Gaza health ministry says war deaths exceed 30,000 as famine looms

Gaza health ministry says war deaths exceed 30,000 as famine looms
Displaced Palestinian children wait to receive free food at a tent camp, amid food shortages, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (REUTERS)
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Updated 29 February 2024
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Gaza health ministry says war deaths exceed 30,000 as famine looms

Gaza health ministry says war deaths exceed 30,000 as famine looms
  • Mediators say a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away
  • Children died “due to malnutrition, dehydration and widespread famine” at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital

Gaza Strip: The Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war between the militant group and Israel began nearly five months ago.
While mediators say a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away, aid agencies have sounded the alarm of a looming famine in Gaza’s north.
Children have died “due to malnutrition, dehydration and widespread famine” at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, said the health ministry, whose spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra has called for “immediate action” from international organizations to prevent more of these deaths.
Citing the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, USAID head Samantha Power said Israel needed to open more crossings so that “vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged.”
“This is a matter of life and death,” Power said in a video posted on social media platform X.
The latest overall toll for Palestinians killed in the war came after at least 79 people died overnight across the war-torn Gaza Strip, the health ministry said Thursday.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been seeking a six-week pause in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which in response vowed to eliminate the Palestinian Islamist group that rules in Gaza.
Negotiators are hoping a truce can begin by the start of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month that kicks off March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.
The proposals reportedly include the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for several hundred Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
Short of the complete withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see Israeli forces leave “cities and populated areas,” allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.
US President Joe Biden is “pushing all of us to try to get this agreement over the finish line,” said his secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
The crucial southern Gaza city of Rafah is the main entry point for aid crossing the border from neighboring Egypt.
But the World Food Programme said no humanitarian group had been able to deliver aid to the north for more than a month, accusing Israel of blocking access.
Neighbouring Jordan has coordinated efforts to air-drop supplies over southern Gaza.
“If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza,” the World Food Programme’s deputy executive director Carl Skau said.
Israeli officials have denied blocking supplies, and the army on Wednesday said “50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid” had made it to northern Gaza in recent days.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has left hundreds of thousands displaced, with nearly 1.5 million people now packed in Rafah.
In a sign of growing desperation among Gazans over living conditions, a rare protest was held Wednesday by residents over the soaring prices of commodities.
“Everyone is suffering inside these tents,” said Amal Zaghbar, who was displaced and sheltering in a makeshift camp.
“We’re dying slowly.”
Israel has repeatedly threatened a ground offensive on Rafah, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying a truce would only delay it, as such an operation was needed for “total victory” over Hamas.
Egypt — which borders Rafah — says an assault on the overcrowded city would have “catastrophic repercussions.”
While Israel’s plans for post-war Gaza exclude any mention of the Palestinian Authority, its top ally the United States and other powers have called for a revitalized PA, which governs the occupied West Bank, to take charge of the territory.
Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki said a “technocratic” government without Gaza’s rulers Hamas was needed to “stop this insane war” and facilitate relief operations and reconstruction.
His government, based in the West Bank, resigned this week, with prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh citing the need for change after the war ends.
A government that includes Hamas — longtime rivals of president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party, which controls the PA — would “be boycotted by a number of countries,” Al-Maliki told a news conference in Geneva.
On Thursday, Palestinian factions — including Hamas and Fatah — were expected to arrive in Moscow for a meeting at Russia’s invitation.
“The central goal is how to unite the Palestinian ranks,” Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative — a civilian political party — told Qatar state TV from Moscow.
In Israel, Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure to bring the hostages home.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant insisted the government was “making every effort.”
A group of 150 Israelis started a four-day march from Reim, near the Gaza border, to Jerusalem, calling for the government to reach a deal.
“No one should be left behind,” said Ronen Neutra, father of captive Omer Neutra, an Israeli soldier who is also a US citizen.


Saudi Arabia marks Arabian Leopard Day, raising awareness of endangered cat

Saudi Arabia marks Arabian Leopard Day, raising awareness of endangered cat
Updated 12 min 44 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia marks Arabian Leopard Day, raising awareness of endangered cat

Saudi Arabia marks Arabian Leopard Day, raising awareness of endangered cat
  • Fewer than 200 Arabian leopards thought to remain in wild
  • RCU driving efforts to preserve and repopulate species

RIYADH: Organizations in Saudi Arabia and abroad marked the International Day of the Arabian Leopard on Monday, raising awareness of efforts to preserve the endangered species.

Historically widespread across the Arabian Peninsula, today there are thought to be fewer than 200 Arabian leopards living in the wild.

Their numbers declined rapidly in the 20th century due to habitat loss and illegal poaching, and they are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Saudi Arabia declared Feb. 10 Arabian Leopard Day in 2022 in a bid to raise awareness.

This was followed in June 2023 by a UN General Assembly declaring Feb. 10 as International Day of the Arabian Leopard.

The Royal Commission for AlUla is implementing one of the Kingdom’s most noteworthy preservation campaigns for the big cat.

