Israeli jets destroy media hub in Gaza City
Reporters flee residential building, leaving notebooks, cameras and computers behind
TEL AVIV — Israeli jets demolished a building housing several international news outlets in Gaza City Saturday, sparking outrage among media groups and concern from the White House as violence continued to engulf Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The conflict raged unabated as the violence moved into its second week. Rockets from Gaza hit Israeli cities and communal strife gripped swaths of Israel and the West Bank.
At least 139 people have died in Gaza, according to the health ministry, including eight people, women and children among them, who were killed in a strike within the Shati refugee camp. An Israeli military spokesman said that incident was being investigated and officials would issue a statement as soon as possible.
In Israel, one person died after two rockets fell in Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv, according to emergency rescue services, taking the death toll in Israel to 10.
The Israeli military said the multistory building in Gaza City that housed the BBC, The Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media outlets was also used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including intelligence and research and development offices.
The journalists and others received warning calls from Israeli military operatives giving them about an hour to clear the building. Many offices were closed for the Eid holiday, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and reporters had no chance to retrieve notes, records and laptops before a midday strike levelled the structure.
The action raised concerns that media would find it more difficult to report on events in Gaza, where the military onslaught threatens a humanitarian disaster and outside reporters are being blocked from entering.
“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today,” the AP's president and chief executive, Gary Pruitt, said in a statement.
President Joe Biden raised the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call Saturday.
The president also restated his support for Israel to defend itself against rockets from Gaza and “noted that this current period of conflict has tragically claimed the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including children.”
“Ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility,” tweeted White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Mohammed Ali, a bureau assistant with Al Jazeera, said that he and other staff fled the building when the warning came. But they went back in to try to retrieve something that was irreplaceable: the bureau's archives.
“There are thousands or hours of videos and photos,” he said. “We were able to get some of it out, not even half of it. We tried our best, but in the end we were afraid for our lives,” he said.
If there was a Hamas office in the building, he wasn't aware of it, he said. The building also contained doctors' and legal offices and residential apartments, he said.
The military strikes came as funerals were held for 11 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the West Bank Friday and early Saturday as the area emerged as a new flash point.
In Israel, residents braced for another night of violence between Arab and Jewish citizens. In Jaffa, Israeli police said they were investigating an attack that saw a 12-yearold boy burned reportedly by a Molotov cocktail thrown in his living room window.
Journalists in Gaza City described a surreal experience of covering the destruction of their own offices.
Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said was the building's owner trying unsuccessfully to negotiate by phone with an Israeli officer to secure an extra 10 minutes of time before the strike to retrieve camera equipment.
“All the efforts we put into our lives is gone with the wind,” said the owner.
The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today.”
Gary Pruitt
LONDON — Prince Andrew has been removed as patron of almost 50 organizations, the Sunday Telegraph has learned, despite his expressed intention to one day return to public life.
The proportion of his charities and organizations, thought to be at least one in four, that opted to sever ties following Andrew's friendship with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, underlines the scale of the damage to his reputation.
Many, particularly those working with children, felt it was “no longer appropriate” to continue their associations with him. Others said they had determined to find a representative “better suited” to their aims and values.
When Andrew, 61, announced in November 2019 that he was “stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future” following the furor over his disastrous Newsnight interview, many of his charities found themselves in a difficult position.
Several took the decision to end their association with immediate effect. They included the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, the Golf Foundation, the Children's Foundation, the Outward Bound Trust and the British Science Association. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children's Fund said: “We felt that as a children's charity it was not appropriate for him to remain patron.”
Others, such as Berkshire County Cricket Club, the Society for Nautical Research, the
Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and Whitgift School in Croydon, also severed ties. About 200 charities and organizations are said to have the prince's backing.
Of around 150 contacted by The Telegraph, 47 confirmed they had ended their affiliation with him. Many declined to respond or opted not to comment, suggesting the subject remains highly sensitive.
Of those who had severed ties, the majority said they had not yet replaced him. However, many said they were hoping to recruit individuals more aligned to their aims.
Only three, the British Science Association, the Council of British International
Schools and the Tall Ships Youth Trust, said they had contacted Buckingham Palace in the hope of finding a new royal patron.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the York Minster Fund have confirmed that they replaced Andrew as royal patron with his older brother, Prince Charles. Others felt they should cut ties with Andrew but felt unable to do so as he had not been charged or convicted of any crime. Instead of formally parting ways, they removed his portrait from the wall, deleted his name from their website and, in one case, concealed a plaque bearing his name behind a plant.