Month After War on Gaza: Palestinian Deaths Top Russia-Ukraine War Toll

A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
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Month After War on Gaza: Palestinian Deaths Top Russia-Ukraine War Toll

A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)

The number of deaths one month since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza reached frightening numbers as the situation becomes increasingly horrifying, portending more victims.

Israel announced the war could be extended for several months, perhaps even a year.

Palestinian sources confirmed that the number of Palestinians killed in one month exceeded the number of deaths in the Ukraine war, which reached 9,806 victims over nearly two years.

Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli strikes had exceeded 10,328, while Israel estimates their number at more than 20,000, including 4,237 children and 2,716 women, in addition to 25,956 injuries.

More than 120,000 homes were destroyed and about 1.2 million citizens were displaced.

In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel killed 220 people, arrested 2,215 others, and demolished 120 homes.

According to Israeli reports, the number of deaths is more than that of the 1967 war that Israel fought against three Arab armies, with 779 deaths, including 850 civilians and 5,500 injuries.

The Israeli government evacuated 115,000 residents, while about 109,000 decided to leave from 29 settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip and 22 others on the Lebanese border.

According to the Israelis, the war began in response to Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, and the capturing of 240 Israelis and foreigners as hostages.

Israel officially declared war on Hamas to “annihilate” the movement and terminate its ability to rule and its military capabilities.

Tel Aviv admitted it had taken a new form of warfare, bombing Gaza without mercy from afar, using the air force, navy, artillery, and tanks to destroy any place where Hamas leaders or any of its armed members were located, even if it was crowded among civilians.

It claims Hamas leaders are using civilians as human shields. As a result of these claims, Israel has bombed hospitals and schools.

Three weeks into this terrible bombing, the Israeli army began a ground operation searching for Hamas leaders and kidnapped Israelis.

Israel insists that the attack has nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that the movement is pursuing a brutal path in its war against Jewish civilians and even Muslim Arabs.

In response, Palestinians say Israel has been insisting on besieging the Gaza Strip for 16 years, and from time to time, launched a military operation in which it destroys the enclave, killing thousands of Palestinians and exacerbating the economic and social situation there.

They said Israel continues its occupation of the West Bank and Judaization of Jerusalem with massive settlement projects, violating the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque. It carries out widespread arrests and degrades prisoners.

Moreover, Tel Aviv allows settlers to carry out bloody criminal attacks on Palestinians and denies their rights.

- The hysteric Israeli response

Palestinians said the Hamas attack came within the framework of resistance to the occupation’s projects, describing the Israeli response as hysterical because Tel Aviv did not imagine Palestinians were capable of penetrating their fortified defenses and carry out a successful military attack.

They added that Israel wants to implement its old plans to destroy Gaza and deport its people to Egypt, with the hope of expelling the Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan later.

Palestinians called the war the second Nakba, saying the Israeli army drops a thousand tons of explosives every day to implement those goals, with the support of the US administration and Western governments.

The US and the West are not fulfilling their moral and humanitarian duty to deter the Israeli war of annihilation, they stressed.



Libya’s Ramadan Celebrations Tempered by Economic Woes

A family walks on their way to shop for Ramadan decorations ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Benghazi, Libya, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)
A family walks on their way to shop for Ramadan decorations ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Benghazi, Libya, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Libya’s Ramadan Celebrations Tempered by Economic Woes

A family walks on their way to shop for Ramadan decorations ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Benghazi, Libya, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)
A family walks on their way to shop for Ramadan decorations ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Benghazi, Libya, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)

Libyans have been enjoying Ramadan with feasts and fireworks -- but soaring prices, a devalued currency and political divisions have left many with little to celebrate.

Fifteen years on from the fall of longtime leader Moammar al-Gaddafi, the country remains split between east and west, while shortages of goods, including fuel, disrupt daily life, despite Libya sitting atop vast oil and gas reserves.

During the holy month of Ramadan, shoppers stock up on treats, as families gather for lavish meals before and after the daytime fast that stretches from sunrise to sunset.

But this year supermarkets have been rationing their goods, while many petrol stations are short of gas. In the capital Tripoli, most ATMs were out of cash this week.

Firas Zreeg, 37, told AFP while weaving through a crowded supermarket that the economy was deteriorating, blaming currency speculators for the fall in the dinar, "which has negative repercussions on our daily lives".

The price of cooking oil has doubled in recent weeks, while meat and poultry prices rose by half.

Refills of gas cylinders, officially priced at 1.5 dinars ($0.24) but often unavailable through state-run distributors, now sell for 75 dinars ($11.85) on the black market and at times more.

