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Iraqi Government Takes Security Measures to Protect Embassies in Baghdad

Iraqi security forces in Baghdad (File photo: Reuters)
Iraqi security forces in Baghdad (File photo: Reuters)
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Iraqi Government Takes Security Measures to Protect Embassies in Baghdad

Iraqi security forces in Baghdad (File photo: Reuters)
Iraqi security forces in Baghdad (File photo: Reuters)

Iraq's Joint Operations Command of the Defense Ministry directed the necessity of strengthening security measures at the foreign embassies in Baghdad, namely those of countries that expressed "negative positions" regarding the events in the Gaza Strip.

The Joint Operations instructed the Directorate of Police for the Protection of Embassies and Diplomats to boost the units and security measures near the Turkish Cultural Center in al-Weziriye, the Ukrainian and Bahraini embassies in al-Mansour area, and the French embassy on al-Saadoun Street near Kahramana Square.

Concerning the US and British embassies in the Green Zone, the joint operations instructed the command of the Special Division to take the necessary security measures.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government announced Thursday that Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani had directed a dispatch of humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

Iraq’s government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said in a statement that, in coordination with the Egyptian authorities, Iraq decided to send medical and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

Furthermore, the leader of the Sadr Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called for a million-man protest that brought together the Iraqi people from numerous governorates after Friday prayers against the occupation.

Also, Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Ali al-Sistani called on the world to stand up to the "terrible brutality" happening in Gaza and prevent Israel from inflicting further harm on the Palestinian people.

Prominent Shiite leader Bashir al-Najafi urged the "honorable people of the world" to stand firmly with the Palestinian people, defending their natural rights to reclaim their usurped land.

In a statement released by his office, he emphasized that eradicating this "cancerous tumor" requires the collective efforts of honorable believers.

In addition, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Dawa Party in Iraq and former Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, warned foreign countries against providing military aid to Israel because it would expand the scope of the war.

Maliki warned in a video message that any military assistance to Israelis represents an actual participation in the war against the Palestinian people.

He asserted that ISIS and Zionism are two sides of the same coin, saluting the Palestinian people in their battle against the Zionist entity.

Maliki said that the organized killing of Palestinians in Gaza by the Zionist military machine represents a continuation of the Zionist doctrine of brutal genocide.

The former official noted that this is a "disgrace on the foreheads of countries that say they defend rights and incite the Zionist entity to commit crimes."

"Where are the United Nations, the international system, where are human rights, and is there anything worse than what we are seeing today regarding support for the treacherous Zionist war machine?" wondered Maliki, referring to the Muslim and Arab countries supporting Palestinians and their rights.

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49 Killed by Israeli Strikes in Gaza over 24 Hours, as Mediators Scramble to Restart Ceasefire

Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)
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49 Killed by Israeli Strikes in Gaza over 24 Hours, as Mediators Scramble to Restart Ceasefire

Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)

 

At least 49 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to health officials, as Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire.
An airstrike in a neighborhood in western Gaza City early Saturday morning, flattened a three-story house, killing 10 people, according to a cameraman cooperating with The Associated Press. The number was confirmed by Gaza’s Health Ministry, along with three more people who were killed in the Shati refugee camp along the city's shoreline.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the strikes.
The attacks come as Hamas said on Saturday that it sent a high-level delegation to Cairo to try and get the stalled ceasefire back on track.
Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas last month and has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed, or disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza indefinitely and implement President Donald Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of the population in other countries, which has been widely rejected internationally.
Hamas has said it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in January.
Hamas said Saturday that the delegation will discuss with Egyptian officials the group's vision to end the war, which includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and reconstruction.
Earlier this week, other Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to discuss a proposal that would include a five-to-seven year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said.
Egypt and Qatar are still developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade on Gaza even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.
On Friday, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza had run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory. The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.
About 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told The Associated Press.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 of the Hamas group, without providing evidence.
The war began when the Hamas-led group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The militants still have 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.