Israel has continued its military offensive in Gaza as part of its retaliation for an unprecedented attack on Israeli cities by Hamas on October 7 last year.

War between Israel and Gaza: India said on Friday it is “deeply shocked” by the loss of lives in northern Gaza during the delivery of humanitarian aid, a day after more than 100 people were killed and more than 700 injured in an incident.

In a strongly worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said such loss of civilian lives and the wider humanitarian situation in Gaza continue to be a cause for “extreme concern”.

“We are deeply shocked by the loss of lives in northern Gaza yesterday during the delivery of humanitarian aid,” the MEA said in a statement.

“Such loss of civilian lives and the wider humanitarian situation in Gaza remain a cause for extreme concern,” it added.

India also called for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to the people of Gaza.

“We reiterate our call for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance,” the MEA said.

There was no reference to Israel in the statement.

According to reports, more than 100 people were killed and more than 700 injured on Thursday when Israeli forces fired into a large crowd of Palestinians trying to get food from an aid convoy in Gaza.

India has called for de-escalation of the situation and creation of conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations on a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue.

There has been sharp international reaction to the incident, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemning it.

“I condemn Thursday’s incident in Gaza, in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving assistance,” he wrote on X.

“The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has been unable to provide aid for more than a week,” Guterres said.

Israel has continued its military offensive in Gaza as part of its retaliation for an unprecedented attack on Israeli cities by Hamas on October 7 last year.

Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 220, some of whom were released during a brief ceasefire.

More than 29,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive, according to Hamas-led authorities in Gaza.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that the conflict in Gaza is “of grave concern” and the humanitarian crises arising from it require a lasting solution that provides immediate relief to those most affected.

At the same time, referring to the Hamas attack on Israel, he claimed that “terrorism and hostage-taking” are unacceptable.

“The conflict in Gaza is of great concern to all of us. The humanitarian crises arising from conflict require a lasting solution that provides immediate relief to those most affected,” Jaishankar said in a virtual statement at the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

“At the same time, we must be clear that terrorism and hostage taking are unacceptable. It also goes without saying that international humanitarian law must always be respected,” he added.

Jaishankar said it is crucial that the conflict does not spread within or outside the region.

“And efforts must also focus on seeking a two-state solution in which the Palestinian people can live within secure borders,” he said.

India has been pushing for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue for decades.

(Only the headline was reworked by India.com staff. The copy is from an agency feed)

A group of local students unfurled a huge Palestinian flag as they stood in silence.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank: The normally bustling biblical birthplace of Jesus resembled a ghost town on Sunday as Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem were canceled due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

The festive lights and Christmas tree that normally adorn Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists and jubilant youth brass bands that gather in the West Bank city every year to celebrate the holiday. Dozens of Palestinian security forces patrolled the empty square.

“This year, without a Christmas tree and without light, there is only darkness,” said Brother John Vinh, a Franciscan monk from Vietnam who has lived in Jerusalem for six years.

He said he always comes to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas, but this year was especially sobering, as he gazed at a nativity scene in Manger Square with a baby Jesus wrapped in a white shroud, reminiscent of the thousands of children who are his killed during the fighting in Gaza. . Barbed wire surrounded the scene, with the gray rubble reflecting none of the cheerful lights and bursts of color that normally fill the square during the Christmas season.

Canceling Christmas festivities is a major blow to the city’s economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income – almost all of it during the Christmas period.

With many major airlines canceling flights to Israel, few foreigners are visiting. Local officials say more than 70 hotels in Bethlehem have been forced to close, leaving thousands of people unemployed.

Gift shops were slow to open on Christmas Eve, although a few did so after the rain stopped pouring. However, there were few visitors.

“We cannot justify putting out a tree and celebrating like normal, while some people (in Gaza) don’t even have a house to go to,” said Ala’a Salameh, one of the owners of Afteem Restaurant, a family-owned falafel restaurant just a few steps from the square.

Salameh said Christmas Eve is usually the busiest day of the year. “Normally you can’t find a single chair to sit on, we are packed from morning to midnight,” says Salameh. This year only one table was occupied by journalists taking a break from the rain.

Under a banner reading “Bethlehem’s Christmas bells ring for ceasefire in Gaza,” some teenagers offered small inflatable Santas, but no one bought any. Instead of their traditional musical march through the streets of Bethlehem, young scouts stood silently with flags. A group of local students unfurled a huge Palestinian flag as they stood in silence.

