'No starvation in Gaza...': Netanyahu denies Gaza starvation claims, says Israel falsely portrayed
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Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
As famine grips civilians in Gaza, Hamas refuses to disarm without Palestinian state
Indirect ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel have once again ended in a deadlock as both sides remain entrenched in their positions over core demands, while humanitarian conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate rapidly. Last week, talks aimed at brokering a 60-day truce and a potential hostage-release agreement failed to yield progress. Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating the negotiations, recently endorsed a joint declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution. The proposal included a demand that Hamas relinquish its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, a move that Hamas firmly rejected. In a statement released Saturday, Hamas reiterated it would not disarm unless an 'independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital' is established. Hamas asserted that it cannot surrender its right to 'armed resistance' without a fundamental political resolution, Reuters reported. Israel has long made Hamas' disarmament a non-negotiable condition in any agreement to end hostilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently described the idea of a Palestinian state as a 'threat to Israel's security', insisting that military control over Palestinian territories must remain in Israeli hands. He also denounced efforts by countries like the UK and Canada to recognise Palestinian statehood as a response to the war's devastation, calling such moves a 'reward for Hamas.' The recent conflict began after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Since then, Israel's military response has transformed much of Gaza into a wasteland, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian authorities, and triggering what the UN now confirms is a full-scale famine. The dire humanitarian toll in Gaza was underscored this week by official recognition from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) panel, a coalition of UN and aid agencies. In a stark warning, the IPC declared that 'the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip' and called for a ceasefire to prevent further 'catastrophic human suffering.' Jamil Mughari, a 38-year-old resident of Maghazi in central Gaza, told The Guardian that his children have 'lost nearly half of their body weight.' 'My daughter, who is five years old, now weighs only 11 kg. My son Mohammad has become just skin and bones,' he said. 'I myself used to weigh 85kg, and now I'm down to 55.' Mughari described collapsing from exhaustion while searching for food. His family, displaced seven times since the war began, survives on sporadic meals of lentils and water. 'We don't receive any food aid from soup kitchens. Those are only for certain camps, in small quantities,' he said. Food distribution remains chaotic and dangerous. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates four food distribution sites, opens for only minutes a day, drawing massive crowds. Mourners have carried away bodies of civilians killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering Gaza through the Zikim crossing. In a conversation with The Guardian, Mansoura Fadl al-Helou, a 58-year-old widow, said she is too frail to reach food lines and won't allow her son to go, fearing he won't come back alive. 'Only my one son is here, but I always stop him from going near the aid trucks because of the danger posed by the army.' Abu al-Abed, a father of seven from Deir al-Balah, described his youngest daughter as so malnourished that her ribcage bones are visibly protruding. 'They suffer from dizziness and fatigue because of the lack of food. If I, their father, feel this way, how much worse must it be for them?' He said he had lost faith in the global response. 'If we had asked them to protect the rights of animals in Gaza, they would have responded immediately. But when it comes to the rights of the Palestinian people, no one remembers us or feels for us.' (With inputs from The Guardian and Reuters)
India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
Disturbing Videos Of Israeli Hostages Spark Protests At Tel Avivs ‘Hostage Square'
A sense of urgency and desperation filled the air in Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square" on Saturday as protestors gathered, following the release of disturbing videos showing emaciated Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, CNN reported. The videos, released by militant groups Hamas and the Palestinians, depicted Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a visibly fragile state, sparking widespread outrage and concern. The undated footage of David is juxtaposed with images of starving Palestinian children. They are among fifty hostages that remain in the territory, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive, as per CNN. The videos were released as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled, and Palestinians in Gaza face a mounting starvation crisis. According to CNN, the United States' special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, attended the protest in Tel Aviv, one day after visiting a controversial US-backed aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip. Witkoff later held a nearly three-hour meeting with around 40 representatives of the hostage families, which was described as "very emotional". During the meeting, Witkoff emphasised that ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas should be "all or nothing," with all 50 hostages in Gaza being returned to Israel in one go. "The plan is not to expand the war, but to end it. We think the negotiations should be changed to all or nothing. End the war and bring all 50 hostages home at the same time - that's the only way," Witkoff reportedly said. "Someone will be to blame" if the remaining living hostages do not return to Israel still alive, Witkoff said, according to the forum. According to the forum, Witkoff said that the US will "get your children home and hold Hamas responsible for any bad acts on their part" and "do what's right for the Gazan people." "We have a plan to end the war and bring everyone home," he reportedly added. The hostage families, who have frequently said that ongoing fighting in Gaza endangers their loved ones - on Saturday called for an end to the war in the territory and a "comprehensive deal" that would see the remaining hostages freed.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chhattisgarh BJP deletes controversial post on the arrest of Kerala nuns following backlash
A cartoon posted on the social media platform X by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chhattisgarh, which referred to the ongoing controversy over the arrest of two Christian nuns in the State, resulted in a backlash, forcing the party to delete the post on Saturday (August 2, 2025). The cartoon, depicting Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and K.C. Venugopal, bowing to nuns, and as well-wishers of those indulging in human trafficking and religious conversions, was posted and deleted in quick succession on Saturday morning (August 2, 2025) after some users said it mocked Christianity. The arrest of the nuns, Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, along with a resident of Narayanpur, in Durg on July 25, sparked a political controversy. The deleted cartoon, too, prompted a strong rebuttal from the Opposition Congress in the State. The party said the BJP had been forced to delete the post, fearing electoral losses in Kerala; the nuns hail from the southern State. 'The arrest of the nuns was wrong and illegal. Action was taken against them on the basis of purported statements alleging human trafficking and conversion by women who have since denied the incidents of trafficking and conversion in media. The Kerala BJP president has also opposed this action. The BJP government has been exposed in this matter. The BJP has removed this poster fearing [electoral] losses in Kerala,' Congress spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla said. The post had been deleted because 'it was not the right subject', Somesh Pandey, co-convenor of the BJP's IT cell in Chhattisgarh said, without elaborating further. A couple of other BJP spokespersons also declined to comment on the matter, while the party's State president Kiran Singh Deo was unavailable for comment.
