Dozens of Palestinians killed while waiting for food trucks in Gaza
Palestinian witnesses told the Associated Press that Israeli forces carried out an air strike on a nearby home before opening fire towards the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said soldiers had spotted a gathering near an aid truck that was stuck in Khan Younis, near where Israeli forces were operating.
'There are reports of several casualties from IDF (Israeli Defence Force) gunfire as the crowd approached. The details are being investigated,' it said.
The shooting does not appear to be related to a new Israeli and US-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence.
Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. 'It was a massacre,' he said, adding that the soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area.
Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. 'I survived by a miracle,' he said.
The dead and wounded were taken to the city's Nasser Hospital, which confirmed the toll.
Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by a separate US and Israeli-backed aid group since the centres opened last month. Local health officials say scores have been killed and hundreds wounded.
In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
Israel says the new system is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid to fund its militant activities.
UN agencies and major aid groups deny there is any major diversion of aid and have rejected the new system, saying it cannot meet the mounting needs in Gaza and that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who has access to aid. Experts have warned of widespread famine in Gaza.
The UN-run network has delivered aid across Gaza throughout the 20-month Israel-Hamas war but has faced major obstacles since Israel loosened a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May.
UN officials say Israeli military restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it difficult to deliver the aid that Israel has allowed in.
Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israel launched its campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after the group's October 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
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NBC News
32 minutes ago
- NBC News
Political violence thrusts 2028 candidates onto the national stage
The pace of political violence has so quickly accelerated in the United States that the country is poised to field a widening group of 2028 contenders who have experienced it in some form. To date, at least a half-dozen public officials who may run for president in 2028 have either personally faced political violence, lost friends in such plots or had to manage political unrest in their states. Foisted onto the national stage by these incidents, these politicians have given the public a glimpse of how they conduct themselves in a crisis, including their ability to combat false messaging that often proliferates over social media and whether they have the capability to lead without being dragged into petty political skirmishes. The assassination over the weekend of Melissa Hortman, the Democratic leader of the Minnesota state House, and her husband was the latest episode of violence that captured national attention. Another Democratic state legislator and his wife were also shot multiple times and are recovering. It thrust Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee and potential 2028 White House hopeful, into the national spotlight, where he directed the messaging behind a major investigation and manhunt while confronting his own grief at losing 'the dearest of friends.' The Minnesota tragedy came as California Gov. Gavin Newsom was locked in a cross-country confrontation with the White House over its use of federal law enforcement amid protests over immigration arrests in the state. Just two months ago in Pennsylvania, an attacker firebombed Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence because of his position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Shapiro had already dealt with the fallout from political violence after his state handled the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler last July; the shooter also killed a man at Trump's campaign rally that day. That in turn impacted JD Vance, who had met with Trump that morning to discuss joining the ticket as his vice presidential running mate. Trump announced Vance as his pick less than 48 hours after the shooting — a move that positioned Vance, then 39, as a young prospective heir to the MAGA movement who may be eyeing the 2028 GOP presidential nomination. Trump also faced a second assassination attempt while they were running mates. And in 2020, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another Democrat on the shortlist of 2028 contenders, was the subject of a kidnapping plot. Other Democrats have had to deal with losing a close friend or colleague to the violence. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who ran in 2020 and may also be a 2028 hopeful, told NBC News' 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that she had dined with Hortman just hours before the assassination. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also had an interaction with Hortman on Friday, the night he delivered an address at the Minnesota Democratic Party's annual dinner. On Monday, Pritzker was updating local news media of what he said was a 'hodgepodge' of lists that included 600 names of officials found among the belongings of Vince Boelter, the man charged in the killing of Hortman and her husband. Pritzker said he was not among those on any target list. A volatile political climate often immersed in misinformation and partisan vitriol has contributed to the spate of attacks on public office holders, political observers say. Leaders need to show in these times that they can help heal a community, turn down the temperature and even reach across the aisle. 'The country has made it very clear it's sick of how divisive things are, and I think the country is sick of the violence and the example it's showing children and the pain it's causing people,' said Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump press secretary who resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. 