Israel Grounds All F35 Fighter Jets

An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an aerial demonstration at the Hatzerim air base, December 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an aerial demonstration at the Hatzerim air base, December 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Israel Grounds All F35 Fighter Jets

An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an aerial demonstration at the Hatzerim air base, December 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an aerial demonstration at the Hatzerim air base, December 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel’s military said on Thursday it was testing its fleet of F-35 fighters after receiving findings from US investigators that a different model of the plane had a fuel systems flaw.

The military, on Twitter, stopped short of saying the Israeli F-35s had been grounded, describing them as remaining on operational standby.

A Pentagon spokesperson said earlier Thursday that all US and international F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Co had been grounded so that fuel tubes can be examined.

Israel’s military said its air force chief Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin “decided to exercise extreme caution” and test all the F-35s, “even though this was not the model used by the Israeli Air Force and that no failures have been found in the planes.”

It said it expected the examination to last a few days, after which the F-35s would return to full operation, stressing that “if it is required to operate, the F-35 Adirs are ready and prepared.”

The move comes following the crash of a Marine F-35B in South Carolina last month, which according to the investigation found that a technical failure in a fuel pipe in the engine led to the accident.

Israel has, for now, agreed to purchase a total of 50 F-35 fighters, which are scheduled to be delivered in installments of twos and threes by 2024.

The jet has been lauded as a “game-changer” by the Israeli military, not only for its offensive and stealth capabilities, but for its ability to connect its systems with other aircraft and form an information-sharing network.



UN Says 14 Million Children Did Not Receive a Single Vaccine in 2024

A mother holds her baby receiving a new malaria vaccine as part of a trial at the Walter Reed Project Research Center in Kombewa in Western Kenya on Oct. 30, 2009. (AP)
A mother holds her baby receiving a new malaria vaccine as part of a trial at the Walter Reed Project Research Center in Kombewa in Western Kenya on Oct. 30, 2009. (AP)
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UN Says 14 Million Children Did Not Receive a Single Vaccine in 2024

A mother holds her baby receiving a new malaria vaccine as part of a trial at the Walter Reed Project Research Center in Kombewa in Western Kenya on Oct. 30, 2009. (AP)
A mother holds her baby receiving a new malaria vaccine as part of a trial at the Walter Reed Project Research Center in Kombewa in Western Kenya on Oct. 30, 2009. (AP)

More than 14 million children did not receive a single vaccine last year — about the same number as the year before — according to UN health officials. Nine countries accounted for more than half of those unprotected children.

In their annual estimate of global vaccine coverage, released Tuesday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said about 89% of children under one year old got a first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine in 2024, the same as in 2023. About 85% completed the three-dose series, up from 84% in 2023.

Officials acknowledged, however, that the collapse of international aid this year will make it more difficult to reduce the number of unprotected children.

In January, US President Trump withdrew the country from the WHO, froze nearly all humanitarian aid and later moved to close the US AID Agency. And last month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it was pulling the billions of dollars the US had previously pledged to the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying the group had “ignored the science.”

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has previously raised questions the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine, which has proven to be safe and effective after years of study and real-world use. Vaccines prevent 3.5 million to 5 million deaths a year, according to UN estimates.

“Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

UN experts said that access to vaccines remained “deeply unequal” and that conflict and humanitarian crises quickly unraveled progress; Sudan had the lowest reported coverage against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

The data showed that nine countries accounted for 52% of all children who missed out on immunizations entirely: Nigeria, India, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Angola.

WHO and UNICEF said that coverage against measles rose slightly, with 76% of children worldwide receiving both vaccine doses. But experts say measles vaccine rates need to reach 95% to prevent outbreaks of the extremely contagious disease. WHO noted that 60 countries reported big measles outbreaks last year.

The US is now having its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, while the disease has also surged across Europe, with 125,000 cases in 2024 — twice as many as the previous year, according to WHO.

Last week, British authorities reported a child died of measles in a Liverpool hospital. Health officials said that despite years of efforts to raise awareness, only about 84% of children in the UK are protected.

“It is hugely concerning, but not at all surprising, that we are continuing to see outbreaks of measles,” said Helen Bradford, a professor of children’s health at University College London.

“The only way to stop measles spreading is with vaccination,” she said in a statement. “It is never too late to be vaccinated — even as an adult.”