Gaza strip
US Dept of Defense made a shocking claim and held Iran responsible for the India drone strike on the India-bound merchant vessel. Further, the Pentagon statement also claimed that it was the “seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021”. A suspected drone attacked an India-bound ship in the Arabian Sea near Gujarat coast on December 23. MV Chem Pluto, a merchant ship, commenced its voyage from UAE on Dec 19 and was expected to reach New Mangalore port on Dec 25. Soon after getting hit, the merchant vessel immediately caught fire; however, no casualties have been reported so far. Notably, 20 Indians were onboard the ship during the incident that took place 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast. Reacting sharply to it, the Indian Navy and ICG didn’t waste any time and charged towards the MV Chem Pluto for assistance. The vessel is likely to enter Mumbai and seek escort assistance due to steering issues. Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram will be escorting the ship during its passage. The Indian Coast Guard Operations Centre is monitoring the situation closely.
03 January, 2024 02:22 PM IST |
As the Israel-Hamas Conflict continues for straight 88 days, Hamas Dy leader Saleh al-Arouri on Jan 02, was killed in an alleged Israeli drone strike in Beirut, reported The Times of Israel. Hamas terrorist group in the early hours of Jan 03, also confirmed the killing of its deputy commander in Lebanon. Meanwhile, condemning the alleged killing of Arouri, Lebanon`s caretaker PM Najib Mikati, called it a "new Israeli crime". Mikati forewarned, saying Tel Aviv aims to drag Lebanon into the conflict. Lebanese terror group Hezbollah vowed to respond to alleged Israeli attack claiming its fighters are at heightened readiness to retaliate. The terror group called the alleged Israeli strike “a serious assault on Lebanon, its people, its security and its sovereignty…”. However, Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the attack but also issued an obscure statement. during a press conference. Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Foreign Media Spokesman Mark Regev said, “Whoever did this, it’s not an attack on the Lebanese state…”. Meanwhile, the alleged killing of the Hamas leader sparked a massive protest in West Bank’s Ramallah. Holding flags and chanting slogans, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets and marched toward Arouri’s hometown. Notably, at least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas` attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. The IDF in retaliation to the attack has continued to pound Hamas targets since the outbreak of the war.
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