Morning Briefing: April 25, 2024

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Thursday with, including Germany resuming UNRWA funding, more bodies being discovered in a mass grave at Gaza's Nasser Hospital, and the Israeli army’s abduction of doctors from the Nasser Medical Complex.

TOP STORIES

• Germany to resume funding of UN agency for Palestinian refugees

Germany will resume funding of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, the Foreign Ministry and Development Aid Ministry announced on Wednesday.

"By continuing the acute cooperation, we are supporting UNRWA's vital and currently irreplaceable role in providing care for the people in Gaza, because other international aid organizations are also currently dependent on UNRWA's operational structures in Gaza," the ministries said in a joint statement.

A strong ally of Israel, Germany had joined several countries including the US and Britain and suspended their funding to UNRWA after accusations by Israel that a dozen of the agency's 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel.

• Palestinians dig up 51 more bodies from mass grave in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Palestinians uncovered 51 more bodies on Wednesday from a mass grave at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip.

“Some 30 victims have been identified, while efforts are still underway to identify the others,” Ismail al-Thawabta, the director-general of Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu.

He said at least 334 bodies have so far been found in the mass grave since Saturday.

The bodies were discovered after the Israeli army withdrew from Khan Younis on April 7 following a four-month ground offensive in the city.

• Israeli army abducted 9 doctors from Nasser Hospital, executed hundreds inside: Gaza Media Office

The Israeli army executed hundreds of displaced, sick and injured people during its raid on the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip during a ground operation that lasted for four months, the Gaza Media Office said Wednesday.

“The depth of the mass graves we found (in Nasser Hospital) confirms that they were dug using large machinery such as Israeli occupation bulldozers and other vehicles,” the head of the Gaza Media Office, Ismail Al-Thawabteh, told Anadolu.

“The Israeli army abducted nine doctors from the Nasser Medical Complex to an unknown location and committed the crime of enforced disappearance against them,” added Al-Thawabteh.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• US President Joe Biden signed a sweeping $95 billion spending bill into law on Wednesday that funds his top-line national security priorities, including more military assistance for Israel and Ukraine.

• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday that he may leave office concerning allegations about his wife.

• Türkiye on Wednesday rejected “one-sided” statements on the events of 1915 "that have been made to satisfy certain radical circles," the Foreign Ministry said.

• Saim Cakmak, one of the so-called leaders of the terrorist PKK in Germany, was captured in Istanbul in an operation by Turkish intelligence and security forces, security sources said Wednesday.

• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) issued an urgent appeal on Wednesday for $1.21 billion to address the humanitarian needs of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

• Türkiye slammed the US' recent human rights report, calling for Washington to address its own human rights record and cease its alliances with terror organizations, said the country’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

• At least 79 more Palestinians were killed and 86 others injured over the last 24 hours as Israel continues its onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, the territory's Health Ministry said Wednesday.

• Incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski and main opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova will compete in a second round in North Macedonia's presidential election following the first round held on Wednesday, according to unofficial results announced by the State Election Commission.

SPORTS

• Liverpool lose at Everton in derby, hurting their English Premier League title hopes

Liverpool's English Premier League title hopes suffered a huge blow after a 2-0 loss at Everton in Wednesday's Merseyside derby.

Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite scored the opener in the 27th minute at Goodison Park.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, an Everton forward, scored a header after a corner kick to double the gap in the second half and cement the derby win.

• Former Argentina forward Carlos Tevez admitted to hospital with chest pains

Former Argentina forward Carlos Tevez was admitted to a hospital with chest pains, the Argentine football club Independiente announced Wednesday.

"Our coach, Carlos Tevez, was admitted to Sanatorio La Trinidad de San Isidro with chest pains. He underwent the corresponding tests and they were satisfactory. Tomorrow he will continue with a series of examinations scheduled in advance within the framework of a general check-up that he usually undergoes," the club wrote on X.

Independiente later added that Tevez will remain hospitalized as a precaution until tests are completed.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US mortgage rates hit highest since last November

US mortgage applications decreased last week, while mortgage rates hit their highest level since November 2023, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report released Wednesday.

The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 2.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending April 19. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 2% compared with the previous week.

"Mortgage rates continued to move higher last week, reaching their highest levels since late 2023 and putting a damper on applications activity," Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.

• Riyadh to host Islamic Development Bank's annual meeting, golden jubilee this week

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group will organize its annual meeting and golden jubilee in the Saudi capital Riyadh this week.

Starting on Saturday, the four-day event will be held under the main theme Cherishing our Past, Charting our Future: Originality, Solidarity and Prosperity, marking the bank's 50 years of fostering socio-economic development.

Economy and finance ministers from member countries will participate in the event.