Udupi, Jan 31: As a ray of hope, it is said that the mobile phones of two fishermen among seven who were missing in the sea and disconnected from the outside world while fishing in the deep sea, rang twice, but when tried again, they were not reachable. It was almost 45 days that the fishermen were missing, but the phone ringing triggered hope among their family members. It was not once, the phones rang twice.

But the police denied such development. They said that there was not technical evidence to prove it. They have already verified it and found it was a fake news.

When Malpe Fishermen Association secretary Gopal RK, he said that they have also got such message, but it was not justified. Everything was rumour. So they could not confirm it, he said.

According to a report from Uttara Kannada, daughter of Lakshman of Kumta called his father over mobile on Wednesday at 7.30 pm and then the phone rang. When she called once again, it was not reachable. " I only called Ravi Manley alias Pandu of Bhatkal. Then it was ringing.

Later I got the message that the incoming calls are restricted" said Pandu Mogera, father-in-law of Harish who is also missing. "I tried to call the same number on Thursday morning at 8 and it was ringing. We have brought this into the notice of Karwar DySP, Coast Guard and Uttara Kannada fishermen leaders", he said.

Protest within week

We have warned union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde that we will start our protest if the missing fishermen were not traced by Jan 26. No one has taken the missing of seven fishermen seriously. Condemning this negligent attitude, fishermen in Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts would intensify their protest,  Pandu Mogera said.

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Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.

There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.

The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.

On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.

A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.

More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.

In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.