New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said he has spoken with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and was informed that he would participate in the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru on July 18.

Responding to reports that Pawar would skip the Opposition meeting on Monday and take part in it on Tuesday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh rejected such insinuations, saying the official meeting of opposition parties is on Tuesday and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is only hosting a dinner on Monday.

Asked about Pawar, Kharge, while interacting with reporters, said he has spoken with Pawar earlier in the day.

"He said the (Maharashtra) Assembly is starting there today and he would like to be there (Mumbai). But he will be present for the meeting tomorrow. I called him up to say that it is important for him to come... He said he is coming on July 18 morning, there is no concern about that," Kharge said.

"There is no problem, everyone is coming. Mamata ji is coming, read in the papers Kejriwal ji is coming, Nitish ji, Tejashwi ji, Stalin ji... In fact, more people are aligning with us than those present at the Patna meeting," the Congress president said.

Top leaders of 26 opposition parties are expected to brainstorm in Bengaluru on Tuesday at the official conclave of Opposition parties where they are likely to start work on a common minimum programme and announce a joint agitational plan to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

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Deir al-Balah, Nov 1: Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 24 people in northeastern Lebanon, the country's news agency said, raising the death toll from eight there.

It was the latest deadly toll in the area since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah escalated last month.

Israel's military has said that its operation in Lebanon is targeting Hezbollah's military infrastructure.

Lebanon's state National news Agency reported four airstrikes in different villages across country's northeast, saying rescuers were still searching for survivors in Younine, a town in the Bekaa Valley, from the rubble of a targeted house.

Hussein Haj Hassan, a Lebanese lawmaker representing the region in Baalbek-Hermel region, said that 60,000 people have already fled their homes in the area due to Israeli bombardment.