bombed

‘Debris was burning’.
Nigerians have described what they witnessed in US strikes on the town of Jabo, which President Donald Trump says were targeting ISIL.

The Halawa family’s building still stands two storeys above the rubble in Gaza City, a rare survivor after two years of nonstop Israeli air attacks that levelled buildings across the besieged Palestinian enclave.

One section has collapsed, with bent metal rods protruding from where a roof once existed. The family built a narrow set of creaking wooden steps to access their home, though these makeshift stairs threaten to give way at any moment. Yet amid the destruction, it remains home.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, destroyed or damaged more than 70 percent of the buildings, and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million residents.

In October, Israel reached an agreement to cease fire, but its attacks have not stopped. It has killed more than 400 Palestinians since then, in violation of the truce agreement. It has also not allowed the full entry of aid.

Reconstruction has not begun and is projected to take years, as Israel has kept total control over what goes in and comes out of the enclave. This means families like the Halawas are struggling to rebuild their lives.

The family abandoned their home three months after the war began on October 7, 2023. They returned during the fragile calm established by the truce. Like many others, this family of seven found living in their damaged residence preferable to tent life, particularly as winter rains flooded tent shelters over the past weeks.

In one damaged room, Amani Halawa brewed coffee in a small tin over a fire while thin rays of light filtered through concrete fragments. Amani, her husband Mohammed, and their children have made repairs using concrete scraps, hanging backpacks from exposed metal rods and arranging pots and pans across the kitchen floor.

The home’s walls feature a painted tree and messages to family members separated by the conflict.

Throughout damaged apartments in Gaza City, daily life persists, even as families lie awake fearing their walls might collapse. Health officials report that at least 11 people died from building collapses in a single week in December.

In her home, Sahar Taroush swept dust from carpets placed over rubble. Her daughter Bisan’s face glowed in the light of a computer screen as she watched a movie beside gaping holes in the wall.

On another building’s cracked wall, a family displayed a torn photo of their grandfather on horseback from his time serving in the Palestinian Authority’s security forces during the 1990s. Nearby, a man reclined on a bed precariously balanced on a damaged balcony, scrolling through his phone above the devastated al-Karama neighbourhood.

Despite Trump claim of ceasefire, no end on horizon to latest round of conflict recently reignited by border skirmish.

Cambodia’s defence ministry has accused Thailand’s military of bombing the casino hub of Poipet, a major land crossing between the two nations, which are engaged in renewed clashes along their border.

The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Thai forces had “dropped 2 bombs” in the municipality of Poipet, located in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey, at about 11am (04:00 GMT) that morning.

At the time of reporting, Thailand had not yet confirmed the strike on the bustling casino hub, which is popular with Thai gamblers.

The interior ministry said this week that at least four casinos in Cambodia have been damaged by Thai strikes.

Renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 17 in Cambodia, while displacing about 800,000, officials said.

Thailand said on Tuesday that between 5,000 and 6,000 Thai nationals remained stranded in Poipet after Cambodia closed its land border crossings with its neighbour.

Cambodia’s interior ministry said the border closures were a “necessary measure” to reduce risks to civilians amid the ongoing combat, adding that air travel remained an option for those seeking to leave.

Truce denial

Five days of fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, and then broken within months.

United States President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly intervened in the longstanding conflict this year, claimed last week that the two countries had agreed to a new ceasefire.

But Bangkok denied any truce had been agreed upon, and fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets has continued daily since a border skirmish earlier this month caused the latest round of conflict.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.

Each side has blamed the other for instigating the renewed fighting, claiming self-defence, while trading accusations of attacks on civilians.

China said it was sending its special envoy for Asian affairs to Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday for a “shuttle-diplomacy trip” to help bridge the gaps and “rebuild peace”.