US rejects Arab demand for urgent Gaza truce; dubs massacre of Palestinian children as Israel’s ‘self-defense’

News Network
November 5, 2023

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Amman, Nov 5: A demand by Jordan and Egypt for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was rejected by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at an Arab foreign ministers meeting in Amman on Saturday.

Blinken said that a truce would be counterproductive, and made clear the furthest he would go was support for a humanitarian pause to allow the delivery of aid and the evacuation of civilians from the besieged enclave.

“It is our view now that a ceasefire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7,” Blinken told a news conference after the talks, referring to the oppressed group’s attack on occupying regime and illegal settlers. 

Foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Qatar, and a senior Palestinian official met with Blinken after holding a separate consultative meeting earlier and another with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

The meeting was attended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan, along with Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan from the UAE, Qatar’s Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry, and Hussein Al-Sheikh from the Palestine Liberation Organization.

According to a Jordanian Foreign Ministry statement, the meeting reaffirmed Arab calls for an “immediate” ceasefire and “undisrupted” delivery of relief assistance as part of efforts to stop the war.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Shoukry and Blinken, Safadi said that “slaughter and war crimes need to stop, and also the immunity given to Israel before the international law.”

He called for “immediate” delivery of aid into Gaza and a halt to Israeli displacement of Palestinians, and also voiced alarm at the situation in the occupied West Bank, where “settlers are permitted to kill innocent Palestinians.”

Shoukry also raised concerns over the mounting civilian toll in Gaza, describing it as “collective punishment,” and saying that “the slaughter of civilians cannot be justified in (any) terms even as self-defense.”

The Egyptian foreign minister called for an “immediate ceasefire without any condition,” and said that Israel needs to end its violations of international humanitarian law.

He also highlighted “double standards” in dealing with the mounting civilian toll, saying: “Arab blood is no less worthy.”

Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for so called “humanitarian pauses” to ensure civilians receive assistance amidst non-stop Israeli aggression. 

The senior US envoy said that he agreed with his Arab counterparts on the need for aid corridors, acknowledging that what has so far entered Gaza is “inadequate.”

Asked why Washington is failing to exert pressure to stop the killing of civilians, Blinken said that “Israel has the right to defend itself, but also to take means to ensure the protection of civilians and minimize harm to them.”

He claimed Hamas “embeds itself” within the civilian population, and is using civilian infrastructure as command centers and for ammunition storage.

“But Israel has an obligation to defend civilians. This is what I told the Israelis,” he said.

Washington’s top diplomat said that he is saddened to see bodies of children pulled from the rubble in Gaza. “I am a father and I have children and I know how it feels.”

Ending the press conference, Safadi said: “Self-defense? How would you explain this term to a father who is unable to protect his children and find shelter for them, not even in a refugee camp, a hospital or a UN organization?”

Before meeting Blinken, King Abdullah told the foreign ministers “to maintain Arab coordination and speak in one voice to the international community regarding the dangerous escalations in Gaza.”

He added: “Arab states have the responsibility of pushing the international community and world powers to stop the war on Gaza, allow the uninterrupted delivery of aid, and protect civilians.”

The king warned that continued fighting would lead to an “explosion in the region,” a statement said.

The Jordanian ruler also urged constant support for international relief organizations working in Gaza, especially UNRWA.

He reiterated that a political solution is needed to achieve just and comprehensive peace on the basis of a two-state solution.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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