More than 20,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas, health officials said yesterday, the latest indication of the staggering cost of the conflict as Israel expands its ground offensive and orders tens of thousands more people to leave their homes.
The deaths, amounting to nearly 1 percent of the territory’s prewar population, are just one measure of the devastation wrought by the conflict that over 11 weeks has displaced nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s people and leveled wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave.
More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a Thursday report from the UN and other agencies describing the crisis caused by Israel’s bombardment and siege on the territory in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Photo:AFP
Despite the emergency, a UN Security Council vote on aid deliveries and terms for a ceasefire was delayed again late on Thursday, after days of high-level negotiations.
The US, which has veto power, has pushed back against calls for an immediate ceasefire and giving the UN sole responsibility for inspecting aid deliveries. Israel, citing security grounds, insists it needs to be able to screen goods entering Gaza.
The US said it would back a revised resolution that calls for “creating the conditions” for a ceasefire, rather than an immediate end to fighting. Other countries support a stronger text and said diplomats would need to consult their governments before a vote, which was expected later yesterday.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths lamented the world’s inaction.
“That such a brutal conflict has been allowed to continue and for this long — despite the widespread condemnation, the physical and mental toll and the massive destruction — is an indelible stain on our collective conscience,” he wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Israel has resisted international pressure to scale back its offensive and has said it would press on until Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years, has been destroyed.
The military has said that months of fighting lie ahead in southern Gaza, an area packed with the vast majority of the enclave’s 2.3 million people, many of whom were ordered to flee combat in the north in earlier stages of the war.
Since then, evacuation orders have pushed displaced civilians into ever-smaller areas of the south as troops focus on the city of Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest.
The Israeli military late on Thursday said that it is sending more ground forces, including combat engineers, to Khan Younis to target Hamas militants above ground and in tunnels.
Yesterday, the Israeli military ordered tens of thousands of residents to leave their homes in Burej, an urban refugee camp, and surrounding communities, within the territory that Israel originally told people to flee to.
The air and ground campaign also continued in the north, even as Israel said it is in the final stages of clearing out Hamas militants there.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday held an equipment installation ceremony for its first 2-nanometer fab in Kaohsiung, six months ahead of schedule, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. “To cope with the strong global demand for advanced chips, TSMC is to start moving in equipment for its first-ever 2-nanometer fab half a year earlier than scheduled,” Chen said at an question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council. TSMC’s 2-nanometer process technology would help accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications as well as the transformation of local industries in Kaohsiung, Chen said in a
TEAM TAIWAN: While lawmakers proposed declaring Nov. 24 a national day, the CPBL commissioner urged the legislature to pass the budget for sports development Lawmakers yesterday proposed designating Nov. 24 as National Baseball Day and updating the design of the NT$500 bill to honor the national team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 championship on Sunday, as thousands of fans came out to see the players parade down the streets of Taipei. Players, coaches and staff from the national team returned home on Monday night after achieving their best-ever performance in an international baseball tournament. After receiving a rapturous welcome at the airport, the players turned out yesterday for a street parade in front of thousands of adoring fans waving Taiwanese flags and
RSS