The Independent’s Chief International Correspondent. Foreign reporter of the year 2023. Marie Colvin Award winner. My documentary “The Body in the Woods”👇🏼
Ukraine
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We crossed the US to track the impact of the abortion bans for my latest doc: "The A-Word". We met women left bleeding out in ER, who were forced to give birth to partially-formed babies after enduring life-threatening pregnancies, who are now infertile👇independent.co.uk/tv/news/ab…
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Tom Leak
A UN official just told me civilians in Gaza are reduced to drinking sea water because clean water has run out. Body bags are running out, fuel for hospital generators powering ventilators will run out in hours. Food supply low. The bombing is intensifying. There aren't words.
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I've been sent a photo of leaflet I'm told was dropped on Gaza City this morning - it says those who don't evacuate northern Gaza could be considered "an accomplice of a terrorist organisation". To be clear there's no obligation for civilians to evacuate even if they get an evacuation order, they are still protected under international law. Waiting for comment from the military.
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Urgent: Water has now run out in Gaza according to the UN “It has become a matter of life and death”. 2 million people at risk. Statement below 👇🏼
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Gaza health ministry told me it was "impossible" to evacuate the wounded to south. “There are no extra beds in any hospitals anywhere for people to move to. Most of the wounded are unstable,they'll die en route. All hospitals in Gaza, even after they've been expanded, are full
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Ahmed AlMansi had a popular YouTube channel with his daughters Sarah & Hala about their life in #Gaza. In one video he tries to distract his terrified girls from the airstrikes with toys. It would his last. Ahmed was killed in airstrikes over the weekend independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Gaza: The UN just told me 9 UN staffers have been killed in Gaza, 18 UN buildings have sustained damage, their schools are at over capacity with the displaced. They are running out of supplies. Gaza’s power plant has run out of fuel “This is a catastrophe unfolding”.
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I spoke Israelis whose loved ones were killed or taken hostage by Hamas militants: despite unimaginable grief, they're calling for an end to bloodshed, for the protection of Gaza civilians, for Gaza not to be destroyed. Brave voices in the bleakest moment independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Israel is famed for being the birthplace of world’s most powerful surveillance software. It has eyes & a blockade on Gaza, that is only 42km long. In Gaza the one constant is the Israeli observation drones in the sky. But no one saw this coming. Analysis: independent.co.uk/news/world…
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I am speechless with horror watching this. This is the Israeli security forces at the funeral procession for slain Al Jazeera veteran correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh. Al Jazeera accuses Israeli security forces of killing her. (Israel denies it)
Emir Nader
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Olena Zelenska never sought a public life& was wary about her husband running for president. Then Putin invaded. Now is she trailblazing her own role as frontline ambassador & architect rebuilding Ukraine even as battles rage on. She is often asked about being a support for her husband. We spoke about her work on the ground. About how she wants redefine the role of First Ladies and Gentlemen throughout the world 🧵independent.co.uk/news/world…
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A double amputee toddler his limbs in a box, a burned child screaming for his mum-he doesn't know is dead- as there's no pain relief, an 8-yr-old his brain exposed. @ICRC surgeon describes treating the wounded in Israel's assault on Khan Younis, Gaza🧵 independent.co.uk/news/world…
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A very emotional day yesterday inside Kherson city: people who have endured intense shelling, 8 months of occupation, no electricity water or gas & soaring food prices wept as they were given food parcels by @WCKitchen. They spontaneously hugged WCK staff independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Gaza health ministry has said they are “just hours away” from the shutdown of their main generators at both Shifa and Indonesian hospitals which are treating the wounded from Jabalia. They say lived at imminent risk include 42 babies in incubators, 62 wounded + patients under artificial respiration, 650 patients with kidney failure, hundreds of operations.
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I’m back in Ukraine and the theme of my hotel is Boris on bikes. The entire hotel is - for whatever reason - plastered in photos of the former PM cycling.
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Morning from #Beirut. Like so many, I’m waking up from a 2 hour nap on my sofa with gaping holes in my walls, wondering where I am going to live. So many dead, injured, missing, so much destroyed. How can the country possibly fix this and get back on its feet?
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I covered the last two Gaza wars & 7 years on I still have nightmares about the horrors I saw. &I’m just a foreigner, I don’t have to live that reality. It is never worth it. Civilians -children, families - pay the price. Deeply depressed at those gunning for further escalation.
