Tag: death toll

  • Israel Minister Reprimanded Over Gaza Nuclear ‘Option’ Comment

    Israel Minister Reprimanded Over Gaza Nuclear ‘Option’ Comment

    An Israeli minister was suspended from government meetings “until further notice” Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, after suggesting in an interview dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza.

    The comments by Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu advocating a fierce military response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks even at the cost of the lives of hostages believed to be held in Gaza also drew rebuke from families of the captives.

    Eliyahu, an ultranationalist politician part of Netnayahu’s ruling coalition, told Israel’s Kol Barama radio he was not entirely satisfied with the scale of Israel’s retaliation in the Palestinian territory after Hamas fighters carried out their deadly attacks inside southern Israel.

    The attacks killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israeli officials say.

    Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since October 7 has killed 9,488 people, most of them women and children, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

    When the interviewer asked whether the Israeli minister advocated dropping “some kind of atomic bomb” on the Gaza Strip “to kill everyone”, Eliyahu replied: “That’s one option”.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quickly responded in a statement, describing Eliyahu’s remarks as “disconnected from reality” and adding that Israel was trying to spare “non-combatants” in Gaza.

    In a follow-up question about the estimated 240 hostages held in Gaza, Eliyahu said that “in war we pay a price.”

    “Why are the lives of the hostages… more important than the lives of the soldiers?” he said.

    “International law, along with fundamental principles of human morality and common sense, strictly prohibits the use of mass destruction weapons,” it said in a statement, calling for the release of all the hostages.

    Following the outcry over his remarks, Eliyahu said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his statement about the atomic bomb was “metaphorical”.

    He also said that Israel was “committed to doing everything possible to return the hostages safe and sound”.

    Israel has never admitted to having a nuclear bomb.

    The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, representing relatives of people snatched to Gaza by Hamas militants, slammed Eliyahu’s “reckless and cruel” statement.

  • Remember their names: Al Jazeera breaks down casualty report from Gaza

    Remember their names: Al Jazeera breaks down casualty report from Gaza

    Last week, Gaza’s Health Ministry released a list of Palestinians killed by the on-going Israeli attacks on the besieged strip.

    The list was released a day after US President Joe Biden questioned the accuracy of the death toll of the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

    “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” he said.

    This was followed by a release of a comprehensive report on October 26, detailing the names, ages, gender and ID numbers of 6,747 of the victims.

    From October 7 to October 25 alone, a span of 19 days, at least 7,028 people were killed in Israeli attacks which included 2,913 children.

    Al Jazeera has now broken down the data, revealing that 7,028 deaths in 19 days means 370 average daily deaths. While 16,297 injuries indicated 858 average daily injuries.

    Moreover, 73 per cent of those killed in the attacks were women, children and the elderly.

    Among the victims are:
    133 babies below the age of one
    482 toddlers (1-3 years old)
    344 preschoolers (4-5 years old)
    1,042 primary school children (6-12 years old)
    664 high school children (13-17 years old)
    966 young adults (18-25 years old)
    2,506 adults (26-55 years old)
    521 Nakba survivors (56-74 years old)
    89 Nakba survivors (75+ years old)

    Read more: Know their names

  • Swat twin bombing: death toll rises to 16

    Swat twin bombing: death toll rises to 16

    The death toll of Monday’s blasts at Kabal police station in Swat, has increased to 16 now. The cause of the explosions has not been determined yet.
    According to reports, the blasts took place within the premises of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) office.

    As per a report released by the Deputy Commissioner Swat’s office, two back-to-back explosions occurred at 8:29 pm inside the CTD police station situated at Kabal Police Lines, causing significant damage to the roof of the police station, main office and a mosque located within the premises. The explosions were followed by a fire. The report stated that the dead include nine police officers and six civilians, while the identification of other victims was still underway.
    KP police have reported that there were a total of 15 fatalities in the incident, comprising of nine police officers and six civilians, while the identities of the others are still being processed.

    The victims have been identified as sub-inspector (SI) Abdullah Khan, SI Ashraf Ali, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) CTD Sher Alam, and constables Taj Muhammad, Asmat Ali, Khalilur Rahman, Bakht Rokhan, Fazal Raziq, Nahid and two-year-old Azan.

    Additionally, 63 individuals were injured in the explosions, with eight of them in critical condition.

  • 15 dead, 60 injured in bus accident near Kallar Kahar

    At least 15 people including women and children have died and over 60 were injured after a bus overturned on M2 near Kallar Kahar late on Saturday night.
    The bus was carrying wedding guests on its way to Rawalpindi. The brakes of the vehicle failed near Kallar Kahar, where the bus broke through road barriers and plowed into cars traveling on the other side of the road before overturning.
    Shortly thereafter, rescue and police personnel reached the spot and shifted the injured and the dead to a hospital. The death toll may rise as many of the injured are in critical condition.
    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief on the accident and ordered that the injured should be provided all possible relief.

  • US Congress members to visit flood affected areas tomorrow

    Members of the United States (US) Congress, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Tom Suozzi will arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to visit flood-affected areas in the country.

    Before departing for Pakistan, Jackson said that they would visit disaster-struck zones and will take “all possible steps” to help flood victims.

    Separately, the Commander of US Central Command, General Michael Erik Kurilla, expressed grief over the catastrophic floods that killed over 1000 people and submerged a third of the country.

    General Michael talked to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa via telephone and offered condolences.

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres is also set to pay a ‘solidarity visit‘ to the flood-affected areas of Pakistan on September 9.

    The secretary-general will arrive in Islamabad and will visit the areas most impacted by the unprecedented climate catastrophe. He will also have conversations with displaced families and humanitarian agencies working on the ground.

    According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), nearly 57 people have died in the last 24 hours.

    The overall death toll has crossed the 1,200 mark.

  • ‘By the grace of Almighty Allah, this is the first train accident of 2021’: Firdous

    ‘By the grace of Almighty Allah, this is the first train accident of 2021’: Firdous

    Special Assistant to Chief Minister of Punjab, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan made a shocking statement on the Ghotki Incident. She said: “By the grace of Almighty Allah, ever since the government came into power, this is the first train accident that happened in this year 2021″.

    https://twitter.com/taimoorze/status/1401902200520118278?s=21

    Firdous faced backlash from the public calling her statement ‘unbelievable’.

    A woman reacted to the comments of Firdous, and wrote on Twitter, “What have we done to deserve this ?”

    Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted a clarification regarding her controversial statement. “This is the first major train accident in the last 15 months. One of my statements given in this regard is being taken out of context.”

    Two express trains collided on Monday in Sindh’s Ghotki and killed over 50 passengers, while more than 100 others have been injured, said police and rescue officials.

    In the midst of the tragic incident of Ghotki, Firdous’ statement was thought to be inept and lacked empathy.