Israel – Hamas war: Palestinian siblings see parents killed in IDF raid

Published

1 year ago

February 14, 2024

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Among the crowds of homeless people now packed into southern Gaza, there is a five-year-old boy called Mu’min who was hit by a grenade.

A fragment from the device passed through his left eye and is lodged in his brain – but the injury he sustained in the kitchen of his home forms just a part of this story.

The incident is just one of an innumerable number of catastrophes experienced by children in Gaza.

Follow latest updates: ‘Dreaded scenario unravelling at alarming speed’, UN warns

More than 10,000 have died according to the territory’s ministry of health. At least 17,000 children have been left unaccompanied or separated from their families according to data released by UNICEF.

Many thousands more have been injured or maimed – and every child is coming to terms with a terrible new reality.

On 15 December, Mu’min, who is disabled, and his siblings Ahmad and Buthaina, lost their parents after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stormed into their house in a suburb north of the centre of Khan Younis.

“They raided our house and they shot our mum and dad. Then they started shooting at us and wounded our brother,” said 11-year-old Ahmad, softly.

“We went to another room, hiding from the soldiers. Then, they started banging on the door and they blew it up,” added nine-year-old Buthaina.

The pair say they were subjected to a lengthy interrogation by IDF soldiers.

“They were interrogating us, asking us to show them the tunnels and to tell them where the resistance fighters were. Then, they gave us a white flag and told us to walk down Salahudin Street,” said Ahmad.

Father tried to avert disaster

Their father, Mohammed Khattab, who was also Mu’min’s primary caregiver, had tried to avert this disaster in the days preceding this disaster.

He asked his brother, Dr Omar Khattab Omar Al Zaqzouq, to alert the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in an increasingly desperate series of messages sent via WhatsApp.

On 7 December, the medic sent this on behalf of his brother: “He said that the tanks behind the house and excavator destroyed the near house.

“It’s very difficult to move without permission.”

On 8 December Dr Khattab pleaded with the same ICRC official: “I called my brother and he said there are tanks around the house – can’t move at all.

“It’s complicated.”

Mu’min has cerebral palsy and the family knew moving him would be difficult. Mr Khattab wanted to notify the Israelis in advance.

The ICRC’s representative tried to reassure them on the same day: “We’ve ensured that the houses would not be bombed or destroyed at night and in the future.”

But their confidence was misplaced.

IDF storm family’s house

On 15 December, IDF soldiers stormed the Khattab family’s home. The children’s aunt, Duaa Khattab Omar Al Zaqzouq, said she was in the kitchen when they entered.

“They knocked down the front wall and entered the house, we were sitting down and having lunch at the time. Then my brother Mohammed was shot. He was at the front, waving a white flag.”

A grenade was thrown into the crowded kitchen, injuring Mr Khattab’s wife Hind and blinding Mumin in the left eye. Family members say a soldier then shot and killed Ms Khattab.

The survivors were interrogated “for three hours” before being allowed to leave.

‘They were firing at us from all directions’

Duaa Khattab was one of a group of nine family members – including five children – who were evicted by the IDF and she said they were forced to walk through an active battlefield.

She said: “We went down Fifth Street and faced three tanks, they fired at us, they were firing at us from all directions. We were walking not knowing where we were going, it was getting dark… every time a child screamed, a bomb went off.”

Family members reached safety in the grounds of the Gaza European Hospital the following day and it was here, several weeks later that our team met Buthaina, sketching with her precious coloured pencils. Ahmad played a little football but we were told both were struggling to speak of their ordeal.

Aunt Duaa is busy now, learning to care for her disabled nephew. She said Mu’min cries all night and she doesn’t know how to make him happy.

She said: “They’ve lost their father and mother in one day, at the same time, in front of their eyes. This is a very difficult thing. No one can cope with this, no one can.”

Incident underscores dangers Gaza residents face, Red Cross says

Sky News provided a detailed description of events including dates, times and coordinates of the Khattab family’s home to officials at the IDF but they did not comment on this incident.

An ICRC statement said: “The tragic incident involving the Khattab family underscores the dangers residents across Gaza face.

“We note that the family’s decision to stay or leave their home was complicated by a young family member’s physical disability, a factor many other families must take into consideration as they make their own individual decisions of how best to protect family members.

“Amidst the widespread violence across Gaza, it remains the legal responsibility of the parties to the conflict to ensure civilians have safe routes to take when they are ordered to evacuate. If civilians are unwilling or unable to evacuate, they still remain protected in their homes under international humanitarian law, a fact that the parties must respect.

“When an ICRC staff member shared in a text message that houses would not be bombed or destroyed, that staff member was relaying information shared with the public by the Israeli Defence Forces specifying that the IDF would pause operations on 8/12/23 to enable the movement of humanitarian aid.

“In general, the ICRC, a humanitarian organization with roughly 125 personnel in Gaza, does not have the capacity to respond to individual families in need of safe passage amidst the fighting.”

World

Ukraine war: Putin announces 30-hour ‘Easter truce’ – but Zelenskyy says Russian attacks continuing

Published

2 hours ago

April 20, 2025

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Ukraine war: Putin announces 30-hour 'Easter truce' - but Zelenskyy says Russian attacks continuing

Vladimir Putin has announced a 30-hour “Easter truce” in Ukraine – but Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian attacks are continuing hours after it was due to begin.

The Ukrainian president shared a statement on X after his Russian counterpart said a ceasefire would last from 6pm on Saturday to midnight on Easter Sunday – both Moscow time, which is two hours ahead of the UK.

