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More than four months since his release from Gaza, former hostage Keith Siegel bears the mental scars of 484 days of captivity in destroyed buildings and tunnels in the hands of Palestinian militant group Hamas.The 66-year-old Israeli-American and his wife Aviva were among 251 hostages seized from residential communities along the Gaza border, army bases and a music festival on October 7, 2023.In a recent interview with AFP, Siegel told of physical and sexual abuse that he had experienced and witnessed in captivity, and of the extreme stress of not knowing if he would ever see his family again.In one incident, he recalled how his captor, out of the blue, pulled out a gun and said: “I’m going to kill you now.””Then he said, ‘now you’re dead’ and laughed,” added Siegel, wearing a t-shirt with the words “Bring them home now”, a call to free the remaining 52 hostages still in Gaza after more than 20 months.One of the locations where Siegel was held was so far underground that he was “gasping for breath”, he recalled.”It was the most horrendous, or one of the most horrendous, situations that I was in.”He was first held with his wife, then with other hostages, as well as spending many months alone.In total, he was moved throughout the Gaza Strip around 33 times, hidden inside tunnels or in bombed-out buildings and private homes.During the darkest moments, Siegel said he used mindfulness techniques to stay strong, having long, imaginary conversations with family and friends.- Nationality checks -Throughout his ordeal, Siegel said he had focused on staying alive so he could see his wife, their four children and grandchildren.”There were peaks of anxiety, fear and just the torture of not knowing, the uncertainty of not knowing,” he said.”I promised myself that I must return and was not able to think that I would not return. I think that gave me a lot of strength psychologically to get through the days.”Recounting some of the lowest points of his lengthy captivity, Siegel said one of his biggest fears initially was Hamas finding out that he was a US citizen, concerned that it could mean separating from his wife.”At the very beginning, on October 7, they asked us all our names, our ages, where we’re from, and if we have another nationality, citizenship… I said that I did not,” he said.”I was worried that they might release me (without Aviva), because I’m an American citizen.”She was released 51 days after the 2023 attack — more than a year before he was, both under short-lived truce deals.Siegel said he experienced taunts about his wife and daughter, and his genitalia, as well as extreme physical abuse that in two instances left him with broken ribs.- ‘Medieval-style torture’ -But it was witnessing the mistreatment of other hostages that made Siegel pause for breath during the interview and tear up.”I witnessed a woman being tortured, literally,” he said, describing it as “medieval-style torture”.”She was on her back, her hands were bound together, and also her feet, and they had put… tape, or a piece of material around her mouth so she couldn’t talk,” Siegel said.”There was a man standing behind her with a metal rod that had a sharp point at the end of it and it was on this woman’s forehead, and he was applying pressure.”Siegel did not name the woman, but his description matches an account given by released hostage Amit Soussana, in media interviews in which the 41-year-old lawyer said her captors had tried to make her confess to being an Israeli soldier.For Siegel, having to watch the torture and being powerless to stop it still gives him “terrible thoughts”.”I just felt paralysed,” he said. – ‘Bring the hostages home’ -Free now, Siegel remains fascinated with the departure “presents” handed over by his captors the day he left.Inside a paper bag with a Hamas logo, there was a gold embossed “release certificate” signed by a commander from the group’s military wing, two key rings with Palestinian flags, and a leather bracelet bearing the same flag.Since returning home, he has become especially active in campaigning for the release of the remaining hostages.Clutching posters of other captives he had spent extended periods of time with — Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, and twins Gali and Ziv Berman –- Siegel called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump “to bring an end to the suffering, bring an end to the war and bring the hostages home”.

