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Archives for November 2023

Tens of thousands flee the north in record numbers as Israel-Hamas fighting heats up in Gaza City

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Calls for a ceasefire to protect civilians have built over a month into the war sparked when Hamas attacked Israel and, according to Israeli officials, killed about 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and seized 239 hostages.

Aiming to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with a relentless bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip that, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, has killed more than 10,500 people, many of them children.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, amid reports of negotiations for a temporary truce with Hamas to allow in humanitarian aid.

The Israeli army said 50,000 people left north Gaza for the south of the narrow coastal strip on Wednesday as the fighting raged between Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and Israeli troops.

“We saw today how 50,000 Gazans moved from northern Gaza to southern Gaza,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari. “They’re leaving because they understand that Hamas lost control in the north, and in the south it’s safer.”

Around 15,000 people had fled on Tuesday, compared with 5,000 on Monday and 2,000 on Sunday, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

UN rights chief Volker Turk condemned Israel over the forced evacuations during a visit to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only way out of the besieged territory that is not controlled by Israel.

“The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians,” he told a news conference.

“The aid getting through is a trickle,” Turk said, adding it was Israel’s obligation to “ensure a maximum of basic necessities of life that can reach all who need it.That evacuations of wounded Palestinians and dual nationals were interrupted Wednesday despite a large crowd waiting at the crossing terminal, blaming what they said was Israel’s refusal to approve the list of wounded to be taken across the border.

A source close to Hamas had said talks were underway for the release of a dozen hostages held by the Islamists, including six Americans, in return for a three-day ceasefire in Gaza.

Earlier a separate source briefed on the talks said Qatar was mediating negotiations in coordination with the US to free “10-15 hostages in exchange for a one- to two-day ceasefire”.

As the talks proceeded, the pace of Palestinian civilians fleeing south from northern Gaza accelerated in the face of Israel’s intensifying air and ground campaign, according to UN observers.

“We’ve lost our homes, we’ve lost our children. Where is the global community? Where are our fellow Muslims? Look at us!” said Nouh Hammouda, who was among those fleeing.

“We left our homes due to the relentless bombardment. Where can we go now?” he said as people streamed southward on the road.

Israel has set an aim of destroying Hamas and said its ground forces were advancing in pursuit of the militants who have a deep network of tunnels and underground bases.

“(Israeli troops) are tightening the stranglehold around the city of Gaza,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.

Israel has air-dropped leaflets and sent texts ordering civilians in northern Gaza to flee south, but potentially hundreds of thousands remained in the worst-hit areas.

Images taken by an AFP journalist embedded with Israeli troops showed them emerging from tanks to comb the shells of Gaza residential buildings destroyed in the fighting.

Hamas accused the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) of “colluding” with Israel in the “forced displacement” of Gazans, after residents followed instructions to flee.

G7 foreign ministers said they supported “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Israel-Hamas war, but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.

As fighting intensifies in Gaza, families of people taken hostage by Hamas have been pushing on various fronts for help to bring their loved ones home.

“Every day is like eternity to me and I can’t wait any longer,” Doris Liber, whose 26-year-old son Guy Iluz was shot and taken hostage at a music festival, told reporters in Washington.

Military analysts warned of weeks of gruelling house-to-house fighting ahead in Gaza.

The operation is hugely complicated for Israel because of the hostages, including very young children and frail elderly people, who are believed to be held inside a vast tunnel network.

The Israeli army said it had uncovered around 130 tunnel entrances in Gaza. It also reported the deaths of two more soldiers, bringing to 33 the total number killed in the offensive.

Hamas released video footage of fierce street battles between its armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, and Israeli forces in the northern and southern axis of Gaza City.

In densely packed Gaza — where more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes in a desperate search for safety — the suffering is immense.

Hamas said several cemeteries in Gaza had “no more space for burials”, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said most of the territory’s sewage pumping stations were shut.

A rare delivery of emergency medical supplies and medicines on Wednesday reached Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the UN and World Health Organization said.

