The Israeli military intensified its deadly attacks on Palestinians in different parts of the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours that preceded the announcement of the Knesset election results, which are expected by the morning of Friday, October 30.

Read more: Israel’s elections: all roads lead to genocide

At least six Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded in Israeli strikes that targeted different areas of the war-torn enclave.

The fatalities include four government employees, who were killed in an Israeli strike on the Ministry of Economy in the Al-Mawasi area, west of the southern city of Rafah. Thirty others were wounded in the same offensive. 

The Gaza-based government media office condemned the assault in a statement published on Telegram, describing it as “a new crime and a horrific massacre that targeted a group of civilian public-sector employees.”

It added that “targeting government teams and civilian public employees is part of the organized crime that the Israeli occupation has practiced, and a malicious exposed attempt to push towards chaos and disorder by undermining the work of government crews and institutions, which seek to maintain the stability and safety of society.”

Meanwhile, two people were killed and several others were wounded when an Israeli drone struck a civilian vehicle near the entrance to the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Deir al-Balah Governorate.

The latest deaths take the toll of people killed by Israel in Gaza since the US-brokered ceasefire deal was reached in October 2025 to more than 1,574 people, with 5,867 others wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry also reported that at least 74,570 people have been killed since Israel started its genocidal aggression on the besieged strip in October 2023.

Last Wednesday, October 28, the United Nations General Assembly voted (for the thirty-fourth time) in favor of ending the economic and commercial embargo – which many refer to as a blockade – that the United States has unilaterally imposed on Cuba for more than sixty years.

With 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions, the international community once again demanded that the United States end an embargo that has caused unimaginable hardship for the Cuban people and has slowed the Caribbean nation’s development.

One of the countries that voted against the embargo was South Africa, whose ambassador emphasized his concern about the negative consequences the Cuban people are suffering as a result of Washington’s decisions. He also called for Cuba to be removed from the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, a designation that prevents many companies from doing business on the island.

In recent years, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced that high-level US diplomats had pressured several of its partners to vote against such resolutions concerning the embargo on Cuba, under threat of serious consequences. The denunciation was repeated this year by Cuba’s top diplomat.

Despite these efforts, the overwhelming majority of countries once again called on the United States to end the embargo. Washington appeared to have successfully influenced only its closest allies (those fully aligned with its geopolitical ideology) to vote against it. Thus, among the countries that voted against the resolution are several signatories to “Shield of the Americas,” the new international military initiative led by Washington, to which several right-wing and far-right governments in Latin America have aligned themselves.

For its part, the UN news portal reported: “The Assembly expresses its concern that, after decades of votes and appeals, the measure remains in force and continues to negatively affect the Cuban population and Cuban nationals residing abroad, without the expectations of economic normalization having been met.”

A multimillion-dollar blockade

According to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba’s annual losses are estimated at about 8 billion dollars. The total economic losses since the embargo began amount to the astronomical figure of 178 billion dollars, which is a huge sum considering the relatively small size of a country with a population of 10 million.

In this regard, the US economic and trade embargo – the longest-lasting in recent modern history – has been denounced by Cuban authorities as a perverse mechanism employed by Washington to boycott, almost from its inception, the Cuban Revolution, which proclaimed itself anti-imperialist and socialist.

Added to this prolonged damage are the recent energy restrictions that Washington has imposed on Cuba. Since early 2026, when Washington targeted Venezuela (Cuba’s main energy partner), the possibility of sending oil to Cuba has been cut off by a unilateral US order; the United States warned it would increase tariffs on any country that sends crude oil to Cuba. Only one Russian tanker managed to navigate the waters and reach Cuba – a resource appreciated by Cubans but one that ran out quite quickly.

The Caribbean nation depends almost entirely on petroleum for generating electricity, production, trade, and providing hospital care to its population. Added to this are the difficulties in distributing water and meeting other basic needs of the Cuban people, who are the true victims of a new strategy aimed at overthrowing the revolutionary government.

