Israel-Gaza: Death toll rises as Israel targets militants - BBC

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Palestine's health ministry says 24 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli military is targeting members of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

Six children and several PIJ fighters - including leader Tayseer Jabari - are among the dead.

Some 300 Palestinian rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel since Friday, an Israeli official said.

Israel says it launched the operations due to "immediate threat" from PIJ.

The latest violence is the most serious flare-up between Israel and Gaza since an 11-day conflict in May 2021 left more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis dead.

The Israeli military is warning this latest operation - codenamed Breaking Dawn - could last for a week.

As well as air strikes on Gaza, some 19 members of PIJ have been arrested in raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Israel.

Sirens warning of incoming missiles continued to sound in Israeli towns on Saturday, amid more reports of air strikes in Gaza.

Gaza's health ministry blamed "Israeli aggression" for the deaths of Palestinians, and for the 203 people wounded.

But so far Hamas, the biggest militant group in the area - which has similar ideology to Islamic Jihad and often coordinates its actions with it - does not seem to be firing from its large rocket arsenal.

As a result, there are no reports of Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas, which would mark an escalation in the violence.

• The Israel-Palestinian conflict explained
• The children who died in the 2021 conflict

Hamas issued strong statements on Friday night saying that "resistance groups" were united. But because it governs Gaza it has its own practical considerations which may stop it from getting more involved.

The calculations of Hamas could change, if for example the civilian death toll in Gaza rises rapidly.

If it does decide to join the fighting then it would quickly get much more intense.

Life in the Palestinian territory has already become much harder in the past week, after Israel closed its crossings with Gaza amid fears that Islamic Jihad would retaliate for the arrest of one of its leaders in the northern West Bank.

On Saturday, Gaza's only power station closed down because it had not received any fuel deliveries, an electricity company spokesman said.

Getty Images

Of the almost 300 rockets and mortars reportedly fired from Gaza towards Israel overnight, an Israeli official said some 70 did not reach Israeli territory and landed in the Gaza Strip.

The vast majority of those that reached Israeli air space were intercepted by its Iron Dome missile defence system, with no Israeli casualties, officials said.

Some 30 Islamic Jihad targets have been struck, among them two weapon storage facilities and six rocket manufacturing sites, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said. The strikes have injured more than 120 people, Palestinian health officials say.

Referring to the initial strike on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Israel carried out "a precise counter-terror operation against an immediate threat".

The IDF said its attacks targeted sites linked to PIJ, including the high-rise Palestine Tower in Gaza City which was hit on Friday in a loud explosion which left smoke pouring from the building.

In remarks delivered while on a trip to the Iranian capital Tehran, PIJ secretary general Ziyad al-Nakhala said: "We will respond forcefully to this aggression, and there will be a fight in which our people will win.

"There are no red lines for this battle... and Tel Aviv will be under the rockets of the resistance."

The latest conflict closely follows Israel's arrest of Bassem Saadi, reported to be the head of PIJ in the West Bank, on Monday night.

He was held in the Jenin area as part of an ongoing series of arrest operations after a wave of attacks by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians that left 17 Israelis and two Ukrainians dead. Two of the attackers came from the Jenin district.

IDF found illegal weapons and a large sum of money in his house. We know from intelligence we cannot share details we know that they have PIJ operatives in Gaza close to the border trying to attack Israeli civilians.

PIJ, which is one of the strongest militant groups operating in Gaza, is backed by Iran and has its headquarters in the Syrian capital Damascus.

It has been responsible for many attacks, including rocket-fire and shootings against Israel.

In November 2019, Israel and PIJ fought a five-day conflict following the killing by Israel of a PIJ commander who Israel said had been planning an imminent attack. The violence left 34 Palestinians dead and 111 injured, while 63 Israelis needed medical treatment.

Israel said 25 of the Palestinians killed were militants, including those hit preparing to launch rockets.

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2022-08-06 21:23:51Z
1521962941

Israel-Gaza: Death toll rises as Israel targets militants - BBC

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The Palestinian health ministry says 15 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli military is targeting members of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

A five-year-old child, two women and several PIJ fighters - including leader Tayseer Jabari - are among the dead.

Some 300 Palestinian rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel since Friday, an Israeli official said.

Israel says it launched the operations due to "immediate threat" from PIJ.

The latest violence is the most serious flare-up between Israel and Gaza since an 11-day conflict in May 2021 left more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis dead.

The Israeli military is warning this latest operation - codenamed Breaking Dawn - could last for a week.

As well as air strikes on Gaza, some 19 members of PIJ have been arrested in raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Israel.

