edited by Franco Sarcina and Silvia Martelli
Philippines, attack during a mass, four victims. Lloyd Austin: “In urban warfare you can only win if you protect the civilian population.”
IDF: “800 Hamas tunnels found, 500 destroyed”
The IDF reported that since the military ground operation began in the northern Gaza Strip, at least 800 Hamas tunnels have been identified, of which about 500 have been destroyed. In some cases, the statement said, tunnels were found next to or in schools, kindergartens, mosques and playgrounds. “These findings serve as further evidence of Hamas’ cynical use of civilians as a human shield and cover for the organization’s terrorist activities.”
Stoltenberg: “Be prepared for bad news from Ukraine too”
“We also have to be prepared for bad news: wars develop in phases, but we have to stand by Ukraine in good times and in bad times,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with the German television station Ard. “We have to be prepared for the long term,” emphasized Stoltenberg in Berlin, pointing out that the outcome of the war could not be predicted. “Wars are inherently unpredictable. We only know: the more we support Ukraine, the faster this war will end,” but “the events at the negotiating table are inextricably linked to the situation on the battlefield.” The Secretary General of the Alliance also emphasized the need to provide ammunition to support Kiev and acknowledged that NATO countries have not yet been able to meet growing needs.
Iran, the war will spread if Israel doesn’t stop
Iran’s foreign minister said the conflict in Gaza will escalate if Israel does not stop its “war crimes” against Palestinians. “If the war crimes committed by the Israeli regime in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are not stopped, the scale of the war in the region is likely to intensify and expand,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a telephone conversation with EU High Representative Josep Borrell, as Al Jazeera reports. Abdollahian also condemned Israel’s “plans and practices to forcibly expel Palestinians from their land” and stressed the need to stop Israeli military attacks on Gaza “as soon as possible.”
Israel warns Hamas leaders in Gaza City: surrender or die
The Israeli army has warned Hamas leaders in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, saying they will be killed if they do not surrender. IDF Arabic-language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said on X: “This is a final warning. You are all targets.” He attached a photo to the post of the commanders of the Shijaiyah Battalion, which, according to the IDF, operates in the neighborhood of the same name in Gaza City. “The IDF will work in the neighborhood with extreme force to destroy Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure.” “You have two options: surrender and lay down your weapons, or face a fate similar to Wissam Farhat,” Adraee said was referring to the terrorist battalion commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday.
Crosetto, Nave Vulcano is in Egypt and will treat wounded civilians in Gaza
The Vulcano ship has arrived in Egypt. Operating rooms and clinics on board where civilian and military doctors from various countries treat wounded civilians from the Gaza Strip. “Italy is doing its part, as promised. “This is the result of teamwork,” said Defense Minister Guido Crosetto to X.
Ukraine: Poroshenko is prevented from leaving the country; he should have met with Orban
On Saturday evening, Orban’s spokesman said Hungary “does not want to participate in President Zelensky’s internal political struggles,” without confirming or denying that a meeting between Poroshenko and the Hungarian leader was planned. Poroshenko, who described his border experience as an “attack on unity,” has not yet commented on the accusation that he had planned a meeting with Orban. The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament has accused Poroshenko’s political party, the center-right European Solidarity party, of making false claims in the past that its MPs were systematically banned from traveling abroad.
Gaza, 700 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours
The director general of the government media office in Gaza told Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera that more than 700 Palestinians had been killed in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. The director also added that 1.5 million people have been displaced in the region. Since fighting resumed on Friday, Israel has stepped up attacks in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Heavy shelling was reported overnight and in the morning in the Khan Younis area and the southern city of Rafah.
Alarm sirens in kibbutzim near the Strip
Alarm sirens continue to sound this morning in the kibbutzim near the Gaza Strip. The military spokesman updates it. The alarm particularly affects the kibbutzim Nir Oz and Kissufim as well as the nearby town of Magen. They face the central and southern part of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli army activities continue. Residents were ordered to reach emergency shelters.
The Paris Eiffel Tower attacker has Iranian parents
Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, the 26-year-old Frenchman who killed a 24-year-old German tourist near the Eiffel Tower and injured two other people in Paris last night, is the son of two Iranian parents, according to investigators. While in custody, the attacker, classified as S (high risk of radicalization), told police that he “can no longer tolerate the fact that Muslims are dying, both in Afghanistan and Palestine” and expressed his anger “over it.” in Gaza is happening,” and declared that France is “complicit in what Israel is doing.” According to Reconstruction Minister Gérald Darmanin, the man “stabbed” the young German and then “took it out on his partner,” who was only saved “thanks to a taxi driver who saw the scene.”
Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, who lived with his parents in a residential suburb of Paris, had posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for his attack immediately before he took action. He appears there wearing a sweatshirt and a black hoodie and a surgical mask over his face. He declares his loyalty to jihad and talks about “current events, the government, the killing of innocent Muslims,” says an investigative source. The Iranian parents left Iran to escape the mullahs’ regime and are not Muslims. Instead, Armand converted to Islam at a very young age in France after coming into contact with a well-known figure in the jihadist scene, Maximilien Thibaut, who went off to fight in Iraq and Syria.
The Israeli army in the Gaza Strip
Israel arrests 60 Palestinians in the West Bank
Israel has arrested at least 60 Palestinians in nightly raids in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association, last night’s arrests took place mainly in the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Jericho, Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that at least four women were among those arrested. The latest arrests add to more than 3,000 Palestinians detained in the West Bank since October 7, according to the United Nations human rights office. Many prisoners are held without trial or charge in a system of “administrative detention.”
Kiev, 10 of 12 Russian drones were shot down during the night
Last night, Russian forces attacked Ukraine in waves with at least twelve Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones, ten of which were shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire in the Mykolaiv region. This was announced by the General Staff of the Kiev Armed Forces on Facebook, citing the Ukrinform agency. A Kh-59 guided missile fired from the Russian Belgorod region also failed to reach its target, writes Ukrinform.
Tanks near Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip
Yesterday evening, Israeli armored vehicles passed through Wadi Gaza, entered the southern part of the Gaza Strip and landed on the Khan Yunis-Deir el-Ballah highway. Additional armored vehicles took up positions on the beach in Deir el-Ballah. Local sources reported that fighting broke out between the army and Hamas militants in the nearby Karara area last night. As the air force continues its bombing campaign, military spokesman Avichay Adraee ordered the evacuation of the center of Khan Yunis after some parts of the city were cleared yesterday. The order is to reach the city of Rafah.
Rockets from Syria, IDF responds with artillery
This morning a rocket was fired from Syrian territory towards Israel. This was announced by the IDF, adding that the rocket was not intercepted and the army responded with artillery fire.
Middle East: Media, Israel agrees to establish “safe zones” in southern Gaza Strip
A senior US State Department official said Israel has agreed to establish large “safe zones” in the southern Gaza Strip, where it is expanding its military operations. NBC reports it. The deal would come after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s third trip to the region and his fourth trip to Israel following the Oct. 7 attack. Blinken reportedly called for a plan to minimize the suffering of civilians in the southern Gaza Strip. The official said the required “safe zones” were much larger than those initially discussed and the details still needed to be worked out
Iran: “If Israel doesn’t stop, the war will spread”
“If the Israeli regime’s attacks and war crimes against Gaza and the West Bank do not stop, there is a possibility that the war will expand,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, quoted by Irna Agency. during a telephone conversation that took place in the evening with the High Representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell. “The Zionist regime must also lift the siege, allow humanitarian access to the enclave (the Gaza Strip) and put an end to the forced evictions of Palestinians,” the Tehran diplomacy chief added. Amirabdollahian also said, according to IRNA, that “the supportive policies of the United States encourage the Zionist regime to continue the war, which is consequently expanding.” Borrell, writes Irna, said the EU was pushing for a diplomatic solution.
Philippines: At least one dead in series of 7.6 magnitude earthquakes
At least one dead and two injured are the victims of the magnitude 7.6 earthquake, followed by around thirty other quakes with peak values of 6.4 that shook the sea off the island of Mindanao in the Philippines in the last 24 hours. The local civil protection agency said this was a 30-year-old person who died when a wall collapsed in the town of Bislig. Two were injured in Tandag, about 100 km away. The strongest shock, the first one that occurred at 10:37 p.m. (3:37 p.m. yesterday in Italy), occurred in the sea 21 km off the coast of Hinatuan at a depth of 32 km. On this occasion, a tsunami warning was issued, and today people evacuated from coastal towns were allowed to return to their homes, despite repeated earthquakes occurring at sea, Portal writes on its portal.
France: Fear returns to Paris, shouts “Allah Akhbar” and kills a tourist, two are injured
Paris has fallen back into the nightmare of terrorism. Last night, a 26-year-old Frenchman of Iranian origin pulled out a knife not far from the Eiffel Tower, killed a German tourist and then attacked passers-by with a hammer, injuring two of them. A police source said he shouted “Allah Akhbar” during the attack. He was then stopped by police, who shot him twice in the stomach with a Taser. The anti-terrorism department is investigating the case and French President Emmanuel Macron himself, who expressed condolences to the families of the victims, spoke of a “terrorist attack”.
