GAZA CITY: The Palestinian Ministry of Health has accused Israel of banning necessary medical equipment from entering Gaza Strip hospitals for more than a year.

The Hamas-run ministry in Gaza said the lives of patients in Gaza are at grave risk because Israel is not allowing the entry of medical equipment.

The ministry said that Israel’s ban on medical diagnostic devices was a violation of Palestinians’ right to treatment, which is guaranteed by international humanitarian law.

CAIRO: Security services from Egypt’s Interior Ministry arrested three people for illegally excavating antiquities in Aswan Governorate, southern Egypt.

The Tourism and Antiquities Police Department in Aswan acted on information that people were digging inside the archaeological area in the southern quarry area — El-Shallal “waterfall” — in Aswan with the aim of seizing a granite statue dating back to the pharaonic era.

Authorities detained three people who were discovered digging in the area.

JEDDAH: Many breathed a sigh of relief when 2022 drew to a close, marking the conclusion of 12 months of post-pandemic fatigue, geopolitical tension and global economic instability, to name but a few of the past year’s challenges.

One result of the year’s volatility and upsets is the pervading sense of anger coursing through societies, fed up with the litany of back-to-back crises — solutions for which appear to evade governments and global institutions.

GAZA CITY: A Saudi aid convoy carrying tons of meat on Saturday arrived in Gaza via the Rafah commercial crossing with Egypt.

The Kingdom has donated 12,000 sacrificial animals under the terms of an agreement signed with the Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab Al-Louh during a recent ceremony held at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo.

As part of the deal, Egypt will also receive the same quantity of meat from Saudi Arabia.

BAGHDAD: Defence systems at Iraq’s Ain Al-Asad airbase, which hosts US forces, shot down a drone near the base on Sunday, with Iraqi military sources and the US-led international military coalition offering confliciting accounts of the incident.

The US-led international military coalition said in a statement that it had conducted “an operational exercise…that involved engaging an Unmanned Aerial System” at Ain Al-Asad base as part of a training exercise.