SOFIA: The Bulgarian coast guard rescued 38 migrants trying to reach Romania from the Black Sea Thursday, the interior ministry announced, the first such incident in the region since 2014.
The group, which included eight women and eight children, were found in Bulgarian territorial waters where they had got into difficulty in stormy weather, said Anton Mirkov, the head of the region’s border police.
The migrants, who included people from Afghanistan and Syria, had started out from Turkey.
Bulgaria is seeing increasing numbers of migrants arriving in its waters from the Turkish coastline to the south.
It has stepped up patrols since the death of two police officers in August at Bourgas, on the shores of the Black Sea. They were run down as they tried to stop a bus carrying migrants.
The authorities have sent around 300 soldiers to reinforce surveillance of the barbed wire barriers set up between 2014 and 2017.
In August, the country’s refugee agency reported a surge in the numbers of illegal immigrants arrested compared to last year, when 12,000 were detained.
Bulgarian coast guard rescues 38 migrants from Black Sea
https://arab.news/zwmh5
Bulgarian coast guard rescues 38 migrants from Black Sea
- The group, which included eight women and eight children, were found in Bulgarian territorial waters
- The migrants, who included people from Afghanistan and Syria, had started out from Turkey
Gaza civil defense says 5 killed in Israeli shelling of shelter
- Bassal said the “five martyrs have been recovered as a result of the Israeli shelling of the shelter at the Gaza Martyrs School“
- “Shortly after identification, the troops fired at the suspicious individuals to eliminate the threat,” the military said
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli shelling on a school-turned-shelter killed five people on Friday, while the military said it had fired at “suspicious individuals.”
Spokesman for the agency, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP that “five martyrs have been recovered as a result of the Israeli shelling of the shelter at the Gaza Martyrs School,” in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City.
When asked by AFP about the incident, the Israeli military said that “during operational activity in the area of the Yellow line in the northern Gaza Strip, a number of suspicious individuals were identified in command structures west of the Yellow line.”
Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli forces have withdrawn to positions east of the so-called Yellow Line.
“Shortly after identification, the troops fired at the suspicious individuals to eliminate the threat,” the military said, adding that it was “aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area, and the details are under review.”
“The (Israeli military) regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to mitigate harm to the extent possible,” it said.
The ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was to meet officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in Florida on Friday, hoping to salvage efforts to reach the second stage of the deal.
“Our people expect these talks to result in an agreement to put an end to ongoing Israeli lawlessness, halt all violations and compel the occupation to abide by the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 395 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the territory since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10.
Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with the military reporting three soldiers killed in the territory since the truce entered into force.
