As of December 2025, United Nations OCHA documented 925 movement obstacles across the West Bank including East Jerusalem, comprising 89 checkpoints staffed 24/7 and 218 partial checkpoints, according to United Nations OCHA oPt.

Benjamin Netanyahu announced that authorities are imposing a closure on the cities of Hebron and Halhul while planning an extensive military operation in the West Bank, according to The National.

The Prime Minister's Office of Israel confirmed in a statement instructing security forces to impose a cordon around Hebron and prepare for a full closure of the entire West Bank, according to The National.

In January 2025, a large-scale military operation named the “Iron Wall” forcibly displaced tens of thousands of people across several refugee camps, according to the UN rights office.

## Armed Engagement at Hebron Checkpoint

The fatal armed exchange occurred at an army checkpoint guarding access pathways into the city of Hebron. Armed forces repelled the assault near the settlement of Telem after discovering that the assailants approached in an automobile bearing domestic Israeli registration tags. Military search teams recovered significant quantities of munitions from inside the vehicle, concluding that the operatives had planned a broader assault along adjacent transit routes.

Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the military will apply the Jenin refugee camp model in Hebron to evacuate clan neighbourhoods and dismantle infrastructure, according to The National.

Under the lockdown, authorities shut gates and checkpoints connecting Palestinian villages to major roads, while keeping transit corridors open to Israeli drivers, according to The Guardian.

## Heightened Regional Tensions and Political Fallout

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared on social networks that defense units had averted a major offensive and ordered the immediate blockade of Hebron alongside regional movement restrictions. The security escalation is already reshaping political discourse across the country as national elections approach.

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The four, aviation technicians serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), have been missing since Sunday, when gangs attacked their armoured vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince, and they fled as it burned. It was the first major attack since the international force began operating in Haiti, The Associated Press reported.

Security officials said the vehicle was ambushed as the men were returning to their base from a market, Reuters reported. Bukele said they were kidnapped while returning from buying food at a supermarket, according to Anadolu Agency.

## Bukele's Warning

Bukele wrote on X that "today's attack is nothing compared to what is coming if they do not release the four hostages alive", according to AP, and told the gangs not to treat his words as empty threats. He told the gang leaders that if the men were returned "alive, unharmed", then "everything will go back to the way it was before the kidnapping".

Bukele, known for his crackdown on gangs at home, also warned: "We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too." He gave no details of the operation and did not name the group holding the men.

He said the four were technicians, not combatants. "Our mission consists only of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war," he said.

## Haiti Calls Release a Priority

Haiti's government said on Wednesday evening that the release of the abducted soldiers was an "absolute priority" and that all necessary resources were being mobilised. It said a meeting at the prime minister's office had reviewed the operations under way and the steps needed to strengthen them, together with the gang suppression force. It was not immediately clear whether Haitian authorities had confirmation that the four men were alive, and the GSF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The force is still fighting gangs in the community where Sunday's attack took place and has told residents to stay indoors.

## A Force Below Its Planned Size

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Gangs including Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye and 400 Mawozo hold the area; Kraze Barye is led by Vitel'Homme Innocent and 400 Mawozo by Lanmo Sanjou, both of whom face UN and US sanctions. Gangs are estimated to control 70 percent of the capital. The attack came as Haiti readies for its first general election in over a decade.

El Salvador is one of several countries, including Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala, contributing to the force, which has more than 2,000 troops in Haiti. The UN approved up to 5,550 security personnel for the mission in 2025; a year into its mandate it had reached just over a third of its planned size, Reuters reported. In early October, El Salvador passed a law extending its forces' role for a year and allowing the mission to deploy personnel "according to the mission's needs", beyond medical evacuations. The UN Security Council has extended the force's mandate through March 2027.

In recent years, gang violence has forced nearly 1.5 million Haitians from their homes. More than 5,700 people were killed or injured between January and mid-September, and more than 230 were kidnapped, according to the UN.

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The flaws, dubbed PHP2Shell, let an attacker remotely run commands on a server using outdated PHP code without a password or a legitimate account. The nonprofit PHP Foundation, which supports the volunteer-maintained language, said they were among the most severe flaws it had encountered and urged website administrators to update their code immediately. PHP's developers released patches the same day, the BBC reported.

