Israel’s government likely to approve plan to re-occupy Gaza, Israeli media reports

Israel’s Security Cabinet to meet Tuesday to approve plan to take control of Gaza and operate militarily in new areas

By Ruth Marks Eglash Fox News

Israel’s Security Cabinet is set to meet on Tuesday to discuss next steps in the nearly two-year-old war with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, including the possibility of taking full control of the Palestinian enclave and operating militarily in areas they have refrained from entering until now, the local media reported.

Israeli journalist Amit Segal, a commentator for Channel 12, the country’s highest-rated news broadcast, quoted a source from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that the "decision has been made… we are going to occupy the Gaza Strip."

"Hamas will not release hostages without total surrender, if we do not operate now the hostages will die of starvation and Gaza will stay under Hamas’ control," Segal quoted the official as saying.

Japan sets record high temperatures, worries mount over rice crops

By Reuters

TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Japan recorded its highest-ever temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius (107.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, prompting the government to advise residents to stay indoors and promise steps to ease weather-related damage to rice crops.

Readings in the eastern city of Isesaki, in Gunma prefecture, surpassed the previous high of 41.2 C marked last week in the western city of Tamba in Hyogo prefecture, the country's meteorological agency said.

China reports 7,000 cases of chikungunya virus

Kelly Ng | BBC News, Singapore

More than 7,000 cases of a mosquito-borne virus have been reported across China's Guangdong province since July, prompting measures similar to those taken during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Foshan city, which has been hit the hardest, chikungunya patients must stay in hospital, where their beds will protected with mosquito nets. They can only be discharged after they test negative or at the end of a week-long stay.

Spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, the virus causes fever and severe joint pain, which sometimes can last for years.

Although rare in China, chikungunya outbreaks are common in South and South East Asia and parts of Africa.

How widespread are the infections in China?

Aside from Foshan, at least 12 other cities in the southern Guangdong province have reported infections. Nearly 3,000 cases were reported in the last week alone.

On Monday, Hong Kong reported its first case - a 12-year-old boy who developed fever, rash and joint pain after traveling to Foshan in July.

The virus is not contagious, and only spreads when an infected person is bitten by a mosquito that then goes on to bite others.

Denmark zoo asks for people to donate their pets to feed its predators

The request created a backlash online with many disagreeing with the practice.

By Jon Haworth

LONDON -- A Denmark zoo is asking the public to donate their pets -- particularly chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs -- so that they can feed them to the zoo’s predators.

“In zoos we have a responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of the animals -- in terms of both animal welfare and professional integrity,” the Aalborg Zoo said in a statement last Thursday.

The request created a backlash online with many disagreeing with the practice, but the zoo said the purpose of the program is to make sure “nothing goes to waste -- and [to] ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators,” according to the zoo’s website.

Israel says it will allow controlled entry of goods into Gaza via merchants

By Reuters

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Israel says it will allow gradual and controlled entry of goods to Gaza through local merchants, an Israeli military agency that coordinates aid said on Tuesday, as global monitors say famine is unfolding in the enclave, impacting the hostages Hamas holds.

Israel's COGAT said a mechanism has been approved by the cabinet to expand the scope of humanitarian aid, allowing the entry of supplies to Gaza through the private sector.

The agency said the approved goods include basic food products, baby food, fruits and vegetables, and hygiene supplies.

"This aims to increase the volume of aid entering the Gaza Strip, while reducing reliance on aid collection by the U.N. and international organisations," it added.

It was unclear how this aid operation would work given the widespread destruction in Gaza.

Israel Tries to Shift Narrative at Home and Abroad on Gaza

The U.N. Security Council is set to discuss the war and the hostages held in the territory as Israel said it would allow some private-sector goods to enter.

By Aaron Boxerman

Reporting from Jerusalem

Israel has sought to push back against its growing isolation over starvation in Gaza by allowing some private businesses to import goods into the enclave again, as well as calling for a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the plight of hostages.

Israel has faced growing international condemnation over the conditions in Gaza, where more than one in three people are not eating for multiple days in a row, according to the U.N. World Food Program. Many aid agencies and countries, including some of Israel’s traditional allies, have blamed Israeli policies for the crisis.

Israeli officials have sought to show that they are doing more to allow aid into Gaza, pausing fighting in some areas and designating secure routes for convoys.

On Tuesday, COGAT, the Israeli military agency that regulates the flow of aid, said that it was allowing some private-sector organizations to deliver goods into Gaza. Israel broadly barred businesses from doing that last year, saying that the trade was propping up Hamas.