world
Baltimore bridge collapse: ‘Heroes’ scrambled to stop traffic; construction crew feared dead
It was the middle of the night when a dispatcher’s 12-second warning crackled over the radio: A massive cargo ship had lost its steering capabilities and was heading toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Within about 90 seconds, police officers responded that they had managed to stop vehicle traffic over the bridge in both directions. One said he was about to drive onto the bridge to alert a construction crew.
But it was too late. Lifeless and laden with huge containers, the vessel smashed into a support pillar.
“The whole bridge just fell down,” a frantic officer said. “Start, start whoever, everybody ... the whole bridge just collapsed.”
When the shipping vessel Dali slammed into the pillar around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, it caused a long span of the bridge, a key cog in the region’s transportation infrastructure, to crumple into the Patapsco River. Six people are presumed dead, and the loss of the bridge is expected to snarl commuter traffic and disrupt a vital shipping port.
Baltimore bridge collapses after powerless cargo ship rams into support column; 6 presumed dead
At least eight people went into the water. Two survived but the other six, all identified as part of a construction crew that had been filling potholes on the bridge, were missing. A search for their bodies was to resume Wednesday morning.
Among the missing were people from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to diplomats from those countries. The Honduran man was identified as Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandova.
Federal and state officials said the incident appeared to be an accident. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, and ship traffic entering and leaving the Port of Baltimore was suspended indefinitely.
Capt. Michael Burns Jr. of the Maritime Center for Responsible Energy said bringing a ship into or out of ports in restricted waters with limited room to maneuver is “one of the most technically challenging and demanding things that we do.”
“So there really is few things that are scarier than a loss of power in restricted waters,” he said. And when a ship loses propulsion and steering, “then it’s really at the mercy of the wind and the current.”
Video showed the ship moving at what Gov. Wes Moore said was about 9 mph (15 kph) toward the 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) bridge. There still was traffic moving across the span, and some vehicles appeared to escape with only seconds to spare. The collision caused the span to break and fall into the water within seconds, and jagged remnants could be seen jutting up from the water later in the day.
Police said there is no evidence that anyone went into the water other than the workers, though they had not discounted the possibility.
A senior executive at the company that employed the crew, Brawner Builders, said they were working in the middle of the bridge when it came down.
“This was so completely unforeseen,” said Jeffrey Pritzker, the company's executive vice president. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers.”
Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows members of the crew, said he was told they were on a break and some were sitting in their trucks.
“I know that a month ago, I was there, and I know what it feels like when the trailers pass,” Campos said. “Imagine knowing that is falling. It is so hard. One would not know what to do.”
Father Ako Walker, a Roman Catholic priest at Sacred Heart of Jesus, said outside a vigil that he spent time with the families of the missing workers as they waited for news of their loved ones.
“You can see the pain etched on their faces,” Walker said.
Rescuers pulled two people out of the water. One person was treated at a hospital and discharged hours later.
The crash happened long before the busy morning commute on the bridge, which was used by 12 million vehicles last year.
From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, according to the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.
Tuesday's collapse is sure to create a logistical headache along the East Coast for months, if not longer, shutting down shipping traffic at the Port of Baltimore, a major hub.
Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary, said vessel traffic in and out of the port would be suspended until further notice, though the facility was still open to trucks.
“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast,” state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was too soon to give a time frame for clearing the channel, which is about 50 feet (15 meters) deep, while President Joe Biden said he planned to travel to Baltimore soon and expects the federal government to pay the entire cost of rebuilding.
Synergy Marine Group, which manages the ship, said the impact happened while it was under the control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help guide vessels safely in and out of ports. Synergy said everyone on board was accounted for, with no reports of injuries.
The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel.
The 985-foot-long (300-meter-long) Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
Inspectors found a problem with the ship's machinery in June, but a more recent examination did not identify any deficiencies, according to the shipping information system Equasis.
Donald Heinbuch, a retired chief with Baltimore’s fire department, said he was startled awake by a deep rumbling that shook his house for several seconds and “felt like an earthquake.”
