Multiple Protesters Arrested After Pro-Palestinian Demonstration at Columbia University Library
Multiple people were arrested on May 7 during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University in New York.
Dozens of protesters stood on tables, beat drums, and unfurled pro-Palestinian banners in the reading room of Columbia University's main library on Wednesday.
Videos and photographs on social media showed protesters, most wearing masks, with banners saying 'Strike For Gaza' and 'Liberated Zone' beneath the Lawrence A. Wein Reading Room's chandeliers in the Butler Library.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to the incident at the request of the university.
'The NYPD responded to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing,' a department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to NTD, sister media of The Epoch Times. 'Multiple individuals who did not comply with verbal warnings by the NYPD to disperse were taken into custody.'
A police spokesperson late Wednesday said the department wasn't able to provide a number for how many were arrested.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned activists in a
According to the
'Due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the university, Columbia has taken the necessary step of requesting the presence of NYPD to assist in securing the building and the safety of our community,' Shipman said in a
Shipman also
'These actions are outrageous,' Shipman added, stressing that the university condemns violence on campus, anti-Semitism, and all forms of hate and discrimination.
A social media account for Columbia Jewish and Israeli Students published footage of the clash between protesters and officers.
'Protesters attempting to stampede public safety to avoid being identified as they leave,'
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, confirmed in a
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
The Trump administration earlier this year threatened to cut more of the university's federal funding for its alleged failure to address anti-Semitic activities on campus.
In March, it pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over the university's handling of pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which was launched in response to terrorist group Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023.
According to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they want to receive federal funding. McMahon said Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students on its campus for too long.
Columbia announced a series of
The protests mark a resurgence of demonstrations seen last spring against the institution's ties to Israel. A
'As a democracy with constitutional protections for the individual rights of all citizens, and as the home to great universities, Israel shares values, interests and aspirations with us,' the statement said. 'Columbia benefits from ties with Israeli faculty, students, research, and technology.'
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Bracing for an Israeli strike
With help from Eli Stokols, Benjamin Guggenheim, Jack Detsch and Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Eric Washington's Middle East specialists have been spending today gaming out scenarios for what an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could look like, and whether there's any way it could happen without sparking wider regional war. Analysts and former U.S. officials say the level of escalation would ultimately come down to the scope of a strike, the role the United States plays in any attack and the degree of internal pressure from hardliners within the Iranian regime. There's no indication that a strike is imminent, but with the U.S. evacuating diplomatic posts, Iran threatening to hit U.S. installations and Israeli officials scheduling emergency meetings with the U.S. Middle East envoy, officials in the region and in Washington are on alert. Per MARK DUBOWITZ, who leads the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, Israel has a few options at its disposal and they're all escalatory. Israel, Dubowitz says, might use airstrikes alone, or use a combination of airstrikes and operations by special forces to penetrate deep into Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel could also target Iran's nuclear scientists as a way to degrade the program's ability to rebuild. There's also the question of whether the U.S. would play any role facilitating or participating in the strikes. Israel has long been loathe to take such actions without at least a tacit nod from the U.S., but that doesn't mean they wouldn't go ahead without it. Dubowitz argues that U.S. involvement could actually prevent more escalation, saying that Supreme Leader ALI KHAMENEI 'knows that the United States, unlike Israel, has the firepower to really bring down his regime.' President DONALD TRUMP said today 'I'd love to avoid the conflict' and reiterated his hope for a deal, but added that an Israeli strike against Iran 'looks like something that could very well happen.' A person close to Trump's national security team told our own Eli Stokols that there is some frustration with Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU over Israel's insistence on threatening strikes. The person, granted anonymity to speak freely because of a fear of reprisals, also noted that the Trump administration isn't aligned with hardliners such as conservative commentator MARK LEVIN who want an Israeli strike on Iran. There is consensus that Iran, regardless of the nature of the strikes, would respond, and that it would exercise some degree of restraint. 