Shillong, Meghalaya:

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday informed that as many as 27 people from the state are stranded in Jerusalem, Israel adding that he is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to rescue them.

This comes after a barrage of rockets slammed into southern and central Israel after Hamas launched a “surprise attack” on Saturday morning.

“27 citizens of Meghalaya who travelled for the Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem are stuck in Bethlehem due to the tension between Israel and Palestine. I am in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure their safe passage back home,” Chief Minister Sangma posted on X.

27 citizens of Meghalaya who traveled for the Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem are stuck in Bethlehem due to the tension between Israel and Palestine. I am in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure their safe passage back home. @DrSJaishankar@MEAIndia

— Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) October 7, 2023

More than 100 people have been killed in the Hamas “terror attack” on Israel, according to medical officials, The Times of Israel reported, citing Hebrew-language media.

According to the Health Ministry, 908 injured people have been taken to hospitals for treatment in the ongoing terror attack by Hamas on Israel’s southern and central regions, The Times of Israel reported.

Some 800 people have been injured in the attacks, which have included dozens of Hamas terrorists infiltrating Israel and gunning down soldiers and people. Others were injured in rocket attacks.

In a statement posted on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated, “At least 100 Israelis were murdered and more than 900 wounded in terror attacks by Hamas terrorists.”

While sharing the post on X, Israel Foreign Ministry stated, “The fighting in southern Israel is still ongoing. Our security forces are securing areas which are under attack by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israeli communities and who have taken civilians captive.”

In the first reaction to the ‘surprise attack’, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “is at war”, further asserting that they will “win it”.

“We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours. I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered, first of all, to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists. This currently is being carried out,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the mobilization of reserves. He called on citizens of Israel to adhere to the directives of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Home Front Command.

Benjamin Netanyahu said, “At the same time, I have ordered an extensive mobilisation of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price. In the meantime, I call on the citizens of Israel to strictly adhere to the directives of the IDF and Home Front Command. We are at war and we will win it.”

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

Guwahati:

Assam and Meghalaya are on the verge of finalising the actual boundary lines in the first six areas of difference as part of the ongoing process to resolve the border disputes, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma announced at a joint press conference on Saturday.

Conrad Sarma termed the discussions “very cordial”.

The discussions were held at the Chief Ministerial level on border disputes between two states in six remaining areas, Guwahati on Saturday.

Briefing media persons after the meeting, Mr Sangma said, “We are happy to inform the people of both Assam and Meghalaya that after a very long drawn exercise, we are now on the verge of of finalising the actual pillars and actual boundary lines in the first six areas of differences signed a MoU in the presence of Union Home Minister.”

Mr Sarma said as a “confidence-building measure”, both states have decided to wind up the judicial commission probing the Mukroh firing incident.

“Today, we met to further resolve the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute. The discussions were very cordial and we have been able to take certain very important decisions today,” Mr Sarma said.

“As a confidence-building measure and in order not to put respective officers of both states under stress or duress, we have decided to wind up the judicial commission, which was set up at the behest of our two governments to inquire about the Mukroh firing incident,”Mr Sarma said.

The tension between Assam and Meghalaya is not new. Even though both states have partially resolved a 50-year-old border dispute in six of the 12 sectors along their 885 km boundary, the dispute between the local groups continues to threaten peace in the area.

A few days ago, fresh clashes erupted between two communities living at the Assam-Meghalaya border, with rival groups reportedly going at each other using bows, arrows, and catapults in Lapangap village.

There are a total of 12 disputed areas along the inter-state border of Assam and Meghalaya, and out of the 12 issues in disputed areas, six have been resolved to the satisfaction of both states.

Both governments formed regional committees to resolve the remaining problems in the six disputed areas.

Mr Sarma added that the state government will request the CBI to investigate the Mukroh firing incident.

“Both the state government will now request the CBI to investigate the matter, without registering a case either in Guwahati or Shillong,” Mr Sarma added.

In March last year, Himanta Sarma and his counterpart Sangma signed a “historic” agreement for closure in six disputed sectors that were taken up for resolution in the first phase, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, in New Delhi.

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