The Evening Wrap: Israel continues battling Hamas as fears of wider conflict grow

Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel on October 8 and launched retaliation strikes that leveled buildings in Gaza, while in northern Israel a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict. There was still some fighting underway more than 24 hours after an unprecedented surprise attack from Gaza, in which Hamas militants, backed by a volley of thousands of rockets, broke through Israel’s security barrier and rampaged through nearby communities. At least 600 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 300 have been killed in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was at war and would exact a heavy price from its enemies. His Security Cabinet officially declared the country at war in an announcement on Sunday, saying the decision formally authorizes “the taking of significant military steps.” Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is looking at additional requests for assistance that the Israelis have made and there could be developments on that front later in the day. President Joe Biden’s “direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas,” he said. Blinken also talked about how the Hamas attack could have been motivated in part to derailed an emerging diplomatic deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. German Chancellor OIaf Scholz also stressed the need to avoid a wider “conflagration” in the Middle East. Scholz said he spoke with Netanyahu and assured him that Israel’s security is a cornerstone of German policy. He pledged that “we will act accordingly.” NC-Congress sweeps 26-seat Kargil hill council polls, wins 19 seats against BJP’s 2 The National Conference (NC)-Congress combine swept the 26-member Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil (LAHDC-K) elections and bagged 19 seats, in the first ever polls held since Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory (UT) in 2019, while the BJP managed to win only two seats. The NC, which is a part of the pan-India Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), won 11 seats, while the Congress bagged eight seats. An Independent candidate one seat. The results of four seats remained to be declared. The elections were held on October 4 where 77.61% voters, out of a total electorate of 74,026, cast their ballot. During the campaigning, the NC pitched these polls as a referendum on the Centre’s moves on August 5, 2019, when J&K’s special constitutional position was ended and was split into two UTs. The Congress threw its support behind the demands of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — a local alliance fighting for statehood and special constitutional guarantees on protecting Ladakh’s culture, land, jobs and environment — when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi toured the region. The BJP, however, contested these polls on the development initiatives undertaken in the region post-2019. Though the NC-Congress had a “poll alliance”, they fielded candidates against each other, in what they described as, “friendly contests”. In fact, it was the INDIA alliance’s first polls fought jointly since its formation in July this year. The BJP won two seats out of three Buddhist-majority seats of Cha, Stakchay Khangral and Padum. The Padum was won by the NC. The BJP increased its tally by one seat compared to the 2018 elections. Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns charges against farmer protests in NewsClick FIR Condemning the FIR registered by the Delhi Police against online news portal NewsClick and journalists associated with it, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on October 8 said the charges in the FIR that the farmers’ protests were held to “disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India” were false and mischievous. The Morcha, in a statement, “categorically rejected” all allegations made in the FIR against the farmers’ movement. It also announced nationwide protests against the Union government for its renewed attack on the farmers’ movement through the NewsClick FIR. The FIR said that the 13-month-long farmers’ movement was to “abet damage and destruction of property, cause huge loss to the Indian economy and create internal law and order problems, through illegal foreign funding”. The Morcha said the protests against the “anti-farmer and pro-corporate” laws and policies of the BJP government were peaceful. “No supply was disrupted by the farmers. No property was damaged by the farmers. No loss to the economy was caused by farmers. No law and order problem was created by the farmers. By violently stopping the farmers from exercising their democratic right of reaching the nation’s capital, through barbed wire fencing, water cannons, lathi charge and digging up roads, it is the Union Government that caused great inconvenience to the people of the nation and the farmers,” the Morcha said. It also cited the deaths of 735 farmers at various protest sites and the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, where four farmers and one journalist were murdered. It is the government that conspired with crony capitalists to grab and capture food production and supply chains, destroying food security of the people and economy of the nation, the Morcha said. It alleged that funds from China had been received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the PM Cares Fund and Gautam Adani in his business. Appearing for Class 10, 12 board exams twice a year won’t be mandatory: Dharmendra Pradhan Appearing for Class 10 and 12 board exams twice a year will not be mandatory for students and the option is being introduced to reduce stress caused by the fear of single opportunity, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Pradhan said the issue of ‘dummy schools’ cannot be ignored and the time has come to have a serious discussion about it. “The students will have the option of appearing for the [Class 10 and 12 board] exams twice a year just like engineering entrance exam JEE. They can choose the best score... but it will be completely optional, no compulsion,” he said. According to the New Curriculum Framework (NCF) announced by the Ministry of Education in August, board examinations will be held twice a year to ensure that students have enough time and opportunity to perform well and get an option to retain the best score. Pradhan said he has received positive feedback from students on the plan to conduct board exams twice a year. In Brief: Thirty-two bodies, including those of nine Armymen, have been recovered so far from the slush and debris of the flash flood in the Teesta river that devastated Sikkim, while the search continued for the over 100 people who are still missing, officials said on October 8. The flash flood in the early hours of October 4 has affected 41,870 people and so far, 2,563 people have been rescued from different areas of the State, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority said. Search was underway for 122 people who are still missing. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 08 October 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Israel continues battling Hamas as fears of wider conflict grow [Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel on October 8]( and launched retaliation strikes that leveled buildings in Gaza, while in northern Israel a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict. There was still some fighting underway more than 24 hours after an unprecedented surprise attack from Gaza, in which Hamas militants, backed by a volley of thousands of rockets, broke through Israel’s security barrier and rampaged through nearby communities. At least 600 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 300 have been killed in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was at war and would exact a heavy price from its enemies. His Security Cabinet officially declared the country at war in an announcement on Sunday, saying the decision formally authorizes “the taking of significant military steps.” Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is looking at additional requests for assistance that the Israelis have made and there could be developments on that front later in the day. President Joe Biden’s “direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas,” he said. Blinken also talked about how the Hamas attack could have been motivated in part to derailed an emerging diplomatic deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. German Chancellor OIaf Scholz also stressed the need to avoid a wider “conflagration” in the Middle East. Scholz said he spoke with Netanyahu and assured him that Israel’s security is a cornerstone of German policy. He pledged that “we will act accordingly.” NC-Congress sweeps 26-seat Kargil hill council polls, wins 19 seats against BJP’s 2 The [National Conference (NC)-Congress combine swept the 26-member Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil (LAHDC-K) elections and bagged 19 seats]( in the first ever polls held since Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory (UT) in 2019, while the BJP managed to win only two seats. The NC, which is a part of the pan-India Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), won 11 seats, while the Congress bagged eight seats. An Independent candidate one seat. The results of four seats remained to be declared. The elections were held on October 4 where 77.61% voters, out of a total electorate of 74,026, cast their ballot. During the campaigning, the NC pitched these polls as a referendum on the Centre’s moves on August 5, 2019, when J&K’s special constitutional position was ended and was split into two UTs. The Congress threw its support behind the demands of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — a local alliance fighting for statehood and special constitutional guarantees on protecting Ladakh’s culture, land, jobs and environment — when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi toured the region. The BJP, however, contested these polls on the development initiatives undertaken in the region post-2019. Though the NC-Congress had a “poll alliance”, they fielded candidates against each other, in what they described as, “friendly contests”. In fact, it was the INDIA alliance’s first polls fought jointly since its formation in July this year. The BJP won two seats out of three Buddhist-majority seats of Cha, Stakchay Khangral and Padum. The Padum was won by the NC. The BJP increased its tally by one seat compared to the 2018 elections. Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns charges against farmer protests in NewsClick FIR Condemning the FIR registered by the Delhi Police against online news portal NewsClick and journalists associated with it, the [Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on October 8 said the charges in the FIR that the farmers’ protests were held to “disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India” were false and mischievous](. The Morcha, in a statement, “categorically rejected” all allegations made in the FIR against the farmers’ movement. It also announced nationwide protests against the Union government for its renewed attack on the farmers’ movement through the NewsClick FIR. The FIR said that the 13-month-long farmers’ movement was to “abet damage and destruction of property, cause huge loss to the Indian economy and create internal law and order problems, through illegal foreign funding”. The Morcha said the protests against the “anti-farmer and pro-corporate” laws and policies of the BJP government were peaceful. “No supply was disrupted by the farmers. No property was damaged by the farmers. No loss to the economy was caused by farmers. No law and order problem was created by the farmers. By violently stopping the farmers from exercising their democratic right of reaching the nation’s capital, through barbed wire fencing, water cannons, lathi charge and digging up roads, it is the Union Government that caused great inconvenience to the people of the nation and the farmers,” the Morcha said. It also cited the deaths of 735 farmers at various protest sites and the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, where four farmers and one journalist were murdered. It is the government that conspired with crony capitalists to grab and capture food production and supply chains, destroying food security of the people and economy of the nation, the Morcha said. It alleged that funds from China had been received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the PM Cares Fund and Gautam Adani in his business. Appearing for Class 10, 12 board exams twice a year won’t be mandatory: Dharmendra Pradhan [Appearing for Class 10 and 12 board exams twice a year will not be mandatory]( for students and the option is being introduced to reduce stress caused by the fear of single opportunity, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Pradhan said the issue of ‘dummy schools’ cannot be ignored and the time has come to have a serious discussion about it. “The students will have the option of appearing for the [Class 10 and 12 board] exams twice a year just like engineering entrance exam JEE. They can choose the best score... but it will be completely optional, no compulsion,” he said. According to the New Curriculum Framework (NCF) announced by the Ministry of Education in August, board examinations will be held twice a year to ensure that students have enough time and opportunity to perform well and get an option to retain the best score. Pradhan said he has received positive feedback from students on the plan to conduct board exams twice a year. In Brief: [Thirty-two bodies, including those of nine Armymen, have been recovered so far from the slush and debris of the flash flood in the Teesta river that devastated Sikkim]( while the search continued for the over 100 people who are still missing, officials said on October 8. The flash flood in the early hours of October 4 has affected 41,870 people and so far, 2,563 people have been rescued from different areas of the State, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority said. Search was underway for 122 people who are still missing. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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