Israel says it has begun 'extensive' new ground operations in Gaza
Deir al-Balah, May 18 (AP): Israel launched “extensive” new ground operations in the Gaza Strip while airstrikes in a new offensive killed at least 103 people, including dozens of children, overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and medics said, and forced northern Gaza's main hospital to close.
Airstrikes killed more than 48 people in and around the Palestinian territory's southern city of Khan Younis, some hitting houses and tents sheltering displaced people, according to Nasser Hospital, which said it struggled to count the dead because of the condition of the bodies. Eighteen children and 13 women were among them, spokesperson Weam Fares said.
In northern Gaza, a strike on a home in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp killed nine members of a family, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency services.
Another strike on a residence in Jabaliya killed 10, including seven children and a woman, according to the civil defence, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
In Gaza City, Um Mahmoud al-Aloul lay across the shrouded body of her daughter, Nour al-Aloul.
“You took my soul with you,” she cried. “I used to turn off my phone from how much you called.”
Israel's military had no immediate comment, but its statement announcing the ground operations said that preliminary strikes over the past week killed dozens of Hamas fighters and struck more than 670 targets. Israel blames civilian casualties on Hamas because the group operates from civilian areas.
Israel launched the offensive Saturday with the aims of seizing territory, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza's south and taking greater control of aid distribution.
An Israeli blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is now in its third month, with global food security experts warning of famine across the territory of more than 2 million people.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
