Israel Finds Itself Increasingly Alone As Anger Grows Over Gaza

Jordan's Queen Rania Al Abdullah was offered a chance to express horror at the Oct. 7 Hamas killing and abduction of Israelis.

How did she feel, she was asked in a CNN interview, "as an Arab, as a Palestinian, a human being, a mother?"

The monarch launched into an impassioned denunciation of Israel's subsequent bombing of Gaza and the West's "double standard," juxtaposing what happened in southern Israel with what is occurring in Gaza. "Are we being told it is wrong to kill an entire family at gunpoint but it's OK to shell them to death?"

The interview, greeted with fury in Israel, is part of a growing disconnect between how the Jewish state views the conflict, and how it is seen by the rest of the Middle East and many further afield.

Inside Israel, a powerful sense of foreboding was evidenced by a new poll showing 64% of Israelis now fear for their physical safety. Hamas continues to fire rockets and missiles into the country every day while militants try to sneak in via land or sea. Security officials believe some of those who entered on Oct. 7 may be in hiding in preparation for a second attack. 

Outside of Israel, many see things differently. On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said of the Hamas killings that they "did not happen in a vacuum," adding, "The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, was so outraged at the notion that Hamas' violence needed this context that he called on Guterres to resign. The sentiment wasn't limited to those on the right of Israeli politics. "Dark are the days when the United Nations Secretary General condones terror," opposition leader Benny Gantz posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Germany, which has been quick to show its support to Israel in the days since the Oct. 7 attacks, made a point of rejecting its ally's demand. "The UN secretary general has of course the trust of the German government," said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin.

Israelis don't deny that the events of Oct. 7 - when 1,400 were killed and another 200 people abducted - require context. But for them, that context is not the mistreatment of Palestinians. They see the attack by Hamas as an extension of anti-Semitic assaults through the centuries.

The Holocaust memorial centre in Jerusalem, known as Yad Vashem, issued a statement in response to Guterres, saying Oct. 7 was different from the Holocaust only "because Jews have today a state and an army. We are not defenseless and at the mercy of others. However, it puts to test the sincerity of world leaders, intellectuals and influencers who come to Yad Vashem and pledge 'Never Again.'" 

There has been a parade of Western leaders through Tel Aviv offering solidarity and support. This follows a visit by President Joe Biden who came offering billions in military aid and referred to painful Jewish history. 

After that visit, Israelis felt understood. They believed that their plan to destroy Hamas would gain world sympathy as they publicized gruesome videos the killers themselves took of slaughter and abuse.

As Israeli fighter jets took to the skies over Gaza and bombarded it, killing thousands, that sympathy has come with qualifications they did not expect. 

Rescuers search the site of collapsed buildings following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday canceled a visit to Israel that was meant to take place later this year and added, "Hamas isn't a terror organization but is instead a group of liberators and mujahideen defending their land and people. We will never allow for the killing of children." Turkey also paused plans for energy cooperation with Israel.

Elsewhere in the Muslim world, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that no Muslim leader expects the events in Gaza to be resolved easily. Why? "Israel has become too arrogant with the support of the US and Europe," he said. "It is the level of insanity to allow people to be butchered, babies to be killed, hospitals to be bombed, and schools to be destroyed. It is the height of barbarism in this world."

Israel refers to Hamas as the new ISIS, and has vowed to destroy the militant group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. 

"Saying that Hamas is the new ISIS is not only analytically inaccurate but also carries the risk of making all residents of Gaza vulnerable targets," said Lina Khatib, the Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute in London. "Arabs and Muslims are widely rejecting this simplistic and dangerous characterization."

Many world leaders are calling for a ceasefire that would allow for more aid to get into Gaza, although some describe it as a "humanitarian pause." On Tuesday, eight trucks got in, followed by another 17 on Wednesday, according to Israeli officials, who said every truck was checked by their officers to make sure nothing was going in to help Hamas. 

The aid that's arrived so far is "a drop in the ocean," said Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, earlier this week.

In Israel, as concerns grow that Hezbollah may enter the war from Lebanon to its north, some speak of leaving for the US or Europe, at least for a period. But others say the anti-Israeli demonstrations across Western cities make them feel even less safe abroad than at home. 

