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Two Australian doctors returning from Gaza told AFP they had witnessed “slaughterhouse” scenes in the devastated territory, describing children torn apart by relentless Israeli bombardments and hospitals overwhelmed by the dead and wounded.Saya Aziz, an anaesthetist, said that while images of the destruction in Gaza have flooded global media, they still fail to capture the full reality on the ground.”The things that you didn’t get through the video was the smell, the wailing, the distress of the parents crying, witnessing their children dying, suffering in pain,” Aziz said on Saturday.What Gaza was witnessing, she added, was “mass casualty after mass casualty”.”Torn, disintegrated bodies, blood, broken heads, broken arms, chopped limbs — not just chopped, like disintegrated,” she said. “You would never see such scenes in your life, blood everywhere… It’s like a slaughterhouse.”Aziz and fellow doctor Nada Abu al-Rub, a Palestinian-Australian, had been on a four-week mission to Gaza. They left the territory on Sunday morning.Over the past two years, the devastation in Gaza has been vast, with entire neighbourhoods flattened and millions of tonnes of rubble now covering areas where families once lived.Residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and water and sanitation systems have been hit hard by Israeli attacks, and the humanitarian consequences for the territory’s more than two million people have been severe.Hundreds of thousands of homeless Gazans have crowded into shelters, makeshift camps and open areas, lacking even basic protections.According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, at least 67,139 people — mostly civilians — have been killed since Israel launched its military campaign following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks.The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures reliable.The October 7 attacks on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.- Children hit hardest -While the Gaza health ministry does not specify how many of those killed were Hamas militants, a vast number of the victims are women and children, as seen from video footage and pictures.The territory’s children were suffering the most, Aziz said.”The hardest has been for the children who are unwell, unconscious, bleeding — you’re having to anaesthetise them knowing they’ve got no surviving family members left,” she said.”Who’s going to tell them, who’s going to look after them?”Rub said Israeli authorities had restricted the entry of essential supplies, including baby formula and nutritional products for children.”They basically threatened that any organisation that brings baby formula will be completely closed and no doctors” from that organisation would be allowed to enter Gaza again, Rub said.”What is scary about baby formula?”Peanut butter and total parenteral nutrition (TPN), which is critical for children recovering from major bowel surgeries, were also blocked, Rub said.”Those bottles they broke and didn’t let us bring it in.”Rub described the scenes she witnessed as “horrific”.”People are dying from explosions, their bodies shredded into pieces, whole families wiped out or having one survivor (left) with severe injuries,” she said.Every colleague she worked with had lost many family members, she added, along with their homes, personal possessions and cars.”Everything they have is just lost, nothing is left here in Gaza to survive on.”

Like many in Morocco, Abdelkabir Oubella had been watching videos of protests unfold across the country, but nothing could prepare him for the shock of discovering that his son was among three shot dead in the unrest.For more than a week, Morocco has been shaken by daily protests led mostly by young people demanding reforms in the North African country’s struggling health and education systems.The unprecedented movement erupted after the deaths of eight pregnant women admitted for Caesarean sections at a public hospital in Agadir, sparking outrage over deteriorating public services.Abdessamad Oubella, a 25-year-old film student, was killed overnight Wednesday to Thursday in Lqliaa, near Agadir in southern Morocco. Two other people were also shot dead by police.Authorities said a group had tried to attack the security forces to “steal” ammunition and weapons.”I came across a video where my son appeared — I didn’t even know it was him,” Abdelkabir Oubella told AFP.Surrounded by men from his village of Adouz Oussaoud, near Lqliaa, the 51-year-old day labourer had just buried his son in a wooden coffin.”We never imagined this could happen,” said Ayoub, Abdessamad’s brother.”My brother was there to document what was happening,” he said. “He didn’t throw stones, he didn’t take part in the unrest.”According to his father, Abdessamad was struck by a bullet to the head.The protests have been organised through a newly formed collective on the Discord web platform called GenZ 212, which has again called for rallies on Sunday night in 22 cities.