Tag: Israel

Israel to offer Covid jabs in schools to avoid closures

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel said Monday it would offer Covid-19 vaccinations to students on school grounds as it announced the school year would open on time next week, despite surging coronavirus cases. “Pupils… will be vaccinated on school grounds during school hours, subject to parental approval,” a government statement said, confirming classes would begin on September 1. Israeli leaders say they are trying to avoid repeating disruptive school closures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The […]

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Israel strikes Gaza after border clashes

Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza Saturday after clashes between its troops and Palestinian protesters left dozens injured, including an Israeli border policeman and a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who were both critically wounded. The Israeli military said it carried out air strikes against four weapons sites and that it had reinforced its Gaza division with additional troops. The escalation came exactly three months since Israel and the enclave’s Islamist rulers Hamas reached a truce following their deadliest […]

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Israel to begin Covid booster shots for over 40s

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israelis aged 40 and over will be able to receive coronavirus vaccine booster shots starting this weekend, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Thursday, as the country battles a spike in infections. Israel was one of the first countries to launch a vaccination drive in mid-December via an agreement with Pfizer to obtain millions of paid vaccine doses in exchange for sharing data on their effectiveness. The inoculation campaign was hailed as […]

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Israel tightens restrictions as virus cases leap

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — New restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid took effect in Israel on Wednesday, after the largely vaccinated country saw the highest daily infection rate since January. The measures, announced Sunday, require vaccination certificates or negative coronavirus tests to enter a range of public spaces, including restaurants and bars, cultural and sports venues, hotels and gyms, the health ministry said. The same applies to worshippers wishing to enter synagogues, mosques […]

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Jerusalem wildfires brought under control

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Wildfires that have ravaged woodland in the hills west of Jerusalem since noon on Sunday have finally been brought under control, the Israeli fire service said on Tuesday. “After 52 hours battling the flames, all of the fires around Jerusalem have been brought under control,” a statement said. Hundreds of families had been evacuated from 10 villages west of the city over the three days. The firefighters said there were no […]

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Israel asks for international help to fight forest fires

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli firefighters battled flames for a second day Monday in the hills west of Jerusalem, forcing the evacuation of five communities and prompting the government to ask for international help. “The Greek foreign minister already said he will help as much as possible,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told AFP Greece and Cyprus had agreed to send firefighting planes to Israel. Italy, France and […]

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Fire near Jerusalem forces village evacuations

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Residents of several villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem were evacuated on Sunday because of a large forest fire nearby, Israeli police said. Firemen supported by firefighting aircraft were working to extinguish the blaze as the smoke blotted out the sky across much of the city. A spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said he had held a special meeting with security officials. The fire threatened the villages of Beit […]

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Israel begins Covid booster shots for over 50s

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israelis aged 50 and over began receiving vaccine booster shots against the coronavirus Friday as part of a government bid to stem spiking infections driven by the Delta variant. The government announced on Thursday that it was offering third shots to people aged over 50, two weeks after launching a campaign to give the elderly booster jabs. “This is an important step in the fight against the Delta pandemic,” Prime Minister […]

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Israel requires Covid tests for children aged three and up

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel is to require Covid tests from next week for children as young as three to enter schools, swimming pools, hotels or gyms as infections surge despite extensive adult vaccinations. Israel already required children aged 12 and over to show a Green Pass re-introduced late last month showing a person’s vaccination and testing status and whether they had recovered from Covid. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said from next Wednesday the state […]

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CIA chief visits Israel amid Iran tensions

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns was due in Israel Tuesday for talks on common foe Iran, as rising tensions overshadow talks on restoring a landmark nuclear deal. A spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave no details of the agenda for the CIA chief’s talks in Israel. But the Walla News website said he would discuss Iran’s nuclear programme and its activities in the region with both Bennett and […]

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Israel sets up Covid rapid test stations nationwide

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel set up rapid coronavirus testing stations across the country on Sunday, the Magen David Adom emergency service said, as the government tries to stave off another pandemic lockdown. “Following a request from the Ministry of Health, Magen David Adom on Sunday opened 120 rapid detection stations,” an MDA statement said. The testing centres are aimed at the non-vaccinated and those who have recovered from the virus and need a health […]

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Israel doing world a ‘great service’ with Covid booster shots: PM

by Jonah Mandel JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Thursday that Israel was doing the world a “great service” by administering Covid vaccine booster shots, despite the World Health Organization’s plea for a moratorium. Nearly 60 percent of Israel’s 9.3 million people have had two jabs, mostly of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, with the government recently rolling out a third shot for the over-60s. The WHO has called for a moratorium on booster […]

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