'Iran's not suicidal,' said AARON DAVID MILLER, a veteran Middle East peace negotiator who worked for both Democratic and Republican administrations. 'The supreme leader has got to worry about regime stability.' Yet that doesn't guarantee Iran would employ the same degree of restraint as it has previously. TRITA PARSI, executive vice president at the non-interventionist Quincy Institute think tank in Washington, warns that the Iranian government is facing internal pressure from hardliners who felt that Tehran's decision not to respond forcefully to previous Israeli strikes hasn't benefited Iran. Any strike is also likely going to throw a wrench in nuclear talks with Iran, if they haven't already collapsed by then. 'A response to these circumstances is likely to be swifter and far more devastating than before,' Parsi said. 'If Trump has been convinced that some limited Israeli attack is helpful to soften the Iranian negotiating position, I think he will find out that It's quite the opposite, and that the Israelis know very well that the opposite is going to be the outcome, meaning the complete collapse of diplomacy.' The Inbox AUSSIES' AUKUS CALM: The Australian government is keeping calm and carrying on in the wake of news that the Trump administration is reviewing the AUKUS deal, which links the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom in an effort to jointly develop submarines and hypersonic missiles. A spokesperson for Australian Deputy Prime Minister RICHARD MARLES told our own Paul McLeary that AUKUS member nations were notified about the review and that the Australian government considered the U.S. review a normal and expected part of the process. The spokesperson said that Trump discussed the AUKUS agreement with top Australian officials twice since taking office. RFK ASSASSINATION DUMP: The CIA — perhaps picking its moment carefully — released 54 declassified documents today about the 1968 assassination of presidential candidate and New York Sen. ROBERT F. KENNEDY. There were no smoking guns, but there were some interesting details. The Associated Press' David Klepper reported that according to the around 1,500 pages of previously classified documents, the former attorney general met with the CIA in 1955 after touring the Soviet Union to relay observations about the country, all as a voluntary informant. The release of the new pages comes two months after the administration released more than 10,000 pages related to RFK's assassination. And it reflects a focus from this administration to declassify more government documents in an effort to keep the nation's intelligence agencies accountable. ZELENSKYY'S ADVOCACY: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY is urging Trump to make up his mind about whether or not to trust the Russian government's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine, arguing that time for peace is running low. 'Russia is simply lying to Trump,' Zelenskyy said in a Wednesday interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters network, of which POLITICO is a member. 'Most heads of state and government share my opinion, and I very much hope that America sees and understands this. That is the most important thing. How you respond to that is America's decision.' During the same interview, Zelenskyy said he regrets how negatively his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in February went, when Trump and Vice President JD VANCE harshly criticized Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in Ukraine's war with Russia. Zelenskyy praised the later meeting with Trump at The Vatican in April as being more productive and 'friendly.' 'We were able to discuss much more than at the other meeting, which felt like it lasted a lifetime,' Zelenskyy said. IT'S THURSDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at ebazail@ and follow Eric on X @ebazaileimil. While you're at it, follow the rest of POLITICO's global security team on X and Bluesky at: @dave_brown24, @HeidiVogt, @jessicameyers, @RosiePerper, @ @PhelimKine, @ak_mack, @felschwartz, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @reporterjoe, @JackDetsch, @samuelskove, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130 and @delizanickel Keystrokes NATO ON CYBER: The upcoming NATO summit this month will give countries the chance to show how they're upping their defense spending — and the Trump administration is hoping cyber initiatives will be part of the discussion. Shawn Powers, a spokesperson for the State Department's cyber bureau, told Maggie in a statement when asked about whether the U.S. would support any cyber initiatives at the summit — which runs June 24-25 