Reform UK has suspended one of its councillors while the party investigates him over alleged online comments about wanting to kill Keir Starmer.
The suspension came after the party was presented with details indicating that John Allen, a Reform UK Northumberland county councillor, had posted comments online about wanting to shoot the prime minister.
Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, last week challenged police to arrest social media users who he said had been using TikTok to call for him to be shot.
Reform was presented with details of the alleged comments after an investigation by the antifascist group Hope Not Hate.
A Reform UK spokesperson said on Friday: “Cllr Allen has been suspended pending investigation.”
Allen, who is also an appointee to the Northumbria police and crime panel and sits on a number of committees, neither confirmed nor denied that he was behind the YouTube account @johnallen7807 when he was asked by the Guardian.
That account has made repeated calls for Starmer to be killed. In recent years, it has posted comments indicating it is likely to be Allen’s account, such as an announcement last month that the handle user had been elected to Northumberland county council for Reform.
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Nigel Farage explains the politics of Reform UK: Racism, Fake anti-establishmentism, Deregulation, Corporatism, Climate Change Denial, Mysogyny and Transphobia.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him. He says that Reform UK has received millions and millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
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Citizens and relatives of the Palestinians, including children, who died as a result of Israeli army attack on Abu Salmiya family apartment in Al-Shati refugee camp carry the dead bodies as bodies are being taken from the al-Shifa Hospital for burial in Gaza City, Gaza on September 20, 2025. [Khames Alrefi – Anadolu Agency]
At least 54 Palestinians were killed on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks across the Gaza Strip, as the army renewed its warnings for residents to evacuate Gaza City and move south, Anadolu reports.
According to eyewitnesses and medical sources, the attacks struck a shelter, a displacement tent, civilian gatherings, and homes, coinciding with the detonation of booby-trapped robots in northern neighborhoods of Gaza City.
Northern Gaza
Most of the casualties were reported in Gaza City, where at least 44 Palestinians were killed.
In the Al-Tuffah area, nine people were killed in an airstrike on the al-Jamal family home. Five people were killed in an airstrike on the home in the Al-Shati refugee camp of Majed Abu Salmiya, the brother of Shifa Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya.
Near Yarmouk Stadium, two children were killed when Israeli gunfire struck the Al-Mu’tasim School, which has been sheltering displaced families.
A woman was killed and others were wounded when Israeli gunfire hit a civilian gathering near the Jordanian Hospital in the Al-Samra neighborhood.
Near the Islamic University, women and children were injured when an airstrike hit a displacement tent, while 23 more Palestinians were killed in other parts of Gaza City.
Four more Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an airstrike targeting a civilian gathering at the Abu Hamid junction, near the Shati refugee camp.
The Civil Defense Service said in a statement that Israeli drones also fired randomly at homes in northern and southern parts of the city, wounding civilians. Late Friday, Israeli jets carried out a “fire belt” bombardment of Tel al-Hawa, while troops detonated several explosive-laden robotic vehicles on Sheikh Radwan and Al-Nafaq Street in northern Gaza City.
Israeli forces also dropped leaflets over the Al-Shati camp, renewing orders for residents to flee south.
On Tuesday, the army announced a “large-scale ground operation” in Gaza City, though field reports indicate limited ground incursions have only occurred since Wednesday night in northern districts.
Central Gaza
At least one Palestinian was killed and others were injured in a strike on a civilian gathering on Al-Ishreen Street in Nuseirat refugee camp, while another person was killed in a separate attack in central Gaza.
The Israeli army also killed three Palestinians and wounded others when a drone bombed a tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Southern Gaza
One person was killed and five others were wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near a distribution center in Rafah.
In Khan Younis, one person was killed in a strike near the Abu Hmeid roundabout, while three others were killed in separate Israeli attacks in the south.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza which has so far killed over 65,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The onslaught has displaced hundreds of thousands alongside a blockade on humanitarian aid that has claimed the lives of at least 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.
Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
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Mohammed Dwedar of Team Palestine prepares to compete in the Men’s 800 Metres Heats on day four of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at National Stadium on September 16, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. [Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images]
Mohammed Dwedar, the only athlete representing Palestine at the 20th World Athletics Championships in Japan, said Saturday he was running not just for himself but for his country, Anadolu reports.
