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Worldnews

Nowhere To Run: The Afghan Refugees Caught In Israels War On Iran

Afghans stuck in Tehran represent a forgotten population in a conflict that has captured global attention – people who fled one danger zone only to find themselves trapped in another, with no safe haven in sight. On Friday, June 13, when Israeli missiles began raining down on Tehran, Shamsi was reminded once again just how vulnerable she and her family are. The 34-year-old Afghan mother of two was working at her sewing job in north Tehran. In a state of panic and fear, she rushed back home to find her daughters, aged five and seven, huddled beneath a table in horror. Shamsi fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan just a year ago, hoping Iran would offer safety. Now, undocumented and terrified, she finds herself caught in yet another dangerous situation – this time with no shelter, no status, and no way out. “I escaped the Taliban but bombs were raining over our heads here,” Shamsi told Al Jazeera from her home in northern Tehran, asking to be referred to by her first name only, for security reasons. “We came here for safety, but we didn’t know where to go.” Shamsi, a former activist in Afghanistan, and her husband, a former soldier in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan before the Taliban returned to power in 2021, fled to Iran on a temporary visa, fearful of reprisals from the Taliban over their work. But they have been unable to renew their visas because of the cost and the requirement to exit Iran and re-enter through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan – a journey that would likely be too dangerous. Life in Iran has not been easy. Without legal residency, Shamsi has no protection at work, no bank account, and no access to aid. “There was no help from Iranians, or from any international organisation,” she said. Internet blackouts in Tehran have made it hard to find information or contact family. “Without a driver’s licence, we can’t move around. Every crossroad in Tehran is heavily inspected by police,” she said, noting that they managed to get around restrictions to buy food before Israel began bombing, but once that started it became much harder. Iran hosts an estimated 3.5 million refugees and people in refugee-like situations, including some 750,000 registered Afghans. But more than 2.6 million are undocumented individuals. Since the Taliban’s return to power and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of Afghans, including activists, journalists, former soldiers, and other vulnerable people, have crossed into Iran seeking refuge. Tehran province alone reportedly hosts 1.5 million Afghan refugees – the majority of them undocumented – and as Israel targeted sites in and around the capital, attacking civilian and military locations during the 12-day conflict, many Afghans were starkly reminded of their extreme vulnerability – unprotected and unable to access emergency assistance, or even reliable information during air raids as the internet was shut down for large periods of time. While many fled Tehran for the north of Iran, Afghan refugees like Shamsi and her family had nowhere to go. On the night of June 22, an explosion shook her neighbourhood, breaking the windows of the family’s apartment. “I was awake until 3am, and just an hour after I fell asleep, another blast woke me up,” she said. An entire residential apartment was levelled near her building. “I prepared a bag with my children’s main items to be ready if something happens to our building.” The June 23 ceasefire brokered by Qatar and the US came as a huge relief, but now there are other problems: Shamsi’s family is almost out of money. Her employer, who used to pay her in cash, has left the city and won’t answer her calls. “He’s disappeared,” she said. “When I [previously] asked for my unpaid wages, he just said: ‘You’re an Afghan migrant, get out, out, out.'” For all Afghans trapped in Iran – both those forced to flee and those who stayed in their homes – the 12-day conflict with Israel has sharply reawakened feelings of trauma and displacement. Furthermore, according to the Iranian health authorities, three Afghan migrants – identified as Hafiz Bostani, Abdulwali and Habibullah Jamshidi – were among the 610 people killed in the recent strikes. On June 18, 18-year-old Afghan labourer Abdulwali was killed and several others were injured in an Israeli strike on their construction site in the Tehranpars area of Tehran. According to the victim’s father, Abdulwali left his studies in Afghanistan about six months ago to work in Iran to feed his family. In a video widely shared by Abdulwali’s friends, his colleagues at the construction site can be heard calling to him to leave the building as loud explosions echo in the background. Other Afghans are still missing since the Israeli strikes. Hakimi, an elderly Afghan man from Takhar province in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that he hadn’t heard from three of his