Syrian regime using Russian-made anti-aircraft weapons shot down two missiles and seven guided bombs during Israeli strikes on Masyaf research unit, Russian state-run media report.
Russian forces have remained in Syria since 2015 when they helped turn the tide in a civil war in favour of regime leader Bashar al Assad.
(TRTWorld)
Israeli jets launched four cruise missiles and 16 guided aerial bombs against a research facility in the city of Masyaf in northwestern Hama province, Russian forces based in Syria have said.
Syrian regime troops using Russian-made anti-aircraft weapons shot down two missiles and seven guided bombs, Russian state news agencies Tass and RIA said on Friday, quoting a senior Russian officer.
The attacks took place on Thursday and damaged equipment at the facility, he said.
There was no immediate response from Israel.
Russian forces have remained in Syria since 2015 when they helped turn the tide in a civil war in favour of regime leader Bashar al Assad.
Israel, US attacks
For several years, Israel has been mounting attacks on what it claims as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, have deployed to help Assad fight anti-regime forces.
Tehran denies deploying regular troops to Syria but says its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has "military advisers" with pro-regime forces.
Since the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour.
While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of them.
At the same time, the United States military said on Thursday it had killed four members of armed groups linked to Iran in 24 hours in Syria after rocket attacks wounded US troops in the eastern Deir Ezzor area.
Source: Reuters
US faced widespread criticism over an air strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including children, during the final chaotic days of its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
New Pentagon plan aims to more consistently involve Civilian Protection teams to specifically challenge assumptions to make sure a strike is appropriate.
(AFP)
The Pentagon will set up a new centre in the next year to help avoid civilian casualties in military operations around the world through better education and training and increased screening before strikes are launched.
The plan ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and released on Thursday comes on the heels of widespread criticism over a US air strike in Kabul last August that killed 10 civilians, including children, during the final chaotic days of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A senior defence official said the development of a new Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and other improvements will cost "tens of millions of dollars" per year, and the plan more broadly would involve the addition of about 150 staff.
The centre would initially start operations in the 2023 budget year that begins October 1 and would be fully staffed and working by 2025.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity under department rules to provide details of the plan.
Laid out in a 36-page action plan, the changes approved by Austin call for updated policies and guidelines for military operations, and steps that must be taken in order to better analyse threats, assess who is on the ground and determine what other civilian structures could be affected.
Too far from the strike zone
A key criticism of the Afghanistan drone strike was that those making the final decision were too quick to conclude that the white Toyota Corolla under watch aligned with the intelligence and confirmed their conclusion to bomb what turned out to be the wrong vehicle.
The new Pentagon plan is aimed at preventing such "confirmation bias" and more consistently involving teams to specifically challenge assumptions to make sure a strike is appropriate.
The plan would put new personnel in each of the combatant commands that are in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, South America and US Northern Command in Colorado, as well as in all the military services, other senior commands and vital places such as Special Operations Command, Cyber Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
There has been persistent criticism, particularly from human rights organisations, that US military strikes in Syria, Iraq and other battlefields have killed civilians but that officials have failed or been slow to acknowledge those deaths.
In some cases, the US military's inability to get to a strike location in its immediate aftermath has led to conclusions that allegations of civilian deaths were not confirmable.
US unprepared for largescale urban war
An independent review done late last year found that better communication between those making the strike decision and other support personnel might have raised more doubts about the Kabul attack or possibly prevented it.
Under Austin's plan, civilian casualty assessments will become a consistent element in military exercises so troops can practice how best to avoid killing the innocent. It will set up a new framework for how the Defense Department responds to deaths, including acknowledging them and providing condolences and other aid in the aftermath.
More broadly, the plan accounts for better assessment in counterterrorism strikes as well as the prospects of civilian casualties in a large-scale war, such as one with China or Russia.
A review by RAND Corp of the August 2021 air strike in Afghanistan concluded that military's focus on civilian casualties has for years largely involved operations in places such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. RAND said the Pentagon is not prepared to deal with the issue in that larger type of war, which likely would involve combat in urban areas where it would be more difficult to distinguish between civilian and military targets.
The August 29 drone strike in Afghanistan killed Zemerai Ahmadi and nine family members, including seven children. Ahmadi, 37, was a longtime employee of an American humanitarian organisation and was not a militant, as first claimed by military officials.
The independent Pentagon review concluded there was no misconduct or negligence.
RAND's review concluded that the US military follows a flawed and inadequate process for assessing and investigating suspected civilian damage and casualties caused by US air strikes. It recommended the military take a broader view of damage to include structural damage that hurts basic community functions.
Source: AP
Four people were killed and more than a dozen others injured Thursday by early-morning Russian bombardments on the northeast Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, the governor said.
The attacks come hours ahead of a meeting between the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN chief Antonio Guterres on the other side of the country and after Russian attacks on Kharkiv a day early left at least seven dead.
Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv has been subjected to persistent Russian shelling since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in late February.
The head of the Kharkiv region Oleh Synehubov said Moscow's forces had launched eight missiles from Russian territory at around 04:30 a.m. local time (01:30 GMT) striking western and northern districts of the city.
In the southern Slobidskyi district, "one of the missiles hit a four-story dormitory. The building is partially destroyed. Preliminarily, two people died, 18 got injured, including two children. The detailed information is being clarified," Synegubov said in a statement on social media.
AFP journalists on the scene saw the smoldering remains of several burned-out buildings and twisted wreckage of destroyed vehicles nearby.
Separately, he said, Russian missile attacks on the town of Krasnograd around 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Kharkiv had destroyed several residential buildings in strikes that left two civilians dead and two injured, including a 12-year-old.
Russian forces initially tried to capture Kharkiv early in their assault on Ukraine but were pushed back and have been shelling mostly northern residential districts of the city since.
Moscow claims Ukraine is storing military equipment near civilian infrastructure, a claim Ukraine denies.
The Turkish leader and Guterres brokered a grain export deal between Moscow and Kyiv, allowing grain to be exported from Ukraine's blockaded Black Sea ports.
In this photo illustration, a woman's silhouette holds a smartphone with the Walmart logo displayed on the screen and in the background.
Rafael Henrique | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Walmart has reached a deal to offer Paramount Global's streaming service as a perk of its Walmart+ membership program, the companies confirmed on Monday.
Starting in September, customers who belong to the retailer's program will get free access to an ad-supported plan on Paramount+, which include movies and shows such as "Star Trek," "Paw Patrol," "The Godfather" and "SpongeBob Squarepants."
Walmart launched Walmart+ nearly two years ago to drive sales and deeper customer engagement. The program costs $98 per year, or $12.95 per month, and is the company's answer to Amazon Prime, but with a different set of perks. It includes free shipping of online purchases, free grocery deliveries for orders of at least $35 and discounts on prescriptions and gas.
Now it will also include access to the "essential tier" of Paramount+, which typically costs $4.99 per month and includes commercials. Paramount also sells a premium product without ads for $9.99 per month.
"With the addition of Paramount+, we are demonstrating our unique ability to help members save even more and live better by delivering entertainment for less, too," Chris Cracchiolo, general manager of Walmart+, said in a news release.
Walmart said in a news release on Monday that it has had positive membership growth every month since its launch in September 2020. But since launching the service, the retail giant has declined to share its subscriber total.
According to estimates by market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Walmart+ had 11 million customers as of July — the same as in the April. A survey by equity research firm Morgan Stanley pegged the subscriber count higher at about 16 million members as of May.
Paramount+ is one of the many services that compete for eyeballs in the streaming industry. Paramount Global announced earlier this month that Paramount+ has 43.3 million subscribers around the world. The company aims to reach 100 million subscribers by 2024.
The deal with Walmart will give Paramount+ a new distribution channel to add subscribers as well as a branding boost. Paramount+ is the only streaming service that has struck a deal with Walmart and wanted to launch exclusively to get full marketing attention, according to a person familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Jeff Shultz, chief strategy officer and chief business development officer of Paramount Streaming, said the two companies have worked closely together for years by selling consumer products in Walmart's stores.
DAMASCUS: Israeli air strikes on Syria killed three soldiers and wounded three others on Friday, state media said, after the latest such incident in the war-torn country.
“The aggression led to the death of three soldiers, the wounding of three others,” Syria’s official news agency SANA said, quoting a military source.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes inside the country.
The latest Israeli strikes targeted sites in the countryside around the capital Damascus and south of coastal Tartus province, SANA said, adding that Syria’s air defence systems intercepted some of the missiles.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor also gave the same toll of killed and wounded from the strikes near an air defence base in Tartus province, where Iranian-backed groups are active.
The targeted site in Tartus is located eight kilometres (five miles) from a Russian base, said the monitor, which has a wide network of sources in Syria.
It said ambulances had rushed to the scene of the strikes in Tartus.
In early July Syria’s defence ministry said an Israeli strike conducted from the Mediterranean Sea near the town of Al-Hamadiyah, south of Tartus town, had wounded two civilians.
On Friday, Israeli shelling wounded two civilians in southern Syria near the occupied Golan Heights, according to state media.
Last month, an Israeli strike near Damascus killed three Syrian soldiers, state media said at the time.
After the latest incident Israeli authorities told AFP that they “do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”
Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of carrying out rocket strikes that killed 14 civilians in areas near a nuclear power plant, as the G7 warned that Russian control of the facility "endangers the region."
Overnight strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine killed 13 people and injured 11, with five reported to be in a serious condition, regional governor Valentin Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.
"It was a terrible night," he said, urging residents to shelter when they hear air raid sirens.
