Category: General

Turkish Airlines said Wednesday that its operations have returned to normal after technical issues with its ticket reservation and booking systems led to the cancellation of all flights departing from Istanbul. “There was no cyberattack-related issue,” senior vice president for media relations Yahya Ustun said on X. Due to work to restore normal operations, the airline canceled all flights departing from Istanbul between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time (1600GMT-1900GMT) on Wednesday. The national flag carrier announced that ticketing and reservations had been interrupted due to maintenance work to address the issue. It said it would compensate for all expenses related to accommodation, refunds and any other costs incurred due to canceled flights.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Two Israeli tanks and four Israeli military vehicles were destroyed with anti-armor shells in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas said on Wednesday. The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that the two tanks were struck by ‘Yasin 105’ shells. The group also said its fighters “managed to destroy 4 military vehicles with ‘Yasin 105’ shells and targeted an infantry force stationed inside a building in Beit Hanoun.” The group also said it had launched Al-Zouari kamikaze drones towards an Israeli military site on the Gaza Strip perimeter, without providing further details. In an earlier statement, the Qassam said its fighters “ambushed a Zionist infantry force west of Erez (northeast of the Gaza Strip) from behind the lines and eliminated three soldiers at point-blank range.” On Wednesday morning, the group said it targeted an Israeli vehicle that had “infiltrated” Gaza’s eastern Al-Zaytoun neighborhood and fired an anti-personnel missile at Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun. There was no comment from the Israeli army on the Hamas statements. Last week, Gaza’s Interior Ministry said Israeli military vehicles had “deepened their infiltration” into the northern and central areas of the Gaza Strip. ???????The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. More than 10,300 people have since been killed in the conflict, including at least 8,796 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis. Besides the large number of casualties and displacement, basic supplies are running low for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the Israeli siege.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Even as Palestinians continue to suffer under escalating Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, millions of dollars have flowed from the US for evacuees and reserve troops in Israel. Standing Together, an Israeli organization, has launched a campaign for Israelis evacuated from conflict zones and 330,000 reservists called up for the war in Gaza, one of the most densely populated places in the world. US and Israeli flags are visible at the entrance of the organization’s donation tent in the illegal Jewish settlement of Mevo Horon, visited by an Anadolu correspondent, in the occupied West Bank. Several settlers armed with automatic weapons stand guard around the tent in the absence of Israeli troops, who have been transferred to other areas amid the current escalation. Troops regularly come to the tents to collect boxes filled with donated materials that volunteers sort inside. Mobile washing machines, barbers at front Members of the organization have said that since a surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza, they have been flooded with donations and support. Surprised by the deluge, they put up a large tent in the settlement to store the donated materials as the project grew The aid included new clothes, electronic devices, and cell phones for Israelis evacuated from areas surrounding Gaza and near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, while movie nights were held and “weekend packages” were provided for families of deployed soldiers. In addition, officials with Standing Together said they were contacted by soldiers going to the front to ask for materials like coats of their size, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving kits, water bottles, hats, and others. Millions of dollars of this support came from the US, particularly from the Jewish community there, from both individuals and companies, they said, adding that donations even included mobile washing machines, ice cream trucks, and barbering services for soldiers. Eli Rosenfeld, who works at the association, told Anadolu that he would also go to the front as a soldier, and that they had sent aid to 70 units in a single day, while preparing aid packages for hundreds or even thousands of soldiers for three weeks. Expressing that Israel was right now at its strongest in perhaps the past 10 years, Rosenfeld said he had desired this level of unity in the country for a long time. However, he declined to comment on the humanitarian toll of the war, saying: “I don’t get into these issues. I’m a soldier, I’m going to the front tomorrow. I was volunteering here. I’m going south.” 237 aid trucks for Gaza The Israeli army has been subjecting the Gaza Strip to an unrelenting bombardment campaign since Oct. 7. So far, 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of about 2.3 million, have been displaced due to the intense attacks. The attacks have killed at least 8,796 Palestinians, including more than 5,000 women and children. The Israeli death toll stands at more than 1,538 Israelis. So far, a total of 237 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip, which has been under intensified blockade, due to restrictions imposed by Israel since Oct. 7. As Israel does not allow fuel to enter, power plants in the region are not working. Due to lack of fuel, water treatment plants, bakeries, and hospitals where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge are also forced to restrict health services. The UN and international aid organizations have warned of humanitarian catastrophe if aid and fuel are not allowed in the region, which may face epidemic disease outbreaks due to the lack of clean water, hunger due to food shortages, and the interruption of healthcare services in hospitals which will be unable to run their generators.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Doctors are carrying out operations Wednesday in the corridors of the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, as all rooms and departments are working at full capacity. Medical personnel in the hospital have to undergo surgeries on children without anesthesia because of a lack of equipment while many other patients are waiting for their turn, despite having serious injuries or bleeding. Marwan Abu Saada, a consultant surgeon and director of international cooperation in the Palestinian Health Ministry, told Anadolu that the scenes are normal in hospitals in the Gaza Strip and the Al-Shifa Medical Complex. ‘As you can see, these places (corridors) have become recovery rooms for patients because there are no beds. More than 800 wounded people are lying on treatment beds, in addition to the maternity, preterm, dialysis, and emergency wards being filled with patients,’ he said. Abu Saada said teams have to perform under difficult conditions and they had to leave patients in corridors after surgery as all short-stay units are full. He described the situation as “catastrophic.’ “The capacity is completely full in recovery,” he said. “Running of fuel will lead to a major disaster, especially for patients in intensive care, nurseries, dialysis, and operations. Tomorrow, the last drops of fuel will run out in Al-Shifa Hospital, and if fuel is not brought in, the health system in the largest hospital in Palestine will fail,’ he said. The Health Ministry did not succeed in evacuating patients from emergency departments due to the deterioration of the security situation as a result of the continued Israeli bombing, he said. There has been ‘severe pressure’ on medical personnel stemming from the lack of supplies, medicines, beds, medical consumables and equipment necessary for intensive care, he said. “There are not enough anesthetics. Some operations are performed without anesthesia,’ said Abu Saada ‘The shortage of some medicines, such as antibiotics, affects the service, as serious wounds contain dirt, projectiles and burns that require certain types of antibiotics that are not available in the local market or hospitals.’ He urged the immediate evacuation of patients from the Gaza Strip to Egypt because their ability to receive other patients has become very limited. Manar Fayyad, an anesthesia and resuscitation specialist, told Anadolu that surgeries are performed inside corridors and operating rooms with simple anesthesia and without artificial respirators. “Medical teams are forced to use low-quality anesthesia to save the lives of the injured,’ said Fayyad, adding that it poses a threat to life. Last week, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not rule out the possibility of Israeli forces attacking the Al-Shifa Hospital. The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, launched a surprise cross-border offensive against Israel on Oct. 7. The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has climbed to 8,525, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said Tuesday. ‘The victims include 3,542 children and 2,187 women, while 21,543 other people were injured,’ spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a news conference in Gaza City. More than 1,538 Israelis have been killed in the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected growing calls for a cease-fire, saying it would be a “surrender” to Hamas. An Israeli blockade of the Strip has also cut off Gaza from fuel, electricity and water supplies. Reduced aid deliveries are unable to satisfy the needs of the more than 2 million residents in the enclave.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Israeli army said Wednesday that its forces are at the gates of Gaza City amid a massive military offensive against the Palestinian territory. The army’s Division 162 forces ‘are deep in the Gaza Strip, at the gates of Gaza City,’ division commander Itzik Cohen said in statements cited by Haaretz. ‘In the last five days, we have dismantled many Hamas capabilities (and) attacked strategic installations,’ he said. There has been no reaction from Palestine on the claim. The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. More than 10,300 people have since been killed in the conflict, including at least 8,796 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis. Besides the large number of casualties and displacement, basic supplies are running low for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the Israeli siege.???????

