Israel has said it will not lift its blockade until scores of hostages captured by Hamas are set free
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that there is no expectation of any disruption in supply lines for crude oil so far. Asked if the conflict can have an impact on oil supplies, Puri told reporters here, ".. so far, no expectation of supply lines being disrupted". "I am reasonably confident that both on issues related to availability and affordability that we can navigate forward. "I am confident that we will be able to manage and this for a variety of reasons. We have diversified our sources of supply. Earlier, we used to import from 27 countries, today we import from 39 countries," Puri said. Replying to a question, he said normally, the country consumes five million barrels per day. "Our imports from the Americas have increased. We buy USD 20 billion worth energy from them," he said in response to a question. Replying to a question if further reduction in fuel prices can be expected with festiv
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorism anywhere in the world and in any form is against humanity and asserted that it is time for peace and brotherhood and to move forward while walking together. He also said that conflicts and confrontations in any part of the world impact everyone and do not benefit anyone, as he called for the world to move forward with a human-centric approach. Addressing the inaugural session of the ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) here, he also said that we have to remove obstacles in the way of global trust. Modi said this is the time for peace and brotherhood, and time to move forward together. His remarks came against the backdrop of a series of brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants over the weekend which triggered fresh tensions in the region. Referring to the attack on Parliament House some 20 years ago, the prime minister said India has been facing cross-border terrorism
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told Israeli leaders that we have your back as he reaffirmed US support in the first week of their war against the militant Hamas group. He voiced little public criticism of their stunning demand that some 1 million civilians evacuate northern Gaza. Austin, the second high-level US official sent by President Joe Biden to visit Israel in two days, was seeing firsthand some of the weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel after it was attacked. He stressed that this is a time for resolve and not revenge, for purpose and not panic and for security and not surrender. The defence secretary's quick trip to Israel from Brussels, where he was attending a NATO defence ministers meeting, came a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region. Blinken is continuing the frantic Mideast diplomacy, seeking to avert an expanded regional conflict. The Israeli military directed Gaza City residents to evacuate for .
After safely evacuating 212 Indian nationals from Israel, the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv is facilitating more flights, including one on Friday evening, amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict. India launched 'Operation Ajay' on Thursday to facilitate the return of those who wish to return home following the brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants from Gaza on October 7, triggering fresh tension in the region. The Embassy has emailed the next lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight today. Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights, the Indian Embassy posted the announcement on X. The first charter flight to facilitate the return of Indian citizens from Israel left late Thursday evening from the Ben Gurion airport carrying 211 adults and an infant living in the war-battered region and reached the Indian capital on Friday morning. The passengers were chosen on a first come first serve basis after a drive launched by the Indian embassy f
Gaza, often termed an "open-air prison", is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, making it one of the world's most densely populated regions.
The attack on the Israeli embassy staffer has further strained relations between Israel and China
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the world needs to move forward with a human-centric approach
Israel's military told some 1 million Palestinians living in Gaza on Friday to evacuate the north, according to the United Nations, an unprecedented order for almost half the population of the sealed-off territory ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group. The UN warned that so many people fleeing en masse would be calamitous, and Hamas, which staged a shocking and brutal attack on Israel this week, dismissed it as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes, adding to widespread panic. The evacuation order, which includes Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, sparked confusion among civilians and aid workers already running from Israeli airstrikes and contending with a total siege and a territory-wide power blackout. Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you'll make it, if you're going to live, said Nebal Farsakh, a spokeswoman for the Palestinian Red Crescent in
Hamas says Israel's heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed 13 hostages, including foreigners, held by the group. Hamas' military wing said in a statement Friday that the 13 were killed in various locations over the past 24 hours. It did not give the nationality of the foreigners. There has been no confirmation from Israel.
