10/06/2025

TUESDAY | JUNE 10, 2025

9

Gaza-bound activist boat redirected: Israel

Hospital used as cover for Hamas command centre

KHAN YOUNIS: The Israeli army said on Sunday it retrieved the body of Hamas military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Senior Hamas leader and commander of the Rafah Brigade Mohammad Shabana was also found dead at the scene, along with a number of other militants who are being identified, said Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Brig-Gen Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. “This is another example of cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar’s death last month but Defrin said they now have his DNA, which proved beyond doubt that it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations. Hamas has repeatedly denied these claims. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some assertions are unverified. Defrin said the army carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug in front of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the concrete tunnel that was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the army said. – Reuters SAUDI ARABIA ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL HAJJ MAKKAH: Permanent Committee for Hajj and Umrah vice-chairman Prince Saud Mishaal Abdulaziz, who is also Mecca region deputy governor, announced on Sunday in Mina the success of this year’s hajj season in terms of security, health and services, Saudi Press Agency reported. “I extend my congratulations and blessings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Salman Abdulaziz, crown prince and prime minister, for the distinguished execution of the operational plans. My thanks go to my colleagues in the security, health and service sectors, as well as the male and female volunteers who worked with dedication and sincerity to ensure the success of this great ritual.”– Bernama-SPA UKRAINE TO PRESS ON WITH PRISONER EXCHANGE KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Sunday to press on with prisoner exchanges with Russia and said any failure by Moscow to uphold humanitarian accords cast doubt over US and other efforts to end the more than three-year-old conflict. Zelensky also warned Ukrainians to be attentive to air raid warnings in the aftermath of heavy Russian air attacks. He was speaking a day after Russian officials accused Ukraine of postponing the latest prisoner swap indefinitely. A Ukrainian official rejected the allegation. Zelensky said Ukraine had not yet received the full list of prisoners to be released under agreements clinched in talks in Turkey. “The important thing is to get a result, to ensure that people are brought home. We believe that the exchanges will continue and will do everything for this.” – Reuters

Coalition said the Israeli military intercepted the Madleen at 3.02am CET (0102 GMT) just off the coast of Gaza. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it redirected the boat towards Israeli shores and expected those onboard to return to their home countries. “All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. “The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels.” Israel recently started working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to distribute aid via a handful of centres in south and central Gaza. But humanitarian agencies have criticised GHF while the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near

GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution centre. Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal and witnesses said the civilians had been heading to a site west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, run by GHF. Witness Abdallah Nour al-Din told AFP that “people started gathering in the Al-Alam area of Rafah” in the early morning. “After an hour and a half, hundreds moved towards the site and the army opened fire.” The Israeli military said it fired on people who “continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers” despite warnings. GHF said in a statement there has been no incidents “at any of our three sites” on Sunday. It said it has distributed more than a million meals, including more than 600,000 through a trial of “direct to community distribution” via “community leaders”. – AFP

JERUSALEM: Israel said it diverted a Gaza-bound boat yesterday after the activists onboard, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, said they were intercepted as they sought to provide relief to the blockaded Palestinian territory. The Madleen departed from Italy on June 1 to raise awareness on food shortages in Gaza. The Israeli government directed its forces to stop the “celebrities yacht” from reaching Gaza. AFP lost contact with the activists yesterday morning after the organisers said alarms sounded and life jackets were being prepared. In a statement, the Freedom Flotilla o A‘ ll passengers safe and unharmed, provided with sandwiches and water’

BR I E F S

Displaced Palestinians carrying relief supplies from GHF as they return from an aid distribution centre in central Gaza. – AFPPIC

Iran slams lack of sanctions relief in nuclear deal

TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament speaker said on Sunday the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appeared to have hit a roadblock. The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to replace a landmark agreement between Tehran and world powers that set restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 during his first term. In a video aired on Iranian state TV, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said “the US plan does not even mention the lifting of sanctions”. He called it a sign of dishonesty, accusing the Americans of seeking to impose a “unilateral” agreement that Tehran would not accept. “The delusional US president should know better and change his approach if he is really looking for a deal,” he said. On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received “elements” of a US proposal, with officials later taking issue with “ambiguities” in the draft text.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected the latest US proposal and said enrichment is “key” to Iran’s nuclear programme. The IAEA Board of Governors was scheduled to meet in Vienna yesterday and discuss Iran’s nuclear activities. On Sunday, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran warned that it could reduce its level of cooperation with IAEA if it adopts a resolution against it. “Certainly, the IAEA should not expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue its broad and friendly cooperation,” said the Iranian agency’s spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi. Araghchi on Friday accused European powers of “opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors”, warning that “Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights”. A report from the IAEA issued last week cited a “lack of cooperation” from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material. Tehran has rejected the report as politically motivated and based on “forged documents” it said had been provided by its arch-foe Israel. – AFP

The United States and its Western allies have long accused the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Iran has consistently denied, insisting that its atomic programme is solely for peaceful purposes. Key issues in the negotiations have been the removal of biting economic sanctions and uranium enrichment. Tehran says it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty while the Trump administration has called any Iranian enrichment a “red line”. Trump, who has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said it would not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal. On Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country “will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium”. According to United Nations nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state in the world that enriches uranium up to 60%, which is close to the 90% threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.