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Gazans suffer heightened anxiety as ceasefire talks stall during Ramadan

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Gaza, March 3: Amid widespread devastation and family losses, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip welcomed this year’s holy month of Ramadan with heavy hearts and weary bodies, following 15 months of Israeli assault on the besieged enclave.

While Muslims around the world welcomed Ramadan with prayer and festivity, the scene in Gaza tells a different story.

Gaza’s streets, once vibrant and full of life, now lie in ruins. The rubble of destroyed homes stands as a haunting reminder of the devastation, while the air is thick with the smell of gunpowder, death, and decay.

With the first phase of the ceasefire between Palestinians and Israel having ended on Saturday and no sign of a second phase, Gazans now live in heightened anxiety, fearing the war could resume at any moment, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Every day that passes without shelling brings a sense of relief. But at the same time we live in fear that the attacks will start again,” said Om Mohammed al-Najjar from Khan Younis, southern Gaza. She lost her home in the recent bombardment.

“We have suffered enough. Ramadan should be a time of peace, but here, there is no peace,” she said.

Mohammed Al-Dahdouh, a 45-year-old father of four from Gaza City, recalled how his family joyously decorated their home with lanterns and vibrant colors. The kitchen would be filled with the delicious aroma of maqluba and qatayef, traditional Middle Eastern dishes, and laughter would echo throughout the house.

“Ramadan used to mean family gatherings around the iftar table, the sound of children’s laughter, and the smell of food filling the house,” Al-Dahdouh told Xinhua. “Now, there is no home, no table. We are crammed into a small tent, and the food we have barely suffices,” he added.

“We cling to life because we have no other choice. We are people who love life, and we have the right to live in peace and safety,” he said.

In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia, Suzanne Abdel-Ati strolls between the tents standing on open land, exchanging greetings with her new neighbours, most of whom are displaced like herself.

“During the war, the army killed my entire family, and now I am left with only two children,” Abdel-Ati told Xinhua.

She recalled the days when her family would gather each night to break the fast. “Now, they lie beneath the earth,” she added quietly.

Tasaheel Nassar, a Palestinian woman from Rafah city who lost her husband, brothers, and parents in an Israeli airstrike, told Xinhua, “The holy Ramadan month has lost its spirit here in Gaza. There are no lanterns, no decorations, no bustling markets. Instead, there is death’s silence and the ever-present smell of destruction.”

“Our loved ones are gone, and we no longer have the strength to carry on,” she said, adding, “The pain is constant, and now it is worse because the holy Ramadan month brings memories of the family I lost.”

Some Gazans choose not to surrender. Thirty-five-year-old Arkan Radi from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, along with his friends, has hung some Ramadan decorations in their tent.

“We know that the decorations won’t change our reality,” Radi says, “but they are a message that we are still here, still holding on to life, even in the darkest times. It’s not a solution, but I want to bring some hope and joy to my children.”

International News

Thailand, Cambodia Clash With Jets, Rockets, Artillery In Deadly Border Row

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Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, killing a civilian, in a dramatic escalation of a long-running border row between the two neighbours.

The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples.

The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.

The conflict blazed up on Thursday, with Cambodia firing rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambling F-16 jets to carry out air strikes.

Six jets were deployed from Ubon Ratchathani province, hitting two “Cambodian military targets on the ground”, according to Thai military deputy spokesperson Ritcha Suksuwanon. 

The Thai prime minister’s office said a Cambodian artillery shell hit a house over the border, killing one civilian and wounding three others, including a five-year-old child.

Both sides blamed the other for starting the fighting, which erupted near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.

“The Thai military violated the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia by launching an armed assault on Cambodian forces stationed to defend the nation’s sovereign territory,” defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said in a statement.

“In response, the Cambodian armed forces exercised their legitimate right to self-defence, in full accordance with international law, to repel the Thai incursion and protect Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Thai military blamed Cambodian soldiers for firing first, and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”, saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a community in Surin’s Kap Choeng district, wounding three people.

According to the Thai military, the clashes began around 7:35 am (0035 GMT) when a unit guarding Ta Muen temple heard a Cambodian drone overhead.

Later, six armed Cambodian soldiers, including one carrying a rocket-propelled grenade, approached a barbed-wired fence in front of the Thai post, the army said.

Thai soldiers shouted to warn them, the army said, but around 8:20 am, Cambodian forces opened fire toward the eastern side of the temple, about 200 metres from the Thai base. 

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said “the situation requires careful handling, and we must act in accordance with international law”.

“We will do our best to protect our sovereignty,” he said.

Thailand’s embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia “as soon as possible” unless they had urgent reasons to remain, in a Facebook post.

Long-Running Row 

The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine. 

Wechayachai said an investigation by the Thai military found evidence that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the disputed border area — a claim denied by Phnom Penh.

On Thursday morning, Cambodia announced it was downgrading ties to “the lowest level”, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.

Recent weeks have seen a series of tit-for-tat swipes by both sides, with Thailand restricting border crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports.

The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct.

A diplomatic call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former longtime ruler and father of Prime Minister Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.

Last week, Hun Manet announced that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law.

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Mumbai Police Reach Kapil Sharma’s House After Kap’s Cafe Firing In Canada

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Hours after shots were fired at comedian Kapil Sharma’s eatery, Kap’s Cafe, in Canada, the Mumbai Police on Friday reached his house in Mumbai to question him about the incident. Around 1 am on July 9 (Canada time), several rounds were fired at the cafe, located in Surrey.

Khalistani terrorist Harjeet Singh Laddi claimed the responsibility for the attack, and demanded an apology from Kapil for his alleged objectionable remarks.

the attackers felt that Nihang Sikhs were insulted on Kapil’s show. The report also mentioned that the attackers said the comedian ignored their calls seeking an apology, and that shots were fired at his eatery to warn him.

Kap’s Cafe team issues statement

Kapil is yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

The management of the eatery, however, took to their social media handles and wrote, “We opened Kap’s Cafe with hopes of bringing warmth, community, and joy through delicious coffee and friendly conversation. To have violence intersect with that dream is heartbreaking. We are processing this shock but we are not giving up (sic).”

It further stated, “Your kind words, prayers, and memories shared via DM mean more than you know. This cafe exists because of your belief in what we’re building together. Let’s stand firm against violence and ensure Kap’s Cafe remains a place of warmth and community. From all of us at Kap’s Cafe, thank you and see you soon, under better skies (sic).”

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Iran warns it will target Israel’s ‘secret nuclear sites’ if attacked

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Tehran, June 10: Iran’s top security body warned that its armed forces would immediately target Israel’s “secret nuclear facilities” if the Islamic Republic comes under military attack, following claims it has obtained “sensitive Israeli intelligence.”

The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) issued the statement days after Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib said Iran had acquired a “significant cache” of Israeli documents through intelligence operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the council, months of intelligence gathering had enabled Iran’s armed forces to identify high-value Israeli targets for potential retaliatory strikes, should Israel initiate military action against Iranian interests.

“This forms part of a broader strategic initiative aimed at countering disinformation by hostile actors and reinforcing Iran’s deterrent capabilities,” the SNSC said.

Tehran’s access to Israeli intelligence would allow it to swiftly target “concealed nuclear sites” in the event of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, the council said, adding that the information also supports proportionate retaliation against attacks on Iran’s economic or military assets.

Israel is believed by many to possess nuclear weapons, though it has never officially confirmed or denied this, maintaining a longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity.

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