Over 55,000 Palestinians killed in ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza: Gaza Health Ministry
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip): The death toll of Palestinians in the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 55,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The figure marks a catastrophic human cost in what many international observers, rights groups, and legal experts have called a campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people.
The Health Ministry, which is staffed by medical professionals operating under the Hamas-run administration, reported on Wednesday that 55,104 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the onslaught, with 127,394 injured. It noted that women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. Many more are believed to be buried under rubble or remain unreachable in devastated zones.
The attacks by Israel escalated in October 2023, following an attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 and years of blockade, occupation, and systemic repression in Gaza and the West Bank. While Israeli officials routinely claim that only fighters are targeted, the scale of destruction and the civilian death toll suggest otherwise, with entire neighborhoods flattened, hospitals destroyed, and over 90% of Gaza’s population displaced.
Vast portions of Gaza, including what was once the densely populated city of Rafah, have been converted into a militarized buffer zone, forcibly cleared of their inhabitants. Observers note that the level of devastation is unprecedented, with some calling it the most destructive military campaign since World War II.
In recent months, a 2½-month Israeli blockade, imposed after the collapse of a temporary ceasefire, deepened fears of mass starvation. Although partially lifted in May with a new aid mechanism backed by Israel and the US, the system has been marked by chaos, limited access, looting, and continued Israeli restrictions, the United Nations has said.
Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid, but the UN and international humanitarian agencies deny any organized siphoning of supplies by Palestinian fighters. Aid deliveries remain sporadic and inadequate, as Gaza’s health and infrastructure systems have largely collapsed.
Israel claims to have killed over 20,000 Palestinian fighters, a number it has not substantiated with evidence and acknowledges that Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza outside of active combat zones. 55 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half believed to be alive.
Hamas has indicated that it would release the hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal, a permanent ceasefire, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. It has also offered to transfer governance to a politically independent Palestinian council. Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected these terms, insisting instead on temporary ceasefires only to retrieve hostages.
Netanyahu has stated that Israel intends to maintain indefinite control over Gaza and has even spoken of encouraging the “voluntary emigration” of its population, a plan widely condemned as ethnic cleansing and in violation of international law.
With over half of Gaza’s population now homeless and tens of thousands dead, the humanitarian catastrophe continues to worsen amid what Palestinian advocates and legal scholars are increasingly describing as a state-led campaign of displacement, destruction, and genocide.
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Defamation case: Rahul alleges political malice; UP court sets March 9 hearing
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before an MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur and recorded his statement in a 2018 defamation case related to his remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Gandhi told the court of Special Judge Shubham Verma that the allegations against him were made out of political malice and with an aim of destroying his image and that of his party, the Congress leader's advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla told PTI.
The court fixed March 9 as the next date of hearing on which the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli has been asked to furnish evidence in his defence, the lawyer said.
Elaborating about the statement given by the Congress leader in the court, his lawyer said Gandhi denied all allegations levelled against him.
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"The allegations are baseless and unfounded. I have never used derogatory words against anyone, nor have I used such language with the intention of defaming anyone. A false complaint has been filed by distorting my statement," Shukla quoted Gandhi as saying.
"The allegations have been made against me out of political malice with the aim of destroying my image and that of my party. I have never used derogatory words against anyone, nor have I used such language with the intention of defaming anyone," Gandhi told the court
As the Congress leader emerged from the court after recording his statement, party supporters raised slogans hailing him. Gandhi smiled and waved at the crowd before leaving.
Gandhi entered the Sultanpur court around 10.40 am and left after recording statements around 11.15 am.
Ahead of the court hearing, some local Congress leaders had put up posters in Sultanpur that read 'Satyamev Jayate' (truth always triumphs).
The case dates back to 2018 when local BJP leader and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank Vijay Mishra had filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi, alleging that during the Karnataka elections in 2018, the Congress leader made derogatory remarks against the then BJP president and current Union Home Minister Shah.
Santosh Kumar Pandey, the lawyer representing Mishra, said the cross-examination of the plaintiff and two witnesses has been completed.
The trial has been underway for the past five years. In December 2023, a warrant was issued against Gandhi for non-appearance before the court. He surrendered in February 2024, following which a special magistrate granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
On July 26, 2024, Gandhi recorded his statement before the court, claiming innocence and terming the case a political conspiracy. Thereafter, the court directed the complainant to produce evidence in the case.
