The spectre of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh came back to haunt the sport again with Olympian Vinesh Phogat identifying herself as one of the six female wrestlers who were sexually harassed by the official.

The admission made by the wrestler in a video statement on Sunday, 3 May was part of a tirade in which Vinesh said Brij Bhushan was trying to scuttle her comeback bid in the Asian Games later this year. She alleged that the WFI’s decision to hold ranking tournaments and trials in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh — a personal stronghold for Brij Bhushan — is not going to provide her a level playing field under any circumstances.

‘’He (Brij Bhushan) has his own private college and this competition is being organised there. That every hardworking athlete will get their due there — this is something very unlikely and almost impossible,’’ said Vinesh, who missed out on a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 after being ‘overweight’ by 100 grams in the weigh-in. A tearful Vinesh then bid adieu to the sport and took a plunge into politics before announcing her comeback from retirement.

Vinesh further alleged that despite Brij Bhushan's official removal, the federation remains under his de facto control through current chief Sanjay Singh. ‘’Who will referee whose match, how many points a referee will give... all of this will be controlled by Brij Bhushan and his people. And the government and our sports ministry are watching this as silent spectators.

‘’You can imagine — going to his place, to his own college where every person would be connected to him... going there and competing in such a situation is extremely difficult. Even after that, whether I will be able to go there and give my 100 per cent — I do not think so."

The cases against Singh first made global headlines in 2023 when three top wrestlers — Vinesh and Olympic medallists Sakshi Mallik and Bajrang Punia — led months of sit-in protests at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, which took a dramatic turn when police detained them during a march to India’s new Parliament building. Footage of the Olympic medallists being dragged through the streets sparked international condemnation, including a rare rebuke from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

Brij Bhushan, a former BJP MP, was cleared in a separate sexual harassment case filed by an underage female wrestler. A Delhi court accepted a police report recommending the cancellation of that specific case after the complainant reportedly withdrew her statement last year.

However, Brij Bhushan — who has consistently denied all allegations — still faces serious charges of sexual harassment and stalking in the ongoing case involving Vinesh and five other adult female wrestlers. ‘’The Supreme Court guidelines say that the identity of any victim should not be revealed because it concerns their dignity and honour,’’ Vinesh said, before adding: ‘’But today, due to certain circumstances, I want to tell you all something. I did not want to speak while the case is still pending... But I want to say that I myself am one of those six victims who filed a complaint, and our testimonies are still ongoing.’’

In the broken neighbourhoods of Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, silence is a stranger. The buzz of Israeli drones and the thunder of controlled demolitions ripple through the air, a stark reminder that even under a so-called ceasefire, the war has never truly loosened its grip on the Gaza Strip, the Al Jazeera reported.

Since the truce was declared in October, grief has continued to seep through the rubble. Local medical sources report that at least 828 Palestinians have been killed in the intervening months — each number a life interrupted, each statistic a story buried beneath debris. Now, as Israeli officials signal the possibility of renewed hostilities, families brace once more for the storm.

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cancelled a scheduled security cabinet meeting, opting instead for closed-door consultations. Within military circles, the rhetoric has sharpened. A senior General Staff official, speaking to Channel 15, warned that another round of fighting was “almost inevitable,” citing Hamas’s refusal to disarm and the perceived failure of international mechanisms meant to uphold the ceasefire.

On the ground, facts are shifting as steadily as the front lines. Reports from Israel’s Army Radio suggest that Israeli forces have been quietly expanding their footprint, nudging the ceasefire’s “Yellow Line” westward and extending control over nearly 59 per cent of the enclave. Reinforcements, redirected from the Lebanese front, now flow into Gaza and the occupied West Bank, tightening an already suffocating grip.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, diplomacy unfolds with mounting urgency. Mediators are pressing Palestinian factions to accept a new roadmap championed by Nikolay Mladenov, tied to a broader vision backed by Donald Trump. The proposal demands the phased disarmament of Hamas within 281 days — linking humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and the reopening of crossings to the surrender of weapons.

Palestinian factions, however, have drawn a firm line. Leaders from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have collectively rejected the terms, insisting instead on the full implementation of the ceasefire’s initial phase — particularly the unimpeded entry of 600 aid trucks daily, a provision they say Israel has repeatedly blocked.

For analysts like Wissam Afifa, the impasse is about more than weapons. “The resistance insists that disarmament is tied to the ambition of establishing a Palestinian state and a complete end to the occupation,” he told Al Jazeera, warning that separating security from political rights risks turning humanitarian relief into leverage.

Others see a deeper strategy at play. Mamoun Abu Amer, an expert on Israeli affairs, described the escalating rhetoric as a “smoke screen” — a calculated move to bolster Netanyahu’s domestic standing ahead of looming elections, even as Israel grapples with mounting pressure across multiple fronts, including the unresolved tensions in southern Lebanon.

Yet for those living amid the ruins, strategy and speculation offer little solace. The toll of war continues to climb, with at least 72,608 Palestinians reported killed since the conflict began. Even as ceasefire lines are drawn and redrawn on maps, the reality on the ground remains unchanged: a people suspended between fragile calm and the ever-present shadow of another devastating war.