“I ran in a race I cannot lose. How can I lose when I started with nothing?” Dwedar told Anadolu after competing in the men’s 800-meter heats in Tokyo. “When I run, I feel like I am doing something for this flag.”
Pride and struggle
Dwedar, who also competed at the Olympics, described the honor of carrying Palestine’s name on the world stage.
“I am very happy to represent Palestine at the World Athletics Championships. I have very mixed emotions. You know what has been going on in my country. I have gone through a very difficult preparation process,” he said.
“I am very proud to compete for a country like Palestine at the World Athletics Championships. This will be a lifetime honor for me. I am the only athlete from Palestine participating in the championships because, as you know, we do not have any racetracks to train on,” he added.
He said the atmosphere in Tokyo and support from fellow athletes lifted his spirits: “The athletes I competed with in Tokyo were my friends, and very helpful and supportive to me.”
Dwedar recalled that his sister first inspired him to run: “She was a runner too. When I went to watch my sister’s team, they said, ‘You can run too,’ and I love running. Running has been an important part of my life. I have never stopped running since then.”
He added that despite the difficulties, he prepares with focus: “I need to concentrate before the race. Even though I feel very sorry for Palestine, I need to focus during the race, otherwise you cannot make up even a second you lose. I do not watch television and check my phone as all I see is bad news. I need to focus on the race.”
Sports under attack in Gaza
Dwedar spoke about the devastating impact of Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza’s sports community.
“Those who died and were martyred were my friends. I have many friends in Gaza. My team is in Gaza now, but we cannot train there. No sports in Palestine; nowhere is safe,” he said.
“There is nowhere to train; we only train on the streets. There is no safe place. It is very dangerous, but we have no alternative. There is nothing we can do. There is no running track, no stadium, but we cannot stop. I run from the heart. When I run, I am very happy. When I run, I send a message. When I run, I feel like I am doing something for this flag.”
In Gaza, more than 800 athletes have been killed and nearly 300 sports facilities destroyed in the past two years of Israeli attacks. 90% of sports infrastructure has been wiped out, with football fields turned into “cemeteries.”
“The whole world knows what is happening in Palestine. Everyone knows what is happening in Palestine,” Dwedar said. “We are here for sports, and I want to send a message for the Palestinian people. I thank my family and my people for their support. I am also sending a message to Palestinian children: Keep working, and we can win medals for this flag.”
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Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
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Plumes of smoke rise into the sky after Israeli warplanes launch an airstrike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, in a new blow to efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, on September 9, 2025. [Ali Altunkaya – Anadolu Agency]
Qatar on Saturday submitted an official letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) condemning Israel’s Sept. 9 armed assault in Doha, which targeted the residential premises of Hamas political bureau members and resulted in casualties, Anadolu Agency reports.
The letter was delivered by Abdullah Al-Malki, Qatar’s permanent representative to ICAO, to the president of the ICAO Council, according to the Qatari news agency, QNA.
In its letter, Qatar stressed that the assault represented a “flagrant violation of its sovereignty and the provisions of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.”
The Gulf state affirmed that it “retains all its rights under international law.”
On Sept. 9, Israel attacked a residential compound in Doha, killing five Hamas leaders as they were discussing a US proposal to end the war in Gaza, where nearly 65,200 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 15, 2025. [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Saturday released a photo showing 47 Israeli captives, saying it was taken at the start of Israel’s latest military offensive in Gaza City, Anadolu reports.
The image was accompanied by a caption in Arabic and Hebrew saying: “Because of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s intransigence and [Chief of General Staff Eyal] Zamir’s submission, this is a farewell photo at the beginning of the operation in Gaza.”
Hamas published the picture on its official website, underscoring its position that the fate of the captives lies with the political decisions of Israel’s leadership.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its readiness to conclude a comprehensive deal with Israel to release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, end the war on Gaza, and ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
However, Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected such proposals, insisting instead on partial arrangements that would allow him to delay and impose new conditions at each stage of negotiations.
Many in Israel and elsewhere have accused Netanyahu of dragging out the war for the sake of his own political survival, ignoring the hostages’ survival.
On Sept. 9, Israel attacked a residential compound in Doha killing five Hamas leaders as they were discussing a US proposal to end the war in Gaza, where nearly 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
