Latest news with #Khatib
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Arab town suffering from Israel's discrimination, shattered by Iran strike
AN Arab town in northern Israel paid a heavy price for the ongoing air war between Iran and Israel when a ballistic missile slammed into a home there, killing four people and upending life in the small community. Hundreds of sobbing residents crowded the narrow streets of Tamra on Tuesday to watch as the wooden coffins adorned with colourful wreaths were carried to the town's cemetery. To some, the Iranian strike highlighted the unequal protections afforded Israel's Arab minority, while to others, it merely underscored the cruel indifference of war. Raja Khatib has been left to pick up the pieces from an attack that killed his wife, two of his daughters and a sister in law. "I wish to myself, if only the missile would have hit me as well. And I would be with them, and I wouldn't be suffering anymore," Khatib told AFP. "Learn from me: no more victims. Stop the war." After five days of fighting, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds more wounded by the repeated barrages launched from Iran. Israel's sophisticated air defence systems have managed to intercept a majority of the missiles and drones targeting the country. But some have managed to slip through. With some projectiles roughly the size of a train carriage and carrying a payload that can weigh hundreds of kilogrammes, Iran's ballistic missiles can be devastating upon impact. A single strike can destroy large swaths of a city block and rip gaping holes in an apartment building, while the shockwave can shatter windows and wreak havoc on the surrounding area. The level of destruction from the missiles has been unprecedented in Israel, even after 20 months of continuous war in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Along with Tamra, barrages have also hit residential areas in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa. As the coffins made their way through Tamra on Tuesday, a group of women tended to a relative of the victims who had become faint with grief, dabbing cold water on her cheeks and forehead. At the cemetery, men embraced and young girls cried at the foot of the freshly dug graves. Iran has continued to fire daily salvos since Israel launched a surprise air campaign that it says is aimed at preventing the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons – an ambition Teheran denies. In Iran, Israel's wide-ranging air strikes have killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Despite mounting calls to de-escalate, neither side has backed off from the fighting. In Israel, frequent air raid alerts have kept residents close to bomb shelters, while streets across the country have largely emptied and shops shuttered. But some in the country's Arab minority have said the government has done too little to protect them, pointing to unequal access to public shelters used to weather the barrages. Most of Israel's Arab minority identify as Palestinians who remained in what is now Israel after its creation in 1948. They represent about 20 per cent of the country's population. The community frequently professes to face discrimination from Israel's Jewish majority. "The state, unfortunately, still distinguishes between blood and blood," Ayman Odeh, an Israeli parliamentarian of Palestinian descent, wrote on social media after touring Tamra earlier this week. "Tamra is not a village. It is a city without public shelters," Odeh added, saying that this was the case for 60 per cent of "local authorities" – the Israeli term for communities not officially registered as cities, many of which are majority Arab. But for residents like Khatib, the damage has already been done. "What are these wars for? Let's make peace, for the sake of the two people," he said.
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
'What Are These Wars For?': Arab Town In Israel Shattered By Iran Strike
An Arab town in northern Israel paid a heavy price for the ongoing air war between Iran and Israel when a ballistic missile slammed into a home there, killing four people and upending life in the small community. Hundreds of sobbing residents crowded the narrow streets of Tamra on Tuesday to watch as the wooden coffins adorned with colourful wreaths were carried to the town's cemetery. To some, the Iranian strike highlighted the unequal protections afforded Israel's Arab minority, while to others, it merely underscored the cruel indifference of war. Raja Khatib has been left to pick up the pieces from an attack that killed his wife, two of his daughters and a sister in law. "I wish to myself, if only the missile would have hit me as well. And I would be with them, and I wouldn't be suffering anymore," Khatib told AFP. "Learn from me: no more victims. Stop the war." After five days of fighting, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds more wounded by the repeated barrages launched from Iran. Israel's sophisticated air defence systems have managed to intercept a majority of the missiles and drones targeting the country. But some have managed to slip through. With some projectiles roughly the size of a train carriage and carrying a payload that can weigh hundreds of kilograms, Iran's ballistic missiles can be devastating upon impact. A single strike can destroy large swaths of a city block and rip gaping holes in an apartment building, while the shockwave can shatter windows and wreak havoc on the surrounding area. The level of destruction from the missiles has been unprecedented in Israel, even after 20 months of continuous war in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Along with Tamra, barrages have also hit residential areas in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa. As