Dozens Injured During Protests Marking 27th Anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre

Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron during protests marking 27th anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque massacre on Friday, February 26, 2021. (AFP) 0
Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron during protests marking 27th anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque massacre on Friday, February 26, 2021. (AFP) 0
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Dozens Injured During Protests Marking 27th Anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre

Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron during protests marking 27th anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque massacre on Friday, February 26, 2021. (AFP) 0
Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron during protests marking 27th anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque massacre on Friday, February 26, 2021. (AFP) 0

Two Palestinian children were injured and dozens of civilians suffocated in Hebron and various occupied Palestinian cities on Friday as the Israeli army attempted to oppress peaceful protests marking the anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre.

In Hebron, Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas at citizens who marched the streets from Ali al-Bakka Mosque in the city center to commemorate the massacre’s 27th anniversary and condemn the occupation forces’ measures and attacks on the Mosque.

Demonstrators raised the Palestinian flag and pictures of the mosque and the martyrs while chanting slogans denouncing the settlers and the army’s crimes against Palestinians.

On Feb. 25, 1994, during dawn prayer, hundreds of Palestinians were attacked by mass shootings and bombings at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. The attack killed 29 worshippers and injured 150 others.

Israeli soldiers who were present back then closed the doors of the mosque to prevent worshipers from leaving and did not allow the entrance of people who tried to save the wounded.

Later, other Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli bullets, taking the number of martyrs to 50.

Palestinians launched their weekly peaceful rallies after Friday prayers to protest this massacre and the continuation of repression, Judaization, occupation, and settlement policies.

The Israeli army used rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse the marchers.

In Saffa village, west of Ramallah, Israeli forces shot and injured 16-year-old Ahmad Falna in the leg with live ammunition.

Occupation soldiers took the child in an ambulance to Hadassah Hospital in West Jerusalem.

In the weekly anti-settlement protest in Kafr Qaddum to demand the reopening of the village street, which has been closed for more than 17 years, a 10-year-old child was wounded with a sponge-tipped bullet in the chest.

Dozens suffocated and five others were arrested after the Israeli army dispersed marches condemning settlement in the occupied West Bank.

On Friday at dawn, dozens of settlers, under the protection of the Israeli army forces, stormed the Islamic shrines in Kafel Haris town, north of Salfit city.

Friday prayers were performed on the ruins of the Alayan family demolished building by the occupation municipality in Deir Jarir village.



Senior Hezbollah Commander Reportedly Killed by Israel in Beirut Suburbs Strike

The scene following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
The scene following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Senior Hezbollah Commander Reportedly Killed by Israel in Beirut Suburbs Strike

The scene following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
The scene following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

A senior commander from Hezbollah's elite force was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, the first on the area in nearly a month, a source close to the group said.

At least 11 other people were killed in strikes across the south and east, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military had targeted "the commander of Hezbollah's Radwan force.”

The source close to Hezbollah told AFP on condition of anonymity that "Malek Ballout, the operations commander in the Radwan force" was killed.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency had reported that "Israeli warplanes launched an attack, targeting Ghobeiri" in the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

An AFP correspondent saw a building covered in rubble following the strike, as people left the area with their belongings.

Many of the southern suburbs' residents had already left after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March, and have not returned despite the truce in force since April 17.

A Lebanese security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the strike hit an apartment in which Radwan leaders were holding a meeting.

Beirut and its southern suburbs had been spared Israeli attacks since April 8, when massive Israeli strikes across the country killed more than 350 people.

Wednesday's attack came as US President Donald Trump said there was "a very good chance" of sealing a peace deal with Iran.

First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs on May 6, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon, particularly the south, since the truce, with Hezbollah retaliating by launching attacks on Israeli troops.

The Israeli military said in a statement Thursday that an "explosive drone impact" wounded four soldiers -- one severely -- in southern Lebanon the previous day.

At least 11 people were killed in earlier Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said.

In Saksakiyeh, four people were killed and 33 wounded, including six children and four women.

The NNA also reported strikes across the south, including several on the town of Yater.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people and displaced more than a million, particularly from southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, since March 2.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday it had "verified 152 attacks on healthcare that resulted in 103 deaths and 241 injuries.”

"These attacks have resulted in the closure of three hospitals and 41 primary health centers and caused damage to a further 16 hospitals."

The terms of the ceasefire allow Israel to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks" by Hezbollah.

Visiting troops in southern Lebanon, where Israel has established a "yellow line,” Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said they will "seize every opportunity to deepen the dismantling of Hezbollah and continue weakening it.”


Israeli Court Rejects Flotilla Activists’ Appeal Challenging Detention

 Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. (Reuters)
Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Court Rejects Flotilla Activists’ Appeal Challenging Detention

 Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. (Reuters)
Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. (Reuters)

An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, with the rights group representing them denouncing the ruling as "unlawful."

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday.

The two were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.

On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended their detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.

The lawyers then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention, but it was rejected.

"Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court and kept the previous decision," lawyer Hadeel Abu Salih said.

The two activists, who are on a hunger strike, had appeared in the district court with their feet shackled, an AFP journalist saw.

Abu Keshek looked exhausted and sat with his hands clasped in his lap, while Avila appeared calm.

Abu Salih said her clients had been subjected to "an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy without any authority".

She went on to accuse the courts of "giving a free hand for the Israeli forces... to do it again and again".

- 'Unlawful and unreasonable' -

Israeli rights group Adalah, which is representing the pair, called Wednesday's court decision "unlawful and unreasonable".

"This is especially egregious given that the activists were abducted from an Italian-flagged vessel, placing them under Italian jurisdiction," it said.

Adalah has also accused the authorities of subjecting the men to continuous abuse in detention, including keeping Avila in a cold cell.

Abu Salih said Abu Keshek reported giving up water, as well as food, and that the two men said authorities "keep interrogating them for most of the time, most of the day" about the flotilla, she added.

Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men.

Adalah said authorities have accused the pair of "assisting the enemy during wartime" and "membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization".

Israel says both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of "clandestinely acting on behalf of" Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have called for their swift release.

"It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it," UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.


Israeli Airstrike Kills Colonel in Hamas-Led Gaza Police Force, Medics Say

 Palestinians carry the body of Naseem al-Kalazani, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians carry the body of Naseem al-Kalazani, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP)
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Israeli Airstrike Kills Colonel in Hamas-Led Gaza Police Force, Medics Say

 Palestinians carry the body of Naseem al-Kalazani, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians carry the body of Naseem al-Kalazani, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP)

An Israeli ‌airstrike killed a senior officer in the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip, health officials and Hamas sources said on Wednesday.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed Naseem al-Kalazani, a colonel in the Hamas-run police force, when it targeted his vehicle near the al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis, south ‌of the enclave. The ‌attack wounded at least ‌17 ⁠other people, they added.

Kalazani ⁠led the anti-narcotics force in Khan Younis, Hamas sources said.

Reuters has previously reported that Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run police force, which the group has used to reinforce ⁠its hold in the areas ‌it controls in ‌the strip.

There was no immediate Israeli comment ‌on the incident.

Violence in Gaza has ‌persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks on Palestinians. Israel and Hamas have blamed each other ‌for ceasefire violations.

At least 830 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire ⁠deal ⁠took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says fighters have killed four of its soldiers over the same period.

Israel says its strikes are aimed at thwarting attempts by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters to stage attacks against its forces.

More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war started in October 2023, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.