Sirens warning of incoming missiles continued to sound in Israeli towns on Saturday, amid more reports of air strikes in Gaza.

Palestinian health officials confirmed a man was killed near Khan Younis, in the south of the strip, on Saturday.

But so far Hamas, the biggest militant group in the area - which has similar ideology to Islamic Jihad and often coordinates its actions with it - does not seem to be firing from its large rocket arsenal.

As a result, there are no reports of Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas, which would mark an escalation in the violence.

• The Israel-Palestinian conflict explained
• The children who died in the 2021 conflict

Hamas issued strong statements on Friday night saying that "resistance groups" were united. But because it governs Gaza it has its own practical considerations which may stop it from getting more involved.

The calculations of Hamas could change, if for example the civilian death toll in Gaza rises rapidly.

If it does decide to join the fighting then it would quickly get much more intense.

If things stay like this, Egypt - which often acts as a go-between for Israel and Gaza - could have a better chance of brokering some kind of truce.

Cairo officials were preparing on Saturday to host a potential delegation of PIJ representatives as part of that process, Egyptian media said.

Life in the Palestinian territory has already become much harder in the past week, after Israel closed its crossings with Gaza amid fears that Islamic Jihad would retaliate for the arrest of one of its leaders in the northern West Bank.

On Saturday, Gaza's only power station closed down because it had not received any fuel deliveries, an electricity company spokesman said.

Getty Images

Of the almost 300 rockets and mortars reportedly fired from Gaza towards Israel overnight, an Israeli official said some 70 did not reach Israeli territory and landed in the Gaza Strip.

The vast majority of those that reached Israeli air space were intercepted by its Iron Dome missile defence system, with no Israeli casualties, officials said.

Some 30 Islamic Jihad targets have been struck, among them two weapon storage facilities and six rocket manufacturing sites, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said. The strikes have injured more than 120 people, Palestinian health officials say.

Referring to the initial strike on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Israel carried out "a precise counter-terror operation against an immediate threat".

The IDF said its attacks targeted sites linked to PIJ, including the high-rise Palestine Tower in Gaza City which was hit on Friday in a loud explosion which left smoke pouring from the building.

In remarks delivered while on a trip to the Iranian capital Tehran, PIJ secretary general Ziyad al-Nakhala said: "We will respond forcefully to this aggression, and there will be a fight in which our people will win.

"There are no red lines for this battle... and Tel Aviv will be under the rockets of the resistance."

The latest conflict closely follows Israel's arrest of Bassem Saadi, reported to be the head of PIJ in the West Bank, on Monday night.

He was held in the Jenin area as part of an ongoing series of arrest operations after a wave of attacks by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians that left 17 Israelis and two Ukrainians dead. Two of the attackers came from the Jenin district.

IDF found illegal weapons and a large sum of money in his house. We know from intelligence we cannot share details we know that they have PIJ operatives in Gaza close to the border trying to attack Israeli civilians.

PIJ, which is one of the strongest militant groups operating in Gaza, is backed by Iran and has its headquarters in the Syrian capital Damascus.

It has been responsible for many attacks, including rocket-fire and shootings against Israel.

In November 2019, Israel and PIJ fought a five-day conflict following the killing by Israel of a PIJ commander who Israel said had been planning an imminent attack. The violence left 34 Palestinians dead and 111 injured, while 63 Israelis needed medical treatment.

Israel said 25 of the Palestinians killed were militants, including those hit preparing to launch rockets.

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2022-08-06 15:38:30Z
1521962941

Israel-Gaza: Israel arrests 19 militant suspects after Gaza flare-up - BBC

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Israel says it has arrested 19 members of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in raids across the occupied West Bank, after carrying out airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip.

Eleven people have been killed in the air strikes, including a child and PIJ leader Tayseer Jabari.

Israel said the strikes followed an "immediate threat" from the group.

Scores of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel overnight, most of them intercepted, Israel's military said.

The latest violence is the most serious flare-up between Israel and Gaza in just over a year

The 11-day war in May 2021 left more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis dead before a ceasefire was agreed.

The Israeli military is warning this latest operation - codenamed Breaking Dawn - could last for a week.

Sirens warning of incoming missiles continued to sound in Israeli towns on Saturday, amid more reports of air strikes in Gaza that Israel says are targeting PIJ militants.

Palestinian health officials confirmed a man was killed near Khan Younis in the south of the strip.

But so far Hamas, the biggest militant group in the area - which has similar ideology to Islamic Jihad and often coordinates its actions with it - does not seem to be firing from its large rocket arsenal.

As a result, there are no reports of Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas.

