Morning Briefing: Nov. 19 ,2023

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) — Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including an Israeli strike on a UN-affiliated school in Gaza, the evacuation of the besieged Palestinian enclave's main hospital, and launch of Starship's second test flight by SpaceX.

TOP STORIES

• Israel bombs another UN-affiliated school in Gaza, killing and injuring dozens

The Israeli army on Saturday bombed Al-Fakhoura School in Jabalia, northern Gaza, a learning center affiliated with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) where thousands of displaced civilians are living, killing and injuring dozens.

At least 50 Palestinians were killed in the strike, which sparked condemnation from several regional countries including Türkiye, Saudia Arabia, and Qatar.

• Israel imposes 1-hour deadline for evacuation from Al-Shifa Hospital

Patients, medical staff, and civilians seeking refuge at the Al-ShifaMedical Complex in Gaza began evacuating from the hospital on Saturday following a one-hour deadline imposed by the Israeli army, according to the facility's director.

Muhammad Abu Salmiya told Anadolu that about 120 patients who were unable to walk will remain in the hospital due to their injuries, while five medical staff will take care of them, adding that the hospital was coordinating with the UN and that these patients would also be evacuated later once the necessary arrangements are complete.

For its part, the Israeli army claimed in a statement that it "did not request the evacuation of patients and medical staff," but that it "responded to the request of the hospital director to allow the displaced Gazans to head to the south through a secured road."

• SpaceX's Starship soars in 2nd test flight from US state of Texas despite glitch

SpaceX successfully launched Starship's second test flight.

The US space shuttle and rocket manufacturer conducted the unmanned test flight for its largest rocket, Starship, in the state of Texas.

Starship, a 121-meter (397-foot) long spacecraft with 33 "Raptor Vacuum" engines built for carrying humans and cargo into space, smoothly completed takeoff.

The rocket successfully passed the maximum dynamic pressure threshold, known as MaxQ, but the connection between the core and the rocket was lost in minute eight of the launch.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Lebanese group Hezbollah announced that it downed an Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile over the Galilee Panhandle area.

• Roughly 20 shells were fired from Lebanon towards the Upper Galilee area in Israel near the border between the two countries, local reports said.

• The military wing of Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said that its fighters had destroyed two Israeli tanks and a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, while targeted several other military vehicles.

• Scores of bodies have arrived at the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan hospitals as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombing in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Ministry of Interior announced.

• The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said the Israeli army arrested another 40 Palestinians in West Bank, bringing the total number of detainees in the occupied territory to 2,850 since Oct. 7.

• At least 170,000 protesters filled the streets of downtown Madrid in another massive protest against amnesty for Catalan separatists, according to government figures.

• Thousands of Israelis continued their march along the highway that links West Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, calling on the government to step up efforts to free Israelis who are being held captive in Gaza.

• A new report revealed that an Israeli military helicopter opened fire on Palestinian gunmen but wounded Israelis participating in a festival during an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.

• A Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS).

• Fifteen people were injured in a bombing terror attack in the Afrin district in northern Syria, a source told Anadolu.

• The state of Western Australia announced plans to reintroduce a face-mask mandate at hospitals in the capital Perth following recent spike of COVID-19 cases, according to local media.

• Finland has approved a new arms package worth €100 million (approximately $109.2 million) for Ukraine.

SPORTS

• Türkiye stunned Germany 3-2 in a football friendly in Berlin in a sensational victory for the visitors.

Fenerbahce's Ferdi Kadioglu, 18-year-old Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, and midfielder Yusuf Sari scored for Türkiye to claim their first win in Germany since 1951.

On the home side, Arsenal star Kai Havertz and Niclas Fullkrug of Borussia Dortmund scored at the Olympiastadion.

• Rampant France destroy Gibraltar 14-0 in EURO 2024 qualifier as Deschamps' men bag record win

A UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match saw a historic moment as a relentless French team hammered 10-man Gibraltar 14-0 to record their biggest victory ever and break Germany’s record against San Marino.

Superstar Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick at Nice's Allianz Riviera, and eight other Les Bleus players — including 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery who scored in his France debut — were on the score sheet.

Gibraltar defender Ethan Santos was shown a red card in the 18th minute in the Group B demolition job that meant already-qualified France replaced Germany's 2006 13-0 win against San Marino in the record books.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Amazon cutting hundreds of jobs in Alexa unit to focus on AI

US-based e-commerce and tech firm Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs in its voice assistant unit Alexa to focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

"As we continue to invent, we're shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers — which includes maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI," Daniel Rausch, Amazon's vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, said Friday in a written note to employees.

Rausch said "several hundred" positions would be affected, but did not provide a figure, while the move includes employees in the US, Canada, and India.