After fleeing fear and death, Afghan evacuees start to hope as they wait to be flown to America

Published

4 years ago

August 28, 2021

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In an otherwise forgettable corner of western Germany, you drive round a corner and find yourself in America, complete with planes, jeeps and a lot of soldiers.

Ramstein Air Base is the biggest part of a cluster of American facilities. Together, they make up the biggest community of Americans outside the United States. This is the focus of the country’s air operations within Europe and, right now, it’s hectic.

The base has already dealt with more than 20,000 people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. Many of them have already been flown on to the US, in order to start new lives – but plenty more are still on the base, waiting for their flight.

A huge section of the base has been turned into a tented village, where evacuees are given accommodation, food, drink, a hot shower and both safety and hope.

In Hanger 5, we meet Afghans who are now preparing to leave the base and board a flight to America. Rafi tells me that he would “definitely, definitely” have been killed if he stayed in Kabul.

“You know, all of my family members worked with the US Embassy, and they [the Taliban] blame us for that: ‘Why are your family members working with the US military? You are the criminal’. They say it is a crime to work with the US military and they would kill us.

“I have faced so many difficulties. So I’m glad that they’re going to take us to the United States. Our life is safe and there are no dangers for us.”

That theme, of fleeing death, is one that you hear again and again from the people in the hanger. One man, speaking in broken English, delivered with a smile, told me that he had worked with American advisers and that the Taliban were “really terrible… very, very dangerous for us”. His ambition now, he said, was to live in California.

As we move to leave, a man comes to say hello. His name is Hamid and alongside him is his daughter, Lima. We have only a couple of minutes to talk, but their story is remarkable.

In 2017, Hamid set up a television channel called Zan, which was almost exclusively staffed by women. Among its presenters was Lima. At the start of the month, she was one of Afghanistan’s few female news presenters; now, a few weeks later, she is a refugee.

“It is dangerous to live in Afghanistan with the Taliban,” she told me. “They didn’t allow girls to go school and they are too much scary persons.

“Afghanistan is too difficult for a woman. Some people are saying the Taliban are going to their houses and they are taking their daughters and marrying them. And they didn’t allow girls to go to school. It is scary.”

Hamid smiles stoically, reflecting on the television channel he launched, and has now lost. “It was a 20-year achievement, and we lost it in less than 24 hours. The new life with the new chapters might be stopped, but it’s very difficult. But, you know, we have hope and we have a vision to come back stronger.”

To talk to these Afghans is to be confronted by this curious combination of horror, fear and regret blended with optimism and relief. As we watched, buses carried hundreds of people from the hanger and off towards a waiting passenger jet, chartered from United Airlines, and soon to take all these Afghans towards their new home.

For them, the sense of rescue is evident. But for the American soldiers on this base, the workload is unrelenting. General Josh Olson is the overall commander of the facility. When we spoke, he looked tired and a little frustrated that, in his mind, his people haven’t received the plaudits they deserve.

“Part of the problem is the people’s understanding of what’s going on in the US is very different from the real world. It is a Herculean effort,” he said. “It’s absolutely amazing what our young airmen, our soldiers and our sailors are doing and what we’re asking them to do.

“It’s a heavy burden seeing those soldiers come off that medical evacuation aeroplane. It’s a heavy burden seeing little babies that are, you know, tired, that are crying, that are hungry, that are weary.

“And that’s a heavy burden because each and every single one of those are my responsibility. It is a joint effort of a magnitude that we don’t even understand.”

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of ‘lying’ about starvation in Gaza

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2025

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of 'lying' about starvation in Gaza

Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.

Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.

Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false.

Follow latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’ and ‘distraction’

Sir Trevor asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.

“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”

In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.

The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.

“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.

“This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

He added: “If the newsfeeds and social feeds weren’t so censored in Israel, I imagine that the Israeli people would not permit what has been done in their name.”

Asked about the UK government’s reaction, Geldof said it was “not enough”.

“This is a distraction thing about ‘let’s recognise the state ‘ – absolutely, it should have been done ages ago, but it’s not going to make any material difference,” he said, referring to calls for Sir Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine as a state.

In the Sky News interview earlier this week, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.”

He also claimed that, since May, more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.

It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.

The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.

MSF then described the lack of food and water on the ground “unconscionable”.

In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.

It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.

“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”

The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.

“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.

“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”

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‘I still have hope’: Parents of IDF soldier taken hostage by Hamas fear he’ll be one of last freed

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2025

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'I still have hope': Parents of IDF soldier taken hostage by Hamas fear he'll be one of last freed

Yehuda searches through a downstairs room looking for a plastic bag containing the most precious of objects.

