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.



Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A building in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahieh was struck on Sunday almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the area.

The Israeli army's spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, earlier said on X that residents should evacuate several buildings in the Hadath neighborhood and move "at least 300 meters away.”

Residents reported hearing gunfire across the area, which they said they believed was intended to warn people to leave, as well as seeing a massive traffic jam on roads leading from the area.

"To everyone located in the building marked in red on the attached map, and the surrounding buildings: you are near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," Adraee wrote in a post that included a map of the potential targets.

The Israeli army said the building was being used to store precision missiles belonging to Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hezbollah's precision missiles "posed a significant threat to the State of Israel."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement struck in November, to compel Israel to stop its attacks.
"Israel's continued actions in undermining stability will exacerbate tensions and place the region at real risk, threatening its security and stability," he said in a statement.

Earlier this month an Israeli airstrike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official, in Beirut's southern suburbs -the second Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-controlled area of the Lebanese capital in five days.