Israel-Gaza war live: dozens reported killed after strike on Unrwa school as IDF launches operation in central Gaza - The Guardian

Reuters reports Israel’s military spokesperson has claimed that many Hamas fighters were killed in its strike on an Unrwa school and that he is unaware of civilian casualties.

More details soon …

Spain to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, its foreign minister José Manuel Albares said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Spain is the first European nation to join the case, which has also been joined by Chile and Mexico.

Last Tuesday Spain announced it recognised a Palestinian state alongside Ireland and Norway.

Al Jazeera reports that shelling to the east of Deir al-Balah has killed at least one other Palestinian, on top of the dozens killed in the earlier strike on the Unrwa school and shelter in Nuseirat refugee camp. That strike killed dozens, including children sheltering. Israel has claimed it was striking at a Hamas compound with the school.

AFP reports that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah says it has received 37 bodies from the Israeli strike on the Unrwa school in Nuseirat refugee camp.

Here are some more of the latest pictures sent over the newswires from the Unrwa school in Nuseirat refugee camp struck by Israel’s military. The precise death toll remains unclear although is at least dozens of people.

Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir al-Balah in Gaza for Al Jazeera, has told the network:

It is another tragic morning in the central area of Gaza, particularly in Nuseirat refugee camp, where an overnight attack targeted a UN-run school that was housing hundreds of displaced Palestinian families.

In addition, a residential house was completely destroyed. At least 39 Palestinians have been reported killed in those attacks. We’ve been talking to a number of families at the hospital. They say they did not receive any prior warning ahead of the attack.

Israel’s military has claimed that “Before the strike, a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians during the strike, including conducting aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information.”

The Israeli government has banned Al Jazeera from operating in Israel, a decision upheld in an Israeli court yesterday.

On its official Telegram channel, Israel’s military claims to have thwarted an attempt to cross the border from Gaza by a group of what it described as “three terrorists”. It wrote:

IDF troops operating in the area of the security fence identified several suspects who approached the border from the Gaza Strip and moved toward Israel in an attempt to cross the security area in the area of Rafah.

The troops engaged the terrorists who opened fire at them. The troops then returned fire at the terrorists.

An IAF aircraft that monitored the terrorist cell struck the terrorists and eliminated two of them. Another terrorist was eliminated by means of tank fire shortly afterward.

We emphasise that the terrorists did not cross the fence built along the Gaza Strip. The incident is under review.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Israel’s military has reported that one soldier was killed in a drone attack in northern Israel yesterday. Nine others were wounded in the attack on Hurfeish, which is near Mount Meron and the UN-drawn blue line that separated Israel and Lebanon.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider crisis in the Middle East.

At least 30 people, including five children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a UN school on Thursday in the central Gaza Strip, according to local health officials in Gaza. Israeli forces said the Unrwa school was a Hamas compound, containing militants involved in the 7 October attack on southern Israel. Israel’s military said that before the strike by Israeli fighter jets, the military took steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run government media office, has rejected Israel’s claims.

The occupation uses lying to the public opinion through false fabricated stories to justify the brutal crime it conducted against dozens of displaced people.

The attack comes as Israel announces a new military campaign in central Gaza, as it battles a group of fighters relying on hit-and-run insurgency tactics.

More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events.

• The US has warned against an “escalation” on the Israel-Lebanon border, saying conflict would only harm Israeli security. “We don’t want to see that escalation of the conflict which would just lead to further loss of life from both Israelis and the Lebanese people and would greatly harm Israel’s overall security and stability in the region,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters. It comes after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened an “extremely powerful” response to attacks by Hezbollah during a visit on Wednesday to Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.

• Months of extreme hunger have already killed many Palestinians in Gaza and caused permanent damage to children through malnutrition, two new food security reports have found. The US-based famine early warning system network (Fews Net) said it was “possible, if not likely” that famine began in northern Gaza in April. Two UN organisations said more than 1 million people were “expected to face death and starvation” by mid-July.

• The leader of Hamas said the group would demand a permanent end to the war in Gaza and Israeli withdrawal as part of a ceasefire plan, dealing an apparent blow to a truce proposal touted last week by US president Joe Biden.

