French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to express his country’s “full solidarity” with Israel after the deadly October 7 attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to an AFP journalist.

His visit comes more than two weeks after Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.

Among them were 30 French citizens.

Macron was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express France’s “full solidarity” with Israel after that attack, the French presidency said.

He was also expected to call for the “preservation of the civilian population” in Gaza, amid Israel’s relentless bombardment, and as it prepares for a ground invasion of the overcrowded Palestinian enclave.

More than 5,000 people, most of them women and children, have died during Israel’s attacks, according to numbers given by the Hamas-run health ministry.

Macron will in particular call for a “humanitarian truce” to allow desperately needed aid into Gaza, whose 2.4 million people have been largely deprived of water, food, electricity and other basic supplies after an Israeli blockade, the Elysee Palace said.

Macron and Netanyahu were due to hold a joint press conference at 1:00 pm (1000 GMT).

The French head of state was also due to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as well as opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid in Jerusalem.

And in Tel Aviv, he was due to meet the families of French and French-Israeli nationals killed in the Hamas attack or being held hostage in Gaza.

Seven French citizens are still missing: one of them, a French woman, has been confirmed as among the more than 200 people Israel says were taken hostage by Hamas.

Macron has said the others are also thought to be hostages, but there has not yet been confirmation.

The French president also aims to continue efforts “to avoid a dangerous escalation in the region”, the Elysee said, amid growing alarm over swelling cross-border exchanges between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Macron will propose relaunching a “true peace process”, with the aim of creating a viable Palestinian state in exchange for guarantees from regional powers towards “Israel’s security”.

There will also probably be exchanges with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and leaders of Gulf nations, the Elysee said.

US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have already visited Israel.

The Uttar Pradesh government has made amendments to the financial aid rules of the Project Alankar with an aim to benefit and improve the condition of government-aided secondary Sanskrit schools in the state.

As per the previous mandate, the school management was required to bear the cost of renovation of old buildings for up to 50 per cent. The remaining cost was to be borne by the state government. The government has now reduced the financial cost to be borne by the government to just 5 per cent. In addition, it has also allocated a budget of Rs 100 crore for the renovation projects.  

Following this the Directorate of Education in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh has received proposals from various schools who wish to take advantage of the scheme and renovate their schools. The government has received proposals for a total of around Rs 22 crore to enhance and develop their school buildings. The proposals have been received from government-aided Sanskrit schools in districts such as Basti, Muzaffarnagar, Sonbhadra, Ambedkarnagar, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Balrampur, and Maharajganj.

The move was introduced to address the lack of adequate provision and funds in the budget that is resulting in the government schools’ building turning dilapidated.

In the 2022-23 academic year, the state government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore under for reconstruction, expansion, electrification etc of dilapidated buildings of government schools of the state. A major portion of the fund remained unused as not many schools approached the Uttar Pradesh government for renovation.

An 8-year-old Israeli boy, believed to be among the 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, spent his 9th birthday while in captivity. Before turning 9, he had sent a birthday invitation to his friends to celebrate the day with him. Now, a picture of the heartbreaking invitation that has surfaced on Instagram, shows Ohad standing with a heart-shaped leaf in his palm.

“Come celebrate my 9th birthday with me on Saturday, October 21, 2023,” says the invitation.

”This is the invitation he sent to his friends to celebrate with him over the weekend. Instead of being surrounded by family and friends, he will ‘celebrate’ in captivity, in the hands of terrorists. On October 7, 2023, Ohad, along with his mother and grandparents, were ripped from their home, kidnapped by Hamas, and taken to Gaza. Ohad, along with hundreds of civilians, is being held hostage by Hamas,” the caption of the post shared by StandWithUs reads.

Watch the video here:

The caption of the post further described him as a bright young boy and an only child. ”Ohad is a brilliant chess player and a wizard with the Rubik’s Cube. He also loves playing soccer and tennis. Please share this so we can bring him home,” the caption added.

Reacting to the image, one user wrote, ”Oh little Ohad, just a child. Please let him be released and safe with his family and the remainder of the Israelis.” Another commented, ”Praying for the safe return of Ohad and all of the hostages.”

According to the Times Of Israel, Ohad was kidnapped by Hamas operatives on October 7 and taken to Gaza along with his mother Keren, and his grandparents.

The Israeli military confirmed that the family’s cell phones had been detected in Gaza.

”I keep imagining what he is going through. He’s a sensitive boy. Did he see dead bodies? He wears glasses. Did they take them from him? Can he see anything? I keep thinking of every scenario, hoping for the least catastrophic. I just hope that he is safe and with his mother, ” Ohad’s grief-stricken father, Avi Zichri said. 

Notably, Ohad is Mr. Zichri’s only child with his partner, Keren Munder, a 54-year-old special education teacher and volleyball coach for children with disabilities. 

Exposure to violent conflict can produce fear, horror, and lifelong trauma in young children. As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, the conflict is taking a horrendous toll on innocent children from both regions. Several heartwrenching visuals of children crying, running through the streets, and cowering in bomb shelters after airstrikes have surfaced online. Recently, another heartbreaking image of a scared little girl hiding in a storage unit after surviving the Hamas attack went viral.