This is a fight, many say, for the Jewish homeland, a second war of independence. But what that will create internally remains unclear. Gun license applications, officials report, are poised to triple. 

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh was taken captive by Hamas at a music festival, spoke at the UN and asked why there wasn't more agitation over the abducted. "Where is the world?" she said in anguish. "Where are you?"

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Russia Sends Fighter Jets As 2 US Bombers, Drone Approach Its Border

Russia scrambled fighter jets to intercept two US bombers and a drone which approached Russia's northern and southern borders on Tuesday, the Russian Defence Ministry reported.

According to the ministry, two US B-1B strategic bombers approached the border over the Baltic Sea and a Global Hawk drone approached the border over the Black Sea.

As with the fighter jets, a single Su-37 approached in both cases and the US bombers and the drone pivoted away from the Russian border, the ministry said.

Similar encounters have been regularly reported in recent weeks by Russia.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Sarfaraz, Shaheen, Rizwan Among Candidates To Replace Skipper Babar

Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi are being discussed as potential candidates who could replace Babar Azam as captain when the national team returns home from the World Cup in India. Pakistan are scheduled to tour Australia immediately after the World Cup. The team also needs to plan for the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

There is a clear consensus developing in the Pakistan Cricket Board that Babar has had his chance to prove himself and he has failed to deliver as captain.

Pakistan have four more league games left in the World Cup, having lost their last three including against Afghanistan on Monday. They can still qualify for the semifinals.

"Only if Pakistan can stage a miracle and win all their remaining matches to qualify for the semi-finals of this World Cup does Babar stand any chance of surviving as captain and even then he might be relegated to skipper in just the red ball format," one reliable source close to the developments said.

The source said that the knives were out for Babar and he might as well announce his resignation as captain if the team returns home without playing in the World Cup semifinals.

"It is over for Babar because he has been given unbridled power and authority as captain and more importantly he has always had players of his choice in the team.

"There has never been any attempt to reduce his authority and so he is now being held solely responsible for the Asia Cup and World Cup defeats," the source added.

He noted that even for the Asia Cup and World Cup, despite advice from former captains Misbah ul Haq and Muhammad Hafeez to make some changes for the event in India, Babar had got all the 18 players he asked for and chief selector, Inzamam ul Haq had also supported him completely.

"The PCB Chairman, Zaka Ashraf ignored the advice of Misbah and Hafeez and some other former players whom he consulted as Babar was adamant he didn't want changes in the team for the World Cup," the source said.

Misbah also confirmed on a television channel that he had advised Babar to include mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the World Cup but Babar refused and only agreed to take him as a travelling reserve to India.

The interesting part is that lobbies for the possible candidates including Sarfaraz, Shaheen, Rizwan and Shan Masood have started their work to get their candidate selected as captain with the board now likely to name different captains for the red and white ball formats.

"Sarfaraz might win the nod to captain the Test and ODI sides again while Shaheen may get a chance to be the T20 captain," the source added. Sarfaraz is currently not part of the World Cup squad.

The source also disclosed that the support staff of Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, Mornie Merkel, Andrew Puttick and manager Rehan ul Haq are also under the scanner and will be asked to step down after the World Cup.

"They are very bright chances that Pakistan will have a new coaching staff and captain when they embark on the Test tour of Australia and for the white ball series in New Zealand after the WC," the source said.

The source said that the board was also not happy with reports leaking out of some differences and disputes in the dressing room, something that PCB rubbished on Monday.

Babar was initially named T20 captain in late 2019 but by 2021 he had taken over captaincy of all three formats.

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Hamas Likely To Release 50 Hostages With Dual Citizenship: Reports

Hamas might release 50 of more than 200 hostages they kidnapped in brutal October 7 attacks in Israel, several reports claimed. Red Cross representatives are allegedly on their way to Gaza to take out the hostages with dual nationalities, they alleged.

The development came against the backdrop of a report by the New York Times earlier today that said Hamas was exploring the possibility of releasing hostages who hold foreign passports.

On Friday, Hamas, while releasing two Americans Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan, had said it was working with Qatar and Egypt to free its "civilian" hostages, in a sign that more releases could follow.

The American mother and daughter were seized from the Nahal Oz kibbutz near the Israel-Gaza border on October 7. They were reportedly on holiday in Israel at the time.

