International
The Israeli Army withdraws all its troops from the south of the Gaza Strip
The Israeli Army withdrew all its ground troops from the south of the Gaza Strip last night, and there is only one brigade left in the enclave, a military source confirmed to EFE on Sunday.
The withdrawal comes after four months of fighting in the Jan Yunis area and six months after the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where more than 33,100 Palestinians have already died, most of them women and children.
Currently there is only one Israeli brigade left in the Palestinian enclave that is responsible for securing a corridor between the south of Israel and the Gaza coast, blocking the passage to the north of the Strip and facilitating operations in the center and north of the territory.
The two main hospitals of this southern city, Al Amal and Naser, have been devastated and inoperative after the siege of the Hebrew troops during these months under the thesis that there was the presence of alleged fighters in these complexes.
“Dozens of suspects have been delivered to Shin Bet and Unit 504 of the Directorate of Military Intelligence to be further interrogated,” the Army said in a statement on April 2.
Likewise, the Israeli Army reported on Sunday that, before its withdrawal, its combat units have carried out the last operations in the Al Amal neighborhood to finish “dismantling the terrorist infrastructure.”
In a message in X, former Israeli Minister of Justice Gideon Sa’ar criticized the withdrawal of troops, assuring that “the continuous decrease in the size of the Israeli forces” in Gaza “has distanced us from achieving the objectives of the war.”
Israel’s next target in Gaza seems to be the already announced military incursion into Rafah, in the south of the enclave, where 1.4 million displaced people live and there are still, according to the Army, four battalions from Hamas; an incursion opposed by the United States, Israel’s main military ally.
The official death toll in the Gaza Strip reached 33,175 this Sunday, six months after the start of the devastating Israeli war offensive.
More than 14,000 of those deaths, or 42%, are children, while 9,220 would be women, according to the same source. The total number of injured is 75,886, to which must be added about 7,000 bodies that are estimated to remain under tons of debris.
“The Israeli occupation committed 4 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, causing 38 deaths and 71 injuries in hospitals during the last 24 hours,” the Gazazi Ministry of Health said today in a statement.
Egypt decided to increase the number of trucks with food, medical aid and emergency supplies for the Gaza Strip to at least 300 trucks per day as of this Sunday, the head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, reported in a statement.
This decision, values the note. part of “the directives of President Abdelfatah al Sisi” to increase the humanitarian aid that enters the Palestinian enclave from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, the only one that does not control Israel, despite the fact that it inspects each cargo that enters from it.
In fact, Egypt denounced on numerous occasions the delays and traffic jams of trucks in northern Sinai due to Israeli inspections and rejections of certain products, which has forced the Arab country to launch aid by air to appease the humanitarian crisis resulting from the conflict.
According to the latest report of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), “since the beginning of April, an average daily of 169 aid trucks have entered Gaza through the land crossings of Kerem Shalom and Rafah. This figure is still well below the operational capacity of both crossings and the target of 500 trucks per day.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated this Sunday, when it is six months of war in the Gaza Strip, that there will be no truce agreement if the 133 hostages still in the hands of Hamas do not return home, adding that Israel will not give in to the “extreme demands” of the Islamists.
“I made (something) clear to the international community: there will be no ceasefire without the return of the kidnapped. It just won’t happen,” Netanyahu said today in a speech before meeting with his cabinet, and recalled that the Administration of U.S. President Joe Biden shares his same opinion.
He added that Israel does not oppose a truce agreement and blamed Hamas for “extreme demands” whose objective is to end the war “to guarantee its survival, its rehabilitation, (and) its ability to endanger” Israeli citizens and soldiers again.
This same night a massive anti-government demonstration has been called in Jerusalem, in which not only activists but also some of the relatives of the captives will participate, who blame Netanyahu for being more concerned about his political survival than about returning his family home.
The Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, assured on Sunday that Israel has completed preparations to face “any scenario” against Iran, which has been threatening for days to retaliate for an alleged Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus (Syria).
Gallant made these statements after the meeting held today with the head of the Israeli Army Operations Directorate, Oded Basiuk, and the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Aharon Haliva, according to a statement from the authorities.
Israel is on alert after the attack that took place last Monday, April 1, against the Iranian embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria, in which at least 19 people died, including the highest-ranking commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohamed Reza Zahedi.
Iran insisted, after celebrating Zahedi’s funeral yesterday, that this attack will not be “unpunished” and that there will be a response against Israel, whom he accuses of being behind him.
The Israeli press maintains that the Iranian authorities would be planning an attack with drones and cruise missiles against the Jewish State, but also against US targets in the region. Iran considers the White House to be “accomplice” of the attack.
The fear that this attack will reach Israeli territory begins to permeate its citizens, who in recent days have made food.
The concern of the international community that the conflict in Gaza, which is now six months old, goes beyond its borders has been constant during this time, due to the clashes that have taken place between Israel and some Arab countries, which their relationship is more tense than ever in recent decades.
The Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá announced on Sunday that it has launched a flay of rockets against military bases on Israeli territory in response to an attack by the Jewish State against northeastern Lebanon.
“In response to the enemy’s attacks in the Bekaa region (northeast), the fighters of the Islamic Resistance targeted at 11.10 (local time, 8.10 GMT)” two military bases, one that of Yoav, and another identified as “Kila”, in the Golan Heights occupied by Israel, “with dozens of ‘Katyusha’ type rockets,” the movement said in a brief statement.
The Israeli Army announced that it attacked this morning Hizbulah’s anti-aircraft defense infrastructure in the Baalbek area, northeastern Lebanon, “in response” to a shooting down of an Israeli drone claimed by the Lebanese group after infiltrating its territory, something that happens on a daily basis.
Hizbulah, a close Iranian ally, and the Jewish State have been in intense border clashes since October 8, a day after the outsh of the Gaza War.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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