International
Dozens dead, including five journalists, in a new wave of Israeli bombings in Gaza
At least twenty people have died and thirty have been injured in a new wave of Israeli bombings in different parts of the Gaza Strip last night.
According to the Wafa news agency, five of the victims were killed in an airstrike on a house in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, in which around 20 people were also injured.
In another district of the Gazan capital, Sabra, ten people were killed in an airstrike on a family home. So far, Civil Defence teams have extracted five bodies from the rubble of the house.
Further north, in the town of Yabalia (under Israeli siege since 6 October), two other people were killed in another bombing of a residence.
Five journalists killed
In a separate incident, five journalists from the Al-Quds TV channel were killed after Israel bombed their broadcast vehicle in front of Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, the outlet reported.
They bring the total number of journalists killed in Gaza as a result of the Israeli offensive to 201, according to the count by the Government Media Office of the enclave, which includes among its figures the deaths of journalists, but also influencers and intellectuals.
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) referred to a “precise attack” against a vehicle belonging to an Islamic Jihad cell in the Nuseirat area.
“Prior to the attack, numerous measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence gathering. The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas in defense of the citizens of Israel,” the military said in a statement.
These bombings add to those carried out by Israel the day before, which killed 23 Palestinians, bringing the total number of deaths since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, to 45,361, according to the latest data from the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health.
“Catastrophic” humanitarian situation
The situation in the Strip is catastrophic and thousands of Palestinians are facing hunger in the besieged north of the enclave, according to a new report by FEWS NET, a US food crisis monitoring agency, which said that a famine is already taking place in northern Gaza amid a near-total Israeli food blockade.
International organizations and humanitarian groups are increasingly calling the Israeli offensive in Gaza a genocide.
On 5 December, Amnesty International concluded, following an investigation, that Israel “has committed and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.”
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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