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Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel expands operations into central Rafah: IDF

May 23, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, renewed negotiations are underway to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, as Israeli forces continue to prepare for an apparent invasion of the southern Gazan town of Rafah.

Here’s how the news is developing:

May 23, 1:38 PM
Israel expands operations into central Rafah: IDF

Israeli Defense Forces are now fighting near central Rafah, representing an expansion of its operations, the IDF said Thursday.

Close to 1 million people have been evacuated from Rafah, according to IDF Commanding Officer Daniel Hagari.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

May 22, 5:59 PM
Egypt threatens to withdraw from Gaza mediation

The Egyptian government said Wednesday that attempts to undermine its efforts to broker a Gaza cease-fire deal could push it to entirely pull out of mediation in the conflict.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Services, said Egypt categorically rejected a report from CNN that claimed his government changed the terms of a Gaza cease-fire deal that Israel had already signed off on before submitting it to Hamas.

Rashwan called the report “false” and “devoid of any information or facts.”

“The ongoing attempts to cast doubt and insult the Egyptian mediation efforts and roles, with allegations that contradict reality, will only lead to further complicating the situation in Gaza and the entire region, and may push the Egyptian side to take a decision to withdraw completely from the mediation it is carrying out in the current conflict,” he said in a statement.

Rashwan added that Egypt would only open the Rafah border crossing if the Palestinian side is operated by Palestinians, reiterating that Cairo does not acknowledge the Israeli control of the Palestinian side of the crossing.

May 22, 5:18 PM
Video shows 5 young women being taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7

The Israeli Hostage Center released a video Wednesday showing five girls being taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, all of whom are considered to be alive and in Hamas custody.

Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy were taken hostage from the Nahal Oz Base, according to the Hostage Center. Families of hostages criticized the Israeli government’s failure to secure their release.

“A damning testament to the nation’s failure to bring home the hostages, who have been forsaken for 229 days,” the Hostage Center said in a release.

Ayelet Levy, Naama’s mother, said in a statement that her heart was with the 19-year-old “in those horrifying moments in the horrifying day of October 7th.”

“We only see in that video a fraction of the horrible things that are going on in their surrounding in the shelter. She is terrified and wounded, there is fear in her eyes, and she is saying what she can, she is begging for her life.”

Shlomi Berger, Agam’s father, told ABC News they decided to release the video to apply pressure on the Israeli government to reach a cease-fire deal that secured the release of the hostages.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the video is evidence of why the war must continue until Hamas is “eliminated.”

“I am shocked by the video documenting the kidnapping of our precious female observers. We will continue to do everything to bring them home,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Britt Clennett

May 22, 3:03 PM
Sullivan says Israel has made ‘refinements’ to Rafah operations following US concerns

Israel has made “refinements” to its military operations in and around Rafah following U.S. concerns about harm to civilians, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday.

“We had detailed discussions on Rafah during my visit to Israel. These have built on weeks now, as I’ve discussed with you from this podium, of discussions on a professional basis, about Rafah and about how Israel can achieve the defeat of Hamas, everywhere in Gaza, including in Rafah, while minimizing civilian harm,” Sullivan said discussing his recent trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“What we have seen so far in terms of Israel’s military operations in that area has been more targeted and limited, has not involved major military operations into the heart of dense urban areas,” he said.

Sullivan said the U.S. will “now have to see what unfolds from here” and whether what Israeli officials have laid out continues to happen.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

May 22, 12:12 PM
Israel responds to move to recognize Palestinian state by withholding funds

Israel will not transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority after Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized Palestine as a state, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The decision by Israel’s far-right finance minister could push the Palestinian government into an even worse financial situation.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

May 22, 12:06 PM
Israel allows settlers to enter northern West Bank

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has authorized settlers to enter parts of the northern West Bank that they had previously been barred.

The Israelis previously had settlements in this area that were evacuated and then demolished in 2005. Settlements in the area will still need government approval, but this authorization will make it easier for settlers to establish outposts.

