At least 45 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, health officials say
Khan Younis (Gaza Strip), Jun 17 (AP): At least 45 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and a local hospital.
The circumstances of the killings were not immediately clear. It did not appear to be related to a new Israeli- and US-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence.
Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by a separate US and Israeli-backed aid group since the centres opened last month. Local health officials say scores have been killed and hundreds wounded.
In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
Israel says the new system is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid to fund its activities.
UN agencies and major aid groups deny there is any major diversion of aid and have rejected the new system, saying it can't meet the mounting needs in Gaza and that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who has access to aid. Experts have warned of widespread famine in Gaza.
The UN-run network has delivered aid across Gaza throughout the 20-month Israel-Hamas war, but has faced major obstacles since Israel loosened a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May. UN officials say Israeli military restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it difficult to deliver the aid that Israel has allowed in.
Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel launched its campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after the group's Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which Hamas killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. The Hamas still hold more than 50 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
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Shankar arrested in UP for allegedly posting objectionable Facebook video against Hindu gods
Ballia: Police in Ballia district have arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly uploading a Facebook video containing objectionable remarks against Hindu gods, officials said on Saturday.
The arrest was made following a complaint lodged by BJP district executive committee member Ripunjay Rai. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered on Friday night at the Sikandarpur police station against the accused, identified as Vishnu Shankar alias Golu.
According to the FIR, Shankar had allegedly used abusive and derogatory language against Sanatan Dharma and Hindu deities in the video.
Station House Officer (SHO) Mool Chandra Chaurasia confirmed that the accused was taken into custody from his village on Saturday and subsequently sent to jail. Police said the investigation into the matter is ongoing.
The incident comes just a day after another arrest in Uttar Pradesh over alleged objectionable social media content. In Shamli district, a 30-year-old man identified as Khalid, a resident of Ambeta village, was detained for allegedly posting derogatory content against UP Chief Minister Adityanath using a fake Instagram account in the name of Kairana MP Iqra Choudhary.
Kairana SHO Samaypal Attri said the case was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following a complaint from the MP. During the investigation, police traced the account to Khalid and recovered a mobile phone reportedly used to post the content.
