Palestine

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas began Friday, allowing sorely needed aid to start flowing into Gaza and setting the stage for the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

23 November 2023; MEMO: Thousands of Palestinian children were killed during Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, a UN official said on Wednesday, calling Gaza the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child”, Anadolu Agency reports.

“More than 5,300 Palestinian children have been reportedly killed in just 46 days … or over 115 a day, every day, for weeks and weeks. Based on these figures, children account for 40 per cent of the deaths in Gaza. This is unprecedented.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas was set to begin Friday morning, Qatar said, a day later than originally announced, as negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which is to bring the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 14,000 since the current Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, the Hamas-run government media office said Tuesday.

Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the media office, said at a press conference that among the dead were 5,840 children and 3,920 women, while more than 33,000 others were injured.

Al-Thawabta said the number of missing persons has surpassed 6,800, including 4,500 children and women under the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli attacks.

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Hamas official said on Tuesday that the movement is close to reaching a cease-fire agreement with Israel in the coming hours, which will be announced in Qatar.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the movement had already sent its response to mediators on the cease-fire agreement, and it was waiting for Israel's response.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops battled Palestinian militants in an urban refugee camp and outside a nearby hospital Tuesday as the army expanded operations across northern Gaza, where residents have been without electricity or reliable access to water, food and other basics for weeks.

20 November 2023; MEMO: The Israeli army has detained 880 Palestinian children since the start of this year, a local non-governmental organisation said Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

"More than 200 children are still in custody, including 26 held under Israel’s policy of administrative detention without charge or trial" the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement marking World Children’s Day.

20 November 2023; MEMO: More than 10 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a UN-run school in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian group Hamas said, Anadolu Agency reports.

"This is a heinous crime and a disdain for the UN refugee agency, UNRWA, and the United Nations" Hamas said in a statement.

It called for an immediate action "to stop the targeting of civilians in schools protected under international law"

20 November 2023; MEMO: A group of 28 prematurely born babies evacuated from Gaza’s biggest hospital were taken into Egypt for urgent treatment on Monday, while Palestinian authorities and the WHO said 12 people were killed at another Gaza hospital encircled by Israeli tanks.

GAZA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 1.7 million people have been displaced within the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on Oct. 7, the United Nations (UN) said on Monday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted the continuous call by the Israeli army for the residents in Gaza City and its northern areas to evacuate and move southwards through a corridor along Salah al-Din Road, the main north-south traffic artery running the length of Gaza.