## Rare Warning From the NSA

The US National Security Agency issued a rare public warning, advising organisations to take websites offline if they could not update them immediately. "These risks are serious enough to require immediate patching across United States Government departments and agencies," the agency said, according to the BBC. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre gave similar advice, and agencies in the EU, Singapore and Australia issued alerts.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged people to check whether their public websites ran on PHP. "If it is difficult to apply the fix patch promptly, temporarily suspending websites and similar measures can be considered an effective way to reduce risk," she wrote on X.

## Sites Taken Offline

In Germany, the federal digital ministry said it had pulled some sites as a precaution, while France's Interior Ministry switched off the websites of local administrative offices. Authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and the Czech Republic said they had shut websites to apply the patch, Al Jazeera reported.

Wikimedia, the organisation behind Wikipedia, took down a number of its systems as a precaution, the BBC reported. Edinburgh council, the BBC itself and several Scottish councils and health boards also took websites offline.

## Found With the Help of AI

The first flaw was reported on August 11 by researchers at Calif who were working with OpenAI; Alphabet-owned security firm Wiz reported the second on August 24. Wiz said the findings "rank among the most severe vulnerabilities discovered in PHP, and arguably in software history". The firm said the underlying flaws had existed for decades, but proving they could be exploited required a chain of steps "at the edge of what human researchers could practically achieve".

Disclosure had been planned for October 22, but CVE details and a proof-of-concept exploit leaked early, and the PHP Foundation brought the release forward by a day, according to The Hacker News. Amazon's threat intelligence team said it detected an attempt to exploit PHP2Shell against its MadPot honeypot service on October 17, The Hacker News reported.

## Comparisons With Heartbleed and Log4Shell

Some analysts have warned the incident could prove comparable in its implications to the 2014 Heartbleed bug, BusinessKorea reported. Dark Reading compared PHP2Shell with the Log4Shell flaw in Log4j 2 nearly five years ago, which also required the security industry to work together to patch a major flaw in a popular open-source project.

## What Website Owners and Users Can Do

Website owners are being urged to move to the latest version of PHP. More attempts to exploit the flaws are likely in the coming weeks now that technical details are public, Salil Kanhere, a cyber-security researcher at UNSW Sydney, told the BBC. He said users should watch for security advice from affected services, such as requests to change passwords, and be wary of phishing messages that exploit the publicity around the incident.

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"All 21 of our Indian crew members, along with the rest of the crew are completely safe," Sonowal wrote on X about the vessel, the M/T Al Dasma. He said the government was monitoring the situation and was in close contact with the ship's management company over the security and welfare of the crew.

## Fire on Board

The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) placed the incident about 11 nautical miles west of Bukha, Oman, on the southern side of the strait. The impact set off a fire on the tanker that was later put out, Times Kuwait reported, according to The Times of India. The vessel stayed stationary after the incident.

The origin of the projectile remained unknown, and there was no official word on damage to the ship or its cargo, The Indian Express reported.

## A Month of Attacks

The Al Dasma is the latest commercial vessel to be hit in the Gulf region. Ships in the Strait of Hormuz have been struck almost daily this month, with more than 20 attacked in October alone, Swarajya reported. Before the current conflict in the region, about 25 per cent of the world's seaborne oil exports passed through the narrow waterway.

Several recent incidents have involved Indian crews. On October 16, the crude oil tanker MT ST 3, carrying 15 Indian seafarers, was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz; Sonowal said all Indian nationals on board were safe. On October 14, a drone hit the chemical tanker YARA J, which had nine Indian seafarers on board, at Sulina Anchorage off Romania.

On October 11, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, citing the tanker MT PETRO DOLPHIN. That ship, with 11 Indian seafarers, was reportedly hit by a drone at Sohar Anchorage; nine crew were rescued and two remained missing. In another incident, an unidentified projectile set the Marshall Islands-flagged MT VALTHERA on fire; all 11 Indian seafarers aboard were reported safe.

## India's Position

New Delhi has described attacks on commercial shipping and merchant mariners as "legally and morally indefensible" and has stressed the need to protect seafarers and uphold freedom of navigation. The MEA has urged that strikes on merchant ships, their crews and civilian infrastructure stop at once, and has called for the "safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways".

## What is confirmed and what remains unknown

As of the minister's October 22 account, all 21 Indian nationals aboard *Al Dasma* and the other crew members were safe. That statement is stronger evidence of the crew's immediate condition than unverified posts naming the attacker. UKMTO placed the reported impact about 11 nautical miles west of Bukha, Oman; regional reports said the fire was extinguished. The identity of the weapon, whoever fired it, cargo loss and any subsequent commercial salvage costs remained unconfirmed in the reviewed reporting.

