Qatar holds funeral for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

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Amid fears of wider Middle East war, Poland has advised its citizens against travelling to Lebanon, Israel, and Iran, according to updated guidance published on Friday.

"In connection with a growing number of Polish tourists visiting Lebanon, Israel and Iran, we want to repeat that we have long advised against any kind of travel to this region," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X.

"The unstable security situation makes it possible to believe that it will be more and more difficult to leave the three countries."

Earlier on Friday, Polish airline LOT said it cancelled eight flights to Lebanon and Israel because of the security situation, PAP news agency reported.

(Reuters)

The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran, has sparked criticism of an intelligence gap in Iran, which has always claimed to closely monitor the espionage and sabotage operations of its arch-enemy, Israel.

Morteza Motahari, a former Iranian member of parliament, reacting to Haniyeh's assassination, criticised Iran's intelligence services for failing to keep Haniyeh's residence secret.

"The assassination and martyrdom of the great Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh is not surprising because the lives of Zionists have relied on terror from the beginning. What is surprising is why his residence as a guest in Tehran was known to the Zionists," Motahari wrote on Farsi social media.

Read more from The New Arab's correspondent in Iran.

The Israeli navy completed this week a successful test of the LRAD long-range interceptor which is meant to take out a variety of threats, including cruise missiles and rockets, the military said on Friday.

The test was carried out with Israel on high alert for possible attacks from Iran and its proxies in the region.

(Reuters)

The Church of England's spiritual head urged governments on Friday to respect the findings of the United Nations top court that Israel's occupation of Palestine is illegal, saying the law should not be upheld in a "selective manner".

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the World Court, said in an advisory opinion last month the occupation should be withdrawn as soon as possible. It is not binding but carries weight under international law.

Justin Welby – who also heads the worldwide Anglican Communion – said in a statement the ICJ opinion had made it clear the occupation is "unlawful" and must end.

"At a time when the world is marked by increasing violations of international law… it is imperative governments around the world reaffirm their unwavering commitment to all decisions by the ICJ, irrespective of the situation," Welby said.

He did not spell out how governments should react, but said he prayed that UN member states would make their actions consistent with the ruling.

Welby said it was clear to him from many visits in recent decades the "system of military rule" imposed by successive Israeli governments in occupied Palestinian territories was one of "systemic discrimination".

(Reuters)

Nearly two-thirds of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since the Gaza war began in October, the United Nations said on Friday.

"UNOSAT's latest damage building assessment, based on satellite imagery… reveals that 151,265 structures have been affected in the Gaza Strip," the UN Satellite Centre said.

"Of these, 30 percent were destroyed, 12 percent severely damaged, 36 percent moderately damaged, and 20 percent possibly damaged, representing approximately 63 percent of the total structures in the region."

The assessment was based on comparing imagery from May 2023 onward with images from 6 July this year.

"The impact on civilian infrastructure is evident, with thousands of homes and essential facilities being damaged," the agency said.

UNOSAT said the total debris in the Gaza Strip generated by the war amounts to approximately 41.95 million metric tonnes.

The figure is up 83 percent from the nearly 23 million tonnes estimated on 7 January.

The war has resulted in 14 times more debris than the combined total from all previous conflicts in the Palestinian territory since 2008, UNOSAT said.

The agency estimated that 114 kilogrammes (250 pounds) of debris were generated for each square metre in the Gaza Strip.

A salvo of rockets was launched from Gaza, Palestinian media report, while sirens sounded in Kiryat Malachi near Israel's Ashkelon and a number of towns in the area.

Three Palestinians were killed after Israeli bombing of a group of three citizens in the Tel Al-Hawa area of Gaza City, the strip's Civil Defence agency announces.

Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas is to meet with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in the Gulf state on Sunday, two high-level Palestinian officials were quoted as saying by the Times of Israel news website.

France on Friday urged its nationals visiting Iran to leave immediately.

"Due to the increased risk of a military escalation in the region, visiting French nationals still in Iran are invited to leave as soon as possible," the foreign ministry said.

