Month After War on Gaza: Palestinian Deaths Top Russia-Ukraine War Toll

A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
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Month After War on Gaza: Palestinian Deaths Top Russia-Ukraine War Toll

A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)

The number of deaths one month since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza reached frightening numbers as the situation becomes increasingly horrifying, portending more victims.

Israel announced the war could be extended for several months, perhaps even a year.

Palestinian sources confirmed that the number of Palestinians killed in one month exceeded the number of deaths in the Ukraine war, which reached 9,806 victims over nearly two years.

Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli strikes had exceeded 10,328, while Israel estimates their number at more than 20,000, including 4,237 children and 2,716 women, in addition to 25,956 injuries.

More than 120,000 homes were destroyed and about 1.2 million citizens were displaced.

In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel killed 220 people, arrested 2,215 others, and demolished 120 homes.

According to Israeli reports, the number of deaths is more than that of the 1967 war that Israel fought against three Arab armies, with 779 deaths, including 850 civilians and 5,500 injuries.

The Israeli government evacuated 115,000 residents, while about 109,000 decided to leave from 29 settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip and 22 others on the Lebanese border.

According to the Israelis, the war began in response to Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, and the capturing of 240 Israelis and foreigners as hostages.

Israel officially declared war on Hamas to “annihilate” the movement and terminate its ability to rule and its military capabilities.

Tel Aviv admitted it had taken a new form of warfare, bombing Gaza without mercy from afar, using the air force, navy, artillery, and tanks to destroy any place where Hamas leaders or any of its armed members were located, even if it was crowded among civilians.

It claims Hamas leaders are using civilians as human shields. As a result of these claims, Israel has bombed hospitals and schools.

Three weeks into this terrible bombing, the Israeli army began a ground operation searching for Hamas leaders and kidnapped Israelis.

Israel insists that the attack has nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that the movement is pursuing a brutal path in its war against Jewish civilians and even Muslim Arabs.

In response, Palestinians say Israel has been insisting on besieging the Gaza Strip for 16 years, and from time to time, launched a military operation in which it destroys the enclave, killing thousands of Palestinians and exacerbating the economic and social situation there.

They said Israel continues its occupation of the West Bank and Judaization of Jerusalem with massive settlement projects, violating the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque. It carries out widespread arrests and degrades prisoners.

Moreover, Tel Aviv allows settlers to carry out bloody criminal attacks on Palestinians and denies their rights.

- The hysteric Israeli response

Palestinians said the Hamas attack came within the framework of resistance to the occupation’s projects, describing the Israeli response as hysterical because Tel Aviv did not imagine Palestinians were capable of penetrating their fortified defenses and carry out a successful military attack.

They added that Israel wants to implement its old plans to destroy Gaza and deport its people to Egypt, with the hope of expelling the Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan later.

Palestinians called the war the second Nakba, saying the Israeli army drops a thousand tons of explosives every day to implement those goals, with the support of the US administration and Western governments.

The US and the West are not fulfilling their moral and humanitarian duty to deter the Israeli war of annihilation, they stressed.



Sudan Oil Minister Says War Losses in Billions

File photo of the Heglig oil field in southern Kordofan, Sudan (Reuters)
File photo of the Heglig oil field in southern Kordofan, Sudan (Reuters)
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Sudan Oil Minister Says War Losses in Billions

File photo of the Heglig oil field in southern Kordofan, Sudan (Reuters)
File photo of the Heglig oil field in southern Kordofan, Sudan (Reuters)

Sudan’s Oil and Energy Minister Al-Mutasim Ibrahim said the estimated cost of heavy losses and damage inflicted on the oil and energy sector by the war amounts to billions of dollars, blaming the Rapid Support Forces for directly targeting infrastructure across the country.

In exclusive remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ibrahim said the government had fully restarted the Heglig oil field and that “all employees on site are carrying out their duties normally.”

He said the protection and operation of the field are a joint responsibility between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan, as provided for in previously signed agreements between the two countries.

Ibrahim strongly denied recent reports of a three-way agreement between the governments of Sudan and South Sudan and the Rapid Support Forces regarding the Heglig field, located in the far south of the Kordofan region bordering South Sudan.

Authorities in South Sudan announced a settlement between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces after the latter took control of the area, stipulating the withdrawal of both sides and assigning the South Sudan army the task of securing oil facilities in Heglig.

Heglig is Sudan’s largest oil field, producing between 40,000 and 80,000 barrels per day of crude. Output fell by about 20,000 to 25,000 barrels per day after the outbreak of war due to the shutdown of many wells and damage to infrastructure.

The field also serves as the central processing facility for South Sudan’s crude, which produces nearly 130,000 barrels per day and is exported through Sudanese ports on the Red Sea coast.

China talks

Meanwhile, the minister said negotiations with the Chinese government were ongoing over its return to operations in Block 6 in the Balila area of West Kordofan. China had announced the termination of its agreement with the Sudanese government due to deteriorating security conditions and the collapse of supply chains caused by the fighting.

“Work at the Balila field is currently suspended, but the Chinese partner has not withdrawn from the country,” Ibrahim said.

“We recently held joint meetings with the Chinese side in Cairo and informed them of our desire to continue the partnership in the field, and we also presented opportunities to invest in other fields.”

He expressed optimism about the continuation of the partnership between Khartoum and Beijing in the sector, pointing to various oil investments expected to flow in after the war ends, particularly in areas under army control, which he said are witnessing significant security stability.

