Author: ALJAZEERA

At least eight United Nations-run schools serving as shelters to displaced Palestinians have been hit by Israeli attacks in the last 10 days. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) say 120 of their educational institutions have been hit since Israel began its war on Gaza on October 7. Families living in disused classrooms face fatigue, trauma and the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of shelters stretched far beyond capacity. Despite the difficult conditions and the risk of bombardment, many seek out the relative safety of UN schools, some guided by the memory of past wars where these spaces provided…

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Israeli government official calling Phillipe Lazzarini a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ also puts his safety at risk, UN says.The United Nations has denounced an Israeli government spokesperson for calling the head of its agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) a “terrorist sympathiser”. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the comments by Israel’s David Mencer were “downright dangerous”. Mencer took aim at UNRWA head Phillipe Lazzarini in a videotaped speech on Wednesday, saying his agency had been deeply infiltrated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. “Now if the UN was doing what it was designed to do, then Philippe Lazzarini…

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Israel’s parliament has passed a resolution that overwhelmingly rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state, Israeli media reported. The resolution passed in the Knesset with 68 votes in favour and just nine against it early on Thursday. It said that a Palestinian state would pose “an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with far-right parties co-sponsored the resolution. Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s centre-left party left the session to avoid supporting the statement, despite previously saying he favoured a two-state solution, the Times of…

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After operating for fewer than 25 days, the US-built Gaza aid pier will be dismantled, marking the end of a costly mission marked by recurring weather and security challenges.The United States military has said its mission to install and operate a temporary, floating pier off the coast of Gaza to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians has ended. The $230m trouble-prone pier had to be removed repeatedly from Gaza’s shore because of poor weather conditions since its initial installation in mid-May. US military officials said on Wednesday that the pier had achieved its mission despite United Nations estimates that 96 percent…

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Bangladesh has been rocked by student protests for nearly three weeks. Since July 1, university students have been protesting across the country to demand the removal of quotas in government jobs after the High Court reinstated a rule that reserves nearly one-third of posts for the descendants of those who participated in the country’s 1971 liberation movement. Following the High Court’s ruling in June, 56 percent of government jobs are now reserved for specific groups, including children and grandchildren of freedom fighters, women, and people from “backward districts”. Student protesters have clashed with police and members of Bangladesh Chhatra League,…

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Nine people rescued from 16-strong crew of Indian and Sri Lankan nationals as search ongoing for others.Rescuers have saved nine crew members and retrieved the body of another after their oil tanker went down off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. The search teams responded to the tanker, MT Prestige Falcon, after it keeled over late on Monday some 25 nautical miles (46.3km) from Oman’s Ras Madrakah, said the country’s maritime security agency on Wednesday. Thirteen Indian and three Sri Lankan nationals were on board. It was not immediately clear what caused the Comorian-flagged ship to capsize. But…

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PodcastPodcast, The TakeIsrael has bombed eight UNRWA-run schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in the last two weeks. Schools run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, have been havens for civilians fleeing Israeli bombing in Gaza. But a string of UNRWA-run schools sheltering displaced Palestinians have been bombed, and the agency’s headquarters in Gaza City was destroyed. Where can Palestinians find safety? In this episode:  Episode credits: This episode was produced by Sarí el-Khalili, Khaled Soltan, and Ashish Malhotra, with Veronique Eshaya, Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan, Duha Mosaad, Manahil Naveed, and our host, Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex…

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The Israeli military has carried out more deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip in recent hours, the Wafa news agency reports. Israeli forces have targeted the al-Ramli family home in the Palestine Square area in the centre of Gaza City, northern Gaza, killing at least two girls. Israeli fighter jets have also bombed an apartment belonging to the Abu Rakab family in az-Zawayda in central Gaza, killing at least five Palestinians and injuring more. Four children have been taken to the al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza, after being injured in an Israeli attack targeting a residential apartment in al-Ittihad Tower…

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Taipei, Taiwan – As the United States was struggling to come to terms with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, factories halfway across the world in China were already hard at work pumping out commemorative T-shirts. Within hours of the shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao was selling T-shirts emblazoned with an Associated Press photo of a bleeding, fist-pumping Trump being escorted away by Secret Service agents. Featuring slogans like “Fight! Fight! Fight!” and “Shooting Makes Me Stronger!” under the image, some T-shirts retailed for as low as $4 apiece.…

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