A US Congressman has said that the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 was the “most horrific and barbaric sight”. The Congressman, Derrick Van Orden, spoke to the New York Post after touring Israel last week. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Van Orden had called Hamas the enemies of peace and said no aid should be sent to Gaza. The Post said the Congressman served 26 years in the Navy and 22 of those were as Navy Seal.

“This is ISIS times 1,000,” the Congressman said, adding, “I can speak with authority. I’ve done multiple combat tours. People were slaughtered at a level not seen since the Holocaust.”

Mr Van Orden called Hamas operatives “savages” and “beasts” for targeting children.

“They were told to cut people’s arms and legs off…It’s gut wrenching,” he told the outlet.

Mr Van Orden also blasted the Biden administration for delivering $100 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, from where governing Hamas staged the attack.

Israel retaliated strongly to the attack and on Monday, ramped it further by briefly advancing tanks into the fringes of Gaza City.

The military said it had struck more than 600 targets in 24 hours, up from 450 the previous day, in one of the most intense days of the conflict unleashed when Hamas militants crossed into Israel on a killing rampage on October 7.

Israeli jets bombed a section of the road leaving large craters, a resident told news agency AFP.

The tanks stayed for just over an hour and cars soon returned to the highway, driving onto the verge in the parts where craters made the road unusable, the news agency said in its report.

The Assam government announced on Sunday that it would construct 4,000 state-of-the-art schools over the next five years, marking its biggest-ever educational initiative. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma conducted a meeting on Sunday with Education Minister Ranoj Pegu and other senior officials to discuss the project’s roadmap. Registered contractors, architects, and engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) were also present in the meeting.

“With the blessings of the Hon’ble PM, Assam is undertaking the biggest-ever effort to build schools in the state. 4,000 state-of-the-art schools will be constructed by 2028, which means adding 2 new schools every day for the next 5 years,” Mr Sarma wrote on X on Sunday.

With the blessings of Hon’ble PM, Assam is undertaking the biggest ever effort to build schools in the state.

4,000 state-of-the-art schools will be constructed by 2028, i.e. adding 2 new schools every day for next 5 years.

Chaired a meeting today to review the progress. pic.twitter.com/t5TzR9TAey

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 29, 2023

The meeting was held to review the progress of the construction of 126 new secondary schools in the state using the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract method. The state education minister said that a total of 4,000 schools would be built using the EPC mode of contract.

“The EPC mode of contract has been adopted to expeditiously construct about 4,000 secondary schools in a phased manner,” Mr Pegu posted on X.

The recent spate of deaths due to heart attack in Gujarat at Garba events during the Navratri has shifted the focus back to a possible link between COVID-19 infection and the cardiac health of those affected.

A COVID-19 infection may affect the artery wall tissue and the associated macrophages, a study by the National Institutes of Health said. “The findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke by infecting artery wall tissue, including associated macrophages. This provokes inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques, which could lead to heart attack or stroke,” it added.

A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, or ICMR, also pointed out that a COVID-19 infection may contribute to heart attacks and that those who have suffered a severe bout of the infection should not overexert themselves for at least a year or two.

At least 10 heart attack deaths were reported at Garba events across Gujarat in a day during Navratri and the youngest of the victims was just 17, prompting the state health minister, Rushikesh Patel, to call a meeting of health experts and cardiologists.

“The ICMR has conducted a detailed study according to which those who have suffered from severe COVID-19 infection should not overexert themselves. They should stay away from hard workouts, running, and strenuous exercises for a short time, say a year or two, to avoid heart attacks,” he said.

The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya cited the ICMR report as he urged people not to overexert themselves if they have had a Covid infection in the last one or two years. Speaking about the country’s healthcare ecosystem, Mr Mandaviya said, “We follow a holistic and inclusive approach.”

Addressing how the healthcare infrastructure scrambled to treat patients during the pandemic, Mr Mandaviya said, “We are expanding the health infrastructure and are promoting traditional systems of medicine.”

An AIIMS study underlining India’s cardiac crisis said that only 10 per cent of patients with cardiac emergencies make it to the healthcare facilities within an hour. “55% of them delayed hospital visits to understand what had happened, while around 20-30% found it difficult to arrange a vehicle or the money for treatment.