouring West African countries in preparation for an aggression against the country.

    Relations with France, Niger’s former colonial power, soured after Paris stood by ousted President Mohamed Bazoum following the July coup.

    In a statement broadcast on national television late Saturday, putchists’ spokesman Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane said, “France continues to deploy its forces in several ECOWAS countries as part of preparations for an aggression against Niger, which it is planning in collaboration with this community organisation.”

    Abdramane added that France had deployed military aircraft, helicopters and 40 armoured vehicles to Cote d’Ivoire and Benin.

    “Military cargo aircraft have enabled large quantities of war material and equipment to be unloaded in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin, to name but a few,” he said.

    Niger is also embroiled in a standoff with the West African bloc ECOWAS, which has threatened to intervene militarily if diplomatic pressure to return Bazoum to office fails.

    However, the regional bloc has said it does not want Niger to repeat “the experiences of Mali, Guinea and Burkina”, with which it had to haggle over the durations and conditions of transition periods.

    On August 3, the coup leaders renounced several military cooperation agreements with France, which has about 1,500 soldiers stationed in the country as part of a wider fight against militants.

    Paris, which refuses to recognise the military regime in Niger, does not consider the mutinous soldiers who ousted President Bazoum as party to those cooperation deals.

    France is engaged in a tug of war with Niger, which has also withdrawn the diplomatic immunity of French ambassador Sylvain Itte and ordered police to expel him.

    France has refused the demand on several occasions, saying the military regime has no legal right to make such an order.

  • We want peace, but will defend our territorial zone – Niger coup leader warns

    We want peace, but will defend our territorial zone – Niger coup leader warns

    The leader of the mutineers who seized power in Niger, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, said that his country does not want war, but will be ready to defend its territorial zone if necessary.

    “Neither the army nor the people of Niger want war, but we will resist any manifestation of it,” Tchiani was quoted as saying by an international tv.

    He noted that the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) do not realise that Niger has become the key to containing the region from destabilisation against the backdrop of increased terrorist activity.

    Tchiani added that the sanctions imposed against his country were aimed at putting pressure on the rebels, and not at finding a solution to the current situation.

    In addition, Tchiani said that rebels do not seek to seize power in the country but rather seek to come to a solution that would meet the interests of the people.

    On Saturday, media reported that an ECOWAS delegation arrived in the capital of Niger and met with deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to assess conditions of his detention.

    Later in the day, there were reports that the delegation also held talks with Tchiani.

    A coup took place in Niger on July 26 and Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Tchiani.

    Following the coup, ECOWAS suspended all financial aid to Niger, froze rebels’ assets, and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country.

    In early August, during a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, ECOWAS leaders agreed to activate a standby force to potentially compel the Nigerien military to reinstate Bazoum.

    On Friday, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs Abdel-Fatau Musah said that ECOWAS general staff chiefs had agreed on a date for the beginning of military intervention, but would not make it public.