German Christmas market attack toll rises to 5 killed, 200 injured, minister says
Car drives into crowd at Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Via ABC News
(LONDON) — At least five people are now known to have been killed in the vehicle-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday, the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff told journalists on Saturday.
Haseloff said that at least 200 more people were injured when a car plowed into festive market-goers in the eastern German city, around 75 miles west of the capital Berlin.
A young child and an adult were among those killed in the attack, according to Haseloff. At least 15 of those injured were seriously hurt, according to a local official.
A suspect — a doctor from Saudi Arabia aged around 50 — was arrested, Haselhoff said. The man has lived in Germany since 2006. A rental car was used in the attack, the minister said.
The motive is unknown at this time, U.S. sources said. But U.S. law enforcement sources told ABC News that German authorities are treating the attack as a terrorist incident.
“We send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured and to all those affected by this terrible incident,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Germany in grieving the loss of life. The United States is ready to provide assistance as recovery efforts continue and authorities investigate this horrible incident,” Miller’s statement continued.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered his condolences to those affected. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Scholz said in a statement. “We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
Friday’s ramming incident came almost exactly eight years after a similar terror attack at a Christmas market in the German capital. On Dec. 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at a market in Berlin, killing 13 and injuring dozens.
U.S. law enforcement officials have warned of similar vehicle-ramming attacks on American soil, particularly over the festive season.
A joint threat assessment about New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square, for example, noted the use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics “has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West.”
The NYPD, out of an abundance of caution, will surge resources to similar areas around the city, including Christmas markets, according to NYPD deputy commissioner for counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner.
“We know this is a very festive time, it is a busy time in the city, and we are going to make sure that all of our holiday markets, all of our holiday activities are protected by our counter weapons teams, by officers on patrol, all our counter-terrorism officers, our critical response command,” Weiner told ABC New York station WABC.
(LONDON) — Nearly a quarter of the world’s freshwater species are at risk of extinction, according to new research.
A detailed extinction assessment of more than 23,000 species of freshwater fauna by the International Union for Conservation of Nature identified major threats from pollution, dams, agriculture and invasive species, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The species studied included fish, decapod crustaceans — such as crabs, crayfishes and shrimps — and odonates, such as dragonflies and damsel flies. About 24% of those species are at risk of extinction, Catherine Sayer, lead of the freshwater biodiversity team for the IUCN, told ABC News.
“That means there are high to extremely high risks of becoming extinct in the future,” Sayer said. “That’s quite an alarming percentage.”
Decapods have the highest percentage of species threatened at 30%, while 26% of freshwater fish and 16% of odonates are threatened, according to the analysis. Nearly 90 freshwater species have already been reported extinct, Sayer said.
Of the threatened species, 54% of studied species are thought to be affected by pollution.
Dams and water extraction are impacting 39% of the studied species, according to the paper.
“Dams completely block water courses, which means that species can’t move downstream, and so they can’t get to habitats that they previously used for breeding or feeding,” Sayer said. “And that completely disrupts the lifecycle.”
Land use change and associated effects from agriculture — including the use of pesticides and herbicides — are affecting 37% of the studied species, while 28% by invasive species and disease are impacting 28% of studied species.
Freshwater ecosystems are home to more than 10% of all known species and provide benefits such as nutrient cycling, flood control and climate change mitigation, the researchers said.
These species hold “intrinsic value” — both ecologically and economically, Sayer said. Some species even hold cultural and spiritual value for indigenous groups, such is the case of the Atlantic salmon, Sayer said.
Other notable freshwater species that are threatened are the European eel, which is critically endangered, and several freshwater crustacean species in the Southeast United States, Sayer said.
Climate change is also threatening freshwater species and is expected to have more of an impact in the future, Sayer said. As global temperatures rise, it causes habitats to change, making it even easier for invasive species to thrive in ecosystems that were previous cooler, she added.
The analysis found that 18% of the freshwater species studied are threatened by climate change.
Since IUCN reassesses species every five to 10 years, researchers believe that if the analysis were repeated 10 years in the future that climate change would play a more prominent role in the decline of freshwater species.
“It’s very much a threat that we see as intensifying, and it’s it’s getting worse with time,” Sayer said.
The findings highlight the urgent need to address threats to prevent further species declines and losses and could help to inform future efforts to reduce the loss of freshwater biodiversity, the researchers said.
“We have about a quarter of species which are on their way to extinction if we don’t do anything to stop it,” Sayer said.
(KAZAKHSTAN) — Survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan reported hearing thuds and explosions from outside the aircraft during the flight, as the cause of the deadly catastrophe remains under investigation.
The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan’s Aktau Airport on Wednesday morning, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, Kazakh officials said.
An Azeri crew member who survived the crash told ABC News in a phone call from his hospital room on Friday that he heard three thuds as they were flying over Grozny, Russia. He said he believes the noises came from outside the plane.
