Page 71 - Hamas

Operation Ajay: Third flight carrying 197 Indians fly out from Israel

The third batch of 197 Indian nationals wanting to leave Israel amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict left for home on a special flight on Saturday. The special flights are part of 'Operation Ajay' launched on October 12 to facilitate the return of those Indian nationals who wish to return home following the brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants from Gaza on October 7. "#OperationAjay moves forward. 197 more passengers are coming back to India," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted on X. The Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv has announced that two special flights will operate from Ben Gurion airport on Saturday. The first flight left around 5:40 pm local time. The second flight is scheduled at 11:00 pm local time and can carry 330 passengers. The third batch of 197 Indian nationals left for home around 5.40 pm local time (8.10 pm IST). The Embassy has been working round the clock to facilitate all our citizens in Israel who wish to leave. We have reached out to students

Killed top Hamas commando who led assault on Israeli communities: IDF

"Ali Qadi led the inhumane, barbaric October 7 massacre of civilians in Israel. We just eliminated him. All Hamas terrorists will meet the same fate," the IDF wrote on 'X'

Air India suspends scheduled flights to Tel Aviv till Oct 18 amid conflict

Air India has extended the suspension of its scheduled flights to and from Tel Aviv till October 18, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas. The full service carrier, which normally operates five weekly scheduled flights to Tel Aviv, had earlier suspended the services till October 14. An airline official on Saturday said the scheduled flights to and from Tel Aviv have now been suspended till October 18. The carrier will operate chartered flights to bring back Indians depending on the requirements, the official added. Normally, Air India operates five weekly flights to Tel Aviv from the national capital. The service is on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Under Operation Ajay launched by the government to bring Indians who wish to come back from Israel, the airline so far has operated two flights. Following the unprecedented attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas militants, Israel has launched a massive counter offensive.

Israel-Hamas conflict may pose hurdles to Economic Corridor timelines: GTRI

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict may lead to delays and complications in the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor project, according to think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). It said while the conflict's immediate consequences are confined to Israel and Gaza, its ripple effects throughout the Middle East cannot be underestimated. GTRI said the conflict could derail the prospect of a historic peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a crucial linchpin in the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) framework. Although Saudi Arabia and Israel have historically maintained no formal diplomatic ties, recent years have witnessed signs of a thaw, with negotiations underway for normalisation, GTRI Co-Founder Ajay Srivastava said, adding that the war may derail any progress made. "The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict may disrupt the project's timelines and outcomes, marking a pivotal juncture in the development of this ambitious economic corridor. While the war

Head of Hamas's Air Force killed in airstrike: Israeli Defence Forces

The Israeli Air Force said that Murad Abu Murad "was largely responsible for directing terrorists during the massacre on Saturday"

Hamas releases footage of Israeli children held hostage during attack

The Kibbutz Holit located in southern Israel, very close to the Gaza border, had witnessed horrific atrocities by the terrorist group Hamas during their October 7 attack on Israel

Isreal's relocation order 'extremely dangerous': UN chief Guterres

Israel's ultimatum that over one million people in northern Gaza should relocate within 24 hours is "extremely dangerous" and "simply not possible", UN chief Antonio Guterres has said, asserting that "even wars have rules. UN officials in Gaza on Thursday were informed by their liaison officers in the Israeli military that the entire population of northern Gaza, approximately 1.1 million, should relocate to the southern part within the next 24 hours. The same order applied to all UN staff and those sheltered in UN facilities including schools, health centres and clinics. Moving more than one million people across a densely populated warzone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege, is extremely dangerous and in some cases, simply not possible, Guterres told reporters here on Friday. The UN Secretary-General made those remarks before heading to a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East. He said that after days

WHO pleads for reversal of Gaza evacuation order to reduce suffering

The WHO has "joined the wider United Nations in appealing to Israel to immediately rescind orders for the evacuation of over 1 million people living north of Wadi Gaza," it said

Putin stresses Israel's right to defend itself but calls for free Palestine

Russia proceeds "from the postulate, a negotiated solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has no alternatives," said Putin

Hamas attacks most murderous assault on Jews since Holocaust: US Congress

The brutal attacks by Hamas are the most murderous assault on the Jews since the Holocaust in Europe, influential lawmakers told eminent Indian-Americans who have rallied behind Israel. Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a barrage of air strikes in Southern Israel on last Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in response launched multiple attacks targeting Hamas' key infrastructure. So far, over 2,000 people have been killed in Israel and the Gaza Strip in the biggest escalation in decades between the two sides. "The terrorist attacks in Israel committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians over the last week are the most sweeping, murderous assault on Jews that have taken place since the Holocaust in Europe," Congressman Jamie Raskin told a group of Indian-Americans at an event organised by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS). Addressing a group of Indian-Americans from across the country, Ruskin said there is a need to distinguish between Hamas

