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Mangaluru: In a shocking case of fraud, six individuals posing as officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swindled a beedi businessman of Rs 25 to 30 lakh in cash and five mobile phones at Kolnad in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada on Friday night.

The incident came to light after Mohammed Iqbal, 27, lodged a complaint with the police, stating that his father, a beedi trader, was targeted by the imposters.

According to the complaint, the six accused arrived at the businessman’s residence around 8:10 pm in a car with Tamil Nadu registration plates. Claiming to be ED officials, they announced that they had orders to search the house and began confiscating mobile phones from the family members.

The fraudsters reportedly discovered Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in cash, which the businessman had kept aside for business purposes. They claimed that keeping such a large amount was illegal and threatened to arrest him unless he complied. By 10:30 pm, the group left the house, instructing the businessman to submit documents at the ED office in Bengaluru to reclaim the money.

Later, upon discussing the incident with his family, Iqbal realized that the individuals were not ED officials but fraudsters who had impersonated authorities to rob them.

A case has been registered at Vittal Police Station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is underway, and the police have promised swift action to apprehend the culprits.

Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Yathish N, along with senior officers, visited the crime scene and assured the family that the perpetrators would be brought to justice at the earliest.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that at least 74 children were killed in Israel’s relentless violence in the Gaza Strip during the first week of 2025, marking a grim start to the New Year for children in the besieged territory.

In a recent report released on Wednesday, UNICEF said that the fatalities occurred within just eight days, emphasizing that the lack of adequate shelter, compounded by winter weather, poses severe risks to the children in Gaza.

“For the children of Gaza, the New Year has brought more death & suffering with at least 74 children reportedly killed,” Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell said, calling for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence.

She expressed deep concern over the number of children who have either been killed or have lost loved ones during the tragic beginning of the year.

Numerous fatalities have occurred during mass casualty events, including nighttime assaults in Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and al-Mawasi, which has been designated a "safe zone." The most recent attack claimed the lives of five children in al-Mawasi on Tuesday, according to UNICEF.

The situation is dire, with reports indicating that eight infants and newborns have died from hypothermia since December 26, highlighting the severe risk facing young children who are unable to regulate their body temperature amid the harsh conditions as Israel weaponizes cold against children in the Gaza strip.

“UNICEF has long warned that inadequate shelter, lack of access to nutrition and healthcare, the dire sanitary situation, and now the winter weather put the lives of all children in Gaza at risk. Newborns and children with medical conditions are especially vulnerable,” Russell emphasized.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached alarming levels. The number of aid trucks entering the region remains grossly inadequate to meet the basic needs of families, while civil order has largely unraveled, leading to the looting of humanitarian supplies.

According to UN reports, over a million children are currently living in makeshift tents, with almost all of the 2.3 million population displaced several times over the last 15 months.

Moreover, the few operational hospitals are overwhelmed, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure has severely hampered access to essential services, including food, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare.

Kamal Adwan Hospital, previously the only functioning medical facility in northern Gaza with a pediatric unit, has ceased operations following a raid last month, exacerbating the already critical healthcare situation.

A recent report from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics noted a 6% decline in Gaza's population in 2024, indicating that Israeli forces are intentionally targeting specific demographic groups, such as children and youth, resulting in a significant “distortion of the population.”

Since the onset of the genocide, Israel has killed 45,936 Palestinians, including over 17,600 children, as reported by the Health Ministry in Gaza, indicating a tragic loss of one child approximately every hour.

Israeli settlers shielded by the occupation troops have stormed several villages in the West Bank, setting Palestinian homes, farms and vehicles on fire.

Palestinian media reported that the violent settler attacks took place on Monday night in the villages of Turmus Ayya, Tuqu', Hajjah, Fara'ata, al-Funduq and Immatain.

Prior to the raids, far-right Israeli social media groups had posted messages calling on members to join in on rampages against Palestinian villages.

The attacks took place although Israeli rights groups had demanded preventative actions by the regime's authorities.

“Once again, the army is doing nothing to prevent settler violence. This time, too, the writing was on the wall, and notices calling for riots in the villages were distributed publicly among settlers,” the Yesh Din right group said.

Settler violence has escalated significantly since October 7, 2023, when Israel unleashed a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 45,854 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 109,139 others, in its brutal Gaza onslaught. 

Israel confiscates more Palestinian land

Separately on Monday, the Wafa news agency reported that Israeli authorities had seized 262,000 square meters of Palestinian land in Jaba’, al-Ram, Kafr 'Aqab, and Mukhmas, all situated in the al-Quds governorate.

Israeli human rights organization Ir Amim said that the occupying regime is seeking to annex the confiscated area to the illegal Geva Binyamin settlement.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

While all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, Israel keeps expanding them in blatant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.