• Israel said there would be no halt to fighting during ceasefire talks and launched a new assault on a central section of the Gaza Strip near the last city yet to be stormed by its tanks.

• Violent clashes broke out in Jerusalem during the annual Jerusalem flag day march which commemorates the anniversary of Israel taking control and occupying East Jerusalem in 1967. At least two journalists were injured as right-wing Israeli youths marched chanting anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans. Israeli peace activists have been taking part in the “flower parade”, where they hand flowers to Palestinian residents as an alternative to the flag march.

• Israel is phasing out the use of a military-run detention camp for Palestinians captured during the Gaza war where rights groups alleged there has been abuse of inmates, justice officials said on Wednesday. In late May, Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum reported for the Guardian that whistleblowers had described harrowing treatment of detainees at the camp. The claims included inmates regularly being kept shackled to hospital beds, blindfolded and forced to wear nappies, and reports of a man having his limb amputated as a result of injuries sustained from constant handcuffing

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2024-06-06 08:25:32Z
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Runaway Russian tram hurls passengers out onto busy highway after 'brake failure' - The Mirror

A runaway tram with “failed brakes” lost control as it picked up speed, and threw several commuters onto a busy highway in Russia.

It eventually crashed into another tram leaving a total of 80 injured - including at least one dead - in the city Kemerovo, with several others fighting for their lives. Terrifying footage captured the moment the tram takes a corner at high speed with the doors coming off.

Two passengers are then hurled out some 50ft onto a busy road where alert drivers screeched to a halt in wet conditions. They were seen lying motionless on the road. At least three more passengers remain in hospital in a “serious” condition. The toll of wounded rose rapidly in the hours after the horror incident, with one person confirmed dead so far.

The doors were ripped off the speeding tram ( IC Russia/e2w)

Shot media said that the tram had already crashed into a car before it hurtled away at up top 60mph with the woman driver Alexandra Marieva, 23, evidently unable to apply brakes. She had been working as a driver since October last year, say reports. She suffered multiple fractures and a head wound and is now in hospital.

After the two commuters were thrown out the runaway tram crashed into an earlier service ahead of it on the line. There are wounded people from both trams, it is understood. A local report in Kemerovo, an industrial city in Siberia, said: “The accident occurred early in the morning on Logovaya Highway.

“According to preliminary data, the tram traveling on route No. 10 experienced a brake system failure, as a result of which the car picked up enormous speed. As a result, at a turn, the doors of the tram were torn off and two people flew out.”

The people were hurled onto a busy motorway in Kemerovo, Russia ( social media/e2w)

Members of the public appeared to be helping those inside the tram ( social media/e2w)

A criminal case has been opened into the 7:35am nightmare crash on tram route 10. There have been other examples of controls failing on trams, including in St Petersburg where the tram system is being prepared to go driverless under AI control.

“As a result of the collision, there are victims who are receiving the necessary medical care,” said a Kemerovo official. Transport in the area was “paralysed” after the horrific incident. A comment to a local story read: “Why is the Russian government spending a fortune on the war in Ukraine when our public services are so unsafe?”

The AKSM-60102 tram was made in neighbouring Belarus and was 16 years old. It had undergone a full maintenance on June 2, said reports.

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Vladimir Putin warns Russia could provide long-range weapons to attack West - and stays firm on nuclear option - Sky News

Vladimir Putin has warned he could provide long-range weapons to nations to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

The Russian president also re-issued Moscow's readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.

During an audience with international journalists on Wednesday, he said the recent actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to "very serious problems".

"That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way."

It comes after the US, UK and Germany authorised Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv.

Read more:
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Ukraine launches major attack against Russian base in Crimea
Crowded DIY shop hit by Russian airstrikes, killing at least 14

Mr Putin also claimed that using some Western-supplied weapons meant military personnel of those countries were controlling the missiles and selecting targets.

He used this as justification for Moscow being able to take "asymmetrical" steps elsewhere in the world.

"If they consider it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don't we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of the countries that do it to Russia?" Mr Putin added.

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"We will think about it."