But they highlighted the delivery of life-saving supplies was only the second to reach the hospital since the war erupted and was “far from sufficient to respond to the immense needs”.

Tom Potokar, chief surgeon at the International Committee of the Red Cross who entered Gaza on October 27, described the scene at the European hospital in Khan Yunis as “relentless” and “catastrophic”.

“In the last 24 hours, I’ve seen three patients with maggots in their wounds,” including a six-year-old child, he said in a telephone interview.

Israel accuses Hamas of building military tunnels underneath hospitals, schools and mosques — charges the militant group denies.

Israel has hammered Gaza with more than 12,000 air and artillery strikes and sent in ground forces that have effectively cut it in half.

An independent UN expert branded Israel’s systematic bombardment of housing and civilian infrastructure in Gaza as well as Hamas’s rocket attacks that hit Israeli dwellings as war crimes.

The Israeli government said Wednesday it was “premature” to predict scenarios for Gaza after it ousts Hamas, but that it was already discussing the prospect with other countries.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and two years later imposed a crippling air, sea and land blockade, as Hamas took control of the Palestinian territory.

“We’re exploring several contingencies together with our international partners for what the ‘day after’ will look like,” said government spokesman Eylon Levy.

But the “common denominator” is that Gaza will be “demilitarised” and “must never again” become a “terror nest”, he said.

Netanyahu had said earlier this week that Israel would assume “overall security” of Gaza.

Violence is also increasing in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, where more than 150 Palestinians have been killed by fire from Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 7, according to the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli air strikes on Wednesday killed three pro-Iran fighters as they hit sites belonging to the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah group near the Syrian capital Damascus, a war monitor said.

Israel has struck Syria several times in the past month as regional tensions simmer.

US launches airstrike on site in Syria in response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias

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WASHINGTON: The U.S. carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said.

In Wednesday’s strike, two U.S. F-15 fighter jets dropped multiple bombs on a weapons storage facility near Maysulun in Deir el-Zour that was known to be used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said.

“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

A military official told reporters in a call that people were seen at the warehouse during the day as the U.S. military watched the site for hours, but the number decreased to about “a couple” overnight when the strike occurred. The official said the strike triggered secondary explosions, indicating the presences of weapons, but the U.S. believes that no civilians were killed and any people at the warehouse were tied to the Revolutionary Guard or militia groups.

The strike, said a senior defense official also on the call, was aimed at “disrupting and degrading the capabilities of groups directly responsible for attacking U.S. forces in the region” by specifically targeting facilities associated with the Revolutionary Guard. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide an assessment of the strike.

The precision strike, said the defense official, was deliberate and designed not to escalate the conflict in the region. The military official said a deconfliction phone line linking U.S. military personnel to Russian forces in Syria was used to let them know about the attack.

This is the second time in less than two weeks that the U.S. has bombed facilities used by the militant groups, many operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which U.S. officials say have carried out at least 40 such attacks since Oct. 17.

That was the day a powerful explosion rocked a Gaza hospital, killing hundreds and triggering protests in a number of Muslim nations. The Israeli military has relentlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for the devastating Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Israel denied responsibility for the al-Ahli hospital blast, and the U.S. has said its intelligence assessment found that Tel Aviv was not to blame. But the Israeli military has continued a ferocious assault on Hamas, with ground troops now deep inside Gaza City in a war that has a staggering death toll of more than 10,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-run territory.

The latest U.S. strike was designed to take out supplies, weapons and ammunition in an effort to erode the abilities of the Iranian-backed militants to attack Americans based in Iraq and Syria. And it reflects the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. The U.S. wants to hit Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the U.S. as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, possibly fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas, while also working to avoid further inflaming the region and provoking a wider conflict.

Similar U.S. airstrikes on Oct. 27 also targeted facilities in Syria, and officials at the time said the two sites were affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. When asked why those locations in Syria were chosen — since many of the attacks have happened in Iraq — officials said the U.S. went after storage sites for munitions that could be linked to the strikes on U.S. personnel.

