Connect with us

Published

on

There is evidence Israel could be establishing infrastructure in Gaza signalling plans for a long-term military presence in the Strip.

Satellite imagery, gathered over months, has mapped the creation of a new corridor in northern Gaza that is almost a kilometre in width in some places. It reaches from Gaza’s border with Israel to the edge of the town of Beit Hanoun.

The IDF has bulldozed farmland, orchards and buildings to create the corridor, which allows the IDF some freedom of movement while denying Gazans access to their homes, many of which no longer exist.

Analysts from Forensic Architecture, which have put together the findings, believe it is part of a long-term strategy.

Samaneh Moafi, an analyst at Forensic Architecture
Image:
Samaneh Moafi says corridors are ‘well-honed colonial techniques of fragmentation and separation’

“This is alarming because in the history of Israel’s occupation corridors were used to fragment Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank,” says Samaneh Moafi.

“Corridors are actually well-honed colonial techniques of fragmentation and separation. And lastly, what these corridors are doing, is that they will be preventing access, preventing return [of residents].”

Israel already has control of two strategic ‘corridors’ in Gaza: the Netzarim passage bisects the Strip from east to west cutting off northern Gaza from the south, and Israeli forces have occupied the Philadelphi Corridor since May. The Philadelphi runs nine miles along the southern Gaza border with Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

For years, Hamas used tunnels into the Egyptian Sinai to smuggle goods and weapons into Gaza.

How the area looked in November 2023. Pic: Forensic Architecture
Image:
How the area looked in November 2023. Pic: Forensic Architecture

‘Military strategy is to prevent Hamas re-arming itself’

Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly refused to withdraw Israeli forces from the corridor, fearing Hamas will try and rearm through that route. Hamas has insisted the IDF pulls back.

By January 2024 the IDF had cleared land and appeared to be building a new road. Pic: Forensic Architecture
Image:
By January 2024 the IDF had cleared land and appeared to be building a new road. Pic: Forensic Architecture

“The military strategy here is to prevent Hamas re-arming itself and rebuilding its military power,” explained former Israeli intelligence officer Avi Melamed.

“In that regard, particularly the Philadelphi pass and the Rafah crossing are the most significant critical element: firstly because the fact that Hamas basically either through the tunnels under the Philadelphi road or through Rafah crossing itself, basically was streaming huge amounts of weapons and ammunition to the Gaza Strip.”

By May almost all the homes and farmland within a kilometre of the Gaza border appeared to have been bulldozed. Pic: Forensic Architecture
Image:
By May almost all the homes and farmland within a kilometre of the Gaza border appeared to have been bulldozed. Pic: Forensic Architecture

Additionally, Mr Netanyahu wants to keep Israeli forces along the Netzarim corridor to prevent Hamas fighters from moving within Gaza.

By June the IDF had cleared a corridor more than 900m wide. Pic: Forensic Architecture
Image:
By June the IDF had cleared a corridor more than 900m wide. Pic: Forensic Architecture

‘I see Israel acting freely inside the Gaza Strip’

The ongoing presence of the IDF in these areas is one of the main reasons a ceasefire is yet to be agreed.

“What Hamas have been able to do is to move their terror troops from the north to the south to the different neighbourhoods and if you don’t sever the north from the south then you cannot really blow up in a very systematic way that subterranean arena,” assesses former IDF Colonel Miri Eisin.

“As it is right now, I see Israel acting freely inside the Gaza Strip unless there is a real force that can work instead to stop the terror capabilities.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Israel’s deadly strike on West Bank city

Read more:
Hamas commander killed in West Bank, Israeli military says
Israel and Hamas agree brief ceasefires to distribute polio vaccine
Five killed inside mosque, IDF says

Israel could try to keep military presence in Gaza over long period

On Thursday evening, the Israeli Security Cabinet voted in favour of keeping IDF troops in the Philadelphi Corridor, despite some Israeli security officials advising the prime minister a partial withdrawal could be managed.

One theory a number of security veterans have suggested to Sky News is that Israel will try and keep a military presence in Gaza over a long period – some predict months, while others think it could be years.

The working assumption is the IDF would use these positions as staging posts to effectively fight a counter-insurgency, carrying out operations within Gaza as and when deemed necessary, similar to the way the IDF operates in Palestinian-controlled urban areas of the West Bank.

Israel pushed to present ‘day-after’ plan

Ceasefire talks have continued in Cairo and Doha this week, with lower-level mediators in attendance. They have reportedly focused on the finer details of a ceasefire, parking the bigger issue of the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors for future negotiation.

If neither side compromises on the presence of Israeli forces in these corridors, then a ceasefire will remain unreachable.

Israel has been pushed by Washington, and others, to present a ‘day-after’ plan for Gaza’s future, which would determine who will govern it and who will fund the reconstruction. No comprehensive or agreeable plan has been put forward.