"I am asking and begging you... Don't let the Russians kill you," he wrote.
A woman died after Russian missiles slammed into a village in the Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday morning, local governor Oleksandr Starukh wrote on Telegram.
Most of the casualties were in the town of Marganets, just across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's biggest.
Regional council head Mykola Lukashuk said the strikes had hit a local power line, leaving thousands of people without electricity.
G7 call over nuclear plant
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of recent shelling around the plant, which has six reactors.
Ukraine says Russia has stationed hundreds of troops and stored ammunition at the facility since taking it over on March 4, shortly after starting its invasion.
The tensions have revived memories of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine, which killed hundreds of people and spread radioactive contamination over much of Europe.
The Group of Seven industrialized nations condemned Russia's occupation and called on Moscow to immediately hand back full control of the plant.
Ukrainian staff operating the plant must be able to work "without threats or pressure" and Russia's control of the plant "endangers the region," the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.
The strikes came a day after major blasts at the Saki airfield, a key military base on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula.
Moscow insisted that the explosions were caused by detonating ammunition rather than Ukrainian fire and Ukraine has not claimed responsibility.
'There is a lot of shooting'
Fighting also ground on in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are gradually advancing.
Strikes on the city of Bakhmut killed at least six people and injured three others, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram, adding that 12 residential buildings were damaged.
The city of Soledar was under constant shelling, AFP reporters saw, as Russian troops attempted to drive out Ukrainian forces and seize a foothold towards Bakhmut.
The echoes of cluster bombs and artillery bounced off apartment buildings with their windows shattered, while roads were cratered and shops boarded up or destroyed.
The city was shrouded with black and white smoke arising from artillery and air strikes.
Some of those who remain now live underground in cellars ill-suited as bomb shelters.
"Most have left. It's very scary. There is a lot of shooting," said 62-year-old Svitlana Klymenko.
"I just want to leave to grow old in a normal way, die a normal death, not be killed by a missile."
EU ban on Russian coal
The war has severely hampered grain supply from Ukraine, leading to an international food crisis as it is one of the world's biggest producers.
Some ships have been able to leave Ukrainian ports in recent days after a deal with Russia brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
The first exports of wheat should start next week under the agreement, top UN official Frederick Kenney said on Wednesday.
The first grain shipment to leave on the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel Razoni departed the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Aug. 1 and had been expected to dock in the Lebanese port of Tripoli at the weekend.
But the Ukrainian embassy said a new buyer for the shipment was being sought after the original Lebanese buyer cancelled the order.
Marine traffic sites showed the Razoni docked in Turkey's Mediterranean port of Mersin, following reports a new buyer had been found for its cargo.
Spain on Wednesday launched a pilot project to import Ukrainian grain by train to avoid blocked maritime routes, with a freight train leaving Madrid for the Polish town of Chelm late on Tuesday.
Western countries have meanwhile imposed increasingly stringent sanctions on Moscow, raising fears that Russia may cut off gas supplies.
EU countries have started putting into place different measures to save energy, with air conditioning curbs coming into force in Spain on Wednesday and Vienna dimming street lighting.
A total EU ban on imports of Russian coal was due to come into force overnight.
Ukraine calls on the West to impose a blanket travel ban on Russians as angry Moscow steps up its fierce military offensive against Kiev on the 168th day of the conflict.
Russia has intensified attacks near the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region in recent days.
(AFP PHOTO / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE)
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Six killed in Russian strikes on eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut
Russian strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut have killed at least six people and left three others injured, the regional governor said.
"The Russians bombed the city with a multiple rocket launcher, hitting a residential area.
According to initial information, 12 residential buildings have been damaged and four are on fire," Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram.
First Ukrainian wheat shipments expected next week: UN
The first wheat since the conflict should ship next week from Ukraine under a landmark deal also signed by Russia aimed at tackling the global food crisis, a top UN official has said.
The first 12 ships to leave the three Black Sea ports designated by the agreement were carrying 370,000 tonnes of corn and foodstuffs, according to Frederick Kenney, interim UN coordinator at the joint centre in Istanbul overseeing the deal.
The ships have been docked in Ukraine since Russia began its offensive in February. Once all the ships carrying corn and foodstuffs leave their ports, new ones can come in to pick up wheat that has accumulated with this year's harvest, Kenney said.
Georgia troops return after deploying amid conflict in Ukraine
More than 3,800 army soldiers are returning to Georgia five months after their rapid deployment to Europe after Russia started its offensive in Ukraine.
The soldiers from Georgia went to Germany to train alongside NATO allies in a show of force intended to deter further Russian aggression in Europe. Fort Stewart commanders say the rest of the 1st Brigade should be home by the end of August.
The US military is sending another unit to take its place - the 3rd Armored Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.
Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says the war can only end with the liberation of Crimea pic.twitter.com/pGWcUZwdxJ
Estonia protests Russia's 'unacceptable' violation of its airspace
Estonia has summoned the Russian ambassador and formally protested the violation of its airspace by a Russian helicopter on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said.
"Estonia considers this an extremely serious and regrettable incident that is completely unacceptable," the ministry said in a release, saying the helicopter had flown over a point in the southeast of the small Baltic nation without permission.
Estonia made an identical complaint to Moscow in June.
Ukraine's creditors agree to payment freeze on international bonds
Ukraine's overseas creditors have backed its request for a two-year freeze on payments on almost $20 billion in international bonds, according to a regulatory filing, a move that will allow the war-torn country to avoid a debt default.
With no sign of peace or a ceasefire on the horizon nearly six months after Russia's offensive began on February 24, bondholders have agreed to postpone sovereign interest and capital payments for 13 Ukrainian sovereign bonds maturing between 2022 and 2033.
The government in Kiev launched a consent solicitation, which is a formal request to agree with creditors on changes to sovereign debt contracts, on July 20.
Sergey Markov claims Russia is liberating Ukraine, but Peter @zalmayev hits back accusing Moscow of destroying the country.
Ukraine says nine Russian warplanes destroyed in Crimea blasts
Ukraine's air force has said that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in massive explosions at an air base in Crimea amid speculation they were the result of a Ukrainian attack that would represent a significant escalation in the conflict.
Russia denied any aircraft were damaged in Tuesday's blasts — or that any attack took place.
Ukrainian officials have stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility for the explosions, while poking fun at Russia’s explanation that a careless smoker might have caused munitions at the Saki air base to catch fire and blow up.
Russian oil shipments to central Europe expected to resume
Oil shipments from Russia through a critical pipeline to several European countries should resume soon after a problem over payments for transit was resolved, Slovakia’s Economy Minister Richard Sulik has said.
“I expect the oil shipments to resume in hours,” Sulik said. Russian state pipeline operator Transneft cited complications due to European Union sanctions for its action on August 4, saying its payment to the company’s Ukrainian counterpart was refused.
Sulik said the payments would be made Wednesday by Slovak refiner Slovnaft after both the Russian and Ukrainian sides agreed to the solution. Slovnaft is owned by Hungary’s MOL energy group.
Denmark to train Ukrainian soldiers in UK
Denmark will send military instructors to Britain to help train Ukrainian soldiers and also offer to train Ukrainian officers on its soil, the Danish defence ministry has said.
The announcement preceded a conference in Copenhagen on Thursday when British, Danish and Ukrainian defence ministers are expected to discuss long-term support for Ukraine, including military training, mine clearance and weapons supplies.
"Denmark will support a British-led training project with 130 Danish soldiers and at the same time offer to train Ukrainian soldiers in Denmark," a ministry statement said.
Supply of Russian oil to Central Europe via Druzhba pipeline has been halted due to payment issues caused by sanctions.
Although it is expected to resume soon, disruption in oil flow once again shows how much European nations are dependent on Russia for energy pic.twitter.com/I89RS9giKA
Deadly Russian strikes hit Dnipropetrovsk - local governor
At least 13 civilians have been killed by Russian strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine, the local governor says.
"It was a terrible night. 11 people were killed," Governor Valentin Reznichenko wrote on Telegram, adding in a later post that two more people had died of their injuries overnight.
Reznychenko initially put the casualties at 21, with 11 killed in the district of Nikopol and 10 in Marganets, but said in a subsequent message on the Telegram messaging app that 11 was the total number, without clarifying which initial details were incorrect.
G7: Russian control of Ukraine nuclear plant endangers region
The Group of Seven industrialised nations has condemned Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and called on Moscow to immediately hand back full control of the plant to Ukraine.
Ukrainian staff operating the plant "must be able to carry out their duties without threats or pressure. It is Russia's continued control of the plant that endangers the region," the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.
Philippines cancels Russia helicopter deal over US sanctions
The Philippines has scrapped an order for 16 Russian military helicopters, an official confirmed, following reports former president Rodrigo Duterte decided to cancel it due to US sanctions on Moscow.
Manila — a longtime Washington ally — agreed in November to pay $228 million for the Mi-17 helicopters, as it seeks to modernise its military hardware.
The United States and its allies imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow in the wake of its attacks on Ukraine.
The UN's nuclear watchdog says it has no way of safely accessing Ukraine's Zaphorizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Russia says inspectors are welcome to see the site, but it won't agree to a ceasefire to facilitate the visit pic.twitter.com/JJeFbLMpIY
Ukraine: Russia trying to connect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Crimea
Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeast Ukraine are preparing to connect to Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and are damaging it by reorienting its electricity production, Ukrainian operator Energoatom has warned.
"The Russian military present at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is implementing the programme of (Russian operator) Rosatom aimed at connecting the plant to the Crimean electricity grid," Energoatom president Petro Kotin told Ukrainian television.