He drove to the river and couldn’t believe what he saw: “The ship was there, and the bridge was in the water, like it was blown up.”
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called the incident “an unthinkable tragedy.” Gov. Moore said that “all of our hearts are broken for the victims and their families,” and he also hailed first responders for their quick response.
“Literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
Israel and Hamas dig in as pressure builds for a cease-fire in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday blasted a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire that his country's top ally, the United States, chose not to block. He said the resolution had emboldened Hamas and he vowed to press ahead with the war.
As the war grinds through a sixth month, both Israel and Hamas have rejected cease-fire efforts, each insisting its version of victory is within reach. The passage of the U.N. resolution has also escalated tensions between the U.S. and Israel over the conduct of the war.
Netanyahu has said Israel can only achieve its aims of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages if it expands its ground offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge, many in crowded tent camps. The U.S. has said a major assault on Rafah would be a mistake.
Hamas says it will hold onto the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent cease-fire, withdraws its forces from Gaza and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants. It said late Monday that it rejected a recent proposal that fell short of those demands — which, if fulfilled, would allow it to claim an extremely costly victory.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the announcement “proved clearly that Hamas is not interested in continuing negotiations toward a deal and served as unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council decision.”
“Israel will not surrender to Hamas’ delusional demands and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: releasing all the hostages, destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.”
Israel has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The fighting has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, displaced most its residents and driven a third of its population of 2.3 million to the brink of famine.
The Israeli military announced Tuesday that an airstrike earlier this month killed Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza who helped plan the Oct. 7 attack. Issa is the highest-ranking Hamas leader to have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Issa was killed when fighter jets struck an underground compound in central Gaza between March 9 and 10.
An Israeli strike late Monday on a residential building in Rafah where three displaced families were sheltering killed at least 16 people, including nine children and four women, according to hospital records and relatives of the deceased. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies arrive at a hospital.
In the face of Hamas' demands for a more permanent cease-fire, Netanyahu has vowed to resume Israel’s offensive after any hostage release and keep fighting until the militant group is destroyed. But he has provided few details about what would follow any such victory and has largely rejected a postwar vision outlined by the U.S.
That approach has brought him into increasingly open conflict with President Joe Biden’s administration, which has expressed mounting concern over civilian casualties — though it has continued to supply Israel with crucial military aid and back Israel’s aim of destroying Hamas.
The passage of Monday's resolution by the U.N. Security Council resolution further deepened the divisions. The resolution called for the release of all hostages held in Gaza but did not condition the cease-fire on it. The Biden administration, which vetoed previous U.N. resolutions calling for a cease-fire, abstained in Monday’s vote, allowing it to pass.
In response, Netanyahu cancelled a planned visit by Israeli officials to Washington during which the U.S. side was set to propose alternatives to a ground assault in Rafah.
The move raised criticism in Israeli media that Netanyahu was straining Israel's most important alliance in order to placate hard-liners in his governing coalition.
“He is prepared to sacrifice Israel’s relations with the United States for a short-lived political-media coup. He has completely lost it,” Ben Caspit, a prominent columnist in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, wrote.
He said Netanyahu has been trying U.S. patience by dragging his feet on ensuring more humanitarian aid gets into Gaza and on drawing up post-war plans. “Now, instead of doing everything to placate them, he is flailing about like a baby throwing a tantrum.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in Washington on a separate trip, held talks Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and with top U.S. defense leaders.
Ahead of the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described civilian casualties in Gaza as “far too high” and aid deliveries as “far too low.” But he also repeated the belief that Israel has the right to defend itself and the U.S. would always be there to help.
Gallant said he told Blinken "that Israel will not cease operating in Gaza until the return of all the hostages. Only a decisive victory will bring to an end of this war.”
Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the U.N. resolution showed that Israel faces “an unprecedented (level of) political isolation” and was “losing its political cover” at the Security Council. He spoke at a news conference in Tehran after talks with officials in Iran, a key ally of Hamas.