The U.S. has often avoided bombing sites in Iraq in order to lessen the chances of killing Iraqis or angering Iraq’s leaders.

While officials have said the strikes are meant to deter further attacks, they have not had that effect. Rocket and drone attacks have occurred almost daily, although in nearly all cases they have resulted in little damage and few injuries.

Asked about that, the senior defense official acknowledged that the initial U.S. strike in October did not convince Iran to direct its proxies to stop the attacks. But, the official said, the strikes show America’s willingness to use military force.

According to the Pentagon, a total of 45 personnel have been injured and all of those were in attacks on Oct. 17 and 18. Of those, 32 were at al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, with a mix of minor injuries and traumatic brain injuries, and 13 were at al-Asad air base in western Iraq, with four cases of traumatic brain injury and nine of minor injury. One person was injured at Irbil air base in Iraq.

The Pentagon has faced repeated questions about whether deterrence against Iran and its proxies is working because the attacks have only increased.

At the same time, the department has moved a number of air defense systems and other forces into the region to beef up protection for U.S. forces. And on multiple occasions, the systems have intercepted incoming strikes. According to a U.S. official, the number of ships in the Middle East has more than doubled, the number of Patriot air defense missile systems has about tripled, a few more fighter jet squadrons have been added and hundreds of additional troops have been deployed to the region. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss force numbers not yet made public.

BSF jawan killed in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers along IB in Jammu

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JAMMU: A BSF jawan was killed in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers along the International Border (IB) in the Ramgarh sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district early Thursday, officials said.

The firing targeting Border Outposts in the district is the third ceasefire violation in 24 days by Pakistan Rangers along the IB in the Jammu frontier.

He was later moved to the GMC Hospital in Jammu, the officials said.

“During night intervening 8/9 Nov 2023, Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing in Ramgarh area which was befittingly responded to by BSF troops,” the Border Security Force (BSF) said in a statement.

Ramgarh Community Health Centre Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Lakhwinder Singh said that one BSF jawan was injured in Pakistani firing and reported to the centre for treatment around 1 am.

Mohan Singh Bhatti of Jerda village said that the firing started around 12.20 am and later escalated into shelling.

“A fear psychosis is prevailing along the IB due to firing and shelling,” he said.

On October 28, Pakistan Rangers indulged in heavy firing and shelling for around seven hours, resulting in injuries to two BSF jawans and a woman.

On October 17, two BSF personnel had been injured in unprovoked firing by the rangers in the Arnia sector.

It is the sixth overall violation since the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.

My govt made 4 crore pucca houses for the poor but I haven’t made one for myself: PM Modi

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SATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said every vote of the electorate in Madhya Pradesh has the power of “Trishakti”, to help the BJP form government again in MP, strengthen the PM at the Centre and keep the “corrupt” Congress away from power in the state.

Addressing a rally in Satna ahead of the November 17 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Modi said his government has made four crore pucca houses for the poor, but he has “not made even one house for himself.”

The PM said after his government came to power in the country, it removed from records 10 crore fake beneficiaries created by the Congress who were taking benefits of government schemes.

Modi said that is why Congress leaders were abusing him these days, as his government’s move hit them hard. The government has thus saved Rs 2. 75 lakh crore for the people, he said.

Referring to the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said, “Wherever I go nowadays, there is talk of Lord Ram’s temple being built in Ayodhya. There is a wave of happiness all over the country.”

The prime minister also said, “If we have got a new Parliament building constructed, we have also built 30,000 panchayat buildings. I am happy that due to the double-engine government of the BJP, Madhya Pradesh is one of the states where lakhs of houses were built for the poor.”

In Satna, the poor people have got 1.32 lakh houses, he added. Modi said he has resolved to extend the free ration scheme for the poor, which started during the COVID-19 crisis, for the next five years after December.

He further said two leaders were involved in “tearing clothes” of each other, an apparent reference to MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh over Nath’s recent “tear clothes” jibe.

Both the leaders are telling their supporters to “tear clothes” off each other, the PM said.

“They are fighting to see whose son will take over the MP Congress after getting defeated on December 3 (vote counting day). They are upsetting Madhya Pradesh in a bid to set their sons,” he said.

Praising a musical group from Satna that played a bhajan before his address, Modi said, “It is the strength and power of tunes of music which is coming out from the barrel of a gun.”

When the world is in the midst of crises, the sounds of bombs and guns are being heard all around, and countries like India are trying to create an impact of their idea in the world today, he said.

Muzumdar appointed as India women head coach

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CHENNAI:  In what was a long overdue appointment, the BCCI named former cricketer and coach Amol Muzumdar as the head coach of the Indian senior women’s team on Wednesday.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has been without a head coach since Ramesh Powar was reshuffled to NCA last december. Since then, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Nooshin Al Khadeer acted as head coaches on different occasions, with the former heading the team during Asian Games. 

Muzumdar’s appointment comes at a time when India are looking to build a strong team for next year’s T20 World Cup and the home ODI World Cup in 2025. “The next two years are extremely important as two World Cups are scheduled in the period. Together with the coaching and support staff, we will look to tick every box and give ourselves the best chance to succeed,” Muzumdar said in a statement released by BCCI.

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in World Cup match marred by ‘timed out’ controversy

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NEW DELHI: Angelo Mathews became the first batter to be timed out in international cricket as Bangladesh officially knocked Sri Lanka out of the World Cup with a three-wicket win in a dramatic match, which was held amid severe air pollution here on Monday.

Despite the AQI hovering close to the 400 mark, it was business as usual after the two teams braved toxic conditions as Bangladesh bowled Sri Lanka out for 279 in 49.3 overs, with Charith Asalanka scoring a 105-ball 108.

But Bangladesh chased down the target with 53 balls to spare.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan (82), who took 2 for 57 with the ball, and Najmul Hossain Shanto (90) shared a 169-run stand off 147 balls to lay the foundation of the run chase.

From 210 for 2, Bangladesh slumped to 269 for 7 before romping home in 41.1 overs with Tanzim Hasan Sakib (9) scoring the winning runs.

The win snapped Bangladesh’s six-match losing streak and kept them in the race for the Champions Trophy qualification, while denting Sri Lanka’s chances for the 2025 event in Pakistan.

The top seven teams from this World Cup will qualify for the Champions Trophy, while Pakistan, being the hosts, have qualified automatically.

For Sri Lanka, it was their sixth loss in eight games.

Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who are at four points each, need to finish inside the top-8 to make the cut.

Earlier, Mathews’ controversial ‘timed-out’ dismissal almost derailed the Sri Lankan innings but Asalanka’s timely hundred took them to 279 all out.

Asalanka smashed six fours and five maximums during his gritty 108, his second ODI ton, to carry the team on his shoulders even as drama unfolded in the middle overs with Mathews getting out in a bizarre fashion.

Asalanka forged a 63-run partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama (41), before adding 78 off 82 balls with Dhananjaya de Silva (34).

He also shared 45 off 48 balls with Maheesh Theekshana (22).

Opener Pathum Nissanka also contributed with a 36-ball 41.

Chasing the total, Bangladesh lost two quick wickets with Dhilshan Madushanka accounting for both the openers — Tanzid Hasan (9) and Litton Das (23).

However, Shakib and Shanto steadied the ship, taking them across the 100-mark in the 18th over.

Shakib was lucky to survive when he was dropped at covers by Asalanka off Mathews.

He made it count, slamming 12 fours and two sixes in his over two-hour stay at the crease.

Mathews, however, removed both the set batters — dismissing Shakib in the 32nd over and then Shanto chopped on to the stumps.

Shanto had 12 hits to the fence during his 101-ball innings.

