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On Easter, Israel Prevents Christian Gaza Youth From Entering Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Worshippers hold candles during a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, February 28, 2018.\ AMMAR AWAD/ REUTERS
Worshippers hold candles during a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, February 28, 2018.\ AMMAR AWAD/ REUTERS
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On Easter, Israel Prevents Christian Gaza Youth From Entering Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Worshippers hold candles during a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, February 28, 2018.\ AMMAR AWAD/ REUTERS
Worshippers hold candles during a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, February 28, 2018.\ AMMAR AWAD/ REUTERS

For the first time since Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the siege imposed on it, Israeli authorities decided to prevent the young Palestinians from the Christian communities in the Gaza Strip from entering Jerusalem during the Easter holiday and performing the prayer at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

According to a document issued by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, only Christians over the age of 55 will be allowed to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip to pray at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Easter. Five hundred permits have been issued for the holiday, as compared to 700 for Christmas, but sources in Gaza say that the age restriction means that only about 10 percent of the quota will be filled.

According to Christian clergy in Gaza, who say the limitations are unjustified, only about 120 Christians meet the age criteria and many will not be able to travel without relatives who are under the age limit. George Anton, a Christian community activist from Gaza, said that no permits for Easter have been issued so far.

Lawmaker Aida Touma-Sliman of the Joint List asked Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan to change the entry conditions so that all Christians would “be able to exercise their basic right to freedom of religion.” Touma-Sliman said she has not yet received an answer. “Israel boasts to the whole world that it is a safe place for all religions. But in fact it continues to harm the Palestinian Christian population,” the lawmaker said. She added that the age restriction “constitutes more proof that Israel has never left Gaza and continues to control everything that happens there.”

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Arab World

UNRWA Head Seeks Investigation into Killing of Staff in Gaza War

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini attends a press conference on the last day of his mandate at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 31, 2026. (Reuters)
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini attends a press conference on the last day of his mandate at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 31, 2026. (Reuters)
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UNRWA Head Seeks Investigation into Killing of Staff in Gaza War

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini attends a press conference on the last day of his mandate at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 31, 2026. (Reuters)
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini attends a press conference on the last day of his mandate at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 31, 2026. (Reuters)

Discussions are ‌under way for a UN investigation into the killing of more than 390 employees in the two-year Gaza war, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday, making it the deadliest conflict in the body's history.

"I believe that we need to have a panel – a high-level panel ‌of experts to ‌look into the killing of ‌our ⁠staff," said Philippe Lazzarini, ⁠UNRWA Commissioner-General at a press conference in Geneva on the last day of his term.

The topic has been raised with the office of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and with ⁠member states in New York, he ‌added.

"Part of the ‌reason this has not (been) operationalized yet ‌is there is still an ongoing conflict," ‌he added, referring to Israel's continuing airstrikes in the enclave despite an October ceasefire that ended the Israel-Hamas war.

More than 72,000 Palestinians ‌have been killed since the war in Gaza began in October ⁠2023, ⁠according to local health officials, following an attack on Israel by Hamas-led gunmen in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

Lazzarini, who will be replaced temporarily by Britain's Christian Saunders, warned earlier this month that his organization's viability was in doubt and that any collapse would result in Israel taking over its humanitarian work.

Arab World

Explosion Heard near Iraq's Erbil Airport

People inspect damage at a building whose windows were shattered following air defenses' interception of a projectile or drone over a residential neighborhood in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
People inspect damage at a building whose windows were shattered following air defenses' interception of a projectile or drone over a residential neighborhood in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
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Explosion Heard near Iraq's Erbil Airport

People inspect damage at a building whose windows were shattered following air defenses' interception of a projectile or drone over a residential neighborhood in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
People inspect damage at a building whose windows were shattered following air defenses' interception of a projectile or drone over a residential neighborhood in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region, on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)

An explosion was heard Tuesday morning near the international airport of Erbil, a city in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, an AFP journalist said.

Erbil is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses military advisers attached to a US-led international anti-ISIS coalition.

Regular drone attacks by pro-Iran armed groups have usually been intercepted by air defenses.

Arab World

Palestinian Factions Uncover Israeli Espionage Devices in Gaza

Israeli forces raid the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza in November 2023. (AFP)
Israeli forces raid the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza in November 2023. (AFP)
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Palestinian Factions Uncover Israeli Espionage Devices in Gaza

Israeli forces raid the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza in November 2023. (AFP)
Israeli forces raid the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza in November 2023. (AFP)

Palestinian armed factions in Gaza are intensifying their operations in search of Israeli espionage devices that were planted in the enclave during the latest war.

Sources from the factions told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel managed to plant them through field agents or when its military was active in some parts of Gaza.

The devices include advanced cameras and listening devices that can record sound at distances as far as 500 meters that allow Israel to analyze the voiceprint of wanted suspects.

Up until recently, the factions used to secretly operate to uncover the devices. Last week, one of the devices went off without warning after being discovered by one of the factions inside a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Hours later, an Israeli jet fired two rockets at the location.

Sources from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other factions told Asharq Al-Awsat that their members have discovered several such devices in recent months.

Some were uncovered during the war, after the assassination of some field operatives, and others after the ceasefire took effect.

The sources explained that the devices are built to self-destruct after they are discovered, or they send their users a warning or signal that they have been discovered so that they can be destroyed.

The majority of the devices that have been discovered so far were sending information, images or recordings to Israeli drones.

Some of the devices were uncovered in hospitals that the army had raided during the war, such as Al-Shifa Hospital and others.

One source said searches uncovered devices placed in hospital furniture. They carried cameras that can shoot distances of at least 800 meters. Other devices were used for recording sounds, which likely allowed users to recognize the voice of wanted suspects.

Some devices were discovered after rainfall. One source explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that flooding in Khan Younis unearthed devices that were likely planted by collaborators with Israel. Some devices were placed inside wooden boxes that were concealed in rocks.

Factions also concluded that Israeli drones would drop espionage devices in “dead security zones” where they can be picked up by collaborators who would plant them in specified locations in Gaza.

Devices have been discovered in the streets and inside destroyed houses. They were likely used to detect the movement of members of factions.

Israel has long planted espionage devices in Gaza, preceding the October 2023 war.

One of the sources said devices were discovered inside offices of the factions and even the houses of their members.

The devices would have entered Gaza concealed in trade goods allowed into the enclave and received by collaborators in various ways.

In May 2018, six members of Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, were killed when an espionage device they were inspecting blew up.

Investigations soon after discovered major security breaches inside the Qassam that allowed Israel to spy on them. The discovery thwarted the spy operation, the Brigades said at the time.