Israel to partially reopen Gaza private sector trade as Netanyahu prepares updated war plan
05/08/2025
Amid desperation in war-torn Gaza, 'environment of fear, intimidation and worry in West Bank'
Middle East
04/08/2025
Videos of Israeli hostages in Gaza increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu for a ceasefire
Middle East
04/08/2025
Israel wants world attention on hostages held in Gaza
Middle East
04/08/2025
More Gazans die as aid fails to reach most needy
Middle East
04/08/2025
Israeli ex-security chiefs urge Donald Trump to help end Gaza war
Middle East
04/08/2025
Lebanon marks 5 years since Beirut port blast
Middle East
04/08/2025
Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel opens humanitarian corridors, halts airstrikes
Middle East
04/08/2025
Lebanon awaits justice 5 years after Beirut port blast
Middle East
04/08/2025
FRANCE 24 report: France carries out airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza
Middle East
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France 24
5 minutes ago
- France 24
Epstein accomplice Maxwell opposes unsealing grand jury transcripts
"Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not," Maxwell's lawyers said in a filing with the federal judge in New York who is considering the government request. "Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain," the attorneys said. Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. President Donald Trump's supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said last month that the wealthy financier had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a "client list." In a bid to calm the furor, the Justice Department is seeking the release of the grand jury transcripts from the cases against Epstein and Maxwell. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, also met recently with Maxwell but has not revealed what was discussed. Trump was asked on Tuesday about the meeting and said it was "not an uncommon thing" and was "totally above board." "I think (Blanche) probably wants to make sure that, you know, people that should not be involved, or aren't involved, are not hurt by something that would be very, very unfortunate, very unfair to a lot of people," he said. Trump also told reporters that he was not aware of Maxwell's recent move from a prison in Florida to a minimum security facility in Texas until after it happened. 'Firestorm of false reporting' Trump, 79, was once a close friend of Epstein, and The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the president's name was among hundreds found during a Justice Department review of the so-called "Epstein files," though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the newspaper after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. Maxwell is the only former Epstein associate convicted in connection with his activities, which right-wing conspiracy theorists allege included trafficking young girls for VIPs and other elites. In their filing with Judge Paul Engelmayer, Maxwell's lawyers said she was "convicted in a media firestorm of false reporting" and noted that she has appealed her conviction to the Supreme Court. "The government seeks to unseal the grand jury transcripts, citing 'historical interest' without regard for how that release will affect Maxwell's privacy interests, her pending (Supreme Court) Petition, and any future litigation," they said. Her lawyers also said Maxwell has not been been allowed to review the transcripts even though the government has not opposed her request to do so. © 2025 AFP
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Netanyahu calls for 'complete' defeat of Hamas as Israel considers total Gaza occupation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel must "complete" the defeat of Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of the remaining hostages, days ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss an updated war plan. Israeli media have said the premier is considering ordering the total occupation of Gaza, even as international pressure mounts for him to end the war, with a senior UN official warning Tuesday that expanding the fighting risked "catastrophic consequences", including to the captives held by Hamas. "It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility. His office later said he had held a three-hour "security discussion" with army chief Eyal Zamir, but did not disclose any new war plans. The premier's office has said the security cabinet will convene later in the week to approve new instructions. Public broadcaster Kan has reported that "Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip". Citing cabinet members, it said Netanyahu had "decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held". But some major media outlets such as Channel 12 have suggested that the rumoured expansion of operations might only be a negotiating tactic. While the reported plan has not been approved, it has already drawn angry reactions from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas-run government. Hamas insisted such a move would not shift its position in ceasefire talks, demanding the withdrawal of all forces from Gaza. "The ball is in the hands of... (Israel) and the Americans," senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP, adding that the militant group wanted to "end the war and the famine". UN assistant secretary-general Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Tuesday that a widening of the war "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages". Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was also in New York attending a Security Council meeting on the plight of the hostages after recent footage of weak and emaciated captives sparked shock and outrage in Israel. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed disgust over the videos released by Hamas, one of which showed an emaciated Israeli hostage purportedly digging his own grave. "I hope a lot of people do get to see it, as bad as it is, because I think it's a horrible thing," Trump told reporters. 'Agreement must be reached' Over the war's 22 months, Israeli forces have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has taken hold, with UN experts recently warning of an unfolding famine. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages, 49 of whom remain held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,020 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Netanyahu has faced growing pressure on several fronts. Domestically, families of hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home. And around the world, there are increasing calls for a truce to allow food into a starving Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday said it was "ready to bring in medicine, food and family news for the hostages in Gaza", and to "scale up the delivery of life-saving aid safely to civilians". But "to do this, an agreement must be reached between Israel and Hamas", it said. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners demand to keep fighting and reoccupy Gaza for the long haul, after Israel withdrew settlers and troops stationed there two decades ago. Aid 'exploited' Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in early March, which it only began easing more than two months later to allow a US-backed private agency, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to open food distribution centres. United Nations special rapporteurs called on Tuesday for the GHF to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas". COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it would partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on aid deliveries. "A limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment", and would be allowed to bring in basic staples including fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said. On the ground in Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 56 Palestinians who were waiting near aid distribution sites on Tuesday. The Israeli military told AFP troops had "fired warning shots" in the direction "a gathering of Gazans advancing" towards them near one of those sites, in the territory's south, but that it was "not aware of any casualties as a result". In northern Gaza, where the civil defence said 20 people were killed not far from an aid crossing, an AFP journalist saw bodies brought to Hamad Hospital. The army told AFP it was looking into the report.
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump creates task force to prepare for a 'historically successful' 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
President Donald Trump on Tuesday, August 5, established a task force on the 2028 Olympic Games being held in Los Angeles that he said would ensure the event is "safe, seamless and historically successful." The 2028 Games will be the first Olympics to be hosted by the US since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. "The LA Olympics is shaping up to be a wonderful moment for America. It's going to be incredible. It's so exciting," Trump said as he signed an executive order at the White House establishing the task force. The executive order calls for the task force to coordinate security and planning for the Games, streamline visa processing and credentialing for the athletes, coaches, media and other visitors coming to the US. Trump will serve as chair of the task force, with Vice President JD Vance as vice chair. Other members include a number of Cabinet secretaries and administration officials. At the event, Trump praised Gene Sykes, chair of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee board of directors, for the USOPC's move to effectively bar transgender women from competing in women's sports. "The United States will not let men steal trophies from women at the 2028 Olympics," Trump said. He questioned why he didn't hear applause from the room when he praised Sykes for it, and then received some claps from some people in the room. 'A great honor' Trump "considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, calling sports one of the president's "greatest passions." LA28 president and chair Casey Wasserman said the task force "marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028." Along with the 2028 Summer Games, Trump has said that the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico is among the events he's most looking forward to in his second term. In preparation for next year's competition, the governments of all three countries on Tuesday said they had held the first meeting of a trilateral coordinating council of government officials, industry leaders and security professionals discussing a variety of issues, including preparedness for any security threats ahead of the World Cup.
