Israeli Soldiers Exchange Fire along the Border with Egypt as Regional Tensions Rise

A satellite image shows humanitarian-associated trucks queueing to enter the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 7, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
A satellite image shows humanitarian-associated trucks queueing to enter the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 7, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
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Israeli Soldiers Exchange Fire along the Border with Egypt as Regional Tensions Rise

A satellite image shows humanitarian-associated trucks queueing to enter the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 7, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
A satellite image shows humanitarian-associated trucks queueing to enter the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 7, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

Israel said one of its troops was “slightly injured” in an exchange of fire along the country’s border with Egypt, which Cairo attributed to drug smuggling.
One person in Egypt was killed, The Associated Press said.
Ties between the two countries have been strained since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Israel’s defense minister said Monday that the intense Israeli military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip will soon be scaled back, but he is ruling out a cease-fire. More than 100 days into Israel's war against Hamas, Palestinian authorities said the death toll in the enclave passed 24,000.
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by the group.



UNICEF: Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations

FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
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UNICEF: Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations

FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Humanitarian pauses in the war in the Gaza Strip have been agreed to allow a second round of polio vaccinations targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10 to start on Oct. 14, the head of the UN children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday.
"Area-specific humanitarian pauses have been agreed. It is critical that these pauses are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate the children," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10 years of age, the United Nations has said. It was carried out in phases over two weeks during humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
"UNICEF will include Vitamin A supplements to strengthen children's immune systems. Children in Gaza live in extremely dire hygiene and sanitation conditions," Reuters quoted Russell as saying.
"With the additional vaccine equipment and cold boxes that arrived yesterday, UNICEF is ready to deliver and vaccinate children to stop the transmission of polio," she said. "The success of the first round shows that when agreements are respected, we can get the job done."