'Anybody running for office in the future would be foolish not to consider that.' Grisham, who endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year, added of Walz: 'His message was absolutely spot on. It was: we should be able to have a conversation with our neighbors.' She said the repudiation of such acts 'should be loud, and it should be Republicans and Democrats who can't stand each other, standing side by side, to say, 'Yes, we disagree vehemently, but that doesn't give anyone the right to hurt a human being.'' Pete Giangreco, a Democratic strategist who advised Klobuchar in her 2020 presidential campaign, pointed to Saturday's 'No Kings' protests across the country as a model for constructive dissent. 'It's a call to get back to a place where we could have our differences, but do it in a civil way in elections that are free and open for everybody who is a citizen,' he said of the protests that drew hundreds of thousands but remained peaceful. 'I think the more partisan Democrats get about the messaging as it relates to the political violence, the less helpful it is both to the country as a whole, but also to the prospects of winning in 2028,' Giangreco said. For Newsom, the message he sent to his constituents was to demonstrate peacefully. And to the wider national audience, both the governor and his office deluged information spaces, either to correct false narratives or combat negative messaging coming from the White House. 'This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next,' Newsom said in a major address he framed as the president sending Marines to his state to try to provoke violent clashes. 'Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.' Trump officials boasted about images coming from California, saying they were 'happy to have this fight,' and Trump gave the green light for law enforcement to take aggressive action. ' If they spit, we will hit,' he said. 'It is really tragic to be in a situation where it is the right thing to do in these situations, to basically make sure that Republicans aren't able to step in there and set a false narrative,' said Pat Dennis, president of American Bridge 21st Century, a pro-Democratic group. He said one of the more dangerous contributions to an era of political violence in recent years came in January, when Trump pardoned or offered commutations to those involved in the Capitol attack. That included individuals convicted — and some who even pleaded guilty to — attacking law enforcement officers. 'These groups have a sense that they are effectively above the law because the president will pardon them for their crimes,' Dennis said. 'And I believe that is done as an intimidation technique.' Trump likewise recently brought up the prospect of pardoning those convicted in the plot targeting Whitmer, saying he would 'take a look at' pardoning the men involved and said the trial 'looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job.' Whitmer said she was disappointed with Trump's remarks. Prosecutors said that two men convicted in the kidnapping scheme wanted to grab Whitmer and hang her. 'Don't forget the most important thing — these defendants were outside a woman's house in the middle of the night with night vision goggles and guns and a plan to kidnap her. And they made a bomb. That's real enough, isn't it?' a federal prosecutor said in closing arguments. 'When the president was shot at in Pennsylvania, I was one of the first people on either side of the aisle to condemn it,' Whitmer said last month at the Mackinac Policy Conference in Michigan. 'We have to condemn political violence, no matter where it comes from, no matter who it's aimed at. It does a disservice to everyone if we do anything short of that.' Another potential Republican 2028 candidate touched by violence is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been so shaken by the Capitol attack by Trump supporters that he deemed it 'one of the saddest days in our history' and a 'national embarrassment.' 'With our increasingly heated rhetoric and our wild conspiracies, our politics has been playing with fire for a long, long time,' Rubio said at the time. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. — who is also discussed as a 2028 candidate — and Klobuchar were also present during the violent assault on the Capitol that day. The toxicity and divisiveness that have exploded in America over the last decade have led to a steady rise in threats to members of Congress. Last year, the Capitol Police saw an 18% increase to their threat assessment section load, investigating 9,474 concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress, their families or their staff members. In 2021, threats surpassed that number after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, when police investigated 9,625 threats. On Monday, a 25-year-old Georgia man was arraigned on federal charges of making violent threats against Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., the Justice Department said. 'When someone attacks an individual — like this weekend, like Gov. Shapiro, like Steve Scalise several years ago — that is an attack not just on a political ideology, it is an attack on public service,' said former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., who is now a fellow with the Center for American Progress. 'Everyone can relate to that. Everyone can feel for that. That's why I think it's more important than ever that people be very careful about the message.' Jones, who prosecuted the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young girls of the Black church were killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, said he sees parallels to today's volatile climate and the civil rights era. Politicians need to remember that violence begets violence, Jones warned, so even condoning small acts of violence can have a tragic impact. 'That bombing took place in part because of the rhetoric of an Alabama governor and a racist police commissioner that was giving a permission structure to a group of folks that was basically: 'Do what you want to because we're not going to really look at it,' I am absolutely convinced of that,' Jones said. After facing his own interactions with law enforcement, Shapiro posted a message on social media Saturday upon hearing of the politically motivated shootings in Minnesota. 'Leaders across our country must speak and act with the moral clarity this moment demands,' Shapiro tweeted. 'This is unacceptable — we all have a responsibility to stand up and work to defeat the political violence that is tearing through our country. America is better than this.' Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist in Florida who works with a bipartisan group that recruits candidates for the state Legislature, said the threats against public officials could have a paralyzing effect. 