Israeli strikes on southern Gaza city of Rafah kill 13, mostly children, as US advances aid package
Rafah (Gaza Strip) (AP): Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 13 people, including nine children, health officials said on Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid to its close ally.
Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the US.
The House of Representatives approved a USD 26 billion aid package on Saturday that includes around USD 9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.
The first strike killed a man, his wife and their 3-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti Hospital, which received the bodies. The woman was pregnant, and the doctors managed to save the baby, the hospital said.
The second strike killed eight children and two women, all from the same family, according to hospital records. An airstrike in Rafah the night before killed nine people, including six children.
The Israel-Hamas war has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, devastated Gaza's two largest cities and left a swath of destruction across the territory. Around 80 per cent of the population have fled their homes to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave, which experts say is on the brink of famine.
The conflict, now in its seventh month, has sparked regional unrest pitting Israel and the US against Iran and allied groups across the Middle East. Israel and Iran traded fire directly earlier this month, raising fears of all-out war between the longtime foes.
Tensions have also spiked in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said troops “neutralised” two Palestinians who attacked a checkpoint with a knife and a gun near the southern West Bank town of Hebron early Sunday. It was not immediately clear if they were killed. No Israeli forces were wounded.
At least 469 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have been killed during Israeli military arrest raids, which often trigger gunbattles, or in violent protests.
The war has killed at least 34,049 Palestinians and wounded another 76,901, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It also says the real toll is likely higher as many bodies are stuck beneath the rubble left by airstrikes or are in areas that are unreachable for medics.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the groups fight in dense, residential neighbourhoods, but the military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children. The military says it has killed over 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.
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Man shoots woman dead, hangs self in UP’s Baghpat over unrequited love
Baghpat (UP) (PTI): A 20-year-old woman was shot dead by a man who later committed suicide in an apparent case of unrequited love in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat on Thursday, police said.
The incident took place in Mahavatpur Bawli village in the Badaut area, where the accused, Satnam, 22, allegedly shot the woman before hanging himself from a tree, they said.
Superintendent of Police, Suraj Kumar Rai, said preliminary findings suggest the incident was linked to unrequited love, adding that all aspects of the case are being probed.
According to police, the deceased woman, Guddan, daughter of Lakhmi Saini, worked as a tailor from her home.
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Satnam, a resident of the same village, had allegedly been in one-sided love with her for a long time and was pressuring her to marry him.
Police said that around 10.30 am, Guddan stepped out of her house to buy some items when Satnam, who was already waiting in a back lane, stopped her.
An argument ensued, following which he allegedly shot her in the head with a country-made pistol.
The woman collapsed on the spot with serious injuries.
The accused then went back to his house and committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree, police said.
Upon receiving information, police rushed to the spot and took the injured woman to a community health centre, where doctors declared her dead.
A forensic team recovered the weapon used in the crime from the scene, they added.
Police have sent both bodies for post-mortem and initiated an investigation, they said.