grandsons in Iran for four days. “They were stuck inside a construction site in central Tehran with no food,” he said. All he knows is that they retreated to the basement of the unfinished apartment building they were working on when they heard the sound of bombs, he explained. The shops nearby were closed, and their Iranian employer has fled the city without paying wages. Even if they have survived, he added, they are undocumented. “If they get out, they will get deported by police,” Hakimi said. During the conflict, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett urged all parties to protect Afghan migrants in Iran, warning of serious risks to their safety and calling for immediate humanitarian safeguards. Afghan activist Laila Forugh Mohammadi, who now lives outside the country, is using social media to raise awareness about the dire conditions Afghans are facing in Iran. “People can’t move, can’t speak,” she said. “Most have no legal documents, and that puts them in a dangerous position where they can’t even retrieve unpaid wages from fleeing employers.” She also flagged that amid the Iran-Israel conflict, there is no government body supporting Afghans. “There’s no bureaucracy to process their situation. We dreaded an escalation in the violence between Iran and Israel for the safety of our people,” she said. In the end, those who did manage to evacuate from the most dangerous areas in Iran mostly did so with the help of Afghan organisations. The Afghan Women Activists’ Coordinating Body (AWACB), part of the European Organisation for Integration, helped hundreds of women – many of whom fled the Taliban because of their activist work – and their families to flee. They relocated from high-risk areas like Tehran, Isfahan and Qom – the sites of key nuclear facilities which Israel and the US both targeted – to safer cities such as Mashhad in the northeast of the country. The group also helped with communicating with families in Afghanistan during the ongoing internet blackouts in Iran. “Our capacity is limited. We can only support official members of AWACB,” said Dr Patoni Teichmann, the group’s founder, speaking to Al Jazeera before the ceasefire. “We have evacuated 103 women out of our existing 450 members, most of whom are Afghan women’s rights activists and protesters who rallied against the women’s education ban and fled Afghanistan.” Iran recently announced plans to deport up to two million undocumented Afghans, but during the 12-day conflict, some took the decision to move back anyway despite the dangers and hardships they may face there. World Vision Afghanistan reported that, throughout the 12-day war, approximately 7,000 Afghans were crossing daily from Iran into Afghanistan via the Islam Qala border in Herat. “People are arriving with only the clothes on their backs,” said Mark Cal, a field representative. “They’re traumatised, confused, and returning to a homeland still in economic and social freefall.” The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has voiced grave concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Afghans in Iran, adding that it is monitoring reports that people are on the move within Iran and that some are leaving for neighbouring countries. Even as Israeli strikes came to a halt, tensions remain high, and the number of Afghans fleeing Iran is expected to rise. But for many, there is nowhere left to go. Back in northern Tehran, Shamsi sits beside her daughter watching an Iranian news channel. “We came here for safety,” she says softly. Asked what she would do if the situation worsens, Shamsi doesn’t hesitate: “I will stay here with my family. I can’t go back to the Taliban.” This piece was published in collaboration with Egab. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Worldnews

Israel Kills Nearly 600 Palestinians At Aid Centres: All You Need To Know

Hundreds killed seeking aid in Gaza as famine deepens and limited food access leaves hundreds of thousands starving and malnourished. Since May 27, at least 583 Palestinians have been killed and 4,186 injured while waiting for food at aid distribution sites operated by the Israeli- and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health. The killings have occurred daily as famine looms over the besieged enclave. International organisations have warned for weeks that Gaza’s 2.1 million residents face catastrophic food shortages with markets emptied, clean water scarce, and aid deliveries sporadic and dangerous. In the first eight days of the GHF’s operation, more than 100 people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said the GHF remains the only source of food in the Strip as Israel continues to place severe restrictions on the entry of supplies by other groups. “A lot of people here are trying to stay away from the GHF’s centres because of the danger involved in going to them because of the ongoing and deliberate shootings of aid seekers there,” Mahmoud said. “But again, staying away is not an answer because if there are no food parcels, it means that children