Israel says the Hamas operatives seized 222 hostages in the worst attack in the nation's 75-year history.

With the Israel military saying it had conducted more than 300 new strikes within 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said the death count had surged over 5,000, including more than 2,000 children.

Israeli raids came after the deadly Hamas attack which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people who were shot, stabbed or burnt by the operatives.

It also said it thwarted a cross-border Hamas drone attack on Monday, shooting down two UAVs that were crossing at the Nir Oz and Ein HaBesor communities near southern Gaza.

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Blog: Remembering Bishan Singh Bedi: The Man Who Found Sukoon in Junoon

"Dad, how will you remember Bishan Singh Bedi?" I asked my father, as both of us cricket fanatics, sombrely sipped our 'chai' having heard of the great cricketer's passing.

Dad's reply was simple - "What Gavaskar was for India's batting then, Bedi was for India's bowling." "Why, I asked." "He was skilled, fearless, competitive and inspiring. He would have been a damn good fighter pilot!'" For my dad, a retired Air Vice Marshal, that's a serious compliment.

Bishan Singh Bedi did not turn up among us to be loved. He would have been the first person to admit that about himself. Even his son, actor Angad Bedi, says this about his dad - "You may love him, hate him, but there is no way you can ignore Bishan Singh Bedi." He believed that a person was nothing without complete integrity and honesty. His integrity saw him become one of India's greatest spin bowlers ever. His cutting honesty saw him courting controversy right through life. And I'm sure he would not have had it any other way.

Much is made of the Sunil Gavaskar and Bedi rivalry, both talismanic in many an Indian win and fightback. In 1979, Bedi was replaced by Sunny as India's captain and then dropped from the team as well. Bedi reportedly blamed Gavaskar for bringing his cricket career to an end. In 1990, Gavaskar called for Bedi's resignation as team coach after India lost a test series to England.

Did You Know? Bedi Named His Son after Sunil Gavaskar!  

But that is simply not the complete picture. Writing in 'The Sardar of Spin' , a book of essays curated by his daughter Neha and published to commemorate Bedi's 75th birthday, Sunny reminds us of how Bedi named his son, back in 1971 - "During the last Test match of India's triumphant West Indies tour, I was floored and honoured when, in Trinidad, Bishan Singh Bedi - who had become a father during the game - named his first born, Gavas Inder Singh." Go figure! 

Sunny added - "Until Wasim Akram came, Bishan was the best left-hand bowler I had seen. One can now say that Bishan Singh Bedi is the best left-arm spinner, and Wasim Akram, the best left-hand pacer."  

Speaking to Gaurav Kapoor in a video interview, Bedi said on his alleged bete noire - "Gavaskar... bahut bada khiladi tha.. imaan se, maine aisa khiladi duniya mein nahi dekha!" And that, pretty much sets the record straight, isn't it? 

Bedi and the Spin Quartet - India's WMD!  

In a cricket world where pace bowlers are the tip of the spear for every test playing nation, it was the genius of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, India's captain in the 1960s, that turned spin bowling into India's WMD. Bedi acknowledges Pataudi's role in creating the legendary spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan, who between them played 231 test matches and claimed 853 wickets. Intriguingly, all four of them played in the same test match just once, in Birmingham against England in 1967. But with their array of unique skills - two off-spinners (Prasanna and Venkat), a leg spinner (Chandra), and Bedi, the left-arm spinner, they spun fear into the mind of every kind of batter around the globe. And within this quartet too, despite each competing for their place in the playing XI, there was great affection. Talking about his fellow spin wizards, Bedi said, "Erapalli, Venkat and Bhagwat were all very intelligent, all engineers! I was the only 3rd class graduate among them!" 

Bedi's own prowess as a bowler was legendary, something I did not really witness. I was just 11 months old when he achieved his career-best figures of 7/98 against Australia in Kolkata in December 1969. So, naturally Dad filled in the blanks - "Yes, I was flying MiGs in Chandigarh then. We were gathered around my transistor listening to the commentary. Bedi had taken 9 wickets in the previous match in Delhi. And then 7 more in Calcutta! Classic Bedi mop up!" And just to underline that Bishan was as lethal in foreign conditions, his best match figures of 10/194, came at Perth, Australia, on a pitch widely regarded as one of the most pace-friendly in the world.   

