Tragic cancer-stricken girl, 7, who fled wartorn Ukraine for leukaemia treatment in Israel killed in Iran missile blitz
A SEVEN-year-old girl who fled the war in Ukraine to receive life-saving leukaemia treatment in Israel has been tragically killed.
Nastia Borik, her grandmother and two young cousins were all reported dead following the
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Nastia Borik was tragically killed after going to Israel to seek life-changing surgery for her leukaemia
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Members of Israel's Home Front Command search for missing people under the rubble of apartment block Bat Yam
Credit: EPA
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A huge column of smoke rises from Soroka Hospital in Beersheba
Her mother Maria Peshkurova, 30, remains missing, the
The attack, which is believed to have wounded 180 people and killed at least six, comes amid six nights of
Nastia Borik arrived in Israel in 2022 with her mother, grandmother, Lena Peshkurova, 60, and two of her cousins, Konstantin Totvich, 9, and Ilya Peshkurov, 13, to seek life-saving treatment for Leukemia.
The girl's father, Artem, reportedly stayed in Ukraine to fight in the war against Russia.
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He could not accompany his daughter due to a government order barring men under the age of 60 from leaving the country during the conflict.
Her tragic killing comes as tensions between Israel and Iran have reached cataclysmic heights, as a major Israeli hospital and an
this morning
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Soroka Hospital in Beersheba was severely damaged when it was struck by an Iranian ballistic missile, with
The IDF confirmed it attacked an "inactive" plutonium nuclear reactor in Arak to "prevent it from being restored and used for nuclear weapons".
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Most read in The US Sun
After days of speculation, Trump on Tuesday night approved plans to attack Iran, but is holding off in case Tehran agrees to abandon its nuclear programme, reports the
If given the go-ahead, the plans would see the US join Israel in pounding Iran's nuke sites - which Tehran has warned would spark "all out war".
Chilling vid shows Israeli school bus blown to bits by Iranian missile in madcap Ayatollah's death-throw retaliation
The UK is yet to declare whether it would stand with the US should Trump decide to go ahead with military action.
But Sir Keir Starmer has been warned by Attorney General Lord Hermer that the UK's involvement could be illegal.
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It comes as Sir Keir held a Cobra crisis meeting on Wednesday with a potential US-led strike reportedly being discussed.
Trump has become much more vocal on the conflict, though refuses to confirm his plans: "I may do it, I may not do it," he said on Wednesday.
If the US does collaborate in the attacks, Iran's Fordow nuclear development area could be its first target.
A fearsome 15-ton mega bomb known as a
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Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office Trump acknowledged the US is the only nation capable of blitzing the key nuke site.
But he added: "That doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all."
Trump also fired a two-word warning to Iran's Supreme Leader after revealing Tehran was trying to return to the negotiating table.
When a
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Trump even directly threatened Khamenei as he said the US knows where he is hiding but will not kill him 'for now'.
Khamenei responded by saying: "The battle begins. This nation will never surrender.
'America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.'
US officials indicated the next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial in determining whether diplomacy could ever be achieved with Iran,
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It comes as warmongering
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The war has entered its sixth day
Credit: Alamy
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Emergency and Rescue soldiers search for trapped people following Iran's overnight strikes
Credit: Getty
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The two countries have launched fierce attacks on one another in the last few days causing heavy civilian casualty
Credit: AFP
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The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
As the world's eyes turned to Iran this week, Israeli forces killed hundreds of people in Gaza
IN THE LAST week news headlines the world over have been focused on the alarming developments in the Middle East since Israel attacked nuclear and military sites in Iran last Friday, and Iran responded with aerial strikes against Israel. Much of the focus has been on whether the US, under the Trump administration, will carry out strikes on Iran alongside Israel. Trump has prevaricated on the issue, but finally said yesterday that he believes that there a chance for real negotiations to take place, which he is allowing a two weeks window for. He has urged Iran to make an unconditional surrender. Israel's military offensive in Gaza and the deadly manner in which the dispersal of aid into the strip is being managed has continued in the last week at the same time, with several key incidents taking place. The last 24 hours Gaza's civil defence agency has said that 31 Palestinian aid seekers were among at least 60 people killed today by Israeli forces (Gaza is two hours ahead of GMT time). A spokesperson said that five people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza strip