International
Israel’s offensive is based on Yabalia and the Army orders the evacuation of more areas of Rafah
The Israeli military offensive continues to focus this Monday in Yabalia, a city in the north of the Gaza Strip where troops have resumed their activity in the face of the return of Hamas.
In addition, his artillery extends through the central and east neighborhoods of Rafah, at the southern end of the enclave, which Israel ordered to be evacuated two days ago.
Some 360,000 people have already fled Rafah since the first evacuation order issued by the Israeli Army, according to estimates by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
“People don’t know where to go. Everyone in Rafah, even in the areas where the evacuation has not yet been ordered, is leaving. On the street, they ask each other what is the best place to get around,” a displaced gazati in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood, in the west of the city, told EFE.
In Rafah, “fear and confusion” reign, since people are reluctant to travel to what Israel has designated as a “humanitarian zone” for them, in the coastal area of Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of people live crowded in makeshift shops on the beach, without drinking water or sanitation.
This Monday, the evacuation orders have been extended to two new areas of the center of the population, already more in the western half of the city, where humanitarian aid has not entered for almost a week since Israel keeps the steps of Kerem Shalom and Rafah closed, which connects the enclave with Egypt.
In the last few hours, at least eight people have died in the city, one of them minor, whose lifeless bodies arrived at the Kuwaiti hospital of the Rafah governorate.
“There is no place to go. There is no security to move without a ceasefire,” UNRWA claimed.
In Yabalia, the attacks have reached homes both in the refugee camp and in the city, where ambulance services rescued at least twenty bodies and treated dozens of wounded.
“The occupation forces attacked the ambulances in the Yabalia camp, where we could not reach a large number of victims,” denounced the director of emergency services in northern Gaza.
For its part, the official Palestinian agency Wafa, citing testimonies from residents, indicated that Israeli forces “surrounded and assaulted” the shelter centers, forcing hundreds of people to move west of the city.
“The Israeli forces try to advance towards the center of the field and shoot everything that moves around them, while the gifts fly intensely over the area at a low altitude,” he explained.
After ordering the evacuation of two large neighborhoods of Yabalia on Saturday, the Israeli Army resumed its military offensive on that city in northern Gaza on Sunday, one of the first places it attacked harshly in October when the war began.
“The occupation forces are now trying to besiege and break into the six shelter centers located to the east of the camp. There are shots with drones and snipers, forcing the displaced to leave without knowing where to go,” a resident of Yabalia explained to EFE by phone, who did not want to give his name for safety.
The same source also reported strong armed clashes between Palestinian militias and Israeli troops inside the camp, so the Israeli Army has had to ask for reinforcements.
As has happened with Zeitun, a neighborhood of Gaza City, Israeli forces have resumed their military activity in those parts of the northern Gaza Strip, by detecting – according to information from the intelligence services – that Hamas troops have returned to the area and are being regrouped.
The Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip since October 7 has caused the death of 35,034 citizens, most of them children and women, in adde of 78,755 injured and 10,000 missing people who are estimated to be trapped under the rubble.
In the last 24 hours, the Israel Air Force attacked 120 military targets from Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while its ground troops operate in Rafah, in the south, and in Zeitun and Yabalia, in the north, the Army reported.
The 162ndª Division fights in the east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, where they say they killed several Hamas fighters, located and confiscated weapons found in a school and destroyed military infrastructure.
“The Air Force attacked several Hamas targets, including underground sites and a building where the agents met,” the Army said.
Meanwhile, the 99th Division maintains its offensive activity in Zeitun, a southern neighborhood of Gaza City where Hamas was also regrouping, and where troops today “roaned a weapons depot at the home of a Palestinian operational.”
A foreign United Nations employee died today in Rafah in an Israeli attack against a humanitarian convoy, the Government of Hamas in the Gaza Strip said on Monday.
“This afternoon, the Israeli occupation army killed a foreign employee and injured another foreign employee in Rafah (southern Gaza Strip), where they were attacked while traveling in a vehicle with the United Nations flag and the United Nations badge,” Gaza authorities said in a statement.
The UN confirmed on Monday that one of its employees died and another was injured in Gaza when the vehicle they were in was hit by a projectile, allegedly Israeli, while they were on their way to the European Hospital this morning.
The two victims, whose nationality has not been confirmed, worked for the Department of Security and Protection (DSS), according to a statement from the organization.
The UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, said that he could not even relet his nationality although “they are international personnel,” and said that the first thing will be to inform their families and governments.
“As part of their daily work, they go to different places to verify the safety conditions,” and in this case it was the European Hospital of Rafah, stressed Haq, who added that the vehicle in which he was traveling was duly identified as belonging to the United Nations fleet.
The secretary general called for “a complete investigation” into what happened, and said that he “condemns all attacks” against UN personnel.
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
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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