Israeli strike in Gaza kills 25 people as US makes new push for a ceasefire
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Dec 13: An Israeli airstrike has hit the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, just hours after President Joe Biden's national security adviser raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.
Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies from an Israeli strike on a multi-storey residential building in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp on Thursday.
Palestinian medics also reported that over 40 people, most of them children, were receiving treatment at the two hospitals. The al-Aqsa Hospital said that the Israeli attack also damaged several nearby houses in Nuseirat.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the deadly strike. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza. The Israeli military says Hamas members hide among Gaza's civilian population.
Photos from the site showed a completely collapsed building with people walking through its mangled and charred remains, smoke rising from piles of belongings strewn over the rubble.
The bombardment came just hours after Jake Sullivan, President Biden's national security adviser, told reporters in Jerusalem that Israel's ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza. He plans to travel next to Qatar and Egypt, key mediators in the ceasefire talks, as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated.
Sullivan said “Hamas' posture at the negotiating table did adapt” after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there. “We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation,” he said.
Israel's offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 Hamas members, without providing evidence.
The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine.
Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames UN agencies for not distributing it. The UN says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory.
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Shakib Al Hasan banned from bowling in ECB-run competitions for "illegal bowling action": Report
London, Dec 13: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been banned from bowling in all competitions organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after his action was deemed illegal during independent testing, according to a report.
The 37-year-old, who has retired from Tests and T20Is, was reported for his bowling action by on-field umpires Steve O'Shaughnessy and David Millns during a one-off appearance for Surrey in the County Championship in September.
Following this, an independent test at Loughborough University earlier this month confirmed his action was illegal, and he will need to undergo a reassessment to lift the suspension, the report said.
For the reassessment, Shakib’s elbow extension must be below the 15-degree threshold set by the regulations.
"The suspension is officially dated from December 10, the date when the ECB received the results of the assessment from Loughborough University," according to the ESPNcricinfo report.
Shakib had a standout performance in that match against Somerset in September, taking nine wickets for Surrey in Taunton. This was his first County Championship appearance since a brief stint with Worcestershire in 2010-11.
Shakib has not played any international cricket since deciding not to return to Bangladesh for what would have been his farewell Test against South Africa in Mirpur, following protests in Dhaka.
Shakib, who has scored 4609 runs and taken 246 wickets in 71 Tests, 7570 runs and 317 scalps in 247 ODIs, and another 2551 runs and 149 wickets in 129 T20Is for Bangladesh, has not returned to his home country since the ousting of the Awami League government. He is currently based in the USA with his family.
