Jerusalem, Feb 6 (AP): Israel's defence minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump's proposal for the war-ravaged territory.

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”

He said he welcomed Trump's “bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world.”

He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas.

Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza's population be “permanently” resettled elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory.

US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis dating back to the establishment of the state.

Trump's plan was roundly rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community. Rights groups said it would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law.

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.



Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.

In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.

Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.

ALSO READ: B'desh to hold funeral of slain youth leader amid tight security

"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.

Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.

"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.

According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.