It’s a small, blackened Rubik’s Cube that belongs to Yehuda’s son Nimrod – one of 20 living Israeli hostages still being held by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.

It was found in Nimrod’s burnt-out tank after the October 7th attacks.

“He likes PlayStation and Rubik’s Cube,” says Nimrod’s mother, Vicky.

“They found the Rubik’s Cube in the tank. It was complete but a little bit dark and they brought it back to us.”

We spoke to Nimrod’s parents Yehuda and Vicky about the emotional rollercoaster hostage families in Israel are going through – as hope rises and fades of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

“I still have hope that maybe I will see Nimrod again,” says Vicky.

“It almost breaks my heart because I still had expectation,” she says – in spite of the latest failure to find resolution in talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha.

“But I still have hope that maybe something good will happen,” she says.

Vicky says: “We heard [during] the last weeks, President Trump saying we will hear about a ceasefire soon – next week – in a few days.

“We heard our prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] say visiting Washington and meeting Trump was very successful – and heard members of the coalition talking about our prime minister eventually understanding he needs to end the war. But until now nothing.”

The delegation coming back to Israel doesn’t mean a total collapse of ceasefire talks, but US envoy Steve Witkoff said the response to the latest ceasefire proposals by Hamas showed “a lack of desire”.

And so the rollercoaster of emotion for the hostage families continues.

Middle East latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’

Nimrod’s father Yehuda Cohen said: “Of course it’s a disappointment but it’s not the first one. A long time ago I learned not to get my expectations up so the disappointment won’t be too deep.

“The solution is very simple – I’ve got it on my shirt – ceasefire and hostage deal. Meaning the only way to get all the hostages is ending the war.”

Yehuda shows us Nimrod’s bedroom at the family home. It’s exactly as it was when Nimrod left to return to his army duties a few days before the October 7 attacks.

Except in a corner, there’s a box of uniforms and personal possessions, including a wallet which Nimrod had left at his army outpost – all returned to the family by the IDF.

It’s just like the bedroom of any other teenager – Nimrod was 19 when he was kidnapped. But two birthdays have passed since then. Nimrod is 21 now – a milestone spent in captivity a few weeks ago.

It’s believed there are 20 living Israeli hostages in Gaza – all male – and that Hamas is holding the bodies of 27 more hostages who have been killed.

But even if a deal is agreed, the first phase is expected to secure the release of only half of the living hostages – and Nimrod’s parents say their son, as a soldier, is not likely to be one of the 10.

Yehuda says: “A partial deal means that the probability my son will be on that list is close to zero. So he’s going to be one of the last ones to be released, and that’s why we have to fight.”

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Five killed after Russia and Ukraine trade aerial bombardments

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2025

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Five killed after Russia and Ukraine trade aerial bombardments

At least five people have been killed after Russia and Ukraine traded aerial bombardments overnight, officials have said.

In Ukraine, the southern region of Dnipro and the northeastern region of Sumy were attacked by rockets and drones.

The head of the Dnipro regional administration, Serhii Lysak, said at least three people had died and at least five were injured.

In the city of Dnipro, a multi-storey building and businesses were damaged in the strike, and a fire engulfed a shopping centre in the region.

The military administration in Sumy said three people were injured.

Over three hours, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, was hit by four guided aerial bombs, two ballistic missiles and 15 drones.

In a Telegram post, its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said high-rise residential buildings, local businesses, roads and the communication network were damaged.

He said at least five people were injured, including three rescue workers hit in a double tap strike, where a second attack targets emergency workers trying to help those wounded in the initial attack.

In total, Russia targeted Ukraine with 208 drones and 27 missiles overnight, according to the daily air force report.

It said air defence and electronic warfare took down or intercepted 183 drones and 17 missiles, but hits from 10 missiles and 25 drones had been recorded in nine locations, according to preliminary data.

Officials in Russia said Ukrainian drones targeted several regions overnight, with a drone attack on the border region of Rostov killing two people, according to acting governor Yuri Slyusar.

In the neighbouring Stavropol region, drones hit an industrial facility, governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on Telegram. The attack sparked a brief fire, he added.

Drones also targeted Moscow but were shot down, according to mayor Sergei Sobyanin. They also targeted an industrial facility in the Penza region southeast of the capital, governor Oleg Melnichenko said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down or intercepted a total of 54 Ukrainian drones.