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 has not seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas 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.
Israel says the seizure of territory in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, but it is a major point of contention in ongoing ceasefire talks.
The U.N. food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza's Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine.
In the latest sign of international frustration, the United Kingdom, France and 23 other Western-aligned countries issued a statement saying 'the war in Gaza must end now.' They harshly criticized Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid and called for the release of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza.
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Business Standard
14 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Trump says US, Israel to run more Gaza food centres, offers few details
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US will partner with Israel to run new food centres in Gaza to address the worsening humanitarian crisis there, but he and US officials offered few additional details about the plan or how it would differ from existing food distribution centres. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a trip to Scotland that Israel would preside over the new food centres to make sure the distribution is proper. We're going to be dealing with Israel, and we think they can do a good job of it," Trump said. The opaque details come as the Trump administration is facing calls at home and abroad to do more to address the hunger crisis in Gaza. The U.S.'s close ally, Israel, is at the center of an international outcry as more images of emaciated children continue to emerge. That pressure comes after the U.S. pulled out of talks last week to try to broker a ceasefire in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, accusing Hamas of acting in bad faith. But Trump this week broke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, disagreeing publicly with him about starvation in Gaza and citing the pictures of hungry people. The White House described it as a new aid plan to help people in Gaza obtain access to food and promised that details would emerge. It did not elaborate. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Tuesday that she didn't know "the framework of how the new aid distribution would work. I'm waiting for the president to return. I don't want to get ahead of him, Bruce said. Democrats in Congress have implored the Trump administration to step up its role in addressing the suffering and starvation in Gaza. More than 40 senators signed a letter Tuesday urging the Trump administration to resume ceasefire talks and sharply criticizing the Israeli-backed American organization that had already been created to distribute food aid. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned why the U.S. was not allowing long-standing aid groups to run food centers. I'm glad that the president is saying that this is a problem. But if we want to solve the problem, turn to the folks who have been doing this for decades," Kaine said. The few details Trump provided about the new food centers appeared similar to a program that was already rolled out in May, after Israel had blocked all food, medicine and other imports for 2 months. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor, opened four food distribution sites that month. Israel and GHF said that system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid. The United Nations, which has been distributing food in Gaza throughout the war when allowed, denies any significant diversion of aid by Hamas. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while heading to the GHF sites, according to witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired occasional shots in the air to prevent dangerous crowding. The aid sites are in Israeli military zones, which is off limits to independent media. The U.N. refuses to cooperate with GHF, saying its model violates humanitarian principles by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food and because it allows Israel to control aid and use it to further mass displacement. Trump said Tuesday that he last spoke to Netanyahu two days earlier and that the Israeli leader wants to distribute food in a proper manner. I think Israel wants to do it, Trump said. And they'll be good at doing it. The president, for the second day in a row, remarked on the images of starving people and kids in Gaza, which seemed to prompt him this week to announce the new plan and his break with Netanyahu. Trump said Tuesday that everyone who saw the images coming out of Gaza would declare it terrible unless they're pretty cold-hearted or, worse than that, nuts. Those are kids that are starving. They are starving, Trump said. They've got to get them food. And we're going to get them food. The shift brings Trump closer to some in his MAGA base, who have rejected the Republican Party's long-standing, unequivocal support for Israel and see aid money flowing to the country as yet another misguided foreign intervention. They include Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, who has echoed the rhetoric of progressive Democrats in recent days. I can unequivocally say that what happened to innocent people in Israel on Oct. 7th was horrific. Just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific. This war and humanitarian crisis must end! she wrote on Sunday on X. On Monday night, she went further, calling what is happening in Gaza genocide. But Greene's comments do not represent MAGA as a whole. On Monday, podcaster Charlie Kirk, who leads the powerful Turning Point network, railed against what he deemed a propaganda campaign trying to make it seem as if Israel is intentionally starving the people of Gaza.
Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
UCLA reaches $6 million settlement with Jewish students and professor over campus protests
The University of California, Los Angeles, reached a $6 million settlement with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor whose lawsuit against the university argued it violated their civil rights by allowing pro-Palestinian protesters in 2024 to block their access to classes and other areas on campus. The settlement comes nearly a year after a preliminary injunction was issued, marking the first time a US judge had ruled against a university over their handling of on-campus demonstrations against Israel's war in Gaza. UCLA initially had argued that it had no legal responsibility over the issue because protesters, not the university, blocked Jewish students' access to areas. The university also worked with law enforcement to thwart attempts to set up new protest camps. But U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi disagreed and ordered UCLA to create a plan to protect Jewish students on campus. The University of California, one of the nation's largest public university systems, has since created systemwide campus guidelines on protests. How the university handled dispersing the encampment in the spring drew widespread criticism. One night, counterprotesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones and firing pepper spray, with fighting that continued for hours, injuring more than a dozen people, before police stepped in. The next day, after hundreds defied orders to leave, more than 200 people were arrested. In March, the Trump administration joined the lawsuit filed by the Jewish students and Jewish professor as it opened new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at Columbia University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; Northwestern University and Portland State University. Last week, Columbia agreed to pay $200 million as part of a settlement to resolve investigations into alleged violations of federal antidiscrimination laws and restore more than $400 million in research grants. The Trump administration plans to use its deal with Columbia as a template for other universities, with financial penalties that are now seen as an expectation for future agreements. On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division found UCLA violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 'by acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.' 'UCLA failed to take timely and appropriate action in response to credible claims of harm and hostility on its campus,' said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The university has said that it's committed to campus safety and will continue to implement recommendations. 'Today's settlement reflects a critically important goal that we share with the plaintiffs: to foster a safe, secure and inclusive environment for all members of our community and ensure that there is no room for antisemitism anywhere on campus,' University of California Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly said in a statement. As part of the settlement agreement, UCLA must ensure Jewish students, faculty and staff are not excluded from anything on-campus. The $6.13 million settlement will pay the plaintiffs' damages and legal fees. About $2.3 million will go to eight organizations that combat antisemitism, the university said. A group of 35 pro-Palestinian students, faculty members, legal observers, journalists and activists also has filed a lawsuit against UCLA, alleging the university failed to protect those who participated in the demonstrations. Some Jewish students have also taken part in protests on campuses around the country against Israel's war in Gaza. During the 2014 protests at UCLA, at least 15 pro-Palestinian protesters were injured and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders as well as Muslim students and advocacy groups.
Hindustan Times
44 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump's 1st reaction to Western allies France, UK's Palestine state move as Israel watches in shock
Trump's 1st reaction to Western allies France, UK's Palestine state move as Israel watches in shock