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Asked whether Russia could resort to using nuclear arms, Mr Putin said the conditions for using that arsenal are clearly spelled out in Moscow's security doctrine.

"For some reason, they believe in the West that Russia will never use it," he said.

"Look at what is written there," he said of Russia's nuclear doctrine.

"If somebody's actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible to use all means at our disposal."

Image: Mr Putin speaks to senior news leaders of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Pic: Valentina Pevtsova, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

In the discussions - that lasted more than three hours - the Russian president added that nothing will change in terms of Russia-US relations whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins the US election in November.

"We will work with any president the American people elect.

"I say absolutely sincerely, I wouldn't say that we believe that after the election something will change on the Russian track in the American politics."

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Putin warns Russia could supply weapons to others to strike Western targets - FRANCE 24 English

President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

Putin also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.

The recent actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems,” he said, taking questions from international journalists — something that has become extremely rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.

“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin added.

The United States and Germany recently authorised Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv.

On Wednesday, a Western official and a US senator said Ukraine has used US weapons to strike inside Russia under newly approved guidance from President Joe Biden that allows American arms to be used for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. The official was not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Putin claimed that using some Western-supplied weapons involves military personnel of those countries controlling the missiles and selecting targets, and therefore he said Moscow could take “asymmetrical” steps elsewhere in the world. The US military said it does not control the missiles it provides to Ukraine or the targets.

“If they consider it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of the countries that do it to Russia?" he said.

"We will think about it,” he told the journalists on the sidelines of the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Asked whether Russia could resort to using nuclear arms, Putin said the conditions for utilising that arsenal are clearly spelled out in Moscow's security doctrine.

“For some reason, they believe in the West that Russia will never use it,” he said.

“Look at what is written there,” he said of Russia’s nuclear doctrine. “If somebody’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible to use all means at our disposal.”

Even Russia's battlefield nuclear weapons are much more powerful than what the US used against Japan in World War II, Putin said.

Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press, for more than three hours, Putin also said nothing will change in terms of Russia-US relations regardless of whether Biden or Donald Trump wins the American presidential election in November.

“We will work with any president the American people elect,” Putin said.

“I say absolutely sincerely, I wouldn’t say that we believe that after the election something will change on the Russian track in the American politics,” he added. “We don’t think so. We think nothing that serious will happen.”

Putin also said Trump's felony conviction at his hush money trial last week was the result of "the use of the court system as part of the internal political struggle.”

The Russian leader faced questions on various topics, although the more than two years of fighting in Ukraine dominated the session.

Putin claimed the West had opportunities to end the fighting in Ukraine but did not act on them, citing a letter he once supposedly wrote to Biden that said hostilities could end in two or three months if Washington stopped supplying Kyiv with weapons.

Asked about Russian military losses, Putin said that no country would reveal that information during hostilities but claimed without providing details that Ukraine's casualties are five times greater than Russia’s.

He also said Ukraine has more than 1,300 Russian troops in captivity, while more than 6,400 Ukrainian soldiers are being held in Russia.

The claims could not be independently verified and some Western estimates put Russia’s losses much higher than Ukraine’s.

Asked by AP about the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Putin said the US is “taking energetic steps” to secure his release. Gershkovich was jailed over a year ago while on a reporting trip and charged with espionage. The journalist, his employer and the US have denied the allegations, and Washington has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

Putin said that any such releases “aren’t decided via mass media” but through a “discreet, calm and professional approach.”

“And they certainly should be decided only on the basis of reciprocity,” he added, an allusion to a potential prisoner swap.

Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum as a showcase for touting Russia’s development and seeking investors. The meeting with journalists took place in Gazprom's new global headquarters, a needle-shaped 81-story skyscraper overlooking the Gulf of Finland.

While meetings with journalists were part of previous sessions, he has not taken questions from Western journalists at the St. Petersburg event since sending troops to Ukraine.

Last year, journalists from countries that Russia regards as unfriendly — including the US, the UK and the European Union — were not invited, and Western officials and investors also steered clear of the session after wide-ranging sanctions were imposed on Moscow over Ukraine.

