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Palestine’s Health Ministry: Actual COVID-19 Cases Are Three Times the Announced Number

A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)
A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)
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Palestine’s Health Ministry: Actual COVID-19 Cases Are Three Times the Announced Number

A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)
A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)

Palestine recorded 653 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths during the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

The highest number of new infections were reported in Gaza Strip, amounting to 310, according to a statement by Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila.

The minister also said that 40 people are in the Intensive Care Unit, including nine on ventilators, stressing that the number of actual COVID-19 cases in Palestine is three times the numbers that are being announced.

Speaking to the Voice of Palestine official radio station, she said the infection spreading in Palestine, especially in Nablus and Salfit governorates in the West Bank.

The minister attributed this surge in cases to negligence, saying that people are not abiding by the preventive measures and continue to hold events and wedding celebrations.

“Palestine is heading towards a more difficult period if the situation remains unchanged,” she warned.

Kaila pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer, pending approval by the World Health Organization, will be obtained by Palestine through the COVAX Facility that provides vaccines to low-income countries, such as Palestine, which is a member of the organization.

According to the official figures published by the Health Ministry, the total number of infections has hit 74, 350 since March, including 65,561 recoveries and 634 deaths.

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Arab World

Israeli Settlers Burn Tents, Vehicles in West Bank Village, Say Residents

Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Settlers Burn Tents, Vehicles in West Bank Village, Say Residents

Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli settlers set ‌fire to vehicles and tents in the Palestinian village of Susiya on Tuesday night, residents said, in the latest incident of settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.

"They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere," Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.

The ‌Israeli military ‌said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with ‌reports ⁠of "deliberate burnings of ⁠Palestinian property" and had opened an investigation into the incident.

Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.

Attacks where masked settlers arrive ⁠at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack ‌residents have become common, as Israeli settlers ‌seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.

An ‌Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a "fringe minority", although ‌Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.

The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement ‌of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.

Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At ⁠the end of ⁠2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2% resulted in indictments. Israel's far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to "bury" a Palestinian state.

Most world powers deem Israel's settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.

Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.

Arab World

PA Slams, Israel Hails US Offer of Consular Services in West Bank Settlement

A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
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PA Slams, Israel Hails US Offer of Consular Services in West Bank Settlement

A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)

Israel welcomed Wednesday a decision by the US embassy to offer consular services in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority slammed it as a "violation of international law".

The US mission in Jerusalem said Tuesday that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with "routine passport services in Efrat on Friday, February 27... for one day only".

Efrat is a West Bank settlement home to about 12,000 Israelis and is located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of Jerusalem.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, are illegal under international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US move.

"We... appreciate the important decision by the US embassy to extend consular services to Efrat, in Judea and Samaria," he said, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

"As America marks 250 years of independence, Israel stands proudly beside it," he added at an event marking the occasion.

The Palestinian Authority's Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission condemned the move, saying in a statement that it "constitutes a clear violation of international law and a blatant favoring of the occupation authorities", referencing Israel.

Minister Muayyad Shubban, head of the commission, called on the US to reverse the decision, and on the international community to refrain from legitimizing the settlement system.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas also decried the US decision, describing it in a statement as "a dangerous step that supports (Israel's) Judaization plans".

The US embassy in Jerusalem also announced that such pop-up consular services will be provided in the next couple of months in another Israeli settlement, Beitar Illit, as well as in the Palestinian city of Ramallah and three cities inside Israel.

Arab World

18 Egyptians Missing after Deadly Boat Capsize Near Greece

Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP
Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP
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18 Egyptians Missing after Deadly Boat Capsize Near Greece

Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP
Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP

Egypt said Wednesday that 18 of its citizens were still missing after a migrant boat capsized, killing four people, off the Greek island of Crete last week.

The wooden boat was carrying 50 people, including four minors, when Greece's coast guard was alerted late Friday.

Greek authorities then directed a commercial vessel to the area for a rescue operation.

According to Greek public broadcaster ERT, an accident occurred when the commercial vessel approached the migrants' boat.

As the passengers tried to climb up ladders into the rescue vessel, a sudden movement caused the wooden boat to capsize.

Egypt's foreign ministry said that 21 Egyptians were on board the boat when it capsized, three of whom have been found dead while the rest remain missing.

The body of a 28-year-old Sudanese woman was also discovered, according to the Greek coast guard.

Twenty migrants were rescued by the commercial vessel, according to the Greek authorities, leaving several people still unaccounted for.

Greek authorities arrested two Sudanese men suspected of being people smugglers who are set to appear before judges on Wednesday, according to local media Creta24.

The migrant boat is believed to have departed from Libya.

Migrants regularly attempt the perilous crossing from Libya to Crete, a gateway to the European Union.

More than 17,000 Egyptians reached Europe via the Mediterranean last year, making them the top African and second-largest global group of irregular migrants to Europe.

Many come from poor towns in Egypt's Nile Delta and travel via Libya.

They are often extorted and held hostage until their families back home send the smugglers more money.

Egypt's foreign ministry warned citizens to "exercise extreme caution to avoid being misled by illegal immigration gangs", and said it was coordinating the repatriation of the deceased.