In this regard, the support of the international community – the vast majority of which has called for an end to the embargo, considering it a measure that undermines the sovereignty and self-determination of the Cuban people – provides a platform to remind the world of the situation Cuba is facing.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on X: “Today at the UN, the international community’s overwhelming support for Cuba was evident in its condemnation of the blockade and the US government’s policy of maximum pressure. Most of the speakers, some representing regional blocs, were clear in their condemnation.”

He added: “It is a despicable act on the part of the empire’s representatives to claim they are defending collective punishment – which exacts a high human cost – against the Cuban people, in violation of human rights. It is a futile effort. They are not convincing, and they achieve nothing except through gangster-like coercion.”

Exchange of accusations between Havana and Washington

But the vote was not without controversy. During his address, the US representative to the UN, Mike Waltz, said that concentration camps existed in Cuba where “thousands of homosexuals, Christians, and Afro-Cubans” were allegedly detained.

In response to the statement, the Cuban delegation, visibly upset, began banging on the table and requested a “point of order.” When the Assembly president did not respond, Foreign Minister Rodríguez and the rest of the Cuban delegation approached the presiding officers and Waltz and demanded that he stop lying.

Following the protests, the Assembly president gave the floor to Rodríguez, who said that Waltz was “blatantly lying” and that his “attitude is disgraceful.” He further stated: “Mr. Waltz is lying again, and I wish him a better future in other roles, but at the United Nations and on the Security Council, his performance leaves much to be desired … He is undermining the dignity of the Cuban people and the Cuban government.”

Earlier this week, thousands of farmers in India’s western state of Maharashtra marched to its capital, Mumbai, and forced the state government to recognize their right to the land they have tilled for years and fulfill their demands.

Over 12,000 in number, the farmers, carrying red flags and shouting slogans against the ultra-right-wing government led by the Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were led by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), a left-wing farmers’ union.

The farmers were also supported by several other left-wing mass organizations, such as the Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).

The farmers started their march on foot and in hundreds of vehicles from Akole on Monday and were aiming to reach the residence of the state’s Chief Minister in Mumbai, a distance of around 200 km, where they were about to organize an indefinite sit-in to press for their demands.

The major demands of the farmers were recognition of their rights over the lands they have been tilling for generations, adequate compensation for crops lost due to this years’ drought and a loan waiver of at least Rs 200,000 (around 2,100 USD) among others.

The call for the march to Mumbai came after the government failed to respond to the farmers’ demand during a six-day sit-in between October 21 to 26 in Akole. Before starting to march to Mumbai the farmers also carried out a march in Akole itself.

The government initially failed to respond to the farmers’ demand and instead threatened them with police action and sent notices asking them to end the agitation.

AIKS responded by saying in its press release on Monday that “people’s problems cannot be made to disappear by issuing notices or resorting to pressure” and announced the march to Mumbai.

The farmers marched for two days before the government called for negotiations on Tuesday and later announced an agreement on all major demands.

Land rights and drought relief 

A large number of farmers in Maharashtra and other regions of the country cultivate the land without having any documentary proof of their ownership. The governments often recognize such lands as forest areas or put them under categories which makes it impossible to claim private ownership. This often creates threats of eviction and the deprivation of the only source of livelihoods for millions of peasants.

AIKS in Maharashtra has been demanding recognition of the ownership of the peasants on the land they have tilled for generations and has led various successful movements for the same in different parts of the state in the past decade. 

Earlier this year it led a similar movement in the state’s Nashik district, forcing the government to acknowledge the issue and promise reforms. 

In addition to the long-term problem of ownership, several of the states in India faced a deficient monsoon this year, affecting agriculture adversely and creating losses to millions of farmers in the country. In Maharashtra alone, the government has declared 265 out of 358 administrative units (Taluks) as “drought affected.”

Most of the state governments have failed to provide any meaningful relief to the farmers yet. However, under pressure, the Maharashtra government recently announced a Rs 5,000 (around 50 USD) compensation for each farming family in the drought-affected regions, inviting strong reactions from the farmers over the paltry amount.

AIKS called the government’s announcement of the drought relief “grossly inadequate” and a “cruel mockery of the losses suffered by the peasantry.” It demanded that compensation must be based on the actual losses faced by the peasants, including a waiver from paying the loans up to Rs 200,000.