Hamas issued strong statements on Friday night saying that "resistance groups" were united. But because it governs Gaza it has its own practical considerations which may stop it from getting more involved.

Life in the Palestinian territory has already become much harder in the past week, after Israel closed its crossings with Gaza amid fears that Islamic Jihad would retaliate for the arrest of one of its leaders in the northern West Bank.

The calculations of Hamas could change, if for example the civilian death toll in Gaza rises rapidly.

It it does to decide to join the fighting then it would quickly get much more intense.

If things stay like this, Egypt - which often acts as a go-between for Israel and Gaza - could have a better chance of brokering some kind of truce.

Cairo officials were preparing on Saturday to host a potential delegation of PIJ representatives as part of that process, Egyptian media said.

• The Israel-Palestinian conflict explained

Almost 200 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel overnight, the Israeli military said. Most were intercepted by the Iron Dome defence, with no Israeli casualties.

Some 30 Islamic Jihad targets have been struck, among them two weapon storage facilities and 6 rocket manufacturing sites, the IDF said. At least 78 people have been injured.

Referring to the initial strike on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Israel carried out "a precise counter-terror operation against an immediate threat".

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said: "We don't know how this will play out... but this could take time... this could be a lengthy round [of conflict] and a hard one."

The IDF said its attacks targeted sites linked to PIJ, including the high-rise Palestine Tower in Gaza City which was hit on Friday in a loud explosion which left smoke pouring from the building.

Getty Images

The IDF said Tayseer Jabari was a "senior commander" in PIJ, and accused him of having committed "multiple terrorist attacks" against Israeli civilians.

Five-year-old Alaa Kaddum was among those killed in the strikes, local officials also said.

In remarks delivered while on a trip to the Iranian capital Tehran, PIJ secretary general Ziyad al-Nakhala said: "We will respond forcefully to this aggression, and there will be a fight in which our people will win."

"There are no red lines for this battle... and Tel Aviv will be under the rockets of the resistance".

The latest conflict closely follows Israel's arrest of Bassem Saadi, reported to be the head of PIJ in the West Bank, on Monday night.

He was held in the Jenin area as part of an ongoing series of arrest operations after a wave of attacks by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians that left 17 Israelis and two Ukrainians dead. Two of the attackers came from the Jenin district.

PIJ, which is one of the strongest militant groups operating in Gaza, is backed by Iran and has its headquarters in the Syrian capital Damascus.

It has been responsible for many attacks, including rocket-fire and shootings against Israel.

In November 2019, Israel and PIJ fought a five-day conflict following the killing by Israel of a PIJ commander who Israel said had been planning an imminent attack. The violence left 34 Palestinians dead and 111 injured, while 63 Israelis needed medical treatment.

Israel said 25 of the Palestinians killed were militants, including those hit preparing to launch rockets.

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2022-08-06 08:42:11Z
1521962941

Gaza: Palestinian militants hit back after Israeli airstrike kills senior commander - Sky News

At least 10 people have died, including a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), as a result of Israeli airstrikes, officials have said.

A blast was heard in Gaza City on Friday and smoke was seen coming from the seventh floor of a tall building.

The PIJ said it had responded by firing more than 100 rockets towards Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv.

TV stations appeared to show a number of missiles being shot down by air defence systems, with no reports of casualties.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 65 people were wounded, with a senior Islamic Jihad commander, a 23-year-old woman and a five-year-old girl among the dead.

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The strike comes after days of tensions following the arrest of a senior militant in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

Israel had closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to the border, in anticipation of retaliation.

More on Gaza

Related Topics:

"The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) is currently striking in the Gaza Strip. A special situation has been declared on the Israeli home front," the Israeli military said in a statement.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and IDF said the official killed was Tayseer al-Jaabari.

According to the IDF, he was "responsible for multiple terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians" and shared a picture of him on social media.

Image: The IDF shared an image of the PIJ militant who was targeted. Pic: Twitter/IDF

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said "the Israeli enemy, who started the escalation against Gaza and committed a new crime, must pay the price and bear full responsibility for it".

In a statement broadcast on Al Mayadeen television, a pro-Iranian Lebanese channel, Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al Nakhala vowed retaliation for the strikes.

"There are no red lines in this battle and Tel Aviv will fall under the rockets of resistance, as well as all Israeli cities," he said.

Tensions raise possibility of second war in as many years

Tensions have been high around Gaza for days, following the arrest by Israel of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader in the West Bank earlier in the week.

An 80km zone of road closures and lockdown has been in place on the Israeli side, in anticipation of retaliatory action by PIJ – this gave the IDF time to move military assets into place, in preparation for today’s operation.

