Israel says more aid entering Gaza, while its latest strikes kill at least 85 people
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), May 20 (AP): Israel showed no sign of responding to allies' calls to halt its new military offensive in Gaza as health officials said airstrikes killed at least 85 Palestinians overnight into Tuesday, but Israel said it was allowing in dozens more trucks of aid.
It was not immediately clear whether the desperately needed aid was reaching any of Gaza's over 2 million people, who had been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months. Experts have warned of famine.
Under pressure, Israel agreed this week to allow a “minimal” amount of aid into Gaza after preventing the entry of food, medicine and fuel in an attempt to pressure Hamas.
After the first five trucks entered on Monday, dozens began entering via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday afternoon, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said. They included flour for bakeries, food for community soup kitchens, baby food and medical supplies.
Organisations in Gaza did not immediately confirm whether they had received anything. Marmorstein said Israel would allow dozens of aid trucks per day — far less than the 600 that entered daily during the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency, said the world body had received approvals for about 100 trucks to enter Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he decided to let in limited aid after pressure from allies, who told him they couldn't support Israel while devastating images of starvation were coming out of Gaza.
But some close allies say his decision is not enough.
The British government on Tuesday said it was suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and was levelling new sanctions targeting settlements in the occupied West Bank.
It came a day after the UK, France and Canada condemned Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the West Bank and threatened to take action.
“I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the UK's Parliament.
Israel's Marmorstein called the new sanctions “unjustified and regrettable" and claimed Israel and the UK hadn't been talking about free trade.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot denounced the Israeli government's “blind violence” in Gaza that he said has turned the Palestinian territory into a “place of death”.
“This must stop,” Barrot told French radio France Inter on Tuesday.
Israel launched its new military operation in Gaza over the weekend, saying it aims to return dozens of hostages held by Hamas and destroy the fighter group. More than 300 people have been killed in Gaza during the latest onslaught, according to health officials.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
