Israeli army captures Rafah crossing as tanks roll in after heavy bombardment

A shooting near a mosque in Oman killed at least four people and wounded several others in a rare act of violence in the Gulf nation.

The attack early on Tuesday took place in Wadi al-Kabir, a district east of the capital city, Muscat, during a major religious event for Shia Muslims.

Video from the scene shows people fleeing near the Imam Ali Mosque, its minaret visible, as gunfire rings out followed by a voice saying, “Oh God!”

Omani police said they’re taking “all necessary security measures and procedures … to handle the situation”. They gave an initial casualty toll of four killed and “several” injured.

“The authorities are continuing to gather evidence and conduct investigations to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident,” police said on social media platform X.

No motive or potential suspects were identified in the attack. A state of emergency was declared in the area.

‘Remain vigilant’

It appears some of the victims were Pakistani expats as Pakistan’s ambassador “visited three hospitals and met with the wounded”, an embassy statement said, adding, “all Pakistanis residing in Oman are requested to cooperate with the authorities”.

The US Embassy in Muscat issued a security alert following the shooting and cancelled all visa appointments on Tuesday.

“US citizens should remain vigilant, monitor local news, and heed directions of local authorities,” the embassy wrote on X.

Such an attack is rare in Oman, a frequent regional mediator with a low crime rate. It comes during the Muslim day of Ashura when Shia Muslims commemorate the seventh-century battlefield martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

Many Shia mark Ashura by performing a pilgrimage to Imam Hussein’s shrine in the Iraqi city of Karbala. Sunni Muslims commemorate the day through fasting. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Wednesday that the state government will give ex gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for those who have died in the landslide that occurred on Tuesday in Uttara Kannada's Ankola taluk.

Rescue officials on Tuesday had recovered bodies of four persons and a search is on to trace the missing persons from both under the debris of the landslide and in the Gangavali river. Seven members of two families were killed when a huge hill collapsed on their houses in Shirur village. 

In his post on X, the CM said, "In the landslide that occurred on the national highway near Shirur in Uttara Kannada district Ankola taluk, seven people are believed to have died due to mud and 4 dead bodies have already been recovered. This is a very unfortunate incident. I pray that the soul of the deceased may rest in eternal peace."

He further added, "For those who died in the incident, Rs. 5 lakh compensation has been announced. Despite the continuous rain, the rescue operation is continuing and the search is on for the remaining three."

The deceased have been identified as Lakshman Naik (47), his wife Shanthi (36) and son Roshan (11). The identity of the fourth body is yet to be ascertained.

Officials also sighted the body of a girl child in the river but could not retrieve it. The bodies were recovered in Gangavali River, at least six km from the accident area.

The US military has officially declared an end to the mission of its floating pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip that was apparently used to facilitate an Israeli massacre instead of delivering aid to the besieged territory.

Speaking at a news briefing on Wednesday, Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), claimed that the water dock had “achieved its intended effect to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza”.

"The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So there's no more need to use the pier," he added.

US President Joe Biden announced back in March the construction of the $230 million pier that involved 1,000 US soldiers and sailors. 

However, bad weather delayed the initial installment of the maritime corridor, and then in late May, broke it apart. Since then, the US military has detached the pier and moved it to the port of Ashdod.

As a result, the pier operated only 25 days and delivered supplies equivalent to just a couple of days’ worth of the aid that flowed into Gaza before Israel’s ongoing genocidal war.

Meanwhile, reports said it facilitated the Israeli massacre against the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza that killed at least 274 people and wounded nearly 700 others on June 8.

The ex-US aid director for the West Bank and Gaza, Dave Harden, said that the now-closed pier was “interesting in theory, but in practice, an absolute failure – and my concern is who will be held accountable?”

“What we have not seen is a robust opening of the crossings … I think this goes first to the Israelis, and second to the Americans,” he told Al Jazeera. “And in the meantime, the Gazans themselves continue to suffer. This was a tragedy compounding a tragedy."

Biden had already expressed disappointment in the temporary water dock, saying, “I was hopeful that would be more successful.”

Several congressmen had also criticized the Gaza pier for its cost and potential risk to US troops.

Furthermore, the Gaza government had condemned the US project as a publicity stunt “to beautify its ugly face.”

Similarly, aid groups had denounced the pier as a distraction, saying Washington should have instead put pressure on Israel to open Gaza crossings and allow humanitarian aid to enter the blockaded Palestinian territory.

“The US wanted to show that it was doing something to aid the humanitarian effort, and yet it wasn’t successful in pushing Israel to do the most obvious necessary thing — which is to allow full access via the land crossing, or allow access from Israeli and West Bank markets,” said Tania Hary, the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli rights group.

“So it put in this incredibly expensive, inefficient workaround that ended up proving to be a completely disastrous waste of money, and a colossal and embarrassing failure on top.”

Israel unleashed its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 38,794 Palestinians, mostly women, and children, in Gaza, and injured 89,166 others.