Israel carpet-bombs Rafah city after Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal

News Network
May 7, 2024

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Israeli military aircraft have heavily bombed the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip accompanied with ground advances shortly after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said it had agreed to a proposal on ceasefire in Gaza.

A Palestinian journalist reported flares in the night sky, while locals said dozens of reconnaissance drones flew overhead.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa and Egyptian media said Israeli military vehicles advanced towards the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, as well as the Karem Shalom crossing with the Israeli-occupied territories.

A Palestinian security official and an Egyptian authority have told the Associated Press news agency that Israeli tanks have entered Rafah, reaching as close as 200 meters from Rafah’s border crossing with neighboring Egypt.

The Israeli military has said it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas in eastern Rafah.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has also said "Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas" in order to advance the release of captives and what it called "the other objectives of the war."

In the meantime, it described the proposal on ceasefire as "far from Israel's essential demands," but added that it would send negotiators for talks "to exhaust the potential for arriving at an agreement."

The military strikes on Rafah came ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal accepted by Hamas, which was put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. 

According to a copy of the proposal, there will be three phases to ending Israel’s onslaught against Gaza.

The first phase calls for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim corridor and the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes. The second phase involves an announcement of a permanent cessation of military operations. In the last phase, there would be a complete end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. 

In return, Israel would be required to release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners, withdraw its troops from certain regions of the Gaza Strip, and allow Palestinians to travel from the south of the coastal sliver to the north.

About 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, once designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military. Palestinians are now struggling to evacuate the city, after the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering them to leave as a large-scale assault on the city is planned.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that a ground invasion of Rafah would be “intolerable” and called on Israel and Hamas “to go an extra mile” to reach a truce deal.

“This is an opportunity that cannot be missed, and a ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences, and because of its destabilizing impact in the region,” Guterres told reporters on Monday ahead of a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in New York.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has also warned that Israel is “jeopardizing the deal by bombing Rafah.”

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News Network
February 11,2025

Mysuru: On Monday night, tensions escalated in front of Mysuru's Udayagiri Police Station as thousands gathered to protest a controversial social media post. The post, which critics say portrayed Muslims negatively, featured images resembling political figures Rahul Gandhi, Aravind Kejriwal, and Akhilesh Yadav, and was titled "three idiots." The post also showed a person performing namaz with Arabic script prominently displayed, further intensifying the allegations of communal insensitivity.

Protesters blocked Mahadevapura Main Road and, at times, resorted to stone pelting directed at the police station, police vehicles, and public property. In response, law enforcement used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. The ensuing clashes resulted in injuries to several people, including both protestors and police personnel.

By Tuesday morning, normalcy had largely returned. Senior officials—including ADGP R. Hitendra, Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, and DCPs M. Muthuraj and S. Janhnavi—visited the police station to review the situation. Security was significantly increased around the area, and civic workers from the Mysuru City Corporation cleared stones and debris left behind by the demonstrators.

Police have initiated a suo moto case and arrested 32-year-old Suresh, a resident of Kalyangiri Nagar, in connection with the incident. The unrest not only disrupted pedestrian movement but also significantly hampered traffic on Mahadevapura Main Road and its intersections, with city buses bearing the brunt of the blockade.

Despite initial dispersal following police action, the mob reconvened within minutes. It was only around midnight, after assurances from senior police officials—including DCP Muthuraj—that strict action would be taken against those responsible, that the protesters finally dispersed.

Speaking to media on Tuesday morning, ADGP R. Hitendra confirmed that seven police personnel were injured during the stone pelting and announced that a special team had been formed to identify and apprehend the instigators. “The mob was misled by certain individuals who believed that the accused, who shared the derogatory post, would be let off. We will probe thoroughly to determine who is behind this incident,” he stated. 

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News Network
February 11,2025

Mysuru: On Monday night, tensions escalated in front of Mysuru's Udayagiri Police Station as thousands gathered to protest a controversial social media post. The post, which critics say portrayed Muslims negatively, featured images resembling political figures Rahul Gandhi, Aravind Kejriwal, and Akhilesh Yadav, and was titled "three idiots." The post also showed a person performing namaz with Arabic script prominently displayed, further intensifying the allegations of communal insensitivity.

Protesters blocked Mahadevapura Main Road and, at times, resorted to stone pelting directed at the police station, police vehicles, and public property. In response, law enforcement used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. The ensuing clashes resulted in injuries to several people, including both protestors and police personnel.

By Tuesday morning, normalcy had largely returned. Senior officials—including ADGP R. Hitendra, Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, and DCPs M. Muthuraj and S. Janhnavi—visited the police station to review the situation. Security was significantly increased around the area, and civic workers from the Mysuru City Corporation cleared stones and debris left behind by the demonstrators.

Police have initiated a suo moto case and arrested 32-year-old Suresh, a resident of Kalyangiri Nagar, in connection with the incident. The unrest not only disrupted pedestrian movement but also significantly hampered traffic on Mahadevapura Main Road and its intersections, with city buses bearing the brunt of the blockade.

Despite initial dispersal following police action, the mob reconvened within minutes. It was only around midnight, after assurances from senior police officials—including DCP Muthuraj—that strict action would be taken against those responsible, that the protesters finally dispersed.

Speaking to media on Tuesday morning, ADGP R. Hitendra confirmed that seven police personnel were injured during the stone pelting and announced that a special team had been formed to identify and apprehend the instigators. “The mob was misled by certain individuals who believed that the accused, who shared the derogatory post, would be let off. We will probe thoroughly to determine who is behind this incident,” he stated. 

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Agencies
February 20,2025

NewCM.jpg

First-time MLA Rekha Guptatook took oath as Delhi’s ninth Chief Minister on Thursday (February 20, 2025) at an event in the iconic Ramlila Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda, and Chief Ministers and Deputy CMs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled States.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi V K Saxena administered the oath of office and secrecy.

BJP's Parvesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Kumar Singh also take oath as ministers in CM Rekha Gupta-led Delhi Government.

Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting on Wednesday. The party has returned to power in Delhi after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.

Born in Haryana's Julana, Gupta is a BCom graduate from Delhi University's Daulat Ram College. She later earned a law degree from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, and also practised as an advocate.

Gupta, who has had a 32-year association with the RSS, began her political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Delhi University's Daulat Ram College in 1992. In 1995-96, she was the secretary of the Delhi University Students' Union and was its president in 1996-97.

In 2002, she joined the BJP and has been the national secretary of the party's youth wing. Gupta has also served as the BJP's women wing in charge in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

She is also the national vice-president of BJP Mahila Morcha.

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