Israel says eight captives to be released Thursday under Gaza truce deal
Five Thai citizens and three Israeli people held captive by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are set to be released on Thursday under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday said Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger and Gadi Moses would be released on Thursday along with five Thai nationals, whose names were not released. The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect on January 19 hinges on the exchange of Israeli captives held by Palestinian groups in Gaza for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Hamas has so far released seven captives, with 290 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange. Bittersweet homecoming In northern Gaza, thousands of displaced Palestinians continued to return to their homes on Wednesday. More than 500,000 Palestinians have made the journey to northern Gaza in the past 72 hours after Israel’s military opened crossing points under the ceasefire agreement, Gaza’s Government Media Office said. Advertisement “I’m happy to be back at my home,” Saif al-Din Qazaat, who returned to northern Gaza but had to sleep in a tent next to the ruins of his house, told the AFP news agency. Mona Abu Aathra managed to travel from central Gaza to Gaza City, though she has yet to assess the full extent of the war’s impact on her home. “We returned to Gaza City with nothing, and there’s no drinking water. Most streets are still blocked by the rubble of destroyed homes,” said the 20-year-old. Abu Aathra expressed relief at being reunited with her family. “It’s the first night we’re together again, me, my mother and my father. Last night, we gathered with my three brothers who were here in Gaza City.” Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that many families returned to homes that were seriously damaged. “The joy of returning to northern Gaza has faded away in the face of the massive heartbreak and disappointment.” “There are no lifelines [in northern Gaza]. Water and food are only available in very limited quantities, not enough [to provide for the] large number of people making their way back to their destroyed homes,” he added. Aid accusations Since the ceasefire took effect, truckloads of aid have also been allowed by Israel into war-ravaged Gaza. But two senior Hamas officials have accused Israel of slowing down aid deliveries, with one citing items key to Gaza’s recovery such as fuel, tents, heavy machinery and other equipment. “According to the agreement, these materials were supposed to enter during the first week of the ceasefire,” one official said. Advertisement An Israeli spokesperson for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the defence ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said Hamas’s accusations are “totally fake news”. Between Sunday and Wednesday, “3,000 trucks entered Gaza”, the spokesperson said. “The agreement says it should be 4,200 in seven days.” A Turkish ship arrived at Egypt’s El Arish port according to the AFP news agency, containing 871 tonnes of humanitarian aid, 300 power generators, 20 portable toilets, 10,460 tents and 14,350 blankets. While the supplies add to hundreds of truckloads of aid that have entered Gaza during the ceasefire, aid workers say it is still far short of meeting the needs of the war-torn population. Meanwhile, Israel is set to implement a ban on the operations of the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Israel on Thursday. UNRWA’s offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza. Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan said the ban could have a “devastating” impact on the agency’s operations in Gaza. “According to the analysts, the most devastating consequences will be in Gaza. They already have more than a million tonnes of aid waiting outside Gaza to be sent into the Gaza Strip,” she said. Within Gaza, UNRWA offers free primary and secondary education to 294,086 children in Gaza, or half of all students in the enclave. Advertisement The UN agency also offers free primary healthcare, and maternal and child health services to 1.2 million people in Gaza – more than half of the population and provides food for 1.13 million people in the enclave. Adblock test (Why?)
Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa named president for transitional period
Al-Sharaa was also authorised to form a temporary legislative council for the transitional phase, state media reports. Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has been named president for a transitional period, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) has reported. Al-Sharaa was also authorised to form a temporary legislative council for the transitional phase which will carry out its task until a new constitution is adopted, SANA reported on Wednesday, citing military official Hassan Abdel Ghani. Al-Sharaa is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former opposition armed group that led the lightning offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month. Since Assad’s removal, HTS has become the de facto ruling party and has set up an interim government largely composed of officials from the local government it previously ran in rebel-held Idlib province. Abdel Ghani also announced the dissolution of the armed factions in the country, which he said would be absorbed into state institutions. “All military factions are dissolved… and integrated into state institutions,” state news agency SANA quoted Abdel Ghani as saying, and also announcing “the dissolution of the defunct regime’s army” and security agencies, as well as the Baath party, which ruled Syria for decades. Advertisement The announcements emerged during a Damascus meeting of armed factions that fought alongside HTS in the offensive. The gathering was also attended by ministers from the HTS-installed interim government appointed in December. Al-Sharaa, whose group was once an al-Qaeda affiliate, has pledged to embark on a political transition including a national conference, an inclusive government, and eventual elections, which he has said could take up to four years to hold. He has also called for the creation of a new unified national army and security forces, but questions loom over how the interim administration can bring together a patchwork of former rebel groups, each with their own leaders and ideology. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,070
Here are the key developments on the 1,070th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here is the situation on Wednesday, January 29: Fighting Ukraine’s military said it has shot down 65 out of 100 drones launched at Ukraine from Russia overnight. According to the military, 28 drones failed to reach their targets, two returned towards Russia and Belarus, while one remained in Ukrainian air space. Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its forces captured the Dvorichna settlement in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The village was under Russian occupation in 2022 but was reclaimed by Kyiv months later. Russian officials and media outlets reported a barrage of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting oil and power facilities in western Russia. No casualties were reported. Debris from a downed drone sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod, the region’s governor said. Vasily Anokhin, the governor of the Smolensk region in western Russia, said Russian air defence systems destroyed a Ukrainian drone attempting to attack a nuclear power facility in the region. No casualties or damage were reported. Advertisement Military Russian prosecutors began legal proceedings to recover the alleged embezzlement of nearly $33m of funds originally allocated for the defence of western Kursk. The lawsuit names the head of Kursk Region Development Corporation, his deputies and several businessmen as defendants. Ukrainian soldiers of the 28th Infantry Brigade take part in tactical training exercises in a rural area of Ukraine [Jose Colon/Anadolu Agenc] Reuters news agency reported that Ukraine’s government sacked Rustem Umerov, deputy defence minister in charge of weapons purchases, amid infighting over procurement. The move also comes after Umerov criticised Ukraine’s arms procurement efforts saying it failed to deliver results for front-line troops. According to the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau’s press service, a criminal investigation was opened against Umerov regarding the procurement dispute. The bureau said the probe was launched following an appeal by a civil society watchdog. United States media reports suggest that Washington sent some 90 patriot missiles to Ukraine from Israel via Poland. Russian oil and gas A Kremlin spokesperson said Russia is interested in resuming gas transit via Ukraine. This follows the European Commission’s statement announcing plans to continue talks with Ukraine on natural gas supplies to Europe. Humanitarian aid Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said humanitarian projects in Ukraine suspended operations due to the US putting a hold on foreign aid. He also said Kyiv would partially replace the funds via public financing for the most critical projects. Advertisement Politics and diplomacy Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said there is a legal pathway for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia, but that Moscow sees no willingness on Kyiv’s part. Putin also said talks would not be possible with Zelenskyy, branding the Kyiv leader’s authority “illegitimate”. Putin also said Moscow’s war with Kyiv could end in two months or less if the West stopped supporting Ukraine. “They will not exist for a month if the money and, in a broad sense, the bullets run out,” he said. Zelenskyy responded to Putin and said the Kremlin leader feared strong leaders and engaging in negotiations to end the war. He also accused Putin of doing everything possible to prolong the war. The European Union proposed to add tariffs on additional farm products from Russia and Belarus while sparing agricultural goods bound for third countries. The implementation of these measures is subject to approval from EU member states and the bloc’s parliament. Adblock test (Why?)