The October 16 *MT ST 3* incident involved 15 Indian crew members and should not be combined with the October 21 tally. Merchant mariners and their families need incident-specific confirmation because headlines about multiple tankers can make one vessel's injuries or missing-person reports appear to apply to another. Shipping disruptions may affect energy freight and insurance even when a particular crew suffers no casualties.

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The Crime Branch issued the notices after the two were freed on Wednesday, October 21, asking them to appear at its Rajouri Garden office at noon on Thursday. The Hindu reported that a Mr. Shinde has also been summoned. The cases, over alleged trespass and disobedience of a government order, were moved from local police stations to the Crime Branch.

## Released on Bonds

A Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) declined a police request to keep the two in judicial custody for three more days, DW reported. The court then took their personal and surety bonds and placed on record their written promises to keep the peace.

SEM Ritu Raj directed Das and Ranka to furnish bonds of Rs 50,000 each until the inquiry ends, to appear on every hearing date and to abide by the conditions of their bonds, The Times of India reported. In their undertakings, the two promised not to disturb public tranquillity and not to call for protests at Jantar Mantar "till such a time that it is denotified in accordance with law". They said any future protests would stay within the constitutional framework.

In seeking the extension, police had cited a possible breach of peace and law and order. They also pointed to what they described as differences between the leaders' statements in court and their later remarks to the media.

The matter will be heard again on October 23 at 3 pm, and the court has directed both leaders and their sureties to be present. The investigating officer must file a report verifying the sureties at that hearing, according to The New Indian Express and LiveLaw.

## The Jantar Mantar Protest

The two were detained over an October 13 protest at Jantar Mantar, which Delhi Police had denotified as a protest site earlier in October. Police allege that they entered the area through private premises and broke conditions on maintaining peace. They were booked for trespass after entering the site and raising the Indian flag, DW reported.

The party's recent protests have called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that led to voters' names being deleted.

## Two proceedings, two different legal questions

The October 22 *Indian Express* report distinguishes the preventive proceedings that kept Das and Ranka in custody from the Crime Branch's investigation of alleged trespass. Police sources named CJP colleague Ajinkya Shinde as another person summoned to Rajouri Garden. The alleged trespass complaint was attributed to the Janata Dal (United), whose office adjoins the Jantar Mantar protest site. A summons is a request to attend questioning; it is not evidence that a court has found any of the three guilty.

The undertaking not to call further protests at Jantar Mantar was part of the conditions on which the two leaders were released after judicial custody. It should not be presented as a permanent ban on political expression everywhere in Delhi. A later judicial order or an official notice about the site's status could change the practical position. The investigation and the leaders' protest allegations about electoral-roll revision should be judged on their own evidence.

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Raghoo Puri, a First Secretary in India's UN mission, made the objection on Wednesday, October 21, at a session of the General Assembly's Third Committee. He was responding to Ben Saul, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, during an interactive dialogue.

## 'Read in Isolation'

Saul's July report said that in 2003 the Security Council had listed the leader of "the India-based D-Company" for association with Al-Qaeda. "Read in isolation, this line paints a very different picture from the actual reality," Puri said.

Puri said India has sought Ibrahim and his group over terror attacks since 1993, and that this appears in the UN's own narrative summary explaining why he was listed under the 1267 sanctions regime. "Not mentioning this fact is regrettable, and such incompetence on part of special mandate holders does this organisation tremendous harm," he said.

"Let me correct it for the record," Puri said. He said Ibrahim "fled India much before the 2003 listing", and that he was outside India when he was listed over his links to Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

He added that, according to the UN listing, Ibrahim lives in the same country where bin Laden was found and killed, a clear reference to Pakistan. US Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in a raid in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011.

## What the UN Record Says

The sanctions committee's narrative summary states that Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar was listed on 3 November 2003 for association with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden and the Taliban. The summary adds that India wants him over the 12 March 1993 Bombay Exchange bombings, in which more than 250 people died and more than a thousand were hurt.

## Call for Accountability

Puri said India had raised in other forums its "serious concern at the unacceptable situation" of the special rapporteur issuing reports with factual inaccuracies without being held accountable for them. Such reports, he said, leave member states facing a fait accompli at a time when the UN's legitimacy is already being questioned. Special rapporteurs are not paid directly by the UN, NDTV noted.

