Israel ramps up strikes on Gaza City, hospital says at least 32 dead
Deir al-Balah (AP): A barrage of airstrikes killed at least 32 people across Gaza City as Israel ramps up its offensive there and urges Palestinians to evacuate, medical staff reported Saturday.
The dead included 12 children, according to the morgue in Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Israel in recent days has intensified strikes across Gaza City, destroying multiple high-rise buildings and accusing Hamas of putting surveillance equipment in them. It has ordered residents to leave, part of an offensive aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city, which it says is Hamas' last stronghold. Hundreds of thousands of people remain there, struggling under conditions of famine.
One of the strikes overnight and into early morning Saturday hit a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, killing a family of 10, including a mother and her three children, said health officials. Images showed the strikes hitting followed by plumes of smoke.
Israel's army didn't immediately respond to questions about the strikes.
In the wake of escalating hostilities and calls to evacuate the city, the number of people leaving has spiked in recent weeks, according to aid workers. However, many families remain stuck because of the cost of finding transportation and housing, while others having been displaced too many times and don't want to move again, not trusting that anywhere in the enclave is safe.
In a message on social media Saturday, Israel's army told the remaining Palestinians in Gaza City to leave “immediately” and move south to what it's calling a humanitarian zone. Army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that more than a quarter of a million people had left Gaza City — from an estimated 1 million who live in the area of north Gaza around the city.
The United Nations however, put the number of people who have left at around 100,000 between mid-August and mid-September. The UN and aid groups have warned that displacing hundreds of thousands of people will exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis. Sites in southern Gaza where Israel is telling people to go are overcrowded, according to the UN, and it can cost money to move, which many people don't have.
An initiative headed by the UN to bring temporary shelters into Gaza said more than 86,000 tents and other supplies were still awaiting clearance to enter Gaza as of last week.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday that seven people including children died from malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, raising the toll to 420, including 145 children, since the war began.
The bombardment Friday night across Gaza City came days after Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, intensifying its campaign against the militant group and endangering negotiations over ending the war in Gaza.
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Withdraw 'disrespectful' remark against Rahul Gandhi and apologise: Pilot asks Rijiju
Mumbai (PTI): Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday hit out at Union minister Kiren Rijiju for passing a "disrespectful and inappropriate" remark against Rahul Gandhi, and asked him to apologise for it.
He was answering a query regarding Rijiju's reported statement in which he described Gandhi as the "most dangerous person" for India's security, and a purported video of a man claiming to be from Karni Sena issuing death threats to the Congress leader.
Addressing a press conference here, Pilot said, "When ordinary journalists criticise the government, they face FIRs and jail. But when threats are issued against the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (Rahul Gandhi), there is silence. This shows the government's intention. LoP is a constitutional position. To describe him as a security threat is inappropriate and disrespectful. Even as such open threats are being made, the government is not taking any action."
"The statement 9against Gandhi) should be withdrawn and an apology should be issued," the Congress general secretary said, adding that it is the job of the LoP to seek accountability from the government and ask questions.
To a query on the plane crash in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed on January 28, Pilot said, "I do not want to speculate. There should be a transparent, time-bound inquiry. If there are doubts, a high-level investigation should clarify facts."
When asked about the demand for leadership change in the opposition INDIA bloc, he said, "Leadership decisions are internal matters. The alliance worked remarkably well in the last Lok Sabha election. The gap in numbers between the INDIA bloc and the NDA was not very wide. We are working together strongly and will continue to do so."
The Congress has been helming the INDIA bloc, a coalition of Opposition parties formed before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to counter the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, voices from disgruntled Congress members and those associated with the UPA dispensation suggested that the leadership of the opposition alliance should be given to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin.
On Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Indian economy, Pilot said, "India is a major IT power. We have talent and capability. Many countries see India as a natural partner. But we must use our strengths wisely and not compromise our sovereignty under pressure."
"India should have the freedom to decide where to buy oil from. That is a sovereign decision," Pilot said.
On the issue of illegal migration, he said anybody staying illegally in India should be removed regardless of religion or caste.
"But this issue should not be politicised. If the border has been under control for 11 years, how did illegal immigrants enter? The government should provide data on how many people have been deported," he said.
"This government's intent and policies are anti-farmer and there is no accountability. The opposition will continue to demand answers from the government and stand with farmers and the people of India," he said.
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