The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border and attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others. It is still believed to be holding about 100 hostages and the remains of 35 others, after most of the rest were freed in November in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent several weeks trying to negotiate another cease-fire and hostage release, but those efforts appeared to have stalled.
Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which is currently hosting the talks, told reporters that the negotiations were ongoing, without providing details.
Hamas has previously proposed a phased process in which it would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the opening of its borders for aid and reconstruction, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants serving life sentences.
Indonesia's top court begins hearing election appeals of 2 losing candidates alleging fraud
Indonesia’s top court began hearing appeals Wednesday against the presidential election results lodged by two losing candidates who allege widespread irregularities and fraud at the polls, demanding a revote.
The Feb. 14 presidential election results were announced March 20. The winner, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, received more than 96 million votes, or 58.6%, according to the General Election Commission, known as KPU.
Former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, who received nearly 41 million votes, or 24.9%, filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court on March 21, a day after the official results announcement. Another candidate, former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo, who was backed by the governing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, received the smallest share of votes at 27 million, or 16.5%. His legal team filed a complaint to the court on March 23.
Baswedan’s lawsuit claimed that irregularities occurred before, during and after the election that resulted in Subianto’s victory, and his legal team will reveal its evidence and arguments in the court hearings.
Subianto chose as his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of the popular outgoing president Joko Widodo. The Constitutional Court had made an exception to the minimum age requirement of 40 for candidates. Baswedan and Pranowo both criticized 37-year-old Raka’s participation in the election.
Anwar Usman, who was the court’s chief justice when the exception was made, is Widodo’s brother-in-law. An ethics panel later forced Usman to resign for failing to recuse himself and for making last-minute changes to the candidacy requirements, but allowed him to remain on the court as long as he does not participate in election-related cases.
The election complaints were heard separately Wednesday by the court, where Baswedan had the first turn in the morning and Pranowo was slated in the afternoon.
“We witness with deep concern a series of irregularities that have tarnished the integrity of our democracy,” Baswedan told the court. He specifically pointed to the court's decision allowing Raka to run despite the previously established criteria.
He said there are also disturbing practices where regional officials are pressured or given rewards to influence the direction of political choices, as well as misuse of the state’s social assistance, which is actually intended for people’s welfare, “is instead used as a transactional tool to win one of the candidates.”
“If we do not make corrections, the practices that occurred yesterday will be considered normal and become habits, then become culture and ultimately become national character,” Baswedan said before the eight-judge panel. “The Indonesian people are waiting with full attention, and we entrust all this to the Constitutional Court who is brave and independent to uphold justice.”
The verdict, expected on April 22, cannot be appealed. It will be decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman is required to recuse himself.
In the past two elections, the Constitutional Court has rejected Subianto’s bids to overturn Widodo’s victories and dismissed his claims of widespread fraud as groundless. Subianto refused to accept the results of the 2019 presidential election, which pitted him against Widodo, leading to violence that left seven dead in Jakarta.
Widodo has reached his term limit and could not run again this year. He has faced criticism for throwing his support behind Subianto, who has links to alleged human rights abuses. Indonesian presidents are expected to remain neutral in elections to replace them.
Hefty social aid from the government was disbursed in the middle of the campaign — far more than the amounts spent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Widodo distributed funds in person in a number of provinces, in a move that drew particular scrutiny.
Baltimore bridge collapses after powerless cargo ship rams into support column; 6 presumed dead
A cargo ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, destroying the span in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the river in a terrifying collapse that could disrupt a vital shipping port for months. Six people were missing and presumed dead, and the search for them was suspended until Wednesday morning.
The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said.
As the vessel neared the bridge, puffs of black smoke could be seen as the lights flickered on and off. It struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy, and a section of the span came to rest on the bow.
Villagers’ demand for concrete bridge falls on deaf ears
With the ship barreling toward the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed,” authorities had just enough time to stop cars from coming over the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
In the evening, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent for Maryland State Police, announced that the search and rescue mission was transitioning to one of search and recovery. He also said the search was being put on pause and divers would return to the site at 6 a.m. Wednesday, when challenging overnight conditions were expected to improve. No bodies have been recovered, Butler said.