The 26-year-old, identified by French media as Armand R., suffers from mental disorders, was considered at risk of radicalization and had already been in prison for four years because he had planned a violent attack. After his arrest, the attacker expressed concern about the deaths of Muslims, particularly in Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, and accused France of complicity in those killings, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. “He was ready to kill other people,” the minister assured journalists. The fatal attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle. The attacker attacked a German couple with a knife and killed one man. He then crossed the Seine to the right bank and attacked other passers-by with a hammer, injuring two of them. Shortly afterwards he was stopped by the police. The attacker left prison in 2020 and was under observation and receiving psychiatric treatment. He was born in Neuilly-Sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, and lived with his parents in the Essonne region, south of the capital.
France has been on high terror alert since a former student from Russia’s Caucasus region of Ingushetia killed a teacher in the northern city of Arras in October. The attack came three years after the murder of another teacher on the outskirts of Paris, who was beheaded by a radicalized Chechen and then killed by police. Yesterday’s ambush brought renewed fear to the French capital, still reeling from the terrorist attacks on the Bataclan and Charlie Hebdo offices. “We will not give in to terrorism. Never,” assured Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
For more information, see the attack article
Kiev: “10 Russian drones shot down”
Ukrainian troops shot down 10 of 12 Shahed-136/131 drones launched by Russia overnight. The Air Force said this, adding that the drones were launched from the Russian port city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in the south of the Krasnodar Region. The drones entered Ukraine’s airspace over the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Most of the drones were shot down by the Southern Defense Forces over Mykolaiv Oblast, while the rest were intercepted in Starokostiantyniv District, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, western Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian military, at least one Kh-59 cruise missile was fired from the Belgorod region. The Air Force said the missile did not reach its target.
Belarusian President Lukashenko visits Beijing to meet Xi Jinping
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a loyal ally of Vladimir Putin, is visiting Beijing today and tomorrow where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Belarusian presidency made the announcement without specifying whether Lukashenko had already arrived in the Chinese capital, but stated that the meeting’s agenda included topics such as “trade, economy, investment and international cooperation.” This is the Minsk head of state’s second visit to China this year, after last winter.
Philippines, attack during a mass, four victims
Four people were killed and eight injured in an explosion at a Catholic church service in the Philippines. Local authorities reported this to the BBC. The attack occurred this morning at a gymnasium at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City. In 2017, the city was the scene of a five-month battle between government forces and Islamic State-allied militants.
The university’s leadership said it was “deeply saddened and horrified” by the “senseless and terrible” violence, violence it said “that has no place in a civilized society and is particularly disgusting at a university like this.” “, he added. He then expressed solidarity “with our Christian community and all people affected by this tragedy.” Additional security personnel have been deployed on campus and all academic activities are suspended until further notice.
Lloyd Austin: “In urban warfare you can only win if you protect the civilian population.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke about the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas, saying that “you can only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians.” At the Reagan National Defense Forum, Austin said he “repeated to Israeli leaders “made clear that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative.”
Over 30 dead in IDF attack in southern Gaza Strip
Israeli air strikes on areas of the southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Rafah killed more than 30 people this morning. Since yesterday evening, sustained airstrikes have damaged much of the eastern side of Khan Younis and residents have been ordered in a threatening tone to evacuate to the western side of the city or the town of Rafah, Al Jazeera reports. A reporter from the Qatari channel reports that “people began to flee Rafah but were bombed, confirming the fact that there is no safe place in Gaza.” Hundreds of residents are still stranded in the targeted areas of Khan Younis, “As the main roads leading to other parts of the city or further south have been destroyed or severely damaged.” In the north, rescuers pulled at least ten bodies from the rubble after Israeli strikes destroyed 50 houses.
Ukraine and Moscow bomb seven areas in the Sumy region
Russian forces shelled seven areas in northeastern Sumy Oblast. The local military administration announced this via Telegram. In the last 24 hours, at least 22 raids were registered against the municipalities of Yunakivka, Khotin, Bilopillia, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, Esman and Seredyna-Buda. No casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure were reported. The Russian military attacked the settlements with shelling, mortar fire, artillery and grenade launchers. The village of Yunakivka, with a population of around 1,700, suffered the most intense attacks, with 50 explosions from artillery and mortar fire. The village is located six kilometers west of the border between Russia and Ukraine.
Franco Sarcina
Deputy Editor in Chief
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