Category: 2. World

“Today the world looks on in horror as the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to deteriorate to levels not seen in recent history,” said Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, speaking from Jerusalem.

He began by focusing on Gaza, which is “sinking deeper into disaster, marked by rapidly mounting civilian casualties, mass displacement, and, now, famine”, with no end in sight to the conflict.

Worst fears becoming reality

“For a population already struggling to survive, Palestinians in Gaza are seeing their worst fears become reality in front of their eyes,” he said, referring to Israel’s announcement of its decision to take over Gaza City, which is ongoing. 

“Expanded military operations in Gaza City will have catastrophic consequences, including displacing hundreds of thousands.” 

Air strikes intensify

Mr. Alakbarov briefed the Council alongside Joyce Msuya, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and two guests: Inger Ashing, Chief Executive Officer at Save the Children International, and Ilana Gritzewsky, an Israeli hostage who survived Hamas captivity in Gaza.

He reported that Israeli military strikes have intensified throughout the Strip, hitting tents housing displaced people, schools, hospitals, and residential buildings.  

Since 23 July, at least 2,553 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health authorities. Of this number, some 271 were reportedly killed attempting to collect aid, including in the vicinity of militarized distribution sites.  

Additionally, over 240 journalists have been killed since the war began on 7 October 2023 following deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel. 

Although the UN and partners are working tirelessly to assist the people in Gaza, “the security risks are extremely high, and current mitigation measures are woefully insufficient,” he said.

“On my recent visit to Gaza, I was stunned at the scale of the destruction and suffering. I met humanitarian workers risking their lives to deliver aid, while themselves living in intolerable conditions,” he added.

Meeting with survivors and families of hostages

The UN official also visited affected communities in Israel and met survivors of the terror attacks as well as family members of some of the hostages. 

“I saw the shattered homes of Nir Oz, where one in four residents was either murdered or abducted on 7 October. I met survivors who carry unbearable loss and trauma,” he said.

Around 50 people, including one woman, are still being held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, and 28 are believed to be deceased. 

Videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Jihad depicting emaciated Israeli hostages were deeply disturbing, he said, stressing that ill-treatment and abuse of hostages constitute a blatant violation of international law.

West Bank violence

Meanwhile, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “continues to spiral dangerously downward” and “the territory envisioned for a future Palestinian State is shrinking, while a one-State reality of unlawful occupation and perpetual violence is rapidly advancing.”

Israeli security forces have continued operations in northern cities and refugee camps, displacing more than 32,000 people. Furthermore, security forces killed nine Palestinians, four of them children, during the three-month reporting period. 

Settlement expansion 

Since the start of the war in Gaza, settler attacks have escalated in frequency and become more violent and deadly, he said, while attacks by Israelis have also continued.  The uptick in violence has increasingly led to forced displacement, with settlers then moving in and establishing outposts. At the same time, Israel is “fast-tracking settlement expansion, including in the most highly strategic areas.”

Mr. Alakbarov recalled that the Israeli High Planning Committee recently approved a plan for the construction of more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area.  

“If implemented, the move would effectively sever the connection between the northern and southern West Bank. As such, it would further undermine the possibility of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state,” he warned. 

Israeli authorities also continued to demolish Palestinian-owned structures, he added, and 175 Palestinians, including 70 children, have been displaced.

Regional tensions

Mr. Alakbarov noted that the developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are taking place amid a volatile regional context, with more exchanges of fire between Houthi rebels in Yemen and Israel forces occurring this week, along with continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon and an incursion in Syria.

Uphold the two-State solution

“The message from the international community is clear: the two-State solution remains the only viable path toward a just and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he said.

Calling for bold action, he urged the international community to work collectively to advance practical steps, including through engagements during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in September.

“With Gaza immersed in a situation so horrendous that it defies basic humanity and with the West Bank facing genuine threats to its long-term existence, we can no longer wait,” he said. 

Gaza famine ‘a created catastrophe’

Ms. Msuya’s briefing centered around the recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis confirming that famine is occurring in Gaza governorate – phase 5 conditions – and is expected to spread in the coming weeks.

She drew attention to some of the numbers, saying over half a million people currently face starvation, destitution and death, which could exceed 640,000 by the end of September.  

Approximately one million Gazans are in emergency phase 4 and over 390,000 face phase 3 crisis conditions, she continued.

At least 132,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and the middle of next year, while the number of those who risk dying has tripled to over 43,000. 

Among pregnant and breastfeeding women, the number is predicted to rise from 17,000 to 55,000.

“Let us be clear: This famine is not a product of drought or some form of natural disaster,” she said. “It is a created catastrophe – the result of a conflict that has caused massive civilian death, injury, destruction and forced displacement.”

End this ‘human-made crisis’

Ms. Msuya urged the Council to ensure an immediate and sustained cessation of hostilities to save lives and stop famine from spreading.

She also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for civilians and critical infrastructure to be protected.

Furthermore, safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access through all entry points must occur, and aid – including food, medicine, water, fuel and shelter – has to be delivered to all people in need.