the coffins made their way through Tamra on Tuesday, a group of women tended to a relative of the victims who had become faint with grief, dabbing cold water on her cheeks and forehead. At the cemetery, men embraced and young girls cried at the foot of the freshly dug graves. Iran has continued to fire daily salvos since Israel launched a surprise air campaign that it says is aimed at preventing the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies. In Iran, Israel's wide-ranging air strikes have killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Despite mounting calls to de-escalate, neither side has backed off from the fighting. In Israel, frequent air raid alerts have kept residents close to bomb shelters, while streets across the country have largely emptied and shops shuttered. But some in the country's Arab minority have said the government has done too little to protect them, pointing to unequal access to public shelters used to weather the barrages. Most of Israel's Arab minority identify as Palestinians who remained in what is now Israel after its creation in 1948. They represent about 20 percent of the country's population. The community frequently professes to face discrimination from Israel's Jewish majority. "The state, unfortunately, still distinguishes between blood and blood," Ayman Odeh, an Israeli parliamentarian of Palestinian descent, wrote on social media after touring Tamra earlier this week. "Tamra is not a village. It is a city without public shelters," Odeh added, saying that this was the case for 60 percent of "local authorities" -- the Israeli term for communities not officially registered as cities, many of which are majority Arab. But for residents like Khatib, the damage has already been done. "What are these wars for? Let's make peace, for the sake of the two people," he said. "I am a Muslim. This missile killed Muslims. Did it differentiate between Jews and Muslims? No, when it hits, it doesn't distinguish between people."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'What are these wars for?': Arab town in Israel shattered by Iran strike
An Arab town in northern Israel paid a heavy price for the ongoing air war between Iran and Israel when a ballistic missile slammed into a home there, killing four people and upending life in the small community. Hundreds of sobbing residents crowded the narrow streets of Tamra on Tuesday to watch as the wooden coffins adorned with colourful wreaths were carried to the town's cemetery. To some, the Iranian strike highlighted the unequal protections afforded Israel's Arab minority, while to others, it merely underscored the cruel indifference of war. Raja Khatib has been left to pick up the pieces from an attack that killed his wife, two of his daughters and a sister in law. "I wish to myself, if only the missile would have hit me as well. And I would be with them, and I wouldn't be suffering anymore," Khatib told AFP. "Learn from me: no more victims. Stop the war." After five days of fighting, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds more wounded by the repeated barrages launched from Iran. Israel's sophisticated air defence systems have managed to intercept a majority of the missiles and drones targeting the country. But some have managed to slip through. With some projectiles roughly the size of a train carriage and carrying a payload that can weigh hundreds of kilograms, Iran's ballistic missiles can be devastating upon impact. A single strike can destroy large swaths of a city block and rip gaping holes in an apartment building, while the shockwave can shatter windows and wreak havoc on the surrounding area. The level of destruction from the missiles has been unprecedented in Israel, even after 20 months of continuous war in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Along with Tamra, barrages have also hit residential areas in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa. - Discrimination - As the coffins made their way through Tamra on Tuesday, a group of women tended to a relative of the victims who had become faint with grief, dabbing cold water on her cheeks and forehead. At the cemetery, men embraced and young girls cried at the foot of the freshly dug graves. Iran has continued to fire daily salvos since Israel launched a surprise air campaign that it says is aimed at preventing the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies. In Iran, Israel's wide-ranging air strikes have killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Despite mounting calls to de-escalate, neither side has backed off from the fighting. In Israel, frequent air raid alerts have kept residents close to bomb shelters, while streets across the country have largely emptied and shops shuttered. But some in the country's Arab minority have said the government has done too little to protect them, pointing to unequal access to public shelters used to weather the barrages. Most of Israel's Arab minority identify as Palestinians who remained in what is now Israel after its creation in 1948. They represent about 20 percent of the country's population. The community frequently professes to face discrimination from Israel's Jewish majority. "The state, unfortunately, still distinguishes between blood and blood," Ayman Odeh, an Israeli parliamentarian of Palestinian descent, wrote on social media after touring Tamra earlier this week. "Tamra is not a village. It is a city without public shelters," Odeh added, saying that this was the case for 60 percent of "local authorities" -- the Israeli term for communities not officially registered as cities, many of which are majority Arab. But for residents like Khatib, the damage has already been done. "What are these wars for? Let's make peace, for the sake of the two people," he said. "I am a Muslim. This missile killed Muslims. Did it differentiate between Jews and Muslims? No, when it hits, it doesn't distinguish between people." bur-ds/adp/smw
France 24
4 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
'What are these wars for?': Arab town in Israel shattered by Iran strike
Hundreds of sobbing residents crowded the narrow streets of Tamra on Tuesday to watch as the wooden coffins adorned with colourful wreaths were carried to the town's cemetery. To some, the Iranian strike highlighted the unequal protections afforded Israel's Arab minority, while to others, it merely underscored the cruel indifference of war. Raja Khatib has been left to pick up the pieces from an attack that killed his wife, two of his daughters and a sister in law. "I wish to myself, if only the missile would have hit me as well. And I would be with them, and I wouldn't be suffering anymore," Khatib told AFP. "Learn from me: no more victims. Stop the war." After five days of fighting, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds more wounded by the repeated barrages launched from Iran. Israel's sophisticated air defence systems have managed to intercept a majority of the missiles and drones targeting the country. But some have managed to slip through. With some projectiles roughly the size of a train carriage and carrying a payload that can weigh hundreds of kilograms, Iran's ballistic missiles can be devastating upon impact. A single strike can destroy large swaths of a city block and rip gaping holes in an apartment building, while the shockwave can shatter windows and wreak havoc on the surrounding area. The level of destruction from the missiles has been unprecedented in Israel, even after 20 months of continuous war in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Along with Tamra, barrages have also hit residential areas in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa. - Discrimination - As the coffins made their way through Tamra on Tuesday, a group of women tended to a relative of the victims who had become faint with grief, dabbing cold water on her cheeks and forehead. At the cemetery, men embraced and young girls cried at the foot of the freshly dug graves. Iran has continued to fire daily salvos since Israel launched a surprise air campaign that it says is aimed at preventing the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies. In Iran, Israel's wide-ranging air strikes have killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Despite mounting calls to de-escalate, neither side has backed off from the fighting. In Israel, frequent air raid alerts have kept residents close to bomb shelters, while streets across the country have largely emptied and shops shuttered. But some in the country's Arab minority have said the government has done too little to protect them, pointing to unequal access to public shelters used to weather the barrages. Most of Israel's Arab minority identify as Palestinians who remained in what is now Israel after its creation in 1948. They represent about 20 percent of the country's population. The community frequently professes to face discrimination from Israel's Jewish majority. "The state, unfortunately, still distinguishes between blood and blood," Ayman Odeh, an Israeli parliamentarian of Palestinian descent, wrote on social media after touring Tamra earlier this week. "Tamra is not a village. It is a city without public shelters," Odeh added, saying that this was the case for 60 percent of "local authorities" -- the Israeli term for communities not officially registered as cities, many of which are majority Arab. But for residents like Khatib, the damage has already been done. "What are these wars for? Let's make peace, for the sake of the two people," he said. "I am a Muslim. This missile killed Muslims. Did it differentiate between Jews and Muslims? No, when it hits, it doesn't distinguish between people." © 2025 AFP
Egypt Independent
5 days ago
- General
- Egypt Independent
Iranian strikes expose bomb shelter shortage for Palestinian towns inside Israel
Tamra, Israel CNN — In a small, tight-knit town near Haifa in northern Israel, residents here never thought they would experience such horror. Inhabited by Palestinian citizens of Israel, Tamra was left shaken after an Iranian missile struck a residential building late Saturday evening, killing four civilians, Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) reported. The rocket struck a home belonging to the Khatib family at around 11:50pm, according to emergency responders. Manar Khatib, a local teacher, and her two daughters Shatha, 13, and Hala, 20, as well their relative Manar Diab were all killed instantly. Manar's husband Raja and their youngest daughter Razan both survived. Over the last 20 months of war, rockets have occasionally been launched from across Lebanon's border into northern Israel. But Tamra has never taken a hit like this – until hostilities with Iran erupted into direct strikes between the two countries this week. The morning after, the mood in the Lower Galilee town was somber, compounded by anger over a lack of adequate bomb shelters, an issue that Palestinian citizens of Israel have long warned was a glaring inequality that exists throughout their communities. The street where the missile landed was filled with bulldozers trying to clear the debris. Many cars were burned from the impact, with glass shattered all around. Residents and volunteers gathered around to offer support and condolences. The buildings next to the Khatib home had sustained some damage, and almost every home had its windows blown out. 