International

Dozens feared trapped after Russian strike on Ukraine apartment building

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2022

Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region

CHASIV YAR/KYIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Rescuers picked through the rubble of an apartment building in eastern Ukraine searching for two dozen people, including a child, feared trapped after a Russian rocket strike on the five-storey building killed 15 people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the attack in the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region was “another terrorist attack” and Russia should be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Rescuers used a crane to lift a concrete slab and their hands to dig through the debris on Sunday, while dazed residents who survived the Saturday evening attack retrieved personal belongings and told stories of their miraculous escape.

One woman was seen walking out of the destroyed building carrying an ironing board under her arm, an umbrella and a plastic shopping bag. Others simply watched rescue efforts, fearing the worst as the dead were removed.

“We ran to the basement, there were three hits, the first somewhere in the kitchen,” said a local resident who gave her name as Ludmila.

“The second, I do not even remember, there was lightning, we ran towards the second entrance and then straight into the basement. We sat there all night until this morning.” Another survivor, who gave her name as Venera, said she had wanted to save her two kittens.

“I was thrown into the bathroom, it was all chaos, I was in shock, all covered in blood,” she said, crying. “By the time I left the bathroom, the room was full up of rubble, three floors fell down. I never found the kittens under the rubble.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and rid it of nationalists.

Ukraine and its Western allies say Putin’s war is an imperial land grab and has accused his forces of war crimes. Moscow denies attacking civilians.

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The biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two has killed thousands, left cities and towns in ruins and seen more than 5.5 million Ukrainians flee their country.

FIGHTING FOR TERRITORY

Russia abandoned an early advance on the capital Kyiv in the face of fierce resistance bolstered by Western arms.

Its military campaign is now focused the south and the eastern Donbas region, which is made up of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. The Kremlin wants to hand control of this industrial heartland to pro-Russian separatists who have declared independence from Kyiv.

Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Sloviansk in Donetsk but were forced to withdraw, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday.

Luhansk region Governor Serhiy Gaidai said Russian forces were gathering near the village of Bilohorivka, about 50 km (30 miles) east of Sloviansk.

Russia is “shelling the surrounding settlements, carrying out air strikes, but it is still unable to quickly occupy the entire Luhansk region,” he said on Telegram.

International

Russia urges Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in Rafah

Published

4 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Trends Admin

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russia urges Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in Rafah

Russia has urged Israel to comply with international humanitarian law as its military operation in the Gazan city of Rafah has become an additional destabilising factor in the situation in the Middle East.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova disclosed this on Wednesday while answering reporters’ questions.

On Monday, Israel started a military operation in the eastern parts of Rafah and took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

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Hamas said it had agreed to the provisions of the ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar mediators, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the truce deal unacceptable.

Over a million people are believed to be sheltering in the city.

“An additional destabilising factor, including for the entire region, was the start of Israel’s ground military operation in Rafah in southern Gaza. About 1.5 million Palestinian civilians are concentrated there.

“In this regard, we demand strict compliance with the provisions of international humanitarian law,” Mr Zakharova told reporters.

Russia urges Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in Rafah

International

African Union condemns Israeli incursion into Rafah, calls for international intervention

Published

4 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Trends Admin

African Union condemns Israeli incursion into Rafah, calls for international intervention

The African Union (AU) has denounced the Israeli military’s recent actions in southern Gaza’s Rafah and urged the international community to intervene to halt the escalation of the conflict.

In a statement, AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemned the extension of the war to the Rafah crossing, a crucial corridor for humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.

Faki expressed extreme concern about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, emphasizing the significant loss of life and destruction of infrastructure. He called on the entire international community to coordinate efforts to stop the deadly escalation.

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The Israeli incursion into Rafah occurred as negotiators and mediators convened in Cairo to seek a ceasefire in the seven-month conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Israel announced the reopening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing for humanitarian aid to Gaza, four days after its closure in response to a rocket attack that killed four soldiers. Additionally, the Erez border crossing between Israel and northern Gaza was opened for aid deliveries for the first time since the conflict began.

Both the United Nations and the United States, Israel’s staunch ally, condemned the closure of the crossings, which are vital for civilians facing severe humanitarian crises, including famine.

African Union condemns Israeli incursion into Rafah, calls for international intervention

International

Israel seizes key Gaza border, launches assault on Rafah

Published

1 day ago

May 7, 2024

Trends Admin

Israeli tanks entering the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on May 7, 2024 [Israeli army via AFP]

Israel seizes key Gaza border, launches assault on Rafah

Israeli forces have seized control of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing, cutting off a vital route for humanitarian aid and potential sanctuary for civilians from a building offensive.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had seized “operational control” of the Gaza side of the border post, which links the besieged enclave with Egypt. The closure of the crucial passage and positioning of tanks in the centre of Rafah is seen as a demonstration of Israel’s determination to press on with an assault on the southern city despite ongoing truce talks.

The 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, closing a route vital for the aid entering Gaza and any civilians able to flee the fighting to Egypt.

The military claimed that the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes”, alleging that Hamas’s mortar attack on Sunday on the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, which remains closed, was launched from the vicinity. However, it has not so far provided evidence.

The operation came amid an overnight assault on eastern parts of the city. Warplanes pounded residential homes, killing at least 12 people.

Israel’s military said in a statement it had struck numerous Hamas targets in eastern Rafah, killing about 20 fighters.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority acknowledged to The Associated Press news agency that Israeli forces had seized the crossing and closed it for the time being.

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“It’s been a very difficult night,” reported Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud from Rafah. “It’s been very violent, very bloody and full of destruction.”

The assault comes despite Hamas having said on Monday that it had agreed with the terms of a truce deal hammered out by mediators.

However, pressed by hardline nationalist coalition partners who have demanded a full offensive on Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears set to press on regardless.

Trapped

Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah that the Israeli military carried out an incursion on the eastern side of Rafah, during which there was a heavy exchange of fire with Hamas fighters amid an intense bombing campaign, with the main objective of seizing control of the crossing.

The Israeli control of the border post “is devastating because … Palestinians will no longer be able to leave the territory”, he said.

Despite urgent warnings from its closest allies that an offensive on the city risks huge numbers of civilian casualties, Israel insists that its plans will allow it to clear Rafah and press on to attack the Hamas command and fighters there.

“The Rafah offensive has started again, in spite of all the requests of the international community, the US, the European Union member states, everybody asking Netanyahu not to attack,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told journalists on Tuesday. “I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties. Whatever they say,” he said, adding, “there are no safe zones in Gaza.”

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Israeli forces whipped up panic on Monday as they ordered 1.4 million or so Palestinians in Rafah – most of whom are displaced following previous instructions from the Israeli military – to evacuate.

The Israeli army reiterated on Tuesday that it has “encouraged” displaced people and international humanitarian organisations operating in eastern Rafah to “temporarily evacuate”.

However, people sheltering in Rafah, amid poor conditions with little shelter, food, or medicine, have few places to go.

The closure of the border crossing only threatens to worsen those shortages and trap more people close to the fighting.

Sources from three humanitarian relief agencies told the Reuters news agency that aid shipments had been halted due to the closure of the crossing.

The latest Israeli operation sees them being pushed towards al-Mawasi on the coast, where the military says it has set up field hospitals, tents, and medical supplies.

“The Israeli military is … strategically cutting off the Gaza Strip and sealing it off from the region,” suggested Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud.

“With the Israeli military presence there right now, we can safely say that we’re looking at a very difficult situation in terms of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said.

“At the same time, when we look at the location of the Rafah crossing, at almost the centre of the city, that indicates that we’re very close to a full invasion of Rafah.”