One passenger survives London-bound Air India plane crash at Ahmedabad
Hamas "brutally attacked" a bus carrying the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) staff to a distribution site near the southern city of Khan Yunis on Wednesday night, killing at least five, the US-backed charity said.
"There are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage," GHF said in a statement. The five killed staff members are Palestinian.
'We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,' GHF said. 'These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives everyday to help others.'
The killings early Wednesday were carried out by the Hamas Sahm police unit, which Hamas claims it established to combat looting.
The unit released video footage showing several dead men lying in the street, saying they were Abu Shabab militia fighters who had been detained and killed for collaborating with Israel. It was not possible to verify the images or the claims around them.
Abu Shabab officials denied that the images showed members of their militia.
Israel's foreign ministry reacted to the news by stating on X that "Hamas is weaponising suffering in Gaza -- denying food, targeting lifesavers and forsaking its own people."
Reverend Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical advisor to US President Donald Trump who was recently appointed head of GHF, called the killings 'absolute evil' and lashed out at the UN and Western countries over what he said was their failure to condemn them.
'The principle of impartiality does not mean neutrality. There is good and evil in this world. What we are doing is good and what Hamas did to these Gazans is absolute evil,' he wrote on X.
Israel and the US say the new system is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid from the long-standing UN-run distribution scheme, which is capable of delivering food, fuel and other humanitarian assistance to all parts of Gaza.
UN officials deny there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas, and instead say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza.
The GHF began operating in late May, stating it has distributed more than 7 million meals worth of food during the first week of its mandate. However, its work has been marred by deadly shootings which have taken place near some of its four aid distribution centres in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, at least 25 people were reportedly killed near a GHF convoy in the Netzarim corridor in Gaza, according to two hospitals there.
The GHF has claimed it has faced continued threats from Hamas, saying on Saturday this has "made it impossible" to operate in Gaza. Hamas has denied this, in turn accusing the GHF of "failing on all levels".
An Air India plane bound for London's Gatwick airport with 232 passengers and 12 crew members on board has crashed on takeoff at Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.
Air India, whose numbers differed from those of the national civil aviation authority, reported that two fewer people, or 242, were on board, including crew.
There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals on board, according to the airline.
The police first said there were no survivors of those on board. However, one passenger has survived the crash and has been hospitalised, according to authorities.
The plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed into a residential area close to the airport shortly after takeoff.
Local media reported that the aircraft crashed into a medical staff hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after it left the runway. Unverified photos show the tail of the plane lodged in a building with plumes of black smoke billowing behind it.
It is unclear how many were injured on the ground. Police Commissioner GS Malik said "some (residents) would have also died" in the wreckage.
"Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,' Malik added. He later told the press that at least 41 were taken to hospital for treatment.
Malik also told India's ANI news agency that one of the passengers, identified by his seat number 11A, survived the crash and "has been in the hospital and is under treatment".
The flight manifest made public by authorities identifies the person in seat 11A as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a UK citizen.
"We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after takeoff," tracking website Flight Radar wrote in a post on X.
The Air India flight was scheduled to arrive at 6:25 pm local time (7:25 pm CEST).
Videos from the scene show a low-flying aircraft trailing flames and descending toward a residential neighbourhood before bursting into orange and black smoke.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the tragedy "heartbreaking beyond words".
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes of a "London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.'
The UK Foreign Office has arranged crisis teams in India and the UK, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
"My thoughts, and I'm sure those of the entire House, are with those who've been affected by the tragic plane crash in India this morning," Lammy told the House of Commons.
"We know that British nationals were on board and I can confirm that the FCDO is working urgently with local authorities to support British nationals and their families, and has stood up a crisis team in both Delhi and in London."
India's Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said he was "shocked and devastated" when news of the crash in the Indian state of Gujarat broke.
"We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action," Ram Mohan Naidu said.
"Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families."
The jet was 11 years old. This is the first-ever crash of a Boeing 787 aircraft, which was introduced in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Boeing said it was aware of reports and "working to gather more information."
Air India's Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said that the company's "primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.'
The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors on Thursday formally found that Iran is not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year.
Iran immediately responded to the International Atomic Energy Agency board's vote, stating that it will establish a new enrichment facility.
The announcement said the facility will be 'in a secure location".
'The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,' the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said in a joint statement.
Nineteen countries on the IAEA's board, which represents the agency's member nations, voted for the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-door vote.
Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, 11 abstained ,and two did not vote.
In the draft resolution seen by media outlets, the board of governors renews a call on Iran to provide answers 'without delay' in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites.
Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.
France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States proposed the resolution.
In Brussels, the European Commission expressed support for the text and called on Iran to "restore full cooperation with the agency and fully implement its obligations".
"We call on Iran to show restraint and avoid any step that would further escalate the situation," a Commission spokesperson said on Thursday afternoon.
