‘At least 54 killed’ in Gaza after Israeli forces carry out air and ground attacks
At least 54 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in different parts of Gaza on Sunday, including two schools, according to health officials in the besieged enclave.
An airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis hit a school, killing at least 16 people including several children, according to Nasser Hospital where bodies were taken. There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military.
Footage verified by Sky News shows multiple ambulances at the scene of the attack as well as the top of a building ablaze.
In the north, an airstrike hit the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital where casualties were taken.
The dead included two parents and their daughter, and a father and his son, the hospital was quoted saying by the Associated Press.
A building on fire following the strike in Khan Younis
The strike in Khan Younis is reported to have killed at least 16 people
People flee the scene in Khan Younis
In Gaza City, at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al Ahli Baptist Hospital.
“We woke up to the strike. I woke up with the rubble on top of me,” said Yahia al Yazji as he grieved the loss of his wife, who he said was three months pregnant, and daughter in the attack.
“I found my wife with her head and skull visible, and my daughter’s intestines were gone.”
The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a “terrorist cell” in Gaza City and a “terrorist meeting point” from the air and on the ground in the Beit Hanoun area, killing dozens of militants and capturing others.
An airstrike in central Gaza killed Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed al Louh. The same strike, which hit a civil emergency centre in the Nuseirat market area, also killed five others, medics and journalists said.
The Israeli military claimed Mr al Louh was a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad, without providing evidence.
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Israel’s 14-month war on Hamas in Gaza has killed nearly 45,000 people, Hamas-run local authorities have said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the military campaign on the besieged Palestinian enclave following the 7 October attack by Hamas last year which saw 1,200 people massacred in southern Israel and more than 250 taken hostage.
A well-known former boss of Australia’s national rugby team has denied dozens of sex charges against 10 males.
Alan Jones – who was also a radio presenter for many years – appeared in court for the first time since his arrest last month.
The 83-year-old is accused of 34 charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, sexual touching without consent and common assault.
Some of the complainants are as young as 17 and police said the alleged offences happened between 2001 and 2019.
Jones wasn’t asked to enter a plea during Wednesday’s hearing in Sydney but afterwards told media he would fight the claims at trial.
“I am certainly not guilty and I’ll be presenting my account to a jury,” Jones said.
“These allegations are all either baseless or they distort the truth. I have never indecently assaulted these people. I am emphatic that I’ll be defending every charge,” he added.
Police charged Jones with 24 offences related to eight males on 18 November, prompting two more complainants to come forward.
His lawyer, Bryan Wrench, told the judge his client welcomed a jury trial so he could clear his name.
“There have been many… untruths published by the media and the police in this matter,” Mr Wrench said.
Jones was charged on 18 November. Pic: Reuters
Jones coached the Wallabies – Australia‘s rugby union side – for four years from 1984, winning 86 of his 102 matches.
He went on to host a popular morning radio show in Sydney from 2002 until 2020 and was highly influential in the media.
Jones was also known for his conservative politics and once worked as a speechwriter for Michael Fraser, who was prime minister for eight years until 1983.
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He’s been free on bail since his arrest last month.
An administrative hearing in the case is now scheduled for 11 March.
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