Gaza oscillates between calm and thunderous bomb blasts
(We thankfully acknowledge the contribution of The Hindu for this story.)
A Hamas official called the October 7 attack a ‘historic response’ to Israel’s bid to ‘eradicate the Palestinian cause’; he also said group was working to ‘surmount all obstacles’ to sealing a deal in Egypt; Trump says there is a ‘real chance’ to end war
Solemn vigil: People visit the Nova music festival memorial site on the second anniversary of the Hamas attack in Israel on Tuesday.
Agence France-Presse
Jerusalem
Israel marked the second anniversary of the October 7 attack on Tuesday, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators held indirect talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza under a U.S.-proposed peace plan, with U.S. President Donald Trump voicing optimism about a deal.
Two years ago to the day, Hamas launched the deadliest attack on Israel in the country’s history, sparking a huge retaliatory offensive in Gaza.
Shocking assault
The attack shocked the world, with Palestinian fighters breaching the Gaza-Israel border, and storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets and grenades.
It resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians. Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead. On Tuesday, senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum called the October 7 attack a “historic response” to Israel’s bid to “eradicate the Palestinian cause”. Two years on, global pressure to end the war has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli families still longing for their loved ones’ return.
Accusations of genocide
A UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide in Gaza while rights groups have accused Hamas of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the October 7 attack. Both sides reject the allegations.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday voiced optimism in ending the Gaza war.
“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation.”
Last week, Mr. Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan calling for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The plan received positive responses from both Israel and Hamas and prompted talks in Egypt, with negotiators beginning indirect discussions on Monday. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will join the talks, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
In Israel, relatives and friends of those killed at the Nova music festival lit candles and held a minute’s silence at the site of the attack.
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QUESTIONS..
Q1. How did the present violence between Hamas and Israel start? State the date and time of its start?
Q2. What losses Israel suffer in the first two days of Hamas attack on it?
Q3. How did Israel react? Since then what losses the Palestinians in Gaza have suffered?
Q4. How has the international community reacted to the ongoing violence in Gaza?
Q5. How is President Trump trying to end the conflict?
Q6. Make sentences with Long as adjective, Long as verb, Bid as a noun, Bid as verb, Eradicate, Storm as noun, Storm as verb, Voice as noun, Voice as verb, Seal as noun, Seal as verb, Breach as noun, Breach as verb, Veil as noun, Unveil as verb, Flat as adjective, Flatten as verb,
Q7. What is meant by ‘committing war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’? (Refer Google.) ———————————————————————————————————–.————————————-
ANSWERS …
Q. How did the present violence between Hamas and Israel start? State the date and time of its start?
Ans: The Israeli revenge attack on Hamas, in particular and the Palestinians of Gaza started in the aftermath of Hamas’s violent incursion to southern Israel in the morning of October 7, 2023. The Hamas started a well-planned armed attack that saw firing of about 4300 rockets into Israel, and entry of some heavily armed paragliders who unleashed wild attacks on whoever came their way.
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Q2. What losses Israel suffer in the first two days of Hamas attack on it?
Ans .. Israel, although hugely more powerful than the Hamas, suffered mind-boggling losses. Such an attack had never happened on Israel since 1948. The number of people, mostly civilians, who died in the hands of the Hamas intruders stands at 1219. The number of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas is 241.
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Q3. How did Israel react? Since then what losses the Palestinians in Gaza have suffered?
Ans: Clearly, Irael’s security forces (IDF) had no inkling of such an attack. They were caught napping. This made the job of the Hamas infiltrators easy. The Israeli forces took nearly two days to neutralize the invaders and bring the attack to an end. Israel started a savage attack on Gaza using its airpower and tank force. It was a blind revenge attack that saw intense aerial bombardment to demolish apartments, destroy infrastructure, and obviously, kill Palestinians, only a small number of whom were Hamas personnel. The two-year-long military operation has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, displaced scores of them, and has denied food and healthcare access to them. The hospitals have been hit directly, and entry of food trucks has been blocked at the gates. It has led to mass starvation, and painful deaths of injured old people and pregnant women.
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Q4. How has the international community reacted to the ongoing violence in Gaza?
Ans: The suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world community. Israel has pulverized most parts of Gaza through its air power, and struck hospitals with impunity. It feels no qualms about using hunger as a weapon to subdue the Hamas and even other civilian groups that don’t side with Hamas. Israel has not even spared journalists, doctors, and school children. The United Nations has time and again declared that Israel continues to commit dastardly acts of genocide ignoring the global outcry against its brutal stance against the Palestinians. The U.N has levelled the charge of ‘committing war against humanity’ against Israel.
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Q5. How is President Trump trying to end the conflict?
Ans: A fragile ceasefire is in force, although Israel continues to bomb perceived Hamas fighters citing minor violations by the latter. The ceasefire came into force after President Trump put his strong foot down to force both Israel and its rival, Hamas to cease fighting. The whole world expressed gratitude to President Trump for his untiring effort to make the elusive ceasefire a reality.
Q6. Make sentences with the following words. … Long as adjective, Long as verb, Bid as a noun, Bid as verb, Eradicate, Storm as noun, Storm as verb, Voice as noun, Voice as verb, Seal as noun, Seal as verb, Breach as noun, Breach as verb, Veil as noun, Unveil as verb, Flat as adjective, Flatten as verb,
Ans: Long as adjective .. In the present day world, getting a job for a fresh graduate proves to be painfully long and difficult.
Long as verb .. The average Pakistani longs for lasting peace with both Afghanistan and India, but there are many roadblocks to clear.
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Eradicate .. P.M Modi is trying his best to eradicate the practice of discrimination against Dalits in society.
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Bid as noun .. In the auction held by the bank, my bid was accepted because I offered the highest price.
Bid as verb .. Meaning 1 .. Tata group bid $1.3 billion for the loss-making Polish mining company and was allowed by the government to take it over.
Meaning 2 .. The parents bid farewell to their son who went to study in Harvard University for a three-year course.
Meaning 3 .. The school management bid the games teacher depart because he had submitted a false certificate to prove his qualification. (Ordered him to leave)
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Storm as noun.. Hurricanes are nothing but extra-powerful storms that are accompanied by torrential rains.
Storm as verb .. The angry CEO stormed out of the board meeting when his suggestions were rubbished.
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Voice as noun .. To be a successful singer, one needs to have a sweet voice. Or When a country becomes economically and militarily strong, its voice is taken seriously by the world leaders.
Voice as verb .. Almost all east European nations have voiced serious concern over the recent entry of Russian fighter planes and drones to their skies.
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Seal as noun…Meaning 1 .. The company’s board put its seal of approval to the proposal to acquire a new company.
Meaning 2 .. I approached my friend for help when I failed to open the seal of the medicine bottle.
Seal as verb .. President XI and President Trump have sealed a trade deal that will lower America’s tariff on Chinese goods to 15%. –
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Breach as noun .. The breach of ceasefire terms mainly by Israel has invited global resentment. OR The breach of the dam caused severe flooding in the region.
Breach as verb .. ‘Afghanistan has breached the truce agreement,’ alleges Pakistan. –
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Veil .. Most orthodox Muslim women use black veils to cover their face and body while coming out to public spaces.
Unveil .. The agriculture minister will soon unveil a plan to aid small farmers with tiny land holdings.
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Flat as adjective .. The terrain in coastal Odisha is almost flat with no rocks.
Flatten as verb .. Hurricane Melissa has flattened most parts of Jamaica. –
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