Sudan Fears Major Surge in COVID-19 Cases

A Sudanese man wearing a face mask as a protection against the coronavirus walks in the center of the capital Khartoum, March 15, 2020. (DPA)
A Sudanese man wearing a face mask as a protection against the coronavirus walks in the center of the capital Khartoum, March 15, 2020. (DPA)
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Sudan Fears Major Surge in COVID-19 Cases

A Sudanese man wearing a face mask as a protection against the coronavirus walks in the center of the capital Khartoum, March 15, 2020. (DPA)
A Sudanese man wearing a face mask as a protection against the coronavirus walks in the center of the capital Khartoum, March 15, 2020. (DPA)

Sudan announced 56 COVID-19 deaths in its first report after it entered the second virus wave, raising death toll in the country to 1,175 coronavirus since the epidemic began, according to the World Health Organization.

It also reported 15,047 coronavirus cases and 9,600 recoveries.

However, several press reports cast doubt over the official announced figures and said the actual number of infections is higher.

Also, the Ministry of Finance announced that acting Finance Minister Heba Mohamed has been infected and be quarantined at home.

Last week, Sudanese Minister of Health Osama Abdelrahim contracted COVID-19 along with two directors in his ministry.

Moreover, two of the Sudanese prime minister's close associates and the president of the central bank tested positive for the virus.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's senior advisor, Al-Sheikh Khedr, and his office manager, Ali Bakheet, have tested positive as well. Notably, the latter has recovered.

Sudan’s National Umma Party announced that its leader Sadiq al-Mahdi tested positive for the virus and is receiving treatment along with 21 of his family members and party leaders.

The Sudanese Ministry of Health warned of the sharp rise in infections during the second wave of the pandemic. It stressed the importance of wearing face masks and abiding by social distancing, in addition to sterilizing and washing hands.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.