Trump says ceasefire between Israel and Iran 'now in effect'
US President Donald Trump has said that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel that he announced hours earlier "is now in effect."
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump went on to call for the parties not to violate the deal. Earlier, Iranian state media reported that a ceasefire with Israel came into force at 7:30 am (0400 GMT), while there has not been confirmation of a truce from the Israeli side so far.
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Only diplomacy can end the Iran N threat
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Prior to the start of Israel's military campaign on June 13, Iran had been stockpiling near-weapons-grade uranium. In May, the International Atomic Energy Agency determined that it would take only three weeks for the Fordow plant to turn the current stockpile into enough weapons-grade uranium for nine nuclear weapons. While Iran would need additional time to master the process of building such weapons, the fact that highly enriched uranium has no civilian uses – combined with evidence of Iran's past efforts to build nuclear weapons – was cause for not just grave concern but military action. Before Israel's initial strikes on Iran, this grave concern had led both the Biden and Trump administrations to try to neutralise the looming Iranian nuclear threat at the negotiating table. But it refused to make a deal. Iran has also been quite transparent about its malign strategic intentions. It has spent years building up its military. Iran's own military capabilities pose a direct and active threat to US interests in the region — including US bases and troops, international shipping and the flow of oil and gas. But while Israel and the US have sound reasons for seeking to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, military force alone will not bring about a lasting resolution. Iran's nuclear programme may end up being only partly damaged, and even if it has been set back substantially, it can still be reconstituted, perhaps more stealthily. Moreover, if Iran has no diplomatic off-ramp, and if its regime fears for its survival, it will likely expand the war out of desperation, potentially leading to a region-wide conflict. It is too soon to tell whether Iran's Monday attack against US bases in the region is more of a symbolic response or a deliberate effort to quickly escalate. Now that the US has entered the war, it should try again to arrive at a diplomatic endgame. 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Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid near a distribution site in the centre of the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, the latest deadly incident targeting aid-seekers. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded "as a result of the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of gatherings of citizens waiting for aid... in the central Gaza Strip with bullets and tank shells" in the early hours of Tuesday. AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment on the incident. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian territory. Bassal added that five people were killed and several injured in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in Gaza City at dawn. Thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations in Gaza, as famine looms across the territory after more than 20 months of war. According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May. Many of those have been near sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to rescuers. The privately run foundation's operations in Gaza have been marred by chaotic scenes. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Israel's opposition leader on Tuesday called for an end to the war in Gaza, after Israel announced it had agreed to a ceasefire with Iran. "And now Gaza. It's time to finish it there too. Bring back the hostages, end the war," Yair Lapid wrote on X.