Her final request was for the restoration of commercial flows of essential goods at scale, market systems, essential services and local food production.

“Ending this human-made crisis demands that we act as if it were our mother, our father, our child, our family trying to survive in Gaza today,” she said. 

A former hostage’s appeal

Ms. Gritzewsky, who lived at the Nir Oz kibbutz near the border with Gaza, recalled the moment her life was brutally changed on the morning of 7 October 2023.

She told ambassadors she had been grabbed by the hair, hit in the stomach, thrown against a wall, and sexually assaulted, all while being filmed by her terrorist attackers.

“Nothing will ever be the same,” she said.

Ms. Gritzewsky said she received no medication and did not see a doctor during 55 days of captivity.

She is now fighting for the release of the hostages, particularly her partner, Matan Zangauker, and made a passionate appeal to the Security Council to act for the release of all those still being held.  

Police chief says two children, ages eight and 10, killed when gunman opens fire during school Mass.

Two children aged eight and 10 have been killed and 17 people injured when a gunman opened fire on schoolchildren attending Mass at a Catholic school in the United States, authorities say.

The police chief of Minneapolis, Minnesota, said that of the people injured in the Wednesday morning attack, 14 are children and two are in critical condition. Authorities have not yet discerned a motive for the attack and said the suspected gunman – armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol – took his own life.

“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference. “The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.” 

Police said the assailant was in his 20s and did not appear to have had an extensive criminal history. Dozens of rounds were fired during the attack, during which the gunman, dressed in black clothing, stood outside the church and fired in through the windows as schoolchildren were seated in the pews.

“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said in a social media post.

Children’s Minnesota, a local hospital system, said it admitted at least five children.

“I was shocked. I said, ‘There’s no way that could be gunfire,’” Bill Bienemann, who lives nearby and has long attended Mass at Annunciation Church, where the shooting took place, told The Associated Press news agency.

“There was so much of it. It was sporadic.”

US President Donald Trump described it as a “terrible situation”.

“I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

“The FBI quickly responded, and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”

An active shooter has been reported at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with at least two children killed and multiple people injured

A mass shooting took place at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Thursday, coinciding with the time of morning Mass.

The school, which caters to students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, had an all-school Mass scheduled for 8:15 a.m. local time. Today marked the fourth day of school since the semester kicked off on Monday.

At least two children have tragically lost their lives, and several others are injured. It’s being reported by NBC that the shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

It has also come to light that parents and children were ushered into a basement as what is believed to be dozens of rounds were fired, reports the Express U.S.

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It was reported that a call regarding the shooting came in early Wednesday morning from Annunciation Church at 509 W. 54th St., reporting an active shooter.

Officials respond

Several local and federal officials have responded to the shooting. Reports indicate that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was on the scene and coordinating with police and parents. “I’m in touch with Chief O’Hara, and our emergency response team has been activated,” he said in a statement.

“We will share more information as soon as we can. Please give our officers the space they need to respond to the situation,” said Frey. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued his own statement on the tragedy.

“I’ve been briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information,” Walz wrote on X. “The BCA and State Patrol are on scene.”

“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” he added. It was previously reported that a man dressed in black entered the school and began opening fire.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem weighed in, saying that she and her agency were watching the situation unfold. “DHS is monitoring the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis,” she said in a post on X.

“We are in communication with our interagency partners, and will share more information as soon as it becomes available,” the post added. “I am praying for the victims of this heinous attack and their families.”

President Trump also weighed in by posting on his Truth Social. “I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” he said.

“The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene,” he added on his Truth Social post. “The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”

Early morning shooting

It was reported by the Star Tribune that at least two hildren are dead and 20 people are injured. Other reports suggest that four of the injured are in critical condition. Additional reports indicate that an explosive device was found on the scene, but that has not been confirmed.

An alleged witness who claims to live in Tangletown, a neighborhood of Minneapolis, said he heard “a massive shootout just a couple blocks” from his home. The witness claimed 100 or more rounds were fired and that he heard sirens from emergency vehicles racing toward the scene.

Catholic school shooting kills two children, aged 8 and 10 – what we know so farpublished at 17:47 British Summer Time

17:47 BST

Image source, Reuters

Here’s a recap of what we’ve learnt from updates given by the Minneapolis mayor, police and the hospital, about what police chief Brian O’Hara described as a “deliberate act of violence against children and worshippers”:

The victims

Two young children, aged eight and 10, were killed in the shooting.

Seventeen others were injured, with 14 of them being children. A doctor said seven children are in critical condition – earlier, police said two.

The gunman

Police said the attacker died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities believe he was in his early 20s, did not have an extensive criminal history, and acted alone.

He was believed to have used three weapons – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. A smoke bomb was also found in what police believe is his car.

Police are still searching for a motive.

The shooting

Police said the suspected gunman approached from outside the church and fired dozens of rounds through the windows, hitting children who were inside praying during a first week of school mass.

