Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 10 people in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted around 250. Around 110 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential areas.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire deal and hostage release but major gaps remain.
Here’s the latest:
Rights groups express renewed concerns about humanitarian situation in Gaza as Israel issues more evacuation orders
BEIRUT Rights groups on Thursday expressed renewed concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel’s latest evacuation orders in parts of the overcrowded central city of Deir al-Balah.
The polio virus has been circulating in the battered Palestinian enclave for the first time in 25 years, relief organization the International Rescue Committee said in a statement. It said the spread resulted from the destruction of hospitals and water infrastructure, along with overcrowded living conditions.
The news of polio in Gaza should be an alarm bell that more infectious diseases are on the way, Dr Jude Senkugu, the group’s emergency health coordinator in the territory, said in the statement. Without clean water, it is nearly impossible to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, as people do not have enough to drink, leaving them with no other choice but to drink contaminated water.
Meanwhile, international medical organization Doctors Without Borders warned that shrinking living spaces would cause diseases to spread faster.
The majority of Gaza’s population of about 2 million have been displaced in the ongoing Hamas-Israel war since October 7, often more than once. Israel has scaled up its evacuation orders over the past month.
There is no room to put tents up. The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fueling the spread of diseases, Doctors Without Borders’ project coordinator Jacob Granger said in a statement. We are unable to keep up with the overwhelming needs.
Both organizations have echoed calls from global aid agencies for an immediate cease-fire.
French destroyer in EU mission rescues 29 mariners from oil tanker stricken in Red Sea attacks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea, officials said Thursday, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are suspected to have carried out the assault on the Sounion, though they have yet to claim responsibility for the attack.
The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union’s Operation Aspides said.