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#Netanyahu has been formally indicted on corruption charges, just hours before he is expected to join #Trump for the launch of the US Middle East "peace plan". Bibi dropped his bid for immunity after became clear the Israeli parliament would vote against it. What a day.
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Palestinian Red Crescent just told me 520 Palestinians have been injured today, 333 hospitalised in #Jerusalem. In #Gaza the latest I was told was 20 killed, including 9 children in airstrikes but I don’t have the latest numbers.
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I interviewed 3 of the asylum seekers supposed to be onboard Tuesday’s failed flight to Rwanda. One told me he was forced into a restraining harness on the plane. Officers pushed him to the ground& put a knee on his head, he couldn’t breathe w/ @maybulman independent.co.uk/news/uk/po…
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Mariam, killed by Israeli strike today, had the chance to leave Gaza to be with her son but she chose to stay to report and to look after her parents, her friends told us. She gave a kidney to her father. Her mother, unable to get proper treatment, died from cancer 4 months ago
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"Pregnant women are being forced to undergo emergency C-sections without anaesthetics. Women are being discharged within... 3 hours after giving birth. An average of 160 pregnant women are expected to give birth every day over the next month in Gaza" says Hiba Tibi at @CARE
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One Israeli hostage was waving a makeshift white flag and another called for help in Hebrew when they were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza - who mistook them fighters - according to the Israeli military official who briefed journalists. They were also reportedly shirtless.
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The Israeli army has just ordered the entire civilian population of Gaza to evacuate south within 24 hours. The UN says that amounts to 1.1 million people& applies to 100s of 1000s sheltered in UN buildings & their staff. This is impossible without “devastating human consequences”
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British-Palestinian surgeon @GhassanAbuSitt1 told me that Gaza's biggest hospital is "at capacity", they're running out of supplies like anaesthetic medicines & airway tubes for kids. He said he had to clean a teenage burns victim with soap because they're out of antiseptic
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Completely unprovoked US police officers punch an Australian cameraman, club the correspondent live on air outside the White House. Australia’s PM has called for an investigation. Does @realDonaldTrump does not realise how unhinged this looks to the world?
7NEWS Sydney
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Israel arrested 5 Palestinian children aged 7-11 today after they were picking flowers near a settlement in the occupied West Bank according to rights groups. @btselem says they are police station in Kiryat Arba . Photos: Nasser Nawaj'ah (B'Tselem)
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Lebanon now has zero state power meaning the entire country is running on private generators. They are prohibitively expensive: my last month’s bill was 3.75 million lira which is $2500 on official rate& about $250 on black market. How is the airport running?What about hospitals?
BREAKING: Lebanon plunged into darkness ‘for days’ as country runs out of electricity independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Exclusive: 100s of young party-goers have been killed or are missing feared kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas militants, who attacked a festival yesterday. Among them is Brit Jake Marlowe. Me & @natalielisbona spoke to witnesses who survived, relatives, friends independent.co.uk/news/world…
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I've lived in #Egypt for 7 years, it's my beloved home and I'm not sure when I can return. I was arrested after doing an interview and threatened with military trial unless I got on a plane. Like others, I still don't know what happened:
thetimes.co.uk/article/i-ado…
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The Gaza border crossing is still shut that means outside journalists cannot get in to report from the ground. The AP & Al-Jazeera offices were destroyed yesterday meaning their capacity to report on Gaza will have been reduced. Some of what is happening won’t be being reported
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So many disturbing videos of violent police behaviour coming out of the US,that echo crackdowns in the region I cover. Here officers in #Minneapolis patrolling an area stop to fire on residents filming them from their own front porch #georgesfloydprotest
BreakThrough News
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As someone who covers these war zones this photo really reminds me of America.
I spotted these National Guard troops at a normal Washington street corner not even near the Capitol. So many streets have been closed. It reminds me of the war zones I saw in Baghdad or Mosul or Falluja. So sad.
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The reports about the World Central Kitchen employees being killed by Israeli strikes comes as footage is shared of the unfathomable destruction to Gaza’s largest hospital Shifa following a 14 day Israeli operation. There are no words.
We are horrified that Al-Shifa hospital is in ruins after a 14-day long operation by Israeli forces in and around the facility. #Gaza’s largest hospital is now out of service. Given the extent of the destruction, people in the north are left with even fewer healthcare options.
