Protesters in New York ‘flood Manhattan for Gaza’ and demand end to war
Protesters have marched through the streets of New York in a demonstration calling for an end to the war in Gaza. The event was organised by the activist group, Within Our Lifetime.
Police arrested a number of people.
‘Enough! Stop!’: Pope calls for an end to Gaza conflict
Pope Francis has called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza.
“May there be an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian catastrophe is ongoing. May aid be allowed to reach the Palestinian people who are suffering greatly, and may the hostages taken in October be released,” the 87-year-old said in a message to the Al Arabiya network to mark the end of the Ramadan that was released by the Vatican.
Francis also cited “war-torn Syria, Lebanon and the entire Middle East”.
“Enough! Stop!” said the pope.
“Please, put an end to the clash of arms and think of the children, all the children, as you do your own children. They need homes, parks and schools, not tombs and mass graves.”
More cases of waterborne disease in Gaza amid lack of clean water, warmer weather
Jamie McGoldrick, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, has warned that cases of waterborne diseases are growing in Gaza because people do not have access to clean water and the weather is getting warmer.
“It is becoming very hot there,” McGoldrick told reporters on Friday. “People are getting much less water than they need, and as a result, there have been waterborne diseases due to the lack of safe and clean water and the disruption of the sanitation systems.
“We have to find a way in the months ahead of how we can have a better supply of water into the areas where people are currently crowded at the moment,” he said, after visiting the territory.
Experts say contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery and hepatitis A. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded more than 345,000 cases of diarrhoea, including more than 105,000 in children under five since the war began.
The Gaza Strip’s only natural source of water is the Coastal Aquifer Basin, which runs along the eastern Mediterranean coast from the northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, through Gaza and into Israel.
US House approves renewal of surveillance programme targeting foreigners
The US House of Representatives has voted to extend an electronic surveillance programme targeting foreigners that officials say is critical to national security but critics claim threatens citizens’ privacy.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, widely known as FISA, was extended for two years by 273-147 votes. It still needs approval from the Senate.
FISA monitors email traffic and other communications, but there are concerns Americans’ messages could be pulled in if they are in conversation with a foreign national who is under surveillance.
A senior White House official in December urged Congress to renew the programme, saying that with wars continuing in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as tensions elsewhere, it would be a dangerous time to end it.
