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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]
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
Latest News
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, to appoint Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in the Special Grade who is currently serving as an Additional Director General of the Department of Management Services, to the post of Director General of the Department of Management Services with immediate effect.
Latest News
Cabinet approval for Implementation of a Project for the Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and the Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties.
With the objective of improving the productivity of paddy cultivation, a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the agricultural sector was entered into on 2025-05-05 between the Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka and the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Under the afore Memorandum of Understanding, both parties have agreed to implement a project titled “Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources and Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties through Hybridization between Sri Lanka and Vietnam.”
The activities proposed to be carried out under the said project include the exchange of germplasm materials of rice varieties between the two countries, the conduct of joint breeding and hybridization programmes, the evaluation and selection of advanced breeding lines under local conditions, the establishment of field trials, the training of research officers, and the exchange of knowledge.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation for the implementation of the proposed project
Cabinet approves sale of Paddy stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board
Amendment to the Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 to be gazatted
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
Cabinet approves collaboration agreement between Sri Lanka and Brazil for the implementation of the “Sugarcane Project in Sri Lanka”
Cabinet approval for Implementation of a Project for the Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and the Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties.
Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura extended till1600 hrs on Wednesday [27]
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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