DUBAI: Qatar plans to send 10,000 cabins and caravans from last year’s World Cup to provide shelter for survivors of the Turkish earthquakes, officials said.
The gas-rich Gulf nation says it had always planned to donate the mobile homes. They were needed to help house some of the 1.4 million fans who descended on the small country during soccer’s biggest tournament.
An initial batch of 350 structures was shipped out on Sunday, the Qatar Fund for Development said.
The magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart on Feb. 6 killed more than 35,000 people in southeastern Turkiye and war-torn northern Syria. The toll is expected to climb even further as search and rescue teams find more bodies.
Tens of thousands of buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, leaving millions homeless. As shelters filled up in the days after the quake many were forced to sleep outside in wet, wintry weather.
Qatar and other wealthy Gulf countries have joined the global effort to send rescuers and aid to the stricken region. The United Arab Emirates has pledged $100 million for relief efforts. Saudi Arabia has dispatched eight planes loaded with supplies to Turkiye and Syria.
Qatar donates World Cup mobile homes to earthquake survivors
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Qatar donates World Cup mobile homes to earthquake survivors
- An initial batch of 350 structures was shipped out on Sunday, the Qatar Fund for Development said
Palestinians say teen killed by Israeli troops in West Bank
Ashraf Hmedat, 15, was killed during an Israeli raid on the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho, Wafa said.
The Israeli army said two suspects had hurled petrol bombs toward the nearby settlement of Vered Yeriho, endangering civilians and property.
“(Israeli) soldiers in the area responded with live fire toward the suspects. Hits were identified,” the military said.
The condition of the second person was unclear, Wafa said.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has seen a surge in violence for more than a year, but particularly since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7.
At least 520 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the Gaza war broke out, according to Palestinian officials.
Attacks by Palestinians have killed at least 14 Israelis in the West Bank over the same period, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
‘Biden is our only hope’: Thousands of Israelis urge hostage deal
- Netanyahu was more concerned about his own political future: protestor
Tel Aviv: Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv Saturday to demand acceptance of a ceasefire and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, with many fearing the premier would reject the proposal.
Israeli and US flags dotted the crowd in the central plaza they have dubbed Hostages Square, alongside banners urging: “Bring them home!“
“Biden is our only hope,” protester Abigail Zur, 34, told AFP.
The US president said on Friday that Israel was offering a new three-stage roadmap toward a full ceasefire, including the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Demonstrators told AFP they were worried that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would disown the deal.
“Biden cares about our hostages more than Netanyahu does,” said Karen, a protester in her early fifties, as others chanted: “Now, Now.”
Netanyahu was more concerned about his own political future, said protester Diti Kapuano, 46.
“I hope that somehow Biden puts enough pressure so the government and Netanyahu will take the deal,” she said.
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement: “In light of President Biden’s speech last night, we will demand that the Israeli government immediately approve the (hostage release deal) and bring all the hostages home at once.
“We will also call on all government ministers and coalition members to publicly commit to supporting the deal and not to allow the possibility of torpedoing it and endangering the hostages,” the group said, adding that it had contacted various embassies to urge them to support the plan.
Netanyahu insisted on Saturday that the plan laid out by Biden did not preclude fighting on until Hamas’s ability to rule Gaza and pose a threat to Israel had been destroyed.
Hamas said it “views positively” the plan laid out by Biden.
The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,379 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Israel’s Smotrich: press Gaza offensive until Hamas destroyed, hostages returned
JERUSALEM: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded on Saturday that the Gaza offensive be pursued until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages held by the Palestinian militants are rescued, saying he would not stay in government otherwise.
In a post on X, Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, said he also opposed any interim truce measures like a withdrawal of Israeli troops, return of Palestinians to northern Gaza or a large-scale release of security prisoners.
Mediators urge Israel, Hamas to finalize truce outlined by Biden
- The three governments have been engaged in months of talks aimed at securing a truce between Israel and Hamas
- The US president said on Friday that Israel was offering a new three-stage roadmap toward a full ceasefire
DOHA: Gaza mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt called on Israel and Hamas Saturday to finalize a truce and hostage release deal based on the framework set out by US President Joe Biden.
“As mediators in the ongoing discussions to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees, Qatar, the United States and Egypt jointly call on both Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement embodying the principles outlined by (US) President Joe Biden,” said a joint statement released by the Qatari foreign ministry.
Kuwait’s Emir makes Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah crown prince
LONDON: Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah issued a decree on Saturday appointing Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah as crown prince, the state news agency KUNA said.
The Emiri order was issued after reviewing the constitution, taking into account Law No. 4 of 1964 regarding the inheritance of the emirate, the Emiri order issued on May 15, 2024 appointing the prime minister, the Emiri order issued on May 10, 2024, and Decree No. 73 issued on May 12, 2024 forming the ministry.
“We ordered the following: Article (1): Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah shall be approved as Crown Prince,” KUNA said, citing the the order.
“Article (2): The Prime Minister must present this matter to the Council of Ministers to take appropriate constitutional measures,” it added.
“Article (3): This order of ours shall be effective from the date of its issuance and shall be published in the Official Gazette,” it also said.
Sheikh Meshal issued the order at Seif Palace.