are going to go to bed hungry.” While the previous United Nations-led distribution network operated about 400 sites across the Strip, the GHF, guarded by armed private security contractors working for a US company, has set up only four “mega-sites”, three in the south and one in central Gaza – none in the north, where conditions are most severe. GHF centres operate irregularly, sometimes opening for just an hour. In one instance, a site announced its opening on Facebook, only to post eight minutes later that supplies had already run out. The centres function on a first-come, first-served basis, often fostering chaos as desperate crowds fight over limited resources. Accessing these centres is perilous. Palestinians must sometimes walk many kilometres through active combat zones, navigate biometric checkpoints and carry heavy provisions back to their families. The system in effect excludes the most vulnerable – including the elderly, injured and disabled people – who are least able to make the journeys. The aid boxes themselves barely meet subsistence needs. While the World Food Programme recommends 2,100 calories per person per day, Israel has capped aid at 1,600. GHF parcels offer slightly more – about 1,750 calories – but fall far short of nutritional requirements and contain no clean water, medicine, blankets or fuel. For many, receiving a box is not relief but a rare stroke of luck. Al Jazeera correspondent Hind al-Khoudary reported from Gaza that the rations offer little to sustain families for long. She described a typical GHF box as containing 4kg (8.8lb) of flour, a couple of bags of pasta, two cans of fava beans, a pack of tea bags and a few biscuits. Some parcels include lentils and small portions of soup mix, but quantities are minimal. According to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, which quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers, troops were told to fire at the crowds of Palestinians and use unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat. “We fired machineguns from tanks and threw grenades,” one soldier told Haaretz. “There was one incident where a group of civilians was hit while advancing under the cover of fog.” In another instance, a soldier said between “one and five people were killed every day” in the area of Gaza where the soldier is stationed. “It’s a killing field,” that soldier said. Before the war began on October 7, 2023, about 500 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza daily. That changed when Israel launched its war on the enclave. Aid deliveries plummeted to fewer than 80 trucks a day, and in March, Israel halted them altogether during a nearly three-month blockade on all supplies. On May 27, the GHF took over aid operations as a private contractor, introducing a new delivery system outside the traditional UN framework. The organisation, set up this year in the US, was described by The New York Times newspaper as “an Israeli brainchild” – part of a longer-term strategy conceived in 2023 as Israel began planning for Gaza’s future. The GHF has not publicly disclosed its funding sources. It said it has secured $100m in commitments although details remain vague. The US Department of State recently pledged $30m in support. UNICEF has warned that child malnutrition in Gaza is rising at an “alarming rate”. In May alone, at least 5,119 children between six months and five years old were admitted to hospitals for treatment for acute malnutrition – a nearly 50 percent increase from April and a 150 percent surge from February when a temporary ceasefire allowed for greater aid access. “In just 150 days from the start of the year until the end of May, 16,736 children – an average of 112 each day – have been admitted for treatment,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Every one of these cases is preventable. The food, water and nutrition treatments they desperately need are being blocked from reaching them. These are man-made decisions that are costing lives,” he added. Of 19 documented deadly incidents involving food aid distribution, children were among the casualties in more than half, underscoring the vulnerability of Gaza’s youngest residents. One in five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is facing starvation because of Israel’s aid blockade. The chaos at aid distribution points underscores the staggering level of hunger gripping Gaza. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, 1.95 million people – 93 percent of the enclave’s population – are facing acute food shortages. Certain governorates are experiencing more severe levels of hunger, namely in northern Gaza. The IPC said Israel’s continued blockade “would likely result in further mass displacement within and across governorates” as items essential for people’s survival will be depleted. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Worldnews

UEFA Womens Euro 2025: Full Match Schedule, Groups, Format, How To Watch

