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UN Demands Israel Prevent 'Genocide' in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents in the Gaza Strip, pictured in January, and conditions remain dire despite the ceasefire. Bashar Taleb / AFP/File
Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents in the Gaza Strip, pictured in January, and conditions remain dire despite the ceasefire. Bashar Taleb / AFP/File
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UN Demands Israel Prevent 'Genocide' in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents in the Gaza Strip, pictured in January, and conditions remain dire despite the ceasefire. Bashar Taleb / AFP/File
Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents in the Gaza Strip, pictured in January, and conditions remain dire despite the ceasefire. Bashar Taleb / AFP/File

The United Nations demanded Monday that Israel take measures to prevent acts of "genocide" in Gaza, and decried indications of "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory and in the occupied West Bank.

In a fresh report, the UN rights office said Israel's actions in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 involved "gross violations" of international law, amounting in many cases to "war crimes and other atrocity crimes".

UN rights chief Volker Turk called in the report on Israel to ensure compliance with a 2024 International Court of Justice order that it take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, AFP reported.

Israel, he said, should ensure "with immediate effect that its military does not engage in acts of genocide, (and take) all measures to prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide".

Israel has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of genocide, which have previously been brought by rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as independent UN experts, but never by the United Nations directly.

- 'Unlawful killings' -

Monday's report, which covered the period from October 7, 2023, when Hamas's unprecedented attack inside Israel sparked the Gaza war, up to May 2025, also condemned "serious violations" including some amounting to war crimes, by Palestinian armed groups during the initial attack and after.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Monday's report highlighted the abuse suffered by the hostages seized by the Palestinian armed groups, many of whom reported torture and sexual abuse as they were held "in inhumane conditions" for months on end.

"Most hostages who died in Gaza died while held in secret detention, either killed by their captors or impacts of the conflict occurring around them," it said.

Most of the focus however was on Israel's actions in Gaza, where its retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 72,000 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents and conditions remain dire despite a ceasefire that took effect in October last year.

"The ceasefire diminished the immense scale of violence up to that point, and opened some modest humanitarian space," Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN rights office in the occupied Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva.

"But killings and the destruction of infrastructure have continued on an almost daily basis, and the overall humanitarian situation remains dire," he warned.

A large proportion of the killings since the start of the war "appear unlawful", the report said.

It also highlighted how Israel had "directed attacks on civilian or protected objects, including healthcare and medical facilities and attacks on civilians, including journalists, civil defenders, health workers, humanitarian actors and police in a routine and repeated fashion".

Israel's conduct in Gaza had rendered living conditions in much of the territory "incompatible with Palestinians continued existence as a group", it warned.

The report also looked at the situation in the West Bank, where violence has spiralled since the start of the war in Gaza, pointing out that "the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force (there had) led to hundreds of unlawful killings".

- 'Collective punishment' -

"Force displacement on a mass scale" had been seen in both Gaza and the West Bank, it said.

It charged that "the deliberate and unlawful destruction of wide swathes of Gaza", coupled with "the emptying and destruction of large parts of refugee camps in northern West Bank", had contributed to forcing Palestinians from their homes, "with strong indications that Israel intends their displacement to be permanent".

Taken together, Israel's repeated violations across the occupied Palestinian territories indicated a pattern aimed at doling out "collective punishment of Palestinians", and "forced displacement, emptying and ethnic cleansing of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory", said the report.

"Incitement and derogatory and dehumanising language targeted at Palestinians as a group from Israeli officials was also observed with no accountability," it warned.

The rights office stressed that it was "essential that there is due reckoning" for all violations listed in the report through "credible and impartial judicial bodies".

Sunghay warned that "in a context like this, lack of action is not passivity. It is a license".

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Arab World

Iraq’s ‘Oil Network’ Arrests Reach Another Official

Iraqi security personnel patrol a street in Baghdad on June 28. (AFP)
Iraqi security personnel patrol a street in Baghdad on June 28. (AFP)
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Iraq’s ‘Oil Network’ Arrests Reach Another Official

Iraqi security personnel patrol a street in Baghdad on June 28. (AFP)
Iraqi security personnel patrol a street in Baghdad on June 28. (AFP)

An Iraqi security force on Thursday arrested Hussein Talib, director general of the state-run Oil Products Distribution Company, on suspicion of involvement in corruption cases, hours before he was scheduled to take the constitutional oath as a replacement member of parliament, a security source said.