Unless, that is, it is already in motion, as suggested by the satellite analysis: a military occupation designed to keep Israel secure, but would see fighting in Gaza continue for a long time to come.

Continue Reading

World

Drone attacks are intensifying in Sudan – hitting schools and camps homing the displaced

Published

on

By

Drone attacks are intensifying in Sudan - hitting schools and camps homing the displaced

The smell of explosives is still in the air when we arrive.

Hours before, a displacement camp in Atbara housing families who fled the war in Sudan’s capital Khartoum was hit by two drone strikes in a four-pronged attack.

The first bomb on 25 April burned donated tents and killed the children in them.

The second hit a school serving as a shelter for the spillover of homeless families.

Sudan

Chunks of cement and plaster had been blasted off the walls of the classrooms where they slept when the second explosive was dropped.

Blood marked the entrance of the temporary home closest to the crater.

Inside, shattered glass and broken window frames speak to the force of the explosion. We were told by their neighbours that four people in the family were instantly killed.

More on Sudan

“People were torn apart. This is inhumane,” says their neighbour Mahialdeen, whose brother and sister were injured. “We are praying that God lifts this catastrophe. We left Khartoum because of the fighting and found it here.”

Wiping a tear, he says: “It is chasing us.”

Sudan

The sanctuary city held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) about 200 miles northeast of Khartoum has been hit by six drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the start of the year.

These latest strikes are the most deadly.

The drones – known for targeting civilian infrastructure – hit the displacement camp twice, the nearby power station supplying the city with electricity and an empty field with four bombs in the dark, early hours of the morning. First responders have told Sky News that 12 people were killed, including at least two children.

Sudan

RSF increasingly using drones to carry out attacks

Data from the conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED shows the RSF has carried out increasing numbers of drone attacks across the country.

The most targeted states have been Khartoum and North Darfur, where fighting on the ground has been fierce, as well as Atbara’s River Nile State.

The data suggests that the increase in strikes has been driven by a change in tactics following the SAF’s recapture of Khartoum in late March, with the number of strikes carried out by the RSF spiking shortly after their withdrawal from the capital.

Satellite imagery shows the RSF’s airpower has allowed it to continue to attack targets in and around Khartoum.

Nearby Wadi Seidna Airbase was targeted after the attack on Atbara, with damage visible across a large area south of its airfield.

We were given access to the remains of latest suicide drones launched at Khartoum and could not find discernible signs of commercial origin.

Drone experts told Sky News that they are self-built devices made from generic parts with no identifiable manufacturers for the components.

Read more:
Sky reporter returns to family home left in ruins
UK announces £120m aid package for Sudan

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Two years of war in Sudan

Drones sighted in South Darfur are consistent with Chinese models

High-resolution satellite images confirm the presence of drones at the RSF-held Nyala Airport.

While the total number of drones kept at this location is unknown, imagery from Planet Labs shows six on 24 April.

This is the highest number of drones observed at the airport, suggesting an increase in the RSF’s available airpower.

The location and number of drones visible in satellite imagery at Nyala Airport has varied over time, suggesting they are in active use.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Yousra Elbagir visits wartorn home in Sudan

While it is not possible to determine the exact model of drones sighted at Nyala Airport, a report published by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Lab has previously found them to be consistent with the Chinese-produced FH-95.

Analysis carried out by Sky News confirms these findings, with the measurements and visible features matching those of the CH-95 and FH-95. Both designs are produced in China.

The United Arab Emirates is widely accused of supplying Chinese drones to the RSF through South Sudan and Uganda, as well as weapons through Chad. The UAE vehemently denies these claims.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sudanese military in presidential palace

Evidence of new airfields

Satellite imagery viewed by Sky News suggests the RSF has worked to increase its air capabilities outside of South Darfur.

In late 2024, five new airstrips appeared in West Kordofan between the contested cities of North Darfur capital Al Fashir and Khartoum.

While the purpose of these airstrips is unknown, it is clear they carry some level of military significance, having been targeted by air in April.

In high-resolution images, no aircraft can be seen. Damage is visible next to a structure that appears to be an aircraft hangar.

The rapid escalation in drone strikes is being brutally suffered on the ground.

In Atbara’s Police Hospital, we find a ward full of the injured survivors.

One of them, a three-year-old girl called Manasiq, is staring up at the ceiling in wide-eyed shock with her head wrapped in a bandage and her feet covered in dried blood.

Her aunt tells us the explosion flung her small body across the classroom shelter but she miraculously survived.

She has shrapnel in her head and clings onto her aunt as her mother is treated for her own injuries in a ward on the first floor.