"To do this, you must first damage the power lines of the plant connected to the Ukrainian energy system. From August 7 to 9, the Russians have already damaged three power lines. At the moment, the plant is operating with only one production line, which is an extremely dangerous way of working," he said.
"When the last production line is disconnected, the plant will be powered by generators running on diesel. Everything will then depend on their reliability and fuel stocks," Kotin warned.
Russian airbase explosions could be the work of 'partisan saboteurs'
A senior Ukrainian official has suggested a series of explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea could have been the work of partisan saboteurs, as Kiev denied any responsibility for the incident deep inside Russian-occupied territory.
The adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also suggested Russian incompetence as a possible cause of Tuesday's blasts. They killed one civilian and injured eight, according to the health department in Russia-annexed Crimea.
Mykhailo Podolyak, asked by the Dozhd online television channel whether Kiev was responsible, replied: "Of course not. What do we have to do with this?"
For live updates from Tuesday (August 9), click here
Since 2008, Israel has waged four wars on the Palestinian territory, killing nearly 4,000 people – one-quarter of them children.
According to data compiled by Defense for Children International, at least 2,200 children have been killed by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers across the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2000 – the beginning of the second intifada.
Here are the names and faces of the 15 children aged 18 and under killed by Israeli air strikes over the past three days:
Jamil Najm al-Deen Naijm, (4), Alaa Abdullah Riyad Qaddoum, (50, Momen al-Nairab, (5), Hazem Salem, (9), Ahmad al-Nairab, (11), Jamil Ihab Najim, (13), Muhammad Yasser Nimr al-Nabahin, (13), Dalia Yasser, Nimr al-Nabaheen, (13), Mohammed Hassouna, (14), Hamed Haider Najim, (16), Nazmi Fayez, Abu Karsh, (16), Ahmed Walid al-Farram, (16), Mohammed Salah Naijm, (17) Khalil Abu Hamada, (18)
The latest Israeli aggression on Gaza has left at least 43 Palestinians dead, including 15 children.
The United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lynn Hastings, has called for an immediate halt of escalation and violence in Gaza.
(AFP)
Palestine's Islamic Jihad in Gaza have confirmed that they agreed to a Cairo-brokered truce after three days of intense aggression by Israel that has left at least 41 Palestinians in Gaza dead.
"A short while ago the wording of the Egyptian truce agreement was reached, which contains Egypt's commitment to work towards the release of two prisoners, (Bassem) al Saadi and (Khalil) Awawdeh," senior Islamic Jihad member Mohammad al Hindi said in a statement on Sunday.
The ceasefire is to start at 23:30 local time (20:30GMT), sources told Anadolu Agency.
Turkish Foreign Ministry on Israeli aggression against Gaza and Al Aqsa Mosque:
- Condemns attacks against civilians in Gaza - Fanatic Jewish groups raided Al Aqsa Mosque which is under protection of Israeli police - Calls on Israeli government not to allow such actions pic.twitter.com/SpoXFUitBw
At least 43 Palestinians were reported dead on Sunday, including 15 children, according to the Health Ministry.
The latest Israeli aggression since Friday has also left at least 311 civilians wounded, said the health authorities in Gaza, where several buildings were reduced to rubble.
Meanwhile, the United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lynn Hastings, called for an immediate halt to escalation and violence in Gaza.
In a statement on Sunday, Hastings said Gaza's humanitarian situation "is already dire and can only worsen" with the current escalation.
“Hostilities must stop to avoid more deaths and injuries of civilians in Gaza and Israel,” she added.
The humanitarian coordinator reiterated the UN appeal to all sides "for an immediate de-escalation and halt to violence to avoid destructive ramifications, particularly for civilians."
Fresh Israeli strikes came a little more than a year after an 11-day war between Israel and Palestine in May 2021, which killed at least 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
The Israeli attacks are the worst in Gaza since a war last year that devastated the impoverished territory home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.
(Reuters)
At least 29 people, including six children, have been killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
Earlier on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry put the number of people killed at 32, but a further ministry statement brought the number down to 29, including six children and four women.
The ministry said that the victims had been killed since Friday in Israeli strikes that also wounded 253 people.
Israeli authorities deny blame and say the children were killed on Saturday by a rocket fired by Palestinian fighters towards Israel that fell short. The claim could not be independently verified.
In response, the Islamic Jihad group said it had fired rockets at West Jerusalem from Gaza on Sunday. Witnesses report hearing rocket sirens and explosions in Israeli communities.
The group said in a statement they had "fired rockets" at the city, marking the first time West Jerusalem was targeted in this round of violence.
Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Gaza on Saturday citing an "imminent threat of attack" by the Islamic Jihad group.
At least seven people, including a child, were killed in one attack on Rafah in south Gaza, local authorities said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that Khaled Mansour, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad group, was killed in the attack on Rafah.
