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Israeli attacks kill 23 people in Gaza, medics say, as ceasefire hopes dim

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By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli forces stepped up bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Sunday killing at least 23 people, Palestinian medics said, with over half the deaths in northern areas where the army has waged a month-long campaign it says is to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinians said the new aerial and ground offensives and forced evacuations were “ethnic cleansing” aimed at emptying two north Gaza towns and a camp of their populations to create buffer zones. Israel denies this, saying it is fighting Hamas militants who launch attacks from there.

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks on houses in Beit Lahiya town and Jabalia, the largest of the enclave’s eight historic refugee camps and the focus of the army’s new military offensive. The rest were killed in separate Israeli air strikes in Gaza City and the southern areas.

Palestinian children are vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
© Thomson Reuters

 

Israel has not commented on its military actions on Sunday in northern Gaza.

On Saturday, the Israeli military sent a new army division to Jabalia to join two other operating battalions, a statement said. It said that hundreds of Palestinian militants have so far been killed in the “battles” since the raid began on Oct. 5.

Palestinians watch as smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, November 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Mustafa
© Thomson Reuters

 

Meanwhile, COGAT, the Israeli army’s Palestinian civilian affairs agency, said it facilitated the launch of the second round of a polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza on Saturday and that 58,604 children have received a dose.

The Gaza health ministry said Israel’s military offensive in northern Gaza was stopping them from vaccinating thousands of children in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun.

It said one clinic came under Israeli fire while parents brought their children for the anti-polio dose on Saturday, where four children were injured.

The head World Health Organization said in a statement the incident took place despite a humanitarian pause agreed upon by the two warring parties, Israel and Hamas, to allow the vaccination campaign.

“A @WHO team was at the site just before. This attack, during humanitarian pause, jeopardises the sanctity of health protection for children and may deter parents from bringing their children for vaccination,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Saturday.

“These vital humanitarian-area-specific pauses must be absolutely respected. Ceasefire!,” he said.

The Israeli military has not commented on Tedros’ remarks.

A larger ceasefire that would end the war and see the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held captive in Gaza as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel remains remote due to disagreements between Hamas and Israel.

Hamas wants an agreement to end the war permanently, refusing recent offers for temporary truces, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says war can only end when Hamas is eradicated.

The war erupted after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of Gaza to rubble.

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Spain dreads more flood deaths as more rain expected

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Spanish rescuers plunged into inundated garages to find bodies on Monday, a day after furious crowds heckled and hurled mud at the king and the prime minister following devastating floods.

The toll stands at 217 dead — almost all in the eastern Valencia region — and Spain dreaded the discovery of more corpses in its worst such disaster in decades.

National weather service AEMET announced the end of the emergency for Valencia but placed part of the northeastern Catalonia region on the highest red alert for torrential rain on Monday.

Catalan trains were suspended until further notice, Transport Minister Oscar Puente announced on X, while flights were delayed and diverted at Barcelona’s El Prat airport.

The country grappled with the aftermath of an extraordinary outburst of popular anger directed at King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The Civil Guard has opened an investigation into the chaos in the ground-zero town of Paiporta that cut short their visit on Sunday, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told public broadcaster TVE.

He blamed “marginal groups” for instigating the violence where mud spattered the monarchs’ face and clothes and broke a window of Sanchez’s car.

Organising the visit was “a collective mistake” as fringe groups hijacked raw emotions to endanger the royals, Sanchez and Valencia region leader Carlos Mazon, Puente told television channel La Sexta on Sunday.

The incident underscored growing anger at the authorities’ preparation for and response to the catastrophe.

Experts have questioned the warning systems that failed to alert the population in time and the speed of the response.

– ‘We were abandoned’ –

Thousands of soldiers, police officers, civil guards and firefighters spent a sixth day distributing aid and clearing mud and debris to find bodies.

But relief works only reached some towns days after the disaster and in many cases volunteers were the first to provide food, water, sanitation and cleaning equipment.