Israel says attempts to get PIJ to climb down have been exhausted, and so they've now decided to act first and launched "Operation Breaking Dawn".

Strikes on a high-rise building killed a number of PIJ militants, including the commander of Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza. A five-year-old child was also among the dead, and more than 40 were wounded.

Israeli officials are making it clear this was a strike against a PIJ target, not against Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. That message has been passed onto Hamas via backchannels.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad has already said it will respond and warned that Tel Aviv, just north of Gaza, will be targeted.

Hamas, which Israel says it wants to keep out of this, must now decide what it does next. If the group joins forces with PIJ and fires rockets into Israel, then things could escalate very quickly, and we could be looking at a second war in as many years.

Senior IDF commanders have hinted to me that their objectives have been achieved, however they warn of further airstrikes if they receive intelligence that preparations are under way for attacks on Israel.

Much hangs on the next 24 hours.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz visited communities near Gaza earlier on Friday, saying authorities were preparing "actions that will remove the threat from this region", without elaborating.

"We will operate with internal resilience and external strength in order to restore routine life in Israel's south," he said.

"We do not seek conflict, yet we will not hesitate to defend our citizens, if required."

The PIJ is smaller than Hamas but shares a similar ideology, with both groups opposing Israel's presence.

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2022-08-05 21:11:15Z
1521962941

French mayor threatens €15,000 deposit to climb Mont Blanc - BBC

Reuters

A French mayor says conditions on Mont Blanc are now so dangerous that climbers should pay a €15,000 (£12,640; $15,370) deposit to cover rescue and possible funeral costs.

Jean-Marc Peillex is mayor of Saint-Gervais, a village at the foot of Western Europe's highest mountain, whose summit is at 4,807m (15,774ft).

Those who ignored warnings and took the Goûter route up the mountain were playing "Russian roulette", he said.

The heatwave has increased rockfalls.

Mayor Peillex said the average cost of a rescue on the mountain was €10,000 and funeral costs were €5,000. "It is unacceptable for the French taxpayer to cover those costs," he said in a press release.

His statement on the village's official website noted that mountain guides were now refusing to take climbers on the popular Goûter route - also known as the Royal Way - from Saint-Gervais or the nearby Alpine resort of Chamonix. Their decision is in force until mid-August at the earliest.

Mayor Peillex castigated some "pseudo climbers" who insisted on attempting the climb "with death in their backpacks".

He told the BBC "I wanted to make people react, to understand that today it's very dangerous, almost suicidal to go up".

He has closed until further notice the mountain refuges at Goûter and Tête Rousse because of rockfalls. He said there had been a major rockfall on Thursday which would have killed anyone had they been in its path.

He has not yet issued a legal ruling on the proposed deposit, but has the power to impose it, he told the BBC. He said the amount "has to be startling to focus attention on this". "If anyone thinks it's illegal they can go to court to challenge it," he added.

He said a group of Romanians were found on the mountain on 30 July wearing shorts and trainers. A police helicopter ordered them through a loudhailer to turn back, he said, "and while they did so, they said they would return the next day"!

Climate impact

A lack of winter snow and this summer's extraordinary heat have destabilised rocks and made crossing crevasses more difficult. The heat - attributed to climate change - has also increased the risk of avalanches in the Alps, as glaciers melt.

An expert guide in Chamonix quoted by AFP news agency, Olivier Greber, said only a dozen to 20 skilled mountaineers were able to reach the summit each day, compared to 100-120 usually.

Mont Blanc has 11 peaks above 4,000m in France and Italy and normally attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Besides Goûter, several other routes up the mountain, including from Courmayeur in Italy, remain open despite the hazards.

Mayor Peillex said he did not have legal power to close the Goûter route.

He told the BBC's Chris Bockman that, despite the danger, on Thursday alone 70 people attempted the climb and the number was rising each day.

He said the number of rescues and deaths in the Mont Blanc massif had not risen this year. In most years there are hundreds of rescues in the massif and several dozen climbers' deaths.

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2022-08-05 13:38:11Z
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Gaza: Senior Islamic Jihad commander killed in Israeli airstrike, say Palestinian authorities - Sky News

At least eight people have died, including a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), as a result of Israeli airstrikes, officials have said.

A blast was heard in Gaza City on Friday and smoke was seen coming from the seventh floor of a tall building.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 40 people were wounded, and a senior Islamic Jihad commander and a five-year-old child are among the dead.

The strike comes after days of tensions following the arrest of a senior militant in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

Israel had closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to the border, in anticipation of retaliation.

