A 17-truck aid convoy yesterday entered Gaza from Egypt as Israel intensified strikes on the Palestinian enclave facing a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the war sparked by a Hamas’ attack.
As fears mount of a wider conflagration, Iran warned that the region could spiral “out of control.” while the Pentagon moved to bolster its forces in the Middle East.
Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians on the first day of the raid, Israeli officials said.
Photo: AFP
It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel’s history.
Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
More than 40 percent of all Gaza’s housing has been damaged or destroyed, the UN said, citing local authorities, and Israel has halted food, water, fuel and electricity supplies.
Yesterday’s aid delivery through the Rafah crossing was the second such operation in two days after 20 trucks arrived on Saturday.
The UN has estimated that about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of 2.4 million Gazans given the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation.
Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops around the enclave for an anticipated ground invasion.
Israel increased its attacks overnight and killed “dozens of terrorists” in and around Gaza City, including the deputy commander of the Hamas rocket network, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday.
Hamas said that overnight raids on the Gaza Strip killed at least 80 people and destroyed more than 30 homes.
In central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, an Agence France-Presse journalist saw the bodies of children on the bloodied floor of a morgue.
A man clutched his dead toddler and people wept as they identified the bodies of their relatives.
Israel has warned more than 1 million residents of northern Gaza to move south for their safety, and the UN says that more than half of the territory’s population is now internally displaced.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to remain in and around Gaza City in the north, unwilling or unable to leave.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian yesterday said that if the US and Israel “do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control.”
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
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