Glad to be home and traumatised by what they had seen in the last few days, the first batch of around 200 Indians returned from Israel on Friday with the sound of air raid sirens, rocket fire and screams ringing loud in their ears. Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented attack by Hamas in its southern parts on Saturday morning. At least 700 people have been killed and more than 2,100 injured in Israel the deadliest day for the country in at least 50 years. "We woke up to sounds of air raid sirens. We stay in central Israel and I don't know what shape this conflict will take," said Shashwat Singh soon after landing at Delhi airport along with his wife. The post-doctoral researcher in agriculture, who has been staring in Israel since 2019, said the sound of those sirens and the nightmarish experience of the past few days still haunt him. The evacuation of Indians is a "praiseworthy step", Singh said soon after the flight landed. "We hope peace will be restored and we will ret
A group of 254 Nepali students rescued from the strife-torn Israel and led by Foreign Minister N P Saud arrived in Kathmandu on Friday. A Nepal Airlines flight that took off from Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport on Thursday landed at Tribhuvan International Airport here this morning after a stopover in Dubai. Speaking to the media at the airport, Foreign Minister Saud, who flew to Israel a day before to facilitate the rescue mission, said the remaining Nepalis who have requested repatriation would be rescued soon. The minister said 557 Nepalis had provided their details in response to a request from the Embassy of Nepal in Tel Aviv to those wishing to return to Nepal or relocate to safer places. "Out of the 557 Nepalis, 503 had applied to return to Nepal and among them 254 have returned home today with us," he was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times newspaper. Minister Saud also said that 54 Nepalis who had requested to be relocated from risky areas have been shifted
Israel has cut off electricity and water supply to Gaza, and stopped the entry of food and fuel
Israel, which has vowed to crush Hamas, is now preparing for a possible ground offensive
France's interior minister on Thursday ordered local authorities to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid a rise in antisemitic acts since Hamas attacked Israel over the weekend. President Emmanuel Macron urged French people not to allow the war in the Mideast erupt into tensions at home. Soon before Macron spoke in a televised address to the nation about the Mideast conflict, Paris police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters who had defied a ban and demonstrated Thursday against the Israeli government. "Let us not bring ideological adventures here (to France) by imitation or by projection. Let us not add national fractures ... to international fractures,?" Macron pleaded. "Let us stay united." With several French-Israeli citizens believed held hostage by Hamas, Macron pledged that France would protect its Jewish citizens and be 'ruthless toward all those who bear hate" and noted concerns about hostility toward France's Muslims too. Fighting i
Israel's military on Friday directed the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 people, within 24 hours, a UN spokesman said. The order, delivered to the U.N., comes as Israel presses an offensive against Hamas militants. UN spokesman Stphane Dujarric called the order impossible without devastating humanitarian consequences. This could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed such an appeal. On Thursday it said that while it was preparing, a decision has not yet been made.
Less than a month before Hamas fighters blew through Israel's high-tech Iron Wall and launched an attack that would leave more than 1,200 Israelis dead, they practised in a very public dress rehearsal. A slickly produced two-minute propaganda video posted to social media by Hamas on September 12 shows fighters using explosives to blast through a replica of the border gate, sweep in on pickup trucks and then move building by building through a full-scale reconstruction of an Israeli town, firing automatic weapons at human-silhouetted paper targets. The Islamic militant group's live-fire exercise dubbed operation Strong Pillar also shows militants wearing body armour and combat fatigues swiftly carrying out operations that included the destruction of mock-ups of the wall's concrete towers and a communications antenna, just as they would do for real in the deadly attack last Saturday. While Israel's highly regarded security and intelligence services were clearly caught flatfooted by ..
Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. A second U.S. carrier strike group departs from Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday. Scores of aircraft are heading to U.S. military bases around the Middle East. Special operations forces are now assisting Israel's military in planning and intelligence. The first shipment of additional munitions has already arrived. More is expected, soon. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will arrive in Israel Friday to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss what else the U.S. can provide. For now, the buildup reflects U.S. concern that the deadly fighting between Hamas and Israel could escalate into a more dangerous regional conflict. So the primary mission for those ships and warplanes is to establish a force presence that deters Hezbollah, Iran or others from taking advantage of the situation. But the forces the U.S. sends are capable of .
At least 27 American citizens have died and 14 remain unaccounted for as a result of unfolding violence in Israel and the US will arrange charter flights to evacuate its citizens from the strife-torn Jewish state, the White House has announced. Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a barrage of air strikes in Southern Israel on 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. India is one of the first countries to evacuate its citizens from Israel. On the sixth day of violence, the Israeli military said more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, were killed in Israel. In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, over 1,400 people have been killed in Israel's offensive against the Palestinian militant group, according to authorities there. "We are all acutely aware of limited availability
: The United States will arrange for charter flights to evacuate its citizens from Israel, the White House said Thursday. So far, 27 American citizens have died in the attacks by palestinian militant group, Hamas and 14 remain unaccounted for. India is the first country to evacuate its citizens from Israel after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. On the sixth day, the Israeli military said more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, were killed in Israel. In Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, over 1,400 people have been killed in Israel's offensive against the Palestinian militant group, according to authorities there. We are all acutely aware of limited availability right now on commercial flights out of Israel and the demand signal by U.S. citizens who may want to depart. The president has asked his team to ensure that we are assisting U.S. citizens who do want to leave Israel and providing them with a safe means of doing that, said John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications