International

Death toll in Gaza Strip rises to 922 in Israel attacks

Photo: AP

October 11 |

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reported Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, by Israeli Army attacks since the beginning of the escalation, has risen to 922.

Likewise, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, quoted by the media Al Mayadeen, specified that, of the dead, 260 are children and 230 women and, so far, some 4,650 wounded have been counted.

For their part, the national health authorities said that Israel’s aggression, now in its fourth consecutive day, targeted Palestinian residential neighborhoods, where water and electricity supplies continue to be cut off, which means the launching of a genocide of more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The communiqué details that some 22 families have been exterminated, six health workers and eight journalists have been killed. Meanwhile, 15 other members of medical teams and 20 other reporters have received various injuries.

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The authorities of the Arab nation announced that they have recovered some 15 bodies of women and children lying under a large amount of rubble of houses that were destroyed by the airstrikes.

Two bodies were also recovered from the rubble in the neighborhood of Al-Zaytoon, while Israeli warplanes bombed a mosque and houses in Jabalia, Deir Al-Balah and Al Karama.

On the other hand, the director of Dura hospital in Heborn, Mohammed Rabe’, confirmed that a number of Israeli military personnel stormed the site and fired live bullets and tear gas canisters causing suffocation of patients and attendants.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also accused Israel of using white phosphorus in its munitions in the Al Karama area in northern Gaza, a substance prohibited by international conventions.

In addition, pressure from the international community for the protection of the Palestinian people continues, as some 111 civil society organizations issued a statement today demanding an end to the siege of Gaza and the release of prisoners.

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“The ongoing Israeli occupation of disproportionate attacks against protected civilians in the Gaza Strip constitutes a war crime. The Israeli occupation, as the occupying power, has a legal responsibility to ensure the protection of the lives and well-being of protected Palestinian civilians in times of war,” the text details.

The civil society organizations urgently call on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate and effective measures to pressure Israel to end its offensive actions in Gaza in order to prevent the loss of life and the worsening of the crisis in that region.

So far, more than 1,000 Israelis have been killed since last Saturday, October 7, when the escalation of the conflict began.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

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According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

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Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.