The attacks came amid rising tensions across Palestinian territories since Monday, when Israeli forces detained Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, in a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The Israeli army said on Sunday that twenty members of the Islamic Jihad group were arrested overnight by security forces in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's military said air strikes on Gaza could last a week, as cross-border fire reverberated for a second day in the worst escalation since last year's war.
At least 24 Palestinians have been killed, including six children, in Gaza.
(AA)
Israeli air strikes have flattened homes in Gaza, raising fears of an escalation that has killed at least 24 Palestinians, including six children, and injured over 200 others in the besieged area.
The Israeli army has said its military offensive in Gaza could last a week.
Army spokesperson Ran Kochav said on Saturday that the military is preparing for week-long operations in the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli army launched air strikes in Gaza on Friday in a pre-emptive attack to allegedly deter possible retaliation from Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad after Israeli forces arrested two of the group's senior members in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli air strikes have been concentrated across heavily populated residential areas in Gaza.
The Islamic Jihad group said Friday that its senior leader Tayseer al Jabari was among those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. The group launched rockets in retaliation late Friday.
According to the Israeli army, more than 160 rockets were fired by Islamic Jihad group from Gaza into Israel, with 60 of them intercepted.
The spokesman told Israeli Channel 12 that the Israeli response in Gaza is meant "not to drag the Hamas group into the ongoing conflict."
Israeli attacks come amid rising tensions across Palestinian territories since Monday when Israeli forces detained Bassam al Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, in raid in occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Our colleague has more pic.twitter.com/Mk0hJGl6NE
United Nations Special Envoy Tor Wennesland has warned against the "devastating consequences" of the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Palestinians in Gaza.
The UN envoy described the escalation as "very dangerous" and called on "all sides to avoid further escalation."
"The responsibility is with the parties to avoid this [escalation] from happening," he added.
Egypt’s Al Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, has condemned the Israeli air strikes on Gaza, calling on Arabs and Muslims “to unite to support the Palestinians and their just cause as well as their legitimate struggle.”
A statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Cairo was “conducting intensive communications” to “contain the situation in Gaza” and “preserve lives and property.”
Türkiye, Pakistan, Qatar, Iran and the EU were also among countries to condemn the ongoing violence.
The Israeli army has also announced the arrest of 19 people it said are members of the Islamic Jihad group in the occupied West Bank, alongside the arrest of one other person.
Health authorities in Gaza say 10 people have been killed by Israel's bombardment, including a five-year-old girl, with 79 others injured.
(AFP)
Israel has hit Gaza with air strikes for a second day, drawing retaliation from an armed Palestinian group, in the territory's worst escalation of violence since a war last year.
Israeli aircraft continued striking the besieged territory on Saturday, a day after the Palestinian Health Ministry said bombardment there killed 10 people, including a child.
Israel says it has launched a "pre-emptive" operation against the Islamic Jihad group. Israel's army estimates that its operations have killed 15 fighters in Gaza, including a senior commander.
Early on Saturday, Israel broadened its operation against Islamic Jihad. The Israeli army announced the arrest of 19 people it said were members of the group in the occupied West Bank, alongside the arrest of one other person.
Israel and Islamic Jihad have both confirmed the killing of Taysir al-Jabari, a key leader of the armed group, in a Friday strike on a building in the west of Gaza city.
The Palestinian Health Ministry also reported "a five-year-old girl, targeted by the Israeli occupation" was among those killed on Friday.
A Western-backed Palestinian Authority official condemned Israel's attacks. "We call on the international community to intervene and provide protection for our people," Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter.
Türkiye and Qatar have strongly condemned the Israeli strikes leading to civilian casualties.
Islamic Jihad said the initial Israeli bombardment amounted to a "declaration of war", before it unleashed a barrage of rockets towards Israel.
The rocket fire and Israeli strikes were continuing early on Saturday, risking a repeat of an 11-day conflict in May 2021 that left at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel dead.
"Israel isn't interested in a wider conflict in Gaza, but will not shy away from one either," Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a nationally televised address on Friday.
Air raid sirens sounded across southern Israel early on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage, with many rockets intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defence system.
Officials in border areas urged people to stay close to shelters, which have also been opened in Tel Aviv.
Egypt — a historic broker between Israel and groups in Gaza — the United Nations and Qatar had begun mediating an end to the violence, according to a Palestinian official with knowledge of the efforts.
The strikes come four days after Israel closed its two border crossings with Gaza and restricted the movement of Israeli civilians living near the frontier, citing security concerns.
The measures followed the arrest in the occupied West Bank of two senior members of Islamic Jihad, including Bassem al-Saadi, who Israel accuses of orchestrating recent attacks.
Türkiye, Qatar heap scorn on Israel following its air strikes on Palestine's blockaded enclave that left at least 10 civilians dead and 75 others wounded, raising tensions in the explosive Mideast region.