Talib’s detention came as investigations into corruption linked to the oil sector widened. The Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court announced Thursday that an additional 14 billion Iraqi dinars, or about $10.7 million, had been seized in the case of detained Oil Ministry Undersecretary Adnan al-Jumaili.

Talib, who heads the Oil Ministry-affiliated company, had been named to replace lawmaker Ammar Mousa as a Baghdad representative for the National State Forces Alliance. His arrest prevented him from taking the oath, the source said.

The National Wisdom Movement, led by Ammar al-Hakim and of which Talib is a member, said it supported measures taken by the government, judiciary and Integrity Commission to combat corruption.

Movement spokesman Hossam al-Hassani said it backed legal action aimed at protecting public funds, adding that an official’s compliance with investigative procedures demonstrated respect for constitutional and legal institutions.

He stressed that “the accused is innocent until proven guilty by a final court ruling,” adding that any legal responsibility, if established, was personal and should not extend to any political, social or institutional entity. He urged against prejudging or politically exploiting the case.

Iraqi security forces last week arrested politicians, lawmakers and senior government officials named in al-Jumaili’s confessions. Security and legal sources described the arrests as the beginning of a broader anti-corruption campaign ordered by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.

Al-Zaidi, who took office in May, has pledged to root out corruption, one of Iraq’s most persistent challenges despite repeated accountability promises by successive governments.

An investigating judge said continued inquiries into the waste of public funds in projects led authorities to discover money hidden in a stormwater drainage pit. Investigations were continuing to identify all members of the network.

Parliament also voted Thursday to dismiss National Investment Commission Chairman Haider Makkiya and refer the relevant files to the Integrity Commission after he failed to attend a questioning session.

Al-Zaidi said his government would fight corruption “without exceptions or red lines,” pursue those involved and recover stolen funds.

Local media also reported that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein discussed in Kuwait efforts to freeze and recover money allegedly deposited in Kuwaiti banks by corruption suspects, as well as cooperation to identify shell companies and return assets to Iraq.

Arab World

Syrian Authorities Say Captured ISIS-linked Cell Behind Blasts

Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
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Syrian Authorities Say Captured ISIS-linked Cell Behind Blasts

Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Syrian officials said late Thursday the country had captured an ISIS-linked cell responsible for two bomb blasts during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Damascus earlier this week.

In a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Macron said we must "not let ourselves be destabilized" by such attacks, and the two leaders vowed to boost ties with new ambassadors to be installed in each country.

Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab said that "the cell responsible for the terrorist bombings that targeted Damascus two days ago is now in our custody".

"Once the investigations are completed, we will reveal to the public the identities of the cell's members, their roles, and all of their affiliations and connections," he wrote on X.

Ahmad Dalati, head of interior security for the Damascus region, said on Syrian state television that preliminary investigations indicated "the cell was affiliated with the ISIS group".

The interior ministry said in a statement that the cell had been captured following a series of raids "carried out at the same time against the suspects' different locations across Damascus and its countryside".

The statement said the raids occurred in four neighborhoods.

Two blasts hit central Damascus on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding dozens during the French president's first visit to Syria.

The explosives had been planted near the Four Seasons Hotel, where Macron had spent the night, with Syria's interior ministry saying one was placed in a garbage container and the other in a vehicle near the hotel in the heart of the capital.

Arab World

Hamas Shifts Its Center of Gravity to Türkiye, Seeks Rapprochement with Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya in Istanbul. (Hamas)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya in Istanbul. (Hamas)
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Hamas Shifts Its Center of Gravity to Türkiye, Seeks Rapprochement with Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya in Istanbul. (Hamas)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya in Istanbul. (Hamas)

Hamas has shifted much of its organizational center of gravity toward Türkiye in recent months, according to meetings, activities and public positions by the group, after years in which it kept its operations there at a distance and reduced its presence.

The shift has coincided with statements of condemnation and solidarity after bombings in Syria, whose new government Hamas is seeking to approach.

The clearest sign of Hamas’s growing reliance on Ankara came in May, when the group chose Türkiye as the venue for internal elections to select the head of its political bureau. The vote ended without a decisive result.

