International

At least 21 dead and 61 injured after Israel’s last attacks in Gaza

At least 21 Palestinians were killed and 61 injured in the Gaza Strip after the latest Israeli attacks, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, administered by Hamas, reported on Saturday.

“The Israeli occupation committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 21 martyrs and 61 wounded in the last 24 hours,” the health authority said in a statement.

With this last balance, the total death toll amounted to 45,277 and the injured to 107,573 since October 7, 2023, when the war in Gaza began after the Hamas attack in Israel.

Medical sources reported to EFE that between the morning and early hours of Saturday at least seven people died in two Israeli bombings in the north of the enclave: three of them in the Al Mukhabarat area, northwest of Gaza City, and four in the Al Shati refugee camp, near the aforementioned city.

According to reports from the Palestinian news agency Wafa, two other citizens died in an Israeli raid against Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the city of Beit Lahia, in the north of the Gaza Strip.

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According to this media, two other Palestinians died in an attack in the Khirbet Al-Adas area, in the southern city of Rafah.

Fourteen months of attacks

In the last 14 months, the Israeli Army has attacked Gaza through the sky, sea and land, and has assured that it will not stop until it ends Hamas’ capabilities, both to govern and to operate through its armed arm.

These months of conflict have caused the destruction of more than 90% of the civil infrastructure of the enclave, including hospitals, according to figures from the Gaza Government.

Since last October, Israeli soldiers have maintained a siege against the north of the enclave; this operation has caused the death of at least 3,000 Palestinians.

In addition, the United Nations (UN) has accused Israel of preventing access to basic supplies for hospitals and blocking humanitarian aid for the population that remains in the area.

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“An unprecedented” bombing of Kamal Adwan hospital

The Kamal Adwan hospital, located in the Beit Lahia town, north of the Gaza Strip, is the subject of an “unprecedented” attack by Israeli forces, its director, Abu Safiya, reported on Saturday night through a statement.

“At the moment there is an intense and strong bombing of the hospital, unprecedented and without prior notice to the care and nursing department,” said the doctor, who on November 25 had been injured during the continuous attacks of Israel against this health center.

Safiya, who earlier warned that in the last few hours the vicinity of the hospital had been attacked several times, reported that they are now being pointed out directly.

“The bombing is being carried out with explosives and tank fire, directly aiming at us while we are present inside the hospital departments,” he said.

The doctor called on the international community to protect the health system and its workers, and said that the responsibility for these events will fall on those who are silent.

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International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.