Iran executes 3 more prisoners over allegedly spying for Israel, state media say
Iranian protesters attend an anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rally at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: pubinfo.section: cms.site.custom.site_domain : thestar.com sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false firstAuthor.avatar :
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
38 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Explosive kills 7 Israeli soldiers in Gaza inside armoured vehicle, military says
Published Jun 25, 2025 • 2 minute read In this photo taken on Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, east of Khan Younis, during a surprise attack on Israel. Photo by File / AP Photo JERUSALEM — Seven Israeli soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday when a Palestinian militant affixed a bomb to their armoured vehicle. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account It was one of the deadliest incidents for the army in Gaza in months and quickly drew the nation's attention back to the grinding war against Hamas, after nearly two weeks of fighting with archenemy Iran ended with a ceasefire Tuesday. Israel has been operating in Gaza since the Hamas militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. U.S.-led ceasefire efforts have repeatedly stalled. Unsuccessful rescue attempt Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the army's chief spokesman, said the soldiers were attacked in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where the army has operated on and off throughout much of the war. 'Helicopters and rescue forces were sent to the spot. They made attempts to rescue the fighters, but without success,' he said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The army said another soldier was seriously wounded in a separate incident in Khan Younis. It gave no further details, but Hamas claimed on its Telegram channel it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the area. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. The initial Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Some 50 hostages remain in captivity, at least 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Deadliest round of fighting The Israeli offensive has devastated Gaza and killed over 56,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, a branch of the Hamas government. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The death toll is by far the highest in any round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead were women and children. The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, which operates in heavily populated areas. Israel says over 20,000 Hamas militants have been killed, though it has provided no evidence to support that claim. Hamas has not commented on its casualties. Palestinian woman killed in Jerusalem Meanwhile, a local Palestinian official in the occupied West Bank said Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman during a raid in east Jerusalem. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Israeli police said they were investigating the incident, saying a woman had arrived at a military checkpoint with 'serious penetrating injuries' and been pronounced dead. Marouf Al-Refai, the Palestinian official, said Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Zahia Obeidi with a shot to the head around 10 p.m. and seizing her body thereafter. Israeli forces arrested her husband and sons later that night, Refai said. Their whereabouts were not immediately known, and police had no further details. Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. It considers the area to be part of its capital — a move that is not internationally recognized. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital. Sunshine Girls Toronto Blue Jays Sunshine Girls Columnists Uncategorized
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
In US, the Iranian diaspora contends with the Israel-Iran war and a fragile ceasefire
Born and raised in Iran, Fariba Pajooh, was detained in her country before coming to the United States. She wants to see changes in her homeland — but not by Israel firing missiles or the U.S. dropping bombs. 'Iranian people deserve democracy and freedom,' said the 45-year-old doctoral candidate in Detroit. 'But real change cannot come through foreign military attacks, missiles and bombs. History has shown that democracy is not delivered by force.'
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In US, the Iranian diaspora contends with the Israel-Iran war and a fragile ceasefire
Born and raised in Iran, Fariba Pajooh, was detained in her country before coming to the United States. She wants to see changes in her homeland — but not by Israel firing missiles or the U.S. dropping bombs. 'Iranian people deserve democracy and freedom,' said the 45-year-old doctoral candidate in Detroit. 'But real change cannot come through foreign military attacks, missiles and bombs. History has shown that democracy is not delivered by force.' The fast-changing war between Israel and Iran, in which the U.S. recently inserted itself by targeting Iran's nuclear sites, has caused a mix of emotions — including fear and uncertainty — among many in the Iranian diaspora in America and also showcased differences of opinion over the country's future. Florida House legislator Anna V. Eskamani, the daughter of Iranian immigrants, stressed that complexity. 'I think most of the diaspora is united in wanting to see a different government in Iran and wanting to see a democracy in Iran, but I think we're also very concerned about the health and safety of our loved ones and the impact on innocent civilians.' Diaspora divided on approach to change in Iran Some, like Eskamani, support diplomacy rather than war; others, she said, hope military action can lead to an overthrow of the Iranian government. 'It's very difficult, because not only are you just worried about what's happening with your family, but then you're worried about the division within the community here in the United States and around the world,' she said 'So it's just layer upon layer of complexity.' Israel launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran on June 13, saying it could not let Tehran develop atomic weapons and feared it was close to doing so. Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful. After the two nations volleyed strikes for several days, a fragile ceasefire now appears to be holding. If it does, it will provide a global sense of relief after the U.S. intervened by dropping bunker-buster bombs on nuclear sites over the weekend. President Donald Trump said he was not seeking regime change in Iran, two days after first appearing to float the idea. 'I'd like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One. 'Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don't want to see so much chaos.' Fearing for family in Iran It has been an intense period, especially for those with relatives in Iran. Pajooh said she and her mother were worried about Pajooh's grandfather in Tehran who initially was unable to evacuate before later managing to do so. 'My mom is a tough woman,' she said. 'When she calls me and cries, it's a big thing, because always I call her and cry,' Pajooh added, her voice breaking with emotion. Since the ceasefire, 'my heart is not as heavy as it was,' she said. 'I feel I can breathe.' Pajooh, who worked as a journalist in Iran, said she was arrested and held there twice. Still, she said, any changes in the country should be the decision of the Iranian people there. 'We don't want you to bring us democracy with your bombs,' she said. 'It's our work. We are doing it.' In California, Sharona Nazarian, the mayor of Beverly Hills and a Jewish immigrant from Iran, forcefully defended Israel's decision to attack. 'A nuclear-armed Iranian regime would pose a grave danger,' she told a city council meeting last week. 'Israel's action, though difficult, reflects a preemptive effort to prevent a potential catastrophe.' She added: 'True change in Iran must come from its own people. … My hope is that they will unite with strength and reclaim their future.' Intellectually torn and emotionally messy Rachel Sumekh grew up in Los Angeles and is Jewish. Her parents are Iranian; she has extended family in Iran and closer relatives in Israel. She knows many people of Iranian descent in the U.S. are supportive of the war because they want the 'regime changed.' 'I'm just praying that this leads to more freedom and liberation for the people of Iran,' Sumekh said. 'But if history has taught us anything, it's that in the Middle East, bombs alone are not the way to create lasting peace. This is all messy and confusing and layered.' Sumekh said that as she drove Monday near what's known as Persian Square or 'Tehrangeles,' she was surprised to see some people holding signs calling for the return of monarchy in Iran. 'Since when is a king democracy?' she said. 'Regardless of what religion we belonged to, we all left Iran for a reason. Many people are upset in this moment and feel like if Iran goes back to the moment they left it, it'll all be fine.' In Massachusetts, when Elika Dadsetan first saw that the U.S. had struck Iran, she recalled thinking: No one wins in this. 'We want to make that change. We want to do it internally. We don't want to have it be forced upon us and especially not from a place like Israel or the U.S., and not like this, not through bombing,' she said. For about a week she has been having trouble getting updates from some relatives in Iran, as she grapples with grief, rage and heartbreak. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. 'We are resilient,' Dadsetan said. 'We'll get through this, just really, unfortunately, it will be a lot of pain before we do get through this.' ___ Associated Press writer Deepa Bharath contributed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