Last December, the Chinese government informed Sudan that it was ending the oil partnership after years of cooperation.

Khartoum refinery

According to the minister, preliminary estimates of heavy losses to the oil and energy sector since the war erupted in mid-April 2023 amount to billions of dollars, with damage assessments still underway.

He said the Rapid Support Forces had deliberately sabotaged infrastructure in both sectors, adding that the government had made progress in rehabilitating them after the army pushed the forces out of many areas across the country.

Ibrahim put losses at the Khartoum oil refinery at around $6 billion, saying it would need to be rebuilt from scratch.

“We have begun preparing the necessary designs and securing requirements to restart it,” he said, noting that several countries had expressed serious interest in investing in refineries in Khartoum, El-Obeid, and Port Sudan.

Before the war, the Al-Jaili refinery north of the capital, Khartoum, met more than 40 percent of the country’s demand for gasoline, diesel, and cooking gas. Still, it halted operations due to severe damage to its processing and refining facilities.

Ibrahim said petroleum products were flowing normally and that their availability had helped stabilize fuel supplies nationwide. He added that most fuel stations in areas without electricity had been equipped with solar power.


US Increases its Pressure on Iran in Iraq

Coordination Framework leaders during a meeting in Baghdad. Iraqi News Agency
Coordination Framework leaders during a meeting in Baghdad. Iraqi News Agency
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US Increases its Pressure on Iran in Iraq

Coordination Framework leaders during a meeting in Baghdad. Iraqi News Agency
Coordination Framework leaders during a meeting in Baghdad. Iraqi News Agency

US pressure over Iranian influence in Iraq is increasing amid consultations to form a new government and messages from Washington affirming its willingness to use “the full range of tools” to counter what it describes as “Iran’s destabilizing activities.”

US Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris confirmed during a meeting on Thursday with Abdul Hussein Al-Mousawi, head of the National Approach Alliance, that any Iraqi government “should remain fully independent and focused on advancing the national interests of all Iraqis.”

A US embassy statement said the meeting addressed the importance of a strong partnership between the United States and Iraq that delivers “tangible benefits” for both sides within the framework of safeguarding Iraqi sovereignty, bolstering regional stability, and strengthening economic ties.

Harris stressed his country’s readiness “to use the full range of tools to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in Iraq,” a statement seen as a dual message directed at forces linked to Tehran and at blocs engaged in government formation negotiations.

The media office of the National Approach Alliance, which is part of the Coordination Framework, stated that the meeting discussed the latest developments in Iraq and the region, and ways to strengthen bilateral relations “in line with the principle of mutual sovereign respect and shared interests.”

It also addressed consultations among political parties to abide by constitutional mechanisms and the results of elections.

Both sides stressed the importance of ensuring the success of negotiations between the US and Iran in a way that contributes to de-escalation and the adoption of dialogue.

Last month, US President Donald Trump warned Iraq over a reinstatement of Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister, saying that the country “descended into poverty and total chaos” under his previous leadership.

“That should not be allowed to happen again” Trump wrote on social media.

Al-Maliki, who has long-standing ties to Iran, dismissed Trump’s threat as “blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs,” and vowed to “continue to work until we reach the end.”

The Coordination Framework, which holds a parliamentary majority, has named al-Maliki to serve again as Iraq’s prime minister, citing his “political and administrative experience and role in managing the state.”


German Parliament Speaker Visits Gaza

Displaced Palestinians fleeing Israeli military operations in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza strip walk along the Salah al-Din main road in eastern Gaza City making their way to the city center, on October 22, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Israeli military operations in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza strip walk along the Salah al-Din main road in eastern Gaza City making their way to the city center, on October 22, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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German Parliament Speaker Visits Gaza

Displaced Palestinians fleeing Israeli military operations in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza strip walk along the Salah al-Din main road in eastern Gaza City making their way to the city center, on October 22, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Israeli military operations in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza strip walk along the Salah al-Din main road in eastern Gaza City making their way to the city center, on October 22, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The speaker of Germany's lower house of parliament briefly visited the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the body told AFP.

Julia Kloeckner spent "about an hour in the part of Gaza controlled by Israeli army forces", parliament said, becoming the first German official to visit the territory since Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023 that sparked the devastating war.

Since the start of the conflict, Israel has drastically restricted access to the densely populated coastal strip.

In a statement shared by her office, Kloeckner said it was essential for politicians to have access to "reliable assessments of the situation" in Gaza.

"I expressly welcome the fact that Israel has now, for the first time, granted me, a parliamentary observer, access to the Gaza Strip," she said.

However, she was only able to gain a "limited insight" into the situation on the ground during her trip, she said.

Kloeckner appealed to Israel to "continue on this path of openness" and emphasised that the so-called yellow line, which designates Israeli military zones inside the Gaza Strip, must "not become a permanent barrier".

Contacted by AFP, the German foreign ministry said it would "not comment on travel plans or trips by other constitutional bodies that wish to assess the situation on the ground".

Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest supporters as the European power seeks to atone for the legacy of the Holocaust.

But in recent months, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has occasionally delivered sharp critiques of Israeli policy as German public opinion turns against Israel's actions in Gaza.

In August, Germany imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel, which was lifted in November after the announcement of what has proved to be a fragile ceasefire for Gaza.

Merz visited Israel in December and reaffirmed Germany's support.

But in a sign of lingering tension, Germany's foreign ministry on Wednesday criticized Israeli plans to tighten control over the occupied West Bank as a step toward "de facto annexation".