Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, polio vaccinations in full swing

Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, polio vaccinations in full swing
A displaced Palestinian mother walks past the rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike as she returns to her shelter with her daughters after they got vaccinated against polio. (REUTERS)
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Updated 02 September 2024
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Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, polio vaccinations in full swing

Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, polio vaccinations in full swing
  • Polio vaccination campaign continues for second day
  • Israel hit by general strike amid grief over dead hostages

CAIRO: Israeli forces killed at least 48 Palestinians in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip as they battled Hamas-led militants, Palestinian officials said on Monday, while medics conducted a second day of polio vaccinations for children in the enclave.
Palestinian and UN officials said more than 80,000 children were vaccinated in central areas of Gaza on Sunday, the first day of the campaign.
Hamas and Israel have agreed to brief pauses in fighting to allow the campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children to go ahead. No violations have been reported near vaccination facilities.
Seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on Gaza City, Palestinian officials said on Monday, while two air strikes killed six others in Bureij and Nuseirat, two of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters had confronted Israeli forces in north, south and in some central area of Gaza with anti-tank rockets and mortar fire.
UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, repeated its call on Monday for an immediate ceasefire to help ensure a successful and safe polio vaccination campaign.
“On 1st day only, @UNRWA teams & partners reached around 87,000 children according to @WHO. Efforts are ongoing to provide children with this key vaccine, but what they need most is a #CeasefireNow,” it said on the X social media platform.
Israel and Hamas have continued to trade blame for the failure to conclude a ceasefire, that would end the war, and see the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza and many Palestinians jailed in Israel.

DEADLY DISEASE
Parents continued bringing their infants to be vaccinated at medical facilities on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) says a drop in routine vaccinations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, has contributed to the re-emergence of polio in the area.
Polio myelitis is a highly infectious virus that can cause paralysis and death in infants, with under-2s most at risk.
The WHO confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
Palestinians say a key reason for the return of polio is the collapse of the health system and destruction of most hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes, which the Islamist group denies.
The 11-month old war in Gaza was triggered after Hamas militants on Oct. 7 stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages by Israeli tallies.
Since then, an estimated 40,786 Palestinians have been killed and more than 94,000 injured in Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry said on Monday.
Israel was gripped by a general strike on Monday as labor unions and businesses sought to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government into agreeing a deal to bring the remaining Israeli hostages home. Israel’s Labour Court later ruled that the strike must end at 2.30 p.m. (1130 GMT).
Israelis have been protesting since the bodies of six hostages were recovered in a tunnel in southern Gaza at the weekend. (Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi Editing by Gareth Jones)


Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing

Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing
Updated 58 min 39 sec ago
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Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing

Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing
  • The $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid
  • Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031

JERUSALEM: The Israeli defense ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co.
It said the $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.
Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031, with 4-6 aircraft to be supplied annually, it said.
The aircraft will be equipped with weapons systems integrated with existing Israeli weapons as well as having increased range and payloads.
“These advantages will enable the Israeli Air Force to maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach — capabilities that proved crucial during the current war,” the director general of the defense ministry, Eyal Zamir, said in the statement.
Zamir said that the government has secured procurement agreements worth nearly $40 billion since the onset of the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.
“While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we’re simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities,” he said.
For Boeing, the F-15 agreement is the second major deal this year. In August, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines, signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5 billion, beating out rival Airbus.
Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, said the company’s relationship dates back to Israel’s establishment and “will continue working with the US and Israeli governments to deliver the advanced F-15IA aircraft through standard military procurement channels.”


Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation
Updated 07 November 2024
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Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with US president-elect Donald Trump to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the presidency said on Thursday.
Erdogan “congratulated Trump on his election victory” and “expressed his desire to develop cooperation between Turkiye and the United States in the period ahead,” it said in a statement.
Erdogan was twice hosted at the White House by Trump during his first term, but has never been received there by current President Joe Biden.


Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers

Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers
Updated 07 November 2024
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Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers

Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers
  • They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of 7 to 20 years

JERUSALEM: Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.
The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote but is likely to be challenged in court.
It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of 7 to 20 years. The Israel-Hamas war is still raging in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced, often multiple times.
It was unclear if it would apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel already has a longstanding policy of demolishing the family homes of attackers. Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years.
Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, said that if the law comes before the Supreme Court, it is likely to be struck down based on previous Israeli cases regarding deportation.
“The bottom line is this is completely non-constitutional and a clear conflict to Israel’s core values,” said Shamir-Borer.
Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for their future state. It withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 but has reoccupied parts of the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most of the international community. Palestinians there have permanent residency and are allowed to apply for citizenship, but most choose not to, and those who do face a series of obstacles.
Palestinians living in Israel make up around 20 percent of the country’s population. They have citizenship and the right to vote but face widespread discrimination. Many also have close family ties to those in the territories and most sympathize with the Palestinian cause.


Israeli strike hits area near Beirut airport

Israeli strike hits area near Beirut airport
Updated 38 min 33 sec ago
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Israeli strike hits area near Beirut airport

Israeli strike hits area near Beirut airport
  • The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes
  • Hezbollah had pledged the result of the US election would have no bearing on the war

JERUSALEM: Lebanon's transport minister said Thursday the country's only international airport was operating normally, after Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, including one on an area near the hub.
Minister Ali Hamie told AFP that planes were taking off and landing without any issue.
A heater factory next to the airport's perimeter wall had been badly damaged in a strike, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
Israel has been at war with Lebanon's Hezbollah since late September when it broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border.
The strike near the airport came after Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had targeted a military base close Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international transport hub.
The overnight strike in Beirut caused "minor damage" to some buildings but "not inside the terminal building", an airport official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.
He said the strike had affected a maintenance building belonging to a subsidiary of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier and practically the only airline still operating flights there.
Abu Elie, a taxi driver, was at the airport when the strikes hit.
"The entire car park shook. People were carrying their luggage on their shoulders and running," he said.
"When I made it to the street there was so much smoke I had to turn the headlights on."
The Israeli army had earlier issued an evacuation order for four neighbourhoods in southern Beirut, including a site near the airport.
"Once they sent warnings, we got in the car and fled," Beirut resident Malak Okail told AFP.
"It has become repetitive," said Ramzi Zaitar, another resident.
"We've had to flee our homes several times. Sometimes we sleep in the car," he added.
"Death has become a matter of luck. We can either die or survive."
Since September 23, more than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to Health Minister Firass Abiad.


Israel, WHO say evacuated dozens of Gazans for medical care

Israel, WHO say evacuated dozens of Gazans for medical care
Updated 07 November 2024
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Israel, WHO say evacuated dozens of Gazans for medical care

Israel, WHO say evacuated dozens of Gazans for medical care
  • The WHO said the “patients included those with autoimmune diseases, blood diseases, cancer, kidney conditions and trauma injuries”

JERUSALEM: Israel and the World Health Organization said more than 200 Gazans, both patients and their carers, were evacuated to the United Arab Emirates or Romania Wednesday for medical treatment.
In total, the group numbered some 230 people, according to the WHO and COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
“This is the largest number of patients and caregivers who have left through the Kerem Shalom crossing in recent months,” COGAT said in a statement.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with the UAE, the European Union and the WHO, it added.
The WHO said the “patients included those with autoimmune diseases, blood diseases, cancer, kidney conditions and trauma injuries.”
The patients were transferred from Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel, and then to Ramon Airport near Eilat in southern Israel.
The WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, had said Tuesday that those on the evacuation list were among up to 14,000 people currently waiting in Gaza to be evacuated for medical reasons.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.
The ministry also lists 102,347 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
Peeperkorn said Tuesday that fewer than 5,000 people had been granted medical evacuations out of the territory since the war began.