“No one is safe in el-Fasher.” The UN Security Council condemned escalating violence in Sudan’s Darfur region amid reports of atrocities by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The ambassadors to Sudan and the United Arab Emirates had a heated exchange, with Sudan accusing the UAE of supporting the RSF.
Published On 30 Oct 202530 Oct 2025
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Mass expulsion continues from Gaza’s largest urban centre as hundreds of thousands of trapped civilians endure incessant Israeli bombardment.
Published On 19 Sep 202519 Sep 2025
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President Donald Trump has added his voice to the chorus of condemnation over Israel's attack on Hamas's office in Doha.
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Israel’s attack that killed six in Doha draws criticism from across the world as Israeli troops continue to bombard Gaza.
Published On 10 Sep 202510 Sep 2025
An outpouring of grief and condemnation has followed the Israeli assassination of five Al Jazeera staff in Gaza, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif.
The drone attack late on Sunday hit a tent for journalists positioned outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, killing seven people. Among the dead were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal.
Just hours earlier, al-Sharif, 28, had posted on X about Israel’s “intense, concentrated bombardment” on eastern and southern Gaza City. Known for his fearless reporting from northern Gaza, he had become one of the most recognisable voices documenting the ongoing Israeli genocide in the enclave.
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned what it called a “targeted assassination” of its journalists.
Below are a few of the responses to the killing of Al Jazeera staff:
The Palestinian mission to the United Nations accused Israel of “deliberately assassinating” al-Sharif and Qreiqeh, describing them as among the “last remaining journalists” in Gaza.
“They have systematically and dutifully exposed and documented Israel’s genocide and starvation,” the mission said on X. “As Israel continues to ethnically cleanse Gaza, its enemy remains the truth: the brave journalists exposing its heinous crimes.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has called on the world to hold Israel to account after the killing of the five Al Jazeera staff.
“A press badge is no shield against genocidal war criminals who fear the world witnessing their atrocities,” said Baghaei, accusing Israel of assassinating the journalists “in cold blood”.
“Strong condemnation is the bare minimum for any decent human being, but the world must act immediately to stop this harrowing genocide and hold the criminals accountable,” he added.
“Indifference and inaction are complicity in Israel’s crimes.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, offered condolences to “the Al Jazeera family” and called for an investigation.
“We have always been very clear in condemning all killings of journalists,” Dujarric said. “In Gaza, and everywhere, media workers should be able to carry out their work freely and without harassment, intimidation or fear of being targeted.”
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned “in the strongest terms” the killing of its journalists in a targeted assassination by Israeli forces.
In a statement, the network said the Israeli military “admitted to their crimes” and deliberately directed the attack at the journalists’ location. It called the assassination “another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom”.
The strike came amid what Al Jazeera described as the “catastrophic consequences” of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, including mass civilian deaths, forced starvation, and the destruction of entire communities.
The network called the killing of al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s most prominent reporters, and his colleagues “a desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says it is “appalled” by Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera journalists.
“Israel’s pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said the CPJ’s regional director, Sara Qudah.
“Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable,” Qudah added.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the CPJ, recalled how Israel accused al-Sharif and others of being “terrorists” last October without evidence.
“We warned back then that this felt to us like a precursor to justify assassination,” she told Al Jazeera. “This is part of a pattern … going back decades, in which it kills journalists.”
Amnesty International condemned the strike as a war crime under international law and remembered al-Sharif as a “brave and extraordinary” reporter.
In 2024, al-Sharif was awarded Amnesty International Australia’s Human Rights Defender Award for his resilience and commitment to press freedom.
“We at Amnesty International are devastated and heartbroken,” said Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia’s spokesperson on the occupied Palestinian territory. “Anas dedicated his life to standing before the camera, exposing Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians, and documenting the truth so the world could bear witness.
“The courageous and brave journalists who have been reporting since the genocide began have been operating in the most dangerous conditions on Earth. At great risk to their lives, they have remained to show the world the war crimes being committed by Israel against almost two million Palestinian women, men and children,” he added.
Mike Balsamo, president of the US-based National Press Club, said the killing of journalists is “a loss felt far beyond one newsroom” and urged a “thorough and transparent” investigation.
“Journalists must be able to work without being targeted or killed,” Balsamo said. “All parties in conflict zones must honour their obligations under international law to protect reporters and ensure they can carry out their work safely.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned Israel’s killing of five Al Jazeera journalists and called on US and international media workers to “stand in solidarity” with their Palestinian colleagues.
“Israel’s ongoing campaign of targeted assassinations of Palestinian journalists is a war crime, plain and simple,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“The murder of these Al Jazeera journalists is not an accident or collateral damage – it is part of a consistent, documented policy of silencing media voices and hiding the truth of the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza,” Awad said.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed 269 journalists in Gaza, in the deadliest conflict ever recorded for reporters.
Palestinians gathered to mourn those killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza’s only Catholic church.