'When we heard the strike, everyone in the village headed there to help. It was a very difficult and chaotic evening. We found body parts littered across the street, and very tragic sights we didn't want to see,' Mohammad Diab, an emergency rescue volunteer told CNN. Diab said it was difficult to reach the family because of the intensity of the impact. Emergency responders searched for survivors trapped under the 'heavy destruction' of the three-story building. A man stands inside a damaged room after missiles fired from Iran impacted a residential building in Tamra, northern Israel June 15, 2025. Ammar Awad/Reuters For 25-year-old neighbor Mohammad Shama, Saturday night was 'terrifying'. 'As soon as the escalations began with Iran, we knew the situation would be dangerous, but we didn't think the danger would come this close to us,' he told CNN. He rushed to his neighbors' home as soon as he heard the blast and tried to help retrieve the bodies. The only reason the Khatib family's youngest daughter survived was because she was sleeping in the room the house uses as a shelter, he said. But not every home in Tamra even has a shelter. Lack of shelter access Only 40% of Tamra's 37,000 residents have either a safe room or a functioning shelter, the town's mayor Musa Abu Rumi told CNN. And there are no bunkers or public shelters which are otherwise ubiquitous across most Israeli towns and cities. In the wake of the attack, his municipality decided to open up educational facilities in Tamra to be used as shelters for whoever didn't feel safe sleeping at home. 'The government has never financed the construction of shelters in our town, because they have other priorities,' he said. Several government ministers have visited Tamra in the wake of the attack, and Abu Rumi said others are planning to visit in the coming week. He told CNN he wants to take advantage of that to raise the issue of neglect in Tamra, and 'bridging the gap between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel'. The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), an independent research center published a report in the wake of the Tamra attack, describing how 'Arab communities remain unaddressed' almost two years since the outbreak of war. The report points to the 'significant gaps in protection' between Arab and Jewish communities. Civil defense capabilities are built into the infrastructure of Israel. Israeli law requires all homes, residential buildings, and industrial building built since the early 1990s to have bomb shelters. These shelters prove crucial to protect Israelis when warning sirens go off – providing the public with safe and fortified locations to hide from incoming rockets. Emergency and security personnel stand inside a damaged building after missiles fired from Iran impacted a residential building, in Tamra, northern Israel June 15, 2025. Ammar Awad/Reuters However, many Palestinian towns in the country's north 'lack public shelters, protected areas, and shelter facilities,' according to a statement from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. 'The urgency in providing such a response gains secondary validity in light of the fact that the main disparity in the field of defense in the northern district is within Arab towns,' the statement continued. Local resident Shama conceded that there is neglect in Tamra and said he suspects it's because of racism. Social media videos show In many ways, the Tamra strike has highlighted not just the tragedies of this war, but also increasingly embittered fault lines and divisions in Israeli society and governance. In a neighboring town called Mitzpe Aviv, social media video verified by CNN showed Jewish Israelis rejoicing over the rockets raining down on Tamra this weekend, shouting 'may your village burn!' Knesset member Dr. Ahmad Tibi told CNN scenes like that were the 'result of the culture of racism that has spread in Israeli society and the escalating fascism.' Another Knesset member, Naama Lazimi, condemned the video on X, writing; 'shame and disgust.' On the lack of shelters, Lazimi added that 'this is an even greater shame because this is a state with racist and abandoning policies.' Tamra resident Nejmi Hijazi also lamented the video, telling CNN 'in your own country, you are treated as a stranger, even as an enemy, even in your blood and in your death.' Social media videos showing Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem hailing Iran's attacks on Tel Aviv have also circulated. One resident was apprehended and taken in for questioning, according to Jerusalem District Police – a move that national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir applauded, warning that 'anyone who celebrates with the enemy will be punished!' Men walk near a damaged vehicle at an impact site following missile attack from Iran in Tamra, northern Israel, on June 15, 2025. Ammar Awad/Reuters As the threat of more strikes continues to fuel fears in Israel, the residents of Tamra are left feeling anxious. 'Last night was one of the most difficult nights I have ever experienced. I can't forget the image of the little girl I saw trapped under the rubble,' Manal Hijazi, a neighbor told CNN. Hijazi described the Khatibs as some of the nicest and most loving people in the neighborhood. Manar had taught most residents in Tamra. One of her former students is Raghda, a neighbor whose house was also damaged by the Saturday blast. 'I was in bed with my three daughters when the rocket struck. The window blasted open and I got hit by dust and rocket remnants. That happened all in front of my eyes, with my daughters right next to me,' Raghda told CNN, teary and shaking. Raghda described the horror she felt cradling her 4-month-old daughter throughout the attack. She said her daughters were shocked and remained silent for many hours. 'There is no way I will be sleeping at home tonight,' she said. CNN's Dana Karni contributed to this report.
