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Gaza Block Collapses after Israeli Strike, Rocket Hits Tel Aviv Building

Smoke rises from a building after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza May 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from a building after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza May 11, 2021. (Reuters)
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Gaza Block Collapses after Israeli Strike, Rocket Hits Tel Aviv Building

Smoke rises from a building after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza May 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from a building after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza May 11, 2021. (Reuters)

A 13-storey residential block in the Gaza Strip collapsed on Tuesday night after being hit by an Israeli air strike, witnesses said.

Video footage showed three plumes of thick, black smoke rising from the tower, its upper storeys still intact as they fell. The tower houses an office used by the political leadership of Gaza's rulers, Hamas.

Electricity in the area around the building went out, and residents were using flashlights.

Shortly after the attack, Hamas and the “Islamic Jihad” group said they would respond by firing rockets at Tel Aviv.

Air raid sirens and explosions were heard around the city and Channel 12 television said there had been a direct rocket hit on a building in the suburb of Holon.

Israel halted all flights from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

"We are now carrying out our promise," Hamas's armed wing said in a statement. "The Qassam Brigades are launching their biggest rocket strike against Tel Aviv and its suburbs, with 130 rockets, in response to the enemy's targeting of residential towers."

Hours earlier, Israel had sent 80 jets to bomb Gaza and massed tanks on the border as rocket barrages hit Israeli towns for a second day, deepening a conflict in which at least 28 people in the Palestinian enclave and two in Israel have been killed.

Residents of the block and people living nearby had been warned to evacuate the area around an hour before the air strike, according to witnesses. It was not immediately clear if the building had been fully evacuated, or if there were casualties.

The most serious outbreak of fighting since 2019 between Israel and armed factions in Gaza was triggered by clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday.

The holy city of Jerusalem has been tense during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, with the threat of a court ruling evicting Palestinians from homes claimed by Jewish settlers adding to the friction.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would step up its strikes on Gaza, an enclave of 2 million people, in response to the rocket attacks, which carried on into the early evening.

"Both the strength of the attacks and the frequency of the attacks will be increased," he said in a video statement.

Within an hour, Israel said it had deployed 80 jets to bomb rocket launch sites in and around Gaza City.

Officials said infantry and armor were being dispatched to reinforce the tanks already gathered on the border, evoking memories of the last Israeli ground incursion into Gaza to stop rocket attacks, in 2014.

More than 2,100 Gazans were killed in the seven-week war that followed, according to the Gaza health ministry, along with 73 Israelis, and thousands of homes in Gaza were razed.

On Tuesday, before the block collapsed, the Gaza health ministry said at least 28 Palestinians, including 10 children, had been killed and 152 wounded by Israeli strikes since Hamas on Monday fired rockets towards Jerusalem for the first time since 2014.

Israel's national ambulance service said two women had been killed in rocket strikes on the southern city of Ashkelon.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged all sides to step back, and reminded them of the requirement in international law to try to avoid civilian casualties.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned the rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel but also said he was concerned at the threat of forced eviction of Palestinian residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

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Arab World

Sudanese Political, Civil Groups Propose Ramadan Truce

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
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Sudanese Political, Civil Groups Propose Ramadan Truce

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)

A broad coalition of Sudanese political and civil forces has made an urgent appeal to the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), calling for a “comprehensive humanitarian truce” during the holy month of Ramadan.

The initiative calls for a temporary cessation of hostilities, guarantees for the protection of civilians, and unhindered humanitarian aid delivery, amid increasingly dire humanitarian conditions as Sudanese citizens observe their fourth consecutive Ramadan under gunfire and shelling.

More than ten Sudanese political parties made the appeal, some of which are part of the Civil Democratic Alliance of the Forces of the Revolution (“Sumoud”), led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Prominent signatories include the National Umma Party, the Federal Gathering, and the Sudanese Congress Party.

The document was also endorsed by parties outside the “Sumoud” alliance, most notably the Arab Baath Socialist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party, alongside various civil and trade union groups.