Needing 69 in 16.4 overs, Mahmudullah (22) and Mushfiqur Rahim (10) added another 38 runs but they were back in the hut, followed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz (3) before Towhid Hridoy (15) and Tanzim Sakib took them home.

Bitter rivalry

Mathews’ dismissal added another chapter to the bitter rivalry between the two teams when he was timed out, the first instance in international cricket across formats.

Mathews had walked in after Sadeera Samarawickrama holed out on the second ball of the 25th over off Shakib’s bowling but he failed to get ready to face the ball within two minutes after realising that the strap of his helmet was broken.

The delay prompted Bangladesh to appeal and the umpires upheld it despite Mathews’ repeated pleas.

Opting to field, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahman produced a stunning catch to get rid of Kusal Perera (4) but Nissanka smashed Shoriful Islam for three fours in the third over to shake off the early jitters.

The opener did most of the damage as Sri Lanka reached 52 for 2 in the first power play.

Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis, who took 14 balls to get off the mark, clobbered Tanzim Sakib over mid-on for the first six of the innings before picking up another four but he holed out to Shoriful off Shakib.

Nissanka then dragged one on to his stumps to hand Tanzim his first World Cup wicket as Sri Lanka lost two wickets in succession.

Asalanka and Samarawickrama forged an alliance with the former hitting two sixes — one over long on from a slower ball from Tanzim and the other being off Shakib over long off.

The duo added 63 off 69 balls and just when it seemed things were going their way, Bangladesh struck back with the wickets of Samarawickrama and Mathews.

However, Asalanka dug his heels, curbed his attack and focused on rebuilding as he batted with the tail.

He and De Silva (34) quickly recovered from the setback to take Sri Lanka across the 200 mark.

Asalanka completed his fifty in the 31st over with a four off Tanzim but De Silva was stumped by Mushfiqur after the batter was flummoxed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Heavy rain lashes Bengaluru, many areas, roads flooded

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BENGALURU:  Several parts of the city received heavy rain on Monday night, exposing the city’s fragile infrastructure. The rain that lashed for more than an hour flooded many roads, making it difficult for vehicle users to wade through.

As it rained quite late in the night, there were no traffic jams reported. Underpasses at Anand Rao Circle, Okalipuram, Lingarajapuram and Shivananda Circle were flooded, while Commercial Street and Kamaraj Road had knee-deep water. As a precautionary measure, the traffic police barricaded the underpasses.

Water entered some houses in Kurubarahalli, while flooding was reported in Cooke Town and CK Garden area. Many residents complained of up to 1.5 feet of water inside their homes. The area is flooded as the Railways have blocked a stormwater drain, they said.

Purushottam (90), a retired undersecretary to the state government and a resident of the area, was livid that the authorities had not come to address their problems, though the ground floor of his house was flooded since late afternoon.

Railway ADRM Kusuma Hariprasad said she would look into the issue. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also Bengaluru Development Minister, visited the BBMP control room around 11.30 pm and sought details from BBMP officials on rain damage, and flooding of roads and underpasses. He spoke directly to officials to know the situation and asked them about the immediate measures taken.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a thunderstorm warning for most parts of coastal and south interior Karnataka for the next two days. It also forecast heavy rainfall across the many parts of Karnataka for the next three days, including north interior Karnataka.

The department issued an ‘Orange’ alert for Kodagu district and a ‘Yellow’ alert for Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru and Shivamogga districts.  

IMD scientist A Prasad told TNIE that most parts of Karnataka are experiencing rain due to the formation of a trough from the Southeast Arabian Sea to the Kerala coast, covering south interior Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh up to West-central Bay of Bengal.  

He added that there is a deficit of 53 per cent rainfall in the state as a whole. The present rainfall will not cover the deficit.

Former driver held for senior official’s murder in Bengaluru

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Prathima KS

BENGALURU:  The police have claimed to have solved the murder case of 43-year-old Prathima KS, senior geologist, with the arrest of her former driver.

