Gaza war rages on despite Iran-Israel ceasefire
GAZA - Tensions between Israel and Iran appear to have eased, but the war in Gaza still continues.
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 72 people since Friday, many of them women and children.
Desperation is growing in Gaza, where food is scarce, aid is limited, and families are still dying under the rubble. Strikes also hit shelters and streets crowded with displaced residents.
US President Donald Trump says a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be agreed to, within a week. But there's no confirmation and little optimism on the ground.
Past talks have collapsed, and both sides remain firmly divided. Gaza's humanitarian crisis is worsening. Israel has allowed limited aid in but it's not enough.
Despite hopes that the Israeli-Iran ceasefire might ease regional tensions, Gaza remains a battlefield. As diplomatic talks continue behind closed doors, the people of Gaza remain trapped with no real relief in sight.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
Markets remain bullish, while fuel prices are under pressure
Since the beginning of the Israel-Iran war on June 13, 2025, the brent oil price increased from $70 (R1 251) per barrel to $77 per barrel on June 20. Image: File The sudden attack of the US on Iran nuclear facilities last week and the almost day-to-day attacks on each other between Israel and Iran, has let to a sudden strong increase in oil prices. Since the beginning of the Israel-Iran war on June 13, 2025, the brent oil price increased from $70 (R1 251) per barrel to $77 per barrel on June 20. During the same time, the exchange rate of the Rand depreciated by 30 cents from R17.77 against the dollar to R18.07/$. Although both the oil price as the value of the Rand recovered till Friday to R17.78/$ and $66.47/$, the under recovery in South Africa's fuel prices could not be avoided. Last Wednesday the price for 95 Petrol was still 52c per liter under-recovered and that for diesel 83c per liter. Although both factors improved strongly last Thursday and Friday it will be a question of being too little too late, and consumers are likely to face a steep increase in fuel prices this coming week. One must just keep perspective on these values. The public may immediately think that South African inflation rate is bound to increase rapidly and that it may force the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank to turn around and increase interest rates soon. However, the inflation rate is calculated by comparing the annual increase. If the petrol price does increase by 50c per liter on Wednesday, the motorist will then pay R21.85 per liter more in Gauteng. This is, however, still R1.41 less than the price on July 4, 2024 (R23.26 per liter). This will also contribute to the inflation rate decreasing further. Given the recovery in the Rand and the oil price changes become good that in months to come fuel prices will start to move lower. JSE remains bullish, S&P500 on a new record level Equities on the JSE seem to continue to perform well despite geo-political issues globally (wars and Trump tariffs) and locally (the firing of deputy minister Andrew Whitfield from the position of Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The All Share index, although trading down by only -0.1% on Friday, closed 0.8% in the green over the week. The index is now 14.0% higher than at the beginning of the year, gaining 7.0% in quarter two despite all the geo-political issues. Even financial shares, as proxy for the domestic market and economic effects, rose 3.0% last week and are now 12.1% higher for the last year. On Wall Street in the US, despite the mixed reaction after the US air force bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, shares reached record high levels. The news last week that the US economy with the final estimate grew slower at an annualised rate of -0.5% in quarter one 2025, than the decline of the second estimate of -0.2% drop and the first quarterly contraction in three years, seems not to affect equity prices. US consumer spending in May was also lower than expectations as it fell in May as the boost from the pre-emptive buying of goods like motor vehicles ahead of the Trump administration's tariffs faded, while monthly inflation maintained a moderate pace of increase. The S&P 500 index advanced by 0.52% on Friday, gaining 3.2% over the week. Prospects for this coming week Investors will await the release of the US non-farm payrolls data this coming Friday. It remains one of the major gauges for the US Federal Reserve in terms of its interest rate stance. It is expected that the US economy will add 129 000 new jobs during June given that its unemployment rate will remain at 4.2%, the fourth consecutive month in a row. The economy is currently in a stable state and given the weak economic growth numbers published last week, it may indicate to the Fed that lowering its bank rate may be the correct thing to do. Especially if no further tariff surprises are on the cards. Domestically, the saga around the vulnerability of the Governement of National Unity will dominate the Rand exchange rate and equities this coming week. Of interest is the announcement of the National Government's Budget balance today. It is expected that the deficit on the primary budget had shrunk from R64 billion in April to only -R18 billion in May and heading towards a surplus as was announced in the National Budget. The new motor vehicle sales for June will be published on Tuesday.