“Just as I have acted in all my positions in the governments of Israel – I will continue to develop the settlements in Judea and Samaria, to strengthen the security elements and the security of the citizens – in roads and settlements,” Gallant said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

May 22, 10:08 AM
White House reacts to countries recognizing Palestinian state

The White House responded to Ireland, Norway and Spain recognizing Palestine, saying President Joe Biden supports a two-state solution, but said he thinks a Palestinian state should be realized after negotiations and “not through unilateral recognition.”

With the additions of Ireland, Norway and Spain, some 143 countries now recognize the state of Palestine, according to the U.N.

-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart

May 22, 6:09 AM
Three European countries to recognize Palestinian state

Ireland, Norway and Spain said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state.

“Ireland today recognises Palestine as a nation among nations with all the rights and responsibilities that entails,” Simon Harris, the country’s Taoiseach, or prime minister, said in a statement.

The recognition by the Norwegian Government is an effort to “keep alive” the possibility of a “political solution” that might end the war in Gaza, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement.

“Two states, living side by side, in peace and security,” Støre said.

The announcement drew sharp criticism from Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, who said he’d been instructed to immediately recall Israel’s ambassador’s to Ireland and Norway “for consultations.”

“Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays,” Katz said. “After the Hamas terror organization carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognizing a Palestinian state.”

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said his country will recognize a Palestinian state on May 28.

“Time has come to move from words into action,” he said on social media. “Peace, justice and coherence are the basis of our historic decision.”

May 21, 6:19 PM
Kamal Adwan Hospital suffers damage after hit four times: WHO

Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza was reportedly hit four times Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization.

The attacks damaged the intensive care unit, reception, administration and the roof, the organization said. Efforts are underway to evacuate 20 health staff and 13 patients who remain inside, according to WHO.

“We appeal once again for [the] protection of all patients and health workers. We urge for a ceasefire and safe, sustained humanitarian access,” WHO said in a statement.

Over the past few weeks, intense hostilities have reportedly occurred in the vicinity of the hospital and resulted in an increased influx of injured patients to the already overstretched facility.

Kamal Adwan is the largest partially functional hospital in northern Gaza, and the only one providing hemodialysis services.

Kenyan mountaineer dies on Everest as he attempts to summit without supplemental oxygen

May 23, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Kenyan mountaineer Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, who went missing with his guide on Wednesday morning on Mount Everest, has been found dead, officials announced Thursday.

Kirui’s body was found 62 feet, or about 19 meters, below Everest’s peak, Nepal’s Department of Tourism said.

Kirui had been on a mission to summit the world’s highest peak without supplementary oxygen, attempting to become the first African to achieve the feat. He went missing above the Hillary Step.

“A no-oxygen attempt comes with its special preparations and risks,” Kirui wote on Instagram before his summit attempt. “Finally. Tonight we head up. Summit Rotation. After 10 basecamp days.”

He was accompanied by a Nepalese climber and guide, Nawang Sherpa, whose fate remains unknown. Search teams have been deployed to the mountain.

Kirui wrote that he had made extensive preparations for his summit: “Nawang Sherpa will ferry an emergency bottle of oxygen to be used; if I go lights out or if I go bananas. If I’m time barred, unfavourable weather, body limit reached: when I realize I’m no superman.”

Kirui’s death takes this week’s toll on Everest to at least three, following the deaths of two Mongolian climbers who had gone missing on May 12.

British climber Daniel Paterson and his Nepali guide, Pas Tenji Sherpa, also remain missing after their expedition was hit on Tuesday by icefall on Everest’s northern slope.

“Waiting patiently for a summit window,” wrote Paterson — a fitness trainer from Wakefield, U.K. — in an Instagram post before going missing.

