As Hamas stormed the Be'eri kibbutz on Saturday, women used a mothers' WhatsApp group to voice their horror and disbelief.
The constant stream of updates show how the attack unfolded and how the close-knit community supported one another.
They are known as Israel's eyes on the Gaza border.
In the months leading up to October 7, young female conscripts say they watched as Hamas prepared for its attack, but their warnings went unheard.
I spoke to people about the last 'normal' photos on their phones and the stories behind them. It's incredible how much has changed in just a couple of months
For two weeks, we've been following one community in Gaza and how it has been impacted by the war.
In al-Zahra, the destruction began with a call to a local dentist, telling him to get his neighbours out of their homes before bombs hit.
I’m in Morocco covering the earthquake that has devastated communities here.
Tayeb told me he had to choose whether to try to save his parents or his son after his house fell apart.
"It's either you reach Europe or you die at sea."
That's what one teenager told me as I joined one of the first Mediterranean migrant rescue patrols since the Greek shipwreck, watching as 86 boys and young men were pulled from a rubber raft.
The devastation left by the
#TurkeyEarthquake
can be seen everywhere in Iskenderun.
We've spent time this week at one apartment block, learning about the lives of the people who lived there and what happened to them during the earthquake.
Since October 2021, dozens of Tamil asylum seekers have been stuck on the remote British territory of Diego Garcia - the site of a UK-US military base - in what they describe as hellish conditions.
“I hope God will let us survive and then we will try to fix things.”
The end of Gaza's 'most beautiful' neighbourhood - as told to us by some of the people who loved it most
Spoken to so many incredible people in the past couple of weeks, incl
@AnthonyAlmojera
who gave us an honest and powerful account of a day in the life of an NYC paramedic during
#coronavirus
Preparing to leave southern Turkey tonight, and thinking of the lives torn apart by the earthquake.
People here have suffered unimaginable loss, and entire communities now need to rebuild.
Really important coverage from
@mongabay
on the shocking levels of Amazon deforestation. Fears that loggers taking advantage of reduced enforcement amid Covid
Despite COVID pandemic, Amazon deforestation races higher
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon continues to rise, reaching the highest level recorded since April 2008, according to official data from Brazil’s national space research institute:
We spent four days in a burning forest in north-eastern Greece where Europe's largest-ever wildfire has been recorded.
The fire has killed 20 people, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and devastated an important ecosystem.
Necla was feeding her newborn baby when the
#TurkeyEarthquake
struck.
They spent the next four days under mounds of debris together, keeping each other alive.
Ending on a positive note in an otherwise sad story, I’ve been getting messages about the burnt dog Rocco.
@daphnetoli
and I fell in love with him and can report he’s doing well!
We'll never hear the stories of many of the people taken by coronavirus but it was a privilege to write about these seven people - all of whom have left their mark in their own unique way
We have also witnessed incredible strength this week, and kindness.
Necla survived four days under rubble with her newborn baby. Her extended family now live in a makeshift tent. They insisted we stay for coffee and oranges, apologising that they could not offer more.
This is the story of what happened to al-Zahra in those 24 hours.
Worked on this piece with vital reporting support from Muath Al Khatib and Dima Al Babilie, powerful visuals from
@mikewhills
and
@richjm
, and editing by the brilliant
@SamuelHorti
,
@sissydissy
and
@duffstoyevsky
In 1999, a woman's body was discovered in a bin floating in a river on the outskirts of Amsterdam.
We still don't know her name, but decades later her case has sparked a major police campaign to identify women murdered in Europe.
Really sad to read this news. Melanie was a wonderful tutor at
@cityjournalism
with an eye for great stories and storytelling. She helped me get my first commission
"It is an order from people bigger than me and you, and we have an order to bomb," an Israeli intelligence agent said, according to Mahmoud.
The dentist stayed on the phone, trying to buy time and get people away from the apartment buildings as they were bombed one by one.
I'm live from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv all day with all the latest updates on the anniversary of Russia's invasion, with the brilliant
@lauragzzi
,
@PonniahKevin
and team in London
Earlier this year, we reported on efforts to find the names of 22 women murdered in Europe.
One of those women has now been identified as 31-year-old Rita Roberts from the UK.
"I went to more cardiac arrests in the past two months than I have in the past five years”
As NY starts to reopen, paramedic
@AnthonyAlmojera
tells us about the impact coronavirus has had on his life
While we were reporting there this week, people waiting for news of missing loved ones shared cups of soup with us and insisted we take a seat by the fire with them at night.
While much of their community is gone, they continue to support each other.
Just down the road, we met another man whose wife and two daughters were killed in the earthquake.
He’s now camping opposite his old home where you can still see the fridge and washing hanging to dry.
He says he wants to “stand guard” over the house and his memories there.