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New Delhi, India — India has distanced itself from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) condemnation of Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran, signalling a potential rift in the influential Eurasian political bloc over the conflict.
World leaders have repeatedly called for de-escalation amid Israel’s unprecedented attacks on its regional rival, Iran, which threaten to destabilise the region. Last Friday, the latest round of fighting began after Israel launched attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear sites.
This follows two rounds of direct military conflict between Iran and Israel in 2024, which were triggered by Israeli strikes on Iranian targets and subsequent Iranian retaliation.
Iranian authorities say Israeli attacks since Friday have targeted residential and military areas in Tehran as well as many cities across the country, killing at least 80 people, including civilians. Several Iranian nuclear scientists and university professors were killed along with several top-ranking commanders of the Iranian armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Israeli attacks on Saturday hit refineries, power stations and oil reserves across Iran. Tehran has retaliated by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens. Meanwhile, Tehran has also paused nuclear negotiations with the United States.
So, why did India refuse to take part in the discussions or endorse the SCO’s position on Israel’s attacks? Is India backing Israel? And what is at stake for these countries?
The SCO, a political and security bloc founded in 2001, includes China, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran is the most recent entrant, having joined the SCO under India’s chairmanship in 2023.
On Saturday, the SCO, currently chaired by China, said its member states “express serious concern” over the escalating Iran-Israel tensions and “strongly condemn the military strikes carried out by Israel” on the territory of Iran.
The SCO statement further noted that Israel’s “aggressive actions against civilian targets, including energy and transport infrastructure, which have resulted in civilian casualties, are a gross violation of international law and the United Nations Charter”.
“[Israeli attacks] constitute an infringement on Iran’s sovereignty, cause damage to regional and international security, and pose serious risks to global peace and stability,” the statement added, extending condolences to Iran’s government and people.
“The SCO member states firmly advocate for the resolution of the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear program exclusively through peaceful, political, and diplomatic means,” the statement noted.
After Israel’s initial strikes on Tehran, Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in which he “conveyed the deep concern of the international community at the turn of events”.
Jaishankar “urged avoidance of any escalatory steps and an early return to diplomacy,” according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The ministry also underlined its concerns in a separate statement on Friday.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation, including reports related to attacks on nuclear sites,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said, urging both sides to use existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy to “work towards a de-escalation of the situation”.
“India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” the statement noted.
Shanthie D’Souza, a senior research fellow at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, told Al Jazeera, “Unlike other SCO nations, India is in a unique position given that it has to maintain defence ties with Israel and its economic ties with Iran.”
India is Israel’s largest weapons buyer, and in 2024, Indian weapons firms also sold Israel rockets and explosives amid the war in Gaza, an Al Jazeera investigation revealed. At the same time, India has been developing Iran’s Chabahar Port as a gateway for its exports to Central Asia and Afghanistan.
“India has maintained a delicate balancing act [in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Iran],” D’Souza said.
After the SCO statement condemning the Israeli strikes on Iran, New Delhi said it did not participate in discussions about the statement.
“The overall position of India as stated above was communicated to other SCO members,” the Foreign Ministry said, referring to its earlier statement for India’s official position.
Not explicitly. But by distancing itself from the bloc’s stance, New Delhi has weakened the force of the SCO’s condemnation of Israel’s attacks on Iran.
A day before distancing itself from the SCO statement, India abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza.
To Kabir Taneja, the deputy director of the strategic studies programme at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, India’s abstention at the UN was perplexing. He suggested that it may have been influenced by India’s desire to maintain good relations with the US, noting how India is close to a trade agreement with Washington – a deal it is trying to clinch before US President Donald Trump’s threatened 27 percent tariff on Indian goods is lifted in early July.
National interests aside, Taneja noted that New Delhi’s distancing from the SCO on the Israel-Iran tensions also “reflects on the construct of the SCO, where India is sort of an outlier inside”.
While China and Russia are close to Iran, Taneja said, given India’s relationships with the US and Israel, “it would have been very difficult [for India] to subscribe to SCO’s particular wording and statement”.
Before Trump imposed sanctions following the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2017, Iran was India’s third-largest oil supplier.
In February, after Trump returned for a second term in office, he doubled down on economic pressure tactics to corner Iran by suspending sanction waivers “that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief, including those related to Iran’s Chabahar port project”.
The port would allow India to bypass its rival, Pakistan, by trading with landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia via Iran. India had secured a sanctions waiver from the US during the first Trump administration for work related to Chabahar.
Now, Trump’s sanctions put New Delhi’s multimillion-dollar investment in the strategically located maritime facility at risk.
But India’s interest in maintaining strong ties with Iran goes beyond just the port project. Taneja noted that India values Iran’s geographic position because it provides it with access to Afghanistan and Central Asia – regions important for India’s trade, security, and influence.
The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iran. China and Russia condemned the bombings, while Israel’s allies, including France, doubled down on support for Israel.
Published On 14 Jun 202514 Jun 2025