‘Harrowing’ number of Gaza children killed, antisemitic riot in Russia

Gaza water shortage forces Palestinians to rely on sea

The besieged Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people don’t have access to clean, running water after Israel cut off essential supplies to the enclave. 

If water does trickle from the tap, residents say it’s so contaminated with sewage and seawater that it’s undrinkable. Under these circumstances, some are forced to use the sea to bathe, wash clothes and clean their cookware.

On Sunday, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medicine entered Gaza’s only border crossing from Egypt. 

Israel said it has opened two water lines in southern Gaza within the past week, though it is not clear if they are functioning.  

Since 9 October, Israel has imposed a “total siege” on Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, electricity and food. With the territory already subject to an Israeli blockade, this is inflicting a dire humanitarian toll on civilians. 

Hundreds storm Russian airport in antisemitic riot

People stormed Dagestan’s main airport and landing field on Sunday, chanting hateful slogans towards Jews and looking for Israelis, Russian news agencies and social media reported.

Authorities closed the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia, and police converged on the facility. 

Sixty people have been arrested, Russian authorities said on Monday. 

Dagestan’s Ministry of Health said more than 20 were injured, with two in critical condition. This included police officers and civilians.

Video on social media showed some in the crowd waving Palestinian flags and others trying to overturn a police car. Antisemitic slogans were shouted by the crowd and some examined the passports of arriving passengers, apparently in an attempt to identify those who were Israeli.

In a statement Sunday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel “expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be and to act resolutely against the rioters and against the wild incitement directed against Jews and Israelis.”

While voicing support for Palestinians in Gaza, the regional Dagestani government appealed to citizens to remain calm and not take part in such protests.

“We urge residents of the republic to treat the current situation in the world with understanding. Federal authorities and international organizations are making every effort to bring about a ceasefire against Gaza civilians … we urge residents of the republic not to succumb to the provocations of destructive groups and not to create panic in society,” the Dagestani government wrote on Telegram.

Journalists ‘explicitly targetted’ in strike near Israeli border – report

Video analysis and witness testimonies from the scene of strikes that killed one journalist and injured six others in south Lebanon this month has found they were “explicitly targeted,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement Sunday.

Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed near the village of Alma al-Shaab while covering skirmishes between Israeli troops and members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.

“Two strikes in the same place in such a short space of time … from the same direction, clearly indicate precise targeting,” the statement said.

Analysis noted the journalists had been filming on a hillside for more than an hour until the strikes hit about 37 to 38 seconds apart, both coming from the direction of Israel.  

The first killed Abdallah; the second hit a vehicle belonging to an Al Jazeera team, injuring journalists standing next to it, the statement said. It noted that the journalists were wearing helmets and vests marked “press,” and the car was marked “press” on the roof.

It added that witnesses reported seeing an Israeli helicopter fly over the scene shortly before the strikes. The report did not specifically say Israel was responsible for the fire, saying the investigation was ongoing.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment on the analysis.

Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht previously said Israel was “looking into” the episode. He did not confirm whether the journalists had been hit by Israeli shelling.

More than 3,000 children killed in Gaza

The number of children killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip since the start of the Hamas-Israel war earlier this month has exceeded the number killed in armed conflict every year globally since 2019, international charity Save the Children said on Sunday.

In a statement, the charity cited numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry of at least 3,195 children killed in the war that was sparked following a surprise Hamas attack on 7 Oct.

It also mentioned the deaths of 33 children in the occupied West Bank and 29 children killed in Israel.

“The numbers are harrowing and with violence not only continuing but expanding in Gaza right now, many more children remain at grave risk,” Save the Children Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory Jason Lee said in a statement. 

“A cease-fire is the only way to ensure their safety.”

After the unprecedented bloody attack by Hamas on October 7 on Israeli soil, Israel said it wanted to destroy the Palestinian Islamist movement and has since carried out incessant bombings on the Gaza Strip, which it controls.

 Children make up around half of Gaza’s population, according to Save the Children.