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"The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) is currently striking in the Gaza Strip. A special situation has been declared on the Israeli home front," the Israeli military said in a statement.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and IDF said the official killed was Tayseer al-Jaabari.

More on Gaza

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According to the IDF, he was "responsible for multiple terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians" and shared a picture of him on social media.

Image: The IDF shared an image of the PIJ militant who was targeted. Pic: Twitter/IDF

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said "the Israeli enemy, who started the escalation against Gaza and committed a new crime, must pay the price and bear full responsibility for it".

In a statement broadcast on Al Mayadeen television, a pro-Iranian Lebanese channel, Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al Nakhala vowed retaliation for the strikes.

"There are no red lines in this battle and Tel Aviv will fall under the rockets of resistance, as well as all Israeli cities," he said.

Tensions raise possibility of second war in as many years

Tensions have been high around Gaza for days, following the arrest by Israel of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader in the West Bank earlier in the week.

An 80km zone of road closures and lockdown has been in place on the Israeli side, in anticipation of retaliatory action by PIJ – this gave the IDF time to move military assets into place, in preparation for today’s operation.

Israel says attempts to get PIJ to climb down have been exhausted, and so they've now decided to act first and launched "Operation Breaking Dawn".

Strikes on a high-rise building killed a number of PIJ militants, including the commander of Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza. A five-year-old child was also among the dead, and more than 40 were wounded.

Israeli officials are making it clear this was a strike against a PIJ target, not against Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. That message has been passed onto Hamas via backchannels.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad has already said it will respond and warned that Tel Aviv, just north of Gaza, will be targeted.

Hamas, which Israel says it wants to keep out of this, must now decide what it does next. If the group joins forces with PIJ and fires rockets into Israel, then things could escalate very quickly, and we could be looking at a second war in as many years.

Senior IDF commanders have hinted to me that their objectives have been achieved, however they warn of further airstrikes if they receive intelligence that preparations are under way for attacks on Israel.

Much hangs on the next 24 hours.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz visited communities near Gaza earlier on Friday, saying authorities were preparing "actions that will remove the threat from this region", without elaborating.

"We will operate with internal resilience and external strength in order to restore routine life in Israel's south," he said.

"We do not seek conflict, yet we will not hesitate to defend our citizens, if required."

The PIJ is smaller than Hamas but shares a similar ideology, with both groups opposing Israel's presence.

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2022-08-05 16:41:15Z
1521962941

InfoWars' Alex Jones ordered to pay $4.1mn to parents of Sandy Hook victim - Financial Times

Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $4.1mn in damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim, dealing a blow to one of America’s most notorious peddlers of misinformation.

A Texas jury on Thursday awarded compensatory damages for the emotional distress Jones’s company caused by falsely claiming the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children and six teachers were killed, was a hoax staged to justify gun control.

The jury had deliberated for about a day before returning its decision. It will now consider the plaintiffs’ request for punitive damages, which could result in an additional award.

While the firebrand has courted controversy for more than two decades on his website InfoWars, the Sandy Hook action is the first big legal reckoning for Jones’s media business.

The defamation lawsuit was brought by Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of Jesse Lewis, a 6-year-old killed at Sandy Hook.

During testimony in the trial this week, Jones disowned falsehoods that his companies had actively promoted for several years. He conceded that the deadliest US school shooting was “100 per cent real” and not a “false flag” operation, as he had long claimed. He also expressed remorse for “unintentionally” hurting people’s feelings.

Lewis and Heslin had requested as much as $150mn in compensation for a decade of emotional torture, saying their lives were made a “living hell” by death threats and harassment by strangers who wrongly believed the couple faked their own child’s death.

Jones, who hosts the InfoWars radio show and webcast, has been banned from major social media platforms for hate speech and abuse. But his site continues to attract a sizeable audience. InfoWars hosted almost 8mn visits last month, according to data company Similarweb.

Jones has already been found liable by default judgment in three lawsuits filed in Texas and Connecticut after failing to disclose relevant information requested by the court.

In a move to potentially limit financial exposure, Jones’s company Free Speech Systems, the parent of InfoWars, filed for bankruptcy protection last week. Three other associated companies sought Chapter 11 protection this year.

Jones was the lone witness in his defence this week. He flailed under cross examination before being upbraided by the judge for telling untruths under oath.

“This is not your show,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told him. “Just because you claim to think something is true does not make it true. It does not protect you. It is not allowed.”

A lawyer for the plaintiffs also disclosed during the proceedings that Jones’s legal team had inadvertently shared two years’ worth of messages from Jones’s phone. The lawyer said he had received requests to share the messages with various authorities, including the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

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2022-08-04 22:02:59Z
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