World News in Brief: West Bank violence, UN humanitarian visits Hroza, Advisory Group on local governments

World News in Brief: Israeli settlement plan condemned, abductions in northern Nigeria, alarm over reported pre-election attacks in India

In a statement, Tor Wennesland reminded that all Israeli settlements the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal under international law. Permits for the new dwellings were approved by Israeli authorities on Wednesday, the first since the war in Gaza erupted on 7 October. According to news reports, the permits mean that more than 20,000 housing units…

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No medicine, no hope: Doctors describe life under Israeli attack in Gaza

No medicine, no hope: Doctors describe life under Israeli attack in Gaza

“Life is very difficult here,” hospital manager Dr. Haidar Al-Qudra told UN News. Currently, only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are “partially functioning”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with the rest destroyed by Israel’s near constant bombardment of the enclave. As the war in Gaza enters its fifth month, Israeli forces continue to…

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Gaza: Israeli advance on Rafah would have ‘dire humanitarian consequences’

Gaza: Israeli advance on Rafah would have ‘dire humanitarian consequences’

Sigrid Kaag reiterated Secretary-General António Guterres’s concern that such an operation at present time would be potentially disastrous for innocent civilians. “There are more than a million people crammed in Rafah. It’s not intended for a million people in shelters, in random sort of plastic sheeted constructions. Health conditions are very worrisome,” she told correspondents…

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Gazans ‘anxious and living in fear’ of Israeli assault on Rafah, warns top UN aid official

Gazans ‘anxious and living in fear’ of Israeli assault on Rafah, warns top UN aid official

“People are anxious and in fear of a possible large-scale military operation,” Philippe Lazzarini said, after emerging from a briefing with Member States at UN Geneva. “If the assault takes place, the question is, ‘Where will the civilians go?’ There is absolutely no safe place in Rafah anymore and the fear is that the number…

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Gaza: UN rights office condemns ‘chaotic’ Israeli mass evacuation orders

Gaza: UN rights office condemns ‘chaotic’ Israeli mass evacuation orders

The OHCHR warning came nearly four months into the war which has seen widespread Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in response to Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities beginning 7 October in which some 1,200 people were massacred and more than 250 taken hostage. “Attacks on hospitals, schools, and other places of refuge have repeatedly…

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World News in Brief, Bangladesh democracy call, accountability for Israeli victims of sexual violence, plastic pollution in the Antarctic, powering Ukraine

World News in Brief, Bangladesh democracy call, accountability for Israeli victims of sexual violence, plastic pollution in the Antarctic, powering Ukraine

High Commissioner Volker Türk voiced his concern that Sunday’s poll which saw Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina secure a fifth term in office, was “marred by violence and repression of opposition candidates and supporters”, according to a press release from rights office OHCHR. “In the months leading up to the vote, thousands of opposition supporters have…

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Google joins hands with the Israeli army, employees become all-out protest

Google joins hands with the Israeli army, employees become all-out protest

SAN FRANCISCO: Google has joined hands with the Israeli army, over a billion dollar contract, the employees turned into a protest. According to details, hundreds of people, including Google workers, protested against the tech company’s plan with Israel outside Google’s offices in the American city of San Francisco on Thursday. Google has signed a $1.2…

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Gaza Crisis: UN ramps up calls for humanitarian truce as Israeli bombardments cut communications, cripple healthcare

Gaza Crisis: UN ramps up calls for humanitarian truce as Israeli bombardments cut communications, cripple healthcare

Secretary-General António Guterres said on X, formerly Twitter: “I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, together with the unconditional release of hostages and the delivery of relief at a level corresponding to the dramatic needs of the people in Gaza, where a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes.” The UN…

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