Cricket's Great Controversialist!

It's never easy to fully understand a person who has spent a large part of his life in the public glare. They get defined by their most famous, or even infamous, accomplishments. So it is with Bishan Singh Bedi as well. He is, of course, famous for his legendary deceptive spin bowling. His brave flighted deliveries would tempt batters into going for their shots, but would then dip suddenly and surprise even the best. While Bedi snared 267 wickets in 67 test matches, he also spoke his mind on the field. 

In 1976, as captain, he declared India's innings at 97/5 in Jamaica to protest against intimidatory bowling by the West Indies, practically forfeiting the match. In 1978 too, he forfeited an ODI match against Pakistan, citing partisan umpiring. He also, infamously, remained a critic of spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action; right through the Lankan's career, he called it 'chucking'. He has spoken out against the IPL's 'player auctions', saying it was unseemly for cricketers to be 'sold to the highest bidder'. In 1990, as coach of Team India, he said he would 'dump' the team 'in the sea' after they lost a match against Australia. Yes, the list is long, by Bedi's own admission. 

But what explains this? First, Bedi always believed in speaking up for what he believed in - "Chup rehna is a crime "' he said. He lamented the 'fact' that '99.9% of people in India sit on the fence'. Speaking up was central to Bedi's idea of integrity. 

His son gets it right. Speaking to Sportstar in 2017 Angad said - 'Anyone who follows Indian cricket closely would know that Bishan Singh Bedi is never a people-pleaser. Just like his bowling style, he loves being sharp, accurate and always in the face.

In the foreword of 'The Sardar of Spin', Kapil Dev summed up Bedi aptly - "Critics would call Bishan paaji a rebel. Wrong. To me, he was a cricketer who knew his rights well. He stood up for the cricketers, fighting for better match fees, travel facilities and accommodation. He took on the DDCA.. he did not hesitate to clash with BCCI officials when he thought they were not being fair... True, he suffered in the process, but always emerged with his head held high."

'Junoon' and 'Sukoon'

Being driven by passion or by 'Junoon' was Bishan Singh Bedi's way of life, on the field, off it, with his friends, and with his family. And paradoxically, as he explained to sports show host Gaurav Kapoor, it was this passion or 'Junoon', that led him towards 'peace' or 'Sukoon' - knowing that he has spoken up and stood by what he believed in.

For Bedi, the honest and passionate pursuit of one's calling is what leads to true inner peace. And this ties up with his great love for Punjabi 'kirtans'. He would listen raptly to 'raagis' or singers, as they sang their devotional 'kirtans'. In the 'sadhna' or repeated practice of his singing, his vocation, Bedi saw himself in the 'raagi' - as someone who lost himself in the pursuit of his passion - in Bedi's case, the love of spin bowling, and the love of cricket. Gosh, Bishan Singh Bedi will be missed. 

(Rohit Khanna is a journalist, commentator and video storyteller. He has been Managing Editor at The Quint, Executive Producer of Investigations & Special Projects at CNN-IBN, and is a 2-time Ramnath Goenka award winner)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.

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Two Planes Nearly Collide Mid-Air Amid Storm Above Portland Airport

Two airplanes had a terrifying near miss after almost colliding with each other in the stormy skies above Portland International Airport last week. The close call came when an Alaska Airlines flight tried landing on a runway next to where a SkyWest plane was taking off on Monday, The Independent reported. A YouTube video by the channel VASAAviation caught the terrifying moment and shared a visual simulation of the Alaska flight heading towards the SkyWest plane over the Portland airport during a storm. 

The two planes allegedly came within approximately 250 vertical feet of each other, the outlet reported. Notably, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a near-midair collision occurs when planes are less than 500 feet from each other. 

The FAA, which is now investigating the incident, said that the pilot of the Alaska Airlines plane was going to land, but initiated a go-around when it almost collided with the Skywest flight. 

"While attempting to land at Portland International Airport, the pilot of Alaska Airlines Flight 1299 initiated a go-around due to wind and turned towards SkyWest Airlines Flight 3978, which had just departed," the FAA said in a statement, adding, "An air traffic controller instructed the Alaska Airlines pilot to turn away from the SkyWest aircraft."