(AP)

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Joe Biden's border shutdown shows how politics around immigration have shifted to the right - Sky News

As dawn breaks on a new era in American immigration policy, a young boy peels and eats a clementine in the gap between the border fence that separates the United States and Mexico.

A teenage girl wraps herself in a silver thermal blanket and a man passes his mobile phone through the metal slats in the fence for someone on the other side to charge.

They are the lucky ones, in a way, because they are among the final group of migrants to enter the United States before the introduction of a new border policy.

The executive order, issued by President Biden, will temporarily seal the border along the southern states if illegal crossings exceed 2,500 people a day, which they do on a regular basis at the moment.

The order had been a closely guarded secret, until it wasn't. President Biden used the announcement to criticise Republicans in Congress for failing to pass a bipartisan bill on the border and defend his own immigration policy.

"This action will help us gain control of our border, restore order into the process," he said. "If the United States doesn't secure our border, there's no limit to the number of people who may try to come here. Doing nothing is not an option, we have to act."

It represented a sharp about-turn for a man who came to power criticising Donald Trump's draconian action to curb immigration but is now making moves reminiscent of his predecessor.

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Proponents of the order say it will relieve an overwhelmed system. But critics say it will put the lives of genuine asylum seekers at risk.

Stakeholders on both sides of the political aisle say it is a politically cynical move, five months out from a general election when immigration will be a major factor in voters' minds.

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"It's setting a very bad precedent," says Lilian Serrano, director of Southern Border Communities Coalition, a non-government organisation.

Image: Lilian Serrano, director of Southern Border Communities Coalition

"A president making decisions that are politically motivated to gain political points in an election year is more important for President Biden than respecting human rights? That is the message."

Once the migrants are processed at the border in San Diego, now the busiest place in the country for illegal border crossings, they are bussed to the outskirts of the city and dropped at a roadside.

Read more:
Trump and Biden promise tough action on immigration in rival Texas visits

Some of them have no idea which city they are in. One man, from Ghana, asks me how to get to New York, almost 3,000 miles away.

Image: Durlei is trying to get to San Francisco

Durlei, a young woman from Colombia, is trying to get to San Francisco to be reunited with a friend.

She was a shoe shop owner in her home country but says she is seeking asylum from gang violence.

"I come here fleeing my country," she says. "If Biden changes his laws I don't know where I will go."

Word has reached Aurelio, from El Salvador, about the new policy. "I've heard about the new order," he says. "I feel fortunate to have arrived before it takes effect, because it's my dream to be here."

Children who cross the border unaccompanied are excepted from the new policy, as are victims of human trafficking.

Nevertheless, this is the most restrictive border policy by a Democrat president in decades.

It is a shutout which shows just how much the politics around immigration have shifted to the right.

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Mass graves and body bags: al-Shifa hospital after Israel's withdrawal - BBC

Reuters

Yolande Knell

Middle East Correspondent

Reporting from

Jerusalem

Rushdi Abu Alouf

Gaza Correspondent

Reporting from

Istanbul

42 minutes ago

After Israeli forces pulled out of Gaza City’s vast al-Shifa hospital complex on 1 April, following their second raid there, stunned Palestinians who pored over the burnt-out ruins said it reeked of death.

During the past eight months of war, hospitals have come under repeated attack, with Israel claiming they are used as bases by Hamas; something the group denies.

But events at al-Shifa – once the biggest and best equipped medical facility in the Gaza Strip – have arguably been the most dramatic.

The two-week surprise raid, launched after Israel said Hamas had regrouped at the site, was described by the Israeli government as "precise and surgical".

Its spokesman, Avi Hyman, asserted that it had set "the gold standard of urban warfare". He said: “We took out over 200 terrorists. We apprehended over 900 terrorists with not a single civilian casualty.”

With decaying bodies sticking out of the sand piled up by combat bulldozers in the courtyards of al-Shifa, the claim that there had been no civilian casualties was immediately questioned.

In recent weeks, four mass graves have been uncovered at the site, with Palestinian search teams saying that several hundred bodies have been found.

We have worked with a journalist in Gaza to follow developments.

