Hamas militiamen and Palestinian police traded heavy fire near Gaza City's parliament building yesterday, killing the driver of the Jordanian ambassador in Gaza and wounding 11 people in the worst internal fighting in recent weeks.
At one point, Hamas gunmen holed up in two buildings under construction, hurling grenades and firing a rocket-propelled grenade at police. Other militants took up positions behind trees, cars and buildings, turning downtown Gaza into a battle zone.
Yesterday's battle was the most intense in an increasingly bloody confrontation between gunmen loyal to the Hamas government and the Palestinian security forces allied with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Hamas government deployed a 3,000-strong force of militants last week, sending tensions soaring.
The man killed yesterday was identified as 45-year-old Khaled Radaida, the driver of the Jordanian ambassador in Gaza. Three bullets hit the windshield of Radaida's vehicle, marked with Jordanian diplomatic license plates.
TV footage showed two gunmen pressed against a wall, firing across an intersection. A few moments later, the Jordanian vehicle is shown slowly approaching from the opposite side of the intersection. The vehicle stops, then tries to reverse. However, there is no footage of gunmen aiming at the vehicle, as was initially claimed.
The ambassador, Yehiya Qarallah, was not in the vehicle at the time.
Under police escort, the ambassador was taken to the morgue of Gaza City's Shifa Hospital and identified the driver. The diplomat sobbed as he emerged from the morgue.
Radaida's death brought to eight the number of people killed in internal fighting in Gaza this month.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar called the Jordanian ambassador in Gaza and expressed his condolences. Zahar said the death would be investigated.
Hamas and Palestinian security forces gave conflicting accounts of how yesterday's fighting started.
The Preventive Security Service, a branch loyal to Abbas, said Hamas militiamen stopped one of its vehicles in the street and fired at the car. Hamas said some of its members came under fire during a patrol and sought cover in the abandoned building, then fired back.
During the fighting, Hamas gunmen closed main junctions and with raised weapons ordered drivers to turn back. The militiamen closed a large area between the parliament building and Palestinian police headquarters.
Abbas' Fatah movement, defeated by Hamas in January parliament elections, held Hamas responsible for the death of the Jordanian driver. Maher Maqdad, a Fatah spokesman in Gaza, said the Hamas militia is illegal and had no business patrolling near the police headquarters yesterday.
"When are they [Hamas leaders] going to realize that this unit is illegal and when are they going to dismantle it?" Maqdad said in a text message sent to reporters.
A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, alleged that the fighting was triggered by what he called "suspicious figures," who he said opened fire on Hamas and police to stir trouble.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number