Expanded Israeli operations kill over hundred, displace more Gazans

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Expanded Israeli operations kill over hundred, displace more Gazans

2025-05-17 19:28 Last Updated At：21:17

Israel's intensified military operations in the Gaza Strip on Friday killed over 100 people and forced many already displaced residents to flee again amid heavy bombardment.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said late on Friday that they had "launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip".

According to the IDF, the intensified assault marked the start of a new operation codenamed "Gideon's Chariots," which aims to expand the scope of fighting and advance key war objectives, including the release of hostages and the dismantling of Hamas.

"IDF troops will continue to operate in order to protect Israeli civilians and achieve the objectives of the war," the military said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days as part of efforts to defeat Hamas.

Health officials in Gaza said at least 109 people were killed and 216 wounded in the northern part of the territory.

"It was a bloody night in the northern Gaza Strip. The occupation bombed several residential homes directly and without prior warning. The attacks left dozens dead. More than 50 bodies were recovered and transferred to Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals in northern Gaza. Dozens of civilians remain trapped under the rubble of their homes," said Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense.

Salah Al-Najjar, a displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, recalled the moment the bombardment hit, saying his only hope now is to find a place to stay, even if it means sleeping on the street.

"The shelling was everywhere and in every direction. Our house was bombed and collapsed on us while we were inside. Now we are fleeing toward Gaza City to look for any place where we can set up a tent, even if it's in the street," Al-Najjar said.

"Since the beginning of the war, the bombings last night and today have been the most intense in two years. I was previously displaced to the south, and now I'm heading back to Gaza, only to return south again, as instructed by the Israeli army," said Yousef Al-Masry, another displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza.

The intensification followed Israel's resumption of military operations in Gaza on March 18, after a brief lull in the fighting. Since then, at least 2,985 Palestinians have been killed and 8,173 injured, bringing the total number of deaths since the conflict erupted in October 2023 to 53,119, with 120,214 wounded, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Air India crash report shows both engines shut down shortly after takeoff

2025-07-12 11:29 Last Updated At：11:37

Both engines of the recently crashed Air India airplane had shut down mid-air within seconds of take-off, showed a preliminary investigation report released on Saturday by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (ABI).

According to Indian media, the report said that before the Flight AI-171 plane crashed, the switches controlling the fuel flow of the two engines switched from "RUN" to "CUT OFF" within a second of each other, which caused the aircraft engines to stop working. The cockpit voice recorder shows that one of the pilots asked, "Why did you cut off?" and the other pilot replies, "I didn't."

The accident report also showed that both switches were moved back to the "RUN" position and while engine 1 showed signs of recovery, but engine 2 could not.

"The CCTV footage obtained from the airport showed Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed during the initial climb immediately after lift-off. No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall," the report said.

The report noted that the RAT was deployed, indicating a total loss of power and thrust in the aircraft. The report also showed that the flap settings and landing gear positions were normal at the time of the crash.

The report said that these facts will become a focus area for future investigations.

The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of India's western state of Gujarat, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.