The Israeli army deluged the Gaza Strip with leaflets on Tuesday urging residents to provide information about the hostages held by Hamas in return for financial rewards, AFP journalists reported.

The messages were dropped by Israeli aircraft amid the waves of air strikes targeting Gaza, which Hamas health officials said have killed more than 5,000 people.

“If you want a better future for yourself and your children, do the right thing and send us safe and useful information about kidnapped people in your area,” said the Arabic message on leaflets seen by AFP.

“The Israeli army promises to do everything to preserve your security and that of your homes, as well as a financial reward,” the leaflet added. “We guarantee you total discretion.”

The document provided a telephone number along with details regarding Telegram, Whatsapp and Signal messaging services, where information could be sent about the hostages.  

The Israeli army confirmed the launch of the effort.

“As part of the extensive efforts to free the Israeli and foreign national hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, the (army) today used multiple channels to communicate with the residents of Gaza and ask for information about the hostages,” the army said in a statement. 

More than 220 Israelis, dual nationals and foreigners were kidnapped by Hamas militants during their shock attack on southern Israel on October 7 which killed more than 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

A month ago, heartbreaking visuals from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain shocked the entire country. A girl, half-naked and bleeding, was seen roaming the streets knocking on many doors, pleading for help on September 25. For two hours, she passed by over 500 houses, eateries and a toll booth but no one helped her until a temple priest saw her, took her to a hospital and called the police.

She spent several days in the hospital fighting for her life, her story made headlines for several weeks, and the state government made big promises but the promises are yet to turn into action. Now, she is home and her health has improved but the wounds from hollow promises are fresh.

NDTV team reached the girl’s village near Satna to see her condition. The girl, looking visibly scared, was sitting inside her home – a thatched hut.

“No one from the district came to help me here, I graze goats. I did not get any help from the Sarpanch, no one came,” said the survivor’s grandfather.

The girl who was discharged from the hospital only 12 days ago (October 12), now walks a distance of 300 meters every day to fetch water from a hand pump with her aunt.

The family claims the village has two handpumps – one for the upper caste and one for the lower caste community.

“We are from the lower caste, that’s why nobody came to help us,” said her brother.

The victim belongs to the Scheduled Caste – Dohar – community, her brother said that is why the Sarpanch – who is a Rajput – and the administration did not help them. There are about 700 voters in the village, half of whom are from the upper caste, and half are Dalit.

The man who raped her – an auto driver who allegedly picked up the 15-year-old survivor from the railway station – was caught soon after the horrifying video went viral. The CCTV footage showed the girl, draped in rags, going door-to-door, seeking assistance.

Commenting on the incident, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier said, “The accused has injured the soul of Madhya Pradesh, she is the daughter of the state, and we will take care of her in every way”.

When NDTV tried to ask Mr Chouhan the status of the benefits that the survivor should get, his reply was a ‘namaskar’.

The survivor’s neighbours say the biggest help they received after returning home was Rs 1,500 from a BJP candidate, Surendra Singh Garewar.

“Till now no one has helped then. She is buying medicines from the hospital. She did not get any benefit from the government or administration,” said a neighbour.

The family claimed that the only help they got from the government was a social justice pension of Rs 600 per month.

Statistics show that crimes against Dalits in Madhya Pradesh are higher than the national average. 50,900 incidents of crime against Scheduled Castes were reported in the country in 2021.

In Madhya Pradesh, this figure was 7,211. The crime rate against Scheduled Castes in the country in 2021 was 25.3 per cent, while in Madhya Pradesh it was 63.6%.

China has removed Li Shangfu from his position as defence minister and state councillor, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top lawmakers, also voted to remove former foreign minister Qin Gang from his position as state councillor, CCTV said.

The committee appointed Yin Hejun as China’s science and technology minister and Lan Foan as finance minister.