"Feel Alive Again": Mother Reunites With Baby Rescued From Gaza Hospital

At first, the young mother couldn't find her newborn son, Anas, among the 31 tiny babies who had just arrived in southern Gaza after being evacuated from Gaza City's devastated Al Shifa Hospital. She hadn't seen him for 45 days.

"I was losing hope to see my baby alive," said Warda Sbeta in an interview with Reuters TV on Tuesday.

She and her husband frantically checked the list of names provided by the head of the neonatal unit where the babies were being cared for, at a hospital in Rafah, and there it was, Anas's name in black and white.

"I felt alive again, grateful to God that we now have our baby safely in our care," said Sbeta, speaking at the hospital as she watched over her sleeping son, whom she had dressed in a light blue sleepsuit and matching hat.

Sbeta smiled as she held him in her hands and her husband helped her to wrap him in a white swaddling blanket with pink ribbons and a hood. Once he was bundled up, she cradled him against her chest.

Sbeta, 32, has seven older children and the family, whose home was in Gaza City before the war, are now living in a school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, that has become a shelter for hundreds of people displaced from the north of the strip.

Sbeta was offered the option of being evacuated to Egypt with Anas so he could receive further medical care, but she did not want to leave her husband and her other children.

"I can't leave them with only their father. He won't be able to look after them. So I was obliged to refuse this offer," she said.

Anas was one of only three out of the 31 premature babies rescued from Al Shifa who stayed behind in Gaza. Of the other two, one was unidentified, according to doctors at the Rafah hospital. They did not give information about the third baby.

When doctors at Al Shifa first raised the alarm nine days ago about the premature babies in their care, 39 of the infants were alive, but eight died because of the dire conditions before the evacuation to Rafah and Egypt could be organised.

A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday that two of the eight had died the night before the evacuation.

'IS HE ALIVE?'

Out of the 31 who were transported to Rafah on Sunday, 28 were evacuated to Egypt on Monday. UNICEF spokesman James Elder said on Tuesday that 20 of them were unaccompanied and eight were with their mothers. There were seven mothers as two of the infants were twins.

Elder said some of the 20 unaccompanied babies were orphans, while for others there was no information about their families. "It all underlines the horrific situation for families in Gaza," he said.

For Anas, the safety of Egypt was out of reach, but the separation from his family was over.

Sbeta said that Anas was being treated at Al Shifa when war broke out on Oct. 7, the day when Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 240, according to Israeli figures.

Israel responded with a military assault on Gaza that has killed some 13,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave, and has made three quarters of the population homeless, according to U.N. data.

Like hundreds of thousands of others in the northern Gaza Strip, Sbeta and the rest of the family fled their home for southern Gaza, while Anas stayed behind at Al Shifa as the hospital gradually ran out of power, water, food and medicines.

"They called us from Al Shifa to come and take the baby but it was hard for us to return. The route out of Gaza City was open, but the way back was closed," she said.

The anguish of separation worsened when Israeli forces last week entered Al Shifa, which Israel says has been used by Hamas as a base for its operations - an assertion denied by Hamas - and the family lost communication with the hospital.

"We completely lost any news about the baby. We were not able to know anything about him. Is he alive? Is he dead? Is someone giving him milk?" said Sbeta.

With communications patchy at the shelter in Khan Younis, the parents were struggling to get any solid information, until other displaced people living in the school told them they had heard the babies were being moved south.

The parents rushed to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, but were told they had to go to the maternity hospital in Rafah, where they were finally reunited with Anas.

On Tuesday, he was well enough to leave the hospital. His parents were taking him to the school in Khan Younis, their wartime refuge, to start a new life with his seven brothers and sisters.

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2 Ships Divert Routes Away From Red Sea After Vessel Seized By Houthis

Two commercial ships that diverted their course in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden were connected to the same maritime group whose vessel was seized by Yemen's Houthis, according to shipping data and British maritime security company Ambrey.

Israel on Sunday said the Houthis had seized a British-owned, Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea, describing the incident as an "Iranian act of terrorism" with consequences for international maritime security.

The Houthis, an ally of Tehran, confirmed that they had seized a ship in that area but described it as Israeli.

Japan's top government spokesperson on Monday confirmed the capture of the Nippon Yusen-operated ship Galaxy Leader, adding that Japan was appealing to the Houthis while seeking the help of Saudi, Omani and Iranian authorities to work toward the swift release of the vessel and its crew.

Two other ships also listed as commercially managed by Ray Car Carriers, Glovis Star and Hermes Leader, diverted their sailing routes on Sunday, Ambrey said on Monday.

The Hermes Leader had set a course to sail south of Nishtun in Yemen when it diverted its journey.

"The vessel continued to sail back to where it had come from, providing a new AIS destination as Hambantota, Sri Lanka," Ambrey said. "The vessel incurred a minimum four-day business disruption and sailed an additional 1,876 nautical miles."

The Glovis Star drifted for a number of hours in the Red Sea before continuing its journey, AIS ship tracking data showed on Monday.