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I vowed not to tweet about the #RoyalWedding but I am LOVING how un-British and how un-UK-royal the sermon is right now and how the very very white and constrained royal family members are struggling to handle it. Bishop Michael Curry is an absolute legend. ✨❤️✨
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While everyone was distracted by #USElection - #Israel just carried out its largest demolition in a decade displacing dozens of Palestinians in the West Bank. More than 73 people, including 41 children, were made homeless despite the #Coronavirus pandemic independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Ohad Munder, 9 hugs his father for the first time after being released from captivity in Gaza. (Video: Schneider children’s hospital).
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Israeli army told me today was “the worst day for Israeli civilians ever” recorded. At least 250 dead. One Major said “Parents are learning their children are kidnapped to Gaza from social media: Hamas is uploading photos of Israeli army IDs. It’s chaos” 👇🏼independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Before I lost contact with them, I was speaking to British citizens in Gaza under Israel's intense bombardment. One Manchester resident told me 37 members of his extended family have been killed, he's been displaced 4 times & they're running out of water independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Hamas statement on Telegram says they are “immediately ready” to agree an exchange deal that includes release of all hostages for all Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Comes after families of hostages told Netanyahu this evening they’d consider an “everyone for everyone” deal
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This is what it is like in #Gaza right now for families, when you don’t have a bomb shelter and you’re under intense bombardment from the air, sea and land. This was sent to me by colleagues in the north of the strip, the children are terrified. The fighting must stop.
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I just wanted to clarify that I did not tweet 40 babies had been beheaded. I tweeted that foreign media had been told women and children had been decapitated but we had not been shown bodies - which was my response to reports which had gone viral about the 40 babies. I realised the way my tweet was written was too short to explain the full context, so deleted it. My headline of my story references that toddlers were killed.
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Just to be clear - I’ve spoken to a family member of the person who took the photo of the leaflet - it appears consistent with other photos being shared online. Have reached out to the Israeli military to ask them for comment & confirmation. So far no response.
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Just to reiterate - the WHO has said it is impossible to evacuate hospitals, UN experts say it could amount to forcible transfer. Civilians are always protected under international law whether they choose to evacuate or not.
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Chaos at the border between Poland- #Ukraine as 1000s of families, children are trying to cross. There is a 40km long tail back of cars & I met people who had walked for more than 10 hours in sub zero temperatures. Many now sleeping in the ice. Never seen anything like it
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Alarming reports coming from the Catholic Church in Gaza City where 100s of Christian Palestinians are seeking shelter. Spoke to relatives of those trapped inside they said several people were shot today inside the compound by snipers. Still trying to get more clarity.
Update. Soldiers are at the gates and there was a fire when they hit one of the (already dysfunctional) generators. There is no water left. There are 300 people there. We don’t know why this is happening. Are they going to be expelled from a church just days before Christmas??!
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Israel's defence minister has ordered a "complete siege" on Gaza, they will cut power, block food, fuel. This will be catastrophic for the 2 million inhabitants. Gaza medics told me it'll be a "disaster" for civilians: supplies, power, water already low from existing blockade
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Powerful words from Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni asking Israel for a swift and transparent investigation into the killing of Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah. Witnesses say the shell that killed him came from the direction of Israel
Reuters Press Team
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On Russian strike damaging hospital in Mariupol, Maksym Dotsenko, chief of the Ukrainian Red Cross told me it could cause “complete collapse” of children’s medicine in the city. He said his teams had tried for 4 days in a row to evacuate civilians from the city to no avail 1.
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Wael is still working after losing his wife,
son, daughter, grandson and now
his cameraman and friend Samir even as he is injured. Few - if any - journalists on this planet have gone through what Wael has. And yet he keeps reporting.
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To give you a sense of what Rafah looks like, and how little shelter civilians have from any major offensive - UN workers in Rafah sent me these photos this morning. Tents, tarpaulin, cloth and cardboard protecting Gaza’s displaced children.
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Ukrainian President Zelensky sends a video from the street saying dozens of Iranian missiles / drones fired at Ukraine including Kyiv, Khmelnitsky, Lviv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr among others. “They want panic and chaos”
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Massive massive explosion just rocked #Lebanon. We are in the mountains and heard first explosion then the blast wave which literally pushed us fall to our knees. No idea. But there is massive mushroom cloud.
