International
Hamas and Fatah bring positions closer on future management of the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Fatah, the main governing party of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), brought positions closer to positions on a future management of the Gaza Strip when the conflict with Israel ends, which preserves the unity of Palestine during its meetings yesterday and today in Cairo.
Egyptian sources close to the negotiations, where the Arab country participates as a mediator, told EFE that both Fatah and Hamas “showed more flexibility and positivity” for the establishment of the so-called “Community Support Committee”, the organization that would govern the Belt, affiliated with the ANP and would administer the territory with the presence of independent figures in its ranks.
“The Community Support Committee will be formed by a presidential decree of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and will be responsible for the administration of the Strip. It will be affiliated with the ANP and will include independent figures,” the source remarked.
Preventing the separation of the West Bank from Gaza
In this sense, he indicated that the meeting that both groups, which faced in a Palestinian “civil war” in Gaza in 2006 when the Islamist group won the elections in the enclave and took control of the area, sought at all times to achieve “unity” of the Palestinian forces and avoid a separation of the West Bank from the Gaza Strip.
“The meetings are a purely Palestinian matter, and Egyptian efforts are aimed at uniting the Palestinian ranks and alleviating their suffering,” the source said.
Yesterday, Friday, delegations from both groups met in Cairo to discuss the future administration of the Gaza Strip and analyze the negotiations with Israel for a ceasefire.
Egyptian security sources close to the negotiations also told EFE that a delegation from the Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet (military intelligence) was expected to arrive in Cairo to address with the mediators of Egypt, Qatar and the United States Hamas’ responses to the proposals for a truce.
Truces
Hamas has already indicated to Egypt that it is willing to enter into a series of “brief truces”, under the premises that the movement accepted on July 2 based on the proposal of US President Joe Biden, on the condition that “Washington provides US guarantees to the movement, that Israel withdraws from the axis of Philadelphia, Netzarim and Rafah after a first truce that will not exceed 28 days.”
The Egyptian source indicated that the Arab country and Qatar, another key mediator, agree with the US assessment of the situation in Gaza after the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, since with that, “Israel has achieved much of its objectives in Gaza, allowing a serious entry into the ceasefire.”
The next day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would be willing to accept a two-day truce in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for releasing four hostages, if he had received such a proposal from the mediators.
Israel bombs Lebanon and causes 71 new deaths
A total of 71 people were killed and 169 were injured, in the last 24 hours, due to Israeli bombing, bringing to 2,980 the total number of deaths since the conflict began just over a year ago, the Ministry of Public Health of Lebanon reported.
The ministry said that 109 aviation bombings were recorded in the same period of time in various areas of Lebanon, most in Nabatie (57), the South (26), and Baalbek-Hermel (24), bringing the total number of bombings to 11,876, according to a statement.
Israeli bombings left 52 dead yesterday in Baalbek alone, a place that is home to Greco-Roman ruins that are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Known as the City of the Sun, the historic Baalbek, had received its first total evacuation order this week by Israel, which has intensified bombing in the area, threatening some of the best preserved Roman vestiges in the world.
Although the Israeli bombings on Lebanon started almost simultaneously with the conflict in Gaza, in response to the launch of missiles by Hizbula, the Lebanese Shiite group, the situation took a radical change with the intensification of the attacks just over a month ago.
Almost 1.2 million people were displaced by the conflict from the areas where the violence is most intense, the South and the Beeka Valley, areas of Shiite majority.
Israel attacks more than 120 “targets” in Gaza and Lebanon
The Israeli Army attacked more than 120 “targets” of the Islamists of Hamas in Gaza and Hizbula in Lebanon, where it also killed two commanders, according to a military statement, after a deadly day in the Palestinian enclave in which medical sources recorded more than 80 deaths.
“The Armed Forces eliminated (yesterday) two commanders of Hizbulá responsible for firing more than 400 projectiles against Israel in October” in the Tyre area, a military statement detailed today.
The dead in Gaza
The number of deaths from the war in Gaza increased this Saturday to 43,314, after at least 55 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health of the strip, dependent on Hamas and which put the total number of injured since October 7, 2023 at more than 102,000.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
International5 days agoDismembered bodies of five found in Guanajuato pickup truck
-
Central America5 days agoMassive fire destroys 100 shops in Honduras capital market
-
Central America5 days agoEl Salvador intensifies monitoring of Conchagua seismic activity
-
International3 days agoFrance will send a diplomatic delegation to Syria after 12 years without official representation
-
Central America5 days agoEl Salvador anticipates 125,000 international tourists during holiday season
-
Central America5 days agoPresident Bukele expresses condolences over tragic Los Chorros collapse
-
Central America1 day agoEl Salvador’s $9.663 billion budget for 2025 focuses on key sectors with no new debt issuance
-
Central America3 days agoHonduras Seizes Over 26 Tons of Cocaine in 2024, Marking Major Drug-Fighting Achievements
-
Central America3 days agoCosta Rica takes step toward full membership in Pacific Alliance to Stimulate Trade and Jobs
-
International1 day agoChrystia Freeland resigns as Canada’s deputy PM over dispute with Trudeau on U.S. Tariff Threats
-
International1 day agoVenezuela announces 179 new releases in post-election violence cases
-
International1 day agoAt least 12 injured in shooting at abundant life christian school in Wisconsin
-
International3 days agoGustavo Petro visits the Galápagos Islands for bilateral talks with Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa
-
International1 day agoTrinidad and Tobago Education Minister Lisa Morris-Julian dies in house fire with her children
-
International1 day agoMilan’s Via MonteNapoleone overtakes Fifth Avenue as world’s most expensive retail destination
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador’s bitcoin reserves soar in value as cryptocurrency’s bullish surge continues
-
International3 days agoMaría Corina Machado says that Nicolás Maduro is “cornered” inside and outside Venezuela
-
International1 day agoNearly 40 dead in Istanbul after consuming contaminated alcohol in six weeks
-
International3 days agoVenezuelan opposition in Argentine embassy urges Brazil to expedite safe passage
-
International3 days agoNetanyahu: “Israel’s policy in Syria will depend on the emerging reality”
-
International3 days agoMayor Brandon Johnson Vows to Protect Chicagoans from ICE Actions
-
International3 days agoEcuador police intercept major drug shipment destined for Europe
-
International9 hours agoHomemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
-
International3 days agoThe new Syrian authorities plan to end compulsory military service
-
International3 days agoLula asks for severe sanction if the guilt of general arrested for coup is proven
-
International3 days ago
The Constitution of Venezuela, a quarter of a century later
-
International9 hours agoColombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
-
International9 hours agoAustrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
-
International10 hours agoEcuador announces debt swap of $1.527 billion to protect Amazon rainforest