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in European cities calling for an end to the war in Gaza, hours before President Donald Trump said the US military had attacked three Iranian nuclear sites Sunday.In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves.In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures.And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organisers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire.Thousands also gathered outside a French trade fair near Paris attended by Israeli defence firms, calling for an end to war profiteering and Israel’s offensive in Gaza.There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza.This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including “Stop arming Israel” and “No war on Iran” as they marched in the sweltering heat.”It’s important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,” said 34-year-old Harry Baker.”I don’t have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation,” he said, adding that this was his third pro-Palestinian protest.- Regional fears -Saturday’s marches came after Trump announced on social media that the US military had carried out a “very successful attack” on three Iranian nuclear sites.The US president added that after the strikes Iran “must now agree to end this war”.Tehran had said Saturday that more than 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon — which Iran denies.Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures.One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was “scared”.”I’m worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it’s still my country,” she said.Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade.Gaza’s civil defence agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites.”People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That’s where the genocide is happening,” said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus.- ‘Scared’ -In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting “Germany finances, Israel bombs”.”You can’t sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,” said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name.For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the “genocide currently taking place” and the “dirty work” being done by the German government.In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians.The rally there was called by organisations including Amnesty International, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation.Slogans included “Stop the occupation”, “Stop the starvation, stop the violence”, and “Right to self-determination”.Some marchers chanted: “We are all the children of Gaza”.The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.

President Donald Trump delivered brief remarks from the White House late Saturday after the US military carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Here is what Trump said in full:”A short time ago the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.”Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. “For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.'”They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs, with roadside bombs. That was their specialty, we lost over 1,000 people. “And hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate, in particular, so many were killed by their general Qasem Soleimani. “I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue. “I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. “I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they’ve done. “And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.”Hopefully we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that’s so. “I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine, spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack. “With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. “Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. “But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. “There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.”Tomorrow, General Caine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, will have a press conference at 8 am at the Pentagon. “And I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God. I want to just say we love you, God, and we love our great military, protect them. “God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel, and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.”

President Donald Trump said the US military launched a “very successful attack” Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites including the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, as Washington joined Israel’s air campaign against Tehran.Trump said a “full payload of BOMBS” was dropped on the underground facility at Fordo and he was set to address the nation at 10:00 pm on Saturday Washington time (0200 GMT Sunday) following his surprise announcement of the strikes.The fresh US military entanglement in the Middle East comes despite Trump’s promises to avoid another of his country’s “forever wars” in the region. Iran had vowed to retaliate against US forces in the region if Washington got involved. “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.”A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.”Trump added that “all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors.” Iranian media confirmed that part of the Fordo plant as well as the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were attacked.Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attacks, while the United States also gave key ally Israel a “heads up” before the strikes, a senior White House official told AFP.In a second post announcing his address to the nation from the White House, Trump said that “IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR.”He described it as a “historic” moment for the United States, Israel and the world.Earlier Saturday there were reports that US B-2 bombers — which carry so-called “bunker buster” bombs — were headed out of the United States across the Pacific.Trump did not say what kind of US planes or munitions were involved.- ‘More devastating’ -Trump said on Thursday that he would decide “within two weeks” whether to join Israel’s campaign — but the decision came far sooner.The US president had also stepped up his rhetoric against Iran in recent days, repeating his insistence that it could never have a nuclear weapon.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday of a “more devastating” retaliation should Israel’s nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear program “under any circumstances.”Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.On Saturday, Israel said it had attacked Isfahan for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit.Later Saturday Iran’s Mehr news agency said Israel had hit the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard meanwhile announced early Sunday that “suicide drones” had been launched against “strategic targets” across Israel.Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and on Saturday Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”- ‘Continued aggression’ -In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said “we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” he added, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany had met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war.Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Friday that, based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people had been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.Iran’s health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed in the Israeli strikes.Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.Leading US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said Trump risked US “entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,” while the Israeli army has raised its alert level, permitting only essential activities until further notice.

Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, pledged Saturday to keep campaigning after he was released from a federal detention center.”Even if they would kill me, I would still speak for Palestine,” Khalil said as he was greeted by cheering supporters at Newark airport, just outside New York City. Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody since March facing potential deportation.He was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.”Just the fact I am here sends a message — the fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now,” said Khalil, who is still fighting his potential expulsion from the United States.He spoke alongside his wife Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to the couple’s first child while Khalil was in detention, as well as Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”Mahmoud Khalil was imprisoned for 104 days by this administration, by the Trump administration, with no grounds and for political reasons, because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights,” Ocasio-Cortez said.”This is not over, and we will have to continue to support this case,” she added.Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is not allowed to leave the United States except for “self-deportation” under the terms of his release.He also faces restrictions on where he can travel within the country.President Donald Trump’s government has justified pushing for Khalil’s deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”Beyond his legal case, Khalil’s team fears he could face threats out of detention.”We are very mindful about his security, and the irony is that he is the one being persecuted,” Baher Azmy, one of his lawyers, told AFP. “But he is committed to peace and because he is rejecting US government policy he is under threat,” Azmy added, without elaborating on any security measures in place for Khalil and his family.

A privately run aid organisation brought in to distribute food rations in war-hit Gaza last month with US and Israeli backing said Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory “desperately need more aid”.The admission by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that it has been unable to meet demand came after severe criticism from other aid groups and near-daily deadly shootings near distribution points.Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed at least 17 people, including eight who were seeking food in the territory which is suffering from famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, according to aid groups.In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organisation was “delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively… But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed.”He said the GHF was “working with the government of Israel to honour its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza”.”The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most,” Acree said.GHF’s operations have been slammed as a “failure” by the United Nations, while other aid groups have raised concerns about the group’s opaque structure and neutrality in the conflict that has been raging since October 2023.According to figures issued Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire since GHF began distributing meal boxes in late May.GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services.It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys.On Monday, the head of aid group Doctors Without Borders, Christopher Lockyear, said that the “imposed system of aid delivery” in Gaza was “not only a failure, but it is dehumanising and dangerous”.Israel’s military has continued its operations in Gaza, even as attention has shifted to its ongoing war with Iran since June 13.- Restrictions -Israel’s ban on foreign media entering the Gaza Strip and difficulties for local journalists to travel in the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.The Israeli army told AFP Saturday it was “looking into” the deaths which the civil defence agency reported near GHF distribution centres.In the past, the military has said that its troops have fired on crowds approaching them in a threatening fashion and only after warning shots.Witnesses have told AFP about injuries caused by drones and tank rounds.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, with another five killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations from a GHF centre.Earlier this week, the UN’s World Health Organization warned that Gaza’s health system was at a “breaking point”, pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running.The Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned Saturday of a “more devastating” retaliation should Israel’s nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear programme “under any circumstances”.Israel said on Saturday it had killed three more Iranian commanders in its unprecedented offensive, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Tehran’s alleged progress towards a nuclear weapon had been set back by two years.”We will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat,” Saar told the German newspaper Bild, asserting Israel would keep up its onslaught.Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.On Saturday, Israel said it had attacked Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit.Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and on Saturday Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme “cannot be taken away… by threats or war”.In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said Iran was “ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities”.”However, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” he added, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.Referring to the Israeli attacks, he said: “Our response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating.”Iran’s armed forces threatened to strike shipments of military aid to Israel “from any country”.Israel’s main arms supplier is the United States, whose President Donald Trump warned on Friday that Tehran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes as Washington weighed whether to join Israel’s campaign.