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Tehran, July 1: Iran’s Judiciary has announced that the death toll from the recent Israeli military onslaught—backed by the United States—has risen to at least 935, including dozens of women and children.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir cited updated figures from the Forensic Medicine Organization, saying that the victims include 38 children and 102 women, several of whom were pregnant. The 12-day assault by the “illegitimate Zionist regime,” he said, constituted a clear act of aggression against a sovereign nation.

Jahangir highlighted that the attack on Tehran’s Evin Prison alone resulted in 79 deaths, including prisoners' family members, aid workers, and prison employees.

“The world saw who started this war. Iran was attacked in the middle of diplomatic negotiations and had every right to defend itself on the battlefield,” Jahangir said.

He accused both Israel and the United States of violating international law, particularly by targeting Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities—despite Iran being a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Jahangir warned that Iran remains vigilant and ready to deliver a “proportionate response” to any future aggression. He also accused foreign powers of attempting to stir unrest inside Iran by targeting key figures, including military commanders and scientists. However, he said that Iran's internal stability was preserved through national unity and swift action by authorities.

“Despite assassination campaigns and sabotage plots, the enemy failed to break Iran’s resilience. Under the guidance of Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, capable successors were quickly appointed and infiltration networks were dismantled,” he added.

The crisis escalated on June 13 when Israel launched a surprise military operation against Iran, killing numerous military officials, nuclear scientists, and civilians. Days later, the US joined the assault by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites—a move Tehran labeled a serious breach of the UN Charter and the NPT.

In retaliation, Iran targeted strategic Israeli positions and struck the US-operated al-Udeid air base in Qatar.

By June 24, Iranian armed forces had carried out a series of retaliatory operations, ultimately forcing a halt to what Tehran called “illegal and unjustified aggression.”

Bengaluru, July 7: In a significant public health move, the Karnataka government has decided to classify sudden deaths among individuals under 45 years of age as a 'notifiable disease' — requiring mandatory reporting and autopsy — amid rising concerns and speculation linking such deaths to Covid-19 vaccines.

Announcing the decision on Monday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the government would begin systematically monitoring such cases to determine the actual causes. "If someone dies suddenly outside a hospital, it must be reported to the government, and an autopsy will be mandatory," he said.

The decision follows recommendations from an expert committee led by Dr. C.N. Ravindranath, Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. The panel was tasked with investigating the rise in sudden cardiovascular events, including possible links to Covid-19 vaccination.

The committee, however, found no direct link between vaccines and cardiac deaths among the youth. Dr. Ravindranath explained that while there was a 5–6% rise in cardiac deaths post-Covid, the causes were multifactorial — primarily lifestyle-related, with smoking accounting for over half of the cases.

Minister Rao also clarified that no mRNA vaccines, which have been associated with rare myocarditis cases abroad, were administered in India. He reiterated that Covid-19 vaccines saved lives, and panic over vaccine safety was unwarranted.

The government is expected to issue formal directions soon regarding the classification and mandatory autopsy procedures.

Gaza, July 4: As the humanitarian crisis deepens in the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed nearly 50 Palestinians—including civilians seeking food at aid distribution centers—according to medical sources.

In one of the most lethal events of the day, 15 individuals lost their lives and 90 others sustained injuries while waiting for humanitarian aid near the al-Tahlia roundabout in eastern Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Eight Palestinians, including women and children, were killed when Israeli forces targeted a tent housing displaced individuals near Tiba Towers in al-Mawasi, located to the west of Khan Yunis.

The majority of the victims were individuals from the same family whose residence was directly struck near the Tiba Towers, as reported by eyewitnesses. Additionally, several others were injured during the attack.

In a separate nearby attack, three more individuals, among them two children, lost their lives close to the British field hospital.

Airstrikes also targeted two tents on the Khan Yunis beachfront, resulting in the deaths of four civilians, primarily women and children.

The official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that Israeli artillery targeted tents accommodating displaced civilians in al-Mawasi, Rafah, in southern Gaza, causing further casualties.

In the central region of Gaza, four individuals lost their lives in the al-Bureij refugee camp as a family's residence was struck during a nighttime offensive.

In the meantime, three more people lost their lives in southern Gaza City as a result of a strike on a family residence located in the al-Sabra neighborhood.

Israeli forces also targeted a school that was providing shelter for displaced individuals; though, there were no immediate reports about the number of possible casualties.

Separately, eyewitnesses stated that Israeli forces razed multiple residential buildings in the northern flank of Khan Younis.

The latest attacks come as the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory said on Thursday that Israel is “responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.”

Francesca Albanese made the remarks at the UN Human Rights Council as he presented her latest report, condemning the Tel Aviv regime over weaponizing Gaza as a testing ground and calling for sweeping international action.

“The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic,” she said. “In Gaza, Palestinians continue to endure suffering beyond imagination. Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.”

Albanese stated that official statistics indicate more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured; however, prominent health experts believe that “the true toll is far higher.” 

She criticized the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – Israel's newly established aid system in Gaza, which has been linked to hundreds of deaths thus far – labeling it as “a death trap – engineered to kill or force the flight of a starved, bombarded, emaciated population marked for.”

Albanese noted that arms manufacturers have garnered substantial profits by providing Israel with munitions used in the bombardment of Gaza.

“Arms companies have turned near-record profits by equipping Israel with cutting-edge weaponry to unleash 85,000 tons of explosives – six times the power of Hiroshima – to destroy Gaza,” she said.

The senior UN official denounced Israel over using the Gaza war to “test new weapons, customized surveillance, lethal drones, (and) radar systems,” warning that Palestine’s defenselessness had made it “an ideal laboratory for the Israeli military-industrial complex.”

She also called on businesses to act, stressing, “Corporate entities must urgently cease all business activities and terminate relationships directly linked with, contributing to, and causing human rights violations and international crimes against the Palestinian people.”

Albanese said she no longer believed ignorance or ideology were sufficient explanations for global inaction. “In the face of genocide – so visible, so livestreamed – these explanations fall short.”

She concluded with a call for civil society to play its part, saying, “Trade unions, lawyers, civil society groups, and ordinary citizens should encourage such behavioral change from the side of businesses and governments by pressing for boycotts, divestments, sanctions, and accountability. What comes next depends on all of us.”