By Rabia Ali
ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Friday, including rising causalities of Palestinians in Gaza, cancer patients dying due to Gaza’s fuel crisis, and Israeli forces advancing on the outskirts of Gaza City.
TOP STORIES
- Gaza’s death toll from Israeli attacks soars to over 9,000
The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the besieged enclave has climbed to 9,061, said Gaza’s Health Ministry.
“The victims include 3,760 children and 2,326 women, while 32,000 other people were injured,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a news conference.
He said 2,060 people are still trapped under the rubble in Gaza.
He also warned of a “health catastrophe” amid a fuel shortage, which forced the main generator at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza to stop.
- 4 patients die after Gaza’s sole cancer hospital goes out of service
Four patients died Thursday after the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the only hospital for cancer patients in the Gaza Strip, was forced to go out of service due to Israeli attacks and a fuel shortage.
“Four cancer patients lost their lives today as a result of the Turkish Friendship Hospital stopping and being completely out of service due to the fuel crisis,” the hospital's director, Subhi Skaik, told Anadolu.
According to the UN, the fuel shortage has put the lives of 70 cancer patients in danger.
- Israeli forces approaching outskirts of Gaza City: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the army is approaching the outskirts of Gaza City amid a massive military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
"We are in the middle of the campaign. We have achieved very impressive successes. We are already closer to the outskirts of Gaza City. We are making progress," Netanyahu said in a written statement released by his office.
At least 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting inside the Gaza Strip since Tuesday.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- The UN humanitarian office on Thursday said that the Israeli ground attack is hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to 300,000 displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
- At least two Palestinians were killed and several others wounded during an Israeli military operation in Jenin, bringing the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank to 136, said the Palestinian Health Ministry.
- Israel is in discussions with the US on allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of several captives held by Hamas, an Israeli official said.
- Two Israelis were injured in rocket fire from southern Lebanon on Thursday amid rising tensions along the border, local police said. Earlier, Hamas claimed responsibility for launching 12 rockets from Lebanon into Israel.
- The US House of Representatives passed a standalone $14.3 billion military assistance package Thursday for Israel amid Tel Aviv's ongoing invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip, but the legislation is unlikely to clear the Senate.
- Israel has launched more than 12,000 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Israeli army said, saying that thousands of targets had been struck in these strikes.
- Pakistan's President Arif Alvi announced that general elections will be held on Feb. 8. The decision was announced after consultation with the country's top electoral body.
- The Israeli army on Thursday confirmed a military commander was killed in clashes in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll of its soldiers in the strip to 18.
- Türkiye has "neutralized" as many as 1,802 PKK/YPG terrorists since the beginning of this year, including those hiding out across the border in Iraq and northern Syria, the National Defense Ministry said Thursday.
- A journalist working for the Palestinian Authority's television channel was killed along with 10 family members in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his house in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.
- Russia on Thursday revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty after President Vladimir Putin signed the relevant bill.
- Thousands of Muslims gathered in the Serbian city of Novi Pazar for a rally in support of Palestine, denouncing Israel's attacks on Gaza.
SPORTS
- Tunisian tennis star donates prize money to Palestinians
Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur burst into tears as she donated part of her Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals prize money to Palestinians.
Jabeur made a heartfelt speech to the crowd following her straight-set championship over Marketa Vondrousova in the season-ending finals, which marked her first win of the week.
- Rodyrgo inks new contract with Real Madrid through 2028
Real Madrid announced Thursday that Rodrygo had signed a contract extension through June 2028.
Rodrygo, who moved to Real Madrid from Santos in 2017, to date has made 179 appearances, scoring 39 goals and winning several trophies in five seasons with the Spanish powerhouse.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- Oil prices rise following US Fed holding interest rates steady
Oil prices rose in early trading on Thursday over the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its federal funds rate unchanged on Wednesday.
International benchmark crude Brent traded at $85.70 per barrel at 11.40 a.m. local time (0840 GMT), up 1.26% from the closing price of $84.63 a barrel in the previous trading session on Wednesday.
- Turkish Central Bank revises inflation forecasts for 2023, 2024
Türkiye's Central Bank on Thursday revised its year-end inflation forecast upwards for 2023 and 2024 while cutting it for 2025.
Annual consumer inflation is foreseen to come in at 65% this year, up from 58% in the previous forecast, Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan told a meeting to release the bank’s fourth quarterly inflation report.