German Christmas market attack suspect held on murder charges
A man suspected of driving a car into a German Christmas market in an attack that killed at least five people and injured scores of others faces charges of murder and attempted murder, police said on Sunday, after the man was remanded in custody.
Police in the central city of Magdeburg, where the attack happened on Friday, also reported scuffles at a far-right demonstration attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night, while other residents took part in sombre remembrance events.
The suspect is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for almost two decades.
A magistrate ordered the man into pre-trial custody after prosecutors pressed charges of murder on five counts, multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.
It identified the dead as a nine-year-old boy and four adult women, aged 52, 45, 75 and 67.
German authorities have not named the suspect, who has permanent resident status in Germany, and local media reports do not give his full name in keeping with local privacy law. International media, including BBC News and the Guardian, however, are identifying the accused as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.
The suspect’s X account describes him as a former Muslim. It is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion, while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamification of Europe.” He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Police reported scuffles at a protest attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night, one day after the attack. Right-wingers had billed the gathering on messaging app Telegram as a “demonstration against terror.”
Protesters wearing black balaclavas could be seen holding a large banner with the word “remigration,” a term popular with far-right supporters seeking the mass deportation of migrants and people deemed not ethnically German.
The motive in Friday night’s attack remains unclear.
Published at Sun, 22 Dec 2024 13:40:56 +0000
Israeli strike hits school sheltering displaced in Gaza City
Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, medics said, as the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the north.
Palestinian medics said eight people, including children, were killed in the Musa Bin Nusayr School that sheltered displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement the strike targeted Hamas militants operating from a command centre embedded inside the school. It said Hamas militants used the place to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces.
Also in Gaza City, medics said four Palestinians were killed when an airstrike hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis south of the enclave.
Hospital evacuation
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where the army has operated since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the army ordered staff to evacuate the hospital and move patients and injured people toward another hospital in the area.
Abu Safiya said the mission was “next to impossible” because staff did not have ambulances to move the patients.
The Israeli army has operated in the two towns of north Gaza, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as the nearby Jabalia camp for nearly three months.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate those areas to create a buffer zone.
Israel denies this and says the campaign in the area aimed to fight Hamas militants and prevent them from regrouping. It said its forces have killed hundreds of militants and dismantled military infrastructure since that operation began.
Armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said they killed many Israeli soldiers in ambushes during the same period.
Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
Talks to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas have restarted in Cairo, and sources close to negotiations say an agreement could be signed in coming days. Palestinians in southern Gaza say they hope this round of talks will see the war ending so life can resume.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had been able to resolve some differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.
Israel began its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.
Published at Sun, 22 Dec 2024 13:58:23 +0000