Israel-Palestine, Sudan, Ecuador.

Today's three stories you should know.

Oct 15, 2023

Israel-Palestine

With an expected ground invasion close, medics are warning that thousands in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza could die in hospitals as they run out of fuel and supplies. The World Health Organization (WHO) said an Israeli evacuation order, which has told civilians to move to the south of Gaza, would worsen what it said was already a humanitarian catastrophe. “Forcing more than 2,000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence,” WHO said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sudan

It has long disappeared from the international headlines but today marks six months of war in Sudan. More than 9,000 people have been killed and a staggering 5.6 million forced from their homes. As both sides dig in, there appears to be no end in sight. With civilians bearing the brunt and aid groups pleading for more help from the international community, medical charity Doctors Without Borders this week called the conflict “a catastrophic failure of humanity.” The war erupted when the country’s military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan fell out with the leader of a powerful militia.

Ecuador

Ecuadorians voted in a presidential run-off election today after a campaign marked by violence in a country grappling with a desperate crime problem. Candidate Fernando Villavicenio was assassinated in the capital Quito just days before the first round of voting and seven suspects arrested in connection with his murder were later killed in prison. The run-off pits centrist Daniel Noboa of the National Democratic Action coalition against Luisa González of the left-wing Citizen Revolution Movement. Ecuador, once one of the most peaceful countries in Latin America, has been rattled by spiralling fighting between powerful drug cartels in recent years.