World

See the Rapid Expansion of Tent Camps in Southern Gaza

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2024

See the Rapid Expansion of Tent Camps in Southern Gaza

Recent satellite imagery shows an influx of displaced Palestinians into Rafah, the Gaza Strip’s southernmost region, where about 1.25 million people are now living in squalid, cramped conditions.

This increase is visible in commercially available satellite imagery from Planet Labs that was taken over the past two months. It reveals the scale of the dire humanitarian crisis in Rafah that has worsened as the Israeli offensive against Hamas has intensified in central and southern Gaza.

Early in the war, official shelters, like this U.N. logistics base, became overcrowded, and tents were set up in their immediate area.

A satellite image from Nov. 10 showing a portion of western Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Five areas are highlighted showing where tents are visible. Among them are schools used as shelters and a U.N. logistics base.

By early December, large numbers of tents began popping up around shelters.

A satellite image from Dec. 3 showing the same area as the first image. There has been an expansion to the area of visible tents, mostly limited to the areas around the schools and the logistics base.

The number of tents and makeshift structures sharply increased across this area of Rafah after Israel’s repeated orders to evacuate large portions of central and southern Gaza in December.

A satellite image from Dec. 31 showing the same area as the first image. Tents now fill a majority of the image.

As of Sunday, even more tents had appeared, filling up even more available space.

A satellite image from Jan. 14 showing the same area as the first image. The number and extent of tents has visibility increased from the December imagery.

Source: Satellite images by Planet Labs

The part of northwest Rafah in the image above has become the primary area for new impromptu encampments to house displaced Gazans. Yet tents are also visible in areas across Rafah’s approximately 25 square miles.

With little space available to shelter indoors, “Rafah has become a city covered with plastic sheeting,” said Juliette Touma, the director of communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

A tent camp in Rafah.

Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

The arrival of displaced people in Rafah in recent weeks has led to the spread of tent camps farther away from established shelters. These areas come with challenges like a lack of electricity, clean water, bathrooms and other basics, as well as less access to the limited aid trickling into Rafah, said Shaina Low, a communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“Because these are informal camps without official leadership or representation, aid agencies have no one to coordinate distribution with, forcing those seeking assistance to go to established sites to receive aid,” Ms. Low said.

While aid groups like the Norwegian Refugee Council have provided some displaced people with tents, many people have been forced to build their own. Thousands more have struggled without any kind of shelter.

“Streets and open spaces are now filled with homemade structures and tents,” Ms. Low said. “Makeshift shelters constructed from salvaged materials are unable to withstand increasingly cold, wet and windy winter weather.”

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs taken on Sunday shows the rapid expansion of one of these tent camps in an open area along the border between Gaza and Egypt that was empty in early December.

Tent camps expand near Egypt’s border

Source: Satellite images by Planet Labs

Those staying in official shelters are considered somewhat safer from Israeli airstrikes than people living in makeshift tent camps. Shelters for displaced people are protected under humanitarian law, according to U.N. officials. That said, at least 330 displaced people staying in U.N. shelters across the Gaza Strip have been killed since the war began on Oct. 7, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Since Dec. 1, the Israeli military has ordered civilians to evacuate from large swaths of the central and southern regions of Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, areas that were sheltering more than 550,000 internally displaced people and were home to over one million people before the war, according to the United Nations.

Many of these displaced people have fled to Rafah. By mid-December, Rafah was already estimated to be sheltering over a million people and had become Gaza’s most densely populated area, with a roughly four-fold increase in population compared with before the war. With at least 100,000 additional people having poured in, the region is struggling to meet the massive humanitarian need.

“Rafah is one of the poorest parts of Gaza,” Ms. Touma said. “The infrastructure is not at all suitable to absorb this huge influx.”

A tent camp in Rafah near the Gaza-Egypt border.

Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

Displaced people setting up a tent near the border.

Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

The number of people registered at shelters in Rafah was 978,000 as of Jan. 14, up from 705,000 on Dec. 25 and 463,000 on Dec. 1, according to U.N. data. Hundreds of thousands of additional people are also estimated to be staying in the region unregistered with the shelter system.

Estimated number of displaced people registered at shelters in each region

Source: U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs via HDX

Notes: Numbers include people registered at government and U.N. shelters. Estimates for Deir al Balah are not updated daily.

Many within Gaza have been displaced multiple times since the onset of Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion in response to Hamas’s attack in Israel in October. Relief officials say that repeated displacements make it difficult to accurately track the movement of people over time.

With a vast majority of Gaza’s population displaced, aid groups and the U.N. have been struggling to keep up with the staggering demand for help in Rafah and across the Gaza Strip. Even when aid is available, relief officials say that its delivery has been impeded by exhaustive inspections by Israeli authorities and that aid trucks sometimes come under fire from Israeli forces.

World

Brawl breaks out between Braves pitcher Reynaldo López and Angels slugger Jorge Soler

Published

8 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Brawl breaks out between Braves pitcher Reynaldo López and Angels slugger Jorge Soler

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López and Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler were ejected after getting into a brawl Tuesday night.

Soler homered off López in the first inning, then was hit by a 96 mph fastball from the right-hander his next time up. In the fifth, Soler charged the mound after López threw a high-and-inside wild pitch that tipped off catcher Jonah Heim’s mitt.

At first, López held up his hands as the two glared at each other before both started throwing punches.

“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through a translator, according to MLB.com. “That’s why I went out there.”

The benches and bullpens emptied as players from both teams tried to separate the two. Atlanta manager Walt Weiss was among those who tackled Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP with the Braves.

“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” Weiss said. “But that’s a big man, and so I just felt I’ve gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath.”

López was still holding the baseball when he landed a punch on Soler’s batting helmet.

The two were teammates in Atlanta during the second half of the 2024 season.

“It’s just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded,” López said through a translator, according to MLB.com. “On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it’s just a shame.”

Atlanta led 4-2 when the fight occurred and went on to a 7-2 victory.

Soler’s two-run shot in the first made him 14 for 23 with five homers and three doubles against López.

“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” Soler said. “After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head. At this level, you can’t miss like that.”

Weiss understood why Soler was mad.

“I know it didn’t look good because of Soler’s numbers against Lópey, and he hit a homer, he hit him. It didn’t look good,” Weiss said. “Lópey’s not throwing at him. I don’t allow our pitchers to throw at people just because they can’t get ’em out. Our job is to get ’em out. But I understand why Soler got angry. And he’s a really mild-mannered guy. So, I think the switch flipped for him.

“There was no intent there. I just think that Lópey’s just overthrowing, because he’s had a hard time getting him out. But he’s certainly not trying to hit him,” Weiss added.

López pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

“Obviously, guy’s got good numbers off López, and hits a homer his first at-bat. Gets drilled up high in the wrist his second at-bat and then third one takes a good swing and then throws the next one head-high. It wasn’t over his head but it was head-high coming in,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said.

“I don’t blame Jorge one bit. He went out there and words were exchanged and Jorge went out,” Suzuki added. “You get thrown at your head, you have a family, your career, you know, it’s dangerous. I know it’s part of the game. I know it happens.”

The Angels won 6-2 on Monday in the opener of the three-game series. Tuesday night’s game was more eventful, to say the least.

“It gets your juices flowing a little bit, on both teams I’m sure,” Weiss said. “So, as long as nobody gets hurt, it’s kind of a good time. But as long as nobody gets hurt. But yeah, I was proud of our guys the way we handled everything tonight.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

World

Iran’s UN ambassador takes swipe at Trump in final hours before Strait of Hormuz deadline

Published

9 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Iran’s UN ambassador takes swipe at Trump in final hours before Strait of Hormuz deadline

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Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations took a swipe at President Donald Trump on Tuesday hours before Trump’s deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling one of the president’s posts on Truth Social “deeply irresponsible” and “profoundly alarming.”

