January 31, 2024

*) Netanyahu brags about killing 500 Palestinians in occupied West Bank Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his military forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7. Netanyahu vowed to continue the killing spree there. The Israeli prime minister told his army soldiers to pay attention to other fronts, especially the occupied West Bank, which he said was of “utmost importance.” *) Israel orders 88,000 displaced Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City: UN Israel has repeated new evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in western Gaza City where 88,000 Palestinians had been living in shelters, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) has said. The area, which included the Ash Shati Refugee camp, was home to almost 300,000 Palestinians before October 7, OCHA added. The UN agency said the new order covered an area of 12.43 sq km, which amounted to 3.4 percent of the total area of Gaza. *) Report debunks Israel’s claim of tunnel beneath desecrated Gaza graveyard An investigation into a cemetery desecrated by the Israeli military in besieged Gaza has shown no evidence of a tunnel system that Israel claimed ran under the burial site, according to US broadcaster CNN. The military claimed there was a 65-foot-deep tunnel that was one-half-mile long beneath the graveyard, but CNN was denied access to the alleged tunnel when it asked. Instead, it gave CNN a tour of the site near the cemetery, which officials said led into the tunnel system and underground command centre, but there was no evidence that the tunnel below the cemetery existed. *) 100-mile bomb commissioned by Ukraine is reportedly ready After successful testing in the US, Ukraine will soon receive its first big batch of long-range missiles made by Boeing that promise to extend its range deep into Russian-held territory. They could arrive “on the battlefield” as soon as Wednesday, Politico reported. The glide bomb will allow Ukraine’s military to hit targets at twice the distance reachable by the rockets it now fires from the US-supplied HIMARS and could force Russia to move supplies even farther from the front lines. *) ‘Pandemic of snow’ in Anchorage, residents warned to clear roofs Even by Alaska standards, there’s a lot of snow this winter. So much snow has fallen — so far, more than 2.6 metres — that roofs on commercial buildings are collapsing around Anchorage and officials are urging residents to break out their shovels to avoid a similar fate at home. Over the weekend, there was nearly 16 more inches of snowfall, pushing Alaska’s largest city past the 100-inch mark earlier than at any other time in its history. The city is well on track to break its all-time record of 134.5 inches.