December 18, 2023

Around 61 migrants, including women and children, have drowned following a “tragic shipwreck” off the coast of Libya, said the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). Citing survivor accounts, the IOM’s Libya office said in a post on X that the boat had left the coastal city of Zuwara, situated west of the capital Tripoli and 60 km (37 miles) from the Tunisian border, with around 86 people on board. “The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” the UN agency said in the post. CNN has reached out to the UN IOM’s office in Libya for further details. Libya is a key transit point along the Central Mediterranean route. Each year, tens of thousands of people pour across Libya’s borders. Tragedies at sea are not uncommon as many flee conflict, seeking better lives. According to latest figures released by UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 2,500 people have died or gone missing this year alone in the Central Mediterranean and “numbers in other parts of the world are likely to be very high.” Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/16/africa/libya-shipwreck-migrants-dead-intl-hnk/index.html

DI KHAN: A major terrorist bid was foiled by police Sunday night in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district. Police said they repelled the attack on Chowanda police check-post around 9:00 pm. They said the terrorists were forced to flee the area as the police began retaliatory firing. Luckily, no casualty took place due to the terrorists’ firing, they maintained. Police launched a search operation to hunt the terrorists. The terrorists were 10 in number as can be seen in the video while fleeing as a result of the retaliatory firing. Geo News has obtained closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the Chowanda check-post attack incident. The latest incident comes nearly a week after at least 25 soldiers were martyred in different terrorist incidents including a suicide attack in Dera Ismail Khan district on December 11-12 night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said in a statement. The military’s media wing said that heightened terror activities were witnessed in the KP’s region on the night of December 11-12, wherein a total of 27 terrorists were “sent to hell” during various operations. The military’s media wing had said a group of six terrorists attacked a security forces’ post in general area Daraban in DI Khan. It had said the attempt to enter the post was effectively thwarted which forced the terrorists to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into the post, followed by a suicide bombing attack. “The resulting blasts led to the collapse of the building, causing multiple causalities; twenty-three brave soldiers embraced shahadat, while all six terrorists were effectively engaged and sent to hell,” it added. 470 people killed in 1,050 terror attacks in KP The outgoing year witnessed an alarming rise in terror-related incidents in the country in general and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular as at least 470 security personnel and civilians were killed in the province, so far. According to statistics available with Geo News, 470 people were killed in 1,050 terror-related incidents in one year alone. As per the record of the provincial home department and tribal affairs, 698 security personnel and citizens were killed in 1,823 terror-related incidents during the past three years. Seven areas along the Pak-Afghan border in KP remained “terrorism hotspots” during the outgoing year. The areas include Peshawar, Khyber, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bajaur and Tank. Out of the 1,050 terror-related incidents, 419 were reported in bandobasti, 631 in the erstwhile Fata, 201 in North Waziristan, 169 in Khyber, 121 in South Waziristan, 98 in DI Khan, 62 in Bajaur, 61 each in Tank and Peshawar. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1139419-video-major-terror-bid-foiled-as-militants-attack-police-in-di-khan

Mass casualties reported in Israeli strikes on the Jabalia and Nuseirat refugee camps; Gaza hospitals continue to be targeted. The WHO describes situation at al-Shifa Hospital “a complete horror scene” and calls the destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital “appalling”. Hungry and desperate Palestinians are looting aid trucks to get water and food as desperation mounts in southern Gaza’s Rafah City. At least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel stands at nearly 1,140. UN Security Council to vote for cessation of hostilities in Gaza The UN Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene later today to vote for a new resolution calling for a suspension in the fighting in Gaza. The draft text “calls for an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip for those in need”. The vote comes after it failed to pass a resolution on December 8 calling an immediate ceasefire due to a US veto. Click WATCH: Why does Israel keep the bodies of Palestinians it killed? Dozens of bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces have been confiscated by Israel in the occupied West Bank since October 7. Human rights organisations fear that many more are being taken away from Gaza, and they may not be returned like several others whose remains have not been returned for years by Israeli authorities. Key events on day 73 of the war on Gaza It’s day 73 of the war on Gaza and this is how things stand: Israeli air attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp killed at least 90 people and wounded more than 100 others. Oil prices rose nearly 1 percent in Asian trade as Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and lower exports from Russia stoke supply fears. Palestinian officials say the Israeli army holding Ahmed Muhanna, the director of Gaza’s al-Awda Hospital, in an unknown location. The Freedom Theatre in Jenin continues to demand the immediate release of its director, Mustafa Sheta, and acting teacher, Jamal Abu Joas. On Sunday, Israel’s military rejected claims that its forces “murdered” two women who were sheltering in a Catholic church in Gaza. Read our complete list of key events here. A man inspects the damage in a room following Israeli bombardment at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip [AFP] Click here to share on social media Khan Younis hospital latest health facility targeted by Israeli forces Hani Mahmoud Reporting from Rafah, southern Gaza Nasser Hospital is increasingly becoming a war zone amid a surge in Israeli attacks in the eastern part of Khan Younis as well as in the central part where the hospital is located. The building hosting the maternity ward is believed to be housing thousands of evacuees and displaced Palestinians who came from different parts of Khan Younis to seek shelter. In the last 48 hours, a bomb fell near the building but did not explode, causing a great deal of panic. Three people were injured as a result. Overnight, the building was directly targeted by a missile that destroyed parts of it and damaged medical equipment. There are reports of a young girl being killed and several others critically injured. Once again, we are seeing a hospital that is not only serving as a health facility but also as a shelter, coming under direct attack from Israeli forces.  A view of damage after Israeli army hit the pediatric department of Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis city [Belal Khaled/Anadolu/Getty Images] Click Aftermath of Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital We’ve been reporting on an Israeli attack on the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Hani al-Aar, a Palestinian journalist, has shared footage of the aftermath of the attack, The video, verified by Al Jazeera, shows the impact of the shelling as well as the destruction inside the hospital, where there is a large number of injured and displaced Palestinians from across the Gaza Strip. Palestinians’ message to the world: ‘Stop sleeping and get up’ Our colleague Anas al-Sharif has spoken to people in Gaza seeking shelter and treatment at a medical centre in Jabalia al-Balad. Many of them are women and children. “They are targeting innocent children,” one person said, carrying his son in his arms. “We are hosting poor, helpless and displaced people who can’t find a place at the schools. Israeli forces have targeted all of us inside our house.” Another Palestinian accused Israeli forces of committing “genocide”. “Our message to the world is that enough is enough … stop sleeping and get up. Don’t you feel that we are part of humanity?” he said. A medical professional at the hospital said the healthcare system in northern Gaza has collapsed and called for an “immediate ceasefire”. “The medical teams are exhausted. The situation is catastrophic. We are facing a genocide.” Click Father of killed captive accuses Israeli soldier of knowing ‘who he was dealing with’ Avi Shamriz, the father of one of the three captives mistakenly killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, has accused the soldier who shot at them of knowing what he was doing. “It was clear that he knew who he was dealing with,” Shamriz was reported as saying by Israeli media. Alon Shamriz, along with two other captives, was killed after more than two months of being held by Hamas fighters as he moved towards the soldiers shirtless and waving a white cloth. The incident triggered fury and condemnation among the families of the remaining captives, reigniting calls for the war cabinet to spell out a clear plan for their release. Click Oil prices rise after Houthi attacks in Red Sea Oil prices have risen nearly 1 percent in Asian trade, as Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and lower exports from Russia stoke supply fears. Brent crude futures climbed 0.4 percent to $76.87 a barrel on Monday morning, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5 percent to $71.77 a barrel. Attacks on ships by Yemen’s