Bittersweet homecoming for Palestinians returning to Gaza City
Columns of Palestinians carrying what belongings they can have headed to north Gaza, after Israel permitted their passage in accordance with the ongoing ceasefire. Israel allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to start returning to their homes in the north this week. Although the crowds had thinned somewhat by Tuesday, thousands of men, women and children were still on their way, fully aware they had little waiting for them but rubble. “I’m happy to be back at my home,” said Saif al-Din Qazaat, who returned to northern Gaza but had to sleep in a tent next to the ruins of his house. “I kept a fire burning all night near the kids to keep them warm … (They) slept peacefully despite the cold but we don’t have enough blankets,” said the 41-year-old. Mona Abu Aathra managed to travel from central Gaza to Gaza City, though she has yet to assess the full extent of the war’s impact on her home. Her hometown, Beit Hanoon, was among the areas hardest hit by a months-long Israeli military operation which continued right up to this month’s ceasefire. Advertisement “We returned to Gaza City with nothing, and there’s no drinking water. Most streets are still blocked by the rubble of destroyed homes,” said the 20-year-old. Despite the devastation, Abu Aathra expressed relief at being reunited with her family. “It’s the first night we’re together again, me, my mother and my father. Last night, we gathered with my three brothers who were here in Gaza City.” More than 375,000 Palestinians have crossed into northern Gaza since Israel on Monday morning opened the way to return, the United Nations said on Tuesday. That represents more than a third of the million people who fled the north in the war’s first weeks in late 2023. Increasing essential supplies to people is a focus. Although aid deliveries have increased since the ceasefire began, the need remains overwhelming. The World Food Programme said it distributed more food in the first four days of the ceasefire than in the entire month of December. But the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that those returning north would need other essential supplies, too, like drinking water, shelter equipment and hygiene kits. Adblock test (Why?)
Tyres burned, embassies attacked in DR Congo’s Kinshasa protests
Vandalised embassies and piles of burning tyres marked chaotic demonstrations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital Kinshasa to denounce the “inaction” of the international community over the conflict raging in Goma, the main city in the country’s east. On foot or motorcycles, hundreds of angry demonstrators responding on Tuesday to the “Paralyse the City” call of a youth collective gathered in the upscale district of Gombe in the north of Kinshasa and targeted the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, France, Belgium and the United States. They accused Rwanda and Uganda of actively supporting the armed group M23 which, after a lightning offensive in North Kivu province with the support of Rwandan troops, entered the regional capital, Goma, on Sunday. On Tuesday, they had taken control of its airport after raging street battles. The demonstrators accused the other countries of diplomatic inaction. “Enough is enough, we’re going to destroy everything here. Today, we’re going to finish with Rwanda,” shouted one demonstrator to applause in front of the building that houses the Rwandan embassy in Kinshasa. Advertisement Thick smoke billowed nearby from tyres set on fire. The perimeter wall of the French embassy was also set on fire. Graffiti on it read: “Betrayal over a long period of time … let’s end it now.” Protesters also targeted the embassies of Belgium and the US, and looted the Ugandan mission, taking away furniture on motorcycles and taxis. Adblock test (Why?)
What a US exit from the WHO means for global healthcare
For decades, the United States has held considerable power in determining the direction of global health policies and programmes. President Donald Trump issued three executive orders on his first day in office that may signal the end of that era, health policy experts say. Trump’s order to withdraw from the World Health Organization means the US will probably not be at the table in February when the WHO executive board next convenes. The WHO is shaped by its members: 194 countries that set health priorities and make agreements about how to share critical data, treatments, and vaccines during international emergencies. With the US missing, it would cede power to others. “Withdrawing from the WHO leaves a gap in global health leadership that will be filled by China,” said Kenneth Bernard, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University who served as a top biodefence official during the George W Bush administration. “[This] is clearly not in America’s best interests.” The executive orders to withdraw from the WHO and to reassess the US approach to international assistance cite the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and say the US aid serves “to destabilise world peace”. In action, they echo priorities established in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership”, a conservative policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation. Advertisement The 922-page report says the US “must be prepared” to withdraw