Officials say Qatar has decided to suspend its mediation efforts on Gaza
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Nov 9: Qatar has decided to suspend its key mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, officials said Saturday.
However, Qatar is highly likely to return to the efforts if both sides show “serious political willingness” to reach a deal on the war in Gaza, according to one official with Egypt, the other key mediator.
A diplomatic source briefed on the matter said both Israel and Hamas, along with the United States, were informed after the decision was made. The source added that “as a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose” in Qatar.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A senior Hamas official said they were aware of Qatar's decision to suspend mediation efforts, “but no one told us to leave.”
The announcement comes after growing frustration with the lack of progress on a cease-fire deal.
“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, (Hamas) leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner. We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas' rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” a US senior administration official said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The Israeli prime minister's office had no comment.
Meanwhile, three separate Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people, including women and children, in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian medical officials said, and Israel announced the first delivery of humanitarian aid in weeks to hungry, devastated northern Gaza.
There continued to be no end in sight to Israel's campaigns against Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel's military said that it struck command centres and other infrastructure overnight in Beirut's southern suburbs.
One of the strikes in Gaza hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City's eastern Tufah neighbourhood, killing at least six people, the territory's Health Ministry said. Two local journalists, a pregnant woman and a child were among the dead, it said. The Israeli army said the strike targeted a members belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, offering no evidence or details.
Seven people were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis where displaced people were sheltering, according to Nasser Hospital. It said the dead included two women and a child. The Israeli army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
And Palestinian medical officials said an Israeli strike hit tents in the courtyard of central Gaza's main hospital, including one serving as a police point. At least three people were killed and a local journalist was wounded, Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah said. It was the eighth Israeli attack on the compound since March.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