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This is quite a reaction to news Joe Biden will be the next US president. I am sure it resonates with many people #USElection2020
Aaron Rupar
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“It is an erasure of a people. The world handed us over”. Almost all ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have left in just a few days. This escaped the world largely unnoticed but ends a 3-decade fight for independence that 1000s have died for:
independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Action Aid says Israeli fighter jets launched 8 missiles at makeshift shelters housing displaced people next to @UNRWA warehouses stocking aid in Rafah tonight. They said children, women,men are being burned alive under their tents. So far 50 burned bodies recovered @ActionAidUK
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The othering of people in conflict is why refugees are shut out & left to die. I try not to comment negatively on other people’s work but I wholly disagree with this take. “They seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking” is deeply worrying. Humans are humans. Full stop.
🗣️ "They seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking. War is no longer something visited upon impoverished and remote populations. It can happen to anyone" | Writes Daniel Hannan telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02…
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Leaving aside the international law implications, I cannot emphasise enough how impossible this kind of movement of people would be. I have spent a lot of time in Gaza it is one of the most densely populated places on earth, there are pretty much only 2 roads south - along the coast and down the centre - they aren’t wide or well paved. I spoke to the gaza health ministry yesterday who said *every* hospital was overflowing. How would the wounded and elderly be transported? There is a massive fuel shortage how would vehicles drive? There would be no where for 1.1 million to go even if they got there. Rafah crossing to Egypt I understand is not operational because of Israeli airstrikes.
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My flat is completely destroyed. Not just windows blown in- like door and window frames ripped out. The cats are alive thank god.
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Here’s a video of the Israeli soldiers arresting the children (from @btselem )
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This is the devastating impact of Israel's attack - not only because WCK has had to suspended all their operations, not only because a shipload of aid is turning back, but because other aid agencies will have to do the same. Civilians are starving and more will starve in Gaza
Cyprus says aid ships have turned back from Gaza with some 240 tons of undelivered aid after strike apnews.com/article/israel-ha…
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Horribly eerie scenes from inside a now deserted Stepanakert (Khankendi in Azerbaijan)- empty prams, abandoned child scooters, chairs where people must have waited. It really hits home what has happened watching this. #Nagorno_Karabakh
Hov Nazaretyan
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Horrific news. They were wearing press jackets, clearly identified as journalists. No fighting around them. They were at a live position doing their job. Full statement from @reuters. “We are deeply saddened to learn that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed. Issam was part of a Reuters crew in southern Lebanon who was providing a live signal. We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region, and supporting Issam’s family and colleagues.
Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh also sustained injuries and are seeking medical care.
Our thoughts are with their families at this terrible time.”
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Doctors in Gaza told me they are cleaning wounds with washing up liquid. The WHO says over a third of hospitals have shut, more will close in next 24 hours as generator fuel runs out completely. Gaza's health ministry says healthcare system has collapsed independent.co.uk/news/world…
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And to add this is a new leaflet which was dropped this morning, it is red. (Not the original leaflets with the first evacuation orders in the video).
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The destruction of north Gaza from the sky today: whole areas, neighbourhoods flattened or chewed up. There aren’t really words.
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Of the 82 that the Syrian regime "shot on the spot" in East #Aleppo 13 were children and 11 were women, according to the UN.
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Just got off the phone to a Libyan man who lost 32 family members in the flooding of Derna. It's unimaginable.
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I cannot reach anyone in Gaza right now - nothing is getting going through, I understand network is out across the strip. Reports of very heavy bombardment particularly in the north. Comes amid continued talk of a possible ground incursion.
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Rather then the gunman’s horrific footage we should be sharing this video: it’s of an amazing woman behind an important & brave act of humanity &solidarity in the face of such horror. Thoughts with the family of the man who couldn’t be reached& passed away #NewZealandMosqueAttack
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In Daraa we found Muawiyah: the teen who sparked Syria’s revolution with his anti-Assad graffiti. 13 years on he was among rebels who took Damascus. A tortured child detainee, refugee then fighter: his story is a story of Syria, their fates intertwined ➡️ independent.co.uk/news/world…
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Awkward timing coming in the same week rights group report that Saudi detained 11 (mostly female) activists who campaigned for the right for women to drive. Four of them - including those who have been campaigning since the 1990s - have been released but unclear on what terms. nitter.app/VogueArabia/status/100…
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Extraordinary watching @AJEnglish report live on Israel destroying its offices in #Gaza in an airstrike, the shock from the correspondent and anchor. It also houses the @AP offices as well. Surreal.
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Just received this very worrying message from a friend in #Gaza - “They have targeted a huge chemicals and pesticides store in east of Beit Lahia and setoff a massive fire that flooded the sky of Gaza with poisoning smoke”
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How is this going to be possible where will Palestinian civilians in Gaza go? There are 2 million people in Gaza. Will Egypt unilaterally open its borders?
