Dozens killed as Palestinians flee Israel’s new offensive on Khan Younis – Newstrends
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Dozens killed as Palestinians flee Israel’s new offensive on Khan Younis

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A relative of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli strike at Nasser Medical Complex [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]

Dozens killed as Palestinians flee Israel’s new offensive on Khan Younis

At least 70 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded in Israel’s latest assault on the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza as Palestinians fleeing Israeli tank shelling and air strikes have described the situation as “doomsday”.

“Due to the Israeli occupation’s attacks and massacres in Khan Yunis governorate from the early hours of this morning until now, 70 people have been martyred and more than 200 wounded,” Gaza’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday, adding that the dead included women and children.

Residents of the densely built-up area of southern Gaza said the tanks advanced for more than 2km (1.2 miles) into Bani Suheila on the eastern edge of Khan Younis, forcing residents to flee under fire. Israel’s third assault on the southern city began shortly after Palestinians were ordered to leave the area, which has been designated as “safe zone”, giving little time for people to find safety.

Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank salvoes in Bani Suheila and other towns just east of Khan Younis, and the area was also bombarded by air, according to medics.

“It is like doomsday,” one resident who identified himself only as Abu Khaled told the news agency Reuters via a chat app. “People are fleeing under fire. Many are dead and wounded on the roads.”

The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis has been overwhelmed with patients, and the wounded are being treated on the floor. Medics at the medical facility said the situation was “out of control”.

Palestinians displaced

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians in al-Mawasi, which is located along the Gaza coast between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, to leave.

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Israel justified its new operation there, saying Palestinian fighters have been using the area to launch attacks on Israeli forces. In a statement, it urged people to relocate from eastern Khan Younis to the west of the “adjusted humanitarian area of al-Mawasi”.

However, many Palestinians are hesitant to join the swelling tent camps in al-Mawasi, declared a humanitarian zone in May, after a recent attack on the area killed at least 92 people and wounded more than 300, according to figures from the Health Ministry. That attack caused global outrage.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in Central Gaza, said the situation is “deteriorating in the eastern areas of Khan Younis city”, where the population “has returned to live in the remnants of their destroyed houses – and, again, the military has announced that they are starting a new incursion”.

“But that happened in a very short period of time, and they started to bombard residential houses. People were inside. Later, the military started to drop leaflets [to order an evacuation] in the eastern areas of Khan Younis,” he said.

Some families fled on donkey carts and others on foot, carrying mattresses and other belongings.

Palestinians, the United Nations and international relief agencies have said there is no safe place left in Gaza.

Hospitals overwhelmed

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said two of its clinics located in eastern Khan Younis had been knocked out of operation because of the new Israeli offensive.

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At Nasser Medical Complex, some people stood outside the morgue to bid farewell to dead relatives.

“We are tired. We are tired in Gaza. Every day our children are martyred – every day, every moment,” Ahmed Sammour, who lost several relatives in bombings of eastern Khan Younis, told Reuters.

“No one told us to evacuate. They brought four floors crashing down on civilians, … and the bodies they could reach, they brought to the refrigerator [morgue],” Sammour added.

Hamas denounced the attack, stating that it would not deter Palestinians from remaining “steadfast in their land”.

“We call upon the international community and the United Nations to urgently intervene to stop the systematic Zionist killing of our people, who are facing a genocide,” the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

At least 39,006 people have been killed and 89,818 injured since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October.

The death toll in Israel from Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, and dozens of people are still being held captive in Gaza.

Dozens killed as Palestinians flee Israel’s new offensive on Khan Younis

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Visa: UK raises salary entry requirement for skilled workers

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Visa: UK raises salary entry requirement for skilled workers

The UK government has announced an update to its immigration rules, notably increasing salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas.

This change is targeted at ensuring that only highly skilled and well-compensated workers are able to access the UK job market, with some salary requirements rising by as much as 82%.

Effective from January 1, 2025, the minimum salary for most applicants will rise from £26,200 to £38,700.

This adjustment is projected to impact a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, and engineering, making it more challenging for workers to obtain a Skilled Worker visa without a higher-paying job offer.

For applicants with a relevant PhD, the salary threshold will also increase from £23,800 to £34,830, while those holding a relevant STEM PhD will need to meet a higher threshold of £30,960, up from £20,960.

Jobs on the shortage occupation list and new entrants to the workforce will also see their salary requirement increase to £30,960.

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“This increase signifies the government’s plan to ensure that only the most qualified individuals can access the Skilled Worker visa programme,” said a government spokesperson.

The raised thresholds are based on median salary figures, which will further narrow the pool of eligible applicants to the highest earners in their fields.

