International
The Israeli Army again besieges Jan Yunis’ Naser and Al Amar hospitals
The Israeli Army again besieged the Naser and Al Amal hospitals this Sunday, both in the city of Jan Yunis, in the south of the enclave, with “intense bombings and gunfire” around both medical centers, denounced the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Dozens of armored vehicles surround both hospitals and carry out excavation work in the surroundings, Palestinian sources indicate.
The new siege of the two main hospitals of Jan Yunis, which were already besieged for more than twenty days in February, occurs when Israeli troops carry out for the seventh consecutive day a hard military operation at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where they claim to have arrested 480 “terrorists.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent, which manages the Al Amal hospital, pointed out that Israeli armored vehicles are demolishing buildings and structures around the hospital and warned about the “extreme danger” run by their teams, which can neither enter nor leave the hospital.
A member of the Red Crescent emergency operating room, Amir Subhi Abu Aisha, died from a drone attack by Israeli troops while working in the hospital and had to be buried in the courtyard of the center, the organization reported.
Eyewitnesses cited by the official Palestinian agency Wafa also reported aerial bombardments on the southern and eastern flanks of the Naser medical complex, the most important in the southern Strip, as well as in the nearby neighborhood of Batn as Samin, in Jan Yunis.
“The continuous artillery bombardments relentlessly hit the buildings, in addition to helicopter and drone fire, which caused the death of several civilians and other wounded,” Wafa said of the attacks on the Naser, which houses thousands of Palestinians displaced by the hard fighting in the center and south of the enclave.
He also assured on Sunday that he had arrested about 480 members of Hamas organizations or Islamic Jihad, in addition to having located “numerous weapons and terrorist infrastructure,” in the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, which is experiencing its seventh consecutive day of military siege today.
“The forces continue the precise operational activities in the area of the Shifa Hospital while avoiding damage to civilians, patients, health workers and medical equipment,” said a military statement.
The Ministry of Health of the Strip, controlled by Hamas, reported yesterday that five wounded who were treated at that center died as a result of the siege of Israeli troops, which began on Monday, and are in addition to the 13 intensive care patients who died in recent days due to lack of electricity and medical treatment.
Health also reported that 240 patients and relatives had been arrested by Israeli forces and a dozen health personnel; while the Israeli Army indicated that it had interrogated more than 800 suspects – it assures that 480 are “terrorists” – and killed 170 alleged fighters.
“We will end this operation only when the last terrorist is in our hands, alive or dead,” said last night the commander-in-chief of the Southern Command of the Israeli Army, Major General Yaron Finkelman, who praised the success of the “bold and impressive” operation.
The Army also pointed out that on the last day, its fighter planes attacked about 65 targets in the north and center of the Gaza Strip, including “a tunnel used to carry out attacks, military complexes where armed terrorists operated and additional military infrastructure.”
Both in the center of the Gaza Strip and in the Jan Yunis area, in the south, where fighting has not stopped for more than three months, the troops “eliminated several terrorists” on the last day by sniper fire.
“The troops also located and carried out a selective raid against a drone manufacturing laboratory belonging to terrorist organizations,” he added about the operations in the central area.
While in the Jan Yunis area, engineering forces attacked a projectile launch pit and fighter jets destroyed Hamas’ military infrastructure, including a complex used as a meeting point for militiamen.
The Israeli Army also reported on Sunday that during the early morning it bombed the Baalbek area, in northeastern Lebanon, where it attacks for the third time since the beginning of hostilities because it claims that there is military infrastructure of the Shiite militia Hizbulá, which responded with the launch of a stun of 50 rockets.
“This morning, fighter jets of the Israel Defense Forces attacked a weapons manufacturing site in Hizbulah, in the Baalbek area,” a military statement said.
It is the third time in two months that Israeli aviation has reached that point in Lebanon, more than 100 kilometers from the border, where he assures that Hezbollah has, among other military infrastructure, its air defense system; although most of the crossfire has been concentrated since October 8 in the communities bordering the divider.
The Army pointed out that Hizbulah carried out more than 50 launches to northern Israel in response, most of which were intercepted and the rest fell in depopulated areas.
At least 84 Gazans have died in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours from Israeli attacks, including 19 who died yesterday in an attack on a group of people waiting for a humanitarian convoy in Gaza City, bringing the total number of fatalities in the war to 32,226.
“The Israeli occupation commits 8 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, including 84 martyrs and 106 injured during the last 24 hours,” said the Ministry of Health of the enclave, controlled by Hamas, in its latest count.
The total number of injuries since October 7, when the war broke out, rises to 74,518, while the Ministry has more than 7,000 bodies that are still trapped under the rubble, according to the source.
