Displaying items by tag: airstrike

A deadly double strike on a hospital in Gaza has drawn sharp international condemnation. At least twenty people were killed, including five journalists and four health workers, when two consecutive strikes targeted the facility. The UN, describing the attack as ‘unacceptable’, called for those responsible to face justice. The IDF claimed the strikes were aimed at a Hamas-operated camera, but did not explain why a second strike was deemed necessary. There have been escalating protests inside Israel, with families of hostages and supporters demanding that Netanyahu agree to a ceasefire deal. The humanitarian crisis is deepening across Gaza: a UN-backed body has confirmed that a famine is taking place in Gaza city (a claim described as an ‘outright lie’ by Israel), and most of the territory’s population faces dire shortages of shelter, food, and medical care after months of war. Pope Leo XIV has joined the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem in a powerful plea for an immediate end to the war: see

On 9 April Israel carried out an airstrike in northern Gaza, reportedly killing a senior Hamas commander, Haitham al-Sheikh. The IDF said the operation targeted a high-ranking terrorist and said there were multiple measures to minimise civilian casualties. However, Palestinian sources reported at least 23 killed, including women and children, though the numbers remain unverified. Local accounts described missiles striking a building near tents housing displaced families. Hamas condemned the strike as a ‘massacre’, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad also denounced the attack. Al-Sheikh is the third commander of the battalion killed since the war began in October 2023. His predecessors, Wisam Farhat and Jamil Amar Wadia, were also eliminated in IDF operations. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme is desperately short of funding for its aid programme in Gaza: see

A military airstrike on a mosque in Wad Madani, in the centre of Sudan, has killed 31 people, according to local activists. The attack occurred after evening prayers and was reportedly carried out using barrel bombs. Many victims have not yet been identified, as rescue teams are still working through the remains of dozens of charred and mutilated bodies. Since April 2023, Sudan has been ravaged by conflict between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in widespread death and displacement. The two sides are battling for control of Al-Jazira state, a key agricultural area, currently controlled by the RSF. Both groups have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians and looting.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have recovered the bodies of six hostages from tunnels in Khan Younis, bringing heartbreaking confirmation to their families. Meanwhile, on 20 August at least twelve Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a school: see Over 40,000 Palestinians have now died since the conflict began. As the situation escalates, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has been involved in ceasefire negotiations, warning that this may be the last opportunity to secure a hostage and prisoner swap. While a potential agreement appears close, with Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly accepting a US ‘bridging proposal’, there still appear to be large gaps between the two sides. On the central issue of the hostages, Hamas is demanding assurances that Israel will not begin military operations again after thirty of the most vulnerable are released. Israel is concerned that Hamas will drag out a second phase in which the remaining hostages, including male soldiers, are freed.

On 31 July Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with his bodyguard, was killed in an airstrike in Iran, an act labelled a ‘severe escalation’ by the Palestinian terror group. His death came hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for new president Masoud Pezeshkian. Pezeshkian vowed to defend Iran's integrity and retaliate against the perpetrators. This assassination, attributed to Israel, follows the killing of Hezbollah’s top military leader in Beirut; Israel claimed that he was responsible for a rocket attack on 27 July which killed twelve people, mainly children. Haniyeh, based in Qatar and the face of Hamas’ international diplomacy, was the highest-ranking official killed since the conflict began; his three sons have also been killed.