Israeli forces push into parts of a central Gaza city that the war had largely spared
Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that hasn't seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas militant group holds large numbers of hostages there. The main group representing hostages' families said it was 'shocked and alarmed' by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, and demanded answers from Israeli leaders.
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Winnipeg Free Press
6 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
India indicates it will keep buying Russian oil despite Trump's threats
NEW DELHI (AP) — India has indicated that it would continue buying oil from Russia despite threats by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Indian foreign ministry said its relationship with Russia was 'steady and time-tested,' and should not be seen through the prism of a third country. Addressing a weekly presser on Friday, spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said India's broader stance on securing its energy needs was guided by the availability of oil in the markets and prevailing global circumstances. The comments follow an announcement by President Donald Trump that he intends to impose a 25% tariff on goods from India plus an additional import tax because of New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. The threat came as the U.S. president has increasingly soured on Russia for failing to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made. India bought 68,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in January 2022, but by June of same year oil imports rose to 1.12 million barrels per day. The daily imports peaked at 2.15 million in May 2023 and have varied since. Supplies rose as high as nearly 40% of India's imports at one point, making Moscow the largest supplier of crude to New Delhi, the Press Trust of India reported, citing data from Kpler, a data analytics company. India's daily oil consumption is pegged around 5.5 million barrels, of which nearly 88% is met through imports. The country has historically bought most of its crude from the Middle East, but this has changed since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the U.S., began buying Russian oil available at discounted rates after the West shunned it to punish Moscow.
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: Carney touts Palestinian leader accused of Holocaust denial as his man in Mideast
Mahmoud Abbas, 89, was elected president in 2005 and he cancelled future elections Get the latest from Lorrie Goldstein straight to your inbox From left, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and MP Ya'ara Saks. Today, let's examine the record of the man Prime Minister Mark Carney is pinning his hopes on to deliver an independent Palestinian state living in peace beside a secure Israel. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account His choice is Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as he explained in a prime ministerial 'Readout' of their conversation on July 30. Carney described Abbas as key to 'Canada's intention to recognize the State of Palestine at the … United Nations General Assembly in September 2025.' The PM said this 'is predicated on the Palestinian Authority's commitment to much-needed reforms, including the commitments by Palestinian Authority President Abbas to fundamentally reform its governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state,' adding he 'welcomed President Abbas' commitment to these reforms.' Abbas is an 89-year-old Palestinian leader accused of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, who has been in power for 20 years. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He was elected president in 2005, cancelled future elections and has little popular support with polls showing the overwhelming majority of Palestinians believe the Palestinian Authority, which has received billions of dollars in foreign aid, is corrupt and that Abbas is ineffective and should resign. Read More Hamas won legislative elections in 2006 – the last time they were held – and today Hamas rules Gaza while Abbas' rival Fatah party rules the West Bank. Although Abbas described the Holocaust in 2014 as 'the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era' while he was currying favour during a previous failed international effort to achieve the forever elusive 'two-state solution,' he's been accused of antisemitism and Holocaust denial for decades. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Two years ago he was widely condemned for a speech to the Fatah Revolutionary Council in which he claimed Hitler didn't kill six million Jews because of antisemitism, but because they were money lenders. He expressed similar views in 2018. In 1984 he published a book – The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism – based on his 1982 PhD dissertation at a Russian university. In it, he falsely claimed Zionists were 'fundamental partners' of the Nazis, that it was a 'myth' and 'fantastic lie' that Hitler murdered six million Jews, and he cited figures of '890,000' or 'a few hundred thousand.' Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a conference to support Jerusalem at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 12, 2023. Photo by Amr Nabil / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A decade later, Abbas said he wrote the book while Israelis and Palestinians were at war, that he was quoting estimates of the number of dead by others and that he would not make such arguments today. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 2006 he told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz ,'The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it.' Writing in the Jerusalem Post last year, Maurice Hirsch, director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform in the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs, described Abbas' longtime support of the Palestinian Authorities' so-called 'Pay for Slay' policy, 'which guarantees substantial monthly salaries to terrorist prisoners,' including murderers, mass murderers and the families of suicide bombers. 'In parallel' Hirsch wrote, 'Abbas funneled billions of shekels to the Palestine Liberation Organization to pay both monthly allowances to injured terrorists and the families of dead terrorists, and fund the PLO member organizations that include internationally designated terror organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Last year, Abbas announced the ending of 'Pay for Slay,' but critics say the change is largely cosmetic and payments continue in other forms. Earlier this year, the Israeli NGO IMPACT-se (Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education) reported on a new curriculum for Palestinian children created by the Palestinian Authority's education ministry, funded by 380 million euros from the European Union, based on its promise to reform its existing content. IMPACT-se said the new curriculum 'replicates antisemitic material and content that incites to hatreds and violence' and is rife with 'antisemitism, glorification and justification of … terrorism, encouragement of martyrdom and jihad, dehumanization and demonization of Israel, and the erasure of Israel from maps.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli research institute, reported last year that Palestinian Authority officials 'consistently use the antisemitic themes of the Middle Ages to generate hatred against the Jewish state and to incite violence,' including the blood libel that 'Israeli leaders drink the blood of Palestinian children and always want more blood.' Despite this, the U.S. and Israeli governments view Abbas as a relative moderate compared to Hamas – he has made pro forma criticisms of terrorist attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians and called for Hamas to release the hostages. For Carney and other world leaders to tout Abbas as the best hope for ending Palestinian suffering and creating an independent Palestinian state – which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government unalterably opposes – is wishful thinking on steroids. lgoldstein@ Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Homes Columnists
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
U.S. has 'very, very good plan' to end war in Gaza, envoy tells hostage families
U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told families of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered. Steve Witkoff is visiting Israel as its government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a recording of the meeting, reviewed by Reuters, Witkoff is heard saying: "We have a very, very good plan that we're working on collectively with the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Netanyahu ... for the reconstruction of Gaza. That effectively means the end of the war." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his remarks. Witkoff also said that Hamas was prepared to disarm in order to end the war, although the group has repeatedly said it will not lay down its weapons. WATCH | U.S. envoy visits controversial aid site: U.S. envoy visits controversial aid site as Gaza starvation crisis worsens 17 hours ago WARNING: Video contains distressing images | The U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visited Gaza on Friday to inspect a controversial aid distribution site, backed by the U.S. and Israel, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. In response to the reported remarks, Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war, said it would not relinquish "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" is established. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of half the hostages ended last week in deadlock. On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole, which, he says in the video, is for his own grave. Witkoff met with Netanyahu on Thursday. Afterward, a senior Israeli official said an understanding between Israel and Washington was emerging that there was a need to move from a plan to release some of the hostages to a plan to release all of the hostages, disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip, echoing Israel's key demands for ending the war. Starvation in Gaza On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of it, they said Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Witkoff arrived in Israel with Netanyahu's government facing a global outcry over devastation in Gaza and the starvation growing among its 2.2 million people. The crisis has also prompted a string of Western powers to announce they may recognize a Palestinian state. WATCH | Canada intends to recognize Palestinian statehood. Here's what that could mean: Canada intends to recognize Palestinian statehood. Here's what that could mean | Hanomansing Tonight 3 days ago On Friday, Witkoff visited a U.S.-backed aid operation in southern Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Dozens have died of malnutrition in recent weeks after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It said on Saturday that it had recorded seven more fatalities, including a child, since Friday. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, airdrops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. UN agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease the access to it. The war in Gaza began when a Hamas-led attack killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
