Islamabad, Oct 15: At least 17 children and one female teacher were killed and more than 30 others injured after the roof of a private school collapsed in Pakistan’s Peshawar on Thursday, local media reported.

Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim confirmed the casualties and said that an emergency has been declared at the hospital, leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.

He said that the injured were undergoing medical treatment, with some in critical condition.

Asim further mentioned that all the children were aged 13 years and below.

Upon receiving the information, ambulances and disaster response vehicles reached the site of the incident and launched a rescue operation.

Rescue 1122 ambulances provided first aid to over eight injured children before taking them to hospital. The rescue operation was being conducted at the site to find more people trapped under the rubble, with fears that the death toll could increase, The Express Tribune reported.

Reports suggest that roof and building collapses are a recurring problem in Pakistan, where weak safety enforcement and substandard construction materials have repeatedly contributed to such tragedies.

In August, a couple was killed, and their daughters were injured after the roof of their house collapsed in Islamabad after three days of heavy rainfall, another Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

Earlier in June, as many as 14 children were killed after the roof of a private tuition centre in the Kahna area of Pakistan’s Lahore.

The incident took place less than two months after four children were killed and 20 people were injured after the roof of a classroom at a private school collapsed in Dera Ghazi Khan city of Pakistan’s Punjab, Dawn reported.

In a separate incident in June, a labourer was killed, and three others were injured after the roof of an under-construction building collapsed in Khawaspur locality of Gujrat in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Jerusalem, Oct 14: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that it had killed a Hamas commander in an airstrike in Gaza City.

The commander, identified as Momen Ahmad Salameh Ay, allegedly held Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza City and served as an aide to commanders of Hamas’s Gaza Brigade.

According to the Israeli military, he had recently advanced attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians and attempted to restore Hamas’s capabilities.

The IDF said it had taken steps to minimize civilian casualties ahead of the airstrike, which was carried out Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate statement, the IDF said infantry soldiers operating in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon had located a ready-to-detonate explosive device, a Hezbollah position, and additional weapons used by the group.

On Friday, the IDF said in a statement that it had killed three militants in Gaza City.

The IDF said two of the men were identified as Hassam Walid Hassan Abu Al-Ata, allegedly a commander in the rocket unit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing, and Magdi Moein Yousef Al-Ayoubi, also a member of the group’s military wing.

The third was identified as Muhammad Aja, a company commander in Hamas’ military wing, it added.

According to the IDF, the militants, killed in aerial strikes on Thursday, had recently advanced attacks against Israeli soldiers and worked to restore the capabilities of the two groups.

In a separate statement, the IDF and the Shin Bet domestic security agency said they had dismantled four weapons storage facilities belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad across the Gaza Strip.

The facilities contained dozens of weapons and other military equipment, including rockets, explosive devices, mortars, and Kalashnikov rifles, the statement said.

Sanaa, Oct 14: Yemen’s Houthi group said Wednesday it had launched a large-scale missile and drone attack targeting an airport and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, vowing to continue strikes against Saudi targets in the coming days.

In a statement broadcast by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group targeted Saudi energy giant Aramco in Dhahran in the Eastern Province, as well as King Khalid International Airport and an Aramco refinery in Riyadh.

According to Sarea, the operation involved “a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” which accurately hit their targets, causing damage and fires.

The Houthi spokesperson said the operation was carried out in retaliation for Saudi Arabia-led strikes on the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa and other areas under the group’s control. He said Saudi-led forces had carried out 2,281 air and missile strikes since the latest escalation began, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sarea vowed that the group’s attacks “deep inside Saudi Arabia” would continue in the coming days, targeting airports and oil facilities. He also renewed a warning to international airlines, civilians and employees to stay away from airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that the group had designated as targets.

The Houthi claim came after the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted six Houthi missiles and three drones heading towards Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. An Aramco administrative building in Dhahran was targeted Tuesday evening, sparking a limited fire, while debris from two cruise missiles intercepted over Riyadh injured four people and damaged 15 homes, Saudi authorities said Wednesday.

The latest Houthi operations followed a series of Saudi-led coalition strikes on Tuesday targeting the Yemen Petroleum Company’s Al-Sabaha fuel storage and distribution facility west of Sanaa, as well as fuel facilities in the Red Sea province of Hodeidah.

Cross-border hostilities have intensified sharply in recent days. A Houthi attack on a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. The Saudi-led coalition subsequently vowed a firm response to the attack.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. Major hostilities had largely subsided following a UN-brokered truce in 2022, before the latest fighting led to a sharp escalation in ground battles and cross-border missile, drone and air attacks.