Ahead of the tournament kickoff in Switzerland, here is the list of fixtures, nations, stadiums, top players and start times. England will look to hold on to their crown when the 14th edition of the UEFA European Women’s Championship, or Women’s Euro 2025, begins in Switzerland on Wednesday. The continent’s top nations will compete over the course of the 26-day tournament across eight host cities. Here’s everything you need to know about the championship: Switzerland is playing host to the Women’s Euro for the first time. The tournament begins in Thun on Wednesday, July 2 and concludes in Basel on Sunday, July 27. Of the 51 national women’s bodies associated with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), 16 have qualified for the championship. They will be divided into four groups: Group A Group B Group C Group D Apart from holders England and world champions Spain, former Olympic gold medal winners Germany are firm favourites to lift the trophy. Here’s a brief look at each team’s pedigree: Up until Friday, Bonmati’s participation in the tournament was unquestionable as the superstar midfielder is the centrepiece of the Spanish side. However, the 27-year-old tested positive for viral meningitis and was hospitalised in Madrid. The Spanish football federation, RFEF, however, is hopeful that the star player will return to the squad in a few days despite not being part of the contingent travelling to Switzerland on Sunday. “After several days hospitalised with viral meningitis, Aitana Bonmati has been discharged from the hospital and will join the Spanish national team in the coming days,” RFEF said in a brief statement. The Barcelona player, winner of the Ballon d’Or award in 2023 and 2024, posted a photo from her hospital bed on social media on Sunday, giving a thumbs-up and stating: “Fortunately, everything is going well. I hope to return soon.” Bonmati has been pivotal for Spain, scoring 30 goals in 78 appearances and helping them win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and last year’s UEFA Nations League. Gracias a tod@s por los mensajes recibidos y a l@s que me habéis ayudado estos días. Afortunadamente todo va bien, espero volver pronto. 💪🏼⚔️🧠 Gràcies a totes i tots, us he sentit a prop❤️ pic.twitter.com/GV6ORVEn8i — Aitana Bonmatí Conca (@AitanaBonmati) June 29, 2025 From stadiums located in the heart of Switzerland’s main cities, to picturesque arenas sitting in the lap of the Alps, these are the eight venues hosting the championship: According to UEFA, the total prize pot for the tournament is 41 million euros ($48m), more than double the 16 million euros (about $19m) given in 2022. The champions can get a maximum of 5.1 million euros (about $6m) if they also win all three of their group-stage matches. All 16 teams will receive a participation fee of 1.8 million euros ($2.1m). Tickets for all games go on sale at 09:00 GMT on every match day from the group stage up until the knockouts. They will be available on the UEFA ticketing website and start from 22 Swiss Francs ($27.5) and go up to 90 Swiss Francs ($112). The tournament will be streamed live on the UEFA.tv website, as well as regional broadcasters and streaming services. Al Jazeera Sport will provide live text and photo commentary stream for a selection of knockout matches, including the final. Format: All four teams in each of the four groups will play each other once, and the top two teams will progress to the knockout stage, which begins with the quarterfinals. Wednesday, July 2
Group A: Iceland vs Finland (16:00 GMT, Thun)
Group A: Switzerland vs Norway (19:00 GMT, Basel) Thursday, July 3
Group B: Belgium vs Italy (16:00 GMT, Sion)
Group B: Spain vs Portugal (19:00 GMT, Bern) Friday, July 4
Group C: Denmark vs Sweden (16:00 GMT, Geneva)
Group C: Germany vs Poland (19:00 GMT, St Gallen) Saturday, July 5
Group D: Wales vs Netherlands (16:00 GMT, Lucerne)
Group D: France vs England (19:00 GMT, Zurich) Sunday, July 6
Group A: Norway vs Finland (16:00 GMT, Sion)
Group A: Switzerland vs Iceland (19:00 GMT, Bern) Monday, July 7
Group B: Spain vs Belgium (16:00 GMT, Thun)
Group B: Portugal vs Italy (19:00 GMT, Geneva) Tuesday, July 8
Group C: Germany vs Denmark (16:00 GMT, Basel)
Group C: Poland vs Sweden (19:00 GMT, Lucerne) Wednesday, July 9
Group D: England vs Netherlands (16:00 GMT, Zurich)
Group D: France vs Wales (19:00 GMT, St Gallen) Thursday, July 10
Group A: Finland vs Switzerland (19:00 GMT, Geneva)
Group A: Norway vs Iceland (19:00 GMT, Thun) Friday, July 11
Group B: Italy vs Spain (19:00 GMT, Bern)
Group B: Portugal vs Belgium (19:00 GMT, Sion) Saturday, July 12
Group C: Sweden vs Germany (19:00 GMT, Zurich)
Group C: Poland vs Denmark (19:00 GMT, Lucerne) Sunday, July 13
Group D: Netherlands vs France (19:00 GMT, Basel)
Group D: England vs Wales (19:00 GMT, St Gallen) Wednesday, July 16
Winners of Group A vs Runners-up of Group B (Geneva, 19:00 GMT) Thursday, July 17
Winners of Group C vs Runners-up of Group D (Zurich, 19:00 GMT) Friday, July 18
Winners of Group B vs Runners-up of Group A (Bern, 19:00 GMT) Saturday, July 19
Winners of Group D vs Runners-up of Group C (Basel, 19:00 GMT) Tuesday, July 22
