Israel-Hamas war: India sends relief material to Palestine
India has sent 6.5 tons of medical aid and 32 tons of disaster relief material to war-hit Palestine. The succor was carried on a C-17 Globemaster aircraft and will be supplied through Egypt's Rafah border crossing. The death toll from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has crossed 5,000, with nearly 70 percent of the dead in the Gaza Strip being children and women.
PM Modi speaks to Palestinian president
India's humanitarian aid to Palestinians comes two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. During the conversation, he assured that India would continue providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. PM Modi also offered his condolences for the civilian lives lost in the recent bombing at a Gaza hospital.
32 tons of disaster relief material sent
Latest update on the Israel-Hamas war
Since the war started on October 7, over 5,000 people have died as Israel intensified its bombings on the Gaza Strip. Israel has laid a complete siege on the region, depriving citizens of essentials. The conflict has also triggered hate crime incidents across the world. Last week, a 71-year-old man attacked a Muslim mother-son duo in Illinois. The six-year-old boy was stabbed 26 times.
Rafah border reopens
On Saturday, Egypt opened a humanitarian corridor via its Rafah border crossing. The eight-mile-long corridor serves as the only functioning passage between the Gaza Strip and the rest of the world. Since the start of the war, Gazans have been queuing up on the border, looking for an escape. The United Nations confirmed that a 20-truck convoy entered Gaza, providing life-saving supplies to residents.
Hamas releases American hostages
Separately, Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip released two American captives, Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter, Natalie Shoshana Raanan, on Friday. They reached Israel late Friday and met their relatives. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, following which it reportedly abducted 203 people. The mother-daughter duo is a resident of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.