Israel's foreign ministry summoned the deputy Turkish ambassador for a reprimand on Friday after Turkey's embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half mast in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

"The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Katz's statement said Haniyeh had been Hamas leader during the 7 October attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and saw more than 250 taken captive into Gaza.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli, responding to Katz's remarks on social media platform X, said: "You cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators, threatening diplomats," in an apparent reference to Haniyeh's killing.

(Reuters)

The Israeli army claims to have assassinated a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) military leader in the Gaza Strip.

It says in a statement that Mohammad Al-Jabari, deputy weapons production chief for PIJ, has been "eliminated".

Israeli forces have demolished residential buildings in Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Sitting in a tent in southern Gaza, Palestinian food blogger Hamada Shaqoura surveys cans of beans and tinned meat and longs for something that could conjure a sense of home.

Before the war, before his house was destroyed and his family uprooted three times, the 32-year-old was a YouTuber reviewing Gaza City's buzziest burger, pizza and noodle spots.

To satisfy his craving for comfort food on a war-rations diet, he taught himself to cook using food aid packages and whatever fresh vegetable he can scrounge up.

"I had an idea to turn this canned food we have been eating for months into something new, to make delicious food for kids," he tells AFP in a video call from Khan Younis.

Shaqoura's cuisine includes beef tacos "Gazan style", pizza wraps and a deep-fried "golden sandwich", which he films as he cooks and offers up to the tent camp's hungry children.

"Zakee [delicious]!" a boy beams in a video after biting into a sweet "fettuccine crepe" – strips of fried batter mixed with apples and chocolate sauce.

Three Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces stormed the city of Al-Bireh near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said Israeli forces raided Al-Bireh with a number of vehicles early on Friday.

They also deployed foot patrols.

Hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Qatar to farewell slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after his killing in Iran.

Haniyeh, the Palestinian group's political chief, played a key role in mediated talks aimed at ending nearly 10 months of Israeli war on Gaza.

Mourners lined up for funeral prayers inside Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, Qatar's largest. Others prayed on mats outside in temperatures that reached 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit).

Draped in a Palestinian flag, his casket was carried briefly into the mosque before leaving again for burial in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, his father, and large crowds of people are participating in the funeral prayer for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Mourners are performing the funeral prayer for Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh at a mosque in Qatar, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

A number of Palestinians were injured following Israeli bombing targeting a group of citizens in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Four people were killed and others injured following Israeli bombing targeting a home in Khan Younis province, Gaza's Civil Defence agency said.

An Israeli strike that killed seven charity workers in a Gaza aid convoy was the result of "mistaken identification" and a raft of other serious failures, the Australian government found in a report released on Friday.

Australian national Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed when their convoy – working to distribute food and water -- was mistakenly hit by Israeli missiles in April.

Canberra is now pushing for Israel to apologise to the victims' families and urging its military to rethink how it engages with aid groups in the Palestinian enclave.

The deaths of an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole triggered global outrage.

Former Australian air force chief Mark Binskin was tasked with monitoring Israel's investigation.

His declassified report, released Friday, found three trucks in the aid convoy were "struck in relatively quick succession".

An Israeli surveillance drone flagged the vehicles after noticing some of the charity's security escort were carrying guns, Binskin found.

A "breakdown in situational awareness" and a sense of "confusion" led to the "mistaken identification" of these security staff.

Israeli commanders believed they were armed Hamas hijackers rather than civilian security, the report found.

Photos showed how one of the missiles obliterated the interior of a white aid truck after piercing a hole in its roof, which was emblazoned with the charity's logo.

Another significant blunder was the failure to read the movement plan previously agreed on by the military and the charity.

Israel only discovered the lethal error when reports started circulating on social media about an hour later, the report concluded.

Aside from the litany of "serious failures" uncovered, Binskin's report said Israel's actions in the months following had been "timely" and "appropriate".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with the United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, release hostages, and increase humanitarian assistance, the US mission to the Gulf Arab state said on Friday.

(Reuters)