Standing at 8,848 meters, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Approximately 800 people attempt to summit the mountain annually, and officials said over 450 climbers have already scaled the mountain from the Nepali side this climbing season. Over 100,000 people visit the Sagarmatha National Park in the Himalayas of northeast Nepal every year.

Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler were the first men to summit Everest without supplemental Oxygen, achieving the feat in May of 1978.

In 2022, James Kagambi became the first Kenyan to reach Everest’s peak, reaching the summit at the age of 62.

“His indomitable will and passion for mountaineering will forever be an inspiration,” the publication Everest Today wrote of Kirui. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this time of sorrow.”

Ukrainian colonel presses for more US arms as his brigade battles Russian onslaught: Reporter’s notebook

May 23, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEAR KHARKIV, Ukraine) — Ukraine’s 57th Motorized Brigade is one infantry unit among many battling the new Russian offensive North of Kharkiv, and it was also amongst the first to engage the Russians as they pushed over the border.

ABC News sat down in a rare interview with Col. Oleksandr Bakulin, commander of the 57th, alongside a senior Army leader at a secret location. The military leaders talked about the latest Russian offensive, how the lack of ammunition and weapons, particularly those from America, has impacted this war in recent months and the morale of his soldiers, who had to retreat and cede territory and who are now having to fight Russians in areas that they had driven Russians from in 2022.

With the Russian offensive, the situation right now in the Northern Kharkiv region is “quite difficult,” Bakulin said.

“The battles are going on. We managed to slow down the enemy,” he said.

The Ukrainian military have stabilized the front and, for now, Russian forces are no longer advancing as rapidly as they did in the opening days of their offensive. But the Russians are still making incremental gains.

Bakulin said that the Russians “still have reserves and will bring these reserve[s] into the battle.”

About $60 billion in American military aid to Ukraine has recently been approved but the weapons and ammunition are still not here and the shortfall over the last few months has had a real impact on the fighting.

“We do understand how crucial this [US] aid is,” Bakulin said. “The whole the world understands. Yes, our soldiers are brave and courageous, but without this aid, these weapons, shells, everything, without this we would not be able to keep fighting in a war against Russia, just because we are way smaller than Russia.”

Bakulin acknowledged the withdrawals but said it was a normal part of the ebb and flow of warfare. He’s made clear he’s been enjoying being close to the Russian border.

“Firing at Russians in the Russian territory is way more pleasant than firing at them on the Ukrainian soil,” he said.

Despite the advances made by the Russians, he pushed back at the idea that Ukraine is losing the war, saying, “I personally think that we have already won this war. The question is at what point it is going to end, and at what stage.”

Bakulin said he predicts that in the end this war will be ended by a deal, saying, “Every war ends in peace talks and deals.”

And he even seemed to accept that in order for this to happen, territory might need to be given up, citing the experience of nearby Finland.

“Little Finland once fought against big USSR,” Bakulin said. “Yes, it lost some territories. But it still does exist as a country and Russia doesn’t even look in that direction. We are in a similar position, but I hope we will not lose our land.”

The war is far from over and the lack of heavy weaponry is still operationally critical. He put it succinctly when asked about the casualties caused by the lack of armaments, saying, “The sweat of the artillery soldiers saves the blood of the infantry soldiers. But if there is only sweat without the shells, then infantry soldiers pay it with their blood.”

Bakulin said he accepts that American support is essential for fighting the war, despite some dissent in Congress over how much funding the U.S. has pledged to Ukraine.

“I understand that we spent the money of their taxpayers. Money of the citizens of these countries. We understand this,” Bakulin said. “But we are fighting because we want to be with you; to be a part of the civilized world. We want to play in your team. Yes, we are going through hard times now. But I believe that we are fighting for the values that U.S. propagates in the world and it has always stood by these values.”

UNRWA suspends aid to Rafah citing ‘insecurity, lack of supplies’ amid Israel-Hamas war

May 22, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced Tuesday it has suspended aid deliveries in the southern border city of Rafah due to security concerns amid ongoing hostilities and a lack of supplies.