Source: Anadolu Agency

Cyprus had the largest increase among EU member states in its tax-to-GDP ratio in 2022 compared to 2021, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union. The tax-to-GDP ratio is defined as the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of gross domestic product. The tax-to-GDP ratio increased in twelve EU countries, with the largest increases being observed in Cyprus (from 34.8% in 2021 to 36.5% in 2022) and Hungary (33.9% in 2021 and 35.1% in 2022). In contrast, decreases were recorded in fifteen EU countries, with the largest recorded in Denmark (from 48.3% in 2021 to 42.5% in 2022) and Poland (from 37.6% to 35.3%). The overall tax-to-GDP ratio in the EU in 2022 stood at 41.2%, a decrease compared with 2021 (41.5%). In the euro area, tax revenue increased in line with nominal GDP, meaning that the tax-to-GDP ratio in 2022 remained stable at 41.9%. In absolute terms, in 2022, revenue from taxes and social contributions increased by 480 billion euro in the EU compared with 2021, to stand at 6,549 billion euro. The tax-to-GDP ratio varied significantly between EU countries in 2022, with the highest shares of taxes and social contributions as a percentage of GDP being recorded in France (48.0%), Belgium (45.6%) and Austria (43.6%). Ireland (21.7%), Romania (27.5%) and Malta (29.6%) registered the lowest ratios.

Source: Cyprus News Agency