The crew member, who did not provide his name as crew members have not been authorized to speak with the media, said he sustained injuries to his left arm in the crash. He was hospitalized in Aktau but has since been transferred to a hospital in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The aircraft was flying from Baku to Grozny but couldn’t land due to heavy fog, according to the crew member. The flight was rerouted to Aktau in Kazakhstan when it crashed while trying to land.
A passenger told Reuters from his hospital bed that he heard a bang, saw oxygen masks falling down and that the fuselage was damaged. He said he initially thought the plane was going to fall apart and started praying.
“It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,” the passenger, Subhonkul Rakhimov, told Reuters. “It was as if it was drunk — not the same plane anymore.”
Rakhimov said he was “thrown back and forth” while strapped in and then it was quiet, at which point he realized that they had landed.
Another passenger told Reuters she felt “two explosions” about 20 or 30 minutes after takeoff. A flight attendant told Reuters there were injuries on the flight “from the impact of the external blows,” and that he hurt his arm.
Azerbaijan’s transport minister said Friday that passengers and flight attendants on the plane heard explosions “from outside, and then something touched the plane” over Grozny, per local media.
Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan authorities are investigating the crash. The cause is still being determined, but multiple sources point to potential Russian involvement.
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Friday that there are “early indications” that the plane could have been brought down by Russian air defense systems, but he added that the investigation is ongoing.
A high-level Azeri government source told ABC News on Thursday that there is new evidence emerging that the plane may have been shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile.
The plane was flying over an area where Moscow’s air defense has battled Ukrainian drones recently.
Videos and photos of the plane after the crash show bullet holes in parts of the plane.
“Preliminary expert opinions indicate the presence of outside interference,” Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transport, said Friday. “This is evidenced by the appearance of the plane’s wreckage on the ground and eyewitness testimonies.”
Azerbaijan Airlines also said Friday the preliminary results of the investigation show the crash was due to “physical and technical external interference.”
The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter until the investigation into the crash is completed.
“The investigation into the air accident is ongoing. And we do not think we have a right to give any assessments and will not do so until conclusions are drawn based on the results of the investigation,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday. “We have our own aviation authorities that can do it, and this information may come only from them.”
The head of Russia’s federal air transport agency, Dmitry Yadrov, shifted possible blame onto Ukraine for the crash.
“The situation in the Grozny Airport area was rather complicated on that day and at those hours. Ukrainian drones were conducting terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Yadrov said Friday, according to state media.
Azerbaijan Airlines has temporarily suspended flights from Baku to 10 Russian cities “due to physical and technical external interference and considers potential risks to flight safety,” the airline said on Friday.
“The suspension will remain in effect until the completion of the final investigation,” it added.
Several other airlines, including El Al, Flydubai and Qazaq Air, have also suspended flights to various Russian cities in the wake of the crash.
ABC News’ Tomek Rolski, Michelle Stoddart and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
77 killed in Gaza in past 24 hours: Health ministry
Approximately 77 people were killed and 145 injured over the past 24 hours in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday.
Israeli air forces struck “approximately 40 Hamas terrorist gathering points” throughout the Gaza Strip over the past day, the Israel Defense Forces said in a release Friday.
“Prior to the strike, numerous measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the release stated.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Sami Zyara
Amnesty ‘extremely alarmed’ by Gaza doctor’s detention
Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said on Thursday that the organization is “extremely alarmed” by the detention of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya — the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
“He should now be considered as victim of enforced disappeared and as such at great risk of torture and ill-treatment,” Callamard wrote in a post to X. Israeli authorities “must urgently disclose” his location, she added.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that Abu Safiya was in the custody of Israeli authorities and is currently being interrogated “for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization.”
The IDF has alleged that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. Abu Safiya was initially detained on Dec. 27 during an IDF raid on the medical facility, which has been besieged multiple times by Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd, Bruna Nota, Dana Savir and Joe Simonetti
New round of Gaza ceasefire talks to begin in Qatar
A senior Hamas official announced the renewal of cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, following a visit to Cairo by a Hamas delegation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later confirmed that an Israeli delegation will travel to Doha. Among those attending will be representatives from Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Bruno Note and Joe Simonetti
Israel intercepts missile and drone from Yemen
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it intercepted one missile and one drone launched from Yemen, as Iran-aligned Houthi rebels there continue long-range attacks.
The incoming missile set off warning sirens, the IDF said, and was intercepted over Israeli territory. The IDF reported that shrapnel from the interception fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel.
Some hours later, a drone was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory and thus did not set off any air alerts, the IDF said.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks on Israel and on shipping in nearby waters until the IDF withdraws from Gaza.
Israel has launched several rounds of airstrikes on targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks.