The appeal urges both warring parties — the army and the RSF — to announce a humanitarian truce beginning on the first day of Ramadan. The proposal includes a ceasefire, the safeguarding of civilian facilities, the opening of safe corridors for relief organizations, the immediate release of civilian detainees, and the initiation of prisoner exchange arrangements under international supervision to ensure compliance with humanitarian law.

It also calls for clear monitoring and implementation mechanisms to prevent either side from exploiting the truce for military gains.

The signatories stressed that the initiative comes in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis, particularly among vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly, and to the mounting threats to the lives of millions, which they say require urgent intervention.

This marks the second initiative put forward by political and civil forces to halt the war since its outbreak in 2023. The first resulted in the signing of what became known as the “Addis Ababa Declaration” between the Civil Democratic Forces Alliance (Taqaddum) and the RSF. The declaration was addressed to the army leadership, which neither rejected nor signed it.

Since the fall of the cities of El-Fasher and Babanusa, as well as the town of Heglig in West Kordofan State, clashes between the army and the RSF intensified in South and North Kordofan before subsiding in recent weeks and shifting into more “technical” warfare.

This phase has seen the increased use of combat drones, jamming devices, guided artillery, and aerial munitions, leading to a rise in civilian casualties and injuries.

Arab World

Anger in Iraq Over Use of ‘Greatest Arab Poet’ in Ramadan Ad

The late Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri serves tea to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as portrayed in a Ramadan advertisement
The late Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri serves tea to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as portrayed in a Ramadan advertisement
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Anger in Iraq Over Use of ‘Greatest Arab Poet’ in Ramadan Ad

The late Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri serves tea to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as portrayed in a Ramadan advertisement
The late Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri serves tea to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as portrayed in a Ramadan advertisement

Baghdad - A promotional video produced by a local platform and sponsored by several companies has sparked widespread criticism in Iraq over content described as “irresponsible,” according to the Iraqi Writers and Authors Union, for allegedly insulting the “Greatest Arab Poet,” Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri (1899–1997), as well as former royal-era prime minister Nuri al-Said (1888–1958).

Although the production company branded the advertisement “Unified Iraq,” it depicted al-Jawahiri in an AI-generated image serving tea to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani inside his office. In a similar scene, Nuri al-Said was shown serving tea to former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, triggering a wave of public outrage.

Alongside the controversy over the AI-generated portrayals of al-Jawahiri and al-Said, another debate erupted after the video showed US Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris, British Ambassador Irfan Siddiq, French Ambassador Patrick Durel, and German Ambassador Daniel Krebber at a banquet, appearing to be hosted by Farhad Alaaldin, the Iraqi prime minister’s adviser for foreign affairs.

The advertisement also briefly featured the late Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, holding an umbrella while walking through the streets of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, raising further questions about its purpose.

While the video included a song about “a unified Iraq as a homeland of peace,” critics said its central narrative — built around a homeless young beggar — was confusing and poorly defined. Sources close to the production team told Asharq Al-Awsat that the creators had “their own artistic methods” of expressing the idea.

Government Distances Itself

Amid the mounting backlash, the prime minister’s office expressed rejection of “the virtual video in which al-Jawahiri appeared in a manner inconsistent with the prime minister’s respect and appreciation for his literary and national stature.”

Al-Sudani instructed the Communications and Media Commission to launch an urgent investigation into the entities that produced, promoted, or published the advertisement, citing its alleged offense to cultural icons and state institutions, as well as what he described as the irresponsible and unprofessional use of artificial intelligence technologies.

He also signaled the possibility of legal action against the party responsible for producing what he called “the offensive video against Iraq and its national symbols.”

In contrast, the production company asserted that the PM’s office had prior knowledge of the project, and that the same applied to al-Halbousi. However, sources denied being aware of the inclusion of al-Jawahiri and Nuri al-Said in the work.

The sources also suggested that a government official may have been involved in facilitating the production in cooperation with Al-Bayan University, whose building and offices appeared in the advertisement.

