International
Deaths in Gaza rise to 34,622, after the deaths of 26 people in the last few hours
The number of deaths in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli offensive has increased to 34,622, after hospitals in the area reported the death of 26 people in recent hours, the Ministry of Health, controlled by the Government of Hamas, reported on Friday.
“The Israeli occupation committed 3 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, including 25 deaths and 51 people injured, during the last 24 hours,” the Ministry said in a brief statement, in which it recalled that there are numerous corpses under the rubble and in areas inaccessible to emergency services, due to attacks by the Israeli Army.
In addition, the Ministry detailed that in the 210 days of the Israeli military offensive, 77,867 people have been injured.
The Palestinian agency Wafa had reported the death of at least six Palestinians during the night of Thursday to Friday, including four children, in an Israeli airstrike against a residential building in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, turned into the last refuge for the displaced from the north.
Local sources told Wafa that Israeli fighter planes bombed a residential building in Rafah, resulting in the death of six civilians, four children and two adults. In addition, an indeterminate number of people were injured.
Another residential building east of this border city with Egypt, which awaits a land offensive and where more than 1.4 million Palestinians live overcrowded, was also bombed causing civilians to be injured, the Palestinian agency details.
Another nine civilians were injured in the center of the enclave, after an Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp, according to Palestinian sources, who did not determine their number.
No conflict has caused a level of destruction similar to that of Gaza since World War II, the United Nations reported, which estimated that post-war reconstruction could cost up to $50 billion.
“We have not seen anything like this since 1945,” Abdallah al Dardari, director of the Regional Office for the Arab States of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), said on Thursday. “That intensity, in such a short time and the massive scale of destruction,” he added.
More than 70% of all the homes in the enclave have been destroyed, lamented this UN official, and assured that it will be necessary to remove about 37 million tons of debris.
In comparison, during Israel’s war in Gaza in 2014, which lasted 51 days of summer, about 2.4 million tons of ruins were removed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared itself “extremely concerned” about Israeli plans to intervene on a large scale military in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, where 1.2 million Palestinians are overcrowded, many after fleeing months of hostilities further north.
Such an operation “would make the humanitarian catastrophe even more worse,” said the representative of the WHO in the Palestinian Territories, Rik Peeperkorn, at a press conference.
He also stressed that the WHO and its partners are making contingency plans to ensure that the health system is prepared for a military operation, although he recalled that in many cases, as has happened in areas further north of Gaza, many hospitals are no longer accessible or are even direct targets of armed attacks.
As part of its preparations for a possible large-scale operation, WHO has established a new field hospital in Rafah, and a storage area for medical supplies.
“Despite the measures we take, the health system, already weakened, will not be able to withstand the enormous devastation that the incursion would possibly cause,” he said.
Peeperkorn expressed his fear that the three hospitals in Rafah will lose the ability to care for patients in the event of a large-scale operation.
He concluded by noting that Gaza’s health system “barely survives,” with only 12 of the 36 hospitals in the strip and 22 of the 88 health facilities partially functioning.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterated on Thursday that the invasion of Rafah, a city bordering Egypt and turned into the last refuge of the Palestinians, is still standing, despite the parallel negotiations with Hamas on a possible ceasefire.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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