The Commissioner General of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Sunday that Israel has informed the UN that it will not approve more humanitarian convoys aimed at the north of the Gaza Strip, where famine is already a reality.
“Despite the tragedy that is unfolding under our surveillance, the Israeli authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any UNRWA food convoy to the north,” Lazzarini said in a statement.
The commissioner recalled that UNRWA, which provides services to almost 6 million Palestinians in different countries and is the main humanitarian actor in the Gaza Strip, is in the middle of the war “the main sustenance” for more than 2 million internally displaced persons in the enclave and the only one that can proportional “vital assistance” in the north.
“This is outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct assistance to save lives during a man-made famine. These restrictions must be lifted,” Lazzarini shouted.
International
Iranian leader warns foreign powers have “no place” in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Thursday that the Persian Gulf is entering a new era marked by a “bright” future without the presence of the United States in the region.
His remarks came during the commemoration of Persian Gulf Day, amid ongoing regional tensions following recent military confrontations involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.
“Today, two months after the largest military buildup and aggression by the bullies of the world in the region and the humiliating defeat of the United States, a new chapter is being written for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” Khamenei stated.
The Iranian leader insisted that the future of the region would be free from American influence and focused instead on the internal development and prosperity of Gulf nations.
“By the power and strength of God, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without the United States and dedicated to the progress, welfare, and prosperity of its nations,” he said.
Khamenei also questioned the effectiveness of U.S. military bases in the region, arguing that they do not provide security even for Washington’s allies.
“Foreigners who come from thousands of miles away and commit evil and malicious acts have no place there except at the bottom of its waters,” he declared.
In addition, the Iranian leader defended new measures being prepared by Tehran to regulate maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including fees for vessels passing through the strategic waterway. According to Khamenei, the policies would generate economic benefits and greater stability for the region.
Regional tensions remain high following the conflict that erupted on February 28 between the United States and Israel against Iran, leading to strategic blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply previously passed. The situation has disrupted maritime trade and contributed to rising global oil prices.
Central America
U.S. and Regional Allies Back Panama Amid Dispute With China
The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago issued a joint statement in support of Panama’s sovereignty, arguing that China’s recent actions represent an attempt to politicize maritime trade and undermine the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere.
“We are closely monitoring China’s selective economic pressure and recent actions affecting vessels flying the Panamanian flag,” the statement released Tuesday said. “Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system and, as such, must remain free from undue external pressure.”
The statement comes amid growing tensions surrounding the Panama Canal and the operation of key ports linked to global trade.
At the end of January, Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession that granted Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, the right to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals located on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Panama Canal.
The ruling followed mounting pressure from the United States to curb Chinese influence around the strategic waterway, through which roughly 5% of global maritime trade passes.
CK Hutchison, which managed the ports for nearly three decades, rejected the court’s decision and accused Panamanian authorities of illegally confiscating its assets. The company has launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama, seeking more than $2 billion in damages.
Following the court ruling, reports emerged of increased detentions and inspections of Panamanian-flagged vessels in China, actions widely viewed as retaliatory measures.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the joint statement as “completely unfounded and misleading,” accusing the United States of politicizing port operations and warning that Beijing would take steps to protect its interests in Panama.
International
King Charles III Says U.S.-UK Alliance Is “Irreplaceable and Unbreakable”
King Charles III of the United Kingdom reaffirmed the strength of the British-American relationship on Tuesday during a speech before the United States Congress, describing the alliance between the two nations as “irreplaceable and unbreakable.”
The address, delivered at the Capitol, marked the first speech by a British monarch before Congress since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 and comes at a time of political tensions between Donald Trump’s administration and the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“As President Trump himself observed during his state visit to Britain last autumn, the bond of kinship and identity between the United States and the United Kingdom is invaluable and eternal. It is irreplaceable and unbreakable,” the king said.
While reflecting on the upcoming 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, which will be commemorated this year, Charles III stated that the partnership between the two countries “was born out of disagreement, but is no less strong because of it.”
The monarch emphasized the democratic values shared by both nations and noted that major global changes have occurred whenever the two allies found common ground.
“When we have found that way to agree, great changes have taken place not only for the benefit of our peoples, but for all peoples,” he said.
King Charles also quoted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recently described the relationship as “an indispensable alliance.”
Concluding his speech, the monarch described the shared history of the United States and the United Kingdom as “a story of reconciliation, renewal, and an extraordinary partnership.”
He added that Washington and London have forged “one of the most consequential alliances in human history.”
“I pray with all my heart that our alliance continues to defend our shared values, together with our partners in Europe, the Commonwealth, and around the world, and that we ignore calls urging us to become increasingly isolationist,” Charles III stated.
The king ended by urging both nations to “recommit to one another in selfless service to our peoples and to all peoples of the world.”
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