International
Israel’s offensive is based on Yabalia and the Army orders the evacuation of more areas of Rafah
The Israeli military offensive continues to focus this Monday in Yabalia, a city in the north of the Gaza Strip where troops have resumed their activity in the face of the return of Hamas.
In addition, his artillery extends through the central and east neighborhoods of Rafah, at the southern end of the enclave, which Israel ordered to be evacuated two days ago.
Some 360,000 people have already fled Rafah since the first evacuation order issued by the Israeli Army, according to estimates by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
“People don’t know where to go. Everyone in Rafah, even in the areas where the evacuation has not yet been ordered, is leaving. On the street, they ask each other what is the best place to get around,” a displaced gazati in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood, in the west of the city, told EFE.
In Rafah, “fear and confusion” reign, since people are reluctant to travel to what Israel has designated as a “humanitarian zone” for them, in the coastal area of Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of people live crowded in makeshift shops on the beach, without drinking water or sanitation.
This Monday, the evacuation orders have been extended to two new areas of the center of the population, already more in the western half of the city, where humanitarian aid has not entered for almost a week since Israel keeps the steps of Kerem Shalom and Rafah closed, which connects the enclave with Egypt.
In the last few hours, at least eight people have died in the city, one of them minor, whose lifeless bodies arrived at the Kuwaiti hospital of the Rafah governorate.
“There is no place to go. There is no security to move without a ceasefire,” UNRWA claimed.
In Yabalia, the attacks have reached homes both in the refugee camp and in the city, where ambulance services rescued at least twenty bodies and treated dozens of wounded.
“The occupation forces attacked the ambulances in the Yabalia camp, where we could not reach a large number of victims,” denounced the director of emergency services in northern Gaza.
For its part, the official Palestinian agency Wafa, citing testimonies from residents, indicated that Israeli forces “surrounded and assaulted” the shelter centers, forcing hundreds of people to move west of the city.
“The Israeli forces try to advance towards the center of the field and shoot everything that moves around them, while the gifts fly intensely over the area at a low altitude,” he explained.
After ordering the evacuation of two large neighborhoods of Yabalia on Saturday, the Israeli Army resumed its military offensive on that city in northern Gaza on Sunday, one of the first places it attacked harshly in October when the war began.
“The occupation forces are now trying to besiege and break into the six shelter centers located to the east of the camp. There are shots with drones and snipers, forcing the displaced to leave without knowing where to go,” a resident of Yabalia explained to EFE by phone, who did not want to give his name for safety.
The same source also reported strong armed clashes between Palestinian militias and Israeli troops inside the camp, so the Israeli Army has had to ask for reinforcements.
As has happened with Zeitun, a neighborhood of Gaza City, Israeli forces have resumed their military activity in those parts of the northern Gaza Strip, by detecting – according to information from the intelligence services – that Hamas troops have returned to the area and are being regrouped.
The Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip since October 7 has caused the death of 35,034 citizens, most of them children and women, in adde of 78,755 injured and 10,000 missing people who are estimated to be trapped under the rubble.
In the last 24 hours, the Israel Air Force attacked 120 military targets from Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while its ground troops operate in Rafah, in the south, and in Zeitun and Yabalia, in the north, the Army reported.
The 162ndª Division fights in the east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, where they say they killed several Hamas fighters, located and confiscated weapons found in a school and destroyed military infrastructure.
“The Air Force attacked several Hamas targets, including underground sites and a building where the agents met,” the Army said.
Meanwhile, the 99th Division maintains its offensive activity in Zeitun, a southern neighborhood of Gaza City where Hamas was also regrouping, and where troops today “roaned a weapons depot at the home of a Palestinian operational.”
A foreign United Nations employee died today in Rafah in an Israeli attack against a humanitarian convoy, the Government of Hamas in the Gaza Strip said on Monday.
“This afternoon, the Israeli occupation army killed a foreign employee and injured another foreign employee in Rafah (southern Gaza Strip), where they were attacked while traveling in a vehicle with the United Nations flag and the United Nations badge,” Gaza authorities said in a statement.
The UN confirmed on Monday that one of its employees died and another was injured in Gaza when the vehicle they were in was hit by a projectile, allegedly Israeli, while they were on their way to the European Hospital this morning.
The two victims, whose nationality has not been confirmed, worked for the Department of Security and Protection (DSS), according to a statement from the organization.
The UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, said that he could not even relet his nationality although “they are international personnel,” and said that the first thing will be to inform their families and governments.
“As part of their daily work, they go to different places to verify the safety conditions,” and in this case it was the European Hospital of Rafah, stressed Haq, who added that the vehicle in which he was traveling was duly identified as belonging to the United Nations fleet.