In the clip released by the YouTube channel, the audio from the person in air traffic control became panicked as it tried to warn the Alaksa flight to change direction when it became dangerously close to the other plane mid-air. 

The controller told the Alaska flight to follow the "runway heading" path, while the Skywest flight was told to turn right as it left the runway. The seemingly confused pilot on the Alaska flight then repeated the instructions meant for the other flight and started to turn right into the path of the plane that had just taken off.

At this point, the air traffic controller appeared to grow flustered and give increasingly frantic directions. He even misidentified the Alaskan flight as "1298". Ultimately, the Alaska flight was reportedly rerouted to an airport 150 miles away and wasn't able to land in Portland. 

Also Read | UK Man Dies After One Year Of Complaining About Night Sweats

Both airlines released statements downplaying the incident. According to The New York Post, Alaska Airlines believes a safe level of separation was maintained. "The crew of Flight 1299 followed cockpit indications and reacted immediately to increase separation from the other aircraft," an Alaska spokesperson said, adding, "The aircraft maintained a safe amount of lateral separation throughout the entire event". 

Separately, SkyWest also stated that "at no point was the safety of the flight compromised". 

It is not known how many people were aboard the two aircraft. The FAA has said they are still investigating how close in proximity the two airplanes had got to each other.

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Gaza Children Traumatised By Bombardment. Israel's Ground Offensive Looms

Gaza's children are showing ever more signs of trauma two weeks into Israel's intense bombardment, parents and psychiatrists in the tiny, crowded enclave say, with no safe place to hide from the falling bombs and little prospect of respite.

Children make up about half of Gaza's 2.3 million population, living under near constant bombardment with many packed into temporary shelters in UN-run schools after fleeing their homes with little food or clean water.

Israel is expected to launch a ground attack on Gaza shortly in response to a cross-border assault by Hamas fighters on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people, with a further 210 taken hostage.

"Children ... have started to develop serious trauma symptoms such as convulsions, bed-wetting, fear, aggressive behaviour, nervousness, and not leaving their parents' sides," said Gaza psychiatrist Fadel Abu Heen.

More than 4,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, including more than 1,500 children, while 13,000 people have been injured according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Conditions in makeshift shelters in United Nations schools, where more than 380,000 people are camped out in hope of escaping the bombardment, only compound the problem.

There are sometimes 100 people sleeping in each classroom, which all require continuous cleaning. There is little electricity and water so bathrooms and toilets are very dirty.

"Our children suffer a lot at night. They cry all night, they pee themselves without meaning to and I don't have time to clean up after them, one after the other," said Tahreer Tabash, a mother of six children sheltering in a school.

Even there, they are not safe. Such schools have been hit several times, the United Nations has said, and Tabash has seen strikes hitting nearby buildings. When her children hear so much as a chair being moved, they jump in fear, she said.

"That lack of any safe place has created a general sense of fear and horror among the entire population and children are most impacted," said Abu Heen.

"Some of them reacted directly and expressed their fears. Although they may need immediate intervention, they may be in a better state than the other kids who kept the horror and trauma inside them," he said.

MENTAL TOLL

One house in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, is sheltering about 90 people including 30 under the age of 18, where they have to sleep in shifts for lack of space.

"When there's an explosion or any target getting hit nearby they are always screaming, always frightened. We try to calm the younger ones, try telling them, 'Don't worry, it's just fireworks'. But the older ones understand what's going on," said Ibrahim al-Agha, an engineer sheltering in the house.

"They will need a lot of support mentally after this war finishes," Agha said.

However, Gaza's healthcare system was already over-stretched before this month's war, which has pushed it to the brink of collapse, and mental health experts have long warned of the terrible toll that was already being exacted on children.

A 2022 report by aid group Save the Children found the psychosocial wellbeing of children in Gaza at "alarmingly low levels" after 11 days of fighting in 2021, leaving half of all Gaza children in need of support.

Mental health experts in Gaza have said there is no such thing there as post traumatic stress disorder because the trauma in the enclave is continuous, with repeated bouts of armed conflict stretching back nearly two decades.

Early on Saturday, after an Israeli air strike destroyed a building in Gaza City, killing many of the Abo Akr family, a large group of children stood among those watching rescuers picking through the rubble for survivors and bodies.

As women nearby wailed and wept, the children stood watching, their faces showing nothing.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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