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
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.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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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