A "Russian Roulette": Israeli Hostage Recalls 52 Days In Hamas Captivity

Israeli Sharon Alony-Cunio survived 52 days as a hostage in Gaza with her two little girls before she was released in an Israel-Hamas swap deal. But she fears for the life of her husband who is still captive in the bombarded Palestinian enclave.

Now back home with her twin three-year-olds, Julie and Emma, she pleads for the remaining 137 hostages to be freed. "Every minute is critical. The conditions there are not good and the days go on for ever," she told Reuters in her first interview.

"It's a Russian roulette. You don't know whether tomorrow morning they'll keep you alive or kill you, just because they want to or just because their backs are against the wall," said Ms Alony-Cunio, 34.

Ms Alony-Cunio was one of 240 people taken hostage on Oct. 7 by Hamas gunmen who burst through the border with Israel and killed around 1,200 people.

The operatives who took over her kibbutz, Nir Oz, which lies a little over a mile from Gaza, set fire to her house and took her away at gunpoint after she climbed out the window.

She was taken across the border with her husband David and one of their twins, she said. Their second daughter was held separately in Gaza for 10 days before they were reunited in captivity with 12 other hostages under conditions she said were tough, particularly for children.

"Everyone gave up food for them (the girls). You don't know if in the evening there will be a pita (bread) so in the morning you save some for the evening. Everything is very calculated, a quarter of a pita, half a pita to keep for the next morning."

Sometimes they were fed dates and cheese and sometimes they would split meat rice and rations for six among the 12 of them.

Waiting to be allowed to go to the toilet was a problem for the girls, she said, so they had to use a sink and a rubbish bin. "Sometimes when there was a power cut, they let us open the door, they drew the curtain and then we would whisper. How do you keep a child together for 12 hours with whispers only?"

Her group of hostages was held above ground and moved a few times, she said, but with memories still raw and with her husband still inside, Ms Alony-Cunio was reluctant to give more details of her capture and time as a hostage.

But one of the biggest hardships, she said, was simply not knowing what was being done to get them out.

"Every day there is crying, frustration and anxiety. How long are we going to be here? Have they forgotten about us? Have they given up on us?"

A seven-day truce saw more than 100 hostages released. The rest are still being held incommunicado as Israel bombards Gaza vowing to take out Hamas. More than 18,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

Many families of the 137 hostages still in Gaza, whose names and photos on posters line the streets of Israel, are scared.

"My children are torn," Ms Alony-Cunio said. "I am torn without my second half, the love of my life, the father of my daughters who ask me every day, where is daddy?"

David was separated from them three days before their release on Nov. 27, before fighting resumed. Getting the remaining hostages out should be top priority, she said.

"I am petrified I will get bad news that he is no longer alive," Ms Alony-Cunio said.

"We are not just names on a poster. We are human beings, flesh and blood. The father of my girls is there, my partner, and many other fathers, children, mothers, brothers."

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Court Allows AAP's Sanjay Singh To Appear Before Privileges Committee

A Delhi court on Monday allowed AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, arrested in a money laundering case related to alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to appear before a parliamentary committee to file his submissions in a breach of privilege case.

Special Judge M K Nagpal granted permission to Mr Singh on an application moved by his lawyer, who claimed that being a parliamentarian, the accused was required to attend the proceedings.

The judge directed the jail superintendent to take the accused to the Parliament on any working day when Parliament is in session to file his submissions before the Rajya Sabha's Privileges Committee.

The judge, however, said that Mr Singh will not be permitted to meet his colleagues, supporters and media persons.

The judge, meanwhile, adjourned the order on whether to take cognisance of a charge sheet against Mr Singh in the case, noting that the ED's application seeking protection of a witness is pending before another court.

The court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday the bail application of Mr Singh, who is currently in judicial custody. The ED had arrested Mr Singh on October 4.

The anti-money laundering agency has alleged that Mr Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, for monetary considerations.

The senior AAP leader has refuted the allegations.

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Mumbai's Air Quality Has Improved But Not Satisfactory: High Court

The air quality index (AQI) in Mumbai has improved but continues to be moderate and not satisfactory, the Bombay High Court said on Monday, while asking the Maharashtra government to come up with a comprehensive plan to find a final solution to the issue.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice G S Kulkarni asked the government to take the issue seriously, as lakhs of people continue to suffer because of the air pollution in the city.

The court took note of a news report which stated that seven project sites - road concretisation at suburban Bandra and Khar, the bullet train site at BKC, Versova-Bandra sea link project, Mumbai Metro-III, Mumbai Coastal Road and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link - were generating a lot of dust adding to the worsening air quality.

The court noted that large mounds of construction material and rubble are reportedly left open at these sites.

The bench directed the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to conduct a joint inspection at these seven sites and immediately take requisite steps, pass orders and ensure that all the norms are followed.

"We also direct that in case the stakeholders at these sites are found to be not following or deviating from the norms, legal action may be taken by the MCGM and MPCB," the court said.

The court noted that the AQI in the city continues to be at moderate levels, which indicates that such air quality will continue to cause breathing problems for people with heart and lung ailments, children and older adults.

"The satisfactory level of AQI is 51 to 100. And therefore, a collective effort is required to be taken to bring the AQI to below 50 in the entire city," the court said.

"Anything beyond 50 is not good...it has to be brought down to below 50," it said.

The bench said a statutory body needs to be set up to address the issue regularly.

"We need to have a comprehensive plan for the entire city of Mumbai. Ultimately, you need to find a final solution or mechanism so that every six months we need not intervene," the court said, asking the government to at least start the process.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the government, said senior government officials were busy with the Nagpur winter assembly.

The bench then said the government should take this issue seriously.

"Are you wondering if there could be a situation more serious than this? Lakhs of people are suffering daily. Be serious now. Last eight to ten days, there is this fog.. but it is not fog," Justice Kulkarni said.

The court said the state government should consider framing some legislation mechanism along the lines of the central legislation - The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act of 2021.

The court said Saraf would take up the matter with the government and some appropriate decision be taken.

The bench also directed the MPCB and the Central Pollution Control Board to file affidavits stating how air quality is measured and if the machines are adequate.

The court said the expert committee set up by it last month will continue to monitor the situation and submit its periodical reports.

The state government will consider the suggestions made by the committee and take an appropriate decision, it said.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions along with one it had taken up on its own regarding the rising air pollution in the city.

The court said it would hear the matter further on February 6, 2024.

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