The accused, identified as Kiran, 32, of Jamboo Savari Dinne at Konanakunte in the city, was arrested at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills on Sunday.

Investigations revealed that Kiran, who was sacked from job, murdered the officer as she did not pay heed to his repeated requests to reappoint him as her car driver.

Kiran was appointed as a driver on a contract basis by the Department of Mines and Geology eight years ago. He was Prathima’s driver and was reportedly sacked two months ago for misconduct. 

The police traced his phone call and managed to arrest him there. He was planning to go to Tamil Nadu, the police said.

Kiran was produced before the Second Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court, which remanded him in police custody till November 15. The accused has a criminal history. A case of attempt to dacoity was registered against him by Konanakunte police in 2017.

Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), told reporters that Kiran worked as Prathima’s driver for four years at the Bengaluru Urban office of the Mines and Geology Department near Vidhana Soudha. 

On learning that Kiran lost his job, his wife, who believed him to be a permanent government employee, reportedly left him.  Kiran’s father too works as a driver in the same department. Kiran confessed that 
he murdered Prathima as he was not reappointed as her driver, he said.

On Saturday, Kiran waited at Prathima’s house for her to return from office. When she arrived, Kiran appealed to her to reappoint him as her driver. When Prathima refused, Kiran strangled her with her veil. Later, he slit her throat with a knife from her kitchen. Before leaving home, Kiran latched the grill door, the officer said.

He visited Prathima’s house even on Friday, but could not meet her. He even tried to meet Prathima at her office. Kiran was reportedly involved in an accident while driving the office vehicle. He allegedly used to leak information about the raids planned by the department. When this matter was brought to the notice of the department, he was removed from job, the officer said.

The DCP said, “We are yet to recover the weapon used by Kiran to commit the murder. Kiran took away Rs 15,000 from Prathima’s purse and spent it.” Further investigations are on. Meanwhile, the last rites of Prathima were performed in Tirthahalli, Shivamogga district, on Monday.  

Wherever PM campaigned, BJP lost: Karnataka Chief Minister

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Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the Congress government in Karnataka while campaigning in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the former’s speeches are a “bundle of lies”.

Modi had claimed that the Congress had damaged Karnataka and that development had come to a standstill in the state. He also raised doubts about Siddaramaiah completing his tenure.  

“The BJP lost wherever PM Modi campaigned in Karnataka. The PM targeting the Karnataka government during his campaign in MP shows the BJP’s inefficiency. The party is yet to appoint the leader of opposition in Karnataka,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here. 

Reacting to the corruption allegations made by the PM on himself and his deputy DK Shivakumar, the CM said that there are allegations of 40% commission cut on the previous BJP government. “We are investigating the matter.  There are many probe agencies under the Union Government. Without proof, one should not make allegations,” the CM said.

Modi had claimed, “Wherever the Congress government is formed by mistake, a competition to loot the state between its chief minister and his deputy is taking place, and such news is coming regularly from Karnataka.”

“I never expected a statement like this from the PM. It does not befit him,” he said. On drought relief, the CM accused the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment to the state. “They have not released any funds. The PM said that the Congress will be unable to implement the guarantees. But we proved him wrong,” Siddaramaiah added. 

Israel vows to take ‘security responsibility’ of Gaza after war

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JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday that Israel will take control of “overall security” of besieged Gaza after the war, as the Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll has surged past 10,000.

Resisting calls for a ceasefire, Netanyahu said there would be no letup in the war to destroy Hamas, whose October 7 attack left 1,400 dead in Israel, most of them civilians.

The Palestinian militant group also took more than 240 people hostage, including children and elderly people, in an attack that prompted Israel’s massive bombardment of Gaza and an intensifying ground offensive.

One month since the war began, the Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll in Gaza had surpassed 10,000 people — more than 4,000 of them children.

With international criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war mounting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Gaza was becoming a “graveyard for children”.

More than 1.5 million people in densely packed Gaza have fled their homes for other parts of the territory in a desperate search for cover, with critical aid only trickling in.

