Mysterious death of nurse Hazel: Family is still clueless about reason of death
Udupi, October 13: The mysterious death of Hazel Jyotsna Mathias, who was working at the Al Miqua General Hospital in Saudi Arabia, on July 19, of Kutyar near Shirva, was still a mystery to the family. Till date, the family is unaware of the reason for the death.
It is said that Hazel has committed suicide due to harassment from a hospital staff. As the Saudi Arabia police registered an unnatural death, her body was sent to India after 72 days of her death due to investigation and court proceedings. The body was cremated at Shirva Arogya Matha Church on September 28. But the family did not get any documents, statements, records, and postmortem report from the hospital, police or court, her death note and her diary and other documents which should have been sent through the Indian Embassy, according to Udupi Human Rights Protection Foundation President Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag who has been fighting for justice in the case.
The Indian Embassy has to send the major documents and records related to the mysterious death of Hazel. But the Indian Embassy which should protect the rights of the Indians, has completely failed in its duty. It has not tried honestly, Dr. Shanbhag said in a joint press conference with Hazel husband Ashwin Mathias, Father Robert Quadrus, Helena Quadrus and brother Royan Mervin Quadrus here on Saturday.
Even after three months of her death, Hazel’s parents were unaware about the reason for their daughter’s death. It is still a mystery that whether she has committed suicide or are there any other reasons for her death. Her father Robert and brother Royan were firm that she was not a weak minded person to commit suicide. Meanwhile, a death note said to be written by her in Catholic-Konkani and Kannada language was found in hospital nursing hostel room where she was believed to be committed suicide. In her death note, it was said that she has mentioned that hospital staff Ibrahim Al Zahrani had harassed her, he said.
Accused released
Saudi Arabia police who were investigating the case, had arrested Ibrahim and jailed. But he was released just three days before, Dr. Shanbhog said.
Because of this, her parents were in confusion whether their daughter has committed suicide or not and whether they to fight for justice or not. Postmortem report, death note, charge sheet and other important documents were necessary to confirm about her death. The Indian Embassy has sent just a doctor’s report that she had hanged herself and there were no marks on her body, and a police report that she had hanged herself, along with her body, he said.
Dr. Bander Salahi Al Zahrani of Al Baha Forensic Medicine Centre has confirmed that she died because of suffocation due to hanging and the doctors there also noted that it was a suicide. Surprisingly, the doctors had decided that it was a suicide without even having the postmortem report. Throughout the doctor’s report, there was no mention of postmortem report. Now, the family members were suspecting about conducting the postmortem. Based on the report, Al Baha district police director Major General Ali Bin Muhammad Al Hadi also said it was suicide and he also said that there was no sign of torture or fight on her body, he said.
Indian Embassy’s irresponsibility
Dr. Shanubhog said that the Indian Embassy which should have protected the interests of the victim and her family has completely failed in its responsibility. The Indian Embassy has done nothing in ensuring justice to Hazel and her family. Now, the Indian government should provide complete information about her death to her family. Already, the Foundation has sent emails to the Indian Embassy, hospital and the police of Saudi Arabia to give all information about her death, he added.
Royan said that the Indian Embassy has never contacted their family even for a single time. Though they themselves had contacted the officials, they had never responded positively, he said.
Option is there for re-postmortem!
If the family has suspicion about Hazel’s death, the body could be exhumed and conduct post mortem again. But her family members have to give consent for it. Since her family is so orthodox, it has not taken any decision about it. Before taking any decision, they have decided to wait for the reply from Saudi Arabia, he said.
Along with this, another letter was sent to the hospital where she was working to provide all benefits and compensation she ought to get. The Foundation would support her family morally and legally, he said.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