“Our message every year at Christmas is one of peace and love, but this year it is a message of sadness, grief and anger towards the international community about what is happening and going on in the Gaza Strip,” said the mayor of Bethlehem, Hana Haniyeh. , said in a speech to the crowd.

More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 50,000 injured in Israel’s air and ground offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, while about 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, according to health officials there. The war was sparked by Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 240 hostages.

The Gaza war has been accompanied by a wave of violence, with around 300 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire.

The fighting has affected life in the West Bank. Since October 7, access to Bethlehem and other Palestinian towns in the Israeli-occupied territory has been difficult, with long lines of motorists waiting to pass through military checkpoints. The restrictions have also prevented tens of thousands of Palestinians from leaving the area to work in Israel.

Amir Michael Giacaman opened his shop ‘Il Bambino’ for the first time since October 7, which sells olive wood carvings and other souvenirs. There have been no tourists and few locals have money to spare as those who worked in Israel are stuck at home.

“When people have extra money, they go and buy food,” said his wife Safa Giacaman. “This year we are telling the Christmas story. We celebrate Jesus, not the tree, not Santa Claus, she said, as their daughter Makaella ran through the abandoned store.

In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication,” and the holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC.

What is Hanukkah: Hanukkah, also spelled Hanukkah or other translations from Hebrew, is Judaism’s ‘festival of lights’. On eight consecutive evenings, Jews gather with family and friends to light an additional candle in the menorah, a multi-branched candelabra.

In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication,” and the holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from the occupation of foreign forces.

Using the small supply of ritually pure oil they found in the temple, they lit the menorah and it burned for eight days. The ritual of lighting a nightly candle, as well as the emphasis on cooking foods in oil, such as potato pancakes called latkes, commemorate this wonderfully long-lasting oil.

When is Hanukkah 2023?

The dates of the holiday are based on the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually coincides with November-December in the Gregorian calendar.

This year, Hanukkah will be celebrated from December 7 to December 15.

Does Chanukah Observance Vary?

Jews across the religious spectrum—from Reform to Conservative to Orthodox—are focused on the same theme: bringing light into the darkness and emphasizing that even a small, against-the-odds effort can have a transformative effect.

For this reason, even though the Talmud reflects a difference of opinion on the order of lighting, most begin with one candle and increase the lighting with another candle each evening while chanting or singing special blessings.

The candles are added from right to left, but lit on the menorah from left to right, so always starting with the newest light. The special menorah used for Hanukkah has eight branches, with a ninth place for the candle called shamash, from which all others are lit.

The tradition calls for candles with a real flame, although some also use electric candles in public displays, such as in hospitals, for safety reasons.

How is Hanukkah celebrated?

In every household, a menorah is lit and traditionally placed in a place where it is visible from the outside, such as a doorway or windowsill, to symbolize the spread of God’s light to all nations.

The lighting of menorahs in city streets and parks has become more prominent in countries around the world in recent years, including for public monuments.

In addition to the menorah lighting, many also part of the celebration are giving to charities and social works, reflecting the belief that the Jewish people are called by God to make the world a better place for everyone.

A heroic civilian who confronted two Hamas terrorists at a Jerusalem bus stop has died from his injuries after being accidentally shot by IDF reservists on November 30.

Yuval Doron Kestelman should have celebrated his 38th birthday on Friday, but died in hospital overnight from his injuries.

Traffic cameras captured the dramatic moment he jumped a central reservation and shot at two Hamas attackers as they opened fire in an attack that left four dead, including a pregnant teacher.

Eight people were also injured in the shooting by two terrorist brothers in Jerusalem.

The clip shows how Yuval, who as a former soldier was allowed to carry a gun, ran up to the pair and shot at them as they attacked commuters in east Jerusalem on Thursday.

He is then seen frantically ripping open his shirt and falling to his knees as bullets ping around him before the footage suddenly stops.

Further photos from the scene show him lying motionless on the ground as paramedics rushed to the scene.

A family member told Israeli media: ‘Yuval noticed the attack across the road while driving to work at the government complex, and stopped his car to neutralize the terrorists.

“He has served in the security forces in the past and was always a hero, and the first to jump in and save lives, just like this time.”

