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One-third of hospitals in Gaza and nearly two-thirds of primary health care clinics have had to shut due to damage or lack of fuel, the United Nations (UN) has said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned it would have to halt operations on Wednesday night due to dwindling fuel supplies.

A lack of resources and masses of wounded have made hospital treatment difficult as Israeli jets continue to strike the territory, where 2.3 million people live.

Israel-Gaza latest: Lebanon and Syria warned of ‘damning strikes’

Tom White, director of the UNRWA, said the “main concern” is that Gaza will run out of fuel.

“We really need to find a solution to the fuel situation, otherwise our aid operation will come to a stop. People will not have access to clean drinking water and hospitals will be closing,” he told CNN.

“Even if convoys come into Gaza, we won’t have the fuel in our trucks to collect and distribute that aid.”

Following a blockade of aid, Israel has allowed a small number of trucks to cross the border from Egypt into Gaza but continued to bar fuel – needed to power hospital generators – to prevent Hamas from seizing it.

Another 20 trucks crossed the Rafah border late on Tuesday, but UN agencies said more than 20 times as much was needed for the population, who depended on aid even in peacetime.

Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
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Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the al Shifa hospital. Pic: AP

Khan Yunis: A'worker observes the medical aid sent by the World Health Organization (WHO)
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Medical aid sent by the World Health Organization. Pic: AP

Pope Francis, who said he is “always thinking about the grave situation in Palestine and Israel”, has renewed his calls for help to reach those in need.

“I encourage the release of hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said during his weekly audience on Wednesday.

On Friday, he is expected to lead special prayers for peace in St Peter’s Basilica, in what he said would be a “day of fasting, prayers and penance”.

Pope Francis looks on, on the day of the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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Pope Francis said he thinks about the situation in the Middle East every day

It follows international calls, led by the US and Russia, for a pause in fighting to allow aid into Gaza.

Washington argued for short pauses to allow aid in, while Russia wants a wider truce.

So far, Israel has resisted both, arguing that Hamas would only take advantage and create new threats to its civilians.

Read more:
Delay to ground offensive has made Israeli troops ‘more lethal’
US spies believe hospital blast ’caused by rocket from Gaza’

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli air strikes on the Rafah refugee camp
Pic:DPA/AP
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Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli air strikes. Pic: AP

In addition to a lack of fuel, doctors have warned patients are showing signs of disease caused by overcrowding and poor sanitation.

Wounded individuals are laid on the ground without even simple medical aid, while others wait for days for surgery because there are so many critical cases, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

A total of 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed on Tuesday, the health ministry added.

This is the highest number reported in a single day since the conflict began nearly three weeks ago, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The UN also says more than 5,000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October.

The bodies of Israelis killed in an Hamas militant attack are gathered in refrigerated containers for identification at a military base in Ramla, Israel, on Tuesday Oct. 24, 2023. Official said the 784 bodies have been identitified so far. Israeli officials say More than 1,400 people were killed and over 200 taken captive in Gaza, in the multi-front attack by the Hamas militant group on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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The bodies of Israelis killed are gathered in refrigerated containers. Pic: AP

In Israel, more than 1,400 people have been killed due to the conflict – mostly civilians murdered during the initial Hamas attack, according to the Israeli government.

Hamas is also holding more than 200 people hostage that it captured and brought back to Gaza.

Four people have been released so far, including a mother and a daughter with dual US and Israeli nationality, and two Israeli civilian women.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

More on Donald Trump

Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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