TEHRAN, Jun. 30 (MNA) – Iran's ambassador to Armenia has walked out of a National Press Club meeting, in protest over the presence of a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent, who "works for our enemies."

Mehdi Sobhani initially demanded the removal of the RFE/RL reporter from the National Press Club meeting, noting that “this outlet currently works for our enemies”.

As the moderator Narine Mkrtchyan said she could not remove the journalist and urged to begin the event, Sobhani replied “I will not participate,” and left the room, according to Press TV.

Eventually, the correspondent of RFE/RL, which is funded by the US and operates under the US Agency for Global Media, left the meeting, as his presence caused disruption.

GAZA CITY—The Israeli military bombarded Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday with airstrikes and artillery, killing at least 80 since dawn.

In northern Gaza, at least four schools that shelter hundreds of families were bombed, in addition to homes and other civilian areas. In Deir al-Balah, the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital complex was also struck.

One of the worst attacks came when Israeli warplanes bombed al-Baqa, a seafront cafe, reportedly killing more than 30. Perched on the water and popular for its internet access, the cafe was frequented by families as well as journalists. Among those killed was Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Ismail Abu Hatab. Another journalist, Bayan Abu Sultan, was injured.

Maher Banat was an eyewitness who arrived on the scene soon after the strike. “I was nearby, and I heard the bombing. We thought maybe they hit a tent or something else. We were shocked to find a calamity, a massacre,” he told Drop Site. “This place, Baqa cafe, is known for entertainment only, it’s on the sea. People come and sit and talk….someone wants to come and relax. It’s not a place for any military operations or the resistance, as you can see. This was a criminal act.”

The outdoor cafe became a scene of carnage: all broken concrete and shredded wood, bodies strewn on the ground, plastic chairs torn apart, and blood soaked on the floor. A large crater in the ground in the cafe showed the missile impact. At al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, fresh corpses in body bags were lined up outside.

The United States and Israel are working behind the scenes to block a United Nations and European-led initiative aimed at dismantling the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Ynet learned Sunday. The initiative came after a closed session of the UN Security Council held on Friday, after which the UN reportedly instructed its agencies and affiliated organizations to cease all cooperation with the foundation.

“Some organizations are threatening not to cooperate with the foundation and are spreading lies about indiscriminate fire and drug distribution, all to derail this initiative. If this were going through UN channels, which have shown support for Hamas, it would be embraced quietly. This isn’t about concern for Gaza—it’s pure double standards,” he also said.

At a panel hosted by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) in London on Saturday, experts accused mainstream Western media of contributing to the denial and distortion of atrocities unfolding in Gaza.

Omar al-Ghazzi, Associate Professor of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, called the trend “a war on history.” He warned that the use of media narratives as future historical sources could shape how upcoming generations understand the events in Gaza.

The panel also pointed to specific language patterns in coverage. Hanif noted that the term “massacre” appeared 18 times more often when referring to Hamas attacks than to Israeli attacks on Palestinians. He said this imbalance reflected a wider rhetorical bias and an uncritical acceptance of Israeli government claims—particularly those targeting local journalists in Gaza.

British-Israeli journalist Rachel Shabi said Israel has consistently framed its ban on international reporters entering Gaza as a safety measure, while accusing Palestinian journalists of links to Hamas. She criticised international media outlets for accepting these narratives without challenge. Historian Avi Shlaim described Israel’s media strategy as an aggressive propaganda campaign designed to suppress criticism by labelling opponents as antisemitic.

A Reuters investigation found 40 distinct sites of killings, looting and arson during three days of sectarian massacres following an Assad loyalist insurgency. The chain of command led from the attackers directly to men serving alongside Syria’s new leaders in Damascus. The killings now threaten Syria's fragile transition.

Among the units Reuters found to be involved were the government's General Security Service, its main law-enforcement body back in the days when HTS ran Idlib and now part of the Interior Ministry; and ex-HTS units like the elite Unit 400 fighting force and the Othman Brigade.

As the massacres of Alawites unfolded, the Defense Ministry spokesman Abdel-Ghani said publicly the operation on the coast was proceeding as planned with the goal of keeping control of the region and “tightening the noose on the remaining elements of officers and remnants of the fallen regime,” according to the state-run news agency SANA.

Behind the scenes, Abdel-Ghani was running the Telegram chat of militia leaders and military commanders that coordinated the government response to the pro-Assad uprising, according to a dozen text and audio messages in an exchange between him and a senior commander from another faction.

Two people confirmed the Telegram handle was Abdel-Ghani’s and that Abu Ahd is his nom de guerre. Reuters contacted him directly on Telegram at the handle. He told Reuters he has been questioned by the committee investigating the killings but declined to comment further.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/32467220

By Elis Gjevori
Published date: 28 June 2025 21:08 BST

"Channel 4 will broadcast Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a documentary laying out damning allegations that Israeli forces systematically targeted Gaza's hospitals and medical staff throughout their military campaign—allegations which would amount to grave breaches of international law.

"This is a meticulously reported and important film examining evidence which supports allegations of grave breaches of international law by Israeli forces," said L. Compton, Channel 4's Head of News and Current Affairs. "It exemplifies Channel 4's commitment to brave and fearless journalism," she added.

About 11,000 news pieces were published around the world in 2024 by some of the most read and most watched news outlets claiming that droves of millionaires were fleeing countries in record numbers. This was a huge exodus, we were told, with economic consequences, and the root of it all was supposedly taxes on the super-rich. But here’s what all this media reporting left out, these record numbers of millionaires leaving represented just 0.2% of all millionaires. In other words, almost 100% of millionaires did not move to another country, yet somehow this was spun a full 180 into an exodus. So where does this story come from? Well, it’s based on a report published by a firm called Henley and Partners, which helps sell golden passports to the super rich. Golden passports were just ruled to be unlawful by the European Court of Justice, thanks to a challenge by the European Commission, which said golden passports impose a serious risk of corruption, money laundering, tax evasion. Our review of the Henley and Partners report shows that there were several issues with the report’s methodology, its sample and its reporting. But what the media reported and what governments listened to was a fiction, based on questionable data published by a firm that helps the super-rich buy their way out of rules that apply to everybody else. Scare stories like these are used to block the positive change people want.

Despite the arduous efforts of Israeli censors to hide the devastation Iran inflicted on Israel with its barrage of ballistic missiles during the 12-Day War, information is emerging that destroys the myth that Israel had an impregnable air defense. The map at the head of this article reveals the sites targeted by Iran. Based on the videos of strikes in Haifa and Tel Aviv, I think this map accurately portrays the massive scale of the Iranian attack. For the first time in its history, Israel took a major beating.

Miranda Bryant in Thisted
Sun 29 Jun 2025 07.00 EDT

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/32465391

Sanya Mansoor June 27 2025, 10:05 a.m

"For months, environmental researcher Yaakov Garb has been using satellite data to analyze the design, location, and expansion of these facilities. Garb, a professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, found in an analysis published earlier this month on Harvard Dataverse that most of Gaza’s population cannot access these centers in a safe and practical way. Doing so requires crossing the dangerous Netzarim Corridor, entering a buffer zone from which Israel has banned them from entering, or a long walk across a barren rubble field, while carrying a heavy box of food."