October 15, 2023
A roundup of news from Romania and the world
Newsroom, 15.10.2023, 13:55
Israel — The Israeli army announced this morning that residents of the northern part of the Gaza Strip can leave for the south until 13:00 hours local time (10:00 GMT) using a specially designated route, DPA reports. Israel has said that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have already moved to southern Gaza. On the other hand, there have been reports that the terrorist group Hamas is preventing Palestinian civilians from leaving. The large-scale Israeli military operation against the north of the Gaza Strip is imminent, press agencies report. The American publication The New York Times reported that the Israeli ground offensive had to be postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. On October 7, Hamas launched a brutal and large-scale terrorist attack against cities in southern Israel, which triggered a harsh response from the Israeli army, Reuters recalls. The violence has so far resulted in the death of over 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, and approximately 2,300 Palestinians. On the other hand, since the beginning of the war, the area of the Israeli-Lebanese border has been the scene of rocket fire between Hezbollah (a Shia organization massively supported by Iran and allied with Hamas) and the Israeli army. Also, there are almost daily attempts to infiltrate some Hamas members into Israel, from Lebanon. On a diplomatic level, the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a regional tour, had a meeting in Riyadh on Sunday with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country has suspended talks, regarding a possible normalization of relations with Israel.
MAE — The Romanian Foreign Ministry — MAE announced that, against the backdrop of the deterioration of the security situation in the State of Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Crisis Cell is continuing its ongoing efforts to evacuate, under safe conditions, the Romanian citizens from the Gaza Strip who requested this. There are approximately 200 Romanian citizens in the Gaza Strip who would like to leave the area and have requested the support of the Romanian authorities. The MAE, through the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Romanian Representative Office in Ramallah and the Romanian diplomatic missions in the region, maintains coordination with other states and international organizations that undertake similar measures for their own citizens or officials. On Saturday, 58 Romanian citizens returned from Israel with a private flight. All in all, so far, 2,220 Romanians have been repatriated from Israel. On the other hand, the MAE confirmed the death of two other Romanian-Israeli citizens. The death toll thus rises to four.
Handball — Romania’s womens national handball team defeated the Greek team, away from home, score 32-20, on Saturday, in Group 1 of the 2024 European Championship preliminaries. The Romanian players have scored the 2nd outright victory in this stage of the championship, after a score of 49-17 with Bosnia-Herzegovina, at home. In another match, Croatia outperformed Bosnia-Herzegovina, in an away match. Romania takes first place, with 4 points, followed by Croatia, 4 points, Greece, 0 points, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 0 points. The national team will play the next match on February 28, at home, against Croatia.
Football — Today, the Romanian national football team meets Andorra, in the Euro 2024 Qualifying Group I. The match takes place in Bucharest, and access is only allowed to children under 14, according to a UEFA decision. In the same group, the match Switzerland – Belarus is played. On Thursday, Romania drew 0-0 in Budapest with Belarus and remains on second position in the group, after Switzerland. Israel, whose games were postponed, and Kosovo also belong to the Euro 2024 Qualifying Group I.
Elections — Poland sees today parliamentary elections, after a campaign of intense disputes, dominated by issues of sovereignty and security, Reuters reports. Participatin in the elections are the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), in power since 2015, and a centrist coalition led by the former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The Law and Justice Party is trying to get a third mandate, which would be a record in the Polish political environment. Reuters recalls that, since coming to power, this group has repeatedly come into conflict with the EU due to legislative changes that, according to critics, have politicized the judicial system and turned the state media into a propaganda body. The opposition says that the vote could be the last chance to stop what it considers to be Polands departure from the European mainstream and the transition to a semi-authoritarian system. (LS)