The agency also said just seven out of its 24 health centers are operational and that those centers had not received any medical supplies in the last 10 days to “closures” and “disruptions” at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, according to an UNRWA statement posted on X.

UNRWA said its distribution center and the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse are located in eastern Rafah and have been inaccessible as a result of Israel’s ongoing military operation in the area.

“We have a lot of people on the ground ready to provide aid and provide services, but without access across the borders to any supplies and without access to our distribution centers, we are simply unable to distribute food,” UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge said Wednesday.

The WFP said in a post on X that it ran out of food to distribute to families in Rafah.

“Thousands of families still in #Rafah need aid,” WFP in the Middle East wrote on the social media platform.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dropped leaflets in Rafah and sent text messages in Arabic on May 6 calling for about 100,000 people to evacuate the eastern part of the city and to head north to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian corridor ahead of a long-promised major ground invasion into Rafah. As of Monday, UNRWA estimates that 810,000 people have evacuated from Rafah.

While the crossings in the south are either closed or have limited access, the Erez West/Zikim crossing is open in northern Gaza , which is experiencing “full-blown famine,” according to WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.

However, in update to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, Tor Wennesland, U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said “much more aid is needed to meet the enormous scale of the needs. … There is no substitute for the full and increased operation of existing land crossings.”

“I am deeply concerned that the current trajectory — including the possibility of a larger-scale operation — will further undermine efforts to scale-up the entry of humanitarian goods and their safe distribution to desperate civilians,” he said.

UNRWA has had intermittent challenges providing aid to Gaza since Israeli officials alleged in January that several UNRWA members participated in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 surprise terrorist attack in Israel.

UNRWA said it terminated the accused employees after the allegations were made public. An independent investigation by the U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight is ongoing. Meanwhile, a separate independent review released last month found that Israel has yet to provide evidence that UNRWA staff are members of terrorist organizations.

The UNRWA isn’t the only organization facing logistical challenges delivering aid. Very little of the aid unloaded from the temporary pier built by the U.S. off of Gaza has been distributed to the broader population, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Ryder said 569 metric tons have landed and that U.S., Israel and the United Nations are working “to identify alternative routes for the safe movement of staff and cargo.”

Since Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack in Israel, more than 35,709 people in Gaza have been killed and more than 79,990 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. More than 1,700 Israelis have been killed and 8,700 have been injured, according to Israeli officials.

US says Israel has made ‘refinements’ to Rafah assault strategy to reduce risks of civilian harm after Biden demands

May 22, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said Wednesday that Israel has made “refinements” to its military operations in and around Rafah following pushback from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the president’s demands.

Jake Sullivan, just back from a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, noted to reporters at the White House press briefing that Israel’s assault on Rafah in southern Gaza has been “more targeted and limited.”

For weeks, the U.S. had insisted Israel produce a “plan” to minimize civilian casualties in an attack on Rafah, where it said more than a million Palestinian civilians had sought shelter after being forced from other areas of Gaza.

Biden had suggested his demand to limit civilian casualties was his “red line” amid protests in the U.S. and abroad over his response to Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

Sullivan met with Netanyahu during his visit.

“I was briefed by Israeli officials and by Israeli professionals on refinements that Israel’s made to its plans to achieve its military objectives while taking account of civilian harm. What we have seen so far in terms of Israel’s military operations in that area has been more targeted and limited, has not involved major military operations into the heart of dense urban areas,” he said.

Sullivan said the U.S. will “now have to see what unfolds from here” and whether what Israeli officials have laid out continues to happen.

“There’s no mathematical formula. What we’re going to be looking at, is whether there is a lot of death and destruction from this operation or if it is more precise and proportional. And we will see that unfold. And we will obviously remain closely engaged with the Israeli government as we go. That’s how we see the situation right now.”