Galaxy Maritime Ltd, which is listed in shipping records as the beneficial owner of the Galaxy Leader, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Houthi leadership last week said their forces would make further attacks on Israel and they could target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

U.S. maritime administration MARAD in an advisory said the Galaxy Leader had been hijacked approximately 50 miles west of the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, adding that ships should "exercise caution when transiting this area."

"We saw yesterday a new record - for the first time we saw (an) official announcement of pirates taking over a ship on the high seas, which I think is a major threat to international law and order," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in comments on Monday, referring to the Galaxy Leader.

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UN Chief Calls For "Multi-Stakeholder Approach" To Solve Gaza Conflict

A UN protectorate in Gaza would not solve the conflict there, the body's Secretary-General said Monday, calling instead for a "transition period" involving Arab nations and the United States and leading to a two-state solution.

Antonio Guterres said it was "important to be able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity" -- which, for him, meant moving "in a determined and irreversible way to a two-state solution."

This means, after the current war between Israel and Hamas fighters in Gaza ends, "a strengthened Palestinian Authority, assuming responsibilities in Gaza," he said.

But the Palestinian Authority cannot go into Gaza backed by Israeli tanks, he added -- meaning the "international community needs to look into a transition period."

"I do not think that a UN protectorate in Gaza is a solution," however, Guterres said.

Instead, he called for a "multi-stakeholder approach" that would see the US act as the "main guarantor" of Israel's security, while Arab nations are "essential" to support Palestinians.

"Everybody needs to come together to create the conditions for the transition, allowing for a strengthened Palestinian Authority to assume responsibilities in Gaza," and from there to a two-state solution, he said.

Guterres also again denounced the killing of civilians -- especially children -- in Gaza as Israel wages a relentless air and ground campaign in retaliation for the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

For seven years now he has published a "list of shame" of parties to armed conflict who commit grave violations against children. Israel's absence from the list has previously been criticized by human rights organizations.

Without saying whether that may change this year, Guterres put the number of children killed in Gaza into stark context. 

In the "shame" reports, the highest number of children killed in one year by one actor was the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2017-2018, followed by the Syrian government and its allies before 2020. Both times the tally was in the hundreds. 

"Without entering into discussing the accuracy of the numbers that were published by de facto authorities in Gaza, what is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed," Guterres told reporters. 

"We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am Secretary-General."

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Gaza Hostage Deal Closer Than Ever: US Official

A deal to secure the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas operatives is closer than ever in the Islamist group's war with Israel, a White House official said on Sunday.

White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said an agreement to free "considerably more than 12" hostages would also likely include an extended pause in the fighting and allow for the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Fighting raged on Sunday, with Hamas operatives battling Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza's largest refugee camp, the day after Israeli and US officials denied a Washington Post report that a deal had been reached.

"What I can say at this point is that some of the outstanding areas of disagreement, in a very complicated, very sensitive negotiation, have been narrowed," Finer told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

"I believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time, maybe closer than we have been since the beginning of this process, to getting this deal done," he added.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog also said in an interview on ABC's "This Week" that Israel is hopeful a significant number of hostages could be released by Hamas "in coming days."

But Finer cautioned: "Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Sensitive negotiations like this can fall apart at the last minute."

Hamas took about 240 hostages during its deadly cross-border rampage into Israeli communities on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel to lay siege to Gaza and invade the Palestinian territory to eradicate its ruling Islamist group.

"We're talking about considerably more than 12 (hostages)," Finer told NBC.

"This could and would likely include an extended period of a pause in the fighting, a multiple-day period," he added. "It would enable us, we believe, to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. That's a priority under any circumstances."

Finer also said Israel should not conduct combat operations against Hamas in the south of Gaza until military planners have taken into account the safety of fleeing Palestinian civilians.

"In the event that Israel is likely to embark on combat operations, including in the south, we believe ... that they have the right to do that," Finer told CBS' Face the Nation program in a separate interview.

"We think that their operations should not go forward until those people, those additional civilians, have been accounted for in their military planning," he said.

Israel's blitz has reduced swaths of the north to rubble, while some two-thirds of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been displaced to the south.

Gaza's Health Ministry has raised its death count from Israeli bombardment to 12,300, including 5,000 children.

Finer urged Israel to draw lessons from its military operations in the north of Gaza and provide enhanced protections for civilians by narrowing the area of active combat and by specifying where civilians can seek refuge.

On Saturday, Israel warned civilians in parts of southern Gaza to relocate as it girds for an offensive from the north.

The south has been repeatedly bombarded by Israel, rendering Israeli promises of safety absurd, Palestinians say.

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Ukraine Says Two Killed, Seven Injured In Russian Strike Near Frontline

Ukraine said two first responders were killed and at least seven people injured in Russian rocket strikes on the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday.

The attacks came as Kyiv's air force said Russia fired 38 drones at its territory overnight -- the highest reported number in more than six weeks.

Ukrainian police said Russia fired a series of rocket strikes at the village of Komyshuvakha, close to the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, which Russia claimed to have annexed last year.