He also pointed to "clear bias" in parts of the report and urged that "the highest standards of probity and impartiality be maintained". "It seems to have become fashionable for sponsors of terror to use human rights and the framework of counter-terrorism to justify their misdeeds," he said.

## Reply to Pakistan

Puri dismissed a statement by Pakistan's delegation as "pure propaganda made for very narrow political gains". "Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an inalienable part of India and have been so and will always remain," he said, adding that he would not dignify the Pakistani delegate's remarks with further comment.

## What was contested at the United Nations

India’s October 21 objection was delivered by First Secretary Raghoo Puri in the General Assembly’s Third Committee in response to a report by Special Rapporteur Ben Saul. The dispute concerned the phrase “India-based D-Company”, not whether United Nations sanctions materials had previously referred to Dawood Ibrahim. India argued that the geographical description obscured the fugitive's status and longstanding Indian criminal allegations. A special rapporteur's wording is part of an expert reporting process; it should not be reported as a fresh finding by the Security Council or a criminal court. Similarly, India's rejection is an official diplomatic position, not an adjudicated resolution of every disputed factual question.

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Indian equity benchmarks endured intense volatility on Wednesday as After opening, Sensex and Nifty bulls pushed the market sharply higher during early trade. Initial buying interest lifted sentiment with the benchmark indices rising nearly 1% each to hit optimistic intraday targets. Morning rallies touched session peaks at 74,682 and 23,121 respectively. Heavy distribution emerged in the afternoon, with Sensex plunging around 1,400 points from morning high-water marks. The sudden pullback saw valuations slip from its day's high to 73,258 and Nifty erasing over broad territorial gains. Technical support weakened as the index dropped 450 points to trade below the 22,700 level before finding tentative buying. At the closing bell, The BSE Sensex fell 143.21 points, or 0.19 per cent on the official board. The premier gauge finished lower cent, to close at 73,709.69. Headline figures confirmed the 50-stock index lost 77.60 points, or 0.34 per cent, to settle at 22,811.35 in Mumbai.

## Severe Wealth Destruction Across Heavyweights and Broad Sectors

Intraday selling was brutal as the plunge wiped off more than Rs 8 lakh crore from total investor portfolios. The valuation collapse severely dented the total market capitalisation of all companies listed on BSE, during peak selling waves. Closing computations confirmed an erosion of approximately Rs 6.79 lakh crore in the aggregate equity valuation of listed companies. Heavy corporate selling emerged as Eternal shares plunged 5% to lead losses on Sensex as quarterly reports neared. Financial and industrial blue-chips struggled as Bajaj Finance shares dropped 4%, while shares of Maruti Suzuki, faced downward adjustments. Broader selling swept through Trent, NTPC, BEL, IndiGo, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, and Tata Steel. Defensive positioning emerged as Bucking the trend, shares of IT stocks including Infosys, Tech players rallied against the tide. Tech export heavyweights including Mahindra, TCS and HCL Technologies jumped up to 3% to cushion index benchmarks.

## Crude Oil Surges Past $110 on Red Sea and Hormuz Supply Risks

The foremost catalyst behind the selloff was international petroleum, as Oil prices crossed $110 per barrel mark again on Wednesday amid regional conflict. Global energy benchmarks surged as Brent crude futures jumped more than $1 to trade at elevated pricing corridors. Reflecting international panic, prices spiked around $110 per barrel. Maritime infrastructure disruption escalated after A supertanker caught fire after striking a sea mine in the Persian Gulf. The commercial vessel was damaged in the south of Strait of Hormuz while "violating" Iranian regulations, according to naval alerts. Maritime tracking confirmed There were at least 18 vessel attacks reported over two recent weeks in strategic waterways. Independent maritime intelligence firm weeks, shiptracker Kpler said in a note on Monday alerting international shipping lines.

## Spiking Global Treasury Yields and Persistent Foreign Capital Outflows

Compounding equity pressure, The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.12%. Long-term borrowing costs soared as the 30-year Treasury yield also climbed above 5.4%. Foreign institutional activity remained negative as FIIs resumed selling Indian equities on Monday, selling shares worth substantial sums. Provisional clearing exchange disclosures confirmed sales of Rs 1,149 crore, according to provisional data on NSE. The sustained liquidation trend shows FIIs have remained net sellers of Indian equities in 10 sessions throughout the month. Institutional data indicates foreign outflows in out of 12 sessions in October so far, heavily depressing domestic market liquidity.

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