NEW DELHI, July 27 – At least six people were killed and 29 others injured Sunday in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, police said.

The stampede broke out at Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar district, about 53 km south of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand.

It seems that a rumor about an electric shock affecting a devotee on the stairs, 100 meters down the temple route, panicked others, leading to a stampede at the spot, Pramendra Singh Dobal, a senior police official, said.

“We are investigating the matter,” he said.

Authorities rushed police and the State Disaster Response Force to the spot to carry out relief and rescue operations.

Haridwar is one of the major pilgrimage destinations for Hindu devotees. Police said a huge crowd had gathered at the temple before the stampede.

Television visuals showed injured devotees being taken to the hospital in ambulances and several others undergoing treatment inside the health facility.

Police fear the death toll is likely to increase.

XINHUA

TAIYUAN, July 27 – Six people were killed and eight others injured after a semi-trailer tractor collided with a minibus on Saturday in north China’s Shanxi Province, local authorities said on Sunday.

The accident occurred at around 1:55 p.m. on Saturday at an intersection in the city of Hejin. Traffic police rushed to the scene and relevant investigations are underway.

XINHUA

CANBERRA, July 27 – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that Israel is “clearly” breaching international law by withholding aid from civilians in Gaza.

Albanese said during an appearance on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television that the deaths and suffering of civilians in Gaza is “completely” unacceptable and indefensible.

“Quite clearly it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered, which was a decision that Israel made in March,” Albanese said. “It’s a breach of decent humanity and of morality and everyone can see that.”

In a statement released on Friday, Albanese said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has “gone beyond the world’s worst fears,” while the “position of the Australian government is clear: every innocent life matters. Every Israeli. Every Palestinian. This conflict has stolen far too many innocent lives. Tens of thousands of civilians are dead, children are starving.”

The Friday statement read that “Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel’s denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored.”

Albanese called on “Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law. This includes allowing the United Nations and NGOs to carry out their lifesaving work safely and without hindrance. Any proposals for the permanent forced displacement of the Palestinian population must be abandoned.”

XINHUA

GAZA, July 27, 2025 – Medical sources at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat confirmed this morning the death of 10-year-old Nour Abu Sel’a due to starvation and severe malnutrition. Her death brings the total number of child fatalities in Gaza from hunger-related causes to 86.

According to hospital staff, the overall death toll from starvation in the besieged Gaza Strip has now reached 128. These figures are attributed to malnutrition caused by the ongoing Israeli siege on the enclave.

Hospitals across Gaza continue to receive increasing numbers of cases related to hunger and malnutrition. Health officials report that 900,000 children in Gaza are currently suffering from hunger, with 70,000 having progressed to a stage of clinical malnutrition.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) recently warned that the rate of malnutrition among children under the age of five has doubled between March and June, citing the ongoing Israeli blockade as the primary cause of the worsening humanitarian crisis.

WAFA

GAZA, July 27, 2025 – At least 13 Palestinians, including two children, were killed and several others injured on Sunday after Israeli occupation forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid in northern and southern Gaza, according to medical sources.

In the south of the enclave, six civilians were killed near an aid distribution center to the southwest of Khan Younis, where crowds had gathered in hopes of receiving critical supplies amid the ongoing Israeli policy of systematic starvation in the besieged enclave.

Meanwhile, six more Palestinians were killed after being targeted by Israeli army gunfire near an aid distribution center on the outskirts of Rafah.

In central Gaza, at least one Palestinian was killed in a similar Israeli attack on aid seekers in the so-called Netzarim Corridor.

In a separate incident, Israeli forces targeted civilians waiting for aid near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza, resulting in additional injuries. The exact number of wounded remains unclear.

These latest incidents follow a deadly attack on Saturday evening in which ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid in northwestern Gaza.

WAFA

GAZA, July 27, 2025 – At least nine Palestinian civilians were killed and several others injured in the early hours of Sunday following Israeli drone strikes targeting tents sheltering displaced families in two separate locations in the Gaza Strip.

According to medical sources at Nasser Medical Complex, five people, including children, were killed and others wounded when an Israeli drone targeted a tent housing displaced families in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a separate incident, four civilians were reported killed and more injured after a similar drone strike hit another tent for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, according to a source from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Meanwhile, reports also confirmed that Israeli forces detonated an explosive-laden robot in the Shujaiyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

WAFA

GAZA, July 27, 2025 – Three Palestinian civilians were killed last night in an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential area in Gaza City, according to local sources.

WAFA correspondent reported that the attack struck an apartment near Al-Amal Hotel in the western part of the city. In addition to the three fatalities, several others were reported injured, though the exact number and condition of the wounded remain unclear.

WAFA

ISTANBUL – Israeli forces stormed the Gaza-bound aid ship Handala late Saturday, which was carrying 21 people, footage from a live stream showed.

The live stream captured the moment soldiers stormed the ship and ordered the activists to raise their hands.

“Handala intercepted!!!” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which operates the Handala, said on Telegram.

The fate of the crew and the activists is unknown, as the live stream was abruptly cut off during the raid.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said, however, that the navy has taken control of the Handala.

“The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,” it said.

The Times of Israel said: “The boat will be towed to Ashdod Port by the Navy, and the activists will then be deported from the country.”​​​​​​​

The Handala had issued a distress call as Israeli naval forces approached. The ship, which set sail from Italy, is carrying baby formula, food and medicine in line with international maritime and humanitarian law.

On board are unarmed civilians, including lawmakers, medics and volunteers.

ANADOLU

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, July 27 – The armed border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia entered the 4th day on Sunday.

According to a statement issued by the Thai Foreign Ministry, Richa Suksuwanon, deputy spokesperson of the Thai army, said that the first shots were fired into Thai territory in several areas, including a civilian house, by Cambodia early Sunday.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Defense Ministry’s Undersecretary of State and Spokesperson, Lieutenant General Maly Socheata, said that from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, the Thai army fired artillery at various locations in the Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces.

“Our forces have fought back actively and vigorously to defend our territorial sovereignty,” she said.

Since the armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers over disputed border areas broke out on Thursday, more than 30 people have been killed from both sides, and more than 100,000 people have been evacuated to safe areas, according to figures provided by the two countries.

Both sides have accused each other of violating international law and opening fire first.

XINHUA

MOSCOW, July 27 – Rescuers have recovered the body of the seventh victim from the rubble following the explosion in an apartment building in Russia’s Saratov region, Yuri Yurin, head of the regional security department, said on Saturday.

The Russian Investigative Committee clarified that investigators have examined the body of the seventh victim, who lived in the building where the gas explosion occurred.

According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 16 people have sought medical help, and the fate of four more people, including a child, remains unknown.

A gas explosion occurred at a 10-story apartment building on Friday, destroying the corner entrance from the seventh to the tenth floor. The findings so far suggest that the preliminary cause of this explosion is a gas leak, local authorities said.

A state of emergency has been declared in the region. The clearing of the rubble continues.

Investigators have opened a criminal case under the article on the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements. The local governor has declared July 26 as a day of mourning in the region.

XINHUA