and 26 others were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli-controlled strip of land that bisets Palestinian territory. Thousands are gathering there daily in an attempt to get food ration, as famine is looming across Gaza after more than 20 months of war. The Israeli army has claimed it fired 'warning shots' at 'suspects' that approached them. They further said that when individuals continued to approach an aircraft 'eliminated the suspects in order to remove the threat'. The Israel and US backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has taken over the distribution of aid into the strip since May, and there have been multiple mass deaths of aid seekers since. Also today, the civil defence agency said that 14 people were killed in two separate strikes in and around the central city of Deir el-Balah, and 13 others in three Israeli air strikes in the Gaza City Area. In Southern Gaza, two others were killed by 'Israeli gunfire'. AFP news agency has said it is now difficult to independently verify death tolls due to Israeli restrictions on media in the Strip, and difficulties in accessing some areas. Today, the former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren appeared on Today with Claire Byrne, and he disputed reports that people are dying of widespread starvation in Gaza. He claimed that UN is getting its data 'from Hamas', and that Israeli analysts have 'different data'. Oren also claimed that Hamas is killing people near aid sites as In the last week On Thursday, the civil defence agency said that Israeli forces had killed at least 72 people, including another 21 aid seekers near distribution sites. Spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said that six were killed while waiting for aid in Southern Gaza, and 15 were killed in the Netzarim corridor. A man who witnessed the shootings at aid sites told AFP that people had gathered overnight on Wednesday, hoping that aid would be distributed on Thursday morning. 'Around 1:00 am (2200 GMT Wednesday), they started shooting at us,' he said by phone, reporting gunfire, tank shelling and bombs dropped by drones. Another man who spoke to the news agency said the size of the crowd made it impossible for people to escape, and that casualties were left lying on the ground within walking distance of the aid distribution point. 'We couldn't help them or even escape ourselves,' he said. In Northern Gaza – where most territories are under an evacuation order from the IDF – Bassal said that 51 people were killed in nine separate strikes. On the Wednesday, 33 people were reported as being killed by Israeli fire, including 11 aid seekers. Bassal said that 'occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells… at thousands of citizens'. Once again, on Wednesday, the IDF said that a group of 'suspicious individuals' had approached its forces in a manner that 'posed a potential threat'. It said that its troops fired 'warning shots', but that it was 'unaware of injuries'. Advertisement Later on Wednesday, the IDF said one of its soldiers was killed during an operation in Southern Gaza. On the same day the chair of the United Nations' Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Israel and the Palestinian territories said that the new aid 'foundation' is 'outrageous'. 'It involves the United States itself, the government, and it turns out, as we watch daily, that people who go to these centres are being killed as they seek food'. The United Nations and other major aid organisations are refusing to work with the group over concerns that it is furthering Israeli military objectives. West Bank raids In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Israeli military raided refugee camps in the West Bank overnight. An official who runs the Balata Camp said that the military evicted home owners in the camps and told them not to return for 72 hours, and used their homes as interrogation outposts. Imad Zaki said that house-to-house searches were conducted, and that the contents of refugees' homes were destroyed, and residents were 'assaulted'. Zaki said that life in the camp was 'largely paralysed' by the raid. On the Tuesday, the civil defence agency said that more than 50 Palestinians were killed near the aid centre in the territories south, and some 200 people were wounded. A man who witnessed the shootings by military drones said that people were murdered 'in cold blood' who were 'ordinary, unarmed people'. The IDF said that it was looking into reports of injuries, and that a 'gathering' had been identified near an aid distribution truck that 'got stuck'. On Monday the civil defence agency reported that Israeli troops killed 20 people who were waiting to collect food. Bassal said that the Israeli forces opened fire near the Al-Alam roundabout in the southern city of Rafah, where people were waiting to reach the aid distribution site. On the same day, Ahmed al-Farra, the head of the paediatric department at Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Yunis said that people 'are hungry, they didn't get any food since nearly four months ago'. Farra said that the GHF sites are the only way for people to seek out food, and when they get there they are 'killed by snipers'. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had 200 people at its field hospital in the Al-Mawasi area near Rafah on the Monday. On the Sunday it treated 170 patients. In a statement the Red Cross said many of those people 'were wounded by gunshots, and reported that they were trying to access a food distribution site'. On the same day at the G7 summit in Canada, Ursala von der Leyen, the European Commission President, told reporters that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu promised over the phone to do more to bring aid in Gaza. On the Sunday, it was reported that 16 people were killed in Israeli military operations in various parts of the Gaza strip, including three citizens near aid distribution centres. Netanyahu speaking on Fox News. On the Sunday Netanyahu appeared on Fox News, the US channel, and said that he had ordered negotiators to 'advance' talks on the release of hostages being held in Gaza. He said that the US Middle East envoy made an offer to begin a 60-day ceasefire, with half of the remaining hostages being released straight away. Of the 251 hostages that were seized in Hamas's October 7 attacks, 52 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who Israel believes to be dead. On the Saturday, the day after Israel's attacks on Iran, Gaza rescuers said that 41 people were killed in Israeli military operations, more than half of whom were waiting on aid. On the same day, internet access was restored after a three day blackout, which the Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority blamed on Israel (a claim Israel didn't comment on). The Palestine Red Crescent Society said the week before that the blackout had hindered its rescue operations by making it difficult to contact first responders in the field. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Iran plots to activate terrorist sleeper cell network across West in desperate last act in face of Israeli destruction
A 'VULNERABLE' IRAN may activate a network of sleeper cells across the West in the face of the Israeli bombing campaign, experts have warned. With its 4 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: AFP 4 Iran's murderous terrorist wing, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 4 A view of the damage is seen after a missile launched from Iran reportedly struck the area on June 15 in retaliation for recent Israeli attacks Credit: Getty It has now been more than a week since The goal, as the Israelis say, is to thwart the Iranian regime's efforts to produce nuclear weapons - as well as more ballistic missiles, including long-range weapons that can strike targets far beyond Israel. While Iran has been responding by launching frequent salvos of ballistic missiles, its top military command has been decapitated. And Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been forced to live in underground bunkers. read more on iran Experts now fear that a vicious Iran could awaken its network of sleeper cells to carry out terror plots across the West. Barak Seener, a security and defence expert at Henry Jackson Society and Iran expert, said: "The very fact now that the Iranian regime is volatile, it's targeted, and it's highly vulnerable — that's what actually makes it increasingly dangerous to the West." Iran's murderous Mr Seener said that these sleeper cells could be regular people living regular lives. Most read in The US Sun But when given the signal, they could carry out terrorist activities targeting the West. These terror operations could target public infrastructure and even civilians, with no weapons off the table, experts warn. Trump is top Iran assassination target - their terror network spreads across Europe & US, warns ex-White House official The sleeper cells could even carry out assassination attempts on top leaders that could throw the world into chaos. Last year, an Iranian agent was charged with plotting to kill Donald Trump in an assassination that would have shaken the world. Prosecutors said an official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard told Shakeri to devise a plan to eliminate the President elect. They claim the planned hit was an attempt to take vengeance for a Trump's former security advisor, John Bolton, said the from the Middle East nation. Mr Seener said: "They live amongst us in regular communities, have regular jobs, and they just are awaiting being activated to conduct malign activities, whether it be through a telephone text or a beeper, and then they already know what they are going to be doing. "If the regime feels threatened and on the verge of being toppled, then they may say, 'you're going to go down with us,' and at that point they may unleash their sleeper cells." In an "It cannot defeat Israel, but it could go mad and unleash terrorism, even using chemical weapons, which its industries can make much more easily than nuclear weapons." 4 Mr Seener said the attacks could range from an attack against a synagogue, an embassy, or blowing up a dirty bomb in Central London. Sir Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned back in October that Iran could turn on UK targets if it felt Britain was too enthusiastic in its support for Israel. He said the attacks could increase if the Middle East conflict intensifies. In August, Matt Jukes, the head of He said Iranian dissidents and diaspora communities have been 'clearly at risk of kidnapping or assassination'. "These are people who are doing it daily. And when you are projecting soft power, you're creating the cultural milieu in which terrorism can be conducted much more readily. Counterterror police have investigated 15 of these cases alongside MI5 has responded to 20 plots backed by Iran since 2022, it was reported. Mr Seener said: "The reason why the Irgc can act with impunity, and why British citizens are at risk, is because of the British Government's unwillingness and failure to designate the Irgc as a terrorist organisation. "It means that they are able to conduct activities and infiltrate mosques, charities, community centres, cultural centres, and many of them, their directorship has been directly appointed by the supreme leader, Khamenei." "British Shias go on pilgrimages to religious sites in Iran and Iraq. They are targeted by the