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“Guided by humanitarian considerations… the Russian side declares an Easter truce,” Mr Putin said at a meeting with chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov.

“I order that all military actions be stopped for this period.

“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.”

Mr Zelenskyy claimed Russian attacks were continuing despite the truce announcement.

He wrote: “As of now… Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided.

“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow.”

Mr Zelenskyy said in the same statement that a US proposal for a “full and unconditional 30 days ceasefire” has gone “unanswered” by Russia for 39 days.

He added that Ukraine “responded positively” to the American proposal but “Russia ignored it”.

The Ukrainian president said that “if Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly – mirroring Russia’s actions”.

“If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20,” he added.

“That is what will reveal Russia’s true intentions – because 30 hours is enough to make headlines, but not for genuine confidence-building measures. Thirty days could give peace a chance.”

Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha‎ said there had been a “long history” of Mr Putin’s words not “matching his actions”.

“We know his words cannot be trusted and we will look at actions, not words,” he added.

The ceasefire announcement has echoes of January 2023, when Mr Putin ordered his forces in Ukraine to observe a 36-hour truce for Orthodox Christmas.

At that time, Mr Zelenskyy stopped short of stating his forces would reject Mr Putin’s request, but dismissed the Russian move as playing for time to regroup its invasion forces and prepare additional attacks.

Prisoner exchange

It comes as Ukraine and Russia conducted a swap of more than 500 prisoners of war on Saturday, the latest in a series of exchanges since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

Mr Zelenskyy, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said 277 Ukrainian service personnel had returned home from Russian captivity.

Russia’s defence ministry said 246 servicemen had been handed over by Kyiv.

It said a further 31 injured prisoners of war had been handed over to Ukraine and 15 of its own wounded servicemen had also been returned by Kyiv.

The developments come after US President Donald Trump on Friday said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding three-year war.

Mr Trump spoke shortly after secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.

World

Why Putin has suddenly offered an ‘Easter truce’ in Ukraine – and the interesting way it’s being presented

Published

11 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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Why Putin has suddenly offered an 'Easter truce' in Ukraine - and the interesting way it's being presented

Well it is something, but it’s by no means everything – a ceasefire for 30 hours, not 30 days.

This feels like a diplomatic dance, rather than a military, or moral, manoeuvre.

An Easter truce – announced by Vladimir Putin on Saturday – is significant in the sense that, if it holds, it’ll be the first actual cessation of hostilities since the war began.

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

And it’s significant in the sense that it’s the first actual concession made by Moscow since Donald Trump initiated peace negotiations two months ago.

But – and there’s always a “but” when it comes to the Kremlin – how much of a concession is it really? And how much difference will it make militarily?

It’s nowhere near what the White House has been asking for, and it’s nowhere near what Ukraine has previously consented to.

The American president’s first proposal was a full 30-day ceasefire. Kyiv agreed but Moscow didn’t, not without conditions.

Then there was the attempted maritime truce. Again, Moscow’s agreement came with strings attached, in the form of sanctions relief, so it never got off the ground.

So why suddenly suggest a truce now?

America had made no secret of its growing frustration at the lack of progress in peace negotiations.

Trump threatened to “take a pass” on attempts to reach an agreement on Friday after his secretary of state said the US might “walk away”.

I don’t think that in itself would be a problem for Russia, given its military dominance. But I think it could be a problem if Trump blames Putin for the lack of progress, and then pulls the plug on their thaw in relations as well.

So this feels like Putin is giving Trump just enough to keep him on side, without actually making any major concession.

And the way it’s being presented is interesting too – at Russia’s initiative, on humanitarian grounds, Ukraine must “follow our example”.

He’s trying to cast himself as the peacemaker in the eyes of the US president – as the one who give solutions, not problems – which appears contrary to Trump’s opinion of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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More than 90 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in 48 hours, says Gaza health ministry

Published

11 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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More than 90 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in 48 hours, says Gaza health ministry

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 90 people in the past 48 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory has said.

Women and children were among 15 people who were killed overnight on Friday in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.

At least 11 of those who were killed were sheltering in a tent in the designated humanitarian zone of al Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living, the hospital workers said.

A further four people were killed in separate strikes on the city of Rafah, including a mother and her daughter, according to Gaza’s European Hospital, where the bodies were taken.

Israel – which has not commented publicly on the latest strikes – has vowed to intensify attacks across Gaza and occupy large “security zones” inside the area.

It says this is to put pressure on Hamas to release more hostages and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory.

For weeks, Israeli troops have also blockaded Gaza, barring the entry of food and other goods.

Last month, 15 aid workers were killed and buried in a shallow grave after being fired upon by Israeli troops.

Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

The group says it will only return them in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.

Hamas’s armed wing said the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after a guard who was holding him was found killed.

On Tuesday, Hamas said it had lost contact with a group of militants holding Mr Alexander in Gaza.

Earlier this week, the United Nations warned that almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people is relying on the one million prepared meals produced daily by charity kitchens.

The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets, but rising prices make them unaffordable for most, according to the World Food Programme. The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, called it Gaza’s “worst humanitarian crisis” since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023.

Dr Hanan Balkhy, head of the World Health Organisation’s eastern Mediterranean office, urged the new US ambassador in Israel, Mike Huckabee, to push Israel to lift Gaza’s blockade so medicines and other aid can enter the strip.

“I would wish for him to go in and see the situation first hand,” she said on Friday.

In his first appearance as ambassador, Mr Huckabee visited the Western Wall, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem’s Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by US President Donald Trump.

Mr Huckabee said every effort was being made to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages.

Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251.

Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.