- 'Burden on citizens' -

Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that erupted following the 2011 uprising that toppled Gaddafi.

It remains divided between the Government of National Unity (GNU) based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar.

The country has largely been stable in recent years although there have been bouts of deadly violence, including the killing of Gaddafi's son and heir apparent Seif al-Islam this month.

With security holding, many Libyans are more focused on their livelihoods.

Last month, the central bank in the western territory devalued the dinar -- the second time in less than a year -- by nearly 15 percent, "aimed at preserving financial and monetary stability and ensuring the sustainability of public resources".

In an address this week, GNU leader Abdulhamid Dbeibah acknowledged that the devaluation had once again "put the burden on citizens".

Hanna Tetteh, head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, warned on Wednesday that "poverty and pressure on society [are] increasing".

"The situation, in addition to the fragile security landscape, should be a matter for concern as such conditions can lead to unexpected political and security challenges," she told the UN Security Council.

Libya's other economic problems included the absence of a unified national budget, in light of its political divide, as well as uncoordinated public spending due to parallel state institutions, Tetteh said.

Revenues from the oil industry were also declining, she added, while the central bank has said public spending is growing at an unsustainable pace.

On Tuesday, Libya marked 15 years since the start of the uprising, with fireworks lighting up the sky in Tripoli, but for many Libyans life remains a struggle.

"Minor improvements in security were made over the past three years," Zreeg told AFP, but Libyans are still faced with huge economic challenges.


Libya PM Undergoes 'Successful' Treatment at Heart Hospital

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)
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Libya PM Undergoes 'Successful' Treatment at Heart Hospital

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibah. (GNU)

Libya's Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah has undergone "successful" treatment at a heart hospital, his office said Saturday, but his specific ailment was not disclosed.

"I assure you that I am fine, by God's grace," said a statement posted on social media overnight.

The treatment was carried out at a facility in the northwestern Libyan city of Misrata on an undisclosed date, said AFP.

Dbeibah said he later travelled abroad for "additional medical checkups for reassurance", though this was not the primary reason for his trip.

Italian media outlets previously reported he had been admitted to a leading cardiac facility in Milan on Thursday for a general check-up.

"The matter is simply that I underwent some additional medical checkups for reassurance while I was abroad due to a prior external commitment," he said.

"The results confirmed the success of the treatment I received in Libya, praise be to God."

The prime minister leads a UN-recognized government based in Tripoli that controls western Libya, while the country's east is run by another administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Libya has remained divided since chaos erupted following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.


Eight Hezbollah Members Killed in Israel’s Friday Strikes on Lebanon

A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
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Eight Hezbollah Members Killed in Israel’s Friday Strikes on Lebanon

A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)
A bulldozer clears debris near heavily-damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region on February 21, 2026, following Israeli strikes. (AFP)

Attacks carried out by Israel on Friday in eastern Lebanon killed eight members of Hezbollah, an official from the group told AFP on Saturday.

Lebanon's health ministry said Friday that a total of 10 people were killed in strikes that hit the eastern Bekaa region.

The Israeli military said it targeted "several terrorists of Hezbollah's missile array in three different command centers in the Baalbek area".

Lebanon's president on Saturday condemned the attacks, the latest despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

In a statement, Joseph Aoun called the attacks "a blatant act of aggression aimed at thwarting diplomatic efforts" by the United States and other nations to establish stability.

A lawmaker from Hezbollah called on Beirut to suspend meetings of a multinational committee tasked with monitoring the truce.

Washington is one of five members on the committee overseeing the ceasefire implemented in November 2024, with the body scheduled to meet again next week.

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the ceasefire, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah but occasionally also the group's Palestinian ally Hamas.

The Friday attacks on southern and eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, according to the health ministry, 10 of them in the east of the country.

Israel's military said it struck "several terrorists of Hezbollah's missile array in three different command centers in the Baalbek area".

Hezbollah said a commander was killed in the raids. Its lawmaker Rami Abu Hamdan said on Saturday the group "will not accept the authorities acting as mere political analysts, dismissing these as Israeli strikes we have grown accustomed to before every meeting of the committee".

He called on Beirut to "suspend the committee's meetings until the enemy ceases its attacks".

Hezbollah, while weakened following war with Israel, remains a strong political force in Lebanon represented in parliament.

Lebanon's government last year committed to disarming the Iran-backed group, with the army saying last month it had completed the first phase of the plan covering the area near the Israeli border.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming since the war, has called the Lebanese army's progress on disarming the group insufficient.