Hamas has officially told Cairo that it rejects an Egyptian-proposed Gaza ceasefire, a spokesman for the Islamist group said yesterday.
“The outcome of discussions within the internal institutions of the movement was to reject the proposal and therefore, Hamas informed Egypt last night it apologizes for not accepting it,” spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Hamas’ armed wing had already spurned the Egyptian plan on Tuesday, and Israel, which briefly halted its Gaza offensive, resumed attacks after cross-border rocket fire from the Palestinian territory persisted.
Photo: EPA
Jerusalem yesterday urged the evacuation of several Gaza Strip areas where more than 100,000 people live, threatening ground operations.
Authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet to escalate an eight-day-old offensive, the military said it had sent out evacuation warnings in northeastern Gaza.
“Failure to comply will endanger your lives and the lives of your family,” said recorded phone messages received by residents of Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, which sprawl out toward the border with Israel and have more than 100,000 residents.
Photo: AFP
Israeli experts predicted overland raids to destroy command bunkers and tunnels that have allowed the outgunned Palestinians to withstand air and naval barrages on Gaza and keep rockets flying.
Israeli shelling attacks killed at least seven Palestinians earlier in the day, according to Gaza health officials who said the death toll in the enclave had risen to 202 and that most of the dead were civilians.
Israel said 26 rockets were fired at it from Gaza, including at Tel Aviv. Some were shot down by the Iron Dome interceptor, while others struck without causing casualties, emergency services said.
World powers urged calm, worried about spiraling casualties in Gaza, one of the world’s mostly densely populated areas.
“The direction now is to continue air strikes and, if need be, enter with ground forces in a tactical, measured manner,” an Israeli official said after the security Cabinet met overnight.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
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