from the WHO, citing its “manifest failure”, and advises an overhaul to international aid at the Department of State. “The Biden Administration has deformed the agency by treating it as a global platform to pursue overseas a divisive political and cultural agenda that promotes abortion, climate extremism, gender radicalism, and interventions against perceived systemic racism,” it says. As one of the world’s largest healthcare funders – through both international and national agencies, such as the WHO and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – the US stepping back may curtail efforts to provide lifesaving healthcare and combat deadly outbreaks, especially in lower-income countries without the means to do so. “This not only makes Americans less safe, it makes the citizens of other nations less safe,” said Tom Bollyky, director of global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The US cannot wall itself off from transnational health threats,” he added, referring to policies that block travellers from countries with disease outbreaks. “Most of the evidence around travel bans indicates that they provide a false sense of security and distract nations from taking the actions they need to take domestically to ensure their safety.” Less than 0.1 percent of US GDP Technically, countries cannot withdraw from the WHO until a year after official notice. But Trump’s executive order cites his termination notice from 2020. If Congress or the public pushes back, the administration can argue that more than a year has elapsed. Advertisement Trump suspended funds to the WHO in 2020, a measure that does not require congressional approval. US contributions to the agency hit a low of $163m during that first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, falling behind Germany and the Gates Foundation. Former President Joe Biden restored US membership and payments. In 2023, the country gave the WHO $481m. As for 2024, Suerie Moon, a co-director of the global health centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said the Biden administration paid biennium dues for 2024-25 early, which will cover some of this year’s payments. “Unfairly onerous payments” are cited in the executive order as a reason for the withdrawal from the WHO. Countries’ dues are a percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP), meaning that as the world’s richest nation, the US has generally paid more than other countries. Funds for the WHO represent about 4 percent of the US budget for global health, which in turn is less than 0.1 percent of US federal expenditures each year. At about $3.4bn, the WHO’s budget is roughly a third of that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which got $9.3bn in core funding in 2023. The WHO funds support programmes to prevent and treat polio, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, measles and other diseases, especially in countries that struggle to provide healthcare domestically. It also responds to health emergencies in conflict zones, including places where the US government does not operate – in parts of Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others. Advertisement In January 2020, the WHO alerted the world to the danger of the COVID outbreak by sounding its highest alarm: a public health emergency of international concern. Over the next two years, it vetted diagnostic tests and potential drugs for COVID, regularly updated the public, and advised countries on steps to keep citizens safe. Experts have cited missteps at the agency, but numerous analyses show that internal problems account for the US having one of the world’s highest rates of death due to COVID. “All nations received the WHO’s alert of a public health emergency of international concern on January 30,” Bollyky said. “South Korea, Taiwan, and others responded aggressively to that – the US did not.” ‘It’s a red herring’ Nonetheless, Trump’s executive order accuses the WHO of “mishandling” the pandemic and failing “to adopt urgently needed reforms”. The WHO has made some changes through bureaucratic processes that involve inputs from the participating countries. Last year, for example, the organisation passed several amendments to its regulations on health emergencies. These include provisions on transparent reporting and coordinated financing. “If the Trump administration tried to push for particular reforms for a year and then they were frustrated, I might find the reform line credible,” Moon, from the Geneva Graduate Institute, said. “But to me, it’s a red herring.” “I don’t buy the explanations,” Stanford University’s Bernard said. “This is not an issue of money,” he added. “There is no rationale to withdraw from the WHO that makes sense, including our problems with China.” Advertisement Trump has accused the WHO of being complicit in China’s failure to openly investigate COVID’s origin, which he alludes to
England down India to keep T20 series alive