Amid increased tensions over Israel’s vow to invade Rafah with the aim of wiping out what it said were the last four battalions of Hamas fighters, Biden had paused a shipment of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel that he and other administration officials said Israel could use to kill civilians in Gaza.

Sullivan’s comments come after a senior administration official said on Tuesday that Israel has taken the U.S. concerns over an operation in Rafah “seriously” and had “updated their plans.”

“They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed and the president has expressed,” the senior official said.

Biden’s military pier to deliver aid to Gaza off to slow start

May 22, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — With the crisis in Gaza worsening, a private humanitarian group staffed with former military and intelligence officials stumbled upon a surprising hurdle in its efforts to help the United States government rush supplies to Palestinian residents by boat: For several weeks, there was little to no aid ready to move.

Fogbow, an independent outfit, said it had expected there would be large-scale donations of food, medicine and other supplies piling up at a port in Cyprus, where aid was supposed to be staged and screened by the Israelis before being shipped to the Gaza coast via a U.S.-built pier known as JLOTs, or the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability.

When that aid didn’t materialize, Fogbow officials knocked on the doors of several local flour mills in Cyprus — eventually purchasing nearly 2.5 million pounds of flour that it now plans to ship in early June.

“It’s not the capacity of JLOTs,” said Mick Mulroy, an ABC News contributor and former assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East who now leads Fogbow. “It’s that there’s not enough aid” to move, he said.

Two months after President Joe Biden announced his vision of the floating pier off Gaza that would enable some 2 million meals delivered a day, the $320 million project has been off to a bumpy start. The pier, initially envisioned as a 90-day project, first struggled with bad weather that delayed its placement, as well as security concerns tied to Israel’s operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Since becoming operational nearly a week ago, the pier’s new complicating factors appear to be convincing countries to step up donations into Cyprus and enabling aid workers safe passage to distribute the supplies.

Of the 695 metric tons of aid that’s been shipped in recent days — roughly 1.5 million pounds — the United Nations’ World Food Program said it has struggled to get much of it to warehouses because of security issues. On Tuesday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that 11 of the 16 trucks leaving the pier last weekend were looted by desperate residents.

The U.S. also announced it was suspending food distribution in Rafah this week “due to lack of supplies and insecurity.”

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, told reporters Wednesday that he does not see the pier as a failure.

“Aid is flowing. It is not flowing at the rate that any of us would be happy with because we always want more, but we are actually seeing good cooperation between the U.S., the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], the U.N. and other humanitarian organizations to ensure that aid goes from that pier to innocent people in need,” he said.

USAID has not said how much aid is in Cyprus now, other than to note that “thousands of tons” of aid is “in the pipeline.”

“We anticipate more assistance from additional countries and organizations utilizing and steadily scaling up the maritime corridor soon after it is operational,” USAID said in a recent statement provided to ABC News.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Tuesday that “deconfliction” between aid groups and the IDF remains a serious problem, referring to steps to coordinate logistics to reduce the risk of friendly fire.

“There are good procedures in place, but we continue to see some problems at the operational level, at the tactical level where a given unit may not know in real time that a convoy is supposed to go through,” Blinken told the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“So we’re working on significantly improving that, finally fixing that to make sure that humanitarians can proceed safely,” he said.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday that aid movement has resumed with the U.S., Israel and U.N. working on identifying “alternative routes for the safe movement of staff and cargo.”

Ryder and other officials say the military is employing a “crawl, walk, run” strategy that starts out slow and builds capacity with time.

In the meantime, with its three empty barges on hand and nothing to move, Fogbow officials this month turned to buying their own shipment of aid.

Mulroy said the hope is that international donors and aid groups will offer up more supplies once they see a functional operation.

“This pier has a lifespan … and the conditions are not great,” Mulroy said. “So the longer that we don’t have large quantities of aid going in, the more we’re wasting this opportunity.”

ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

Twenty in ICUs after deadly turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight, Bangkok officials say

May 22, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(HONG KONG and LONDON) — Twenty passengers were being treated Wednesday in the intensive care units at two Bangkok hospitals after a Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence, hospital officials said.

One person died on Tuesday as Singapore Airlines flight SQ 321 encountered “severe” turbulence, the airline said in a social media post on Tuesday. The Boeing 777-300ER departed London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday with 221 passengers and 18 crew members on board, according to the airline.

At least 85 people had been admitted to three hospitals in Bangkok after the plane was diverted there, Bangkok hospital officials said in a statement released Wednesday. Another 19 were treated at a local clinic, officials said.

The airline had said late Tuesday night that four of the passengers were American. Two of them were injured.

Thirteen patients were still in the intensive care unit at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, along with seven at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital, officials said.

Thirty-six other passengers were being treated Wednesday at those two hospitals, along with another two at Bangkok Hospital, the statement said. By midday on Wednesday, 27 others had been discharged, the statement said.

Geoff Kitchen, a 73-year-old man from the U.K., died, according to authorities and a music theater group where he worked. Singapore Airlines offered its condolences to Kitchen’s family, saying in a statement on Tuesday, “Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft.”

The flight, which had been scheduled to arrive at Singapore Changi Airport, instead touched down in Thailand at about 3:45 p.m. local time, the carrier said.

One dead, six critically injured amid ‘severe’ turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight, carrier says

May 22, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — One person died and dozens of others were left injured after a Singapore Airlines flight encountered “severe” turbulence, the airline said in a social media post.

The Boeing 777-300ER departed London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday with 221 passengers and 18 crew members on board, according to the airline.

The flight, SQ 321, encountered turbulence about 90 minutes from its destination of Singapore and was diverted to Bangkok, the carrier said.

Six people were critically injured, Kittipong Kittikachorn, general manager for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, said. Dozens of other passengers suffered minor or moderate injuries, he said.

Geoff Kitchen, a 73-year-old man from the U.K., died, according to authorities and a music theater group where he worked.

The U.K.-based Thornbury Musical Theatre Group said in a Facebook post, “Geoff was always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group. His commitment to TMTG was unquestionable and he has served the group and the local community of Thornbury for over 35 years, holding various offices within the group, including Chairman, Treasurer and most recently Secretary. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and the family at this difficult time, and we ask that you respect their privacy.”

Singapore Airlines offered its condolences to Kitchen’s family.

“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to assist in the investigation.

“Suddenly, the aircraft starts tilting up, and there was shaking, so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop, so everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on the flight, told ABC News. “Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it; they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.”

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong addressed the SQ321 incident in a video.

“We are deeply saddened by this incident, and are committed to providing all necessary support and assistance to the passengers and crew members who were on board SQ321, as well as their families and loved ones. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the passenger who passed away,” Phong said.

The airline said late Tuesday night that four of the passengers were American. Two of them were injured.

The aircraft appeared to have encountered the turbulence in Thai airspace, somewhere over the Andaman Sea.

The flight, which had been scheduled to arrive at Singapore Changi Airport, instead touched down in Thailand at about 3:45 p.m. local time, the carrier said.

“We are in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding flight SQ321 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.”

What to know about Turks and Caicos’ strict gun laws after US tourists charged with possessing ammunition

May 22, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The plight of multiple Americans charged with bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos has drawn attention to the islands’ strict gun laws.

Those convicted under the firearms ordinance of possessing ammunition could face a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison — unless a judge grants them leniency for “exceptional circumstances,” Turks and Caicos officials said.

Several American tourists who recently traveled to the popular tropical destination have been charged after inadvertently bringing ammunition, according to a coalition of U.S. Congress members advocating on their behalf.

Here’s what to know about the law and cases.

Turks and Caicos’ strict gun laws

Turks and Caicos prohibits anyone from keeping, carrying, discharging or using an unlicensed firearm or ammunition. There is no constitutional right to carry firearms.