BREAKING: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Palestinian civilians in Gaza to “leave now” because the Israeli military is going to “turn all Hamas hiding places into rubble”
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The Red Cross is at our door checking in on us - they have gone to every flat within the extended blast radius. Amazing. This young man is just 17 years old and a volunteer. The people of #Lebanon are truly staggering. Thank you @RedCrossLebanon ✨
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The killing of a senior Hezbollah military leader in Beirut and then (reportedly) Hamas’s most senior political leader Haniyeh in Tehran within 24 hours extinguishes any hope of a ceasefire in Gaza and pushes the entire region to the very edge. Future even bleaker now.
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Frightening scenes from UCLA - reporters on the ground posting videos showing pro-Israel counter protesters attacking pro-Palestine sit in.
Sergio Olmos
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Statement from @WCKitchen about the terrible news from Gaza tonight: "One of our Palestinian colleagues, Nadi Sallout, was killed tonight near Deir Al-Balah, Gaza. He was an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core. We are still learning the details of this tragedy, but believe he was off duty at the time. Our thoughts and support are with Nadi's family and the rest of our dedicated team around the world as we mourn this tremendous loss. We will update our website as we learn more."
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A Lebanese bride poses for a wedding photo shoot. Then 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded.
Reuters
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For context before killing 7 @WCKitchen aid workers last night, Israel’s been accused multiple times of bombing aid convoys in Gaza (despite coordination). In Feb @UNRWA said one of its food convoys was hit by naval shell as it prepped to go north👇🏼 UN has reported multiple incidents
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After weeks of work, our short film on the evidence of possible war crimes we uncovered is out. Travelled around Kyiv, Sumy regions where we discovered children bound& shot, underground torture chambers & bodies under the rubble for over a month #Ukraine independent.co.uk/tv/news/uk…
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Absolutely devastating and concerning news. An independent thorough investigation must be launched immediately, perpetrators held to account. Journalism is not a crime. Journalists are not targets. Shireen was a veteran correspondent and her loss is immense.
MCJN expresses its deepest condolences to our members for the death of their colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh, @AJArabic correspondent, whom witnesses said was killed by Israeli soldiers this morning.
For our full statement: facebook.com/MarieColvinNet/…
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It means the world to announce I’m officially the @Independent’s Chief International Correspondent ✨As so many know, journalism is a long and often tricky adventure. Freelance Bel wouldn’t have believed it. I will be moving about covering global news ✨
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How can you charge at and attack mourners holding a coffin? How can you use stun grenades? Especially a funeral where your own forces are accused of killing the deceased - even if you deny it. I have never seen anything like it. The unfathomable disrespect for grief and the dead.
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Ukrainian Red Cross chief told me: “We cannot help them in Mariupol - we have tried to organise evacuation convoys every day. Today, it was the fourth day in a row we tried but we were unsuccessful. They are completely cut off. We cannot even send in a single truck of food.”
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No idea how these kittens survived the flood that completely destroyed this living room (and walls). But as Olha, their hu-mum, says in the background “Always keep your spirits up” 💙💛 Mykolaiv oblast, Ukraine
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And this again shows how huge the blaze is - taken by @timourazhari driving down the main road in front of the port #beirut
Timour Azhari
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My colleagues in Gaza say it’s horrific right now there. They describe dozens, hundreds of airstrikes and instances of artillery fire. They’ve moved to the lower floors but have no bomb shelters. I am extremely concerned about their safety.
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Witnesses told Reuters they weren’t sure how the 5 were killed. However a US official admitted US troops, who are in charge of the airport, earlier fired in the air to scatter the crowd. #Kabul
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Gaza’s health ministry has just released a 212 page document listing what it says are the names, ages, ID numbers of 6747 people - including 2665 children- killed in Israel’s bombardment. Israel has accused Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, of inflating the number of dead & said militants’ misfired rockets have potentially killed 100s. The IDF in previous wars have given its own death toll, when asked this evening the IDF said they did not have a Palestinian death toll.
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Happiness in a clip. The team of one of the tug boats which helped free the #EverGivenShip celebrate. Well deserved. (Via @anasalhajji )
Anas Alhajji
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While the world is watching Ukraine #Saudi executed 81 people in a single day, more than the total number they executed during the whole of last year. The group -includ. seven Yemenis & one Syrian national -were convicted of "multiple heinous crimes", including terrorism says SPA
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