Israel strikes 2 homes, killing more than 90 Palestinians while hundreds have been detained
Rafah, Dec 23: More than 90 Palestinians, including dozens from an extended family, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two homes, rescuers and hospital officials said Saturday, a day after the UN chief warned again that nowhere is safe in Gaza and that Israel's offensive is creating "massive obstacles" to distribution of humanitarian aid.
Also Saturday, the Israeli military said troops arrested hundreds of Hamas group members in Gaza over the past week and transferred more than 200 of them to Israel for further interrogation, providing rare details on a controversial policy of mass roundups of Palestinian men.
Israel declared war after Hamas group stormed across the border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages.
More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war to destroy Hamas and more than 53,000 have been wounded, according to health officials in Gaza, a besieged territory ruled by the Hamas for the past 16 years.
Despite mounting international calls for a cease-fire, Israel has vowed to keep up the fight until Hamas is destroyed and removed from power in Gaza and all the hostages are freed.
The Biden administration has shielded Israel in the diplomatic arena. On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution that calls for immediately speeding up aid deliveries to desperate civilians in Gaza, but not for a cease-fire.
The Health Ministry in Gaza on Saturday evening said 201 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.
On Friday, airstrikes flattened two homes, one in Gaza City and the other in the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat in the center of the territory.
The Gaza City strike killed 76 people from the al-Mughrabi family, making it one of the deadliest of the war, said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense department. He provided the names of 16 heads of households within the family, and said the dead included women and children.
Among those killed were Issam al-Mughrabi, a veteran employee of the UN Development Program, his wife, and their five children.
"The loss of Issam and his family has deeply affected us all. The UN and civilians in Gaza are not a target," said Achim Steiner, the head of the agency. "This war must end."
Later Friday, a strike pulverized the Nuseirat home of Mohammed Khalifa, a local TV journalist, killing him and at least 14 others, according to officials at the nearby Al Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital where the bodies were taken. Mourners held funeral prayers Saturday in the hospital's courtyard while rescue teams continued to search for survivors. The legs of at least two bodies were seen under what appeared to be a collapsed roof.
Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll, citing the group use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel has launched thousands of airstrikes since Oct. 7, and has largely refrained from commenting on specific attacks.
Israel's offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history, displacing nearly 85 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people and leveling wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. More than half a million people in Gaza a quarter of the population are starving, according to a report this week from the United Nations and other agencies.
The military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said late Friday that forces are widening the ground offensive "to additional areas of the strip, with a focus on the south." He said operations were also continuing in the northern half of Gaza, the initial focus of Israel's ground offensive. The army said that it carried out airstrikes against Hamas fighters in several locations of Gaza City.
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Class 12 exam paper 'leak' case: Private tutor among two held, four so far
Nagpur (PTI): A private tuition owner and his aide were arrested in connection with the suspected leak of Physics and Chemistry question papers of class 12 exams being conducted by the Maharashtra board in Nagpur, police said on Monday.
With the arrest of Mustafa Khan Munir Khan (42), who runs a teaching academy in the Mominpura area, and his aide Junaid Mohammad Abdul Javed, the number of people held so far has reached four.
Khan and Javed were remanded to police custody till February 26.
According to police, Khan allegedly shared the Chemistry paper on a WhatsApp group named "Tech 1", and Javed posted the answers. One Nishikant Mool had circulated the leaked content among students of his tuition classes.
The incident came to light on February 18 when a supervisor at St. Ursula High School examination centre spotted the paper on a student's phone.
Police said technical surveillance helped trace the accused. However, the original source of the leak remains unknown and further investigation is underway.
