Anekal fire: Most victims were students who were trying to support their education, says CM
Bengaluru(PTI): Most of the 14 persons killed in the cracker shop blaze near here were poor students who worked during the holidays to support their education.
Official sources said six of the deceased were Class XII and undergraduate students. One person has been arrested in connection with the tragedy that happened on Saturday.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said most of those who were killed in the fire tragedy in the cracker godown-cum-shop in the border town of Attibele in Bengaluru urban district were students.
According to him, the victims hailed from Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
"Most of those who died were students who worked during the holidays to earn money for their studies. Barring the manager, none was a permanent employee," the chief minister told reporters after inspecting the spot.
He also met the bereaved family members and expressed his sorrow.
The young boys came from a very poor background who worked on holidays to fund their education and support their families, the sources said.
The chief minister said the families which lost their near and dear ones in the fire mishap will be given a compensation of Rs five lakh each.
"It's a major tragedy where 14 people have lost their lives. We will get it investigated and initiate action against those at fault. My condolences to the bereaved family members and pray for the departed souls to rest in peace," Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister further said that the government will bear the medical expenses of the three injured undergoing treatment in a hospital.
He said a CID inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
"Yesterday, a truckload of crackers arrived from Tamil Nadu at about 3 pm. It is still not known how the crackers caught fire. The preliminary investigation by officers revealed that adequate precautionary measures were not followed," Siddaramaiah said.
Nowhere the fire safety tools were deployed, the chief minister said adding, the carelessness of the licence holder is very much evident.
The chief minister said the licence holder, Ramaswamy Reddy, had renewed the licence on September 13 to sell crackers till October 31. He had another trade licence which would expire on January 28, 2026. Whether the godown was authorised or not has to be investigated, he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said a policy would be introduced to ensure that there is no such fire tragedy due to crackers in the state.
He said during Deepavali, huge quantities of crackers are stocked.
"The government has given direction to the police and the district administration to inspect all the cracker warehouses to ensure that such incidents do not occur anywhere," he said.
Police have registered an FIR in this connection.
Ramaswamy Reddy, is among the injured and is undergoing treatment. His son has been taken into custody, police sources said.
While 12 died on the spot, two others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and other leaders condoled the death of those killed in the fire accident.
Stalin announced a cash relief of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
In a statement, he said he has deputed his cabinet colleagues R Sakkarapani and Ma Subramanian to oversee the treatment requirements of the injured and coordinate steps for their transfer to Tamil Nadu, as may be the requirement.
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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.”