The crash happened in the middle of the night, long before the busy morning commute on the bridge that stretches 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) and was used by 12 million vehicles last year.
The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, the state's transportation secretary.
Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two were Guatemalan citizens working on the bridge. It did not provide their names but said consular officials were in contact with local authorities and assisting the families.
No concrete bridge for 20,000 inhabitants in Feni, Noakhali for over 22 years
A senior executive at the company that employed the workers also said, in the afternoon, that the workers were presumed dead given the water’s depth and how much time had passed.
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it came down.
“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers."
Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows members of the crew, said he was told they were on a break and some were sitting in their trucks.
“I know that a month ago, I was there, and I know what it feels like when the trailers pass,” Campos said. “Imagine knowing that is falling. It is so hard. One would not know what to do.”
Father Ako Walker, a Roman Catholic priest at Sacred Heart of Jesus, said he spent time with the families of the missing workers as they waited for news of their loved ones.
“You can see the pain etched on their faces,” Walker said.
Rescuers pulled two people out of the water, one of whom was treated at a hospital and discharged hours later. Multiple vehicles also went into the river, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.
“It looked like something out of an action movie,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy."
A police dispatcher put out a call just before the collapse saying a ship had lost its steering and asked officers to stop all traffic on the bridge, according to Maryland Transportation Authority first responder radio traffic obtained from the Broadcastify.com archive.
One officer who stopped traffic radioed that he was going to drive onto the bridge to alert the construction crew. But seconds later, a frantic officer said: “The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start whoever, everybody ... the whole bridge just collapsed.”
On a separate radio channel for maintenance and construction workers, someone said officers were stopping traffic because a ship had lost steering. There was no follow-up order to evacuate, and 30 seconds later the bridge fell and the channel went silent.
From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, according to the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.
Tuesday's collapse is sure to create a logistical nightmare along the East Coast for months, if not years, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore, a major hub. The loss of the bridge will also snarl cargo and commuter traffic.
“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast,” state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a news conference that it was too soon to estimate how long it will take to clear the channel, which is about 50 feet (15 meters) deep.
“I do not know of a bridge that has been constructed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel of this size,” he said.
The Dali, which was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka and flying under a Singapore flag, is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to according to data from Marine Traffic.
Synergy Marine Group, which manages the ship, confirmed that it hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while in control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help guide vessels safely into and out of ports. The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.
Synergy said all crew members and the two pilots on board were accounted for, and there were no reports of any injuries.
The ship was moving at 8 knots, roughly 9 mph (14.8 kph), the governor said.
Inspectors found a problem with the Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent examination did not identify any deficiencies, according to the shipping information system Equasis.
Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel.
Jagged remnants of the bridge could be seen jutting up from the water in the aftermath of the collapse. The on-ramp ended abruptly where the span once began.
Donald Heinbuch, a retired chief with Baltimore’s fire department, said he was startled awake by a deep rumbling that shook his house for several seconds and “felt like an earthquake.” He drove to the river's edge and couldn’t believe what he saw.
“The ship was there, and the bridge was in the water, like it was blown up,” he said.
The bridge spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to the busy harbor, which leads to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Wiedefeld said all vessel traffic into and out of the port would be suspended until further notice, though the facility was still open to trucks.
President Joe Biden said he planned to travel to Baltimore and intends for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of rebuilding.
“This is going to take some time,” Biden said.
Last year the Port of Baltimore handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion, according to the state.
The head of a supply chain management company said Americans should expect shortages of goods from the collapse's effect on ocean container shipping and East Coast trucking.
“It’s not just the port of Baltimore that’s going to be impacted,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport.
The collapse, though, is not likely to hurt worldwide trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container vessels. its its facilities are more important when it comes to goods such as farm equipment and autos, said Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.
Singapore tells Israel Embassy to delete ‘inappropriate’ Facebook post about ‘Palestine’
Singapore has ordered the Israel Embassy to remove an "insensitive and inappropriate" social media post that might jeopardize security in the city-state.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the embassy compared references to Israel and Palestine in the Holy Quran, adding that documents and maps "link the land of Israel to the Jewish people as the indigenous people of the land." The post has subsequently been deleted, according to the Time.