Three Hamas sources abroad told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group had recently resumed holding its meetings in Türkiye, after using the Qatari capital Doha in recent years for meetings and internal elections.

In recent years, Turkish security agencies have announced the dismantling of “espionage networks working for Israel’s Mossad”. Turkish media reports, citing investigations, said some of the networks’ activities involved tracking Hamas members and activity in Türkiye, along with other missions.

Israel had repeatedly demanded that Türkiye deport senior Hamas figures, including prisoners freed in a 2011 exchange deal for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The most prominent among them was Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, who was in Türkiye from 2011 to 2015. He moved almost permanently to Beirut’s southern suburbs in 2017 and remained there until Israel assassinated him in January 2024.

The three sources said in separate accounts that the recent election for head of the political bureau, which ended without a decision, was held in Istanbul with leaders from the political bureau and the Shura Council present. They said the process would also resume there soon if the voting inside the Palestinian territories is completed after its recent renewal.

A dispute with Qatar?

The sources said the vast majority of Hamas leaders have recently been based in Türkiye and have stayed there for extended periods, including leaders whose families live in Qatar.

They said all meetings now being held, whether on ceasefire discussions, internal affairs or other files, are taking place in Türkiye.

Israel targeted a meeting of Hamas leaders in Doha last September. Hamas said its senior officials survived, but five of its members were killed, along with a member of Qatar’s security forces.

Asked by Asharq Al-Awsat whether the transfer of most meetings to Türkiye reflected security concerns or a dispute with Qatar, one senior source said: “This does not amount to a dispute with Qatar; rather, it came to ease the burden on Qatar in the face of US pressure, driven by Israel, demanding the expulsion of the movement’s leaders.”

A second source said: “The Hamas leadership still maintains a solid and strong relationship with Qatari officials, who continue to welcome the movement’s leadership.”

The third source said Türkiye was now a safer destination after the Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha. “Israel, at least, cannot attack targets in Türkiye from the air, although it can carry out assassinations by other means. But its options are also limited,” the source said.

The source said the security situation in Qatar, amid continuing tension and strikes between Iran and the United States, could create a gap that Israel might exploit to carry out its plan to assassinate the group’s leaders, “as it did last time.”

Although Israel pledged to US President Donald Trump’s administration not to repeat the attack, the source said, “it cannot be trusted and may do it again.”

Moves toward Syria

The activity in Türkiye has notably coincided with two Hamas statements issued about a week apart, condemning two bombings in Damascus. The first took place near the Palace of Justice, while the second coincided with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Syria.

Syria and Türkiye have had strong ties since the overthrow of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Hamas’s condemnations came as Islamic Jihad, which is closely linked to Iran, remained silent.

In its statement condemning the first blast, Hamas said that “targeting innocent civilians and terrorizing peaceful people is a crime condemned by all standards, and serves only projects of chaos and the destabilization of security and stability.”

It offered condolences to “the families of the victims, and to the Syrian Arab Republic, its leadership, government and people.”

Hamas also declared its “full solidarity with sisterly Syria in confronting this crime” and said it was confident in “the ability of Syria, its leadership and people, to overcome this ordeal and preserve its security and stability.”

The second statement used almost the same language. Hamas said that “targeting Syria’s security and stability represents a blatant assault that serves suspicious agendas aimed at undermining the region’s security and stirring chaos in it.”

The senior Hamas source said “openness to the new Syrian government, or to other Arab, Islamic and international countries, is natural, since the movement is a national liberation movement seeking normal relations with everyone based on mutual respect, in line with the interests of each party, and in a way that guarantees everyone’s safety and non-interference in the affairs of others.”

Asked whether any further step was expected in the rapprochement, the source said: “So far, there is no plan for any official visit by a delegation from the movement, but such an option appears likely after the internal situation of the new government improves and it rearranges its domestic and foreign priorities.”

According to a source from one of the Palestinian factions that had been active in Syria before suspending its activities there, Hamas has what he described as “good relations with the Syrian government”.

The source said Hamas had mediated in cases involving Palestinians from several factions who were detained over their previous activities before being released and moving to other countries. Others, he said, were forced to leave voluntarily for several countries.

The Hamas sources declined to confirm or deny the information.