ANKARA (AA) — Here are the main topics Anadolu’s English Desk plans to cover on Sunday, July 21, 2024 (coverage may change depending on developing/breaking stories):
Israeli onslaught on Gaza
Humanitarian and military developments in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed more than 38,900 Palestinians and injured over 89,600 since Oct. 7, 2023. Situation continues to worsen by the day amid attacks and minimal aid.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza announced Saturday that the Israeli army has been ramping up psychological pressure on residents by urging them to evacuate their homes in the northern governorates and move south, but “there are no safe areas throughout the Gaza Strip.”
Another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip Saturday, bringing the death toll to 161 since Oct. 7, 2023. The Israeli attack killed journalist Muhammad Jasser, his wife, and his two children, raising the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 to 161, sources added.
Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas
Developments in the Gaza Strip related to a potential cease-fire agreement between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said the US was driving towards the “goal line” of getting a cease-fire agreement in Gaza. “We’re inside the 10-yard line,” Blinken told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. However, he said, the “last 10 yards are often the hardest.”
West Bank raids
Israeli military raids on Palestinian cities and towns in the occupied West Bank have killed at least 578 people and injured 5,400 more, with nearly 9,700 taken into Israeli custody since last October.
Protests against Israeli government
Mounting protests in Israel to pressure the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to either negotiate a hostage-prisoner swap deal with Hamas, or resign.
Israel-Hezbollah escalation
Continued border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah amid fears of a full-blown war.
The Israeli army reported Saturday that its warplanes bombed military buildings held by the Hezbollah group in the Houla region and intercepted a suspicious air target in the skies of Lebanon while it was on its way to Israel.
The army also announced Sunday that some 45 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel, including the Upper Galilee and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Red Sea tensions
Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel in the Red Sea, as well as US-led coalition airstrikes on the group’s positions in Yemen.
Israeli warplanes attacked oil storage facilities in Al Hudaydah port in western Yemen, with several Yemenis were killed and injured. The group has since vowed to respond to the attack.
Humanitarian and security situation in Sudan
Sudan’s deteriorating humanitarian and security situation as clashes between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continue in various parts of the country.
African Union holds Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Ghana
African Union (AU) to convene its sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, bringing together several stakeholders including regional economic communities and member states in Accra, the capital of Ghana