Texas redistricting faceoff, Israel's Gaza plans and Musk's pay
Texas governor Greg Abbott orders the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to block a Republican-led redistricting vote from going ahead. Israeli officials float the idea of expanding their military offensive in Gaza and annexing parts of the enclave. And Tesla grants Elon Musk a hefty pay deal worth $29 billion.
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Texas governor threatens arrest of Democrats absent at Monday redistricting vote
Israel to decide next steps in Gaza after ceasefire talks collapse
Tesla approves share award worth $29 billion to CEO Elon Musk
More Gazans die seeking aid and from hunger; burial shrouds in short supply
Israel says it will allow controlled entry of goods into Gaza via merchants
Recommended Read: Exclusive: Rwanda reached deal with US to take in up to 250 migrants, government says
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Israeli military chiefs 'are clashing over civilian killings in Gaza'
Israeli military chiefs fell out in an explosive shouting match over the sheer number of Palestinians killed by IDF airstrikes, according to local media. Major General Yaniv Asor, head of the army's southern command, is said to have complained to the air force that it was consistently overruling bombing requests for targets in Gaza, which has already been decimated since Israel began its siege of the enclave. In response, Major General Tomer Bar, the head of Israel's air force, said that many of requests made by Asor's subordinates were killing civilians and showed a 'lack of professionalism.' Local media reported that the argument only spiralled from there, resulting in the senior military figures screaming at each other in front of top officers. The spat required Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, chief of staff at the IDF to intervene, witnesses said. The argument reflects a deep division within Benjamin Netanyahu 's government over what the future, vis-a-vis Gaza, ought to look like. Earlier this week, Netanyahu told the military to prepare for a full takeover of the Gaza Strip, including areas where hostages are being held. A source in the Prime Minister's Office told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the message had been passed on to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir saying: 'If this does not suit you, then you should resign.' Israeli soldiers walking next to damaged buildings as smoke billows during a military operation in the north of the Gaza Strip amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas It comes as Netanyahu prepares to meet with top officials to decide on the next steps in Gaza and what to do about the remaining hostages. An Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post: 'The prime minister is considering all available options regarding the next steps.' Hamas, however, has brushed off talks of an Israeli takeover. The group said: 'Israel's threats are repetitive, worthless, and have no influence on our decisions.' But a political analyst with Channel 12 quoted an unnamed official saying: 'Hamas won't release more hostages without total surrender, and we won't surrender. 'If we don't act now, the hostages will starve to death and Gaza will remain under Hamas's control. ' According to reports, the prime minister used the phrase 'occupation of the Strip' in private conversations while describing his intentions for Gaza. If Netanyahu's plans are successful, the Israeli military could extend its reach across the whole region, according to local reports. It currently holds 75 percent of the Strip. He is now set to take the plans to his cabinet to seek their backing for the plan. In a video message, Netanyahu said he was 'committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists'. According to The Times of Israel, the IDF is against the proposal and has said it would take a significant amount of time to clear infrastructure belonging to Hamas.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Only 1.5% of Gaza cropland left for starving Palestinians due to Israel's war, UN says
Israel's destruction of Gaza has left starving Palestinians with access to only 1.5% of cropland that is accessible and suitable for cultivation, according to new figures from the UN. This is down from 4% in April, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), suggesting Israel has continued to target Palestinian farmland since initiating a complete blockade in early March, severely restricting aid from entering the Gaza Strip, where 2 million starved people are trapped. Before the conflict, Gaza was a thriving agricultural hub, where farmers and ordinary Palestinians cultivated a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains for local consumption. According to the FAO, agriculture accounted for around 10% of the Gaza Strip's economy, and more than 560,000 people, or a quarter of the population, were at least partially supported by agriculture and fishing. Israel has targeted food sources – orchards, greenhouses, farmland and fishers – since the beginning of its siege on Gaza in October 2023. By 28 July 2025, Israel had damaged 86%, the equivalent of almost 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), of farmland in the Gaza Strip – up from 81% in April, the FAO said. While just under 9% of cropland is still physically accessible, only 1.5% – the equivalent of 232 hectares – is both accessible and not damaged by the Israeli offensive. 'Gaza is now on the brink of a full-scale famine. People are starving not because food is unavailable, but because access is blocked, local agrifood systems have collapsed, and families can no longer sustain even the most basic livelihoods,' said FAO director-general Qu Dongyu. 'We urgently need safe and sustained humanitarian access and immediate support to restore local food production and livelihoods – this is the only way to prevent further loss of life. The right to food is a basic human right.' In northern Gaza, Israeli tanks and bombs have destroyed or damaged 94% of what was among the most fertile, productive land in the territory, and Palestinians have no access to the remaining 6% of their cropland. In Rafah, near the Egypt border, 79% is flattened and the rest has been blocked as part of Israel's so-called military corridor. Last week, Israeli forces partially demolished a seed bank in Hebron, in the West Bank, destroying tools and equipments used to used to reproduce heirloom seeds. UN experts, agencies and aid groups have been warning since early 2024 that Israel is orchestrating a campaign of deliberate mass starvation in Gaza by systematically destroying local food production and blocking aid, in violation of international law. Hundreds of Palestinians have now starved to death, and thousands more have been killed trying to access food aid. Earlier this week, Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian: 'Israel has built the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine. So while it's always shocking to see people being starved, no one should act surprised. All the information has been out in the open since early 2024.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Ghislaine Maxwell's Texas ‘Club Fed' prison ups security after taking in the Epstein sex trafficker
Ghislanine Maxwell's Texas prison, dubbed 'Club Fed,' has reportedly upped security after taking in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficker. Maxwell, a disgraced British socialite who was a close associate of Epstein's for years, is serving a 20-year sentence for her part in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls with the wealthy financier. Epstein, who had pleaded guilty to state sex offenses in 2008, died in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was recently moved from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum security prison in southeast Texas called Federal Prison Camp Bryan. FPC Bryan has increased security measures in response to Maxwell's transfer, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing a senior law enforcement official. Two prison employees told the outlet members of the federal Bureau of Prisons' Special Operations Response Team have been positioned outside FPC Bryan's front entrance since the weekend. The special ops crew is there to check people's IDs and wave them through, the employees reportedly said. It's unclear if Maxwell has received any direct threats since her move. The Independent has reached out to the Bureau of Prisons to confirm the reporting, and Maxwell's lawyer, David Oskar Markus, to ask about her security at the new prison. Epstein and Maxwell's names have once again made headlines after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo in early July stating there was no so-called client list of powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein's crimes; Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide, and 'no further disclosure [of information regarding Epstein] would be appropriate or warranted.' The memo sparked backlash, notably from Trump's own base, as it left many unanswered questions and concerns the government may be covering up materials that would be of interest to the public. Amid the Epstein files drama, Trump enlisted the Justice Department to ask the courts for grand jury testimonies in the cases against Epstein and Maxwell and to interview the disgraced socialite. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell in Florida last month for two days, during which, according to Markus, 'She was asked about maybe about 100 different people. She answered questions about everybody and she didn't hold anything back.' Maxwell's transfer to FPC Bryan came shortly after she met with the Justice Department. Experts said she got 'special preference' with the move. 'Someone gave special preference to Maxwell that, to my knowledge, no other inmate currently in the Federal Bureau of Prisons has received,' Robert Hood, a former warden of the Florence 'supermax' prison in Colorado, told the Washington Post in an article published Tuesday. When asked if he'd personally approved the transfer, Trump said Tuesday, 'I didn't know about it at all. I read about it just like you did.'