Officials said two reservists saw what happened and rushed to the scene and mistakenly fired because they thought he was a terrorist.

Local media identified the victims as student teacher Livya Dickman, 24, who had recently married and was believed to be pregnant, teacher Hanna Ifergan, 67, and Rabbi Elimelech Wasserman.

Terrified onlookers took cover as brothers Murad and Ebrahim Nemer, aged 38 and 30, jumped from a car at a bus stop in east Jerusalem, just after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was extended for another day.

Chief Inspector Doron Turgeman, commander of the Jerusalem police district where the shooting took place, said: “This incident involved two terrorists who shot civilians after arriving in a vehicle.

“One had an M16 machine gun and the other a pistol, both were residents of East Jerusalem.

“A soldier and an armed civilian neutralized the terrorists.”

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon said: “This is a very serious attack. I extend my condolences to the families of the dead and wish the injured a speedy recovery.

‘The quick response of the citizen and the soldier who arrived on the scene prevented a much bigger disaster.

“I have ordered an increase in police presence in the city to ensure a sense of security among residents.”

Israeli TV broadcast Livya’s funeral a few hours later and hundreds gathered to pay their respects.

Among them was her husband Meir who said: ‘You were so righteous and pure, you only wanted to do good.’

Officials said both men were Hamas operatives and had been in prison in recent years.

Israeli police later raided the two men’s homes in East Jerusalem and took relatives for questioning.

Eight injured people were taken to hospital, while an ambulance spokesperson told the Mail that ‘two, a man and a woman in their 60s, were in a critical condition’.

Several other people were treated at the scene for panic attacks and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement, calling the brothers “jihad martyrs.”

A total of nine children aged 17 and younger were on the list, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Jerusalem: The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was put back on track on Sunday when the militants freed another 17 hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third set of releases under a four-day truce. Red Cross representatives transferred the hostages from Gaza. Some were handed over directly to Israel, while others left via Egypt. The Israeli military said one was taken directly to a hospital.

The Israeli hostages ranged in age from 4 to 84, including Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl whose parents were killed in the Hamas attack that started the war on October 7. The US identified her as the first American hostage to be released; White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. had reason to believe an American hostage would be released and said there was hope it would be her.

A total of nine children aged 17 and younger were on the list, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. In addition, Hamas said it had released one of the Russian hostages it was holding, “in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin” and as a show of appreciation for Moscow’s position on the war. Israeli Army Radio had reported that it was an Israeli-Russian dual national.

Israel was expected to release 39 Palestinian prisoners later Sunday as part of the deal. A fourth exchange is expected on Monday – the final day of the ceasefire, during which a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners will be released. They are all women and minors.

International mediators led by the US and Qatar are trying to extend the ceasefire.

Before the latest publication, Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip, where he spoke with troops. “We are doing everything we can to return our hostages, and at the end of the day we will return them all,” he said, adding that “we will continue until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us.” It was not immediately clear where he was going in Gaza.

A BREAK IN THE FIGHT

The ceasefire has brought the first significant break in seven weeks of war, marked by the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades and massive destruction and displacement in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas and other militant groups captured about 240 people during the rampage in southern Israel that ignited the war. Fifty-eight have been released, one was liberated by Israeli forces and two were found dead in Gaza.

Pressure from the hostages’ families has exacerbated the dilemma facing Israeli leaders, who are trying to eliminate Hamas as a military and ruling force while returning all the prisoners.

The war has claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis, most of whom were civilians killed by Hamas in the initial attack. According to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-ruled Gaza, more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, about two-thirds of whom are women and minors.

The ceasefire, which started on Friday, was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended for an additional day for every additional 10 hostages released, but has vowed to quickly resume its offensive once it ends. Sullivan said the U.S. is “working with all parties on the possibility of expanding this deal to include more hostages than the initial 50.”

HAMAS COMMANDER KILLED

Hamas announced the death of Ahmed al-Ghandour, who was in charge of northern Gaza and a member of the supreme military council. He is the highest-ranking militant known to have been killed in the fighting. The Israeli army confirmed the death.

Al-Ghandour, believed to be about 56 years old, had survived at least three Israeli attempts on his life and was involved in a cross-border attack in 2006 in which Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier, according to the Counter Extremism Project. an advocacy group based in Washington.

