Israel orders military to stop Gaza-bound yacht carrying Greta Thunberg
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
John Hancock: America's unsung founding father and revolutionary mark
It is unlikely Hancock will be restored to the top tier of the founders, but remembering him better could reap dividends NYT JOHN HANCOCK: First to Sign, First to Invest in America's Independence by Willard Sterne Randall Published by Dutton 272 pages $34 When John Hancock scrawled his enormous signature at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence, it was a brave act; capture by the British might have meant execution. The musical 1776 has Hancock claiming that he wrote it out supersized 'so Fat George in London can read it without his glasses!' But despite his courage, Hancock remains a little hard to see. Unlike Adams and Jefferson, he did not leave extensive writings. Unlike Washington, he did not play a leading military role (though he longed to). Unlike all three of them, he did not make it to the presidency, but served as a precursor of sorts in the Continental Congress. These deficits have left their mark. Historians generally neglect Hancock when they write collective biographies of the founders, and there are no major monuments to him. There will be 250 statues in Donald Trump's National Garden of American Heroes that is supposed to be completed by July 4 next year. The actress Ingrid Bergman and the Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek have made the cut, but not the American who did more than most to define Independence Day. The Declaration of Independence may have been composed by a different founder, but, as the historian Willard Sterne Randall writes in John Hancock, it was Hancock who led the Second Continental Congress to appoint the committee that drafted it. He also raised funds for the Continental Army, oversaw shipbuilding efforts for the Navy and kept Congress together even as it fled Philadelphia when the British came too close for comfort. For all these reasons, it is welcome news to have a biography that presents a compelling case for a reappraisal. Randall tells the story of an 18th-century American who seemed preordained to follow the path of his father and grandfather into the ministry, but then swerved in another direction when his father died and a wealthy uncle offered to adopt him. At times, the narrative structure resembles the twists and turns of Henry Fielding's 1749 novel, Tom Jones, about a foundling with a hearty appetite for life. Tutored by his uncle, Hancock proved to have an exceptional nose for business. In the 1760s, as relations deteriorated between England and its American colonies, Hancock was on the front lines as a well-informed importer who understood the ways in which local tempers were flaring over tariffs on goods like paper and tea. As the English tightened the screws, he extended lines of credit to Boston's lesser merchants, a financial tie that meant the Massachusetts business community moved in lockstep with him when he wanted to pressure the Crown with a boycott. Randall also effectively conveys the real affection that bonded Hancock and his fellow Bostonians, whom he helped with purchases of firewood during particularly cold winters and fireworks displays when there was happier news to celebrate. His philanthropy earned him many friends, but his expensive tastes grated on more abstemious leaders like Samuel Adams. Hancock was elected to office, first locally, and then, when he assumed the presidency of the Continental Congress in May 1775, as a leader of the not-quite-United States. In 1777, exhausted, he requested a leave, and returned to Boston for a spell. After that, he never completely regained his national stature, although he served capably in local offices and helped Massachusetts survive its own internal fissures, including Shays' Rebellion in the 1780s. If the early Revolutionary period represented Hancock's apogee, he stayed true to the patriot cause for many years after. Unlike another financial genius who was rising at that moment — Alexander Hamilton — he was suspicious of a strong central government and yet he worked to secure the approval of the US Constitution in Massachusetts. Weakened by gout, he began to fade just as the country was coming together. For all of these reasons, Hamilton gets the $10 bill and the musical. Randall handles the arc of Hancock's life efficiently, but there remain unasked questions relating to slavery. There is some evidence that Hancock, as the governor of Massachusetts, impeded the extradition of people who had escaped bondage in the South and that he endorsed compensation for forced labour. The author does not investigate these subjects, nor does he linger over the way the peculiar institution might have helped bolster Hancock's inherited fortune. It is unlikely Hancock will be restored to the top tier of the founders, but remembering him better could reap dividends. With his financial acumen, propensity for dramatic gestures and flamboyant signature, he might appeal to the right, and a certain Sharpie-wielding president. With his respect for due process and democracy, and his direct support of those in need, he also represents values that might be associated with the left. To bring a divided people closer together, as he did in 1776, would be a good way to honour a founder who has been waiting a long time for his close-up.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital, says Mohammed Sinwar's body found there
The Israeli Army said on Sunday (June 8, 2025) it had retrieved the body of Hamas's military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Brig. Gen. Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," said Brig. Gen. Defrin. "We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar's death last month, but Brig. Gen. Defrin said they now had his DNA which proved beyond doubt it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and which triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Shabana was one of Hamas's most senior and battle-hardened commanders in southern Gaza. He played a central role in constructing the network of tunnels under the southern city of Rafah, which were used for ambushes and cross-border raids. Destruction The drive to Khan Younis in Israeli military vehicles showed widespread devastation, with countless buildings lying in ruins, and piles of rubble collected at the roadside. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations — a charge Hamas has repeatedly denied. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some of its assertions remain unverified. Brig. Gen. Defrin said the Army had carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug in front of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the claustrophobic, concrete tunnel, that was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the Army said. During the search of the site, Israeli forces recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. "We will dismantle Hamas because we cannot live with this terror organisation right in our backyard, right across our border," Brig. Gen. Defrin said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during the ongoing Israeli assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The U.N. has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"We Found Mohammed Sinwar Here": Israel Reveals Tunnel Under Gaza Hospital
Khan Younis, Gaza: The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," said Defrin. "We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar's death last month, but Defrin said they now had his DNA which proved beyond doubt it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of ;ate Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and which triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Shabana was one of Hamas's most senior and battle-hardened commanders in southern Gaza. He played a central role in constructing the network of tunnels under the southern city of Rafah, which were used for ambushes and cross-border raids. DESTRUCTION The drive to Khan Younis in Israeli military vehicles showed widespread devastation, with countless buildings lying in ruins, and piles of rubble collected at the roadside. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations -- a charge Hamas has repeatedly denied. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some of its assertions remain unverified. Defrin said the army had carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug in front of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the claustrophobic, concrete tunnel, that was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the army said. During the search of the site, Israeli forces recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. "We will dismantle Hamas because we cannot live with this terror organisation right in our backyard, right across our border," Defrin said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during the ongoing Israeli assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The U.N. has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine.