The secretary general called for “a complete investigation” into what happened, and said that he “condemns all attacks” against UN personnel.
International
Elon Musk plans sweeping cuts to U.S. bureaucracy and spending
Elon Musk has pledged massive cuts to government programs, subsidies, and bureaucracy in his anticipated role as a “State Efficiency” leader, according to an article published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal.
The billionaire entrepreneur plans to target hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending, including funds for public broadcasting and Planned Parenthood. Musk called government bureaucracy an “existential threat” to American democracy.
Teaming up with fellow businessman and Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk aims to streamline federal regulations and implement significant administrative and cost reductions.
“We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as external volunteers, not federal officials or employees,” Musk and Ramaswamy stated in the article.
International
Putin warns of escalation, suggests strikes on western weapon suppliers
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the conflict in Ukraine is taking on the characteristics of a “global war,” warning that Russia might target Western nations supplying Ukraine with weapons used in attacks on Russian territory.
These remarks come after a day of heightened tensions, during which Russia launched a state-of-the-art medium-range missile designed to carry a nuclear warhead. However, this particular missile was loaded with conventional explosives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the missile strike, calling it the action of a “deranged neighbor” using Ukraine as a “military testing ground.”
Earlier, Ukraine accused Russia of attacking the central-eastern city of Dnipro with a missile exhibiting “all the characteristics” of an intercontinental missile, an unprecedented development in the ongoing conflict.
International
IMF: Spain’s economy remains resilient despite devastating floods
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated on Thursday that the devastating floods in eastern Spain on October 29 will have a “limited impact” on the country’s economic growth.
“Our assessment is that the economic impact was quite localized, and damage to key infrastructure, such as transportation and industry, has been relatively limited,” said IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack during a press briefing in Washington.
Kozack added that preliminary evaluations suggest the overall effect on Spain’s economic growth “would be limited,” though no specific figures were provided.
In its latest forecast on October 23, the IMF projected Spain’s economy to grow by 2.9% this year, one of the highest rates in the European Union. The organization will update its data in January and is expected to confirm Spain’s “relatively solid” growth, according to Kozack.
However, on Wednesday, Bank of Spain Governor José Luis Escrivá estimated that the floods, which claimed 228 lives and caused immense damage—especially in the Valencia region—could trim 0.2 percentage points off Spain’s GDP growth in the fourth quarter.
Escrivá’s estimate draws on comparisons with Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, and the fact that the affected areas represent “approximately 2% of the Spanish economy.”
The Spanish government has forecasted a 2.7% growth rate for 2023.
-
International5 days ago
Pedro Sánchez to explain government’s handling of deadly floods in congress appearance
-
International3 days ago
More than 20 dead and a hundred injured in several missile attacks against residential areas of Odessa and Sumi
-
International5 days ago
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
-
International5 days ago
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
-
International23 hours ago
The US claims that China has rejected a meeting between its Defense chiefs in Laos
-
International2 days ago
Etruscan artifacts targeted in black market scheme uncovered in Umbria
-
International3 days ago
The number of deaths rises to 111 in Gaza in one of the most violent days of the month
-
International2 days ago
Iran expands uranium stockpile to near weapons-grade levels
-
Tecnología2 days ago
AI chip industry shifts focus as Nvidia faces new competition
-
International3 days ago
The presidential candidates in Uruguay promised in a debate not to raise taxes
-
International3 days ago
The Kremlin accuses the United States of throwing “firewood” by authorizing Ukraine to use long-range missiles
-
International23 hours ago
One-week preventive detention for Princess Mette-Marit’s son of Norway for rape
-
International23 hours ago
The next attorney general Matt Gaetz manages to stop the report on his sex scandal
-
International23 hours ago
85% of Haiti’s capital has fallen into the power of gangs, according to UN reports
-
International3 days ago
António Guterres asks G20 leaders to “take a step forward” for peace in Ukraine and Gaza
-
International5 days ago
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
-
International3 days ago
Hezbulá regrets the death of its spokesman in an Israeli bombing in Beirut
-
International21 mins ago
Trump appoints Pam Bondi as future U.S. attorney general
-
International19 mins ago
Matt Gaetz withdraws from attorney general nomination amid political tensions
-
International16 mins ago
Lebanon reports deadly airstrikes: 40 killed in Bekaa, 12 in southern regions
-
International10 mins ago
IMF: Spain’s economy remains resilient despite devastating floods
-
International8 mins ago
Putin warns of escalation, suggests strikes on western weapon suppliers
-
International6 mins ago
Elon Musk plans sweeping cuts to U.S. bureaucracy and spending