deadliest

‘They are torn to pieces, I don’t know if I’m saying goodbye to my son or my daughter.’ Palestinians are grieving 11 members of a family killed by Israeli forces in Gaza City, the deadliest single violation of the shaky ceasefire, just days after it came into effect.

Strike on civilian vehicle by Israeli military in Gaza City marks deadliest violation of eight-day ceasefire with Hamas.

Israeli forces have killed 11 members of a Palestinian family in Gaza, the deadliest single violation of the fragile ceasefire since it took effect eight days ago.

The attack happened on Friday evening when a tank shell was fired by Israeli forces at a civilian vehicle carrying the Abu Shaaban family in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, according to Gaza’s civil defence.

Seven children and three women were among those killed when the Israeli military fired on the vehicle as the family attempted to reach their home to inspect it, civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

“They could have been warned or dealt with differently,” Basal said, adding that “what happened confirms that the occupation is still thirsty for blood, and insists on committing crimes against innocent civilians.”

Hamas condemned what it called a “massacre” and said the family was targeted without justification. The group called on United States President Donald Trump and mediators to pressure Israel to respect the ceasefire agreement.

In that attack, Israeli soldiers opened fire on people who crossed the so-called “yellow line”, the demarcation to which Israel’s military was supposed to pull back under the ceasefire terms.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza, said many Palestinians lack internet access and are unaware of where Israeli forces remain positioned along the demarcation lines, putting families at risk.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said that the yellow lines in Gaza will be soon marked out for clarity.

Israeli forces remain in control of approximately 53 percent of Gaza, Khoudary said.

As the exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners under the provisions of the deal has continued, Israel has killed at least 28 Palestinians, and heavily restricted the flow of desperately needed aid, including food and medical supplies.

Last week, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in the Shujayea neighbourhood, also in Gaza City.

Israel has continued to seal the Rafah crossing with Egypt and blocked other key border crossings, preventing large-scale aid deliveries into the enclave.

The United Nations warned this week that aid convoys are struggling to reach famine-hit areas, with 49 percent of people accessing less than six litres of drinking water per day – well below emergency standards.

The World Food Programme said it has brought an average of 560 tonnes of food daily into Gaza since the ceasefire began, far below what is needed to address widespread malnutrition and prevent famine.

Hamas has said it remains committed to the ceasefire terms, including returning the remains of Israeli captives still under Gaza’s rubble.

The group handed over the body of another captive on Friday evening, bringing the total to 10 since the truce began. Hamas said it needs heavy machinery and excavation equipment to retrieve more remains, but Israel has blocked their entry.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said by blocking heavy equipment and machinery from entering, Israel is creating “a challenge for the residents of Gaza who are experienced and have the expertise to search and to dig out bodies from under the rubble” with that type of equipment.

A COMMON sugar substitute used in fizzy drinks, yoghurts and gum could be used to combat one of the deadliest kinds of cancer.

Researchers fermented the zero calorie sweetener and tested it against pancreatic cancer – finding that it killed off malignant cells but didn’t harm healthy ones.

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Stevia is a shrub-like herb used to sweeten drinks and desserts instead of sugar, which can also be bought as powder or tablets.

Previous research has suggested that stevia leaf extracts could have potential “anticancer effects”.

But isolating specific substances within the herb that could help protect against cancer and using them has remained challenging.

Researchers from Hiroshima University suggested fermenting stevia with bacteria can structurally change the extract and produce bioactive metabolites – compounds that can impact living organisms.

Study author Masanori Sugiyama, a professor in the Department of Probiotic Science for Preventive Medicine, said fermentation – or “microbial bio-transformation” – could “enhance the pharmacological efficacy of natural plant extracts” like stevia.

The team tested their theory out against pancreatic cancer cells.

“Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant tumour of the digestive system with a poor prognosis,” co-author Prof Narandalai Danshiitsoodol said.

“Globally, the incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer continue to rise, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 per cent.

“The primary reason pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest cancers is its subtle, insidious onset, with most patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage and missing the optimal treatment window.

“Furthermore, pancreatic cancer is highly invasive and prone to metastasis, showing significant resistance to existing treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, resulting in very limited therapeutic efficacy.

“Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new and effective anticancer compounds, particularly those derived from medicinal plants.”

Researchers used lactic acid bacteria to ferment stevia extracts.

They isolated over 1200 strains from fruits, vegetables, flowers, and medicinal plants and evaluated their health benefits.

They finally landed on Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T strain (FSLE) derived from banana leaves “to enhance the antioxidant and anticancer activities of stevia leaf extract through fermentation”.

They tested fermented and non-fermented stevia extracts against pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes.

Fermented stevia killed pancreatic cancer cells more efficiently than the non-fermented extract, the study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences found.

This suggested that “the fermentation process enhances the bioactivity of the [stevia] extract”, Prof Sugiyama said.

Researchers tested out different fermentation levels to see which was most effective against cancer cells.

Lower concentrations didn’t kill cancer cells immediately, but they slowed their growth.

Healthy kidney cells were mostly unaffected by the stevia extracts.

Researchers plan to study how fermented stevia affects cancer in mice next, to see how various dosages will work in living organisms.

“The present study has substantially enhanced our understanding of the mechanism of action of the Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T strain in the fermentation of herbal extracts, while also offering a valuable research perspective on the potential application of probiotics as natural anti-tumour agents,” Prof Danshiitsoodol said.

In the UK, about 10,800 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year and 9,600 pass away from it, according to Cancer Research UK.

It’s the fifth most common cause of cancer death.

Since the early 1990s, pancreatic cancer incidence rates have increased by 18 per cent in the UK.

The disease is often diagnosed at a late stage because it frequently lacks noticeable symptoms in the early stages.

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can help extend patients’ lives.

A blood test to pick up early signs of pancreatic cancer is being trialled in patients with a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes – a known risk factor for the disease.

Meanwhile, researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic have developed a new type of jab to fight pancreatic cancer.