- ‘Not prepared to negotiate’ -Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war.But Araghchi told NBC News that “we’re not prepared to negotiate with them (the Americans) anymore, as long as the aggression continues”.Trump, dismissive of European diplomatic efforts, said he was unlikely to ask Israel to stop its attacks to get Iran back to the table.”If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do,” he said of Israel’s campaign. Any US involvement would likely feature powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses to destroy an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo.US B-2 stealth bombers capable of carrying bunker busters were flying across the Pacific Ocean, according to tracking data and media reports, fuelling speculation over their intended mission.Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement.- Hundreds killed -A US-based NGO, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, said on Friday that based on its sources and media reports at least 657 people have been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.Iran’s health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed and 3,056 in the Israeli strikes.Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.The Israeli military said it launched a fresh wave of strikes on Saturday in the area of southern Iran’s Bandar Abbas, targeting drones storage sites and a weapons facility.Iran’s Tasnim news agency said air defences were activated in the area.Overnight, Iran said it targeted central Israel with drones and missiles. Israeli rescuers said there were no casualties after an Iranian drone struck a residential building.On the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Israel said Saturday that an Iranian terror plot targeting Israeli citizens had been “thwarted”.- ‘Tired’ -Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate said more than 450 missiles had been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones.In Tel Aviv, where residents have faced regular Iranian strikes for nine days, some expressed growing fatigue under the constant threat from Iran.”In the middle of the night, we have to wake the children and take them to the shelter,” Omer, who gave only his first name, told AFP, adding he still supported Israel’s war aim of denying Iran a nuclear weapon.The streets of Tehran, meanwhile, were still largely quiet Saturday, though a few cafes and restaurants were open.In the afternoon, supporters of the government gathered briefly in front of the headquarters of state television to wave Iranian, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags to a soundtrack of electronic music whose lyrics called for the “death of Israel”.Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the expansion of Iran’s nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country’s accelerated uranium enrichment.International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent.However, his agency had “no indication” of the existence of a “systematic programme” in Iran to produce a bomb.Grossi told CNN it was “pure speculation” to say how long it would take Iran to develop weapons.burs-csp/smw/ami

Thousands marched on Saturday outside a French trade fair, calling for an end to war profiteering and Israel’s offensive in Gaza in the latest demonstration to hit the event.The long-planned protest at the Paris Air Show outside the French capital also comes as Israel’s war with Iran drags on into a ninth day, with Tehran threatening to hit back in force at Israel’s offensive against its arch-rival.The presence of Israeli defence firms at the show has already become a bone of contention, with the French government on Monday sealing off the booths of five Israeli firms on the grounds that they were displaying offensive weapons that could be used in Gaza.”Their wars, their profits, our deaths, stop the genocide in Palestine,” read the banner at the head of the march, which organisers claimed drew more than 4,000 protesters.”As we speak, people are dying and our governments are not doing anything to stop it,” Nora, 29, told AFP at the protest. Draped in a Palestinian flag, the project leader in the pharmaceutical industry said that she felt “rage” at the footage coming out of Gaza, including that of “mothers kissing their dead children” in the besieged Palestinian territory.Police have arrested seven people aiming to disrupt the trade fair, the Paris public prosecutor office said, with officers discovering a helium canister and nearly 200 balloons during the searches.Six of the arrests were made on Friday and the other on Saturday, the prosecutor’s office added.Drawing some 100,000 visitors a day, the Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airfield, nine kilometres (five miles) to the north of the capital, is usually dominated by displays of the aerospace industry’s latest cutting-edge planes. But Monday’s shuttering of the stands of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, UVision and Elbit, as well as Aeronautics, which make drones and guided bombs and missiles, sparked a row with Israel.Israel’s President Isaac Herzog branded Paris’s closure of the Israeli firms’ booths “outrageous”, comparing it to “creating an Israeli ghetto”.It came days after Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear bomb, launched a surprise barrage on June 13 which killed top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists.Tehran immediately hit back with a flurry of missiles, with the two countries trading wave after wave of devastating strikes since.