According to DAAD Scholarship, these changes present both challenges and opportunities for job seekers aiming to work in the UK.

“Workers in fields such as software development, engineering, and healthcare will now need to secure job offers that meet the new salary thresholds,” the scholarship noted.

Furthermore, the 20% discount for shortage occupation roles will be removed under the new system.

Visa: UK raises salary entry requirement for skilled workers

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Two dead after small plane crashes into California building

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Two dead after small plane crashes into California building

Two people have died and 18 others were injured after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in southern California, officials say.

Ten people were taken to hospital with injuries, the Fullerton Police Department said in a post on X on Thursday afternoon. Eight others were treated for injuries and released at the scene.

The single-engine Van’s RV-10 crashed at 14:15PST (20:15GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials have provided no further details about how the crash occurred. It is unclear whether the two people who died were workers or were on board the plane.

Police say they are evacuating buildings in the area, and are asking the public to stay away from the crash site.

Congressman Lou Correa, who represents the area of Orange County, about 25 miles (40km) south of Los Angeles, said that the building that was struck is a furniture manufacturing business.

In a post on X, Correa said that at least a dozen of the victims are factory workers.

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Aerial photos of the scene show parts of the plane inside the building. The crash also sparked a fire which was extinguished by fire crews.

Security footage recorded from a building across the street shows a fiery explosion, according to local news outlets.

“People are just shaken over the situation,” witness Mark Anderson told KRCA-TV.

“It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, the building’s on fire.'”

The area where the plane crashed is near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Disneyland.

The plane appears to have been turning back to the airport shortly after takeoff, according to KRCA-TV.

Around 100 people were ultimately evacuated from the Michael Nicholas Designs furniture factory, according to the Orange County Register newspaper.

Juanita Ramirez, an employee, told the newspaper that she heard a loud bang before seeing a large ball of fire flying towards her.

“It felt like a dream,” she said.

This is the second plane to crash in the area in the past two months, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

On 25 November, another plane crashed into a tree roughly one block away from this most recent crash. No major injures were reported in that crash.

Two dead after small plane crashes into California building

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Vegas Tesla blast suspect shot himself in head – Officials

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Vegas Tesla blast suspect shot himself in head – Officials

The decorated US special forces soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas apparently shot himself in the head before the blast, authorities said Thursday, adding that his motivation was still “unknown.”

Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a member of the elite Green Berets, appears to have committed suicide in the rented vehicle filled with fuel containers and fireworks, which then erupted into flames, officials said.

Livelsberger’s body was burned beyond recognition but Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the authorities had “a lot of confidence” that he was the sole occupant of the Cybertruck.

Livelsberger, identified through his military ID, passport and credit cards, had a gunshot wound to the head and a gun was found at his feet, McMahill told reporters at a press conference in Las Vegas.

“The motivation at this point is unknown,” FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans said.

Evans said there is “no information that we’re aware of right now that connects this individual to any terrorist organization around the world.”

Kenny Cooper, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Livelsberger had legally purchased two semi-automatic handguns on Monday which were found in the remains of the vehicle.

Video footage outside the Trump hotel shows the stainless steel truck parked at the building’s glass entrance early Wednesday, then bursting into flames, followed by smaller explosions that appeared similar to fireworks.

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Seven people were wounded in the blast.

The Trump-branded building, which opened in 2008, is part-owned by the Republican president-elect’s family business.

Evans said the link to the president-elect was “not lost” on investigators, nor was the fact that Tesla is owned by world’s richest man — and prominent Trump backer — Elon Musk.

“But we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us” it was driven by any particular ideology, he said.

Livelsberger rented the vehicle in Colorado on December 28, from where authorities tracked him driving it alone through Arizona and New Mexico to Las Vegas, which he reached on January 1, Kevin McMahill said.

McMahill said Livelsberger was a Green Beret who had been deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and was currently stationed in Germany.

An army spokesperson said Livelsberger was “on approved leave at the time of his death,” and that he had been awarded multiple Bronze Star Medals, including one for valor.

Investigators said it was not yet clear how the blast detonated, but the components were mainly consumer products like fireworks and fuel.

They said some of the components had not exploded, and that the level of sophistication in the blast was not what they would expect from someone with Livelsberger’s military background.

“I just don’t think it was done as well as he was expecting it to be done,” McMahill said.

The blast came just hours after a pickup truck plowed into a crowd of revelers in the French Quarter of New Orleans, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens.

Initially investigators were probing potential links between the events, but authorities in New Orleans said Thursday they believe the Islamic State-inspired attacker there acted alone, while the FBI described the Vegas incident as “isolated.”

 

Vegas Tesla blast suspect shot himself in head – Officials

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