Por Agencies
redaccion@latinocc.com
Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, saying it was striking dozens of Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January.
Palestinian officials reported at least 200 deaths.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire.
Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand.
The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The surprise attack shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza.
It also raised questions about the fate of the roughly two dozen Israeli hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire agreement and exposing the hostages ”to an unknown fate.” In a statement, it called on mediators to hold Israel “fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement.”
In the southern city of Khan Younis, Associated Press reporters saw explosions and plumes of smoke.
Ambulances brought wounded people to Nasser Hospital, where patients lay on the floor, some screaming.
A young boy sat with a bandage around his head as a health worker checked for more injuries, a young girl cried as her bloody arm was bandaged.
Many Palestinians said they had expected a return to war when talks over the second phase of the ceasefire did not begin as scheduled in early February. Israel instead embraced an alternative proposal and cut off all shipments of food, fuel and other aid to the territory’s 2 million Palestinians to try to pressure Hamas to accept it.
“Nobody wants to fight. Everyone is still suffering from the previous months,” Palestinian resident Nidal Alzaanin told the AP by phone from Gaza City.
The White House sought to blame Hamas for the renewed fighting.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the militant group “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading mediation efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, had earlier warned that Hamas must release living hostages immediately “or pay a severe price.”
PERU
Peru’s president declared a state of emergency in the capital on Monday and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address a surge of violence, amid widespread outcry a day after the killing of a popular singer.
President Dina Boluarte’s government published a decree saying that the state of emergency will last 30 days, and authorities will restrict some rights, including the freedom of assembly and movement. That means the police and the army would be able to detain people without a judicial order.
Peru has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. Police reported 459 killings from January 1 to March 16, and 1,909 extorsion reports in January alone. But outrage crested after the killing Sunday of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia 10.
In Congress, opposition lawmakers requested a vote of no confidence against Interior Minister Juan José Santiváñez for what they say is a lack of a plan to fight rising violence. The vote is expected to be discussed in the Congress’ plenary later this week.
Flores was shot to death early Sunday when assailants attacked the bus he and bandmates were traveling after a concert in Lima. Cumbia is a Latin music style that people dance to the rhythm of drums, maracas and other instruments.
The attack against the popular singer was not the only violent event over the weekend. On Saturday, an object exploded at a restaurant in the capital, injuring at least 11 people.
Boluarte’s government previously decreed a state of emergency in an attempt to stem the violence between September and December.
ITALY
King Charles III is scheduled to have an audience with Pope Francis during a state visit next month to the Vatican, suggesting the Holy See is optimistic the pontiff will be back at work by then, barring any setbacks in his recovery from double pneumonia.
The tentative audience was among details of the British monarch’s visit to the Vatican and Italy released on Tuesday by Buckingham Palace.
State visits are always planned in close consultation with the Vatican’s secretariat of state.
The palace separately confirmed that Charles wrote privately to the pope when he was taken ill. Francis, 88, has been hospitalized since Feb. 14.
With gradual improvements, the Vatican said Monday it had suspended morning updates and is issuing less frequent medical bulletins. The next one is not expected before Wednesday.
The visit to the Vatican is symbolic of efforts to build closer ties between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, which split from Rome in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Charles, who is head of the Church of England, made building bridges between people of all faiths a priority since he ascended the throne 2 1/2 years ago.
Charles’ three-day trip begins April 7 and it will also include events in Italy and its capital, Rome, which surrounds Vatican City.
