Israeli strike kills 20 in north Gaza, Palestinian officials say
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Nov 5: An Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed at least 20 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Tuesday, as Palestinians fled Israel's assault. Some said they had hardly eaten, with aid cut off for weeks to the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory.
Israel has been waging an offensive in Gaza's northernmost end for weeks, saying it is targeting Hamas group who regrouped in the area.
The UN has said Israel hasn't allowed food and other supplies into the area north of Gaza City since the assault began, even as tens of thousands of people remain there. That has drawn rebukes from the Biden administration, which has warned that US laws might force it to curb military aid to Israel if more aid is not allowed in.
The strike late Monday hit a home where several displaced families were sheltering in the town of Beit Lahiya, near the border with Israel, according to Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of the recently raided and barely functioning Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the casualties.
The Israeli military said it targeted a weapons storage facility from which a group had operated, and that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”
The dead included eight women and six children, according to a list provided by the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza early Tuesday killed another 10 people, according to health officials.
Dozens of Palestinians trickled out of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday — mostly women and children — dragging rucksacks and satchels with belongings. They entered Gaza City on a street where every building had been completely flattened or heavily damaged.
“We came barefoot. We have no sandals, no clothes, nothing. We have no money. There is no food or drink,” said Huda Abu Laila.
“We are hungry. Hunger has killed us. We were under siege for one month without water or food,” the gaunt elderly women continued, before erupting in tears.
Um Nidal Abu Laila, another woman fleeing Beit Lahiya, said there were bodies of Palestinians killed in the assault lying in the streets. “No one is able to retrieve them,” she said.
Gaza's civil defence agency said it had received reports of people trapped alive under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli troops in Beit Lahiya, but it was unable to send teams to rescue them. It said the military has prevented its teams from operating in the area for the past two weeks. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said there are no ambulances currently operating north of Gaza City.
Two elderly patients, one who was battling cancer, died as they tried to leave Beit Lahiya as they waited to cross an Israeli military checkpoint, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The military has ordered the complete evacuation of Beit Lahiya, the nearby town of Beit Hanoun and the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. Still, the UN estimated last week that around 100,000 people remain there even after tens of thousands fled the past month, the latest wave of displacement within the besieged territory. Around 90 per cent of the population of 2.3 million have fled during the 13-month-old war, often multiple times.
The army has returned to several areas of Gaza multiple times after previous operations, as Hamas continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks on troops and fire occasional rockets into Israel.
The three hospitals serving the area have been largely inaccessible because of the fighting, and ambulances have stopped operating. Israeli troops raided Kamal Adwan Hospital last month, saying Hamas group were sheltering there, allegations denied by Palestinian health officials.
The offensive has raised fears among Palestinians that Israel is implementing a surrender-or-starve plan for northern Gaza proposed by former generals, in which civilians would be ordered out, aid would be cut off and anyone remaining would be considered a fighter.
The Israeli military has denied receiving such orders, but the government has not said whether it is adopting part or all of the plan.
Early Tuesday, an Israeli strike hit a house in the Tufah neighbourhood in Gaza City, killing two children and their parents, according to the Health Ministry's emergency service. Two other children were wounded, it said.
In the central town of Zuweida, a strike hit a tent where a displaced family was sheltering, killing four people, including a mother and her two children, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah. Another strike hit a house in Deir al-Balah, killing two people, the hospital said. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital morgue.
The Israeli military says it only targets Hamas group and accuses them of hiding among civilians. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, taking another 250 people hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll but says over half of those killed were women and children.
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.
Gill, Mandhana win top BCCI awards
New Delhi (PTI): Prolific batters Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were named the Best International Cricketers (Men's and Women's) at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 here on Sunday, recognising their outstanding performances in the 2024–2025 season.
Gill won the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award, while Mandhana received the award for the fifth time.
For Gill, it was his second Cricketer of the Year award after first winning it in 2023.
Former stars Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj were honoured with the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the BCCI's highest honour, recognising their outstanding service to Indian cricket.
India's five trophy-winning sides (2025 ICC Champions Trophy, 2025 Women's ODI World Cup, 2025 U-19 Women's World Cup, 2026 Men's U-19 World Cup, and 2026 T20 World Cup) were honoured as well on the occasion.
Gill enjoyed a stellar 2025 and established himself as one of the team's most dependable batters in the longer formats.
On the tour of England, skipper Gill led from the front in the five-Test series, finishing as the top run-getter with 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including four centuries and a top score of 269.
Gill also played a pivotal role in India's Champions Trophy triumph last year, having entered the tournament as the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world. He made an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh in India's opening match, and finished the tournament with 188 runs.
Mandhana finished 2025 with 1,703 international runs, including 1,362 in ODIs, the most by any woman in a calendar year. In doing so, Mandhana became the first batter in women's ODI history to score 1,000 runs in a single calendar year.
Mandhana also made handsome contributions to India's maiden Women's World Cup title triumph, aggregating 434 runs in nine matches to end as the tournament as India's leading run-scorer and the second-highest overall.
Before the World Cup, the left-hander Mandhana smashed a 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi to register the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian batter, surpassing Virat Kohli's 52-ball effort.
Shafali Varma (Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic One-Day), Ira Jadhav (Best Woman Cricketer (Domestic), Harsh Dubey (Best All Rounder in the Ranji Trophy), and Ayush Mhatre (Best All Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions) too won awards for their strong performances across the 2024-25 domestic season.
