International

37 people killed in Gaza in Israel’s attacks in the last 24 hours

At least 37 people died and 68 were injured in the Israeli attacks of the last 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, according to the count of the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas.

In its daily report on the data collected by the hospitals of the Strip, the ministry reported “four massacres against families” in the Palestinian enclave.

At least nine people from the same family, six of them children, died in one of the attacks that hit a residential building in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, in the west of the southern city of Rafah.

The dead are Abdel Fatah Sobhi, 42 years old; Majla Ahmed, 37; Rawan Sobhi, 26; Sama Ibrahim, 16 years old; Hamza Ibrahim, 7 years old; Alaa Ahmed Hassan and Lin Abdel Fatah, 5 years old each; Amer Abdel Fatah, two years old and Naya Abdel Fatah, one year old.

Their bodies were taken to the morgue of the Abu Yusef al Nayar hospital, where family and friends gave them the last goodbye between moments of anguish and despair, as EFE could see.

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Thus, since the war between Israel and Hamas began, on October 7, 34,049 people have died and 76,901 have been injured in the Israeli offensive.

According to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, in the last morning alone at least ten people lost their lives in Israeli attacks in the south of the enclave: nine in the bombing in the city of Rafah and one in an attack on a house near the cemetery east of the same town.

For its part, the Israeli Army said today that it had destroyed a rocket launch site in the Beit Hanoun area, in northern Gaza, from where attacks on the Israeli town of Sderot had been detected.

Most of the victims were women and children, according to the media, which cites correspondents on the ground.

They also detailed that their troops slated down an alleged militiaman in a confrontation in the center of the enclave.

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More than one and a half million people have been forced to leave their homes since the Israeli offensive began, most of whom are in the town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

Israel has announced that it plans to invade Rafah to eliminate four Hamas battalions that are allegedly hiding in the area, but a large part of the international community – including the United States, Israel’s main military ally – has warned that a land invasion in the south would cause an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.

Likewise, the Israeli Army said that it has killed “ten terrorists” during a raid that began on Thursday night in the Nur Shams refugee camp, in the town of Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces also arrested eight people, destroyed an explosives laboratory and confiscated numerous weapons and military material, according to a military statement.

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Eight soldiers and a border police officer were injured during the operation.

The Palestinian president, Mahmud Abbas, on Saturday described the United States’ veto in the UN Security Council to prevent Palestine’s entry into the United Nations as a full member of “flagrant aggression” against the rights of the Palestinian people and “challenge to the will of the international community.”

Abás also stressed that after this blockade he will reconsider bilateral relations with the United States, to ensure the protection of the interests of the Palestinians, their rights and their cause.

“We will reconsider bilateral relations with the United States to ensure the protection of the interests of our people, our cause and our rights,” said the president of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), in an interview with the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

On Thursday, the US vetoed the resolution, which received the support of 12 members, the abstention of two (United Kingdom and Switzerland) and only Washington’s vote against.

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The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met this Saturday in Istanbul with the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniye, assuring him of his support to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and finally a Palestinian state, the Turkish Presidency said in a statement.

The Turkish president received Haniye in the Dolmabahçe palace on the banks of the Bosphorus, the usual place of work meetings with foreign dignitaries, around 2.30 p.m. local time (11.00 gmt) and the meeting lasted about two and a half hours.

The conversation focused on the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the need to send an uninterrupted amount of humanitarian aid to the Strip and the process to achieve a just and lasting peace, the Turkish statement says.

Erdogan assured his guest that Turkey is making all possible diplomatic efforts to emphasize the need for an urgent ceasefire that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian State, “a condition for a lasting peace in the region,” according to the note.

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International

U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.

The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.

The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.

“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

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International

Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.

“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.

Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.

According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.

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International

Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power

Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.

The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.

Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.

Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.

The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.

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Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.

Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.

In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.