New Delhi, June 24: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday exchanged verbal blows on social media over alleged voter list manipulation ahead of last year’s Assembly elections.

While LoP Gandhi alleged illegal additions to the voter list in CM Fadnavis’ constituency and doubted the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) impartiality, the BJP leader mocked the Congress MP and accused him of “shooting in the dark” to cast doubt on the election which his party lost in a “humiliating manner”.

In his latest message on X, LoP Gandhi said, “In Maharashtra CM’s own constituency, the voter list grew by 8 per cent in just five months. Some booths saw a 20-50 per cent surge. Booth Level Officers reported unknown individuals casting votes. Media uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address. And the EC? Silent – or complicit. These aren’t isolated glitches. This is vote theft. The cover-up is the confession.”

Reiterating his demand for a relook at the voting footage, the Congress leader said, “That’s why we demand the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage.”

CM Fadnavis responded by posting on X, “I agree that your pain of the humiliating defeat in Maharashtra is increasing day by day. But when will you stop shooting in the dark?”

In a powerful rebuttal to LoP Gandhi’s allegations on a sudden surge in the number of voters in his Nagpur South-West constituency, CM Fadnavis said, “For your information, there are more than 25 constituencies in Maharashtra where more than 8 per cent voters have increased between Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and Congress has won in many places.”

Fadnavis said in his message on X, “In West Nagpur constituency which is adjacent to my South-West constituency, 7 per cent voters (27,065) increased and Congress candidate Vikas Thackeray won the election there.”

In North Nagpur, 7 per cent (29,348) voters increased and Congress candidate Nitin Raut won. In Pune district, in Vadgaon Sheri, 10 per cent (50,911) voters increased and Bapusaheb Pathare of the NCP Sharad Pawar faction won, said the CM.

Giving examples of an unprecedented surge in voter registration in other Assembly segments, CM Fadnavis said, “In Mumbra, 9 per cent (46,041) voters increased and Jitendra Awhad of the Sharad Pawar faction won. In Malad West, 11 per cent (38,625) voters increased and your Congress party’s Aslam Sheikh won.”

The Maharashtra CM also slammed LoP Gandhi for his unverified claims and advised him to maintain proper communication with, at least, his own party workers, if not Congress allies.

Tel Aviv: Sirens sound in northern Israel as the army warned of incoming Iranian missiles, hours after both countries agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday. Israeli media earlier reported that a test ceasefire was in effect till 7 pm local time, during which Israel would not initiate any military operation. The Jewish State said it would watch the response of Tehran before announcing a longer ceasefire.

Earlier in the day, Tehran and Jerusalem accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East. But the ceasefire with Israel came into effect following several waves of Iranian attacks on Israeli-occupied territories. 

At least four people were killed in the Southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva on Tuesday morning after an Iranian missile hit a residential building. The launches came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would stop its attacks if Israel ended their airstrikes.

A video has emerged from Be’er Sheva, which shows the residential complex being completely destroyed by the Iranian missile. The clip shows remains of burnt cars and trees outside the building where the warhead had hit.

Iranian state media said Tehran launched five waves of missiles at Israel, moments before a ceasefire between the two Middle East foes was expected to begin. “The fifth wave of this morning’s missile attack from Iran is on its way to the occupied territories,” Irib posted on Telegram just before 4:00 am GMT.

The adversaries had been swapping missile fire since Israel carried out surprise “preemptive” strikes against Iran on June 13, targeting nuclear and military sites, and prompting Trump to warn of a possible “massive” regional conflict.

Trump’s Ceasefire Announcement

Earlier, Israel’s military said that it was working to intercept Iranian missiles launched a “short while ago”, without specifying the exact time of the attack.

“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” the Israeli military said in a statement posted to Telegram around 5:00 am Iranian Time (2:00 am GMT).

US President Donald Trump had announced that a staggered ceasefire between Israel and Iran would begin around 4:00 am GMT, with Tehran halting operations first.

Though there was no immediate confirmation from Israel on ending the conflict, Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran did not intend to continue its strikes if Israel stopped its attacks.

Israel’s Early Warning To Citizens

Despite nightly missile barrages, Israel’s casualty toll has remained relatively low, with authorities repeatedly stressing the importance of taking cover in life-saving protected spaces.

Israeli residents receive blaring phone alerts via SMS to warn them of incoming Iranian missiles, often in the early hours of the morning. These are often followed by the wail of overhead air raid sirens.

The alerts caution residents to rush to the safe shelters closest to their homes. For those with no safe shelters near their homes, the city’s underground stations and car parks have become vital refuges since the war began on June 13.

New York, June 24: Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire after the US pounded Tehran’s nuclear facilities, US President Donald Trump announced.

He said Monday evening on Truth Social, “It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE”.

The ceasefire will start in six hours – around midnight Washington time and 9:30 am in India — “when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions”, he said.

In a dramatic end to the missile war between Iran and Israel into which the US was drawn in with both missiles and B2 stealth bombers, Trump, who had showered invectives on Tehran for years, wrote, “I want to thank Iran”.

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR’”, he wrote.

The announcement followed a symbolic show of Iran, which shot missiles at a US base in Qatar after having given the US notice of the strike, according to Trump.

He said 13 of the 14 missiles that Iran fired were shot down, and there were no casualties.

“They’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system’, and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE”, he said.

Trump, who had threatened dire consequences if Iran retaliated after the US attacks on its three nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Firdo, was mollified by the symbolic retaliation.

“I was ‘set free’ because it was headed in a non-threatening direction”, he said.

Trump’s posts were sparse in details and said nothing about how, where or by whom the truce was reached.

Iran, exhausted by the 12 days of missile war with Israel and the final punch from the US, finally appears ready for a truce.

In the 46 years since the Shah of Iran was overthrown, “Death to America” has been a common refrain in Tehran, holding a grudge against Washington for its role in deposing the elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup that ultimately gave absolute powers to Reza Pahlavi, the Shah.

A 2015 international agreement to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme was shredded by Trump, who attempted to make a new deal in his second term.

The United Nations Security Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday on that agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which was signed by the five permanent members of the Council and Germany and the European Union.

It is to be seen if the peace will hold as Israel disrupted the negotiations between Iran and the US by starting to bomb Iran two days before a scheduled meeting between representatives of Tehran and Washington.

That in turn led to the US joining in after about ten days of sitting on the fence.

How the ceasefire will work is complicated as set out in Trump’s Truth Social post.

He indicated that first Iran is to hold a ceasefire, which Israel will respect, and that will be followed by an Israeli ceasefire for another 12 hours, at which point it will become permanent.

After the two ceasefires, “upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World”, Trump said.

Trump’s gamble in joining on Israel’s side while isolated from the other traditional US allies would pay off if the truce holds.

After the US attacks on the three nuclear centres, which Trump said had obliterated Tehran’s nuclear potential, Iran appeared to have little to gain by continuing the defiance of the US as well as most nations that have opposed the Shia nation getting a nuclear weapon.

Iran, which had allied with Russia, supplying it with drones for the Ukraine war, did not get any backing from Moscow – or Beijing – when the US bombs rained on it.