Day: 2 October 2024

An earthquake measuring 6.1 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Catanduanes province in the eastern Philippines on Wednesday.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported that the earthquake occurred 81 km from the Municipality of Bagamanoc in the province.

There have been no reports of casualties or material damage due to the earthquake.

The Philippines is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where about 90% of the world’s earthquakes strike.

The last major quake to hit the country was a 7.1-magnitude tremor that killed more than 220 people in the central Philippines in October 2013.

Source: Qatar News Agency

BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Wednesday destroyed several homes in morning airstrikes on settlements in southern Lebanon, along with airstrikes on a southern suburb of the capital Beirut.

An Anadolu Agency correspondent said Israeli fighter jets struck Choueifat, southeast of Beirut.

According to the official Lebanese National News Agency, the Israeli warplanes destroyed a home in the town of Deir Qanoun and a building in the coastal city of Tyre.

In the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes destroyed a number of homes in the town of Maifadoun.

Israeli fighter jets also carried out raids on the towns of Khiyam and Kfar Kela in parallel with heavy artillery shelling.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the Swiss presidency of the Council announced.

“We have scheduled a meeting” at 10:00 am New York time (1400 GMT), a spokesperson for the Swiss mission told reporters.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.” “This must stop. ?We absolutely need a ceasefire,” he said.

Similarly, the European Union called for an immediate ceasefire across the region.

“The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks … spiralling out of control,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X.

“An immediate ceasefire across the region is needed,” he added.

On Tuesday evening, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced that it had launched a missile attack on sites inside the Israeli entity.

In a statement, it said the attack was carried out with the support of the army and the M
inistry of Defense, and the operation was approved by the Supreme National Security Council, noting that it targeted “the heart of the occupied territories.”

Source: Qatar News Agency

DOHA: Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein Al-Sheikh briefed Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on the dangerous developments in Palestine and the region, and the efforts being made to end this ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestinian people and their sanctities.

He pointed out in a post on X that the meeting held in the Qatari capital of Doha on Wednesday addressed the efforts being made for the unity and cohesion of the Palestinians in a way that serves the interests of Palestinian people.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

Doha: Weather inshore until 6:00 pm on Thursday will be hazy at first, becomes hot daytime with a chance of local clouds by noon, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather report.

Offshore, the weather will be hazy at times, the report added.

Wind inshore will be mainly southeasterly to southwesterly, shifts to northwesterly at a speed of 05 – 15 KT.

Offshore, it will be variable less than 10 KT at first, becomes westerly to northwesterly 10 – 20 KT noon time.

Sea state inshore will be 1 – 2 ft; while offshore, it will be 1 – 3 ft, rises to 3 – 6 ft noon time.

Visibility inshore and offshore will be 4 – 10 km.

Area High Tide Low Tide Max Doha 04:53 – 16:27 11:39 – 38 Mesaieed 06:34 – 17:54 00:47 – 12:01 37 Wakrah 06:10 – 17:08 00:00 – 11:36 36 Al Khor 16:06 – 05:36 23:56 – 12:00 38 Ruwais 05:36 – 17:36 12:00 – 36 Dukhan 10:25 – 22:45 04:10 – 16:40 36 Abu Samra 10:14 – 22:35 04:00 – 15:54 40 Sunrise: 05:27 LT Sunset: 17:27 LT

Source: Qatar News Agency

NEW YORK: UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini Wednesday warned that entirely man-made hunger was spreading in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

‘Again and again hunger is spreading in Gaza. It is entirely man-made,’ Lazzarini posted on his X platform account, as Israeli has been waging its genocidal aggression on the Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the killing of 41,689 Palestinians and injuring 96,625 others.

‘In Gaza, over 1 million people did not receive food rations in August . In September, the number climbed to more than 1.4 million,’ he added.

‘Nearly 70 per cent of crop fields have been destroyed. An entire population is forced to exclusively rely on humanitarian aid,’ he elaborated.

‘Meanwhile, over 100,000 metric tons of food supplies, are stranded outside Gaza due to access restrictions, insecurity, damaged roads, plus the breakdown of law and order,’ he said.

‘Restrictions and delays in aid deliveries only worsen an already dire situation for displaced families. With winter approac
hing and weather conditions deteriorating, lack of adequate humanitarian supplies will only generate more suffering,’ he explained.

Stressing the need for an immediate ceasefire, he said: ‘What is needed urgently is a ceasefire to end the suffering of people in Gaza and across the region.’

He reiterated his call for opening additional crossings as well as for the ‘safe and unrestricted humanitarian access to reach people in need of assistance.’

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday against a violent settler group in the West Bank.

The US Treasury Department said that the group, called “Hilltop Youth”, has repeatedly attacked Palestinians and destroyed their property in the occupied territory.

Through these violent activities, Hilltop Youth is actively destabilizing the West Bank and harming the peace and security of Palestinians, Treasury said in a statement.

Hilltop Youth has conducted a campaign of violence against Palestinians, engaging in killings, arson, assaults, and intimidation and has devastated communities in the process, Treasury said.

In August, the US imposed sanctions on an Israeli nonprofit organization and a Jewish security official in a West Bank settlement.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at the time that Hashomer Yosh, a non-governmental organization that says it helps protect settlers, provided material support to an unauthorized West Bank outpost already subject to sanctions.

The official is Yitz
hak Levi Filant, a civilian security coordinator at the Yitzhar settlement who led a group of armed settlers in February to set up roadblocks and conduct patrols aimed at forcing Palestinians from their land, Miller said.

The sanctions will result in blocking the assets of the targeted individuals in the United States and prohibiting their entry into the country. US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.

Source: Qatar News Agency

GAZA: The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s deadly aggression against the Gaza Strip since October 7th, 2023, has now surged to 41,689, medical sources confirmed on Wednesday.

Sources added that at least 96,625 others have also been injured in the onslaught.

At least 51 people were killed and 165 others were injured in Israeli attacks that took place in the last 24 hours, they added.

The sources said that many victims are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are still unable to reach them.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA