Palestinian children wounded in Gaza strikes receive medical treatment in Lebanon
Beirut: A group of Palestinian children injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have been transferred to Lebanon for specialized medical care, according to health officials and aid agencies, as reported by Reuters.
Six-year-old Omar Abu Kuwaik lost his hand and suffered severe burns and leg injuries in a December 2023 airstrike. Omar arrived in Beirut earlier this month through an evacuation facilitated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The strike on his grandparents’ home killed his parents, sister and other relatives, making him the sole survivor. Doctors in Lebanon are evaluating him for reconstructive surgery and a prosthetic hand.
14-year-old Amir Hajjaj, sustained shrapnel injuries to his shoulders and legs. He also lost his fingers when his family home in northern Gaza was struck in 2023. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Beirut.
In a separate case, Aya Abdallah aged 7, lost her right leg in an airstrike. Her sister Mays aged 5, suffered fractures and nerve damage. Both girls are receiving treatment in Lebanon. Aya is expected to be fitted with a prosthetic limb and Mays will continue physiotherapy.
According to UNICEF records around 45,000 children have been wounded in Gaza since October 2023. Many sustained permanent disabilities, while more than 18,000 children have been killed.
Due to Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals and restricted exit routes, medical authorities in Beirut have noted that only a limited number of wounded children have been evacuated
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
