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Rights Groups Express Renewed Concerns About Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

A Palestinian child looks on while being examined by a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
A Palestinian child looks on while being examined by a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Rights Groups Express Renewed Concerns About Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

A Palestinian child looks on while being examined by a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
A Palestinian child looks on while being examined by a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Rights groups on Thursday expressed renewed concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel’s latest evacuation orders in parts of the overcrowded central city of Deir al-Balah.
The polio virus has been circulating in the battered Palestinian enclave for the first time in 25 years, relief organization the International Rescue Committee said in a statement. It said the spread resulted from the destruction of hospitals and water infrastructure, along with overcrowded living conditions, reported The Associated Press.
“The news of polio in Gaza should be an alarm bell that more infectious diseases are on the way,” Dr. Jude Senkugu, the group's emergency health coordinator in the territory, said in the statement. “Without clean water, it is nearly impossible to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, as people do not have enough to drink, leaving them with no other choice but to drink contaminated water.”
Meanwhile, international medical organization Doctors Without Borders warned that shrinking living spaces would cause diseases to spread faster.
The majority of Gaza’s population of about 2 million have been displaced in the ongoing Hamas-Israel war since Oct. 7, often more than once. Israel has scaled up its evacuation orders over the past month.
“There is no room to put tents up. The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fueling the spread of diseases,” Doctors Without Borders' project coordinator Jacob Granger said in a statement. “We are unable to keep up with the overwhelming needs.”
Both organizations have echoed calls from global aid agencies for an immediate cease-fire.

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Arab World

Israeli Police Say 4 Arrested in Settler Attack on Palestinians

A Palestinian man stands near a vehicle destroyed during an Israeli settlers' attack in the village of Jeit, near Qalqilya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
A Palestinian man stands near a vehicle destroyed during an Israeli settlers' attack in the village of Jeit, near Qalqilya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
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Israeli Police Say 4 Arrested in Settler Attack on Palestinians

A Palestinian man stands near a vehicle destroyed during an Israeli settlers' attack in the village of Jeit, near Qalqilya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
A Palestinian man stands near a vehicle destroyed during an Israeli settlers' attack in the village of Jeit, near Qalqilya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

The Israeli police and internal security service said Thursday they arrested four suspects for "terrorist" acts against Palestinians during a deadly settler attack last week on an occupied West Bank village.
Settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have soared since war began in the Gaza Strip last October, according to the United Nations.
"Overnight, the (Shin Bet security service) and Israeli Police arrested four individuals, three adults and a minor, suspected in several acts of terrorism against Palestinians," the security agencies said in a statement.
These incidents included "the severe riots on Thursday (August 15) in the village of Jit", in the north of the occupied West Bank, the statement said, adding an investigation is ongoing.
Residents have said about 100 settlers armed with knives and firearms set fire to cars and homes in the attack strongly condemned by Israeli officials as well as the United States, United Nations and European countries.
A police spokesman told AFP that "all the events" the suspects were arrested for took place in Jit "on the same day".
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli settlers killed a 23-year-old Palestinian man in the August 15 attack.
Since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza, violence has flared in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 and separated geographically from Gaza by Israeli territory.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, and the United Nations considers them an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.
Since October 7, at least 640 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers, according to an AFP count based on Palestinian official figures.
During the same period, at least 19 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks, according to Israeli official figures.
On Monday during a visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he wanted "to see action taken" to prevent settler violence, and for accountability.