902 families wiped out in one year, one survivor in 1,364 Palestinian families: Gazan Media office
Gaza: The Government Media Office in Gaza issued a statement on Wednesday, accusing the Israeli military of committing acts of genocide, with the support of the United States and other Western nations, over the past year in the Gaza Strip. The statement claimed that the Israeli occupation forces had exterminated 902 Palestinian families, erasing them from the civil registry by killing all members of these families during the year-long conflict.
Additionally, the statement highlighted that 1,364 Palestinian families were left with only one surviving member, while 3,472 families had two surviving members. The total number of casualties in Gaza has reportedly exceeded 41,000, with nearly 20,000 people still missing, according to Palestinian officials.
The statement also extended condemnation to the United States and several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, accusing them of supplying Israel with banned weapons. It called upon the international community and United Nations organizations to intervene, pressuring Israel to halt its military actions in Gaza and to end the violence that has been ongoing for a full year.
The conflict, which began on October 7 last year following an attack by Hamas, has since expanded into Lebanon. Despite calls for an immediate ceasefire from the UN Security Council, Israel’s military operations in Gaza continue.
The Government Media Office in Gaza emphasized the need for global denouncement of what it described as systematic crimes against civilians, including women and children, urging action to stop the bloodshed.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