'One of the unspoken tragedies of this is it's just going to make that much harder for good people to be willing to raise their hand and enter public service,' he said. Schale said that part of Joe Biden's success in 2020 was as an antidote to chaos and that a similar dynamic could play out in 2028. 'Candidates who can speak to these fears and then speak in a unifying fashion, I think will probably do well,' he said. 'But more importantly, I just think all of us who have a platform at any level have to take more responsibility for what we say and how we contribute to it.' For Vance, last year's failed assassination attempts on Trump provided Republicans with a rallying cry: 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' — the words Trump defiantly offered after his ear was bloodied in Butler. Vance spoke about his reaction to the Butler attempt during an interview last fall with podcast host Joe Rogan. He recalled that he was playing mini-golf with his young children in Ohio at the time and that his 'fight or flight' instincts went into effect: He went home to 'load all my guns, and basically stand like a sentry at our front door.' After the Minnesota shootings, Vance called Walz, his opponent in last year's vice presidential debate, to express condolences, a source familiar with the call told NBC News. Trump condemned the Minnesota slayings on his social media platform. "Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America," Trump wrote."God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!" However, he refused to call Walz after the Saturday slayings, shootings of two others and subsequent manhunt. Instead, he insulted the governor. 'Why would I call him? I could call and say, 'Hi, how you doing?' The guy doesn't have a clue,' Trump said of Walz. 'He's a mess. So I could be nice and call, but why waste time?' Walz made clear, over X, who did reach out to offer support. 'My thanks to Premier Doug Ford of Ontario who called to express his condolences to the Hortman family and the people of Minnesota,' he said.' In times of tragedy, I'm heartened when people of different views and even different nations can rally together around our shared humanity.'
North Wales Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
UK pushes for lower Russian oil cap as PM denies coalition of the willing is dead
The Prime Minister said he 'strongly' believes that restrictions on the price of Russian crude oil should be strengthened to deplete the revenues Vladimir Putin uses to fund his war machine. The UK announced sanctions on 30 fresh targets linked to the Kremlin on Tuesday in a bid to ramp up pressure on Moscow as it continues resist calls for an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. A wider package of measures which Sir Keir suggested would be forthcoming from allies gathered at the G7 summit in Canada is yet to materialise after splits opened up in the approach to Russia on Monday. Downing Street said Britain also plans to 'move with partners to tighten the oil price cap' after the group of the world's wealthiest countries agreed in 2022 to restrict the price Russian crude oil to 60 dollars a barrel. Speaking to reporters with him in Kananaskis, Sir Keir was asked whether such a move would be possible without the backing of the US, which has indicated reluctance to impose further sanctions on Moscow. 'Obviously today we're going to focus on Ukraine,' Sir Keir said. 'We've got President (Volodymyr) Zelensky coming in. We're putting in extra sanctions today, including sanctions on the shadow fleet. 'Others will be doing, similar actions in coming days. And so that does ramp up the pressure. 'On the oil price, obviously, we're still looking at how we're going to make that work. But I strongly believe that we have to put those sanctions in place. We're having those discussions with President Zelensky today.' Before abruptly leaving the summit on Monday, US President Donald Trump suggested he wanted to wait to 'see whether or not a deal is done' with Ukraine before targeting the Kremlin with further action. His remarks are awkward for Sir Keir, with whom he appeared to announce the completion of the US-UK trade deal, after the Prime Minister said G7 allies would seek to target Russian energy revenues. Talks to broker a possible peace in Ukraine have stalled as Moscow continues to pound the country with missile and drone attacks and holds out on US-backed proposals for an unconditional truce. Meanwhile, the UK and France have been leading efforts to assemble a so-called 'coalition of the willing' made up of nations prepared to send peacekeeping troops to Kyiv to enforce a potential truce. Asked whether those plans were dead in the water, Sir Keir told reporters: 'On the coalition of the willing, no, not at all. That is obviously intended to answer the question, how do you ensure that if a deal is reached, a deal is kept so it's a lasting deal? 'Because the concern, has always been, that there have been deals, if you like, before, Putin has then subsequently breached them. 'So how do you stop that happening again? And the military planning is still going on, as you would expect, so that, when the time comes, we're ready to act.' Mr Zelensky is attending the G7 conference in Kananaskis, along with leaders from Canada, the US, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain. The Russian invasion is the top of the agenda on Tuesday, with Sir Keir also meeting the Ukrainian leader for face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the summit. Earlier, the UK announced sanctions targeting 20 oil tankers in Russia's shadow fleet, as well as measures to tighten the net around companies managing the vessels, Orion Star Group LLC and Valegro LLC-FZ. Britain also targeted two UK residents – Vladimir Pristoupa and Olech Tkacz – who the Government said had operated 'a shadowy network of shell companies' aiding Moscow. The branch of the Russian defence ministry leading the country's underwater intelligence gathering operations, known as Gugi, has also been sanctioned. Sir Keir said: 'These sanctions strike right at the heart of Putin's war machine, choking off his ability to continue his barbaric war in Ukraine. 'We know that our sanctions are hitting hard, so while Putin shows total disregard for peace, we will not hesitate to keep tightening the screws. 'The threat posed by Russia cannot be underestimated, so I'm determined to take every step necessary to protect our national security and keep our country safe and secure.'