"As a result of the first two strikes, four local residents were injured and a fire broke out in a residential building," they said in a statement. 

"When the police and rescuers arrived at the scene, Russians conducted another strike. Two emergency service workers were killed, and three more were injured." 

Separately, Ukraine's air force said Saturday it shot down 29 of the 38 Iranian-made Shahed drones -- also known as "kamikaze drones" because they are packed with explosives to detonate upon reaching their targets -- fired by Russia.

According to its figures, that is the most drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack since September 30.

An energy facility was hit in the southern Odesa region, with the resulting fire quickly extinguished, Ukraine's emergency services said.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces had shot down 20 Ukrainian aerial drones over Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine, and seven naval drones in the Black Sea, off the annexed peninsula of Crimea.

Ukraine also said Saturday that its forces "continue to hold positions on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro river."

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the vast waterway in the southern Kherson region for more than a year, after Russia withdrew its troops from the western bank last November.

Ukrainian forces have staged multiple attempts to cross and hold positions on the Russian-controlled side -- with officials in Kyiv finally reporting a "successful" breakthrough last week.

"Our defenders are consolidating their positions and firing on the occupiers," the general staff said in a Saturday morning briefing on its operations on the eastern side of the river.

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Ex-Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif, Others Acquitted In Mega Corruption Scam

Pakistan's former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and two members of the incumbent federal caretaker cabinet were acquitted in a mega housing corruption scam on Saturday.

Accountability Court Lahore Judge Ali Zulqarnain Awan acquitted Shehbaz, federal cabinet members -- Fawad Hassan Fawad and Ahad Khan Cheema -- and others in the mega Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme corruption case on the report of the national anti-graft body.

Shehbaz Sharif, 72, is the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua submitted a report on the interpretation of a recent order by the Supreme Court wherein the trial courts had been restrained from announcing final orders till a decision on appeals against a judgment on the amendments in the law.

"The stay order of the top court does not apply to acquittal applications in hand as the trial court heard them on merits and the defunct amendments in the law had nothing to do with the proceedings," he told the court.

After going through the NAB's report, the judge allowed the applications of the accused persons and acquitted them in the reference. The judge observed: "There is no probability of the conviction in the case." 

Since the ouster of former premier Imran Khan in April 2022, the Sharif brothers - Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif - and other members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party have been getting relief from courts in one corruption case or another.

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"My 'Hindu' Faith Led Me To This Presidential Campaign": Vivek Ramaswamy

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy opened up about his 'Hindu' faith, emphasizing that it provides him with freedom and has motivated him to undertake this presidential campaign as a moral obligation.

Speaking at 'The Family Leader' forum organized by The Daily Signal platform on Saturday, the Indian-American entrepreneur drew parallels between the teachings of Hinduism and Christianity, expressing his intention to promote shared values for the benefit of the next generation.

Mr Ramaswamy said, "My faith is what gives me my freedom. My faith is what led me to this presidential campaign...I am a Hindu. I believe there is one true God. I believe god put each of us here for a purpose. My faith teaches us that we have a duty, a moral duty to realise that purpose. Those are God's instruments that work through us in different ways, but we are still equal because God resides in each of us. That's the core of my faith".

Speaking about his upbringing, he said that he was instilled with values surrounding family, marriage, and respect for parents.

"I grew up in a traditional household. My parents taught me family is the foundation. Respect your parents. Marriage is sacred. Abstinence before marriage is the way to go. Adultery is wrong. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Divorce is not just some preference you opt for...you get married before God and you make an oath to God and your family," Mr Ramaswamy said.

The Ohio-based bio-tech entrepreneur also drew parallels between Hindu and Christian faiths and said that these are the 'shared values' of God, and he will stand for those shared values.

"I went to Christian High School. What do we learn? We learned the 10 commandments. We read the Bible. Scriptures class. God is real. There is one true God. Don't take his name in vain. Respect your parents. Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't commit adultery. What I learned at that time, is that these values are familiar to me. They don't belong to Hindus. But, they don't belong to Christians either. They belong to God actually. And I think these are the values that undergird this country," Mr Ramaswamy said.

He added, "Can I be a President who can promote Christianity across the country? I can't...I don't think that's what we should want a US President to do either...but will I stand for those shared values? Will I promote them in the examples that we set for the next generations? You are damn right, I will! Because that's my duty".

The Republican leader further said that as a president it will be his responsibility to make faith, family, hard work, patriotism, and faith "cool" again in the US.

"One of the teachings is that we don't choose who God chooses to work through. That's not our choice, that belongs to God...so yes are founded on Judai-Christian values and these are values that I deeply share....as a president, it is my duty to make faith and family and hard work and patriotism, but faith includes, cool again in this country for the next generation.

Notably, 38-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy is a native of southwest Ohio. His mother was a geriatric psychiatrist and his father worked as an engineer at General Electric. His parents migrated to the US from Kerala.

Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign has gained attention, and he has risen in GOP primary polls, although he still trails behind Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in support.

The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.

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