Getty Images

“We’ve extracted martyrs, many of whom are decomposed and completely unidentifiable,” a Palestinian Civil Defence worker, Rami Dababesh told us grimly on 8 May as he stood by a line of white plastic body bags at al-Shifa, wearing a face mask and full protective gear.

“We’ve found corpses of women, children and individuals without heads as well as torn body parts,” he added.

The Civil Defence lacks forensic equipment and expertise, but its teams have been using photos and videos to document the remains. A director, Dr Mohamed Mughir, told us there were suspicious finds; describing how “signs of field executions, binding marks, gunshot wounds to the head and torture marks on the limbs were observed on the bodies of some martyrs".

The UN Security Council has expressed “deep concern” at the discovery of mass graves at both al-Shifa and Nasser hospital in southern Gaza. Along with the US and the European Union, it has called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that during its raids of the Gaza hospitals, its soldiers exhumed bodies that Palestinians had buried earlier as part of its search for the remains of some 250 hostages captured during the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October.

It maintains bodies were examined respectfully and those not belonging to Israeli captives were returned to their place.

However, at least some of the corpses found recently at al-Shifa were those of patients who died during Israel’s latest military action. A paramedic involved in the search said some had IV catheters still attached.

On 15 April, the BBC met two men whose dead mothers were last seen being treated at the hospital. Their bodies had just been recovered from a mass grave.

“I came running here when they told me of the grave,” said Mohammed al-Khatib, who had spent days searching for his mother, Khawla. “By the grace of almighty God her body was found.”

Walid Fteima said his elderly mother, Lina Abu Leila, was being treated for malnutrition and severe dehydration when she died. Her body was decomposed, and he could only identify her from injuries she had from an Israeli bombing last year. “[She] had a toe amputated on each foot,” he explained.

After it began its operation at the hospital early on 18 March, the IDF ordered thousands of civilians sheltering there and living in the vicinity to leave and head south. However, it said the hospital could continue to function. By the end of two weeks, only some 140 patients and medics reportedly remained.

The local WHO representative, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, says this group endured “horrific conditions”. After being repeatedly moved around the complex, he says, they “actually ended up in the human resources building which was completely unfit for treatment". Ultimately, he says, 20 patients died.

Several surviving patients – all wounded in previous Israeli strikes – told us they were given only tiny quantities of food such as canned tuna. They said there were severe shortages of drinking water and medication.

“The bombing surrounded us 24/7,” said Mohamed al-Nadeem who is half paralysed. “I am sick and unable to move. I was sleeping on the floor without blankets.”

“There were no dressings or painkillers,” said Rafif Doghmush, 15, whose foot has been amputated.

The IDF has told journalists that no staff or patients died as a “direct result” of its action, but that some may have died of “natural causes".

During its raid, it said it helped patients by moving them out of harm’s way and that medical supplies and devices as well as food, water, and a generator were brought to the hospital.

Grainy drone footage shared by the IDF after it launched its raid on 18 March showed Palestinian gunmen apparently shooting at soldiers from inside al-Shifa hospital. Later, the gunmen were said to have barricaded themselves in wards and corridors, opening fire and throwing explosives.

Three Israeli soldiers were confirmed to have been killed during the two-week long operation.

The IDF briefed journalists that its action at the hospital was taken based on “concrete intelligence” that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had taken over parts of the site, suggesting their operatives had been using it to access basic supplies as well as power and the internet.

While Hamas denied using al-Shifa as a base, its officials did not deny the presence of some members inside the complex, indicating that they may have been among displaced people sheltering there.

Israel has said that “over 200 terrorists” were killed in and around al-Shifa, as well as the hundreds detained, but has only given some names.

These include Faiq al-Mabhouh, described as head of operations in Hamas’ internal security service. The Hamas-run government’s media office said he was a police commander who had been co-ordinating aid deliveries to northern Gaza.

Others killed were identified as a senior Hamas commander, Raed Thabet, said to have been head of recruitment and supply acquisition, and Mahmoud Zakzouk, said to have been deputy commander of the Hamas rocket unit in Gaza City. Two other Hamas operatives were named as Fadi Dweik and Zakaria Najib, said to have been involved in organising attacks in the occupied West Bank.

