Gaza: In a recent development, the Palestinian group Hamas released two elderly Israeli hostages, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, late last evening. The release, facilitated through mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt, was attributed to "compelling humanitarian" reasons.

A video released by Hamas depicted the moment when the two hostages were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Notably, before departing, one of the released hostages extended her hand to a masked Hamas operative, exchanging a greeting of 'shalom'.

Following their release, Cooper and Lifshitz were airlifted to an Israeli hospital, where they are set to be reunited with their families on Tuesday. This development comes after Hamas had earlier released two American nationals, Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan. Hamas announced its collaboration with Qatar and Egypt in efforts to release its "civilian" hostages, hinting at the possibility of further releases in the near future.

The recent hostage situation unfolded on October 7 when Hamas operatives stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip, resulting in the capture of 222 hostages. The Israeli government emphasized the urgency of the situation, as many captives had medical conditions requiring immediate care, and some were elderly. Reports have emerged suggesting that Hamas might release an additional 50 hostages in the coming days.

Addressing the ongoing crisis, U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Monday that discussions about a Gaza ceasefire could only occur if Hamas releases all hostages captured from Israel during the October 7 attack. "We should have those hostages released, and then we can talk," President Biden affirmed during a White House event when questioned about supporting a potential "hostages-for-ceasefire" arrangement.

The October 7 attack resulted in a toll, with at least 1,400 people, primarily civilians, losing their lives, many on the first day of the raid. Subsequently, Israeli forces conducted relentless bombardments across the Gaza Strip, leading to the deaths of more than 5,000 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, in the ongoing conflict.

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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.

The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."

The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.

Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.

According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.

It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.

If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.

In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.

It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.

The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.

It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.

“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.