England beat India by 25 runs in Rajkot in the third T20 international to keep the five-match series alive. Disciplined bowling and a quickfire 51 by Ben Duckett helped England bounce back to win the third T20 international against India and keep the series alive. Duckett’s 28-ball knock set up England to make 171-9 despite a collapse triggered by Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who returned figures of 5-24 in Rajkot, India on Tuesday. England’s bowlers then combined to limit India to 145-9, sealing a 26-run win in a five-match series now only led 2-1 by India. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid impressed with figures of 1-15 from an excellent four-over spell, while England’s fast bowlers struck regularly. Jamie Overton took three wickets while Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse claimed two each. England’s Jamie Overton celebrates with Phil Salt after taking the wicket of India’s Hardik Pandya, caught by Jos Buttler [Amit Dave/Reuters] Hardik Pandya stuttered to 40 off 35 deliveries before being dismissed by Overton when the required run rate climbed to more than 20 an over. Archer struck first with the wicket of Sanju Samson, who was caught at mid-on by Rashid. Advertisement Carse dismissed Abhishek Sharma, for 24, with Archer taking a spectacular catch while running backwards from mid-off. Mark Wood sent back skipper Suryakumar Yadav, with the batter top-edging a quick, rising delivery into the gloves of wicketkeeper Phil Salt. Wickets kept tumbling as Rashid bowled Tilak Varma and Overton sent back Washington Sundar to reduce India to 85-5, and Pandya never seriously threatened to take India over the line. England’s Ben Duckett top scored in the match [Amit Dave/Reuters] Earlier, Duckett’s blazing start and then a 24-ball 43 by Liam Livingstone boosted the total and the lower order chipped in after England slipped to 127-8 in 16 overs. Duckett put on 76 runs with skipper Jos Buttler, who hit 24, after losing his opening partner Salt. Chakravarthy broke the stand with Buttler’s wicket, a caught-behind dismissal given on review. Duckett, who struck two sixes and seven fours, reached his 50 in 26 balls but was out in the same over off Axar Patel’s left-arm spin. England soon lost their way against India’s spinners as Ravi Bishnoi bowled Harry Brook for eight and Chakravarthy struck twice to send back Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton in the next over. India’s Varun Chakravarthy celebrates with Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson after taking the wicket of England’s Harry Brook [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] Chakravarthy returned in his last over to take two more and register his second five-wicket haul in T20 internationals. Livingstone stood defiant and smashed Bishnoi for three sixes in the space of four balls before he holed out off Pandya, but his knock proved key. Advertisement Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who returned to international action for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, bowled three wicketless overs for 25 runs. The fourth match is on Friday in Pune. Adblock test (Why?)
UNRWA chief warns against Israel’s ‘disastrous’ impending ban
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says Israel’s ban would ‘heighten instability and deepen despair’ at a ‘critical moment’. The head of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has warned that an impending Israeli ban on the organisation would cripple humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip and undermine the Israel-Hamas ceasefire there. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the ban, due to come into effect on Thursday, would “heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory at a critical moment”. The move would also undermine recovery and reconstruction efforts for the enclave that has been ravaged by more than 15 months of war, eroding trust in the international community and jeopardising prospects for peace and security, he said. The United States, a key Israel ally, supported the “sovereign decision” made by Israel to shutter UNRWA and cut all contact with it. Dorothy Shae, Washington’s envoy to the Security Council meeting, said the agency delivering aid to millions is “exaggerating” the potential impact of the Israeli ban – which experts and UN officials have said would likely be catastrophic. Advertisement UNRWA runs the largest network delivering humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and to Palestinian refugee populations across the Middle East. It also works with a host of other agencies, and manages schools-turned-shelters housing displaced civilians in Gaza that were repeatedly targeted by the Israeli military. Israel had told the meeting that within 48 hours it would cut all contact with UNRWA, ban Israeli officials dealing with the agency, and require the closure of the organisation’s offices in areas under Israeli control. The agency has been instrumental in delivering aid supplies to Gaza under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal which took effect earlier this month. The deal has seen the release of several Israeli captives held by armed groups in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners who had been held in Israeli jails. In accordance with the agreement, Israel has opened some military checkpoints in the territory, allowing thousands of Palestinians who had been displaced to southern Gaza to return to their homes in the north of the Strip. Reporting from Salah al-Din Street, the main highway that runs from southern Gaza to the north, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the journey was overwhelming and exhausting for those making it. “People who returned to assess the damage to their homes [in the north] told us they found nothing but destruction and the remnants of their previous lives,” he said. “They’ve started again from scratch to rebuild what they lost. Many of them have set up their makeshift shelters again near the ruins of their destroyed homes.” Advertisement More than 47,000 people have been killed and more than 111,000 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump announces four new executive orders, including to build ‘Iron Dome’
