Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 90 people in last 48 hours, Palestinians say
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Apr 19 (AP): Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 90 people in the last 48 hours, Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday, as Israeli troops ramp up attacks to pressure Hamas to release its hostages and disarm.
The dead include 15 people who were killed overnight, among them women and children, some of who were sheltering in a designated humanitarian zone, according to hospital staff.
At least 11 people were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, several of them in a tent in the Mwasi area where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living, hospital worker said. Israel has designated it as a humanitarian zone.
Four other people were killed in separate strikes in Rafah city, including a mother and her daughter, according to the European Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Israel has vowed to intensify attacks across Gaza and occupy large “security zones” inside the strip. For six weeks Israel also has blockaded Gaza, barring the entry of food and other goods.
This week, aid groups raised alarm saying that thousands of children have become malnourished, and most people are barely eating one meal a day as stocks dwindle, according to the United Nations.
On Saturday, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, the head of the World Health Organisation's eastern Mediterranean office, urged the new US ambassador in Israel, Mike Huckabee, to push the country to lift Gaza's blockade so medicines and other aid can enter the strip.
“I would wish for him to go in and see the situation firsthand,” she said.
In his first appearance as ambassador on Friday, Huckabee visited the Western Wall, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem's Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by US President Donald Trump. Huckabee said every effort was being made to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
The war began when Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90 per cent of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.
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3 of family killed in car-lorry collision in Chitradurga
Chitradurga (Karnataka), May 12 (PTI): Three members of a family died after their car collided with a lorry near Holalkere early on Monday, police said.
The family hailing from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh was en route to Udupi when the accident occurred at around 4 am, they said.
Citing preliminary investigation, a senior police officer said the car driver allegedly dozed off while driving and entered the opposite lane resulting in a head-on collision with the lorry which was heading towards Ballari from Mangaluru.
Three members of the family, including a woman, died, he said.
The car driver sustained injuries but is stated to be out of danger now. He is currently being treated at a hospital in Chitradurga, the officer said.
A case of accident was registered, police said, adding further investigation is underway.
