JERUSALEM, Aug. 18– The Israeli military said on Monday that nine countries airdropped 180 food packages over Gaza, part of a daily effort to deliver relief to the besieged enclave.

Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Indonesia took part in the operation, the army said in a statement.

The military added that the airdrops were carried out “in accordance with directives from the political echelon.”

Israel’s nearly 22-month offensive and blockade of Gaza have devastated the territory, leaving much of it in ruins and creating famine conditions.

Nearly 62,000 people have been killed since the war began in October 2023, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Aid agencies and experts say the airdrops are insufficient, unsafe, and ineffective in halting hunger.

They have urged Israel to allow in more truck convoys and to enable the rebuilding of Gaza’s health system, which has been largely destroyed by airstrikes.

Starvation deaths are rising daily, health officials say. As of Monday, at least 263 people — including 112 children — have died of hunger in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Aug. 18 — Iran said on Monday it welcomed any initiative to end the war in Ukraine but cast doubt on U.S. credibility as a mediator, following a meeting last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a weekly press briefing in Tehran that since the conflict erupted in February 2022, Iran had always announced that differences between the warring parties should be resolved through peaceful methods and had constantly encouraged the two sides to resort to dialogue and interaction to solve their disputes.

He added, however, that Washington must make considerable efforts to gain the trust of others due to its “poor track record” in international negotiations.

Baghaei said Tehran was closely monitoring developments related to Ukraine and was in contact with Russia, especially regarding the issues discussed during the meeting in Alaska. (Xinhua)

KIEV, Aug. 18– At least nine people were killed and 40 injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine’s cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian authorities said Monday.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, a Shahed combat drone hit a high residential building in the city’s Industrial District, killing six people and injuring 20 others, Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.

The State Service for Emergencies reported that a one-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy were among the victims, while six children were among those injured.

Rescue operations continued with 140 emergency personnel and 39 units of equipment working on the site. In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Russia’s raids killed three people and injured 20 others, said Ivan Fedorov, the region’s governor.

Many of the wounded were hospitalized in severe condition, while residential buildings, an enterprise, a bus stop and commercial premises were damaged, he wrote on Telegram.

The attack followed a ballistic missile alert issued for Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 140 drones and four Iskander-M ballistic missiles overnight, with 88 drones shot down and other projectiles hitting targets in 25 locations across six regions. (Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Aug. 18 — Iran has repatriated nearly 1.2 million undocumented Afghans since March 21, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said on Monday.

Momeni told reporters in the northeastern city of Mashhad that more than 70 percent of the repatriations during that period were voluntary, the official news agency IRNA reported.

He noted that the highest number of returns took place through the border between Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province and Afghanistan’s Herat province.

The minister estimated that over 6 million Afghans are living in Iran and said an additional 800,000 undocumented Afghans would be repatriated by the end of the current Iranian year on March 20, 2026.

Momeni emphasized the importance of following legal procedures and preserving the dignity of migrants during the deportation process.

Iranian authorities have recently intensified efforts to encourage undocumented foreigners to return home. (Xinhua)