But Netanyahu told ABC News the war would continue until Israel had restored “overall security” control of Gaza.

“Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility,” he said.

“When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.”

nyahu’s comments came after the White House said the Israeli leader had discussed potential “tactical pauses” in a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Monday.

But no agreements were announced and the pair did not broach the possibility of a ceasefire.

While key Israeli ally the United States is seeking a humanitarian “pause” in the fighting, several countries and UN agencies have repeatedly called for a ceasefire.

“There will be no ceasefire — general ceasefire — in Gaza, without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

“As far as tactical, little pauses — an hour here, an hour there — we’ve had them before. I suppose we’ll check the circumstances in order to enable goods — humanitarian goods — to come in or our hostages, individual hostages, to leave,” he added.

The Israeli army said it had pounded Gaza with “significant” strikes on 450 targets over 24 hours since Sunday morning, and that troops were targeting Hamas commanders in underground tunnels.

Israeli infantry and tanks have flooded the northern half of the Gaza Strip and tightened an encirclement of Gaza City, effectively splitting the territory in two.

Israeli troops who have taken up positions near the Gaza border told AFP they felt proud to protect their country but also nervous as the war intensifies.

Stationed near Gaza, a 20-year-old soldier said he was “a bit scared to go” into the Palestinian territory if given the order.

“You don’t know if you can come back alive,” said the soldier, whose name like those of other troops cannot be published because of Israeli military censorship.

Around 30 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the offensive, the latest on Monday, according to a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing Israeli sources.

Statue of Liberty protest
Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip in 2005. A year later, Hamas won elections in Gaza, and subsequently seized control of the territory in 2007.

The Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, only exercises limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested last week that the Palestinian Authority should retake control of Gaza after the war, and visited the West Bank to meet Abbas on Sunday.

But Hamas said they would never accept a puppet government in Gaza and that “no force on Earth could annihilate” it, said senior Hamas official in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan.

Blinken on Tuesday concluded his latest whirlwind Middle East tour, landing in Japan for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers set to seek a common line on Gaza.

The United States has bolstered its forces in the region, deploying two carrier strike groups and other assets to drive home its message that regional actors should not seek to take advantage of the conflict.

Hamas militants fired 16 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel on Monday, while Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed they had launched a fresh drone attack against Israel.

The Pentagon said Monday a US nuclear-powered Ohio-class submarine was in the Middle East to help prevent war from widening.

Meanwhile, in the latest protest, hundreds of US Jewish activists peacefully occupied New York’s Statue of Liberty on Monday to demand a ceasefire an end to the “genocidal bombardment” of civilians in Gaza.

“As long as the people of Gaza are screaming, we need to yell louder, no matter who attempts to silence us,” said photographer Nan Goldin at the protest.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s latest overnight barrage killed 292 people and hit two paediatric hospitals and Gaza’s only psychiatric hospital.

“These are massacres! They destroyed three houses over the heads of their inhabitants — women and children,” Mahmud Meshmesh, a resident of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told AFP.

“We have already taken 40 bodies out of the rubble,” he said as crowds prayed around corpses wrapped in white shrouds.

Israeli officials accuse Hamas of building tunnels underneath hospitals, schools and places of worship in Gaza to hide fighters, store arms and ammunition, and plan attacks — charges the militant group has denied.

Israel has air-dropped leaflets and sent text messages ordering Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to head south. A US official said Saturday at least 350,000 civilians remained in the worst-hit areas.

The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt reopened Monday to allow the evacuation of foreigners and dual nationals, the Hamas government said, ending a two-day closure prompted by a dispute over the passage of ambulances.

On Monday, 93 aid trucks carrying food, medicine and water crossed from Egypt into Gaza, the United Nations said, but the needs are overwhelming.

A convoy including four ambulances arrived in Egypt via the Rafah crossing on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

“I have lost my home and have nothing left. I came here with nothing but the clothes I’m wearing,” said Dana Okal, a Swedish passport holder.

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