Quake Causes Panic, Damages Homes in Eastern Algeria

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows an empty street after a curfew was imposed from 7pm-7am to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Algiers, Algeria March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows an empty street after a curfew was imposed from 7pm-7am to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Algiers, Algeria March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
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Quake Causes Panic, Damages Homes in Eastern Algeria

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows an empty street after a curfew was imposed from 7pm-7am to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Algiers, Algeria March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows an empty street after a curfew was imposed from 7pm-7am to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Algiers, Algeria March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hit eastern Algeria on Friday, toppling three houses, damaging others and sending panicked people rushing into the streets but there were no reports of casualties, the civil protection service said.

The quake, which was followed by a 4.5 aftershock, hit Mila province, some 350 km east of the capital Algiers, Reuters reported.

Three homes, including a four-story villa completely collapsed while 31 other apartments partially collapsed, civil protection said.

The quake also caused cracks in other homes and a road had to be closed as a result of the damage, Reuters quoted it as saying.

In 2003, an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 hit the capital and nearby areas, killing 2,000 people.



49 Killed by Israeli Strikes in Gaza over 24 Hours, as Mediators Scramble to Restart Ceasefire

Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)
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49 Killed by Israeli Strikes in Gaza over 24 Hours, as Mediators Scramble to Restart Ceasefire

Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al Farabi school following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, 25 April 2025. (EPA)

 

At least 49 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to health officials, as Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire.
An airstrike in a neighborhood in western Gaza City early Saturday morning, flattened a three-story house, killing 10 people, according to a cameraman cooperating with The Associated Press. The number was confirmed by Gaza’s Health Ministry, along with three more people who were killed in the Shati refugee camp along the city's shoreline.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the strikes.
The attacks come as Hamas said on Saturday that it sent a high-level delegation to Cairo to try and get the stalled ceasefire back on track.
Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas last month and has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed, or disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza indefinitely and implement President Donald Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of the population in other countries, which has been widely rejected internationally.
Hamas has said it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in January.
Hamas said Saturday that the delegation will discuss with Egyptian officials the group's vision to end the war, which includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and reconstruction.
Earlier this week, other Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to discuss a proposal that would include a five-to-seven year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said.
Egypt and Qatar are still developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade on Gaza even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.
On Friday, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza had run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory. The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.
About 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told The Associated Press.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 of the Hamas group, without providing evidence.
The war began when the Hamas-led group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The militants still have 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.