United States President Donald Trump has announced he would sign an executive order calling for the construction of an “Iron Dome” missile defence programme. On Monday, Trump addressed a retreat for Republican lawmakers at his south Florida golf resort, the Trump National Doral Miami, where he pledged to bolster US military assets with executive action later in the evening. “We have to have a strong, strong defence,” Trump said from the podium. “And in a little while, I’ll be signing four new executive orders.” The first, he explained, was to “immediately begin the construction of a state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile defence shield, which will be able to protect Americans”. Two more orders, he added, would be aimed at removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and getting “transgender ideology the hell out of our military”. A fourth order would also reinstate service members who were discharged for refusing to comply with mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 8,000 members had been discharged for that reason between August 2021 to January 2023. Advertisement Trump framed the actions as necessary to ensure the US has “the most lethal fighting force in the world”. A flood of executive orders Monday’s announcement marked yet another ripple in a tsunami of executive actions Trump has undertaken since returning to the White House on January 20. According to officials, Trump signed a record number of executive actions on his first day in office, amounting to a total of 42 orders, memorandums and proclamations. Many of those initial orders pertained to immigration and social issues. For instance, he made a move to end birthright citizenship, a constitutionally protected right that endows anyone born in the US with citizenship. But some of his early executive orders overlapped with those unveiled on Monday. He called for the end of government DEI programmes, which he accused of perpetrating “illegal and immoral discrimination”. And he signed another order declaring that male and female gender identities are “not changeable”. But the latest raft of orders deals directly with the makeup of the US military and its strategic priority. Monday’s orders, for example, echo a “transgender military ban” that Trump pursued in 2017, during his first term in office. That ban was later reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021. An estimated 8,000 service members are transgender – though more may fear to identify themselves publicly. The executive orders Trump unveiled also coincided with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first day at the Pentagon. Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News host, has previously railed against what he described as a “woke” ideology overtaking the military and questioned whether women should serve in combat roles. Advertisement As head of the Pentagon, Hegseth has pledged to oversee a vast overhaul of the military leadership and restore a “warrior culture” in the armed forces. Hesgeth overcame allegations of sexual abuse and alcoholism to be confirmed to his post by 50 Republican senators on Friday. Three Republicans, including former Senate party leader Mitch McConnell, opposed his nomination. Building an ‘Iron Dome’ Trump’s executive order to build an “Iron Dome” fulfils a pledge the Republican leader made on the campaign trail. The Iron Dome refers to a US-funded air defence system in Israel that detects and intercepts incoming rockets. Trump had repeatedly described his desire to top Israel’s Iron Dome system in his campaign for re-election in 2024. In an August broadcast on the social media platform X, he told billionaire Elon Musk he planned to build “the best Iron Dome in the world”. And in July, he added the Iron Dome proposal to the Republican Party’s official platform. But military experts have repeatedly questioned whether such a system is necessary, or even feasible, for the US. The system used in Israel currently only protects against relatively low-power rockets and mortars. And Israel itself is only about the size of New Jersey, one of the US’s smaller states. Experts say creating a similar system across the vast US mainland would be cost-prohibitive, not to mention possibly ineffective, given the advanced firepower of potential adversaries like Russia and China. Observers also point out that the US already has missile defence programmes in place, including the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) programme. Advertisement The future of Trump’s Iron Dome project is also unclear, as it is all but assured to require funding appropriated by Congress. “You know, we protect other countries, but we don’t protect ourselves,” Trump said on Monday. “Now we have phenomenal technology. You see that with Israel where, out of 319 rockets, they knock down just about every one of them. So I think the United States is entitled to that.” Adblock test (Why?)
