Japan earthquake death toll rises as PM warns of ‘battle against time’ to rescue survivors
The number of people killed after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Japan has risen to at least 30.
A series of quakes struck Ishikawa prefecture on Monday afternoon, triggering a now-cancelled tsunami alert that caused some to flee to higher ground.
Buildings collapsed, cracks opened in roads and fires broke out – with Japan‘s prime minister saying it is now a race to help survivors.
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“Saving lives is our priority and we are fighting a battle against time. It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately,” said Fumio Kishida.
He said there was “large-scale damage” and that it’s especially hard to reach the northern tip of Ishikawa’s Noto peninsula, due to damaged roads.
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Ujima, Ishikawa
A thousand soldiers have been deployed to the quake area – on Japan’s west coast – alongside police and firefighters, Mr Kishida added.
Officials confirmed on Tuesday that 30 people had died just in the city of Wajima, near the epicentre, where smoke and embers were still filling the sky on Tuesday.
Many rail services, ferries and flights into the area have also been suspended.
Noto airport has shut due to damage to the runway, terminal and access roads, with 500 people stranded inside cars in its car park.
Many buildings have collapsed or been damaged
Rescuers are trying to find anyone trapped. Pic: Kyodo via AP
The earthquake hit the west of Japan’s main island
More than 140 tremors have been recorded since the quake first hit, according to Japan’s meteorological agency – which has warned more strong shocks could follow.
On Monday night, around 100,000 people were also evacuated from the quake zone and spent the night in school halls and gyms.
Japanese people are well-drilled on what to do in an earthquake and most of the country’s modern buildings are built with some kind of quake resistance.
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Wajima, near the quake’s epicentre, still has fires burning. Pic: Kyodo via Reuters
Wajima, Ishikawa. Pic: Kyodo News via AP
A 2011 quake and tsunami in Japan led to the Fukushima nuclear accident – the second-worst in history.
However, the country’s nuclear authority said no problems had been detected so far.
President Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are among those who have offered Japan help if needed.
My Biden said the countries shared a “deep bond of friendship”, adding: “Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time.”
Rishi Sunak called Japan’s prime minister a “great friend of the UK” and said Britain was “ready to support Japan”.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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