Author: ALJAZEERA

New York City, United States – A metallic blur streaked past Khader Khalilia’s ear. The bullet, so close he could hear it, smashed into a painting of Romeo and Juliet on the wall behind him. As more shots rang out, Khalilia and his family fell to the floor of their house in Beit Jala, just outside Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Khalilia draped his body over his younger brother Elios to shield him. They were caught in the crossfire between the Israeli military and a Palestinian resistance group. “I was cursing, praying at the same time,” said Khalilia, recalling…

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The risk of a devastating famine is rising exponentially across Sudan. According to a recent report by the United Nations’ hunger monitor, a “stark and rapid deterioration of food security situation” in the last six months has brought the war-ravaged Northeast African nation to the precipice of a catastrophe beyond imagination. More than eight million people across 14 of the 18 states of Sudan are now facing food shortages that could result in acute malnutrition and death. Some 750,000 of those are at risk of immediate starvation. According to an analysis by Save the Children, some “16.4 million children, or three…

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The explosions are the cue. Boom. And again: Boom. I immediately know that a mass influx of patients is imminent. On June 21, in the coastal area of al-Mawasi, on the southern end of the Gaza Strip, dozens of people were killed and scores injured when hostilities reached a displacement camp near the premises of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Within minutes, the Red Cross field hospital next door, where I work as the senior medical officer, began receiving patients. That afternoon, I had been sitting in the admin area of the hospital in a meeting about staffing and rosters when we…

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Massive barrage launched in response to killing of armed group’s senior commander as fears of full-blown war reverberate.Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it launched more than 200 rockets and drones targeting Israeli military positions in response to a strike that killed a senior commander of the armed group. A Hezbollah source confirmed Thursday’s barrage to Al Jazeera – the second major attack in two days – launched in retaliation for the killing of Muhammad Nimah Nasser in southern Lebanon a day earlier. Nasser, also known as “Hajj Abu Nimah”, was the third high-ranking official killed in almost nine months of cross-border fighting…

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While Israel has given the world some hope by saying on Thursday that it would consider the latest draft of a ceasefire proposal submitted by Hamas, the current situation in Gaza may be far from a solution. Yet, on the other hand, Israel spoke in the days preceding the Hamas response about its “next phase” a reportedly lower-intensity conflict, but one that would keep Israeli soldiers on the ground and prioritise a continuation of the fighting over the release of the remaining Israeli captives. The Israeli government has insisted so far that fighting will not end until Hamas is “fully…

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A renewed push is under way to end the bloodshed in Gaza as both Israel and Hamas speak to mediators about a long-stalled ceasefire plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Thursday to discuss the latest proposal from Hamas, an unnamed source in his office told Reuters news agency. Hamas on Wednesday said it presented new “ideas” to Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators on how to reach a ceasefire and captive-exchange deal. Israel confirmed it is “evaluating” Hamas’s “comments”, which it did not detail. The development comes as Israel hammers southern Khan…

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An Israeli air strike slammed into a residential building next to the main medical centre in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least seven people, hospital authorities and witnesses said. As dust from Wednesday’s strike billowed through a street near Nasser Hospital, people were running in all directions – some rushing towards the destruction and others away. Later, civil defence first responders and bystanders picked their way across chunks of cement and twisted metal, searching for people who might have been buried. Nasser Hospital sits in the western part of the city. There have been repeated attacks on…

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Fast food giant says it will stop taking breakfast orders from 10:30am instead of midday due to egg supply crunch.McDonald’s restaurants in Australia have cut their breakfast service short due to a crunch in egg supplies caused by an outbreak of bird flu. The fast food giant announced this week that it would temporarily cease its breakfast service from 10:30am instead of midday as usual due to the “current industry challenges” around securing eggs. “We are working hard with our Aussie farmers and suppliers to return this back to normal as soon as possible. So, from Tuesday July 2nd, for…

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Bangkok, Thailand – For three decades, Dujruedee Thaithumnus has presided over symbolic weddings between same-sex couples on the white sand beaches of Thailand’s Samui island. As Thailand prepares to legalise LGBTQ marriages, Dujruedee is looking forward to officiating legally recognised ceremonies for the first time – and cashing in on the “pink baht”. “Samui has all the ecosystem required to organise weddings, the island is a one-stop shop. I have no doubt after the bill passes, we’re going to be on the world map as an LGBTQ wedding destination,” Dujruedee, who charges anywhere between $1,000 and $50,000 for her beach…

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