Death Toll from Migrant Shipwrecks Off Tunisia Rises

Members of Italian Guardia Costiera prepare to bring on board the migrants of a wooden boat near the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean Sea, September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
Members of Italian Guardia Costiera prepare to bring on board the migrants of a wooden boat near the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean Sea, September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
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Death Toll from Migrant Shipwrecks Off Tunisia Rises

Members of Italian Guardia Costiera prepare to bring on board the migrants of a wooden boat near the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean Sea, September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
Members of Italian Guardia Costiera prepare to bring on board the migrants of a wooden boat near the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean Sea, September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina

The death toll from several migrant shipwrecks off the Tunisian coast has risen to 17 people, a judicial official said on Sunday.

On Saturday the Tunisian coast guard said four boats carrying 120 African migrants headed for Italy had sunk off the coast near the city of Sfax, Reuters reported.

Another 5 bodies were recovered on Sunday, adding to 12 found by the coast guard overnight, said Mourad Turki, spokesperson for Sfax Courts. The coast guard said 98 people had been rescued.

The coastline of Sfax has become a major departure point for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East and seeking a better life in Europe.

In recent months, dozens of people have drowned off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years.



Gaza Rescuers Say 4 Dead, 30 Missing under Rubble after Israeli Strike

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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Gaza Rescuers Say 4 Dead, 30 Missing under Rubble after Israeli Strike

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)

Gaza's civil defense agency said an Israeli strike on Gaza City on Saturday killed at least four people and left "more than 30" feared buried under the rubble of a house.

"Our crews were able to recover four martyrs and five wounded following the attack," which hit a family home in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood at dawn, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which more than a month ago had resumed its offensive against Hamas across the Gaza Strip.

Bassal said that "more than 30" people are presumed missing under the rubble of the targeted house in Gaza City, in the territory's north, and "our crews cannot reach them because of the lack of the necessary machinery".

According to figures released Friday by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, the renewed Israeli campaign since March 18 had killed at least 2,062 Palestinians, taking the overall war death toll in the territory to 51,439 people.

The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel says the renewed military campaign aims to force Hamas to free the remaining captives.