Tensions Persist between Sadrists, Dawa Supporters in Iraq 

A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Tensions Persist between Sadrists, Dawa Supporters in Iraq 

A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)

Tensions persisted between Iraq’s Sadrist movement, headed by influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Dawa party, headed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in spite of their efforts to calm the situation.

The tensions had erupted when a supporter of the Dawa had made offensive remarks against Sadr’s late father, prominent Shiite cleric Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999. The former Iraqi regime is blamed for his killing.

The Dawa party condemned the offense and the Sadrist movement welcomed the statement, thanking members of the party, except for its leader, Maliki.

The Dawa had also called for drafting a law that would criminalize insults to major clerics, especially late Shiite authorities Mohammed Baqer al-Sadr, who was executed by the former regime in 1980, and Sadr’s father.

Relations are already strained between the Dawa and Sadrists in wake of the clashes that erupted in Baghdad’s Green Zone in August 2022. The clashes pitted Sadr supporters against the Coordination Framework and left over 60 dead and hundreds wounded.

In spite of the statements from both parties, tensions persisted on the ground, sparked by attacks against positions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Najaf city and other areas and against two Dawa party headquarters.

The attacks were blamed “unknown gunmen”, a term used in Iraq to refer to a “third party”, which is often accused of carrying out such attacks to avoid an open confrontation between the Dawa and Sadrists.

Moqtada al-Sadr visited on Monday the buildings that were damaged in the attack.

“Sadr’s Minister”, Saleh Mohammed al-Iraqi, tweeted that Sadr “rejects violence and the use of arms by any party.”

Meanwhile, a prominent member of the Sadrist movement, Hassan al-Athari accused the Dawa of insulting the memory of Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr for alleging that he had ties with Saddam Hussein’s former regime.

The Dawa issued a statement to refute Athari’s remarks. It clarified that media claiming to be affiliated with the Dawa were making such statements. It stressed that the party was not linked to these websites and media.

Furthermore, such claims aim at “sowing strife between brothers”.

“All of our platforms and media are committed to journalistic standards and publishing laws. The party would never insult anyone or publish anything that would fuel hostility,” it stated.



94 Palestinians Killed in Gaza, Including 45 People Waiting for Aid

A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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94 Palestinians Killed in Gaza, Including 45 People Waiting for Aid

A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 while attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said Thursday.

Israel’s military did not have immediate comment on the strikes, The Associated Press reported.

Five people were killed while outside sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the newly created, secretive American organization backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip’s population, while 40 others were killed waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of people were killed in airstrikes that pounded the Strip Wednesday night and Thursday morning, including 15 people killed in strikes that hit tents in the sprawling Muwasi zone, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and a strike on a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has passed 57,000, including 223 missing people who have been declared dead. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count but says that more than half of the dead are women and children.

The deaths come as Israel and Hamas inch closer to a possible ceasefire that would end the 21-month war.

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. But Hamas’ response, which emphasized its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialize into an actual pause in fighting.

The Israeli military blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because it operates from populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas members and rocket launchers in northern Gaza that launched rockets towards Israel on Wednesday.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.

The war has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins, with much of the urban landscape flattened in the fighting. More than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced, often multiple times. And the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of people hungry.