Bangladesh calls for digital alliance to counter disinformation against Palestine at OIC session
Speaking to the media on March 25, Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam criticized the post as "completely unacceptable" and stated that he was quite angry when he learned about it, reports The Straits Times.
“The post is wrong at many levels. First, it is insensitive and inappropriate. It carries a risk of undermining our safety, security and harmony in Singapore,” said Shanmugam.
Israel’s occupation of Palestine: What Bangladesh said at ICJ hearing
While Singapore has a Chinese majority, the multiracial country also has a sizable Muslim population. It also has Muslim-majority neighbors such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which have witnessed rallies in favor of the Palestinian cause, it said.
Singapore has regulations in place to protect against local threats and foreign influence, which helps to promote ethnic and religious peace in the country.
“The Israel Embassy respects religion and racial harmony in Singapore,” the embassy stated in response to media inquiries, adding that it had already taken action against the person who had made the social media post.
ICJ should work to achieve its goal: Palestine Ambassador
The incident occurred days after Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan met with Benjamin Netanyahu during a business visit to Israel.
There, he repeated Singapore's position that "Israel's military actions in Gaza have gone too far." Last Monday, Singapore executed its first humanitarian airdrop into Gaza, delivering food and other necessities.
UN demand for Gaza cease-fire provokes strongest clash between US and Israel since war began
The United Nations Security Council on Monday issued its first demand to halt the fighting in Gaza, calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan after the U.S. abstained and drawing an immediate protest from the Israeli prime minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned visit to Washington by a high-level delegation and accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.
UN chief says it's time to 'truly flood' Gaza with aid and calls starvation there an outrage
The resolution passed 14-0 after the U.S. decided not to use its veto power on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel.
A key reason for past U.S. vetoes of Security Council cease-fire resolutions was the failure to tie them directly to the release of hostages. The U.S. argued that the two issues were linked while Russia and China favored unconditional calls for cease-fires.
The resolution approved Monday demands the release of hostages but does not make it a condition for the cease-fire.
The U.S. decision to abstain comes at a time of growing tensions between President Joe Biden’s administration and Netanyahu, who has rejected U.S. efforts to prevent a potentially devastating Israeli ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and has dismissed Biden’s call for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.
Russia and China veto US resolution calling for immediate cease-fire in Gaza
During its U.S. visit, the Israeli delegation was to present White House officials with its plans for Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter from the war.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. had been “consistent” in its support for a cease-fire as part of a hostage deal.
‘Immediate Gaza cease-fire’: US calls for vote Friday on UN resolution
“The reason we abstained is because this resolution text did not condemn Hamas,” Kirby said.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution approved Monday could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
Because Ramadan ends next month, the cease-fire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead “to a permanent sustainable cease-fire.”
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the resolution “spoke out in support of the ongoing diplomatic efforts,” adding that negotiators were “getting closer to a deal for an immediate cease-fire with the release of all hostages, but we’re not there yet.”
“So today, my ask to members of this council and to member states in every region of the world is this speak out and demand unequivocally that Hamas accepts the deal on the table,” she said.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, was backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, the Arab representative on the council, thanked the council for “finally” demanding a cease-fire.
“We look forward to the commitment and the compliance of the Israeli occupying power with this resolution, for them to put an end to the bloodbath without any conditions, to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.” he said. “It is the responsibility of the Security Council to ensure the implementation of the provisions of this resolution.”
Shortly before Monday’s vote, the elected members changed the final draft resolution to drop the word “permanent” from its demand that a Ramadan cease-fire will lead to “a permanent sustainable cease-fire,” apparently at the request of the United States.
Russia complained that dropping the word could allow Israel “to resume its military operation in the Gaza Strip at any moment” after Ramadan and proposed an amendment to restore it. That amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum nine “yes” vote — with three council members voting in favor, the United States voting against, and 11 countries abstaining.
