Israeli strikes kill 23 Palestinians, including children, as Gaza ceasefire inches forward
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip) (AP): Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 23 Palestinians Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the fighting.
A day after Israel accused Hamas of new ceasefire violations, strikes hit locations throughout Gaza, including lethal ones on an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals that received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. An airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 11 and wounding others, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.
The series of strikes also came a day before the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt is set to open in Gaza's southernmost city. All of the territory's border crossings have been closed throughout almost the entire war. Palestinians see Rafah as a lifeline for the tens of thousands in need of treatment outside the territory, where the majority of medical infrastructure has been destroyed.
The crossing's opening, limited at first, marks the first major step in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. Reopening borders is among the challenging issues on the agenda for the phase now underway, which also includes demilitarising the strip after nearly two decades of Hamas rule and installing a new government to oversee reconstruction.
Still, Saturday's strikes are a reminder that the death toll in Gaza is still rising even as the ceasefire agreement inches forward.
Nasser Hospital said the strike on the tent camp caused a fire to break out, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren. Meanwhile, Shifa Hospital said the Gaza City apartment building strike killed three children, their aunt and grandmother on Saturday morning, while the strike on the police station killed at least 11 officers, including four policewomen, and inmates held at the station. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said Palestinians civilians were also killed in the strike.
Hamas called Saturday's strikes “a renewed flagrant violation” and urged the United States and other mediating countries to push Israel to stop strikes.
A military official, speaking Saturday on the condition of anonymity in line with protocol, could not comment on the specific targets, but said Israel carried out overnight and Saturday strikes in response to what the army said were ceasefire violations the day before.
Israel's military, which has hit targets on both sides of the ceasefire's yellow line, has said strikes since October have been in response to violations of the agreement. In a statement on Friday, the military said they killed three militants exiting a tunnel in an Israeli-controlled zone in Rafah.
Gaza's Health Ministry has recorded 509 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the ceasefire on Oct. 10. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
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.
AIMPLB seeks Supreme Court intervention over Assam CM’s remarks on Bengali-speaking Muslims
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his recent remarks directed at Bengali-speaking Muslims, commonly known as Miyas, describing the comments as unconstitutional, divisive and a threat to social harmony. The board has urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to consider appropriate constitutional action.
In a statement issued on Friday, AIMPLB spokesperson Dr SQR Ilyas said the remarks reflected a disturbing shift in public discourse, where hate speech against Muslims is no longer confined to fringe elements but is being articulated by individuals occupying high constitutional positions, as reported by The Observer Post. He said statements made by those sworn to uphold the Constitution undermine its core values and embolden discrimination.
The board’s response followed comments reportedly made by Sarma at a government event in Assam, where he referred to “Bangladeshi Miyas” and claimed that BJP workers had submitted more than five lakh objections during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, targeting people suspected to be foreigners. According to the AIMPLB, such remarks legitimise the targeting of a particular religious and linguistic community through administrative and electoral processes.
Dr Ilyas said the statements amounted to an open encouragement to question the citizenship of Muslims and expose them to social and economic exclusion. He argued that such rhetoric violates constitutional guarantees of equality, non-discrimination and the right to life with dignity under Articles 14, 15 and 21.
The AIMPLB also expressed concern over the role of constitutional institutions, warning that public confidence in free and fair elections would erode if bodies like the Election Commission fail to act independently. The board said a chief minister’s call to use electoral mechanisms against a religious group represents a serious breach of constitutional responsibility.
Pointing to similar remarks made by political leaders in other states in the past, the board said the episode reflects a broader pattern of normalising hate speech against minorities. It described the situation as a critical moment for India’s constitutional framework and called upon secular political parties, civil society organisations and citizens to speak out.
The AIMPLB also appealed to Muslims in Assam to remain calm and avoid provocation. The statement further urged them to respond through lawful and constitutional means.