In April, the IDF also released footage which it said was from the interrogation of Tarek Abu Shaluf, spokesman for the political wing of Islamic Jihad. It said he had been captured at al-Shifa.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad do not routinely confirm the names of low-level fighters killed by Israeli military action, making it very difficult to estimate how many were killed at the hospital and in the vicinity. It is likely that a number were among the dead found in mass graves.

Getty Images

Despite the Israeli claim that there was “not a single civilian casualty” from its raid, we have been given strong testimony that there were Palestinian civilians killed by heavy Israeli bombardment and intense shooting in the surrounding neighbourhood.

The Palestinian Civil Defence told us that hundreds of Palestinians were still reported to be missing following the raid in March.

There have repeatedly been conflicting narratives about what has happened in and around al-Shifa.

During its first controversial raid there, the Israeli military raised expectations that Israeli hostages might be found at the site. It also released a graphic depicting a vast underground tunnel network that it suggested was underneath the hospital, serving as a major Hamas command and control centre.

While the IDF said it retrieved the bodies of two Israeli hostages near to the hospital, it did not announce that it had found any within the complex. Security camera footage that was recovered did show that at least two foreign captives were taken there on 7 October.

The IDF showed what it said was a fortified 55-metre tunnel on the hospital grounds. This fell short of its initial claims about the extent of hidden tunnels, although later reporting suggested the passage – which was blown up – had actually been longer and was most likely connected to a wider network under Gaza City.

When it returned to the site in March, the IDF suggested its key discoveries were of a different nature, releasing pictures of cash, weapons, and ammunition it said it had found there along with Hamas documents.

IDF

Al-Shifa has been at the heart of a debate about whether Hamas uses medical sites as a cover. Israel has consistently claimed that the group hides its fighters and infrastructure behind the sick and wounded, which it suggests has rendered hospitals legitimate military targets.

Hamas denies misusing civilian sites and accuses Israel of violating international humanitarian law by targeting hospitals.

In April, when the UN called for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves in Gaza, its spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that more journalists needed to be able to work safely in the territory to report on the facts. During the war, Israel and Egypt have denied free access to foreign media.

Mr Dujarric also said: “It’s important that all forensic evidence be well preserved.” So far, that is proving to be a challenge.

International forensic specialists have been unable to reach Gaza to investigate what happened at al-Shifa. That has left much of the focus locally on registering and identifying the dead where possible, and giving them proper burials.

The disturbance of the mass grave sites, experts say, will ultimately make it much harder to uncover the truth about them.

Meanwhile, although al-Shifa has been largely destroyed, there have been recent efforts to restart very limited medical services on site. These gained momentum as Israel targeted other health facilities which it said were being used by Hamas, particularly Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

In late May, in a hastily repaired room of the kidney dialysis unit at al-Shifa, the journalist working with us met four patients as they sat connected to steadily beeping machines. After so many deaths at the hospital, it is once again providing some life-saving treatment.

Related Topics

• Middle East
• Israel & the Palestinians
• Israel-Gaza war
• Israel
• Palestinian territories
• Gaza
• Hamas

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India elections: Shock for Modi as ruling BJP set to fall short of outright majority - The Independent

Indian opposition leader Sanjay Singh on why voters are unhappy with Modi

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Narendra Modi is set to meet his allies today to discuss forming the next government, a day after his Hindu nationalist party lost its outright majority in parliament in a surprisingly close election.

Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats on its own in the general election, 32 short of the halfway mark in the 543-member decision-making lower house, according to official results announced late yesterday.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP won 293 seats, more than 20 ahead of the 272 needed to form a government.

The opposition INDIA alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi’s centrist Congress party, won 230 seats, far more than was forecast. Congress alone won 99, almost double the 52 it won in 2019. The surprise jump has not just boosted Mr Gandhi’s standing, but the alliance is also discussing its own next steps and they have so far not conceded defeat.

The role of kingmaker for the next government now falls to two of the BJP’s key allies – Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. Their parties, Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party, who have 12 and 16 seats respectively.

1717570945

Son of Indira Gandhi’s assassin wins

Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, son of one of the assassins of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, has been elected as an MP.

