International

Israeli continued attacks not helping Gaza talks – Hamas

Published

5 months ago

July 9, 2024

People walk past rubble and damaged buildings in the Tuffah district east of Gaza City [Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP]

Israeli continued attacks not helping Gaza talks – Hamas

Hamas says escalating Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip are not helping negotiations to end the war and has accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating obstacles to the talks.

In a statement on Monday, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh warned that the “catastrophic consequences of what is happening in Gaza” could “reset the negotiation process to square one”.

Netanyahu and his army will bear “full responsibility for the collapse of this path”, Hamas quoted Haniyeh as saying.

The statement said Haniyeh made “urgent contact” with mediators Qatar and Egypt over the expanding actions of the Israeli military, which issued further evacuation orders for areas in the neighbourhoods of Gaza City, displacing thousands of Palestinians, many of whom have been forced to move multiple times.

On Sunday, Israel’s military ordered “immediate” evacuation for the Tuffah, Daraj and the Old City neighbourhoods of Gaza City in the north.

In a separate statement, Hamas accused Netanyahu of escalating “his aggression and crimes against our people” in what it said were “attempts to forcibly displace them in order to thwart all efforts to reach an agreement”.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the Palestinians had been ordered to evacuate to the centre of the Gaza Strip despite the area already being “overwhelmed” with large numbers of displaced Palestinians from all over the enclave.

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Most of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced, with hundreds of thousands packed into sweltering tent camps.

Khoudary said she had spoken to Palestinians who decided not to evacuate, as there was “no safe place to go”. She said they did not “want to lose their dignity being displaced in makeshift camps and not being able to get access to food [and] water”.

The Israeli forces have also attacked tent camps housing displaced Palestinians. On June 8, Israeli forces raided Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 274 Palestinians to free four Israeli captives held there.

Israel has killed at least 38,193 Palestinians and wounded 87,903 others since October 7, Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday. A total of 40 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

Israel expands military operations

Israeli tanks have pressed into the heart of Gaza City as its military ordered the residents out after a night of massive bombardment in areas it said had been largely cleared months ago.

Residents said the air strikes and artillery barrages were among the heaviest in nine months of what many rights experts and governments have termed a genocide.

The Israeli military said it had intelligence showing that fighters from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were in the Gaza City area and called on the residents to head south to the city of Deir el-Balah

In Shujayea, a Gaza City neighbourhood that has seen weeks of fighting, the Israeli military said troops had raided and destroyed schools and a clinic.

Khoudary said the Israeli military had expanded ground operations around Shujayea.

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“Some people tried to evacuate. Some people fled under extensive artillery shelling and air strikes; other people were trapped, were unable to leave,” she said.

On Monday, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent reported that further evacuation orders had been issued for the Rimal neighbourhood in central Gaza City.

The new Israeli offensive comes as Egypt, Qatar and the United States step up efforts to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before the Palestinian movement would sign an agreement.

But Netanyahu’s office reiterated in a statement on Sunday that “any deal will allow Israel to return [to Gaza] and fight until all the goals of the war are achieved”.

As talks repeatedly flounder over differences between the parties, mediators Egypt and Qatar were due to host new meetings this week, according to officials.

Israeli continued attacks not helping Gaza talks – Hamas

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

International

Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

Published

10 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

A strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning and killed at least one person, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a preliminary toll.

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Minutes later, at least 10 Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs. They began approximately 30 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, the largest such warning yet.

As the strikes were under way, Israel’s military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.

Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

ARAB NEWS

International

Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

Published

11 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

President-elect Donald Trump

Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the legal cases brought against him, calling them “empty and lawless”.

He accused Democrats of weaponising the judicial system to target him as a political opponent.

In a strongly worded statement, Trump alleged that over $100 million in taxpayer money had been wasted in what he described as a politically driven effort to undermine his influence.

“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” he said, pointing to high-profile prosecutors, including Georgia’s Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as key figures in what he called a “political hijacking.”

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Trump also accused Willis of colluding with Nathan Wade, whom he described as “her lover” and lacking the experience to handle such cases.

He claimed Wade was paid “millions,” allegedly enabling lavish trips and cruises.

Letitia James, who is pursuing a civil fraud case against Trump, was also criticised.

Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

International

US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

Published

11 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

A United States federal jury sentenced two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, to 30 years in prison for scamming certain US citizens $3,500,000.

This was mentioned in a news statement made public on the US Department of Justice website on Monday.

According to the statement, the Nigerians, Ibekie and Aniukwu mislead their victims by informing them that they had received big inheritances that required payment to claim.

The couple would then ask their victims to transfer money, promising to refund them after the inheritances were claimed.

It also stated that the duo carried out romance scams by establishing romantic relationships with their victims and demanding them to send money after they had built trust in their victims.

It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.

“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.

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“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.”

According to the statement, after being arraigned on 14 charges, the duo pleaded guilty to their different alterations.

Following their guilty pleas, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, and Aniukwu was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 8.

The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Illinois, on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Illinois, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”

Meanwhile, Jennifer Gosha, an accomplice of the Nigerians and a US citizen, is expected to be sentenced on December 18 after pleading guilty.

“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.