IRGC and recruited, so that when they return to the UK, they can conduct surveillance on potential targets." Iran's terror on UK street By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter Iran-fuelled hit squads on the streets of the UK have been linked to at least 15 threats to kill or kidnap detected by authorities. They are all part of a campaign of intimidation aimed at those who speak out against the hardline regime. The MI5 has accused Tehran of more than a dozen assassination and kidnap plots in Britain against dissidents and media organisations in the past two years. Officials have previously warned that the threat against Iranian critics living in the UK has ramped up drastically after the horror October 7 attacks. And given the hostile situation in the Middle East, Iran could ramp up its secret terror activities in the UK, Europe and the US, experts fear. In 2022, Major Gen Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC warned: "You've tried us before. Watch out because we're coming for you." Last year, Iranian TV journalist Pouria Zeraati was The suspects were believed to be proxy agents hired by Tehran. Mr Zeraati works for He said a man approached him and asked for £3 before another man appeared and stabbed him in the leg. The two fled in a car being driven by a third man, leaving Mr Zeraati bleeding in the street. Investigators believed the three culprits were able to flee the country on a flight from Mr Zeraati, whose organisation has been a vocal critic of Iran, said the attack was a "warning shot" from Tehran. He called on the UK government to declare the IRGC a terrorist group to stop it from spreading its doctrine. He said: "It will also send a clear message to the regime in Iran that enough is enough. "The whole of Western civilisation is in danger because of the threat the IRGC poses." A report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) found almost half of journalists who covered Iran from the UK reported being physically or verbally harassed in the past five years. Individuals have been sent death threats by text and voice notes, with one message noting that the 'water underneath Westminster Bridge was very deep'. One said they were constantly worried about Iran targeting their children, saying: 'I wake up in the middle of the night. I check my son to see if he's there. I won't let him play in the garden on his own. I have to be there. I'm on alert constantly.' Another reporter told the RSF she had a package, which was designed to look like it contained anthrax, hand-delivered to her apartment block. While female TV journalist was approached on a London bus by a man who told her: 'We will kill you. You are a very bad person.' All of them are understood to have voiced their dissent against Tehran. The IRGC is the principal supporter of Amid Current sanctions on Kasra Aarabi, Director of IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran, said: 'The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is the most antisemitic armed Islamist extremist organisation in the world. 'The government needs to proscribe the IRGC as a matter of urgency. 'The failure to proscribe the IRGC is putting British lives at risk, not least those from the British-Jewish community and British-Iranian diaspora —the two primary targets of IRGC terrorism in the UK.'
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Irish embassy in Iran closed & personnel moved over ‘deteriorating situation' fears as Harris ‘increasingly concerned'
IRELAND'S embassy in Iran has been 'temporarily' closed and staff relocated due to the 'deteriorating situation', Simon Harris revealed. The 1 Simon Harris said the decision has not been made lightly Credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Harris said the embassy's operations will continue in He explained: 'I have become increasingly concerned about the operational environment for our Embassy in Tehran, and the ability of our diplomatic staff to perform their functions safely. 'In light of the deteriorating situation, following consultation with my officials and in close consultation and coordination with 'This is not a decision that I have taken lightly. Arrangements have been made for the Embassy to continue its operations from Dublin. READ MORE IN NEWS 'Staff at my Department's headquarters have assumed the Embassy's consular functions and remain in contact with the small number of Irish citizens remaining in Iran. 'These arrangements will continue until it is possible for our personnel to return to Iran.' Harris added: 'My Department's travel advice remains that Irish citizens should 'My hope is that a diplomatic solution can be found to resolve this conflict, without further escalation or further loss of life in Iran or in Israel.' Most read in Irish News The Government has been There are more than 30 Irish people living in Iran, but not all of them are expected to leave the country in the immediate future. Moment Israel DOWNS Iranian drone over Syria Meanwhile Israel and Iran have continued to trade strikes a week into their war as The US president has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. US WAR DECISION Trump said he will decide within two weeks whether the US military will be directly involved in the war given the 'substantial chance' for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to be heading to Geneva for meetings with the European Union's top diplomat and counterparts from the UK, France and Germany. Israel said it conducted air strikes into Friday morning in Iran with more than 60 aircraft hitting what it said were industrial sites to manufacture missiles. It also said it hit the headquarters of Iran's Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its acronym SPND.