In the most recent, Israel attacked Yemen’s main airport — and destroyed its control tower — in the capital Sanaa. The bombs fell while the United Nations’ coordinator for Yemen and the head of the World Health Organization were on site waiting to depart the airport.
The U.S. and U.K. — supported by other allies — began bombing Houthi targets in Yemen in January in response to attacks on regional commercial and military shipping.
Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Israeli custody: IDF
Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is in the custody of Israeli authorities, according to a statement to ABC News from the Israeli Defense Forces.
Abu Safiya was “apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization,” the Israeli military said in the statement. The doctor is “currently being investigated by Israeli security forces,” the statement said.
The IDF has said Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Abu Safiya was allegedly arrested by IDF forces on Dec. 27 when Israeli forces conducted a raid on the hospital, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a post on X Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Anna Burd and Dana Savir
At least 85 killed in strikes across Gaza Strip
On the second day of the New Year, at least 85 people were killed in various attacks across the Gaza Strip, Gaza medical sources told ABC News.
Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike in “the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis,” and killed “the head of Hamas Internal Security Forces in the southern Gaza Strip,” Hassam Shahwan in the strike, the IDF said in a release Thursday.
The IDF also conducted an airstrike “on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a control and command center,” in the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara and Diaa Ostaz
Israel intercepts missile from Yemen, threatens Houthi leaders
A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by Israeli air forces, the Israel Defense Forces said in a Monday night statement, amid continued Israeli and Houthi long-range attacks.
Sirens sounded “due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception,” the IDF said.
The latest missile launch came shortly after Danny Danon — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations — said Israelis “have had enough” of attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, ongoing since October 2023 in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Israel will not stand by waiting for the world to act,” Danon said.
Addressing the Houthi leadership, he added, “Let me remind you what happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to [former Syrian President Bashar] Assad and to all those who thought to destroy us.”
“This is not a threat, it is a promise,” Danon said. “You will share the same miserable fate.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman
Ukraine foreign minister meets Syrian leader in Damascus
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Sybiha became the latest foreign representative to meet with Sharaa in Damascus, where the latter’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces and their allies are establishing a transitional government having toppled former President Bashar Assad.
Sybiha wrote on X that he “personally conveyed the message” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We are with you and ready to assist in restoring normal life, stability and food security,” Sybiha said.
“We rely on the new Syria respecting international law, including Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added. “This will pave the way to fully restoring our diplomatic ties, political dialogue and diplomatic presence. We are ready to develop cooperation in a number of areas.”
The visit came days after Zelenskyy announced Kyiv’s dispatch of 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian program in cooperation with the World Food Program.
Gaza hospitals become ‘battlegrounds,’ WHO chief says
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday that Gaza’s beleaguered hospitals “have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat.”
Ghebreyesus said the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia “is out of service,” following an Israeli raid which itself came after several weeks of encirclement and bombardment.
Israeli forces raided the compound on Friday, forcibly evacuating all remaining patients and staff. The Israel Defense Forces said it detained 240 alleged militants, among them hospital director Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. The IDF said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations” in the surrounding area.
Ghebreyesus said Safiya’s “whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”
Kamal Adwan patients were transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, both of which have also reported repeated Israeli attacks. The latter “is itself out of function,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care,” he added.
Four patients were detained by the IDF during their transfer out of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the WHO chief said.
Two other facilities — the Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City — were also attacked and sustained damage on Monday, Ghebreyesus said.
“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals,” he wrote. “People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”
Family of Gaza hospital director asks international community to help find him
The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, is pleading with the international community to help learn his whereabouts, alleging he was detained by Israeli forces during a recent raid on the medical facility.
The family posted a message on Abu Safiya’s official Instagram page, on which the doctor had been posting updates about the hospital’s functioning, pleading, “We do not know the fate of our father.”
“We appeal to every compassionate individual and all international organizations and institutions to take action,” said the family, asking the international community to apply media pressure and make appeals to “help us push for his swift release from captivity.”
The message said Abu Safiya is still recovering from injuries he suffered a month ago while working at the hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement released on Saturday that Abu Safiya is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist and is being held in Gaza.
Abu Safiya had not been arrested in previous IDF raids of the hospital.
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Nadine Shubailat
IDF issues statement on Kamal Adwan Hospital raid
The IDF released a statement outlining their operations in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the last few days.
The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations in Jabaliya,” although the statement and attached media do not provide corroborating evidence of this.
The statement says the IDF faced heavy fighting in areas near the hospital, and says the IDF detained 240 terrorists, including the director of the hospital, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, whom it says is is “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.”
Abu Safiya was one of the only male staff members at the hospital not detained during the IDF’s raid of the hospital in October, and he would have helped coordinate numerous resupply and patient evacuations with Israel over the last several months.
Kamal Adwan is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.