Five-year-old Alaa Kaddum had a pink bow in her hair and a wound on her forehead, as her body was carried by her father at her funeral in Gaza.
(AA)
Türkiye and Qatar have strongly condemned Israeli "aggression" on the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Tel Aviv's air strikes killed at least 10 people, including a five-year-old girl, and wounded 75 others, triggering a barrage of retaliatory rocket fire from resistance fighters.
Türkiye on Saturday said it is "unacceptable that civilians, including children, lose their lives in attacks." Turkish Foreign Ministry urged "restraint and common sense" amid rising tension in the region following the deadly attacks on the blockaded enclave.
"We are deeply concerned about the rising tension in the region after the attacks. We emphasise the need to end these events before they turn into a new spiral of conflict," it said.
Qatar also joined Türkiye to condemn Israeli attacks on the Palestinians, urging "the international community to act urgently to stop the repeated attacks by the [Israeli] occupation against civilians, especially women and children."
Doha reiterated its "firm" position on the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Iran called the Israeli operation a "brutal attack" that resulted in the killing of "resistance commanders" and defenceless Palestinian people.
The UN envoy for the Middle East Peace Process said he is "deeply concerned by the ongoing escalation between Palestinian militants and Israel, including the targeted killing today of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader inside Gaza."
"In the past few hours, at least 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes. I am deeply saddened by reports that a five-year-old child has been killed in these strikes. There can be no justification for any attacks against civilians," Tor Wennesland added.
Meanwhile, sources said Egypt is working to calm the latest escalation in Gaza.
An Egyptian security source told the AFP news agency in Gaza that Cairo's mediation efforts had been ongoing since Friday when Israel launched attacks on what it described as Islamic Jihad targets.
Israeli officials earlier referred to Egyptian mediation when briefing reporters about the bombardment, adding the strikes killed 15 fighters.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described the strikes as a "precise counter-terror operation against an immediate threat", and announced the killing of Taysir al Jabari, who he described as Islamic Jihad's second-in-command.
Islamic Jihad said the Israeli bombardment amounted to a "declaration of war" before it unleashed an "initial response" of more than 100 rockets toward Israel.
An Egyptian source separately said that a delegation from Islamic Jihad may head to Cairo later on Saturday.
Hamas' Doha-based leader Ismail Haniyeh held talks with "Egyptian intelligence" over the violence, a Hamas statement said.
Five-year-old girl killed
Flames poured out of a building in the main Gaza City following the first round of strikes, while wounded Palestinians were evacuated by medics.
Palestine's Health Ministry reported that "a five-year-old girl, targeted by the Israeli occupation" was among 10 people killed.
Alaa Kaddum had a pink bow in her hair and a wound on her forehead, as her body was carried by her father at her funeral.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Gaza City for the funerals of Jabari and others killed in the air strikes.
Fresh Israeli strikes came a little more than a year after an 11-day war between Israel and Palestine in May 2021, which killed at least 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 in Israel and left the blockaded enclave's economy shattered.
Egypt, a historic broker between Israel and resistance movements in Palestine, negotiated the ceasefire that ended the fighting.
A narrow strip of land where some 2.3 million Palestinians live on a patch of 365 square kilometres, Gaza remains blockaded by Israel from land, air, and sea since 2007.
Russia continues its attacks on Ukrainian territories while Kiev calls for civilians to leave the frontline Donetsk region as the fierce fighting continues on the 159th day.
Authorities in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv said on July 31, 2022 that widespread Russian bombardments overnight had left at least one person dead, as Moscow continued to pummel the sprawling front line.
(AFP)
Ukraine said the "brutal" shelling by Moscow so far of the southern city Mykolaiv killed a grain tycoon, as Russia claimed an attack from a drone wounded six personnel at the headquarters of its Black Sea fleet.
Russian bombardment of the eastern town of Bakhmut was intense after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for civilians to leave the frontline Donetsk region, which has borne the brunt of the Kremlin's offensive.
Russian authorities in the Crimean Black Sea peninsula — seized by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014 — said a small explosive device from a commercial drone, likely launched nearby, hit the navy command in Sevastopol.
The local mayor blamed "Ukrainian nationalists" for the attack that forced the cancellation of festivities marking Russia's annual holiday celebrating the navy.
"Today, one of the most brutal shellings of Mykolaiv and the region over the entire period of the full-scale war took place. Dozens of missiles and rockets."
The US Geological Survey said the 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Abra province and was strongly felt in the capital Manila, with no casualties reported so far.
The quake was also felt strongly in Manila and the city's metro rail systems had been halted at rush hour after the quake, the transport ministry said.
(TRTWorld)
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake has hit the northern Philippines, the US Geological Survey said, shattering windows of buildings at the epicentre and shaking high-rise towers more than 300 kilometres away in the capital Manila.
The quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres, USGS added.
USGS initially said the quake measured at 6.8 magnitude and the earthquake's epicentre was about 11 kilometres east-southeast of Dolores.
The quake was also felt strongly in Manila and the city's metro rail systems had been halted at rush hour after the quake, the transport ministry said.
The shallow quake struck Abra province on the main island of Luzon at 8:43 am and the local seismological agency warned damage was expected.
A hospital in Abra province evacuated after a partial collapse following the quake.
No casualties reported
In Dolores, which felt the full force of the quake, terrified people ran outside their buildings and windows of the local market were shattered, Police Major Edwin Sergio told AFP news agency.
"The quake was very strong," Sergio said, adding there were minor cracks in the police station building.
So far, no casualties or major damage have been reported.
Renato Solidum, director of the state seismology agency, told DZMM radio station, that the quake could have caused damage in Abra where Dolores is located, but did not see damage in Manila.
"In the capital region, it was not destructive. I think it does not have an effect on structures but good to inspect vital facilities like the MRT."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced a missile strike on the port of Odesa as "Russian barbarism" just a day after the warring sides struck a deal to resume cereal exports blocked by the conflict.
The Ukrainian military said its air defenses had shot down two cruise missiles but two more hit the port Saturday, threatening the landmark agreement hammered out over months of negotiations aimed at relieving a global food crisis.
Zelensky said the strikes on Odesa showed Moscow could not be trusted to keep its promises.
"Today's Russian missile attack on Odesa, on our port, is a cynical one, and it was also a blow to the political positions ofRussiaitself," Zelensky said in his nightly address, adding dialogue with Moscow was becoming increasingly untenable.
"This apparent Russian barbarism brings us even closer to obtaining the very weapons we need for our victory," Zelensky added.
The strike came a day after Moscow and Kyiv agreed a deal brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres.
Odessa is one of three export hubs designated in the agreement and Ukrainian officials said grain was being stored in the port at the time of the strike, although the food stocks did not appear to have been hit.
Guterres — who presided over the signing ceremony on Friday — "unequivocally" condemned the attack, his deputy spokesman said, and urged all sides to stick to the deal.
"These products are desperately needed to address the global food crisis and ease the suffering of millions of people in need around the globe," he said.
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell directly blamedRussiafor the strikes.
"Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of (the) Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible and again demonstratesRussia's total disregard for international law and commitments," he said.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the attack was "absolutely appalling" and "completely unwarranted."
The United States also "strongly condemned" the attack, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying it "casts serious doubt on the credibility ofRussia's commitment to yesterday's deal."
There was no official comment from Moscow, but Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar saidRussiahad denied carrying out the attack.
"The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack and they were looking into the issue very closely," Akar said in comments to state news agency Anadolu.
"We will continue to fulfil our responsibilities under the agreement we reached yesterday," he added.
Regional governor Maksym Marchenko said the strikes left people wounded and damaged port infrastructure in Odessa, without specifying the number or severity of the injuries.
20 million tons of wheat
The first major accord between the countries sinceRussia's February invasion of Ukraine aims to ease the "acute hunger" the UN says an additional 47 million people are facing because of the war.
Ukraine at the signing warned it would conduct "an immediate military response" shouldRussiaviolate the accord and attack its ships or stage an incursion around its ports.
Zelensky said responsibility for enforcing the deal fell to the UN, which along with Turkey is a co-guarantor of the agreement.
The deal includes points on running Ukrainian grain ships along safe corridors that avoid known mines in the Black Sea.
Huge quantities of wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships and the mines Kyiv laid to avert a feared amphibious assault.
Zelensky said that around 20 million tons of produce from last year's harvest and the current crop would be exported under the agreement, estimating the value of Ukraine's grain stocks at around $10 billion.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Kremlin state media he expected the deal to start working "in the next few days" although diplomats expect grain to only start fully flowing by mid-August.
Strikes on central Ukraine
Russiais trying to fight deeper into the eastern Donetsk region after securing full control of neighboring Luhansk.
The U.S. State Department on Saturday said two Americans had died in the area, without saying whether the pair were in the country for combat purposes.
Russian missile strikes on railway infrastructure and a military airfield in the central area of Kirovograd on Saturday also killed at least three people and wounded 16 more, regional governor Andriy Raikovych said.
At least one of the dead was a serviceman, he said earlier — a rare admission of a military casualty as combat deaths have been closely guarded by both sides.
Russiaalso pursued an artillery campaign over Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, with attacks wounding one woman, the presidency said. An elderly farmer was killed in further shelling in Sumy, northwest of Kharkiv.
Two others, including a teenager, were wounded in strikes on Mykolaiv, the largest city under Ukrainian control near Russian-occupied Kherson and the southern front, which has been shelled persistently since the beginning of the invasion.