in The Hague — that 'the world faces different threats than we did in 1949, and our spending requirements should reflect that. You can't stop a cyberattack with a tank.' Powers went on to say that NATO should focus on cyber intrusions and other hybrid threats, stressing that 'we expect allies to spend on infrastructure, invest in civilian protection, and ready their cyber, space and hybrid threat defenses.' While it's not clear which allies the statement was referring to, some NATO members have already stepped up their funding for countering cyberattacks. ANNA-MARIA OSULA, cyber and economic counselor at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C., said that while Estonia — arguably the most cyber-focused nation in NATO — will 'not have major cyber/tech messages as this will not be the focus in the Hague discussions … it remains relevant to support Ukraine in every way, including Ukraine's cyber defence via the IT coalition.' And earlier this week, the Canadian government announced a major increase to its defense spending, which includes $560 million Canadian dollars, or around $409 million in American dollars, to strengthen cyber and digital efforts. DOD DENIAL: Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH denied today that he ordered a pause on Cyber Command's operations around Russia earlier this year, reiterating an earlier Pentagon denial but contradicting a key member of Congress. 'It's false, we said it then,' Hegseth testified during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in regards to a report from February that he had ordered Cyber Command to stand down its operations on Russia. The Pentagon denied this report days later, but Rep. DON BACON (R-Neb.), chair of the committee's cyber subcommittee, said last month that he understood the pause had lasted a day. The Complex THE BEST OF HEGSETH: Hegseth today wrapped up his multi-day spree of testimony on Capitol Hill, as he and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. DAN CAINE work to convince lawmakers that the military merits a major ramp-up in funding via the reconciliation process. Our Defense team closely watched the various Armed Services and Appropriations committee hearings this week. Here are some key takeaways from their coverage (for Pros!). One, Hegseth got a lot of questions about the deployment of Marines to Los Angeles. Today before the House Armed Services Committee, Hegseth demurred as to whether he'd comply with a court order against the deployment of the Marines. And he's defended the deployment over the course of several days — even if he's struggled to explain why they should be deployed. Meanwhile, Republicans have repeatedly lashed Hegseth for stopping short of voicing support for Ukraine in the face of Russian attacks, including White House ally Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.). Hegseth also got pressed for specifics from House appropriators on submarines, the Golden Dome initiative and other key marquee defense spending programs. On the Hill REPUBLICANS' IRAN STRIKE CALM: Republicans on the Hill aren't voicing too much concern with Israel's potential strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, or much confidence in the president's efforts to secure a nuclear deal. 'Israel has every right to defend itself against its neighbors,' Sen. PETE RICKETTS (R-Neb.) told NatSec Daily on Capitol Hill. Some Republicans couched their thinking in their pessimism about the prospects for a nuclear deal and Iran's commitment to ditching enrichment. 'It doesn't appear to me that Iran is going to voluntarily stop developing nuclear weapons. So if that's true, all right, then probably somebody is going to have to strike,' said Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.). Sen. MIKE ROUNDS (R-S.D.), who serves on both the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, told NatSec Daily that he doesn't have confidence the president can secure a nuclear deal with Iran. He also said it wasn't appropriate for the U.S. to tell Israel how to act vis-a-vis Iran. The comments stand in stark contrast to those of other White House allies today, signaling a rift in Republican circles over how to engage with Tehran and Israel. MAGA personalities, including far-right commentator JACK POSOBIEC and Breitbart editor MATT BOYLE, warned that an Israeli strike could undermine the president's political coalition and be counterproductive to the president's aims. Not every prominent GOP lawmaker was pessimistic about the state of talks. House Foreign Affairs Chair BRIAN MAST of Florida told our colleague Benjamin Guggenheim: 'We're still speaking. We're still talking. It's not past a point of no return.' He also said that while these talks were 'a steeply uphill battle' and Iran's continued enrichment aims complicate matters, 'we believe in the diplomacy process, and we're not going to abandon that at any point.' Broadsides MEANWHILE AT THE IAEA: While Israel seems poised to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, the U.N. nuclear watchdog is slamming Tehran for not complying with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors was expected. It accused Iran of