Since the start of the war, the Security Council has adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none has called for a cease-fire.
More than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during the fighting, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Gaza also faces a dire humanitarian emergency, with a report from an international authority on hunger warning March 18 that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza and that escalation of the war could push half of the territory’s 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation.
The United States has vetoed three resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, the most recent an Arab-backed measure on Feb. 20. That resolution was supported by 13 council members with one abstention, reflecting the overwhelming support for a cease-fire.
Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in late October calling for pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, the protection of civilians and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it did not reflect global calls for a cease-fire.
They again vetoed a U.S. resolution Friday, calling it ambiguous and saying it was not the direct demand to end the fighting that much of the world seeks.
The vote became another showdown involving world powers that are locked in tense disputes elsewhere, with the United States taking criticism for not being tough enough against its ally Israel, even as tensions between the two countries rise.
In previous resolutions, the U.S. has closely intertwined calls for a cease-fire with demands for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. This resolution, using wording that’s open to interpretation, continued to link the two issues, but not as firmly.
‘This is not just an institution, it's a family...they're human beings’
Former British royal spokesman Paddy Harverson has urged the public to allow the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, the necessary time and space to recuperate following Catherine's recent cancer diagnosis.
Harverson, who had worked for the couple, defended how Kensington Palace handled the news, reports BBC.
Worldwide support pours in for Kate after shocking cancer reveal
"This is not just an institution, it's a family... you also have to remember they're human beings," he said while speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Catherine, 42, disclosed her cancer diagnosis on Friday, revealing that treatment had commenced subsequent to abdominal surgery. While specifics about her condition remain undisclosed, Kensington Palace has expressed confidence in her full recovery.
Prince Harry, Meghan hope Kate and family can heal ‘privately and in peace’
The revelation followed a period of intense speculation surrounding Catherine's health, compounded by her absence from official events since Christmas. Speculation peaked following a photograph released on Mother's Day, which triggered social media frenzy due to perceived inconsistencies.
Addressing concerns about the timing of the announcement, Victoria Newton, editor of The Sun, explained that Catherine had strategically chosen to disclose her diagnosis on the last day of her children's school term to shield them from unwanted attention, it said.
Princess of Wales Kate through the years
Harverson defended the royal family's handling of the situation, denouncing the incessant speculation propagated by social media platforms. He emphasized the need for understanding and support during this challenging time, dismissing notions of the family's fragility in light of recent health issues.
The announcement prompted an outpouring of support from well-wishers, with a Kensington Palace spokesman expressing gratitude for the understanding of the couple's request for privacy. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly reached out to offer their support to William and Catherine, the report also said.
As the royal family navigates Catherine's diagnosis, Buckingham Palace remains hopeful that King Charles will join them for Easter Sunday service, underscoring the monarch's pride in his daughter-in-law and the family's close-knit bond during this trying period.
Aid groups describe an 'unimaginable' situation after visiting a packed Gaza hospital
Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.
An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.
In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilize broken bones.
The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardizing patient treatment.”
International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip — 2.3 million people — is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north.
More than 32,000 people have been killed in the territory, and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. It says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.
Ireland poised to get its youngest ever premier as Simon Harris elected leader of Fine Gael party
Ireland is poised to get its youngest-ever premier next month after Simon Harris secured the leadership of the Fine Gael party on Sunday, replacing Leo Varadkar who announced his surprise resignation last week.
The 37-year-old Harris, who has been the coalition government’s further and higher education minister, was the only candidate to put his name forward to succeed Varadkar, who had been Ireland’s previous youngest prime minister, or what Ireland calls its taoiseach.
Harris is expected to be formally elected premier in the Irish parliament in early April after lawmakers return from their Easter break.
In his victory speech in the central Ireland town of Athlone, Harris said this was a “moment for Fine Gael to reconnect” with the people and pledged to fight against populist forces in Irish politics.
“I want this party to fight against populism and deliberate polarization,” he said.
Aid groups describe an 'unimaginable' situation after visiting a packed Gaza hospital
He confirmed Fine Gael as a “proudly pro-European party,” condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
“There is a hell of a lot to get done in the time ahead,” he said.