- ‘Troublemakers’ -Life is modest and many people are day labourers in Lqliaa and in nearby Adouz Oussaoud, which lie in one of Morocco’s main agricultural regions and are known for tomato cultivation.In Adouz Oussaoud, a wall bears a large mural reading “Don’t open, dead inside” — a reference to the hit zombie TV series “The Walking Dead”.Among residents, sadness and disbelief prevail after the violence.Those interviewed by AFP said they supported calls for reforms in health and education — sectors that reflect Morocco’s deep inequalities — but condemned the unrest.”Health and education services here are not adequate for the size of the population. We need more support in both sectors,” said Hassan Garir, 39, of Lqliaa.”But when I saw what was happening on social media, I couldn’t sleep that night.”It’s tragic,” he said.”What those troublemakers did has nothing to do with expressing legitimate demands.”Abdessamad’s father agreed, saying “we are against vandalism and ignorance”.That night, CCTV footage released by authorities showed masked youths armed with iron bars and stones trying to force open a door.Security forces fired tear gas to disperse them, but the attackers returned and set fire to bins and tyres at the entrance of the building.The GenZ 212 collective says it only calls for non-violent protests.On Sunday, it urged supporters to speak with “one voice” and maintain “peaceful and responsible behaviour”.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance are likely to agree to raise crude output when they meet virtually on Sunday, with analysts divided over the size of the expected hike.The meeting by the group of eight oil-producing countries known as the “Voluntary Eight” (V8) comes as oil prices head for weekly losses and rumours of a possible output increase of up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) swirl.Angered by what it dismissed as “wholly inaccurate and misleading” media reports, the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) urged news outlets in a statement on Tuesday to “exercise accuracy… in order to avoid fuelling” market speculation.Experts had initially expected a production hike of 137,000 bpd from November, which would mirror the October increase.But Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht cautioned that uncertainty remained, as “the group has frequently surprised markets with swift production hikes in the recent past”.Since April, the V8 group — comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — has boosted production by 2.5 million bpd (mbpd) in total.The group has sped up output increases at a pace very few had predicted at the beginning of the year, following a long period of producers seeking to combat price erosion by implementing production cuts to make oil scarcer.  – Prices in decline -But in recent months, OPEC+ has shifted its strategy in a bid to regain market share in the face of competition from other countries, and “with output from the United States, Brazil, Canada, Guyana and Argentina at or near all-time highs”, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest monthly oil report.But the IEA stressed that global demand outlook for crude “remains largely unchanged”, with growth of around 700,000 bpd expected for both 2025 and 2026.The OPEC cartel was more optimistic in its latest projections for oil demand worldwide, forecasting increases of 1.3 mbpd in 2025 and 1.4 mbpd in 2026.According to Tamas Varga of PVM, signs of a “long-awaited glut” are now “loudly knocking on the doors of our market”.Against this backdrop, the possibility of a larger increase in the grouping’s quotas has sent the price of Brent crude — the global benchmark for crude oil — plummeting below $65 a barrel, a loss of around eight percent in a week.- Russia in uncomfortable position -Russia, the second-largest producer in OPEC+ behind Saudi Arabia, could oppose a sizeable increase in quotas from next month, amid fears it could cause crude oil prices to fall further.Following last month’s decision, Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon explained that “Russia depends on high prices to fund its war machine” and unlike Riyadh, the Kremlin has limited potential to increase production due to Western sanctions.Russia, which currently produces around 9.25 mbpd, has a “maximum production capacity of 9.45 mbpd” compared to around 10 mbpd before the war, Homayoun Falakshahi at Kpler told AFP.Moreover, Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have intensified since August, translating into “rising crude exports from Russia, as the oil cannot be used domestically”, and making Moscow even more dependent on selling its crude abroad, said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen of Global Risk Management.

