Israel has begun construction of a bypass road that will connect Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank with Jerusalem. The road is intended for Israelis only; tens of thousands of Palestinian Jerusalem residents will not be allowed access to it. Israel’s transportation minister praised the highway, saying it will bring “one million” Israelis to the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees warns the spread of rodents through the majority of Gaza’s overcrowded tent camps is leaving the population at much higher risk of disease. Children, in particular, are prone to rat bites, and rodents can spread diseases including hantavirus, which is often fatal.