He won election from the Faridkot parliamentary seat, after securing 298,062 votes. An independent candidate, he won by a margin of 70,053 votes ahead of his nearest rival from the Aam Aadmi Party, Karamjit Singh Anmol.

Singh Khalsa’s father Beant Singh and another bodyguard, Satwant Singh, killed Ms Gandhi on 31 October 1984 at her residence.

This was the fourth time Singh Kalsa fought for election. He made unsuccessful attempts in the 2004 and 2014 general elections, as well as the 2007 Punjab polls.

His mother, Bimal Kaul, was also an MP from Ropar in 1989.

During the campaign, he raised issues of drug problems, water shortages and farmers’ protests.

Namita Singh5 June 2024 08:02

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Key ally reiterates support for Modi

Chandrababu Naidu, a key alliance partner of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, has reiterated support for the Hindu nationalist party.

“You always want news. I am experienced and I have seen several political changes in this country. We are in NDA, I’m going to the NDA meeting. In course of time, we will report it,” he said referring to National Democratic Alliance.

His Telugu Desam Party won 16 seats in the general election and is a key ally of BJP, which under Mr Modi, fell way short of 272 majority mark, winning 240 seats.

Namita Singh5 June 2024 07:28

1717568400

Markets down again in early trade on Wednesday

India’s two main indexes, the NSE Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex, are trading down again today by about 0.1 per cent each, after dropping about six per cent each yesterday.

The weaker-than-expected mandate for Narendra Modi triggered record foreign outflows and spooked investor sentiment on worries over the pace of pro-business reforms.

Volatility rose to the highest since March 2022, before easing a bit this morning.

The weakened majority for Mr Modi’s alliance could pose challenges for the more ambitious elements of the government’s reform agenda, ratings agency Fitch said.

However, it added: “Despite the slimmer majority, we do expect broad policy continuity to persist, with the government retaining its focus on its capex push, ease of doing business measures, and gradual fiscal consolidation.”

Namita Singh5 June 2024 07:20

1717567482

Indian election reveal voters prioritise ‘social justice, secularism and federalism’

The election results reveal that Indian voters still prioritise values of social justice, secularism and federalism that are enshrined in the Constitution, says Dr Shubranshu Mishra, lecture in Politics and International relations at the University of Exeter.

“The much-publicised inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a significant constituency that the ruling BJP has ended up losing in the Hindi heartland Uttar Pradesh, did not turn out to be the key issue for the voters as the ruling party had anticipated,” he says in a statement to The Independent as he refers to the much-publicised consecration ceremony in January that critics saw as the launch of Mr Modi’s electoral campaign.

The hate speeches made by the BJP, including the prime minister, did not resonate well with the electorate, he says in an apparent reference to Mr Modi’s targeting Muslims in a series of election speeches, referring to the 200 million people as “infiltrators”.

Prime minister Narendra Modi, right, with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh leaves after addressing supporters at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, June 4, 2024 (AP)

Highlighting the importance of gains made by the Congress-led opposition alliance, he says: “Though PM Modi will return to power for a third consecutive term, his majority will decrease, as the Congress party-led INDIA alliance has made an impressive comeback, defying all exit poll predictions.

“The significant takeaway is this strong resurgence of Rahul Gandhi that occurred in this election, despite the fact that it was not conducted on a level-playing field.

Indian National Congress Party senior leader Rahul Gandhi attends a press conference at Congress headqaurters in New Delhi, India, 04 June 2024 (EPA)

“The complete control over key pillars of democracy, including the Election Commission and the judiciary, limited space for dissent, challenges to federalism, and biased lapdog media, was strikingly evident.

“This mandate will play a crucial role in holding the government accountable, and their key contentious and divisive initiatives, such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), are likely to take a back seat.”

Namita Singh5 June 2024 07:04

1717565729

Who is Mahua Moitra? Expelled Indian parliamentarian set to make a comeback

Mahua Moitra, a firebrand politician from Trinamool Congress and a fierce critic of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, is set to make a comeback to parliament, months after she was unceremoniously expelled over accusations of taking bribes in exchange for asking questions in the lower house.