UK pro-Palestinian protests went ahead Saturday despite a plea from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, two days after a deadly car-ramming and knife attack on a synagogue.Four people — two men and two  women — remained in custody on suspicion of terrorism-linked offences following Thursday’s attack.An 18-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man who had been held earlier were released and would face no further action, police said.Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in the assault in the northwestern city of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.Police shot dead assailant Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.The attack has heightened fear among Britain’s Jewish community.Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city “with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities”.The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the occupied territory that the United Nations considers reliable.The conflict has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.Around 1,000 people on Saturday gathered in Trafalgar Square in central London to show their support for the banned Palestine Action group, organisers Defend Our Juries said.A spokesperson said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack, adding that “cancelling peaceful protests lets terror win”.A smaller demonstration organised by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine attracted about 100 people in the city.- Accidental shooting -Ahead of the demonstrations, Starmer urged protesters not to join the rallies.”I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he said on X.Police said the total number of people arrested  at the London protest “for supporting a proscribed organisation” stood at 488.The oldest person arrested was 89, the Met said.Four people had been arrested for other offences.Some 297 remained in custody while the rest had been bailed, the force added.Since the government banned the group in early July, supporting it has become a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 and hundreds of people have been arrested at multiple protests.”I’m ready to be arrested,” a 21-year-old student, who did not want to be named, told AFP.”The ban of Palestine Action is undemocratic. It shouldn’t be a terrorist group, they haven’t killed anybody,” he said.David Cannon, 73, chair of the Jewish Network for Palestine said the demonstration was “totally separate” from what had happened in Manchester.”There’s nothing Jewish about genocide, about apartheid, about ethnic cleansing,” he said.The UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would probe the police shooting of attacker Shamie.The investigation would also examine the shooting dead, most likely by police, of one of the incident’s two victims who suffered a fatal gunshot as well as a third person who was shot but survived.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene, meaning both were accidentally shot by armed officers as they tackled Shamie.”Our independent investigation will look at circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie,” it said in a statement.”A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound.”

Huge numbers turned out at pro-Palestinian rallies in Europe on Saturday, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the territory.The police in Rome said some 250,000 turned out for a fourth day of protests, after Israel intercepted the 45-strong flotilla seeking to reach Gaza earlier this week.Some 70,000 people took to the streets in Barcelona, according to the police, while the government in Madrid said nearly 92,000 marched in the Spanish capital.Elsewhere, several thousand people marched through the centre of the Irish capital, Dublin, to mark what organisers said was “two years of genocide” in Gaza.With Ireland, Spain is one of the fiercest European critics of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas militants’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.But in Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government has been criticised for its inaction on the siege of the Palestinian territory.On Saturday, Meloni accused demonstrators of defacing a statue of Pope John Paul II with graffiti in front of Rome’s main train station, calling it a “shameful act”. “They claim to take to the streets for peace, but they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace,” she said in a statement.Protesters in the Italian capital, including families with children, shouted, “We are all Palestinians”, “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide”, with many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing black-and-white chequered keffiyehs.”Usually, I don’t appreciate large-scale demonstrations, but today, I couldn’t bring myself to stay home,” Donato Colucci, a 44-year-old scout leader accompanying 150 youths from a secular association, told AFP. “I think countries like Italy, France, and Spain have developed a culture of resistance and democratic values more than others because they experienced dictatorship and violence.”In Barcelona, Marta Carranza, a 65-year-old pensioner demonstrating with a Palestinian flag on her back, said Israel’s policy “has been wrong for many years and we have to take to the streets”.- Solidarity -The Global Sumud flotilla, which was intercepted on Wednesday, left Barcelona in early September and had been seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has taken hold.Around 50 Spaniards on the flotilla have been detained by Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public television in an interview aired on Saturday. The flotilla organisers say Israel’s actions were “illegal” since they intercepted the vessels while they were traversing international waters. In Paris, where some 10,000 people gathered, a spokesperson for the French contingent of Global Sumud, Helene Coron, told the crowd: “We’ll never stop. “This flotilla didn’t get to Gaza. But we’ll send another, then another until Palestine and Gaza are free.”Jordi Bas, a 40-year-old primary school teacher waving a Palestinian flag in Barcelona, said he was not surprised by the huge turn-out. “People are beginning to wake up a bit,” he added, saying “the whole world is mobilising in solidarity”.On September 14, around 100,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators forced the halt of the final stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race in the Spanish capital, where an Israeli team was competing.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be barred from international sport over the Gaza war, just as Russia was penalised over its invasion of Ukraine.In September, Spain said it would ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which have been described by UN rights chief Volker Turk as a war crime.In Ireland, speakers called for sanctions on Israel and an immediate end to the conflict — and Palestinian involvement in the ceasefire plan.In London, police said they made at least 442 arrests at a gathering in support of the proscribed Palestine Action group. Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged protesters to stay home this weekend, after a deadly synagogue attack on Thursday.burs-phz/gv