“We are honored with the remarkable progress made in safeguarding this majestic species. From the birth of Hope in 2021 to the arrival of seven cubs in 2023 and the exceptional triplets in 2024, each step has been a leap of hope in our conservation efforts,” Royal Commission of AlUla spokesperson Abdulrahman AlTrairi told Arab News.

The commission more than doubled the number of leopards in its Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Center to 32 since 2021, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Members of the public are now invited to participate in naming the triplet cubs through the rcu.gov.sa website.

The commission also established the Arabian Leopard Fund, with initial funding worth $25 million to support Arabian leopard conservation efforts in the Kingdom and abroad.

To mark this year’s Arabian Leopard Day, the commission held a conservation event at the London Zoo, attended by Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar.

Princess Reema founded the initiative Catmosphere in 2021, and the organization has held “cat walk” events featuring more than 190,000 people in 136 countries to raise awareness of conservation issues.

Princess Modhi bint Fahd, chairwoman of the Saudi Animal Welfare Society REFQ, shared with Arab News her thanks to the Kingdom’s leadership for their conservation efforts.

“We at REFQ are happy and thrilled to witness the International Day of the Arabian Leopard for an animal that was on the verge of extinction,”

“The credit goes to our great leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he is the man behind all regional environmental and ecological initiatives.”

Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Kyrgyzstan celebrated the occasion with a “cat walk” event in which a number of officials walked through the streets of the capital Bishek to raise awareness of the big cat’s plight.

A similar initiative was held by the Kingdom’s Embassy in Albania, where participants walked from Lake Tirana to the city’s zoo.

High-ranking officials from the Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka also took part in a cat walk in Colombo.


BBC announces new West Bank documentary with journalist Louis Theroux

BBC announces new West Bank documentary with journalist Louis Theroux
Updated 13 min 26 sec ago
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BBC announces new West Bank documentary with journalist Louis Theroux

BBC announces new West Bank documentary with journalist Louis Theroux
  • ‘Louis Theroux: The Settlers’ examines Israeli settlements in the aftermath of Oct. 7

LONDON: The BBC announced on Monday that journalist Louis Theroux is to produce a new documentary examining Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The investigative journalist is to travel to the region to meet members of the growing ultra-nationalist settler community.

Theroux previously covered the topic in his 2010 documentary “Ultra Zionists,” which explored life in the contested territory. His new documentary, “Louis Theroux: The Settlers,” will revisit the issue in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Theroux said: “(Since 2010) those same extreme settlers are even more emboldened.

“I’m interested in ideologues and fundamentalists of all stripes. In going back to the West Bank I wanted to see settler expansionism up close, and the human cost it entails.”

The BBC said Theroux will “embed himself in the West Bank,” meeting prominent settlers and traveling through the territory in his signature style.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, yet have long been protected by the Israeli security forces.

Since the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and about 250 taken hostage, settler violence against Palestinian communities has escalated, with reports of forced expulsions and land seizures.

US President Donald Trump recently revoked an executive order issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, that sanctioned far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians.

Experts warn that the move could embolden settler aggression and further undermine prospects for Palestinian statehood.

Theroux said: “It’s a story specific to a time and a place and a region, but it’s also a universal insight into tribalism and the ways in which we can blind ourselves to the humanity of those around us.”


US-based ServiceNow to launch data centers in Saudi Arabia in 2026

US-based ServiceNow to launch data centers in Saudi Arabia in 2026
Updated 15 min 26 sec ago
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US-based ServiceNow to launch data centers in Saudi Arabia in 2026

US-based ServiceNow to launch data centers in Saudi Arabia in 2026

RIYADH: US-based software firm ServiceNow is set to launch data centers in Saudi Arabia in 2026, according to its Europe, the Middle East, and Africa president.

In an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the second day of LEAP 2025, taking place in Riyadh from Feb. 9 — 12, Cathy Mauzaize revealed the date for the facilities, with the plans to develop them in the Kingdom announced at last year’s event.

The EMA president also talked up ServiceNow’s ambitions to build cloud infrastructure and developing essential skills in Saudi Arabia to support its customers and partners better.

ServiceNow’s plan falls in line with Saudi Arabia’s National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, which aims to train 40 percent of the workforce in essential skills to combat data and AI illiteracy and develop a talent pool of 20,000 data and AI specialists.

It also aligns well with the strategy’s target of attracting SR75 billion ($19.99 billion) in local and foreign investments, as well as supporting over 300 startups to encourage entrepreneurship.

Speaking on the timeline of the date centers, Mauzaize said: "We’re going to, crossing my fingers, announce the services in 2026.”

She add that it is “time for us to build the data centers and make them available for our customers and partners here, in the Kingdom, but also, at the same time, we are investing a lot in creating skills, because if we don’t have skills, and especially in the young people, it’s going to be difficult for us to sustain the growth.” 

During the interview, Mauzaize went on to highlight that AI and generative AI will have a major impact on the EMA economy.

“If you look at the numbers that IDC (International Data Corporation) predicts for EMA and how much wellness or how much, you know, it impacts on the economy, it will have $5 trillion by 2030,” she said.