She secured a resounding victory from Krishnagar seat in West Bengal over her nearest rival Amrita Roy of the Bharatiya Janata Party, winning by a margin of 50,000 votes.

She worked as an investment banker in New York and London, before entering grassroots political activism in 2009. She eventually found a home in Trinamool Congress. =

Known for her unapologetic candour, her impassioned speeches in parliament have earned her acclaim from across the political spectrum.

In December last year, India’s parliament expelled her after MP Nishikant Dubey of Mr Modi’s BJP accused her of accepting bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions in parliament.

The parliament’s Ethics Committee initiated a probe after Mr Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, alleging bribery and impropriety against Ms Moitra.

Ms Moitra, who has denied the allegations, said she was expelled “without proof”.

Namita Singh5 June 2024 06:35

1717565525

Controversial Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut wins parliamentary election

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been elected an MP in India, joining a small crowd of people from the film industry in the country’s new parliament.

Ranaut stood as the candidate for prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in Mandi, a seat in her northern home state of Himachal Pradesh, and won by a margin of just under 75,000 votes.

The breakout star of 2013’s well-received Bollywood hit Queen, Ranaut became the most prominent of Indian celebrities to openly, and closely, align herself with Modi’s ruling party after it first came to power in 2014, and has championed its Hindu nationalist cause.

My colleague Shahana Yasmin reports:

Namita Singh5 June 2024 06:32

1717562993

How did Indian media cover election results?

Indian newspapers said Narendra Modi’s aura of invincibility had been dimmed, as his Bharatiya Janata Party fell short way short of majority mark. His NDA alliance has enough seats to form a coalition government, but it was still a remarkable result for the opposition INDIA bloc.

The Indian Express’s splash had a headline reading “India gives NDA a third term, Modi a message”.

The Hindustan Times read: “NDA leading, INDIA shining”.

“India Cuts Modi Down,” read the Telegraph.

The Hindu played it straight, saying: “BJP falls short, needs allies to govern”.

Namita Singh5 June 2024 05:49

1717561027

Who are Modi's key coalition allies?

Narendra Modi’s coalition allies have found themselves in an unexpected position after yesterday’s results – that of kingmaker.

The two most important, Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, will be in Delhi for a meeting today with the BJP, after Modi’s party fell way short of an outright majority in its own right.

Mr Modi, for the first time, is dependent on these allies to take the total tally of seats won by their National Democratic Alliance to 292.

It’s a position the BJP would have wanted to avoid – Modi’s party has a rocky political relationship with both.

Prime minister Narendra Modi, right, chats with defence minister Rajnath Singh before addressing supporters at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, 4 June 2024 (AP)

Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar, 73, is the chief minister of India’s poorest state of Bihar. He has been credited with steadying the state and pursuing economic development after accusations of widespread corruption and crime in previous administrations.

However, Kumar has switched his political alliances several times. He returned to Modi’s coalition earlier this year after previously having helped to form an opposition alliance of more than two dozen parties for the general election.

TDP boss Chandrababu Naidu, 74, was the chief minister of the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 2004. He played a key role in developing the state capital Hyderabad as a technology hub, while attracting foreign investors including Microsoft.

Namita Singh5 June 2024 05:17

1717558109

Modi says India will see ‘a new chapter of big decisions’

Prime minister Narendra Modi says India will see a “new chapter of big decisions” in his third term in office, despite falling short of an outright BJP majority.

After claiming victory for his coalition alliance, which got him past the 272-seat midway point after a lacklustre performance from his own party, Mr Modi told a crowd at party headquarters he would not shirk from pushing forward with his agenda.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi speaks at the party headquarters in New Delhi, India, 04 June 2024 (EPA)

He said he would advance India’s defence production, jobs for youth, raise exports and help farmers, among other things.

“This country will see a new chapter of big decisions. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said, speaking in the third person.

Namita Singh5 June 2024 04:28

1717557933

Best memes as Indians react to unexpectedly close election: ‘Public is smart’

My colleague Shweta Sharma has rounded off some of the best ones in this report:

Namita Singh5 June 2024 04:25

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