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Mangaluru: Air India Express (AIE) has postponed its much-anticipated direct flight service between Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) and Singapore, citing low bookings. Passengers who had booked tickets for the inaugural flight scheduled for January 21 and subsequent dates have been notified of the cancellation through email.

In its email, AIE assured passengers of alternative travel arrangements, including connecting flight options between MIA and Singapore. However, the decision to delay the direct service has left travelers and travel agents disappointed.

An AIE official attributed the postponement to operational challenges but clarified that the airline has not abandoned plans for the route. “We are committed to starting the service, but there is no immediate confirmation on the new launch date,” the official stated. He further explained that sustaining a route requires consistent demand, and seasonal travel alone is insufficient to justify operations.

Another AIE representative admitted that the number of bookings for the inaugural flight was below expectations but declined to disclose specific figures.

Rajesh H Acharya, director of HQ Connections Pte Ltd in Singapore and coordinator of the Singapore Tuluver community, expressed his disappointment. Acharya, who has been advocating for a direct flight between Mangaluru and Singapore since 2017, said, “After years of effort, we finally convinced the airline to start this service, but it has now been deferred.”

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Acharya posted: "Did not expect such behavior from @AirIndiaX, now owned by @TataCompanies & @SIAirlines. If there are issues, travelers deserve to be informed well in advance. This decision needs investigation at the highest level."

The delay has raised questions among the travel community, with many hoping the airline will address these concerns and provide a clear timeline for the launch of the Mangaluru-Singapore direct flight.

Israel has conducted a fresh round of strikes on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, claiming the lives of at least 11 people amid the regime’s unceasing aggression on the Palestinian territory.

Local media said the Israeli onslaught targeted a tented encampment in the al-Mawasi area of western Khan Yunis at dawn on Thursday.

The aggression killed at least 11 people, including three children, and the resulted in the injury of 12 others, with reports naming Major General Mahmoud Salah, the director general of the police department in the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza, among the fatalities.

The occupation forces also struck the central Gaza Strip, where Israeli vehicles fired at the north of Nuseirat refugee camp and shelled the west of the camp with artillery.

The regime’s helicopters also fired at the southwest of Deir al-Balah.

Moreover, the Israeli forces launched a raid targeting Gaza City and the Saftawi area, northwest of the city, as well as the Jabalia camp in the north of the Strip.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on the first day of the New Year that the Israeli regime had slaughtered 17 Palestinians in the northern Gaza refugee camp of al-Bureij.

Twenty Palestinians were also injured in the Wednesday airstrike.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

So far, Israel has killed 45,553 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured 108,379 others.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and much of the besieged territory is in ruins.

Occupation of Gaza City

Citing Israeli media, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday that the Israeli regime was considering ordering the military to occupy Gaza City.

Israeli Channel 14 claimed the move comes amid a stalemate in indirect negotiations aimed at reaching a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal with Palestinians.

“The political echelon is considering issuing an order to the Israeli army to head south and occupy Gaza City in the near future,” the channel said.

“Such an operation is possible now, especially in light of the ceasefire in Lebanon and the availability of more army forces to carry out large-scale and prolonged maneuvers.”

The broadcaster also said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet is “satisfied” with the results of its military campaign in northern Gaza.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a ceasefire in Gaza have so far failed due to Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the protracted war.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the blockaded territory.

A new report released by the UN Human Rights Office says Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on hospitals in Gaza have had a catastrophic effect on the territory’s healthcare system.

Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday the regime has used heavy bombs to attack civilians taking shelter in hospitals.

Laurence added that the UN office has also verified the precision targeting of people inside hospitals, including healthcare workers.

He stressed that deliberate attacks on places where the sick and wounded are treated is a war crime.

“And beyond the conflict itself, civilians were seriously impacted. Women, especially pregnant women, have suffered gravely,” he said.

“Our Office received reports that newborns had died because their mothers were unable to attend postnatal check-ups or reach medical facilities to give birth,” he added.

“Intentionally directing attacks against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are treated, provided they are not military objectives, is a war crime,” he said.

“Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities is a war crime. And intentionally launching disproportionate attacks is also war crime,” he stated.

Laurence said the Israeli regime’s pattern of deadly attacks on Gaza hospitals has pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse.

His remarks came after UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, said earlier that Gaza's hospitals have become a death trap.

He urged independent and credible investigations into hospital-related incidents in Gaza.

Gaza’s population has been reduced by 6 percent since the beginning of the Israeli regime’s campaign of genocide in the besieged Palestinian territory in 2023, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said.

According to the bureau’s report published on Tuesday, the Israeli offensive has left 45,541 Palestinians dead, 11,000 missing and believed to be under the rubble. At least 100,000 have also been forced to flee, the report said.

The report reveals that “90% of children aged 6 to 23 months and pregnant women” face severe nutritional deficiencies in Gaza.

The report also indicates the Israeli forces deliberately “target specific groups of the population, such as children and youth,” which leads to a significant “distortion … of the population.”

According to the bureau, this will greatly reduce the birth rate, and negatively affect the age and gender structure of the population during the years to come.