Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza ahead of high-level cease-fire talks in Egypt
Cairo, Aug 24: Multiple Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt.
Among the dead were 11 members of a family, including two children, after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a total of 33 bodies from three strikes in and around the city that also hit tuk-tuks and passersby.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from another strike.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.
First responders also recovered 16 bodies from the Hamad City area of Khan Younis after a partial pullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential block west of Khan Younis and two farther south in Rafah. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear, but the areas were repeatedly bombed by the Israeli military over the past week. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies.
Some residents returned to Hamad City, walking between destroyed apartment buildings.
“There is nothing, no apartment, no furniture, no homes, only destruction,” said one woman, Neveen Kheder. “We are dying slowly. You know what, if they gave a mercy bullet it would be better than what is happening to us.”
The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other groups staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, primarily civilians. More than 100 hostages were released during a cease-fire last year, but Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110. Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry said Saturday a total of 69 dead and 212 wounded had been brought to hospitals across the strip over the past 24 hours.
The conflict has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, with many cramming into shrinking “humanitarian zones.”
Experts were meeting Saturday on technical issues ahead of Sunday's high-level talks in Cairo on a possible cease-fire mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. CIA Director William Burns, Qatar's foreign minister and Egypt's spy chief were meeting Saturday evening in Cairo, according to an Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the talks.
A Hamas delegation arrived Saturday in Cairo to meet with Egyptian and Qatari officials, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy told the AP. He stressed that Hamas will not take part directly in Sunday's talks but will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar.
An Israeli delegation that arrived Thursday included the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service and Shin Bet security service and top general Maj Gen Eliezer Toledano.
The CIA director and Brett McGurk, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden on the Middle East, are leading the US side of negotiations amid major differences between Israel and Hamas over Israel's insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza.
The US has been pushing a proposal that aims at closing the gaps between Israel and Hamas as fears grow over a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel.
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen CQ Brown Jr, was visiting Egypt, Jordan and Israel over the next few days to “stress the importance of deterring further escalation of hostilities,” a statement said.
Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to stress the urgency of reaching a deal and discussed developments with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday.
A major impasse has been the Philadelphi corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory. Netanyahu has insisted that Israel retain control of the corridors to prevent smuggling and catch Hamas members.
Merdawy said Hamas' position had not changed from accepting an earlier draft that would include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
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'Brand Bharat' is statement of authenticity; of being Vishwa Bandhu, says EAM
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday extolled the idea of 'Brand Bharat' and said it is "statement of authenticity" in representation, articulation or beliefs, and equally a message that "we are now more comfortable in our own skin".
In a virtual address at India Ideas Conclave, he also underlined that it is also the "brand of Vishwa Bandhu" as on the big stage, a "multi-vector approach" engages the Quad and BRICS, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran and the Global North and Global South.
Nations, like people, enterprises or services, have a reputation. When deeply entrenched into consciousness and easily recognisable, that becomes a brand. Obviously, it is related to the merits of the product and its track record, he said.
"When it comes to a country, the national brand is obviously a fusion and aggregation of different facets of its life. On the global stage, it is much more an integrated positioning of a multiple endeavors. We, in the world of diplomacy, have that responsibility. My thoughts today are about how we discharge that for an India that is more Bharat," Jaishankar said.
In his address, the external affairs minister encapsulated the journey of India from freedom struggle to gaining independence and the course the country took in the succeeding decades.
"Our initial decades after independence saw us struggling with the brand challenge. Given the ground situation, this was not unsurprising. A society recovering from two centuries of colonialism obviously had to painstakingly build itself up, creating new capabilities, institutions and practices," he said.
But at the end of the day, India entered the next century "intact as a polity, energetic as an economy and optimistic as a society".
"None of that could have been taken for granted and some, in fact, failed to make it," he underlined.
The Union minister, who virtually addressed the conclave hosted by India Foundation, lamented that earlier the country, at the global level, was "seen as sizeable player about whom there was limited expectation", and said, however, the last decade has seen a "big shift" in that regard.
"Economically, we are now perceived as much easier to do business. The transformation underway in infrastructure is also increasingly appreciated.
Whether it is the airports, metros, highways or railways, the achievements of the last decade stand out even by global standards. Perhaps, nothing has been more impactful than our embrace of digital technologies," he added.
Jaishankar then went on to expound what is 'Brand Bharat'.
"Bharat is a statement of authenticity, be it in representation, articulation or beliefs. Even our economic energies required a connotation of Atmanirbharta in that background," he asserted.
"It is equally a message that we are now more comfortable in our own skin, drawing on our own past, fashioning our own lexicon and advancing our own ideas," the Union minister added.
He said while recognising these developments, let us also realise that "we are not just one more country".
"Our history, tradition, culture and heritage makes us stand out. We are one of the rare ancient civilisations that have made a successful transition to a nation state. In the past, when our overall standing was less, perhaps this did not count for that much. But when juxtaposed with our achievements in so many fields, it now assumes very different connotation," Jaishankar added.
It is in this context that "we should reflect on Brand Bharat. The very term captures the civilisational aspect, while underlining how much more rooted we have become", he said.
"In a world asserting its independence from a globalised elite, it is an effort to engage the world more on our terms. The formulation of standing on the two legs of technology and tradition is one effective way of expressing Brand Bharat," Jaishankar said.
Coming from the domain of diplomacy, India naturally seek to advance that brand in more specific terms. That means defining how Bharat approaches the world, he said.
"There are a range of answers. The Global South sees a powerful advocate and the driver of Vaccine Maitri. Neighbours recognise a generous and non-reciprocal partner who stood by them during Covid, financial meltdowns or natural disasters. Democracies appreciate a confident partner whose choice has helped universalise their shared attributes," the minister asserted.
"The immediate region and beyond value an emerging 'first responder' and contributor to global goods. And on the big stage, a multi-vector approach engages the Quad and BRICS, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran and the Global North and South. This is the brand of Vishwa Bandhu," he said.