In the U.S., it is legal to fly with unloaded firearms and ammunition in checked baggage, according to the Transportation Security Administration. American tourists previously arrested in Turks and Caicos for possessing ammunition typically were briefly jailed and paid hefty fines before being able to return home.

The British Overseas Territory — which has its own legislature and government — has strengthened its firearms ordinance over the years. Most recently in 2022, it passed an amendment that mandates a minimum 12-year prison sentence for those convicted of breaking the law. The harsher penalty followed an increase in gun-related violence and weapons trafficking.

Turks and Caicos, where crime has been relatively low, saw a “marked increase” in homicides in 2020 and 2021 associated with “international crime, gangs, the availability of firearms, and drug dealing and trafficking,” according to the U.K. Government.

The amendment was one of 11 pieces of legislation the Turks and Caicos House of Assembly passed in November 2022 aimed at addressing rising crime and gang violence.

Since then, Turks and Caicos’ Supreme Court has only imposed fines in five cases where the judge found there to be “exceptional circumstances,” according to the islands’ attorney general. If the court finds there are exceptional circumstances, “the sentencing judge has discretion to impose a custodial sentence (less than the twelve years) and a fine that are fair and just in the circumstances of each case,” the attorney general said in a statement in April.

The Americans charged

In recent months, multiple Americans have been charged after ammunition was allegedly found in their luggage:

Michael Grim

The Indiana resident was arrested in August 2023 after one magazine containing 20 rounds of 9 mm ammunition was found in his luggage at Providenciales International Airport when it was screened during a security check, according to court documents.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight months in prison in September 2023 — with the court finding there was no criminal intent though “the need to send a message to travelers to the Turks and Caicos Islands to exercise caution when packing suitcases and to ensure that items of this nature are brought to the attention of airport officials.”

He was released in February.

Michael Lee Evans

The Texas septuagenarian was arrested in December 2023 after seven rounds of 9 mm ammunition was found in his luggage, police said. He pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition and is out on bail. He was allowed to return to the U.S. due to medical reasons, police previously said. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 18.

Bryan Hagerich

The Pennsylvania father of two was arrested in February while returning home from a family vacation after ammunition was found in his checked luggage. He pleaded guilty to possession of 20 rounds of ammunition. He told ABC News he forgot hunting ammunition was in his bag while he was traveling. His next hearing has been scheduled for Friday.

“We’re still steadfast in my goal to return home,” he told ABC News earlier in May.

He said he hopes the judge is lenient in the sentencing and that he doesn’t want to be separated from his family for 12 years.

“I’m a man of integrity, character,” he said. “I did not have intent in this.”

Ryan Tyler Watson

The Oklahoma resident was returning with his wife from a trip to Turks and Caicos to celebrate several friends’ 40th birthdays when he was arrested on April 12. Four rounds of ammunition were allegedly found in his carry-on bag at the Howard Hamilton International Airport, police said.

Watson has since been released on $15,000 bond but remains on the islands as his court case continues, separated from his wife and two children. His next hearing has been scheduled for June 7.

Watson, who is living with Hagerich amid the legal proceedings, told ABC News he didn’t know the hunting ammunition was in the bag.

“I stand behind Turks and Caicos and what they’re trying to accomplish to get out in front of their gun violence that they are experiencing on the island,” he said, though he added he doesn’t feel that putting those like himself and Hagerich “makes this island any safer.”

“We both just made a mistake,” he said.

Tyler Scott Wenrich

The Virginia resident traveled to Grand Turk on a cruise ship for a bachelor party in late April when ammunition was found in his possession while going through a security checkpoint, police said.

The 911 operator and emergency medical technician, who has a young child, has remained on the island since being arrested and pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of possession of ammunition, for two 9 mm rounds. The judge’s sentence is expected within seven days.

“I have a lot of fear and anxiety as to what’s going to happen and I’m hoping that the judge finds some compassion and leniency in the situation that I’m in,” Wenrich told ABC News.