Hamas makes al-Qaeda look pure: US Prez Biden amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Palestinian militant group Hamas, which attacked Israel last week taking more than 1,000 innocent lives, is worse than al-Qaeda, US President Joe Biden said Friday. "The more we learned about the attack, the more horrifying it becomes. More than 1,000 innocent lives lost, including at least 27 Americans," Biden said at the top of his remarks on Hydrogen Hubs in Philadelphia. "These guys make -- they make al-Qaeda look pure. They're pure evil. Like I said from the beginning, the United States, make no mistake about it, stands with Israel. The United States stands with Israel," Biden said. "Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel yesterday, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is there today," the President said. "We're making sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself and respond to these attacks. It's also a priority for me to urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," he said. Biden said at his direction, his teams are working in the region, including ...

Hamas groups' secret tunnel network complicates Israel's Gaza offensive

Targeting the underground maze will not be easy. Past attempts have been hampered by the fact that no one but Hamas knows their full extent

Operation Ajay: Second flight with 235 Indians from Israel lands in Delhi

As many as 447 Indian nationals, who were stranded amid the raging Israel-Hamas war have been brought back to India under 'Operation Ajay'

PM's stand on Hamas-Israel conflict seems different from MEA: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statements on the Hamas-Israel war seemed to convey a different position from the one articulated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He did not believe that the Indian government had sided 100 per cent with Israel, the former defence minister told reporters. The external affairs ministry's statement has established that India has always supported the Palestine cause, and we will continue (to do so), but we are against any organisation which is involved in (terror) attacks. But the prime minister's statement is that we are totally....he gave assurance to the (Israel) prime minister that we are with them, the NCP chief said. The Israel-Palestine issue is "serious and sensitive", and views of Muslim countries like Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and other nations cannot be ignored, he said. This is for the first time that the head of the state has taken one position and his minist

Trump says he stands with Netanyahu after a barrage of GOP criticism

Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he stood with Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as his GOP rivals continued to pointedly denounce his lashing out at Netanyahu days after Hamas' deadly attacks. Referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, Trump posted #IStandWithIsrael and #IStandWithBibi on his Truth Social network Friday afternoon. That stood in stark contrast to comments earlier this week, when Trump told a rally crowd in Florida that Netanyahu had "let us down" before the US killed a top Iranian general. Trump further faulted the country's intelligence agencies, saying they needed to "step up their game," and referred to Hezbollah, the group Israel fears may launch a large-scale attack from the country's north, as "very smart." The comments drew widespread condemnation from the White House as well as Trump's GOP rivals, who have generally avoided directly attacking the former president and GOP front-runner because he remains deeply popular with the ...

Despite lack of credible threats, US cities boost security amid Israel war

Police in New York, Los Angeles, and other US cities increased patrols, authorities put up fencing around the US Capitol and some schools closed Friday amid fears of violence inspired by the Israel-Hamas war. But law enforcement officials stressed there were no credible threats in the US. A former Hamas leader's call for a "day of rage" put American Jewish communities on edge, and sparked heightened security around houses of worship, schools and cultural institutions. The jitters were a sign of just how much the war between Israel and Hamas is reverberating around the world, striking fear in communities even in the absence of a credible threat. Law enforcement officials said they were on high alert for violence driven by antisemitic or Islamophobic sentiments in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel. Jewish and Muslim groups have reported an increase of hateful and threatening rhetoric on social media. "We cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or and other foreign .

Gaza offensive still in early stages: Netanyahu vows to 'destroy' Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas as the army prepares for an expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu delivered the threat in a nationally televised address late Friday. Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes since Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented cross-border attack last Saturday, killing over 1,300 people in a brutal rampage. Early Friday, Israel ordered half of Gaza's population to evacuate their homes. This is just the beginning, Netanyahu said. We will end this war stronger than ever. We will destroy Hamas, he added, saying Israel has widespread international support for the operation.

Days before Hamas attack, US intel warned of risk of Gaza-Israel conflict

The intelligence updates, dated September 28 and October 5, indicated that Hamas was preparing to escalate rocket attacks across the border

LIVE: Middle-East conflict raises fuel price concerns, says FM Sitharaman

Catch all the latest updates LIVE from across the globe here

Weekend Bites: Another war, trouble in IT paradise, carmakers, 'those guys'

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views