Israeli airstrikes on Rafah kill at least 22 people, Palestinian health officials say
Rafah (PTI): Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah have killed at least 22 people, including six women and five children, Palestinian health officials said. One of the children killed in the strikes overnight into Monday was just 5 days old.
Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war and has threatened to send in ground troops, saying Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the coastal enclave. Over a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city on the Egyptian border. The United States and others have urged Israel not to invade, fearing a humanitarian catastrophe.
The overnight strikes hit three family homes. The first killed 12 people, including four siblings aged 9 to 27, according to records at the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
The second strike killed seven people, including a 33-year-old father and his 5-day-old boy, according to hospital records. The third strike killed three siblings, aged 23, 19 and 12.
The war has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, around two-thirds of them children and women.
Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because the groups fight in densely populated areas. But the military rarely accounts for individual strikes, which often kill women and children.
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Congress welcomed into TVK alliance with festive fervour
Chennai (PTI): All eyes are on TVK headquarters in Panaiyur here, as a delegation of Congress MLAs arrived for a high-profile meeting with actor-turned-politician Vijay.
The visual of the legislators entering the TVK premises has sent ripples through the state’s political corridors, signalling a potential shift in traditional alliances ahead of the upcoming electoral cycles.
The atmosphere at the TVK office remained charged, with supporters and onlookers gathering as the Congress leaders were ushered in for the closed-door interaction. The Congress leaders were welcomed by the TVK party chief and Chief Minister-designate with garlands and silk shawls.
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While the meeting was officially termed a "courtesy call", the optics of established national party representatives engaging with the fledgling party’s top brass suggest a strategic warming of ties.
Insiders indicate that the discussions touched upon the prevailing political climate in Tamil Nadu, though both camps have remained tight-lipped regarding specific tactical understandings.
The visuals go viral, even as TVK followers are getting ready for the swearing-in of their 'Thalapathy' on May 7.