Sudan

In a dark room deeper in the ward, a mother sits on the edge of a hospital bed holding her young injured daughter. Her son, only slightly older, is on a smaller adjustable bed further away.

Fadwa looks forlorn and helpless. Her children were spending the night with relatives in the temporary tents when the first strike hit and killed her eight-year-old son.

His surviving sister and brother have been asking after him, but Fadwa can’t bring herself to break the news.

“What can I say? This is our fate. We fled the war in Khartoum but can’t escape the violence,” Fadwa says, staring off in the distance.

“We are condemned to this fate.”

Continue Reading

World

Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

Published

on

By

Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

A ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza has been bombed by drones while it was in international waters.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the NGO responsible for the ship, has pointed the finger at Israel.

Video shows fire raging onboard the vessel, which put out an SOS distress call after it was attacked off the coast of Malta.

It comes as the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice continued this week.

Gaza remains under blockade, with Israel having now refused to allow international aid into the devastated enclave for almost two months despite global outcry.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The hospital Ghena went to for treatment has been destroyed

Following the drone attack, the Maltese government confirmed that after several hours all crew were safe and the fire was under control.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said: “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade (of Gaza) and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”

More on Gaza

It asserted that the drone attack “appears to have specifically targeted the ship’s generator” and had left the vessel at risk of sinking.

Describing the attack, it said: “Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.

Palestinian boy Osama Al-Reqep, 5, lies on a bed at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A five-year-old boy lies on a bed at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: Reuters

“The last communication in the early morning of the 2nd of May, indicated the drones are still circling the ship.”

Read more:
Wildfire in Israel burns 5,000 acres
Israel launches airstrikes near Syria’s presidential palace

It released video footage shot in the dark that showed lights in the sky in front of the ship and the sound of explosions. The footage also showed the vessel on fire.

The Israeli foreign ministry has not commented on what happened.

Yesterday, UN aid coordinator Tom Fletcher called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, which has been in force for almost two months.

“Yes, the hostages must be released, now. They should never have been taken from their families,” he said.

“But international law is unequivocal: As the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in.”

Aid should never be a “bargaining chip”, he added.

‘Children going to bed starving’

Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA said: “The siege on Gaza is the silent killer of children, of older people.

“Families – whole families, seven or eight people – are resorting to sharing one can of beans or peas. Imagine not having anything to feed your children. Children in Gaza are going to bed starving.”

Continue Reading

World

Germany’s far-right AfD party officially classified as ‘extremist’ organisation

Published

on

By

Germany's far-right AfD party officially classified as 'extremist' organisation

Germany’s spy agency has officially classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an “extremist” organisation. 

The party has been growing in popularity and came second in February’s general election.

The country’s domestic intelligence agency said on Friday that it was an extremist entity which threatens democracy.

Its 1,000-page internal report claimed views around ethnicity held by the AfD aim to exclude certain groups from equal participation in society.

“The party’s prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order,” the agency said in a statement.

“Specifically, the AfD considers, for example, German citizens with a migration background from predominantly Muslim countries not equal members of the ethnically defined German people.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Why Germans are voting far-right

Read more
Conservatives win election but AfD makes gains
Analysis: Results show stark east-west divide
Explainer: The woman at the top of the AfD

AfD’s co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla described the decision as a “serious blow to German democracy”.

In a joint statement on Friday, they said: “The AfD is now being publicly discredited and criminalised as an opposition party shortly before the change of government.

“The associated, targeted interference in the democratic decision-making process is therefore clearly politically motivated. The AfD will continue to defend itself legally against this defamation that jeopardises democracy.”

The party leaders have consistently denied the party is either far right or extremist.

Local branches of the party in the east German states of Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt had already been classified as extremist by regional spy chiefs.

The entire party was also previously designated “suspected” far-right extremist.

However, the announcement allows intelligence agencies to increase surveillance on the group.

It may also embolden opponents to try to get the party banned.

Candidate for Chancellor and co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel reacts after exit polls for the 2025 general election, in Berlin, Germany, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Image:
AfD leader Alice Weidel. Pic: Reuters

Anti-AfD protests in Berlin in February. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Anti-AfD protests in Berlin in February. Pic: Reuters

The decision was welcomed by the country’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, who said in a statement that the new assessment was “clear and unequivocal”, adding that the party “discriminates against entire segments of the population and treats citizens with a migration background as second-class Germans”.

She underlined that “there has been no political influence on the findings” but said the new classification was likely to be subject to judicial review.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that although the intelligence agency has provided a “very detailed justification” for the decision, “ban proceedings must not be rushed”.

Anton Baron, a regional politician in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, described the decision as “politically questionable”.

While the ruling is a blow for the party, it is unlikely to influence hardcore supporters, many of whom live in states where the party was already designated extremist at a local level.

Continue Reading

Trending