Wenrich had gone shooting at a gun range with friends and said he forgot he was carrying the ammunition.

“I take a lot of responsibility for it because I have to,” he said, though noted that the ammunition was overlooked by several entities before being found.

“It could happen to anybody,” he said.

Defense attorney Sheena Mair said in court, in arguing for a more lenient sentence, “A mandatory minimum of 12 years in this case is not what Parliament intended with the firearm ordinance change in October 2022.”

“Tyler’s sentencing will not fix the gun issue in this jurisdiction,” she added.

Mair detailed past cases of Americans in which lesser sentences were imposed, including Grim, as well as American Dave O’Connor. O’Connor was found to have 44 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, but received a $5,670 fine and no sentence. In both cases, the Court of Appeals defended the finding of exceptional circumstances.

Sharitta Grier

The Florida resident was visiting Turks and Caicos with her daughter for Mother’s Day when, during a routine search at the Howard Hamilton International Airport on May 13, officials claim to have found two rounds of ammunition in her bag, police said.

She told Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV she had no idea that two rounds were in the bottom of her duffel bag.

Grier was charged with one count of possession of ammunition and released on $15,000 bail. She has been ordered to remain in the Caribbean territory until the completion of her case, police sources said.

A hearing has been scheduled for July 5. She has been living with Hagerich and Watson while her case proceeds.

“They are my forever family,” she said.

US response

The American Embassy in the Bahamas, the nearest embassy to the islands, issued an alert in April urging all travelers to Turks and Caicos to “carefully check your luggage for stray ammunition or forgotten weapons before departing from the United States.”

Firearms, ammunition (including stray bullets) and other weapons are not permitted in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI),” the alert stated. ” TCI authorities strictly enforce all firearms-and-ammunition-related laws. The penalty for traveling to TCI with a firearm, ammunition, or other weapon can result in a minimum custodial sentence of twelve (12) years.”

The alert said that TSA screening in the U.S. may not identify ammunition in your baggage and it is “your responsibility to ensure your baggage is free of ammunition and/or firearms.”

U.S. officials have been pressuring the Turks and Caicos government to release their constituents.

In mid-May, the governors of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Virginia sent a joint letter to Turks and Caicos Gov. Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam to release Watson, Hagerich and Wenrich.

“This action will create the necessary recognition of your laws that will impact the future actions of travelers and continue our mutual interest in justice and goodwill between our jurisdictions,” the letter read.

A bipartisan congressional delegation traveled to Turks and Caicos this week to address the fate of the five Americans charged.

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, one of the members of the delegation, told “Good Morning America” that he left the meetings feeling like they “didn’t find a real path forward” and are considering next steps if they can’t reach a solution.

“We thought we could find some type of common ground to separate the two — ones with the intent and one with no criminal intent,” Mullin said. “We weren’t able to get to that conclusion. So their whole point was that, let the system work.”

Mullin said the next step might be warning American citizens about traveling and doing business in Turks and Caicos.

“I don’t think we’re to that point. But if we can’t come to a solution, that’s the next option for us,” he said.

Turks and Caicos’ response

The Turks and Caicos attorney general has said the firearms ordinance applies to all those on the islands, “regardless of status or origin.”

Following the meeting with the congressional delegation, the Turks and Caicos governor’s office said in a statement that the government has “clear laws prohibiting the possession of firearms and/or ammunition and strict penalties are in place to serve and protect all who reside and visit the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

The office said the government officials “appreciated that the circumstances for U.S. nationals who find themselves in this position can be difficult but were aware that U.S. officials are providing consular support to each of the individuals.”

“Where the court finds there are exceptional circumstances, the sentencing judge does have discretion, under the law, to impose a custodial sentence and a fine that are fair and just in the circumstances of each case,” the governor’s office added.

ABC News’ Stefan Joyce contributed to this report.

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