Israel Kills Two Journalists in Gaza Spiking their Number to 208

Israeli kills two more Palestinian journalists in separate Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, Monday. This raises the overall death toll of male and female journalists and media workers to 208 since 7 October 2023 when the Israeli war started on the enclave soon after.

The Gaza government media office stated that Hossam Shabat, a reporter for the Qatari-based Al Jazeera Mubasher channel, was killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza.

Mohammed Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today TV, was also killed in another airstrike that struck his apartment in the southern city of Khan Younis. His wife and child were also killed in the attack, the media office confirmed in a statement.

The media office held Israel, the US, and their allies, including the UK, Germany, and France, fully responsible for what it described as “a brutal crime,” according to Anadolu.

It appealed to the international community and relevant institutions to exert meaningful pressure to stop what it called an “ongoing genocide” and to ensure protection for journalists and media workers.

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on 18 March, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 113,200 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Iran has inflicted more “extensive” damage to US bases and equipment in the Middle East since the start of US and Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, NBC News reported on Saturday, citing sources.

The report said that the damages from Iran’s retaliatory strikes against US military bases in seven Middle Eastern countries were “far worse than publicly acknowledged and is expected to cost billions of dollars to repair.”

Iran has hit dozens of targets, including warehouses, command headquarters, aircraft hangars, satellite communications infrastructure, runways, high-end radar systems, and dozens of aircraft, the report said.

The Pentagon has not detailed the extent of the damage to US military bases publicly, according to the report, with US Central Command declining to comment on battle damage assessments.

According to the report, some Republican lawmakers privately expressed their dissatisfaction with senior Pentagon officials for refusing to provide information on the extent of the damage or a cost estimate for repairs.

“No one knows anything. And it’s not for lack of asking,” one congressional aide was quoted by NBC News as saying. “We have been asking for weeks and not getting specifics, even as the Pentagon is asking for a record high budget.”

The report mentioned that the damage to and cost of repairing the bases could reignite a debate over the merits of maintaining US bases in such close proximity to an adversary like Iran. Anadolu

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Why is Iran’s FM in Oman?

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Muscat, Oman’s capital, on Saturday evening, leading a diplomatic delegation, according to Tasnim news agency.

Araghchi is expected to meet with senior officials in Oman to discuss bilateral relations and exchange views on regional developments.

The visit follows his trip to Pakistan, where he said in a statement that he shared his country’s “position concerning a workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran,” without providing further details.

He also expressed skepticism about Washington’s intentions.

“Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy,” he said on the US social media company X.

Pakistan has been acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington amid ongoing tensions following recent military escalation.

Araghchi arrived in Pakistan late Friday and met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday, amid efforts to revive stalled peace talks between the US and Iran to end their eight-week war.

The first round was held in Islamabad two weeks ago but failed to reach an agreement to end the conflict that began on Feb. 28 and engulfed the entire Middle East. Those talks came after Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire on April 8, which was later extended by US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he has cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan by special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner.

“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’,” Trump told Fox News via phone.

Iran has refused to hold direct talks with the US and said observations would be conveyed to Pakistan.

Some of the sticking points are said to be the Strait of Hormuz, the US blockade of Iranian ports, and Iran’s enriched uranium. Anadolu

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