“Deliberate Insult”

The Iraqi Writers and Authors Union condemned what it called an “insult to the immortal al-Jawahiri” after the video showed him serving tea to the prime minister.

In a statement, the union said the act reflected “a deliberate offense to a poet distinguished by his immense cultural and moral value, and his well-known national and humanitarian positions.”

It urged relevant authorities to take a firm and deterrent stance against “irresponsible acts aimed at distorting facts and undermining Iraq’s national symbols.”

The union added that al-Jawahiri remained a national symbol “we proudly present to the world and refuse to see insulted by any party.”

The union was founded in al-Jawahiri’s home in 1959 and he became Iraq’s first journalists’ syndicate head the same year.

Claims of Prior Approvals

Facing intense criticism, the advertisement’s author and head of the production company said all participating political figures had approved the details of the project and filming inside their offices.

She stated that the scenes featuring al-Sudani and al-Halbousi were real, with only the figures of al-Jawahiri and Nuri al-Said later added using artificial intelligence.

In a statement on Instagram, al-Jumaili said the project took two months to complete and was reviewed by several international parties before being shown in Iraq, adding that “no step was taken without official approvals.” She did not specify the nature of those entities or whether the political figures were aware of the AI portrayals alongside them.

She argued that the backlash was politically driven and overlooked the advertisement’s positive messages, later explaining that the tea-serving scenes symbolized a “national identity” passed from past intellectual and political leaders to a new generation of leaders.

Arab World

Trump to Preside over First Meeting of Board of Peace with Many Gaza Questions Unresolved

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
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Trump to Preside over First Meeting of Board of Peace with Many Gaza Questions Unresolved

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US President Donald Trump will preside over the first meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday with unresolved questions on the future of Gaza hanging over an event expected to include representatives from more than 45 nations.

The disarmament of Hamas militants, the size of the reconstruction fund and the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-battered populace of Gaza are among the major questions likely to test the effectiveness of the board in the weeks and months ahead.

Trump is to address the group at the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace - a building in Washington the president recently renamed for himself - and announce that participating nations have raised $5 billion for the reconstruction fund.

The money is expected to be a ‌down payment on ‌a fund that will likely need many more billions.

Trump's Board of Peace has been controversial. It includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives and Trump's suggestion that the Board could eventually address challenges beyond Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the UN's role as the main platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution.

Senior US officials said Trump will also announce that several nations are planning to send thousands of troops to participate in an International Stabilization Force that ⁠will help keep the peace in Gaza.

Disarming Hamas militants in order for the ‌peacekeepers to begin their mission remains a major sticking point, ‌and the force is not expected to deploy for weeks or months.

The Palestinian group Hamas, fearful of Israeli ‌reprisals, has been reluctant to hand over weaponry as part of Trump's 20-point Gaza plan that brought ‌about a fragile ceasefire last October in the two-year Gaza war.

"We are under no illusions on the challenges regarding demilitarization, but we have been encouraged by what the mediators have reported back," a senior administration official said.

MOST SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS NOT ATTENDING

Delegations from 47 countries plus the European Union are expected to attend the event, US officials ‌said. The list includes Israel and a wide array of countries from Albania to Vietnam.

It does not, however, include permanent United Nations Security Council members ⁠like France, Britain, Russia ⁠and China.

Speakers at the event are expected to include Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is expected to have a senior role in the board, US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, and High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov, among other attendees.

A member of the peace board, who declined to be named, said the Gaza plan faces formidable obstacles. Establishing security in the enclave is a precondition for progress in other areas, but the police force is neither ready nor fully trained, said the official.

The official added that a key unresolved question is who would negotiate with Hamas. The peace board’s representatives could do so with countries that have influence over Hamas - notably Qatar and Türkiye- but Israel is deeply skeptical of both.

Another major issue is the flow of aid, which the official described as “disastrous” and in urgent need of scaling up. Even if aid surges in, it remains unclear who will distribute it, the official said.