An Israeli airstrike yesterday killed 20 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, as fighting raged across the north while Israel’s leaders aired divisions over who should govern Gaza after the war, now in its eighth month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism from his own War Cabinet, with his main political rival, Israeli Minister Without Portfolio Benny Gantz, threatening to leave the government if a plan is not formulated by June 8 that includes an international administration for postwar Gaza.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was yesterday expected to meet with top Israeli leaders to discuss an ambitious US plan for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza in exchange for a path to eventual statehood.
Photo: Reuters
Netanyahu, who is opposed to Palestinian statehood, has rejected the proposals, saying that Israel would maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Gantz’ withdrawal would not bring down Netanyahu’s coalition government, but it would leave him more reliant on far-right allies who support the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza, full military occupation and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there.
Even as the discussions of postwar planning take on new weight, the war is still raging with no end in sight. In the past few weeks, Hamas has regrouped in parts of northern Gaza that were heavily bombed in the early days of the war and where Israeli ground troops had already operated.
The airstrike in Nuseirat, a built-up Palestinian refugee camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, killed 20 people, including eight women and four children, according to records at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah, which received the bodies.
A separate strike on a street in Nuseirat killed another five people, the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said.
In Deir al-Balah, a strike killed Zahed al-Houli, a senior officer in the Hamas-run police, and another man, al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Programme says a famine is under way.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said the strikes hit several homes near Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya, killing at least 10 people.
Footage released by rescuers showed them trying to pull the body of a woman out of the rubble as explosions echo in the background and smoke rises.
In the nearby urban Jabliya refugee camp, residents reported a heavy wave of artillery and airstrikes.
“The situation is very difficult,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, a 48-year-old in Jabaliya.
He said the whole eastern side has become a battle zone where the Israeli fighter jets “strike anything that moves.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
RSS