Hamas said he was killed along with three other high-ranking militants, including Ayman Siam, who Israel said was in charge of Hamas’s rocket-firing unit. The Israeli military named both men in a Nov. 16 statement and said it targeted an underground complex where Hamas leaders were hiding.

The Israeli military claims it has killed thousands of militants without providing evidence, including several mid-level commanders it has named.

AID AND RESPITE IN GAZA

The pause has brought some respite to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, who are still reeling from brutal Israeli bombing that has driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and razed residential areas. Rocket fire from Gaza militants into Israel also remained silent.

War-weary Palestinians in northern Gaza, where the offensive was concentrated, returned to the streets. Entire city blocks in and around Gaza City have been destroyed by airstrikes that have hollowed out buildings and left behind rubble.

In southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people from the north have sought refuge, residents lined up at gas stations, hoping to stock up on fuel. Palestinians who have tried to return north to see if their homes are intact have been turned back by Israeli forces.

“Many are desperate to return to their homes, but they open fire on anyone who approaches from the south,” said Rami Hazarein, who fled Gaza City last month.

The Israeli army has ordered Palestinians not to return north and not to approach within one kilometer (about half a mile) of the border fence. The Palestinian Red Crescent Rescue Service said Israeli forces opened fire on two farmers in central Gaza on Sunday, killing one and wounding the other. No further details were given. An Israeli military spokesman said they were not aware of the incident.

The United Nations says the ceasefire has made it possible to scale up deliveries of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the war began, even though it has still not reached pre-war levels. It was able to deliver fuel for the first time since the start of the war and reach areas in the north for the first time in a month.

HOSTAGES FOR PRISONERS

The freed hostages have largely remained out of the public eye. Hospital officials said their physical condition was good, apart from one who was shot during the attack and required surgery. Little is publicly known about the conditions of their captivity.

Eyal Nouri, the cousin of 72-year-old Adina Moshe, who was released on Friday, said his aunt had to “adapt to the sunlight” because she had been in complete darkness for weeks.

The freed Palestinians included at least two women who had been given long sentences after being convicted by Israeli courts of violent attacks. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those involved in attacks, as heroes who resisted the occupation and have celebrated their release.

The war in Gaza is accompanied by a wave of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian health authorities said on Sunday that five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military attack in the northern West Bank city of Jenin that began the day before. Since the start of the war, the West Bank toll now stands at 239.

The Israeli army has carried out regular military raids since the start of the war and arrested hundreds of Palestinians, mostly people it suspects of being Hamas members.

(Samy Magdy reported from Cairo. Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.)

The second C17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), carrying 32 tonnes of relief supplies for civilians in Gaza caught up in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, took off for Egypt’s El-Arish Airport on Sunday morning.

Israel-Hamas war update: The second tranche of India’s humanitarian aid for strife-torn Palestine arrived in Egypt on Sunday as the brutal war between Israel and Hamas raged on in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) battled Hamas militants in the battered enclave. ,

In a post on social media, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the aid materials have been handed over to the Egyptian Red Crescent for onward shipment to Palestine.

“The second tranche of India’s humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people arrives in Egypt. Aid material transferred to the Egyptian Red Crescent for onward shipment to Palestine,” Bagchi wrote on X.

The second tranche of ’s humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people arrives in Egypt.

Aid material transferred to the Egyptian Red Crescent for onward shipment to Palestine. pic.twitter.com/FX2pFwtpIw

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) November 19, 2023

The second C17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), carrying 32 tonnes of relief supplies for civilians in Gaza caught up in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, took off for Egypt’s El-Arish Airport on Sunday morning.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar adopted his official position on X and reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

“We continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine. The second @IAF_MCC C17 aircraft carrying 32 tonnes of aid departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt,” he said.

Earlier, India sent 38 tonnes of humanitarian aid for civilians involved in the ongoing Israeli Defense Forces ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The aid package consisted of fluids and painkillers. The disaster relief materials, which weighed about 32 tons, also included tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, basic sanitation and water purification tablets.

Recently, Bagchi said that India plans to send more humanitarian aid to affected citizens in the region.

The MEA spokesperson said India has always emphasized the need to avoid civilian casualties in the ongoing military operations in Gaza.

“This is not about one specific facility,” Bagchi said, adding: “India has always underlined the need to avoid civilian casualties, uphold humanitarian law and encourage every effort to provide humanitarian assistance to those who are caught in the conflict.”

(With ANI inputs)