Glasgow Times
44 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Israel ‘killed top Iranian general' as Trump warns people to flee Iran's capital
Mr Trump left the G7 summit in Canada a day early to deal with the conflict between Israel and Iran, telling reporters on Air Force One during the flight back to Washington DC: 'I'm not looking at a ceasefire. We're looking at better than a ceasefire.' When asked to explain, he said the US wanted to see 'a real end' to the conflict that could involve Iran 'giving up entirely'. US President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One at Calgary International Airport in Canada (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) He added: 'I'm not too much in the mood to negotiate.' Later, he warned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US knows where he is hiding and called for Iran's 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER'. Mr Trump's hard line added to the uncertainty roiling the region on the fifth day of Israel's air campaign aimed at Iran's military and nuclear programme. Residents of Tehran fled their homes in droves, and the UN nuclear watchdog for the first time said Israeli strikes on Iran's main enrichment facility at Natanz had also damaged its main underground section, not just an above-ground facility, as previously acknowledged. Israel says its sweeping assault on Iran's military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile programme is necessary to prevent its adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. The strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran. Iran has retaliated by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel. – Israel targets more Iranian leaders The Israeli military claimed to have killed another top Iranian general in a strike on Tehran. Iran did not immediately comment on the reported killing of General Ali Shadmani, whom Israel described as the most senior military commander in Iran. General Shadmani was little-known in the country before being appointed last week to a chief-of-staff-like role as head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. Few pedestrians walk along the historic Grand Bazaar as shops remain shuttered, in Tehran, Iran (Vahid Salemi/AP) That appointment followed the killing of his predecessor, General Gholam Ali Rashid, in an Israeli strike. The Israeli military warned the population to stay close to shelters as Iran fired new salvos of missiles, but officials said most were intercepted. Sirens blared in southern Israel, including in the desert town of Dimona, the heart of Israel's never-acknowledged nuclear arms programme. Iran has fired fewer missiles in each of its barrages, with just a handful launched late on Tuesday. It has not explained the drop in missiles fired, but the decline comes after Israel targeted many Iranian launchers. Meanwhile, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Israeli airstrikes around the city of Isfahan, with air defences also firing. A series of explosions and anti-aircraft fire boomed throughout Tehran just before 6.30pm. – Shops closed, lines for gas in Iran's capital Echoing an earlier Israeli military call for some 330,000 residents of a neighbourhood in downtown Tehran to evacuate, Mr Trump warned on social media that 'everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran'. Tehran is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with around 10 million people, roughly equivalent to the entire population of Israel. Relatives attend the funeral of four members of the Khatib family, Palestinian citizens of Israel killed in an Iranian missile strike on Tamra, Israel (Mahmoud Illean/AP) People have been fleeing since hostilities began. Asked why he had urged the evacuation of Tehran, Mr Trump said: 'I just want people to be safe.' Downtown Tehran emptied out early on Tuesday, with many shops shuttered, even the ancient Grand Bazaar, which has closed only in times of crisis, such as during the 2022 anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic. On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper. Many middle- and upper-class Iranians were headed to the Caspian Sea, a popular getaway spot. Long lines snaked from Tehran's gas stations. Across the city, billboards called for a 'severe' response to Israeli strikes. – Signs that Iran is restricting access to outside world Iranian authorities appeared to be curbing the public's access to the outside world. Phone and internet service appeared disrupted, with landline phones unable to receive or dial international calls. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, reported that it had detected a significant drop in internet traffic from the country. The Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, where multiple buildings were destroyed from recent Israeli airstrikes (Maxar Technologies/AP) Iran, which has crippled important communications tools in past nationwide protests and during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, did not acknowledge any restrictions. International websites appeared to be blocked, but local websites were functioning, likely signalling that Iran had turned on the so-called 'halal net', its own locally controlled version of the internet aimed at restricting what the public can see. In another sign of restricted access, Iran's state TV on Tuesday urged the public to remove the messaging app WhatsApp from their mobile phones, alleging without evidence that the app gathered user information to send to Israel. In a statement, WhatsApp said it was concerned that 'these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most'.