Trump has given the Iranian regime until 8 p.m. ET to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway — or face strikes against its power plants and bridges.

In a post Tuesday morning, Trump said, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” and, “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

“Today the President of the United States again resorted to language that is not only deeply irresponsible but profoundly alarming, declaring that, quote, ‘the whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back,’ unquote,” Amir-Saeid Iravani said at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

RUSSIA, CHINA VETO UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT REOPENING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, HOURS BEFORE TRUMP DEADLINE

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s U.N. ambassador, left, and President Donald Trump. (Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty Images; Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

“It is regrettable and alarming that while in full view of the international community, the President of the United States shamelessly and brazenly issues threats to destroy all civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges, power plants and energy facilities, by setting a deadline and openly reveals this intent to commit vile crimes and crimes against humanity,” Iravani added.

The White House, when asked by Fox News Digital for reaction, said, “The Iranian regime has committed egregious human rights abuses against its own citizens for 47 years, just murdered tens of thousands of protestors in January, and has indiscriminately targeted civilians across the region in order to cause as much death as possible throughout this conflict.”

CHINA AIDING IRAN MISSILE PROGRAM AMID US-ISRAELI STRIKES, REPORTS SAY

A satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, vital for global energy supply. (Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)

“As President Trump said today, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing. The President will always stand with innocent civilians while annihilating the terrorists responsible for threatening our country and the entire world with a nuclear weapon,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly added. “Greater destruction can be avoided if the regime understands the seriousness of this moment and makes a deal with the United States.”

Trump also said Tuesday, “now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

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“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,” the president added. “47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

World

EU made ‘no diplomatic effort’ to end Iran war, says MEP Botenga

Published

10 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

EU made ‘no diplomatic effort’ to end Iran war, says MEP Botenga

In an interview on Euronews’ flagship programme, MEP Marc Botenga (The Left, Belgium) welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement mere hours before the expiration of his ultimatum to Tehran.

Yet Botenga was highly critical of the EU’s response to the crisis, telling Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today that the EU’s position had been “horrible”.

“The European Union has done nothing, no diplomatic efforts whatsoever for a crisis that not only is violating human rights, is violating international law, but was also violating our interests,” said Botenga.

The two-week ceasefire was announced by Trump on his Truth Social platform overnight on Wednesday. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and would negotiate with the US in Islamabad beginning Friday.

“They (the EU) should have condemned the war. They should have condemned the war crimes,” Botenga said.

The truce comes after Trump ramped up his threats on Tuesday, saying a “whole civilisation will die” if there was no deal with Iran.

According to Botenga, the EU should have condemned the “genocidal rhetoric” used by Trump and failed to identify the true victims of the conflict. “They’ve been speaking about Iran attacking its neighbours rather than Iran being a victim, so we’ve mixed this up,” said Botenga.

Iran has been launching daily barrages of missiles and drones on its neighbours since the beginning of the war on 28 February.

While Tehran claims it is targeting only US and Israeli-linked assets, official reports and Euronews reporters on the ground have shown Tehran has struck civilian targets across the Gulf, including hotels and energy and water-processing facilities.

The strongest response from an EU leader to Trump’s threats came from European Council President António Costa, who warned on Monday that striking civilian infrastructure, like energy facilities, would be “illegal and unacceptable”.

Meanwhile on Tuesday a spokesperson for the European Commission urged Trump to act with “maximum restraint”.

In a message on X after the announcement, the EU’s High Representative Kaja Kallas said this ceasefire is “a step back from the brink”.

The ceasefire does not include Lebanon, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed. For Botenga, Israel has been “ethnically cleansing the south of Lebanon”.

“Why are we silent? Why are our top officials not condemning this? Why we are not taking sanctions?” asked Botenga.

In Lebanon, Israel has been engaged in a campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, who launched what they said was a retaliatory campaign against Israel following the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli bombardment on day one of the war.