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in London and Berlin on Saturday calling for an end to the war in Gaza, amid concerns that the Iran-Israel conflict could spark wider regional devastation.Protesters in the British capital waved Palestinian flags, donned keffiyeh scarves and carried signs including “Stop arming Israel” and “No war on Iran” as they marched in the sweltering heat.”It’s important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,” said 34-year-old Harry Baker, attending his third pro-Palestinian protest.”I don’t have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation,” he added.There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza.Saturday’s march comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel’s strikes against Iran.Cries of “Palestine will be free” rang out as protesters carried signs saying “Hands off Gaza” or “Stop starving Gaza”.Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade. Gaza’s civil defence agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites.”People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That’s where the genocide is happening,” said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus.”I feel frustrated, angry because of what’s happening in Gaza,” said 31-year-old data analyst Jose Diaz.”It’s in everyone’s eyes. It’s still on after so many months,” Diaz added.- ‘Scared’ -The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after 1,219 people were killed in Israel by the Islamist group’s October 7, 2023, attack.A 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was “scared”.”I’m worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it’s still my country. I’m scared,” she said.Tehran said over 400 people have been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures.In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures.”You can’t sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,” said protestor Gundula, who did not want to give her second name.”Germany finances, Israel bombs” was among the chants from the crowd, which gathered mid-afternoon close to the German parliament.For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the “genocide currently taking place” and the “dirty work” being done by the German government.

Israel said Saturday it had killed three more Iranian commanders in its unprecedented bombing campaign against the Islamic republic, which Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed had delayed Tehran’s alleged progress towards a nuclear weapon by two years.Israel’s military said a strike in Qom south of Tehran successfully targeted top Iranian official Saeed Izadi, in charge of coordination with Palestinian militant group Hamas, adding two other commanders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were also killed overnight.As Israel continued to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities and military targets, Saar said in an interview that by his country’s own assessment, it had “already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb”.”We will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat,” Saar told German newspaper Bild, asserting Israel’s onslaught would continue.Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon — an accusation the Islamic republic has denied.Israel said it had attacked Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site for a second time after its air force announced it had also launched salvos against missile storage and launch sites in the centre of the country.The army later said it was striking military infrastructure in southwest Iran.US President Donald Trump warned on Friday that Tehran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes, as Washington weighs whether to join Israel’s campaign.- ‘Not prepared to negotiate’ -Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday, and urged him to resume talks with the United States that had been derailed by Israel’s attacks.But Araghchi told NBC News after the meeting that “we’re not prepared to negotiate with them (the United States) anymore, as long as the aggression continues”. Trump, dismissive of European diplomatic efforts, also said he was unlikely to ask Israel to stop its attacks to get Iran back to the table.”If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do,” he said. Any US involvement would likely feature powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses to destroy an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo.A US-based NGO, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, said on Friday that based on its sources and media reports at least 657 people have been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.Iran’s health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed and 3,056 in the Israeli strikes.Nasrin, 39, who was receiving treatment at Hazrat Rasool hospital in Tehran and who gave only her first name, said she had been thrown across a room in her home by an Israeli strike on the Iranian capital”I just hit the wall. I don’t know how long I was unconscious. When I woke up, I was covered in blood from head to toe,” she told AFP from her hospital bed. – ‘Pure speculation’ -Traffic police and the Fars news agency reported congestion on roads heading into Tehran on Saturday, indicating some inhabitants were returning to the capital. Internet access remained highly unstable and limited in Tehran, with slow connections and many sites still inaccessible, according to AFP journalists.Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.Overnight, Iran said it targeted central Israel with drones and missiles. Israeli rescuers said there were no casualties after an Iranian drone struck a residential building in Beit She’an.At the site of the strike in the north of Israel, mounds of soil had been gouged from the ground and the wall of a ground-floor room was destroyed.Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate said more than 450 missiles have been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted military sites and air force bases.In Tel Aviv, where residents have faced regular Iranian strikes for nine days, some expressed growing fatigue under the constant threat from Iran.”In the middle of the night, we have to wake the children and take them to the shelter,” Omer, who gave only his first name, told AFP. “They are tired all day after that,” he added, explaining he still supported Israel’s war aim of denying Iran a nuclear weapon. Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the expansion of Iran’s nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country’s accelerated uranium enrichment.International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent.However, he added that there was no evidence Tehran had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead.Grossi told CNN it was “pure speculation” to say how long it would take Iran to develop weapons.burs-csp/smw