Image source, EPA

Russia prides itself on being an energy superpower, but some of its citizens are suddenly struggling to fill their fuel tanks after weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes crippled refining capacity across the country.

Petrol stations in several regions have run dry while prices have surged to record highs and motorists queue for hours.

Over the summer, Kyiv has stepped up its drone campaign against Russia’s energy infrastructure, a strategy designed to put pressure on Moscow and to signal that Ukraine still holds leverage in the peace talks led by the US president, Donald Trump.

Fuel shortages are being felt most acutely in remote regions, including the far east, southern Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula, where motorists have been forced to switch to more expensive grades because of shortages of regular A-95 petrol.

Analysts estimate that Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian oil refineries have disrupted at least 17% of all of Russia’s refining capacity, an equivalent of 1.1m barrels a day.

Between 2 and 24 August, Ukraine carried out at least a dozen strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, according to media reports, with the majority hitting facilities along the Ryazan–Volgograd corridor in the country’s south-west.

Video of drone strike

The latest attack came on Wednesday, when Ukrainian media reported that a powerful explosion struck the Ryazan–Moscow oil pipeline, one of the main arteries supplying fuel to the capital.

“This is not the first fuel crisis; it has happened several times before the war,” said Boris Aronstein, an independent oil and gas analyst. But, Aronstein said, Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries and storage facilities had made this the most severe crisis in recent years.

“The attacks are massive, coordinated, and repeated; they come in waves, and the refineries simply do not have time to repair the damage caused by the previous attack before the next one occurs,” Aronstein added.

Refinery in flames

Wholesale prices for A-95 – Russia’s most widely used petrol – hit record highs last week, climbing to about 82,300 roubles (£760) a tonne, almost 54% higher than in January.

At first glance, fuel shortages inside Russia jar with its status as one of the world’s top energy exporters, shipping crude to markets such as China and India.

Trump this week imposed sweeping tariffs on US imports from India, citing Delhi’s reliance on discounted Russian oil.

But crude oil has to be processed into petrol and diesel, and much of Russia’s refining system is geared toward export products.

Analysts say one of the industry’s main weaknesses is the lack of any real buffer in domestic petrol production. Output only just covers domestic demand, leaving the system highly vulnerable to disruption.

Refinery in flames

And while drone strikes usually disable only part of a refinery’s capacity, sanctions have cut off Russia from western technology, making repairs slower and more complicated.

Even before the most recent attacks, Moscow had moved to tighten its gasoline export ban in July to cope with a surge in domestic demand.

Russian social media has been flooded with clips of frustrated motorists complaining about shortages and soaring prices.

“We’ve been waiting for hours, and no one knows if we’ll even get our cars filled,” said one man as he drove past a snaking queue in the far-eastern city of Dalnegorsk.

Strike on Russian refinery

The Motorist’s Den, a popular Russian car channel on Telegram, quipped that “it feels like petrol will soon be poured into champagne glasses rather than fuel tanks”.

Another widely shared post joked: “Filling up now is almost like a trip to a boutique: you set out for a litre, and return with an empty wallet and the philosophical thought that maybe walking isn’t so bad after all.”

The current crisis has been sharpened by timing: August is traditionally the toughest month for Russia’s fuel market, when the harvest season pushes up demand, refineries undergo scheduled maintenance and exporters chase higher seasonal prices abroad.

What is usually a predictable squeeze has this year tipped into a full-blown shortage after Ukrainian drones knocked out key facilities.

Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been among the hardest hit. The peninsula, which usually hosts a flood of Russian holidaymakers in the summer, has had its airports shut because of the drone threat, forcing visitors on to roads and piling further pressure on already scarce supplies. Officials have urged calm.

The Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea asked residents “to understand the restrictions on 95-octane petrol”, warning that the situation could drag on for another month. “All possible measures to stabilise prices are now being taken both by the federal government and by us,” he said.

While the shortages are disruptive and politically awkward for the Kremlin, analysts caution they are unlikely for now to derail Russia’s war effort or heavy industry.

Video of cars queuing

Much of the country’s industrial fleet and military equipment runs on diesel rather than petrol, and Russia still has a surplus of it.

“There is still a long way to go before the transport, agriculture and industrial sectors – or, most importantly, the army – experience any significant fuel shortages,” said Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, who previously worked at the Russian oil major Gazprom.

Still, with Ukraine showing no sign of slowing its drone campaign, economists say that the fuel squeeze could drag on well into the winter.

If the worst comes to the worst, Vakulenko said, authorities could be forced to resort to gasoline rationing.

Minneapolis police responded to a shooting at a Catholic church and school in the south end of the city on Wednesday, and authorities said the shooter had been “contained.”

It is unclear if there were any casualties in the shooting and if so, how many.

“There is no active threat to the community at this time. The shooter is contained,” the City of Minneapolis said on X.

The shooting occurred at the Annunciation Church, which is also home to a an elementary school with students from preschool through eighth grade, according to its website.

The first day of the school year was Monday, based on a post on the school’s Facebook page.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on that DHS is monitoring the situation and were in communication with our local authorities.

Getty Images