We’ve tried to break down some of the context around the
#GeorgeFloyd
protests in the US - incl police violence and militarisation, socio-economic divides and the role of Trump (w/
@awzurcher
and ft
@andreperryedu
and
@ProfPaulPoast
)
This is what 24 hours in New York look like at the moment - through the eyes of some of the people on the frontlines of the
#COVID19
crisis. My latest for
@BBCWorld
We’ve watched as aid is delivered to remote villages in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.
But everyone we’ve been speaking to is extremely concerned about the long-term plans: how their communities will rebuild, and what will happen in the winter.
Detective
@Leeuwen_Carina
explains why finding answers in these cases is so important.
"You're a person, you have a name, you have a history, and the history has to be told until the end, even if the end is tragic and horrible," she says.
We woke this morning to the sad news that Ceyda’s body had been found.
She is just one of thousands of people to have lost their lives in the devastating earthquake.
So many people we met wanted to talk to us about 19-year-old Ceyda.
She loved coffee, butterflies, the colour purple and driving her friends around in her white VW car.
She dreamed of moving to Istanbul later this year to study at university with her best friend.
We were told of at least 12 suicide attempts. Some people have been taken to Rwanda for medical treatment.
"We are mentally and physically exhausted… We are living a lifeless life. I feel like I am living like a dead man," one man said.
A month's pay on minimum wage in Caracas will get you 5 cups of coffee or half a hamburger - fascinating look at Venezuela's economic crisis by
@CamilleBelloD
"We're already living on the breadline, and the electrical equipment is needed"
Families with disabled children who rely on specialist equipment have been talking to us about the impossible choices they face as energy bills in the UK soar
Communications between officials show them wrestling with what to do about the "unprecedented development".
Migrants say the unusual legal status of the island has left them feeling frightened and helpless.
"I'm the one who wants to apologise for their deaths. I want to thank them somehow. It's as if they can hear, but they can't respond."
Powerful reporting by
@sommervilletv
on the task of counting the dead in eastern Ukraine
Why do police departments have Mine-Resistant Vehicles?
The answer shows how international politics & American foreign policy led to the militarization of US police forces
[THREAD]
In our second story from al-Zahra, we hear from its residents about their lives before and after the bombing - the things they miss most about their neighbourhood, and the ways they are struggling to survive.
People shielding in England are now allowed outside, but for many it has not been an easy decision. I spoke to people who have taken their first walks in 10 weeks, and those who have decided to remain indoors.
Great stuff from
@Seana_Davis
@MTHolroyd
@euronews
- so important not to just tell people when info they’re seeing online is wrong but how they can work this out for themselves
Lots of them have attempted the journey multiple times, and say nothing could deter them from trying to get to Europe.
One 17-year-old said this was his seventh attempt.
Everyone we spoke to said they had friends who had died attempting the same crossing.
In a statement, the family say: "Our passionate, loving and free-spirited sister was cruelly taken away... Whilst the news has been difficult to process, we are incredibly grateful to have uncovered what happened to Rita."
We were overwhelmed by the response to our
#lastnormalphoto
piece yesterday. Here’s a quick look at how it travelled the world and the kinds of photos that are being shared
Almost all of the people on board were unaccompanied minors and most were from The Gambia.
Many told us they travelled to Europe in hopes of sending money back to their families.
One described being beaten, tied up and denied food by smugglers en route to Libya.
After their failed journeys, many said they were pulled back to Libya where they spent time in detention centres, where they claim they were tortured.
One told us that he missed home but that returning after borrowing the money from family for the journey was not an option.
There are troubling questions over the new ownership of the
@phnompenhpost
, especially when it is linked to PM Hun Sen, Khmer Times publisher T Mohan and casino behemoth NagaCorp. Story here:
So sad to hear this news about friend and Mongabay editor Phil Jacobson. “Journalists and people employed by journalism organizations should be free to work in Indonesia without fear of arbitrary detention”.
Some knew little about the plan for their dangerous voyage, but others told us they had been tracking the rescue ship we were on on their smartphones, hoping it would pick them up.
@SOSMedIntl
says numbers of migrant crossings are not affected by whether they are on patrol.
Europe is mostly an abstract idea for the teenagers. When we asked them what it meant to them, many responded with the names of footballers.
When we arrived in Italy, the boys went quiet. They were taken away in buses to reception centres. They face an uncertain future.
"When videos of controversial police encounters generate headlines, there's an important figure in the story that we rarely hear about - the person filming."
@JoshuaNevett
looks into the personal cost of filming police brutality
"We thought it'd be a crisis we could live through"
A year after the fall of Mariupol, we've been catching up with Azovstal steelworkers about their lives now and how some are still haunted by the months they spent underground
Stan’s Donuts was open for more than five decades, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars ate there and a day was even declared in its name. Then coronavirus hit.
Thousands of businesses have shut amid the pandemic. This is the story of one of them.