“We shouldn’t romanticise it: the people saved the people because we were abandoned,” said Jorge, a resident of the town of Chiva where the royals cancelled their visit on Sunday.

The applause should be for the volunteers, not “those who come just to take a picture and show off”, the 25-year-old told AFP.

Divers on Monday concentrated their search for missing bodies in garages and a multi-storey car park in the town of Aldaia capable of holding thousands of vehicles.

The storm caught many victims in their vehicles on roads and in underground spaces such as car parks, tunnels and garages where rescue operations are particularly difficult.

Local authorities extended travel restrictions for another two days to facilitate the work of the emergency services, cancelled classes in Valencia and urged citizens to work from home.

Storms coming off the Mediterranean are common for the season. But scientists have warned human-induced climate change is increasing the ferocity, length and frequency of extreme weather events.

“Politicians haven’t acted on climate change, and now we’re paying the consequences of their inaction,” environmental activist Emi, 21, told AFP in Chiva.

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POLICE BUSTS, ARRESTS 130 FOREIGN NATIONALS, NIGERIANS FOR CYBERCRIMES, HACKING

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IGP Orders Thorough Investigation into Possible Security Threats, Networking

The Nigeria Police Force has arrested 130 suspects comprising 113 foreign nationals (87 males and 26 females), primarily of Chinese and Malaysian origin, and their 17 Nigerian collaborators (4 males and 13 females) for their alleged involvement in high-level cybercrimes, hacking, and activities that threaten national security. This strategic operation was conducted through a coordinated raid on a building at the Next Cash and Carry area of Jahi, Abuja, where the suspects were reportedly using computers and other sophisticated devices to facilitate criminal activities.

The operation which was led by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police for Zone 7 Headquarters, Abuja, AIG Benneth Igweh, on Saturday, 2nd November 2024, comprised officers of the Nigeria Police Force Zone 7 Command Abuja and the National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC).

We are investigating the matter and scientifically analysing the exhibits recovered from them. The suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of our investigations.

We will update the public on the outcomes of our investigations as and when due.

Thanks.

ACP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI
Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters Abuja
3rd November, 2024.

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Nigerian Correctional Service: 72 Minors Accused of Treason Not in Our Custody”

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Nigerian Correctional Service: 72 Minors Accused of Treason Not in Our Custody”

Correctional authorities confirm they are not detaining the 72 minors charged with treason, amidst growing public and legal interest.

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has refuted allegations that 72 minors, who are facing treason charges in a Federal High Court in Abuja, are being detained within its facilities.

In a statement released on Saturday, NCoS spokesperson ACC Abubakar Umar emphasized that the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019 clearly forbids the admission of juveniles into adult correctional facilities. It grants authority to Controllers of Corrections and Superintendents overseeing these centers to refuse entry to minors.

Umar noted that the Act mandates the Service to refuse further admissions when a facility has reached full capacity.

According to the statement, “Some sections of the media are circulating misleading reports suggesting that the suspects charged with treason before Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Federal High Court in Abuja during August 2024’s End Bad Governance protest were detained in an adult custodial center in Abuja.”

The report in question is entirely false as the Service operates according to top correctional and global standards. To clarify, under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019, Controllers of Corrections and Superintendents-in-charge are prohibited from admitting juveniles into adult facilities. Additionally, the Act requires that no more inmates be admitted if it’s clear that a facility has reached its capacity limit.

The Service would like to inform the public that the mentioned suspects were not accepted, and none of them was detained in adult custodial facilities as suggested by the report.

The Service guarantees the public that the Nigerian Correctional Service will consistently prioritize professionalism and uphold human rights, adhering to the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Juvenile Offenders.

Additionally, the general public is encouraged to disregard the report as it does not accurately reflect the situation.

The NCoS reaffirmed its dedication to upholding international standards in correctional practices and protecting the rights of juveniles.

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