not providing the IAEA with complete information about its nuclear facilities and the state of its nuclear program. And the resolution, per The New York Times' Steven Erlanger, could serve as the pretext for the U.N. Security Council to reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Tehran, for its part, is doubling down. It slammed the IAEA, saying the resolution 'completely called into question the credibility and prestige' of the agency, and vowed to launch a new enrichment site. Transitions — Trump's top Africa diplomat, TROY FITRELL, is stepping down in mid-July, Semafor's Mathias Hammer and Yinka Adegoke scoop. Fitrell's departure follows the removal of Major General JAMI SHAWLEY, the top White House Africa official, from the National Security Council and the merger of the NSC's Africa and Middle East offices. — DANIEL WHITE is now chief of staff at Metropolis Technologies. He most recently was deputy assistant secretary for strategy and policy planning at the Department of Homeland Security. — HENRIETTA LEVIN is now senior fellow for the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She most recently was deputy China coordinator for global affairs at the State Department. What to Read — Jamie Dettmer, POLITICO: Will Netanyahu never learn? — Ian Cloud, Responsible Statecraft: The terrible cost of bringing Ukraine's bodies home — Kori Schake, Foreign Policy: Congress Must Constrain Trump Tomorrow Today — National Institute for Deterrence Studies, 10 a.m.: 'The Implications of a Nuclear Armed South Korea.' — Jerusalem Fund, 12 p.m.: Vietnam Then, Palestine Now: U.S. Subversion of Liberation Movements — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, 3:30 p.m.: A book discussion on 'The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia's Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing.' Thanks to our editors, Heidi Vogt and Ester Wells, who always escalate conflicts about this newsletter unnecessarily.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘I do not feel safe': City College of S.F. instructor shaken by union leader's verbal attack
An instructor at City College of San Francisco says she is concerned for her safety a week after a union leader ridiculed her Jewish name and called her a 'colonizer' during a 90-second, expletive-laden rant at a public board meeting as the school's trustees looked on. 'The trustees don't have my back,' Abigail Bornstein, a computer science instructor, told the Chronicle on Wednesday. 'I'm out here on my own.' In addition to calling Bornstein a 'colonizer,' an apparent reference to Israel, Maria Salazar-Colon, president of the campus chapter of the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, mocked Bornstein's name, calling her 'Abigail Dumbstein.' Bornstein reported the May 29 incident to the college's human resources department and, on Wednesday, to campus police Chief Mario Vazquez, saying in the email she shared with the Chronicle: 'I do not feel safe on campus.' The union is powerful, she added: 'This is David vs. Goliath.' By not halting the verbal attack, the board appeared to violate its own policy recommending that the trustees bar 'profanity, obscenity, and other offensive language' at meetings, Bornstein said in her police report. City College is under a warning sanction for three accreditation violations by its trustees — including that they fail to follow their own policies. Although the college is fully accredited, it has been unable to receive a seven-year extension of its accreditation since January 2024, when the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges slapped it with the warning, its mildest sanction. College officials told the accreditors in February that they are addressing the trustees' violations, including by trying to hire a permanent chancellor to replace the interim chancellor who has held the position for the past year. The accreditors were meeting Thursday and Friday to determine whether to lift the sanction, extend it or add to it. The accreditors told the Chronicle they are also looking carefully at City College's efforts to hire a chancellor, a process that has stalled just three weeks before the interim leader is expected to vacate the position. Asked Wednesday why the college's Board of Trustees did not stop the verbal attack on the instructor, Anita Martinez, the board's president, told the Chronicle that she had referred the question to City College interim President Mitchell Bailey. Bailey then shared a statement from Martinez and Luis Zamora, the board's vice president, supporting civility and apologizing 'to those who experienced such incivility.' The incident happened shortly after 11 p.m. at the trustees' last board meeting, after Bornstein began speaking at hour 6:57:50 on the recording. Bornstein, who frequently addresses the trustees about the college's precarious budget, spent her two-minute time slot opposing something that the SEIU — which represents hundreds of staff members — dearly wants: for the college to reopen its contract negotiations and provide a raise to match the 14% pay increase won by the faculty union over the past three years. Basing salary decisions on the idea that 'if they get that, I get this — that is not how we should be budgeting,' Bornstein said, urging the board to instead adjust pay based on what the competition earns elsewhere. After another speaker a few minutes later, Salazar-Colon, the union president, told the trustees that she was going to speak about 'that big mouth that's always in here.' 