TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I'm Camille Bianchi.
+++
Three people have died, and one man is missing in floods across northern New South Wales.
Emergency services are continuing major rescue operations, with 50 thousand people stranded - mainly in the Taree area of the Mid North Coast.
Dallas Burns, from the State Emergency Services, says in just the past day, emergency crews have made 177 flood rescues.
“A real focus for us over the next day, we'll be starting to resupply those people who are isolated. We've currently got 50,000 people isolated, with the most of those in the Taree area due to the M-1 being cut. But there's also many outlying villages and people on farms who are isolated at the moment, and we need to make sure they get their staples to them, and we've got to resupply in place. and plan to start helping them do that."
+++
The torrential rain causing the deadly floods is now moving south, as some communities begin clean-up efforts.
More heavy rain is expected in parts of the Hunter region, Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands today.
New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell says there have been hundreds of flood rescues in the past few days.
"We've actually had around 590 flood rescues during the course of this operation, so it's a significant number of people that have needed to be rescued. Obviously, we've been fast flowing waters, and some of those have been done by heroes, as we've seen in the media, but some significant rescues have been made, but, unfortunately, we've also lost a number of lives."
+++
Some food and medicine has reached Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has allowed some charities into the area, after stopping them for 11 weeks.
Israel says it has allowed 100 trucks into Gaza with flour, baby food and medical equipment, after many other countries put pressure on the government.
World Food Programme Deputy Director for Gaza, Vladimir Jovcef, says the situation is extremely serious.
"What we need to do is to continue to bring humanitarian aid, advocate for the crossings to be open, and make sure that the food goes to the ones mostly in need. To do that, we need the help of everyone. You know, we need the help of the international community."
+++
Investigators believe two Israeli Embassy staff who were shot and killed outside a Jewish Museum in Washington D-C yesterday, may have been targeted.
Police say the suspected shooter shouted “Free, free Palestine” after being arrested.
State Department spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, says diplomats' safety is very important to the US.
"We condemn the heinous murder of two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC last night. ... We are working certainly with the DC Metropolitan Police. And, the security of this building, of American diplomats, of diplomats throughout the city is of paramount importance to the United States of America. We act on that every single day."
+++
To tennis, and Alex de Minaur will have a hard week at the French Open.
He will play Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, if he wins his other games.
In the women’s tennis, Maya Joint and Ajla Tomljanovic will play each other in a first-round game that has been named a 'battle of the generations'.
That's the latest SBS News in Easy English.