‘Five babies in incubator’: HRW on danger to pregnant women, babies in Gaza
Israel’s 15-month war on Gaza, as well as severe restrictions it imposed on the flow of humanitarian aid and Israeli forces’ attacks on health facilities and targeting of healthcare workers, have led to “life-threatening danger” for pregnant women and babies, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report. Despite the ongoing ceasefire, the precarious conditions under which women in Gaza are giving birth are unlikely to improve, the group noted in the report published on Tuesday, as Israeli legislation targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and taking effect this week is expected to severely limit the delivery of humanitarian relief to the devastated territory. The group found that women in Gaza have been rushed out of overcrowded hospitals, sometimes within hours of giving birth, in order to make room for war casualties. Newborn care has also been severely impacted, with one doctor at al-Helal al-Emirati Maternity Hospital in Rafah saying that the facility had so few incubators and so many preterm babies that doctors there were forced to put “four or five babies in one incubator”. Advertisement “Most of them don’t survive,” the doctor added. Several babies have died from the lack of shelter amid freezing temperatures. In the 56-page report, HRW concluded that Israel — as the occupying power in Gaza — has violated the rights of pregnant women and girls, including the right to dignified care in pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, as well as the right to newborn care. The group also stressed that two pieces of legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset last year and taking effect on Tuesday threaten to “further exacerbate the harm to maternal and newborn health”. The bills, which bar UNRWA from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem and the Israeli government from contact with the agency, effectively make it impossible for UNRWA to get permits for its staff and to deliver much-needed aid to Gaza. Belkis Wille, HRW’s associate crisis, conflict and arms director, told Al Jazeera that “despite the fact that the ceasefire could provide an opportunity for the healthcare system in Gaza to begin to be restored, because of the laws coming into effect, banning the operations of UNRWA, the reality is that these coming weeks may lead to pregnant women and newborns suffering even more than they already have”. “The provisions of the ceasefire don’t really address any of the significant needs that are outlined in the report,” Wille added. According to the report, as of this month, emergency obstetric and newborn care is only available at seven out of 18 partially functioning hospitals across Gaza, four out of 11 field hospitals, and one community health centre. Advertisement All medical facilities operating in Gaza face “unsanitary and overcrowded conditions” and serious shortages of essential healthcare supplies, including medicine and vaccines. And medical workers, “hungry, overworked and at times under military attack”, are scrambling to tend to victims of attacks while also addressing countless cases of waterborne and other communicable diseases, the report adds. HRW conducted interviews with women who were pregnant while living in Gaza during the war, medical workers from Gaza, and international medical staff working with international humanitarian organisations and agencies operating teams in Gaza. The interviews paint a horrific picture of the war’s impact on access to basic care during pregnancy and birth. Little information is available on the survival rate of newborns or the number of women experiencing serious complications or dying during pregnancy, birth, or postpartum, HRW notes. But the group points to testimony by maternity health experts who reported that the rate of miscarriage in Gaza had increased by up to 300 percent since war began on October 7, 2023. It also pointed to UN reports that at least eight infants and newborns have died from hypothermia due to lack of basic shelter. Israel’s war has led to an unprecedented displacement of some 90 percent of Gaza’s residents, many of whom were displaced multiple times. That has made it impossible for pregnant women to safely access health services, the report found, noting that mothers and newborns have had almost no access to postnatal care. Advertisement Late last year, Human Rights Watch concluded in a different report that Israel was committing “acts of genocide” by denying clean water to Palestinians in Gaza. It also found that Israel’s use of “starvation as a method of warfare” led to severe food insecurity. Pregnant women have been particularly impacted by lack of access to food and water, with critical consequences for their own health and for fetal development. Many pregnant women have reported dehydration or being unable to wash themselves, the report added. “Israeli authorities’ blatant and repeated violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Gaza have had a particular and acute impact on pregnant women and girls and newborns,” Wille said. “The ceasefire alone won’t end these horrific conditions. Governments should press Israel to urgently ensure that the needs of pregnant women and girls, newborns, and others requiring health care are met.” Adblock test (Why?)