Author: Steven Sahiounie

The spread of diseases in Gaza has reportedly increased, especially due to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in the southern part of the enclave, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report. About 180,000 people have been diagnosed with upper respiratory infections, with more than 136,000 cases of diarrhoea recorded among the population, OCHA noted. At least 55,400 cases of lice and scabies and 5,330 cases of chickenpox have also been recorded. Moreover, the OCHA said that only 13 out of 36 of Gaza’s hospitals were partially functional, nine of them…

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the war in Gaza “is generating destruction comparable in scale to the most devastating warfare in the modern record”. In a report published on Saturday, it confirmed that by mid-December Israel had dropped 29,000 bombs, munitions and shells on the besieged enclave, destroying or damaging nearly 70 percent of Gaza’s homes. Source: AlJazeera

Foreign and Expatriates Ministry denounced the repeated Israeli attacks on Syria and affirmed that they reflect an inherent tendency of the Zionist leaders to follow approach of killing and destruction that they practice relentlessly with the goal of killing thousands of Palestinians. The Israeli occupation authorities again defy the world public opinion, UN resolutions and the calls of most members of the Security Council not to expand the existing aggression against the Palestinian people by launching two new air attacks on Syrian territory, the ministry addressed two letters to the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Security Council on…

Philippe Lazzarini , the head of the UN Palestine relief agency, has accused Israeli officials and media outlets of “creating a stream of baseless misinformation” about gaps in aid deliveries to Gaza. In a statement on Friday, Lazzarini , the chief of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA ), said that Israeli statements have “insinuated or directly held UNRWA responsible for gaps in aid deliveries”. “These statements were amplified by Israeli and other mainstream and social media, creating a stream of baseless misinformation,” Lazzarini said. Lazzarini said that Israeli authorities continue to…

Jordan ’s King Abdullah II on Friday received a phone call from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during which he called for international pressure toward an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, state media reported. The king “stressed the importance of protecting civilians and increasing humanitarian aid for Gaza, while guaranteeing its sustained delivery, noting Jordan ’s efforts in this regard,” Petra news agency said. The Jordanian monarch reaffirmed his country’s rejection of attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and called on the international community to help counter extremist settler violence in the West Bank. King Abdullah…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved the potential sale M107 155mm projectiles and related equipment to Israel, according to the sale. The Pentagon said that Blinken determined that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sales to Israel, thereby waiving the congressional review requirements, according to the Pentagon. The approved potential sale of the bursting artillery rounds is valued $147.5 million. The Biden administration had previously bypassed Congress to approve sales to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106m earlier this month. The move comes as several prominent US legislators have called for weapons…

China’s new Defense Minister Dong Jun, aged 62, has formerly served as the chief of China’s navy. China has revealed the appointment of a new defense minister, Dong Jun, following the removal of the previous office holder, Li Shangfu, two months ago. The announcement was made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Dong Jun, aged 62, formerly served as the chief of China’s navy. This development coincides with the removal of three senior executives from the aerospace defense industry from a top advisory body to the Chinese Communist Party. Li Shangfu was officially ousted as the Defense Minister in…

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry says Israel is deliberately limiting the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip and is depriving Palestinians of their basic humanitarian needs. The aid currently entering the Strip “does not even meet the bare minimum of what is required”, especially in northern Gaza, the ministry said in a statement. It condemned an Israeli attack on an aid convoy travelling along a road designated for its use by the army in northern Gaza. On top of indiscriminate bombardment, Israeli forces are using hunger and the spread of diseases as tools to commit “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza,…

Hezbollah’s media relations issued a statement categorically denying Le Figaro’s claims concerning the “secrets of Operation Al Aqsa Flood.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades announced the downing of an Israeli Skylark-2 UAV that was on an intelligence mission in the Tal al-Zaatar area, north of Gaza.