“But if you go into Saudi Arabia, 52 percent of the CEOs say AI is top of mind and 79 (percent) are saying: ‘we know that’s going to have a material impact on the way we run our business,’” the EMA president added. 

Mauzaize also underlined major partnerships sealed during LEAP 2025 with Salam, a leading digital infrastructure provider in the Kingdom, and the Saudi Telecom Co.
 
“Salam — it’s a big partnership to help them run on a much faster way, their own operation and to go after a brand-new set of customers in SME space. We have this vision together that, hey, let’s go modernize, help you develop your top line proper, new services embedded into platform and fuse with AI as a service to your end customer, and let’s together go after the small and medium business,” she said.
 
“STC, we are announcing again a very strategic partnership to help them on their modernization journey, but also as a partner to go to market together. We are very, very proud of those two announcements and we believe that those two will help us accelerate significantly how we get into the Kingdom with success,” the EMA president added.

Mauzaize explained that ServiceNow is the only AI platform designed specifically for business and digital transformation.

“We have a platform that combines data, the ability to collect all the data and to connect to any source of system, structured data and unstructured data. We are having AI at the core and now Gen AI, generative AI, that has ability to interact with the human touch and augment human and collaborate with human,” she said.

The EMA President added: “And then we have the workflow, and so the workflow are our ability to digitalize processes. If you think about it in any company anything you do is a process and then is a workflow, so you can either do workflow manually or do a workflow digitally and automate them.”

Held under the theme “Into New Worlds,” LEAP 2025 aims to expand business networking and investment opportunities in the tech sector.
 
The event plays a key role in Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global technology hub, aligning with its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy. As part of this initiative, the Kingdom has pledged $100 billion toward advancing its technology sector.


Saudi Arabia remains top contributor as Pakistan remittances increase 25.2% year-on-year

Saudi Arabia remains top contributor as Pakistan remittances increase 25.2% year-on-year
Updated 28 min 5 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia remains top contributor as Pakistan remittances increase 25.2% year-on-year

Saudi Arabia remains top contributor as Pakistan remittances increase 25.2% year-on-year
  • Kingdom contributed $728.3 million to total inflows of $3 billion to the South Asian nation last month
  • Remittances are vital to Pakistan, which has seen its foreign exchange reserves plummet to low levels

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia remained the largest source of workers’ remittances to Pakistan that rose by 25.2% in January, Pakistan’s central bank said on Monday, with Riyadh contributing $728.3 million in inflows to the South Asian nation.
The Kingdom is a key destination for Pakistani workers, whose remittances are vital to Pakistan’s economy amid an ongoing economic crisis that has seen its foreign exchange reserves plummet to low levels and its currency weaken against the US dollar, forcing it to seek financial assistance from global lenders and friendly countries.
Workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of $3 billion in the month of January, according to the Pakistani central bank.
“Remittances inflows during January 2025 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($728.3 million), United Arab Emirates ($621.7 million), United Kingdom ($443.6 million) and United States of America ($298.5 million),” the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement.
Cumulatively, the SBP said, workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of $20.8 billion from July 2024 till January 2025, compared to $15.8 billion during the same period in the previous year, depicting a growth of 31.7%.
In December 2024, Pakistan’s remittances clocked in at $3.1 billion, marking a 29.3% year-on-year growth.
The South Asian country, which secured a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility last September, is navigating a tricky path to economic recovery and this surge in remittances is considered vital to stabilizing the country’s foreign exchange reserves.


Egypt imported 6.3 million tons of Russian wheat in 2024/25, analysts say

Farmers harvest wheat in the settlement of Nedvigovka in the southern Russian Rostov region. (File/AFP)
Farmers harvest wheat in the settlement of Nedvigovka in the southern Russian Rostov region. (File/AFP)
Updated 36 min 34 sec ago
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Egypt imported 6.3 million tons of Russian wheat in 2024/25, analysts say

Farmers harvest wheat in the settlement of Nedvigovka in the southern Russian Rostov region. (File/AFP)
  • Algiers, which bought 1.7 million tons of Russian wheat, and Kenya, which bought 1.4 million tons, were the fourth and the fifth largest importers

MOSCOW: Egypt, the biggest buyer of Russian wheat, imported 6.3 million metric tons from July 2024 to January 2025, a 70 percent increase compared to last year, analysts from rail carrier Rusagrotrans said in a report published on Monday.
Rusagrotrans said wheat exports from Russia continued at a record pace so far this season with the country, the world’s top wheat exporter, shipping 32.2 million metric tons, 1.3 percent more than in the same period of the last season.
The acceleration precedes new export quotas on February 15 that will slow shipments. In line with the new quotas Russia can export 10.6 million metric tons of wheat before July 1, 2025.
Bangladesh, which bought 2.3 million tons, emerged as the second-largest buyer in the 2024/25 season, while Turkiye, which introduced an import ban to protect its domestic market, slipped to third place with a 47 percent drop in Russian wheat imports.
Algiers, which bought 1.7 million tons of Russian wheat, and Kenya, which bought 1.4 million tons, were the fourth and the fifth largest importers.