Winners of quarterfinal 3 vs winners of quarterfinal 1 (Geneva, 19:00 GMT) Wednesday, July 23
Winners of quarterfinal 4 vs winners of quarterfinal 2 (Zurich, 19:00 GMT) Sunday, July 27
Winners of semifinal 1 vs winners of semifinal 2 (Basel, 19:00 GMT) Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Futbol

Holders Man Utd beat Man City 2-0 to reach third successive FA Cup final United will play Chelsea at Wembley on 18 May Celin Bizet curled in opener, Grace Clinton headed in second Get Involved: #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Holders Manchester United reached a third successive FA Cup final with an impressive victory over rivals Manchester City at Joie Stadium. Defeat is a crushing blow to City, whose hopes of winning silverware this season have now ended after a disappointing campaign. United, who won the competition for the first time last season, were 2-0 up at the break thanks to goals from Celin Bizet and Grace Clinton. City were without several big-name players through injury and struggled to find a way back into the game despite efforts from Brazil forward Kerolin. United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made an exceptional double-save to push Yui Hasegawa's free-kick onto the crossbar and kept out Lily Murphy's headed rebound in the second half, which was City's best chance. However, United also came close to extending their lead with Ella Toone and Bizet denied by goalkeeper Khiara Keating on several occasions. City's depleted squad fought back in a more even second half but United's defence - who have the best record in the Women's Super League this season - stood strong and helped carry them to victory. It is a remarkable achievement for United as they face a third successive trip to Wembley to contest for the FA Cup trophy, while they remain on course to secure a Champions League qualification spot for next season. They meet WSL runaway leaders Chelsea in the final on 18 May - a repeat of the 2023 final which the Blues won 1-0. "To do it and get back to a final is no mean feat. I'm really pleased and especially with the performance because I thought we were incredible," said manager Marc Skinner. "It will always be caveated with City's injuries but we have to play the team ahead of us. I thought we dominated and it should have been more. "There was a moment in the game at the Etihad [earlier this season] where we let them back into it - but there was none of that today. It was pure control." Having already fallen behind in the race to secure a top-three spot in the league, City's hopes for silverware and a positive end to the campaign were resting purely on success in the FA Cup. But with more key players ruled out through injury during the international break – Vivianne Miedema and Jill Roord both picked up issues with the Netherlands – it was always going to be tough. Interim manager Nick Cushing's side were put under pressure immediately by United as the visitors pressed intensely and tested City's defence with direct balls over the top. Jayde Riviere constantly found Bizet down the right-hand side and England international Toone dominated midfield. It was Toone's searching ball in behind that picked out Bizet early on and she coolly curled it into the far corner past goalkeeper Keating. City had barely settled before Clinton made it 2-0 when she was allowed to move through the box completely unmarked to head Gabby George's corner in. There was a response from City but only after striker Mary Fowler was forced off with a knee injury and Cushing had to move players out of position to accommodate with an already-thin bench. Kerolin stepped up to the plate, causing havoc for United's defence, but could not beat Tullis-Joyce with an acrobatic volley and had other efforts blocked by centre-backs Maya le Tissier and Millie Turner. At the other end, City goalkeeper Keating was kept busy as Toone and Bizet came close to extending United's lead. The depleted squad left few options for Cushing off the bench and even though United took their foot off the gas a little in the second half, City did not have enough to fight their way back into it. "My message this week will be to go and perform for our fans. We need to strip it back to basics," said City interim boss Cushing. "We have to show more desire. This team is a winning team and we have to make sure every person and process is focused around the direction of winning. "At the moment, we're in a position we shouldn't be in." While City's summer is set for a rebuild – they must reflect on a poor campaign, find a way to close the gap on title rivals Chelsea and recruit a permanent manager – United's could end in trophy success. England midfielder Clinton spent last season on loan at Tottenham and had to miss the final, in which they lost to her parent club United, but she now has a chance to play in the showpiece, alongside best friend and team-mate Bizet, who was also in the Spurs squad last year. It was fitting their names were on the scoresheet at Joie Stadium.