GAZA CITY: New measures to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Gaza Strip were announced on Thursday by the interior ministry of Hamas, which rules the Palestinian enclave.
Mosques, schools, universities and kindergartens will be closed from Saturday in the Gaza Strip, excluding high schools and nurseries, the interior ministry said in a statement.
A night-time curfew was also set to start from Saturday, lasting from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 am, while a full lockdown will be imposed on Fridays and Saturdays from December 11 through to the end of the month.
Shops and other premises must close by 6:00 p.m. and people must be home by 6:30 pm, compared to 8:00 p.m. under the previous curfew rules.
Medical and political sources warned last week of a spike in Covid-19 cases in the Gaza Strip, saying the situation was “out of control.”
The enclave, a small, densely populated territory with two million inhabitants under an Israeli blockade, closed its borders early in the pandemic and only allowed a limited number of people to enter, requiring them to isolate for three weeks in quarantine centers.
Up until mid-August, authorities in Gaza had only recorded around 100 Covid-19 cases.
But in the past two weeks, containment of the virus has deteriorated in Gaza, with hundreds of new infections announced per day, resulting in a total of 23,023 cases and 122 deaths.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is among those who have recently been infected by the virus, the movement said Tuesday.
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Gaza imposes tighter virus restrictions, extends curfew
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Gaza imposes tighter virus restrictions, extends curfew
- Mosques, schools, universities and kindergartens will be closed from Saturday in the Gaza Strip, excluding high schools and nurseries
- Medical and political sources warned last week of a spike in Covid-19 cases in the Gaza Strip
US envoy Witkoff meets Netanyahu in Jerusalem: Israeli official
JERUSALEM: US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, an Israeli official said, during a visit that followed the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt.
The official told AFP that the meeting was taking place in Jerusalem, but declined to provide details on the agenda.
It came as the United States was expected to hold talks with Israel’s arch-foe Iran later this week.
An Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the meeting was likely to take place in Turkiye on Friday, following diplomatic interventions by Ankara, as well as Egypt, Oman and Qatar.
Witkoff’s talks with Netanyahu on Tuesday marked his second encounter with the Israeli prime minister in less than a fortnight. His previous visit took place days before the Rafah crossing was reopened.
Israeli media reported at the time that Witkoff and fellow US envoy Jared Kushner had pressed for the reopening of the crossing.
The official told AFP that the meeting was taking place in Jerusalem, but declined to provide details on the agenda.
It came as the United States was expected to hold talks with Israel’s arch-foe Iran later this week.
An Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the meeting was likely to take place in Turkiye on Friday, following diplomatic interventions by Ankara, as well as Egypt, Oman and Qatar.
Witkoff’s talks with Netanyahu on Tuesday marked his second encounter with the Israeli prime minister in less than a fortnight. His previous visit took place days before the Rafah crossing was reopened.
Israeli media reported at the time that Witkoff and fellow US envoy Jared Kushner had pressed for the reopening of the crossing.
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