Renewed Protests, Roadblocks Sweep Southern Iraq

Part of the clashes between protesters and security forces in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq(AFP)
Part of the clashes between protesters and security forces in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq(AFP)
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Renewed Protests, Roadblocks Sweep Southern Iraq

Part of the clashes between protesters and security forces in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq(AFP)
Part of the clashes between protesters and security forces in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq(AFP)

Despite overwhelming reports of activists being targeted and security forces using brute force to suppress demonstrations, anti-government protestors continued to rally across Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province, especially in its capital, Nasiriyah.

Dozens have been injured and an activist has been killed, local activists in Nasiriyah reported.

They said the clashes erupted in Haboubi square after anti-riot forces used tear gas and batons in an effort to disperse the protesters who threatened to bring back their tents after having removed them early last December.

“Protesters have regained control of Haboubi Square, and will not leave it until their demands are met, the prosecution of protesters ceases, and all those who were arrested are released,” Iraqi activist Abbas as-Sadawi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dozens were arrested and a protester was killed by security forces’ gunfire at Ibrahim Al-Khalil Square,” Sadawi confirmed.

No security or independent sources, however, have yet confirmed the killing of the activist.

“Nasiriyah is occupied by militias who are trying to take revenge on the people of the city who burned their headquarters last year,” Sadawi noted.

As for why protesters are escalating, activist Ghazwan Adnan says that “the movement is fed up with being targeted by armed groups operating under the umbrella of security forces, and no longer trusts the government to keep its promises on holding perpetrators accountable.”

“Armed groups, in less than a month, have targeted the homes of 18 activists without the authorities taking any action to deter the threat,” Adnan told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It is widely believed that parties affiliated with the Sadrist Movement are behind the attacks,” he added, noting that the protest movement demands the removal of the local police chief over his conspiring with the attackers.

Today, according to Adnan, anti-government activists in Iraq fear getting attacked or arrested more than ever.

“Protesters have recently resorted to cordoning off areas with burning tires,” he explained.

“Today, most of the neighborhoods in Nasiriyah, as well as in some districts and sub-districts in the governorate, have been cut off, with the aim of putting pressure on the authorities and stopping the arrests and targeting of activists,” he added.



Hamas Seeks Ceasefire Guarantees as Scores More Are Killed in Gaza

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in the west of Gaza City, 03 July 2025, amid Israel's ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in the west of Gaza City, 03 July 2025, amid Israel's ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip. (EPA)
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Hamas Seeks Ceasefire Guarantees as Scores More Are Killed in Gaza

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in the west of Gaza City, 03 July 2025, amid Israel's ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in the west of Gaza City, 03 July 2025, amid Israel's ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip. (EPA)

Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war's end, a source close to the group said on Thursday, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed scores more people.

Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire and hostage deal appeared high, nearly 21 months since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

Efforts for a Gaza truce gathered steam after the US secured a ceasefire to end a 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran, but on the ground in Gaza intensified Israeli strikes continued unabated, killing at least 59 people on Thursday, according to health authorities in the territory.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war.

Hamas is seeking clear guarantees that the ceasefire will eventually lead to the war's end, the source close to the group said. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out.

In a statement early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing the ceasefire proposal with other Palestinian factions and would submit its response to mediators once those talks conclude.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been working to secure US and international guarantees that talks on ending the war would continue as a way of convincing Hamas to accept a two-month truce proposal, Egyptian security sources said.

A senior Israeli official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said preparations were in place to approve a ceasefire deal. A separate source familiar with the matter said that Israel was expecting Hamas' response by Friday and that if it was positive, an Israeli delegation would join indirect talks to cement the deal.

The proposal includes the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 more in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, an official familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.

Aid would enter Gaza immediately, and the Israeli military would carry out a phased withdrawal from parts of the enclave, according to the proposal. Negotiations would immediately start on a permanent ceasefire.

"We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 on Thursday. "One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."

Huckabee added that he would be taking part in talks next week at the White House, when Netanyahu is due to meet with Trump.

'WHAT CAN WE DO?'

In Gaza, there was no sign of immediate relief on Thursday. According to medics at Nasser Hospital, at least 20 people were killed by Israeli fire en route to an aid distribution site.

Further north, at least 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike at a school in Gaza City, according to medics. The Israeli military said it targeted a key Hamas gunman operating there and that it took precautions to reduce risk to civilians.

"Suddenly, we found the tent collapsing over us and a fire burning. We don’t know what happened," one witness, Wafaa Al-Arqan, who was among the people sheltering there, told Reuters. "What can we do? Is it fair that all these children burned?"

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while displacing most of the population of more than 2 million, triggering widespread hunger and leaving much of the territory in ruins.

Israel says it won't end the war while Hamas is still armed and ruling Gaza. Hamas, severely weakened, says it won't lay down its weapons but is willing to release all the hostages still in Gaza if Israel ends the war.