Page 53 - Gaza

Destruction of housing in Gaza unprecedented, not seen since WW2: UN

The world hasn't seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel's bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The UN assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 has been increasing in an exponential manner. It called the level of casualties 5 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population -- unprecedented in such a short time. By mid-April, it said, over 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and more than 80,000 injured. About 7,000 others remain missing, most believed to be buried under the rubble. Every additional day that this war continues is exacting huge and compounding costs to Gazans and all Palestinians said United Nations Development Program Administrator Achim Steiner. The report by UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for ..

In online world, a new generation of protesters chooses anonymity

On campuses from New England to Southern California, students leading one of the largest protest movements in decades have increasingly strapped on face masks

Highlights of the day: Joe Biden says anti-Semitism has 'no place' on any US campus

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Joe Biden keeps quiet as Gaza protesters, police clash on college campuses

President Joe Biden is staying mum about student protests and police crackdowns as Republicans try to turn campus unrest over the war in Gaza into a campaign cudgel against Democrats. Tension at colleges and universities has been building for days as some demonstrators refuse to remove encampments and administrators turn to law enforcement to clear them by force, leading to clashes that have seized attention from politicians and the media. But Biden's last public comment came more than a week ago, when he condemned antisemitic protests and those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians. The White House, which has been peppered with questions by reporters, has gone only slightly further than the president. On Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is monitoring the situation closely", and she said some demonstrations had stepped over a line that separated free speech from unlawful behaviour. Forcibly taking over a building," such as what happened

Donald Trump praises New York police raid on Columbia university protesters

Trump comments addressed the spread of student protests against the war in Gaza across the US in recent days, seeking to capitalise on concern over campus unrest

Violence, chaos erupts on campuses in US as protesters clash over Gaza war

A brawl erupted at UCLA after a pro-Palestinian encampment was forcefully attacked, the school's chancellor said Wednesday, while activists at the University of Wisconsin in Madison clashed with police officers who destroyed their tents, in a day of escalating violence on some college campuses over the war in Gaza. Fifteen people were injured during the UCLA confrontation, including one person who was hospitalised, according to the president of the University of California system. The chaotic scenes unfolded Wednesday after police burst into a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralysed the school. Chancellor Gene Block at UCLA said in a statement that a group of instigators came on campus Tuesday to forcefully attack the pro-Palestinian encampment, prompting the school to ask for assistance from outside law enforcement. After a couple of hours of scuffles between duelling demonstrators at the ...

Biden administration weighing measures to help Palestinians bring families

The Biden administration is weighing measures to help Palestinians living in the United States who want to bring family from the war-torn region. We are constantly evaluating policy proposals to further support Palestinians who are family members of American citizens and may want to come to the United States, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. Jean-Pierre said discussions were underway but had no further details on how procedures might work. The new measures would help those who are legal permanent residents or US citizens and who have family in the region. It's difficult right now for anyone to get out of the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war continues, and more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials, around two-thirds of them children and women. The discussion comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will move forward with a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah

Highlights of the day: US Fed holds key rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50% for 6th straight meeting

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US ships working to build pier for Gaza aid, to cost at least $320 million

A US Navy ship and several Army vessels involved in an American-led effort to bring more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip are offshore of the enclave and building out a floating platform for the operation that the Pentagon has said will cost at least USD 320 million. Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters the cost is a rough estimate for the project and includes the transportation of the equipment and pier sections from the United States to the coast of Gaza, as well as the construction and aid delivery operations. Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press on Tuesday show the USNS Roy P. Benavidez about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the port on shore, where the base of operations for the project is being built by the Israeli military. The USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr., an Army logistics vessel, and several other Army boats are with the Benavidez and working on the construction of what the military calls the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, ...

Highlights of the day: Delhi court issues fresh summons to BBC at UK address

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Protests escalate in US; students raise Palestinian flag at Harvard

Last week, 275 pro-Palestinian protesters were detained at multiple campuses, including the Indiana University at Bloomington, Northeastern University in Boston, and Arizona State University

Turkiye ships planning to deliver aid to Gaza denied right to sail

A three-ship flotilla planning to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid from Turkiye was prevented from sailing by Guinea-Bissau authorities, which took down their country's flags from two ships, organizers said. Just before the flotilla was set to sail from Turkiye to Gaza on Friday with 5,000 tons of aid, a surprise inspection by the Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry resulted in the removal of the flags from two of the Freedom Flotilla ships. A press release by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition described the cancellation of the vessels' registry as a blatantly political move, adding: "Without a flag, we cannot sail. The organizers blamed Israel for applying pressure to prevent the flotilla. It is obvious, and I think it is publicly known, that there has been close contact between Israel and the president of Guinea-Bissau, organizer and steering committee member Torstein Dahle told The Associated Press, without elaborating. He said that hundreds of Turkish and international ...

Highlights of the Day: HCLTech Q4 revenue rises 7.1% to Rs 28,499 cr, misses estimates

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Reviewing new info on Israeli unit accused of abuses before Gaza war: US

The US has determined that an Israeli military unit committed gross human-rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank before the war in Gaza began six months ago, but it will hold off on any decision about aid to the battalion while it reviews new information provided by Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson. The undated letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, defers a decision by the US whether to impose a first-ever block on US aid to an Israeli military unit over its treatment of Palestinians. Israeli leaders, anticipating the US decision this week, have angrily protested any such aid restrictions. Blinken stressed that US military support for Israel's defence against Hamas and other threats would not be affected by the State Department's final decision on the one unit. Johnson muscled through legislation providing USD 26 billion in additional funds for Israel's defense and for relief of the growing humanitaria

Even as US tries to bring aid to Gaza by sea, major concerns remain

The construction of a new port in Gaza and an accompanying US military-built pier offshore are underway, but the complex plan to bring more desperately-needed food to Palestinian civilians is still mired in fears over security and how the humanitarian aid will be delivered. The Israeli-developed port, for example, has already been attacked by mortar fire, sending high-ranking UN officials scrambling for shelter this week, and there is still no solid decision on when the aid deliveries will actually begin. While satellite photos show major port construction along the shore near Gaza City, aid groups are making it clear that they have broad concerns about their safety and reservations about how Israeli forces will handle security. Sonali Korde, an official with the US Agency for International Development, said key agreements for security and handling the aid deliveries are still being negotiated. Those include how Israeli forces will operate in Gaza to ensure that aid workers are not

Some US campuses call in police to break up pro-Palestinian demonstrations

Some US universities called in police to break up demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests Thursday, as the final days of the semester ticked down and graduation ceremonies loomed. At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested at an encampment overnight and four police officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Boston police said. Those arrested were expected to appear Thursday in Boston Municipal Court. Another 93 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said. There were no reports of injuries. While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few ...

Highlights of the day: IndiGo places order for 30 Airbus widebody aircraft

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US, 17 other countries urge Hamas to release hostages, end Gaza crisis

The 18 countries all have citizens held by Hamas six months after the Palestinian militant group launched its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel and killed 1,200 people

Coalition vessel engaged ballistic missile launched from Yemen: US Army

Yemen's Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea region since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in Gaza

Poised to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah, says Israeli military

An Israeli government source said Netanyahu's war cabinet planned to meet in the coming two weeks to authorise civilian evacuations, expected to take around a month