'I really wish that that colonizer, Abigail Dumbstein, would shut her damn mouth and not speak on SEIU items,' Salazar-Colon said, saying the instructor was 'dumber than a bag of rocks.' Salazar-Colon said Bornstein shouldn't meddle in fiscal issues, which she called 'our damn business.' She then said Bornstein should 'shut the f— up. … I'm sick of her s—. Shut the f— up.' One of the trustees, Aliya Chisti, interjected: 'President Martinez, we need to make sure that we're mindful of the comments that are being made.' But Salazar-Colon was allowed to go on. 'I'm gonna make whatever comment I want because I'm tired of it,' she said, criticizing the trustees for allowing Bornstein to frequently address the board, and urging them to 'put her in her place.' Bornstein later told the Chronicle that the 'attack on me was so vile. President Martinez should have hit her gavel within the first five seconds when Maria said 'that colonizer Abigail Dumbstein.' She did nothing.' Salazar-Colon told the Chronicle she was referring questions to a spokesperson, who sent a response on behalf of the union leader: 'While the wording could have been different, the intention was not to disparage anyone's religion or culture but express an ongoing frustration with Ms. Bornstein, based on her repeated undermining of our union's efforts to lift up (college staff) of all religions, cultures, and backgrounds.' Bornstein also reported to the police and to the trustees that she received a follow-up email from Salazar-Colon that she considered threatening for its aggressive tone and because it concluded: 'Good riddance.' That email, which Bornstein shared with the Chronicle, demanded that Bornstein 'stop with your deranged, racist, elitist, horrible, filthy lies that come out of your spiteful mouth! It seems like you might be feeling a bit envious!' The email said, in all capital letters, 'YOU LACK THE POWER TO STOP OR CONTROL SEIU, AND YOU NEVER WILL! ACCEPT THAT, COLONIZER!' Bornstein later emailed the board, saying that she had not slept well since the meeting and the 'antisemitic, vile attack on me.' Darlene Alioto, chair of the college's Department Chairpersons Council, criticized the board's tolerance of the attack in an email to the trustees that she shared with the Chronicle. The message was one of many calls and emails the board received condemning the attack. 'This behavior would not be allowed in my classroom; this behavior would not be allowed in my home. Why is it allowed at board meetings?' Alioto wrote, calling the board's acceptance of the rant 'disgusting' and Salazar-Colon's follow-up email to Bornstein 'antisemitic.' In their apology, Martinez and Zamora acknowledged that the trustees 'did not do enough to uphold the standards of respect that our community deserves.' Going forward, they wrote, the board 'will no longer tolerate such behavior' and was 'committed to reinforcing the expectation that all voices can be heard without fear of intimidation or harm.' The accrediting commission, which was meeting this week, has 30 days to issue its decision about the status of City College's sanction.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers
CAIRO — A unit of Gaza's Hamas-run police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia after detaining them early Thursday. An Israel-supported aid group, however, said the dead were its aid workers, eight of whom were killed when Hamas attacked its bus. It was not immediately possible to verify the competing claims or confirm the identities of those killed. The militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, said its fighters had attacked Hamas and killed five militants but made no mention of its own casualties. It also accused Hamas of detaining and killing aid workers. The deaths were the latest sign of turmoil surrounding the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private contractor that Israel says will replace the U.N. in distributing food to Gaza's more than 2 million people. The past two weeks, dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded in near daily shootings as they try to reach GHF centers, with witnesses saying Israeli troops nearby have repeatedly opened fire. On Wednesday, at least 13 people were killed and 170 wounded when Israeli forces fired toward a crowd of Palestinians near a GHF center in central Gaza, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The military said it fired warning shots overnight at a gathering that posed a threat, hundreds of meters (yards) from the aid site. Internet and phone lines, meanwhile, were down across Gaza, according to telecom provider Paltel and the Palestinian telecoms authority. They said a key line was severed during an Israeli operation and that the military would not allow technicians into the area to repair it. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said emergency services were cut off because of the outage, and civilians cannot call ambulances. It said most U.N. agencies and aid groups could not reach their staff on the ground. Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza, making it difficult to confirm what happened in the killings early Wednesday near the southern city of Khan Younis. GHF said Hamas attacked a bus carrying more than two dozen of its Palestinian aid workers, killing at least eight and wounding others. It said it feared some had been abducted. 'We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,' it said. 'These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others.' The Israeli military circulated GHF's statement but declined to provide its own account of what happened. Rev. Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical advisor to President Trump who was recently appointed head of GHF, called the killings 'absolute evil.' The U.N.'s OCHA said it could not confirm the circumstances of the killings but said 'civilians must never be attacked, let alone those trying to access or provide food amid mass starvation.' GHF says its staff at the centers include unarmed Palestinian employees. Much of the staff are armed international contractors, mainly Americans, guarding the centers. The Abu Shabab group fighters are deployed inside the Israeli military zones that surround the GHF centers, according to witnesses. Earlier this week, witnesses said Abu Shabab militiamen had opened fire on people en route to a GHF aid hub, killing and wounding many. GHF says it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Last week, Israel acknowledged it is supporting armed groups of Palestinians opposed to Hamas. Hamas has rejected the GHF system and threatened to kill any Palestinians who cooperate with the Israeli military. The Sahm police unit, which Hamas says it established to combat looting, released video footage showing several dead men lying in the street, saying they were Abu Shabab fighters who had been detained and killed for collaborating with Israel. It was not possible to verify the images or the claims around them. Mohammed Abu Amin, a Khan Younis resident who was at the scene, said a crowd celebrated the killings, shouting 'God is greatest' and condemning those killed as traitors. Ghassan Duhine, who identifies himself as deputy commander of the Abu Shabab group and a major in the Palestinian Authority's security forces, issued a statement saying Abu Shabab fighters had clashed with Sahm and killed five. He denied that the bodies in Sahm's images were the group's fighters. The Palestinian Authority, led by rivals of Hamas and based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has denied any connection to the Abu Shabab group. But many of the militiamen identify themselves as PA officers. Aid workers say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's renewed military campaign and its two-and-a-half-month ban on imports of food, fuel and medicine to Gaza, which was slightly eased in mid-May. OCHA warned that fuel 'may very soon run out' at 67 of the 85 remaining partially functioning hospitals and health care centers in Gaza, meaning vital equipment would go dead. Despite the easing of the blockade, Israel has still not allowed fuel to enter. OCHA said the military gave it permission to retrieve fuel stored in northern Gaza after weeks of denials, but the team sent Wednesday had to turn back because of Israeli shelling in the area. The United Nations and major aid groups have rejected the GHF distribution system. They say it is unable to meet Gaza's needs and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to enact its military objectives, including plans to move Gaza's entire population to southern Gaza near the GHF hubs. Some fear this could be part of an Israeli plan to coerce Palestinians into leaving Gaza. Israel and the United States say the new system is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid from the long-standing U.N.-run system. U.N. officials deny there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas. The Israeli military on Thursday released what it said were seized Hamas documents showing it takes aid. One document, apparently showing minutes from a meeting last year, included an item saying the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, had previously taken 25% of the aid but had agreed to settle for 7%, with 4% going to the Hamas-run government and 4% to the political movement. It did not specify the source or quantity of the aid. Israel did not release the entire document. The documents also detailed Hamas' efforts to keep traders from hoarding goods and charging inflated prices for them. One of them appeared to acknowledge that some such traders had links to Hamas. The Associated Press could not confirm the documents' authenticity. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. They are still holding 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Magdy and Chehayeb write for the Associated Press. Chehayeb reported from Beirut. AP writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
