Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes have killed 22 people in northern Gaza
Deir al-Balah (AP): Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 22 people, Palestinian medical officials said.
The Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service said that 11 women and two children were among those killed in the strikes late Saturday on several homes and buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. It said another 15 people were wounded and that the death toll could rise.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has been waging a massive air and ground offensive in northern Gaza for the last three weeks, after saying that Hamas had regrouped there. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza City in the latest wave of displacement in the yearlong war.
Israel is still carrying out daily strikes across Gaza, even as it wages war with the Hezbollah group in Lebanon. On Saturday, Israeli warplanes attacked Iran — which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah — in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier this month.
The cascading conflicts have raised fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its proxies, which also include the Houthi rebels in Yemen and armed groups in Syria and Iraq.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to the local Health Ministry. It says more than half of those killed were women and children.
The offensive has devastated much of the impoverished coastal territory and displaced around 90 per cent of its population, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people have crowded into squalid tent camps along the coast, and aid groups say hunger is rampant.
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Will Champai Soren become a game-changer for BJP in Jharkhand polls?
Ranchi: Champai Soren, a prominent figure in Jharkhand’s statehood movement, is contesting the 2024 assembly elections from Seraikela, a seat he has consistently held since 1991.
However, there is a surprising shift in his political journey this year. Having resigned from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) earlier this year, Soren is now representing the BJP, a move that could significantly impact the electoral dynamics in the state.
Soren’s switiching is seen as a strategic benefit for the saffron party, which has been working to expand its appeal among Jharkhand’s tribal communities, a demographic traditionally aligned with the JMM. His departure from the JMM, led by Shibu Soren and his son Hemant Soren, was fueled by dissatisfaction with the state government’s policies, which he claimed had failed to address tribal concerns.
Also known as "Jharkhand’s Tiger" for his instrumental role in the statehood movement of the 1990s, Champai Soren has respect and influence among tribal voters. His decision to switch the party could be a turning point in the BJP’s efforts to gain a stronger hold in a state where tribal votes often decide the outcome.