Harris said nothing about the coalition government, which came into place at the end of 2020, but has previously said that he would remain fully committed to the program for government agreed upon with partners Fianna Fail and the Green Party. He has stopped short of ruling out a general election this year, but insisted such a poll wasn’t his priority.
Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach — between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022 as part of a job-share with Micheál Martin, the head of Fianna Fáil.
He was the country’s youngest-ever leader when first elected at age 38, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister. Varadkar, whose mother is Irish and father is Indian, was also Ireland’s first biracial taoiseach.
UN chief says it's time to 'truly flood' Gaza with aid and calls starvation there an outrage
He played a leading role in campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage, approved in a 2015 referendum, and to repeal a ban on abortion, which passed in a vote in 2018.
He led Ireland during the years after Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union. Brexit had huge implications for Ireland, an EU member that shares a border with the U.K.’s Northern Ireland. U.K.-Ireland relations were strained while hardcore Brexit-backer Boris Johnson was U.K. leader, but have steadied since the arrival of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Aid groups describe an 'unimaginable' situation after visiting a packed Gaza hospital
Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.
An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.
In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilize broken bones.
The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardizing patient treatment.”
International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip — 2.3 million people — is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north.
More than 32,000 people have been killed in the territory, and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. It says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.
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Currently:
— Palestinians describe bodies and ambulances crushed in Israel’s ongoing raid at Gaza’s main hospital
— UN to vote on resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza during current Muslim holy month of Ramadan
— Thousands of Christians attend Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem against a backdrop of war
— Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon wounds 3, local official says
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here's the latest:
AID GROUPS DESCRIBE ‘UNIMAGINABLE’ SITUATION IN GAZA HOSPITAL
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.
An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.
The hospital has expanded to 1,000 beds from its original capacity of 200 to accommodate patients from Nasser Hospital, the main hospital in Khan Younis, which Israeli forces raided last month. There are also an estimated 22,000 people sheltering at the European Gaza Hospital.
The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardizing patient treatment.”
In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilize broken bones.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian facilities to shield its fighters and has raided a number of medical facilities since the start of the war. Most of Gaza’s hospitals have been forced to shut down, even as scores are killed and wounded each day in Israeli strikes.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, and experts warn that even more are at risk of dying from disease and starvation.
The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 people.
The emergency medical team was organized by Medical Aid for Palestinians, the International Rescue Committee and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
UN SET TO VOTE ON RESOLUTION DEMANDING IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday on a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
UN chief says it's time to 'truly flood' Gaza with aid and calls starvation there an outrage
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution to be voted on Monday morning could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS MARK PALM SUNDAY IN JERUSALEM
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Christian faithful attended Palm Sunday celebrations at Jerusalem’s sacred Mount of Olives, marking the first day of Holy Week as conflict surges across the region.
Pilgrims waved branches and fronds in the air, items that were placed before Jesus’ feet as he was greeted by cheering crowds during his entrance into Jerusalem, according to the Bible. Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — revered as the site of Jesus’s crucifixion — also held a service.
The annual celebration came as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in Gaza. However, the conflict appeared to have had little effect on the procession, which swelled to a similar size as last year.
The celebration marks the beginning of the most somber week in the Christian calendar, which marks Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE HITS LEBANON, WOUNDING AT LEAST 3 PEOPLE
BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike deep in northeastern Lebanon early Sunday wounded at least three people, a local official said.
The airstrike near the city of Baalbek, a stronghold of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, was the latest to hit the area in recent weeks.
The strike occurred a few minutes after midnight and wounded three people according to Baalbek’s mayor, Bachir Khodr, who posted the news on X.
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It was not immediately clear what was struck. The strike came hours after Hezbollah said it used two drones carrying explosives to attack an Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system in the northern Israeli town of Kfar Blum.
The Israeli military said warplanes attacked a workshop used by Hezbollah for military activities. It added that after the strike some 50 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel, saying some were shot down and others fell in open areas.