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Lebanon: UN launches $426 million appeal as conflict threatens ‘humanitarian and human rights catastrophe’

Lebanon: UN launches $426 million appeal as conflict threatens ‘humanitarian and human rights catastrophe’

AMID the start of a reported Israeli ground offensive against the Hezbollah armed group in southern Lebanon and fears of more civilian suffering, the UN launched an urgent humanitarian appeal on Tuesday to support those most in need in the country. The three-month, $426 million flash appeal launched by the UN and partners together with the Lebanese Government, will address “rapidly escalating” needs for food and other survival supplies, shelter, education and protection of civilians, said UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke. Widespread Israeli shelling has already forced one million people to flee their homes and Mr…
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Israeli pager attack reignites fears of regional war

Israeli pager attack reignites fears of regional war

AT least three additional people have been killed and over 100 wounded in Lebanon following a fresh round of explosions linked to electronic devices on 18 September. Hospitals in Lebanon were overwhelmed by the number of victims from the initial attack, and Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate. Two of those killed were children, and many of the wounded suffered serious injuries to their hands, faces, or stomachs, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, who lost an eye. Israel has not commented on the attack, but Hezbollah and Iran – which backs the Lebanese political party and militant group – placed the blame on…
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What is life like in northern Gaza?

What is life like in northern Gaza?

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Eric Reidy WHEN the Israeli military issued evacuation orders on 13 October last year, telling 1.1 million Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip to head south, Mahmoud Shalabi decided he wasn’t going to leave. “I would rather die in my home than in a tent,” Shalabi told The New Humanitarian in a recent interview, explaining his decision. Shalabi, 39, lives in Beit Lahia, just a few kilometres from the Israeli border, with his wife, their three children, and his elderly parents. He is the deputy programme director in…
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Israel’s Netanyahu pledges more action against Palestinian attackers

Israel’s Netanyahu pledges more action against Palestinian attackers

PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a stronger Israeli response in dealing with a spate of Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as pressure swelled within his right-wing government to employ more severe tactics. His remarks came two days after a car-ramming attack in the Jerusalem outskirts killed three Israelis and two weeks after a lone Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue, adding to rising anxiety in Israel over security. Tensions are also high in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out hundreds of arrests in recent months during near-daily raids that have seen…
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Some Israeli Arabs, Jerusalem Palestinians wary of coronavirus vaccine

Some Israeli Arabs, Jerusalem Palestinians wary of coronavirus vaccine

AS Israel leads the world in the rate of coronavirus vaccination, some of its Arab citizens and Palestinians in annexed East Jerusalem are regarding the shot with suspicion. In what officials see as a result of misinformation about possible side-effects or supposed malicious properties, turnout for vaccines has been low among Arabs, who make up 21% of Israel's population, and Jerusalem Palestinians. "I will not be vaccinated because I don't know what is in there. No one explained it to me," said Marouf Alyino of East Jerusalem. "Everyone is looking at Facebook and social media, where we hear about someone…
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