Israeli strikes kill 30 in Gaza, health officials say
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Jul 14 (AP): Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Monday killed at least 30 people, according to local hospitals. The Israeli military meanwhile said it killed a senior Hamas leader last month who had held a hostage in his home.
The 21-month war triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack is raging on after two days of talks between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended last week with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.
Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies.
Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital's director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia.
Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza reported six killed and eight wounded in strikes in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military says it only targets fighters and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the fighters operate in densely populated areas.
The military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, who it said had taken part in the October 7 attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war. There was no comment from Hamas nor independent confirmation.
Thousands of Hamas-led members stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The Hamas members are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
Israel's air and ground war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90 per cent of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