The vote comes at a sensitive time, as tensions in the region have been rising.
On Wednesday, the US State Department announced that it is drawing down the presence of non-essential personnel in the Middle East.
The European Commission said its "limited" diplomatic presence on the ground had been "informed" about the Pentagon's plan, but that no evacuation order would be issued to its staff for now.
US President Donald Trump has previously said that Israel or Washington could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed.
The US and Iran have been holding talks on Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Oman's foreign minister said earlier Thursday that a sixth round of negotiations will be held in his country on Sunday.
The draft resolution makes a direct reference to the US-Iran talks, stressing its 'support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear program, including the talks between the United States and Iran, leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran's nuclear activities, encouraging all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy.'
This article has been updated to reflect the European Commission's reaction.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Tehran says 'war starts now' after US strikes three nuclear sites
"War starts right now", the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tehran's main army branch, said overnight on Sunday after the US forces struck three nuclear sites in Iran, according to US President Donald Trump. Trump posted on his Truth Social account that a "full payload of bombs was dropped" on the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites. "Congratulations to our great American warriors," Trump said, adding that it is now "time for peace". In turn, top US Republican lawmaker Lindsey Graham said Trump "made the right call". The Tehran regime "deserved it," the senior US senator from South Carolina added. "Well done, president," Graham said. "To my fellow citizens: We have the best Air Force in the world. It makes me so proud." Top Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, said Trump has "mislead the country," however. "Donald Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East. He has failed to deliver on that promise. The risk of war has now dramatically increased, and I pray for the safety of our troops in the region who have been put in harm's way," Jeffrey said in a statement. The US has between 40,000 and 50,000 troops stationed in the region, who are expected to be put on high alert after the strikes. The IRGC responded by saying this has further escalated what has been an exchange of missile and drone attacks by Iran and Israel since last Friday, now escalating beyond conflict to a full-blown war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Israel's Defence Ministry said it elevated its state of alert even further, cancelling all "educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, except for essential sectors." Trump's decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that aimed to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive military capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. On Saturday, multiple US B-2 bombers appeared to be airborne and heading west from the US. B-2 bombers are the only aircraft that carry the larger bunker buster bombs. Aside from an on-the-ground raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but American bunker-buster bombs. Both US and Israeli officials said that American stealth bombers and a 15,000-kilogram bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. The bunker buster bombs are believed to be able to penetrate some 60 metres below the surface before exploding. They can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. However, the Fordow nuclear site might be buried deep, with some parts of it reaching hundreds of metres beneath the surface, according to reports. Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used, but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The US has been shifting its military aircraft towards the Middle East for days, as Euronews reported. Although Trump initially said he would decide whether to strike Iran in "two weeks", the decision came within around two days. Iran had previously pledged to retaliate if the US joined the Israeli assault. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday the US that strikes targeting his nation would "result in irreparable damage for them."
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Trump says US has struck 3 Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israeli air campaign
President Donald Trump said Saturday, June 21, that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Iran's nuclear agency on Sunday confirmed the attacks. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that aimed to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on social media. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home." Trump added in a later post that he would address the nation at 10 pm Eastern time, writing, "This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!" Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify what types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The strikes are a perilous decision, as Iran has pledged to retaliate if the US joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally. He won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it's "the last thing you want to do." He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks. Iran's nuclear agency on Sunday confirmed attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz atomic sites, but is insisting its work will not be stopped. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued the statement after Trump announced the attack on the facilities. "The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped," it said in its statement. 'Irreparable damage' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them." And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared "any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region." Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. The Israeli military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the US attack that American military involvement "would be very, very dangerous for everyone." The prospect of a wider war loomed. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joined Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced that the US had begun "assisted departure flights," the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump planned to make his decision on the strikes within two weeks. Instead, he struck just two days later. Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for the bunker-busting American bomb known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The bomb is currently delivered only by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. If deployed in the attack, it would be the first combat use of the weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Republican leaders praise Trump Following Trump's announcement on Saturday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who was briefed by the White House ahead of the strike, said in a statement, "President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated ... That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity." US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Iranian regime's "misguided pursuit of nuclear weapons must be stopped." Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Iran hawk and Republican from South Carolina, wrote online: "This was the right call. The regime deserves it." Meanwhile, elected Democrats and some far-right Republicans questioned the move, particularly without authorization from the US Congress. "Horrible judgment," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. "I will push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war." Said conservative Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, "While President Trump's decision may prove just, it's hard to conceive a rationale that's Constitutional."
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Israel-Iran War Day 10: US has struck three Iranian nuclear sites
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a "very successful attack" on three nuclear sites in Iran had been successfully carried out, including at Fordow. In a posting on Truth Social, Trump added, "All planes are safely on their way home" and he congratulated "our great American Warriors." Read our liveblog for all the latest.
