International

About 21,000 children are missing in the Gaza Strip, according to Save the Children

About 21,000 children are missing in the Gaza Strip, many of them trapped under the rubble, presumably dead, or in unidentified mass graves, according to a report published on Monday by the Save the Children organization.

“It is almost impossible to collect and verify information in the current conditions of Gaza,” says the child aid organization, which estimates that about 17,000 children are currently alone, orphaned or separated from their parents, in the face of the constant forced displacement.

According to the Ministry of Health of Gaza, controlled by Hamas, more than 15,800 children have died since the war began in October, about thirty minors have died of hunger and 3,500 are at risk of death from malnutrition.

In total, more than 37,600 people have died in the enclave, 70% of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health.

Save the Children assures that more than 14,000 children have died in the Gaza Strip since October; about 4,000 are missing under the rubble, and a number to be determined, in mass graves.

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“Thousands of missing Palestinian children are trapped under the rubble, buried in unmarked graves, damaged to the point of not being able to be recognized by explosives, detained by Israeli forces or lost in the chaos of the conflict,” the organization says.

“Every day we find more unaccompanied children and every day it is more difficult to help them. We identify separated and unaccompanied children and try to locate their families, but there are no safe facilities for them; there is no safe place in Gaza,” they add.

Save the Children also recalls that at least 33 children died in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, in which about 1,200 people died and 250 were kidnapped.

The organization indicated that in the occupied territory of the West Bank, about 250 Palestinian children are also missing, many of them in illegal detention.

“Families are tortured by uncertainty about the whereabouts of their loved ones. No parent should have to dig between debris or mass graves to try to find their child’s body. No child should be alone, unprotected in a war zone. No child should be arrested or taken hostage,” said Jeremy Stoner, director of Save the Children in the Middle East.

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Stoner has requested an independent investigation into the situation of the missing children in Gaza and for those responsible to be held accountable.

According to UN data, Israel has dropped 75,000 tons of explosives – the equivalent of six nuclear bombs – which, in addition to having destroyed 65% of the structures of the Strip, leaves minors in a very vulnerable situation because they are seven times more likely to die in an explosion.

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.