Trump officials to give first classified briefing to Congress on Iran strikes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are set to meet with top national security officials Thursday as many question President Donald Trump's decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful.
The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump decides to strike Iran again. Democrats, and some Republicans, have said that the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress and they want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorized the attacks.
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Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The families of hostages held in Gaza hope for their own ceasefire after truce in Israel-Iran war
OR AKIVA, Israel (AP) — Liran Berman hasn't had much to keep hopeful over the 629 days of his twin brothers' captivity in Gaza. Ceasefire deals have collapsed, the war has dragged on, and his siblings remain hostages in the Palestinian enclave. But the war between Israel and Iran, and the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted 12 days of fighting, have sparked fresh hope that his brothers, Gali and Ziv, may finally return home. With Iran dealt a serious blow over nearly two weeks of fierce Israeli strikes, Berman believes Hamas, armed and financed by Iran, is at its most isolated since the war in Gaza began, and that might prompt the militant group to soften its negotiating positions. 'Now it's the time to pressure them and tell them, look, you are on your own. No one is coming to your help. This is it,' Berman said. 'I think the dominoes fell into place, and it's time for diplomacy to reign now.' A long nightmare for the families of hostages During their Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Most have been freed in ceasefire deals, but 50 remain captive, less than half of them believed to still be alive. The war has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says more than half of the dead were women and children. The families of hostages have faced a 20-month-long nightmare, trying to advocate for their loved ones' fates while confronted with the whims of Israeli and Hamas leaders and the other crises that have engulfed the Middle East. Israel's war with Iran, the first between the two countries, pushed the hostage crisis and the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza to the sidelines. Hostage families again found themselves forced to fight for the spotlight with another regional conflagration. But as the conflict eases, the families are hoping mediators seize the momentum to push for a new ceasefire deal. 'The achievements in Iran are important and welcome, enabling us to end the war from a position of strength with Israel holding the upper hand,' said the Hostages Families Forum, a grassroots organization representing many of the hostage families. 'To conclude this decisive operation against Iran without leveraging our success to bring home all the hostages would be a grave failure.' Netanyahu may have more room to maneuver It's not just a diminished Iran and its impact on Hamas that gives hostage families hope. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, riding a wave of public support for the Iran war and its achievements, could feel he has more space to move toward ending the war in Gaza, something his far-right governing partners oppose. Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza. Netanyahu says he will only end the war once Hamas is disarmed and exiled, something the group has rejected. Berman said the ceasefire between Israel and Iran has left him the most optimistic since a truce between Israel and Hamas freed 33 Israeli hostages earlier this year. Israel shattered that ceasefire after eight weeks, and little progress has been made toward a new deal. The Israeli government team coordinating hostage negotiations has told the families it now sees a window of opportunity that could force Hamas to be 'more flexible in their demands,' Berman said. Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' is in disarray Over the past four decades, Iran built up a network of militant proxy groups it called the ' Axis of Resistance ' that wielded significant power across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and militias in Iraq and Syria. Hamas may have envisioned the Oct. 7, 2023, attack as a catalyst that would see other Iranian-sponsored militants attack Israel. While Hezbollah and the Houthis launched projectiles toward Israel, the support Hamas had counted on never fully materialized. In the past two years, many of those Iranian proxies have been decimated, changing the face of the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump's involvement in securing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has also given many hostage families hope that he might exert more pressure for a deal in Gaza. 'We probably need Trump to tell us to end the war in Gaza,' Berman said. Inseparable twins who remain in captivity Gali and Ziv Berman, 27, were taken from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, on the border with Gaza, during the Oct. 7 attack. Seventeen others were also abducted there; of those, only the Berman twins remain captive. The family has heard from hostages who returned in the previous deal that, as of February, the brothers were alive but being held separately. Liran Berman said that's the longest the two have ever spent apart. Until their abduction, they were inseparable, though they are very different, the 38-year-old said. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. In Kfar Aza, the twins lived in apartments across from each other. Gali is more outgoing, while Ziv is more reserved and shy with a sharp sense of humor, their brother said. Gali is the handyman who would drive four hours to help a friend hang a shelf, while Ziv would go along and point to where the shelf needed to go. The war with Iran, during which Iranian missiles pounded Israeli cities for 12 days, gave Liran Berman a sense of what his brothers have endured as bombs rained down on Gaza, he said. 'The uncertainty and the fear for your life for any moment, they are feeling it for 20 months,' he said. 'Every moment can be your last.' ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Toronto Star
37 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Zelenskyy approves plans on special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally approved plans Wednesday to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The special tribunal will be created through an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights body. Zelenskyy visited the Strasbourg-based organization for the first time as part of the announcement.
Ottawa Citizen
an hour ago
- Ottawa Citizen
How will Canada reach its new defence spending commitments?
Article content The NATO summit wrapped up Wednesday with major concessions from alliance countries to U.S. demands to further hike military spending. Article content Here is a rundown of what happened and what it means. Article content Article content What did Canada agree to? Article content Canada has signed on to the NATO pledge to increase defence spending to 5 per cent of annual GDP by 2035. Article content That means that Canadians at that point will be spending $150 billion annually on defence and security. Article content Article content The NATO plan involves investing 3.5 per cent of GDP into core military needs, which includes armaments and equipment. Another 1.5 per cent will be spent on related infrastructure, cyber defence and security. Article content The spending hike is a direct result of ongoing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump who floated the idea in January that alliance countries need to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence. Article content Trump has repeatedly focused his ire on a number of nations, including Canada, claiming they are taking advantage of the U.S. by not spending enough on their militaries. Article content The spending boost announced by NATO could also prove to be a big winner for the American economy. The U.S. is the world's largest arms manufacturer and such massive increases in spending on defence equipment could mean significantly more business and American jobs. Article content Article content Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that Canada should have no problem reaching the 1.5 per cent infrastructure portion by concentrating on projects that are already under way or currently being planned. That would include the development of the mining and stockpiling of critical minerals, an initiative that could see Canada becoming a trusted supplier to western nations for such material. Article content 'A little less than a third of that overall number is spending on things that quite frankly we're already doing to build the resilience of our economy,' Carney told CNN. 'So, it would be domestic resilience, it would be defending the areas that are important to defend, but also supporting critical minerals development.'
