��������

BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities said they arrested a political commentator on Wednesday over a post alleging that a military radar system struck by a drone had been used to help Israel in its war against Iran.

After a court issued a warrant, the defense ministry said that Iraqi forces arrested Abbas Al-Ardawi for sharing content online that included “incitement intended to insult and defame the security institution.”

In a post on X, which was later deleted but has circulated on social media as a screenshot, Ardawi told his more than 90,000 followers that “a French radar in the Taji base served the Israeli aggression” and was eliminated.

Early Tuesday, hours before a ceasefire ended the 12-day Iran-Israel war, unidentified drones struck radar systems at two military bases in Taji, north of Baghdad, and in southern Iraq, officials have said.

The Taji base hosted US troops several years ago and was a frequent target of rocket attacks.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the latest drone attacks, which also struck radar systems at the Imam Ali air base in Dhi Qar province.

A source close to Iran-backed groups in Iraq told AFP that the armed factions have nothing to do with the attacks.

Ardawi is seen as a supporter of Iran-aligned armed groups who had launched attack US forces in the region in the past, and of the pro-Tehran Coordination Framework, a powerful political coalition that holds a parliamentary majority.

The Iraqi defense ministry said that Ardawi’s arrest was made on the instructions of the prime minister, who also serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, “not to show leniency toward anyone who endangers the security and stability of the country.”

It added that while “the freedom of expression is a guaranteed right... it is restricted based on national security and the country’s top interests.”

Iran-backed groups have criticized US deployment in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition, saying the American forces allowed Israel to use Iraq’s airspace.

The US-led coalition also includes French troops, who have been training Iraqi forces. There is no known French deployment at the Taji base.

The Iran-Israel war had forced Baghdad to close its airspace, before reopening on Tuesday shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire.

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, including six who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the “weaponization of food” in the Gaza Strip, where a US- and Israeli-backed foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organizations.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that six people were killed and 30 others wounded “following Israeli fire targeting thousands of civilians waiting for aid” in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night in the hope of collecting food rations.

Bassal said the crowd was hit by Israeli “bullets and tank shells.”

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “looking into” the report.

Pressure grew Tuesday on the privately run aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May to replace United Nations agencies but whose operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, called the US- and Israeli-backed system an “abomination” that has put Palestinians’ lives at risk, while a spokesman for the UN human rights office, Thameen Al-Kheetan, condemned the “weaponization of food” in the territory.

Despite easing its aid blockade in May, Israel continues to impose restrictions.

The health ministry says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centers seeking scarce supplies. The civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 46 people waiting for aid on Tuesday.

The GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points.

Bassal, the civil defense spokesman, said Israeli air strikes on central and northern Gaza early Wednesday killed at least 14 people.

A pre-dawn strike on a house in the central Nuseirat refugee camp killed six people including a child, with eight others killed in two separate strikes on houses in Deir el-Balah and east of Gaza City, Bassal said.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian territory.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which 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 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.