Israel News for 1-22-2021
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 7,099 new coronavirus cases as of Friday morning. The infection rate is at 8.5%. There are currently 1,128 people hospitalized in serious condition and 310 on ventilators. There have been 4,245 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Over 2.5 million Israelis have already received the first dose of the vaccine. Over 850,000 have received the second dose.
A report published on Thursday by the National Insurance Institute said that Israel’s poverty rate has increased by 7% while the standard of living has dipped by 4.4% throughout 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis and the lockdowns. Meanwhile, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange had a record year, with 25 new IPOs.
Syrian state media reported that Israel attacked targets near the city of Hama early this morning. This is the first attack attributed to Israel to take place under the new Biden administration.
Benny Begin, son of former PM and Likud founder Menachem Begin, announced Thursday he is joining Gideon Saar’s new political party “New Hope”. Begin joins other prominent Likud politicians who have already joined Saar.
Israel and Morocco signed an agreement yesterday allowing direct flights between the two countries.
American Airlines has announced that it will start flying a Tel Aviv-New York route from May 6. American Airlines also intends to launch new service from Tel Aviv to its largest hub, Dallas-Fort Worth, later this year.
