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Israeli strikes kill 40 in Gaza, Hamas-run authorities say
At least 40 people have been killed in southern Gaza and dozens more injured in Israeli strikes on a designated humanitarian zone, the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority said.
The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked an operations centre in Khan Younis belonging to Hamas fighters, and that it had taken steps to mitigate risk of harming civilians.
Local residents said three strikes targeted tents housing displaced people in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, west of the city of Khan Younis, causing huge craters.
“Forty people were killed and more than 60 injured, while many are still under the rubble,” the operations director of Hamas’s civil defence authority told the BBC.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC large explosions rocked the al-Mawasi area shortly after midnight and flames could be seen rising into the sky.
Khaled Mahmoud, a volunteer for a charity who lives near the site of the strikes, said he and other volunteers rushed to help but were stunned by the scale of the disaster. “The strikes created three craters seven metres deep and buried more than 20 tents,” Mr Mahmoud said.
Unverified videos showed civilians digging through the sand with their hands in an attempt to rescue Palestinians from a deep hole caused by the airstrikes.
Posting on Telegram, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said it had attacked “key terrorists of the terrorist organisation Hamas who were operating in a command and control complex disguised in the humanitarian area in Khan Younis”.
“Prior to the attack, many measures were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weaponry, air strikes and additional intelligence information,” the spokesperson added.
“This is another example of the systematic use by the terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip of the population and civilian infrastructure, including the humanitarian space, for the purpose of carrying out terrorist acts against the State of Israel and the IDF forces.”
Hamas rejected the Israeli military’s claims that there were Hamas fighters present in the area, calling it a “blatant” lie.
“The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or using these places for military purposes.”
Thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled to Khan Younis since Israel launched its military campaign in the territory last October.
The ground operation was launched in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 40,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
[BBC]
A major storm hit the US east coast on Monday, bringing record-breaking snow that caused disruptions for millions and thousands of flight cancellations.
Parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts have seen nearly 37in (94cm) of snowfall, with more than 19in in New York City’s Central Park, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Weather warnings stretched from North Carolina to northern Maine, with some in place further north in parts of eastern Canada.
More than 600,000 properties on the US east coast endured power outages, while the Boston Globe – a major US newspaper – said it will not go to print for the first time in its 153-year history due to the storm.
(BBC)
Pakistan have recalled Shaheen Shah Afridi for their Super Eight fixture against England in Pallekle at the expense of Faheem Ashraf, and will bat first after Salman Agha won the toss on a fresh pitch.
Afridi’s nine overs at the T20 World Cup have cost 101 runs and he has been left out for consecutive matches after Pakistan’s heavy defeat to India in Colombo, including their no-result against New Zealand to start the Super Eight stage. But he has been recalled to face England, perhaps due to their top order’s perceived vulnerability against left-arm seam.
Ashraf rescued Pakistan in their opening group-stage match against the Netherlands, hitting 29 not out off 11 balls to secure a three-wicket win. But he has only bowled two overs in the tournament and has been batting down the order.
“It looks like a good pitch,” Agha said at the toss. “We want to put up an above-par score and defend that total.”
England will qualify for the semi-finals if they win either of their remaining Super Eight fixtures, but Brook said that he would rather get the job done this evening than face a must-win match against New Zealand on Friday. “That would be lovely, wouldn’t it? But you never know in T20 cricket, it’s such a fickle game,” he said.
Brook said that he would have chosen to bat first if he had won the toss, but expects a better surface than the one that England played on at Pallekele two days ago in their low-scoring win over Sri Lanka. “Hopefully, it’s going to be a little bit better,” he said. “We haven’t had our perfect game yet. Hopefully, it’s just around the corner.”
England have picked the same team for the fifth consecutive match at this World Cup, and have carded their batting line-up in the same order despite some calls for Brook to be promoted from No. 5.
The fixture is a rematch of the 2022 T20 World Cup final, which England won by five wickets at the MCG, and there are nine survivors across the two teams.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
(Cricinfo)
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 22 Feb 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended twelve (12) Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area south of Mannar.
The seized boat and the Indian fishermen were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Dikovita for onward legal proceedings.
More than 5,000 flights cancelled as US east coast digs out of record snow
Pakistan bat vs unchanged England with Afridi back
Navy seize an Indian fishing boat poaching in Mannar seas
Fair weather will prevail except for showers in the Southern province and in Rathnapura, Monaragala and Kaluthara districts after 2.00 p.m
Families of those sentenced to death for killing MP Atukorale seek AKD’s intervention
OPV leaves Baltimore, expected in Colombo in May
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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