Saturday 21 / December / 2024
Muscat: Pope Francis has called for an end to attacks and violence on Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of people were killed in Israel-Palestine conflict ever since it broke out on Saturday, official sources said on Sunday.
The pope stressed in his weekly address in St. Peter’s Square that terrorism and war would not solve any problems, but only bring further suffering and death to innocent people. He said he was following the unfolding situation with “apprehension and sorrow,” praying for “all those who are experiencing hours of terror and anguish.”
“Let the attacks and weapons cease, please, because it must be understood that terrorism and war bring no solutions, but only ... the death and suffering of many innocent lives. War is a defeat, every war is a defeat. Let us pray for peace,” the pope said.
Poland to fly citizens out of Israel
Poland has announced plans to evacuate its citizens from Israel, as the conflict between Israel and Gaza militants continues.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw was sending air force transport planes to bring Polish nationals home.
Egyptian policeman opens fire on Israeli tourists
An Egyptian policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists in the coastal city of Alexandria on Sunday, killing at least two Israeli tourists and one Egyptian, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said.
The policeman fired shots from his “personal weapon in a random fashion,” an unnamed security source was cited as telling a local channel with ties to the authorities.
Another person was also wounded in the attack, which took place at the Pompey’s Pillar site in Alexandria, the source added.
The suspected assailant was immediately detained, the source said.
Sunday’s attack comes as Israel battles Palestinian militants who staged an incursion from the Gaza Strip.
Gaza death toll rises
At least 313 people have been killed in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip by retaliatory strikes from Israel, according to figures from the Health Ministry of the Palestinian authority.
The death toll includes 20 children, the authority said. It added that some 2,000 people had been wounded.
The authority said another seven people were killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, including a child.
UN peacekeeping force urges ‘restraint’
A UN peacekeeping force deployed along Lebanon’s southern border said it was in touch with authorities on both sides “to contain the situation and avoid a more serious escalation.”
In a series of tweets on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it had “detected several rockets fired from southeast Lebanon toward Israeli-occupied territory.” It also detected artillery fire from Israel to Lebanon in response.’
