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Over 300 killed in magnitude 7.2 quake in Haiti

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Reuters

At least 304 people died and hundreds were injured after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday (August 14), authorities said, reducing churches, hotels, schools, and homes to rubble in the latest tragedy to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation.

The 7.2-magnitude quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck 8 km (5 miles) from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey said.

That made the temblor which was felt as far away as Cuba and Jamaica potentially bigger and shallower than the magnitude 7 earthquake 11 years ago that killed tens of thousands on the island.

This one – which occurred around 8:30 a.m. local time – hit farther away from the capital, however. In Port-au-Prince, it was strongly felt but did not appear to have caused major damage, according to Reuters witnesses.

Still, Haiti’s Civil Protection service said the preliminary death toll stood at 304, with at least 1,800 injured and more people unaccounted for. Preliminary rescue operations by emergency teams and ordinary citizens had enabled many people to already be recovered from the debris.

At least 949 homes, seven churches, two hotels, and three schools had been destroyed, it said. A further 723 homes, one prison, three health centers, and seven schools had been damaged although there was no major damage to port, airport, or telecoms infrastructure.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who flew over the region to survey the damage, declared a month-long state of emergency.

The nearest big town was Les Cayes, where many buildings collapsed or suffered major damage, according to authorities.

USGS said a significant amount of the population was at risk of landslides, with road obstructions likely. Haiti’s Civil Protection service said a landslide had blocked the highway between Les Cayes and the town of Jeremie.

The earthquake comes just over a month after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who had been ruling by decree, which deepened the country’s political turmoil.

 

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Israeli fire kills 60 in Gaza, many near aid site, medics say

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.

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Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, most of them near an aid site operated by the U.S- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the centre of the enclave, local health officials said.

Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim before dawn, Reuters reported.

Israel’s military, which has been at war with Hamas militants since October 2023, said its forces fired warning shots overnight towards a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.

“This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review,” it said.

Later on Wednesday, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip said at least 14 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah.

The GHF late on Wednesday accused Hamas of killing at least five people in an attack on a bus carrying two dozen Palestinians working with the aid organization to one of its distribution sites.

“We will continue our mission to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza,” it said in a statement.

The foundation earlier said it was unaware of Wednesday’s incidents involving civilians but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions.

“Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population,” it said by email in response to Reuters questions.

“There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment.”

GHF said it distributed 2.5 million meals on Wednesday, the largest single-day delivery since it began operations, bringing to more than 16 million the number of meals provided since its operations started in late May, read the report.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.

The United Nations has condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what they say is a breach of humanitarian standards.

Elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, its health ministry said at least 11 other people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal enclave.

The war erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on October 7, 2023, Israel’s single deadliest day.

Israel’s military campaign has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there had been “significant progress” in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was “too soon” to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.

Two Hamas sources told Reuters they did not know about any breakthrough in negotiations.

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Austrian police search for answers after mass shooting in school

Austrian media have said the young man, who has not been identified, apparently felt bullied, though police have yet to confirm this.

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aUSTRIA SCHOOL SHOOTING

Austrian authorities were searching on Wednesday for answers to why a 21-year-old gunman shot 10 people in a rampage at his former high school before killing himself, one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the country’s modern history.

Police said the man, armed with a shotgun and a pistol, acted alone. They are scouring his home and the internet for clues to why he opened fire on the school in Austria’s second city of Graz on Tuesday, before shooting himself in a bathroom.

Police added that a pipe bomb found at his home was not functional.

Some Austrian media have said the young man, who has not been identified, apparently felt bullied, though police have yet to confirm this. Austrian authorities said the suspect never completed his studies at the school.

He left a farewell note that did not reveal the motive for the attack, police said.

Franz Ruf, director general of public security, said investigations into the motive were moving swiftly.

“We don’t want to speculate at this point,” he told national broadcaster ORF on Tuesday night.

Around 17 minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls received by police about shots being fired at the school and the scene being declared safe, Ruf said.

Austrian police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. About a dozen people were injured in the attack, some seriously.

Austria declared three days of national mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties. 

Parents of pupils and neighbours of the school struggled to make sense of the event.

Hundreds came together in Graz’s main square on Tuesday evening to remember the victims. Others left flowers and lit candles outside the school. Dozens also queued to donate blood for the survivors.

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Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.

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Israeli forces have taken command of a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12 including activist Greta Thunberg is now heading to a port in Israel, officials said on Sunday.

The British-flagged yacht Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there, Reuters reported.

However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control.

“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry wrote on X.

All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added. “They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.”

Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.

“The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m.,” Hassan posted on X.

A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.

The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.

The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza. “The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” it wrote.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.

Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally.

Gaza’s health ministry says over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents are facing famine.

The Israeli government says the blockade is essential to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.

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