Gaza
It’s 700 days today. It’s more than 64,000* people killed. It’s tens of thousands of people under the rubble. It’s more than 90 percent of schools destroyed or damaged. It’s more than 20,000 children newly disabled. It’s 367 people deliberately starved to death. It’s nearly 2 million people forced from their homes. It’s 92 percent of homes rendered uninhabitable. It’s 50 million tonnes of rubble. It’s up to 280,000 buildings destroyed or damaged. It’s almost 800 attacks on health facilities. It’s hundreds of thousands of cases of preventable disease and infection. It’s 247 journalists killed. It’s 4,000 child amputees. It’s more than 18,000 precious children — with 18,000 futures — gone. It’s genocide.
*NB: That’s what has been confirmed. The true number killed is likely much higher.
DR Congo
Gross human rights violations – including war crimes and crimes against humanity – have been committed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and DRC’s army, U.N. investigators said. A new report found evidence of summary executions, torture, enforced disappearances, and widespread sexual violence since late 2024. M23 is accused of systematic rape intended to “degrade, punish, and break the dignity of victims,” while government-aligned forces are implicated in civilian killings and gang rape. Talks between the government and M23 in Qatar have so far failed to stop the conflict.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader detained since a 2021 military coup, is suffering worsening heart problems and needs urgent medical attention, her son Kim Aris told Reuters. Aris said Suu Kyi had asked to see a cardiologist a month ago but it was unclear if the request was granted. “There is no way of verifying if she is even alive,” he said. Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence on charges including corruption and election fraud, which she denies. Rights groups and foreign governments have demanded her release, describing the conditions she is being held in as “cruel and life-threatening.” Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup overthrew a democratically elected government. A nationwide armed uprising erupted after a brutal military crackdown on protests.
More from Reuters here.