DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: It was neither the place nor the time for a proper goodbye, said Omar Dirawi. Not here, in this dusty field strewn with dead people wrapped in blankets and zipped up in body bags. And not now, as Israeli airstrikes crashed around him for the third week, erasing more of his neighborhood and sundering hundreds of families and friendships.
Yet on this October week in Gaza’s central town of Zawaideh, the 22-year-old Palestinian photojournalist buried 32 members of his family who were killed in Israeli air raids last Sunday.

BEIRUT: Israeli drones on Saturday fired three missiles at a site in Jabal Safi in Lebanon’s Iqlim Al-Tuffah area, about 20 km from the border demarcation line.

It was a second violation of Lebanese airspace by Israeli forces in the past 21 days amid growing tensions with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon against the backdrop of the Gaza war.

A shell also struck the perimeter fence of the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, causing minor damage.

A Hezbollah surface-to-air missile fired at one of the drones was intercepted and destroyed by an Iron Dome missile.

LONDON: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday sharply criticized the “unprecedented escalation” by Israel of the bombardments in Gaza, and repeated a call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire for the delivery of aid.
“I was encouraged by what seemed to be a growing consensus for the need of at least a humanitarian pause in the Middle East,” Guterres said in a statement. “Regrettably, instead I was surprised by an unprecedented escalation of bombardments, undermining humanitarian objectives.”

LONDON: A UK-based humanitarian charity has said that, without immediate action to enhance aid access and the quality of assistance, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is poised to worsen further.

“In a much-awaited development, the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt has been opened for humanitarian aid access,” Penny Appeal said in a statement one week after the opening.

“While this step brings a glimmer of hope to the people of Gaza, the situation remains dire as the aid flow remains sluggish and inadequate.

CAIRO: Egypt’s government launched on Saturday a campaign to urge Egyptians abroad to participate in the 2023/2024 presidential elections.

Soha Gendi, minister of emigration and expatriate affairs, announced the “Share Your Vote” campaign during her first meetings with the leaders of Egyptian communities in six Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.