TimesLIVE
5 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Rwanda, DRC sign peace deal in US to end fighting, attract investment
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands this year. The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by US President Donald Trump's administration and aims to attract billions of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. At a ceremony with US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days, according to a copy seen by Reuters. Kinshasa and Kigali will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said. 'They were going at it for many years, and with machetes. It is one of the worst, one of the worst wars anyone has ever seen. I just happened to have somebody who was able to get it settled,' Trump said on Friday ahead of the signing of the deal in Washington. 'We're getting, for the US, a lot of the mineral rights from the DRC as part of it. They're so honoured to be here. They never thought they'd be coming.' Rwandan foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the agreement a turning point. Congo foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said it must be followed by disengagement. Trump later met both officials in the Oval Office, where he presented them with letters inviting DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of agreements that Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, called the 'Washington Accord'. Nduhungirehe told Trump past deals had not been implemented and urged him to stay engaged. Trump warned of 'very severe penalties, financial and otherwise', if the agreement is violated. Rwanda has sent at least 7,000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels who seized eastern DRC's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. The gains by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears that a wider war could draw in the DRC's neighbours. Boulos told Reuters in May Washington wanted the peace agreement and accompanying minerals deals to be signed simultaneously this summer. Rubio said on Friday heads of state would be 'in Washington in a few weeks to finalise the complete protocol and agreement'. However, the agreement signed on Friday gives the DRC and Rwanda three months to launch a framework 'to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains'. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday another agreement on the framework would be signed by the heads of state at a separate White House event at an unspecified time. There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Doha, a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DRC government and M23, is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday voiced 'full support' for the Qatar-hosted talks. It also said the DRC and Rwanda will form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. DRC military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a DRC-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same time frame. Reuters reported on Thursday that DRC negotiators had dropped an earlier demand that Rwandan troops immediately leave eastern DRC, paving the way for the signing ceremony on Friday. The DRC, UN and Western powers said Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against the DRC's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the FDLR. 'This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws,' said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specialises in Africa's Great Lakes region. Similar formulas have been attempted before, Stearns said, and 'it will be up to the US, as they are the godfather of the deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms'. The agreement signed on Friday said Rwanda and the DRC will de-risk mineral supply chains and establish value chains 'that link the countries, in partnership, as appropriate, with the US and US investors'. The terms carry 'a strategic message: securing the east also means securing investments', said Tresor Kibangula, a political analyst at the DRC's Ebuteli research institute. He said 'it remains to be seen whether this economic logic will suffice' to end the fighting.
The Citizen
8 hours ago
- The Citizen
Cyril must seize opportunity
Iran's vulnerabilities have been exposed and its confidence has been shaken. The Israel-Iran war lasted only 12 days but its consequences will reshape global politics for years. One positive is that the battering taken by South Africa's ally, Iran, could paradoxically greatly benefit this country, if President Cyril Ramaphosa had the wit and courage to seize the opportunity. SA-Iran ties The greatest impediment to a good relationship with the United States has been SA's support of Iran. It is hardly surprising, then, that SA's increasing alignment with Iran's 'axis of resistance' and its self-appointed role as a spokesperson for the global south in siding with Russia and China against Western democracies, has caused the US steadily growing concern over the past dozen or so years. This came to a head in February under the combative presidency of Donald Trump, who issued a punishing executive order against SA. Despite these substantial economic costs caused by the order and Ramaphosa speaking fervently about the need to 'reset' ties with the US, the government seems paralysed. It boils down to the fact that foreign policy is not determined by pragmatism and national interest, but by ideology and party interest. The foundation of SA's post-1994 risky friendship with Iran stems from an anti-Western ideological outlook that the ANC has historically shared. This has been amplified by a powerful Islamist clique within the department of international relations and cooperation that is strong enough within ANC party structures to dictate a harder line on Middle East matters than many in the Cabinet would choose. ALSO READ: Iran voices 'serious doubts' over Israel commitment to ceasefire Iran's vulnerabilities have been exposed The drubbing that Iran took in the 12-day war changes everything. Iran's new precariousness as a functional state, its wavering status as a revolutionary beacon and its more circumscribed financial circumstances reduce Monday 10 30 June 2025 its usefulness to the ANC on all fronts. Whether its nuclear programme has been destroyed or only set back months, Iran undoubtedly will have reduced capacity for mischief-making in the Middle East, while preoccupied with internal reconstruction. Infrastructure has to be rebuilt, lost nuclear and military expertise replaced and weaponry stocks replenished, all while fretting whether the ayatollah's government might be toppled in a popular uprising. Iran's vulnerabilities have been exposed and its confidence has been shaken. Israel effortlessly thwarted its much-hyped missile barrages, while the US demonstrated decisively that it would not sit idle while Tehran lashed out. The loop of perpetual Middle East conflict has been broken, or at least dramatically reset. Iran's terror proxies are isolated, vulnerable and on the back foot. ALSO READ: Six Israelis detained for attacking soldiers in West Bank Israel's upper hand and mending ties For the first time in decades, the strategic initiative lies firmly with Israel. Militarily, the Jewish state has never been stronger but it is being comprehensively bested on the battlefield of international public opinion over the conflict in Gaza. With Iran down, for the moment, and Syria making noises, this is Israel's best window yet to resolve the Palestinian question; to trade restraint for recognition and to convert tactical dominance into a durable regional peace through a revitalised and expanded Abraham Accords. South Africa faces its own fork in the road. It can continue acting as a megaphone for radical Islam and a cheerleader for rogue states or it, too, can seize the moment. Re-establishing ties with Israel, mending its fractured relationship with Washington and offering itself as a credible, post-ideological broker in the Middle East would not only serve the national interest, it would rescue a South African foreign policy now adrift in ANC moral incoherence, under Ramaphosa's timorous captaincy. READ NEXT: Zelensky signs decree for Ukraine's withdrawal from anti-landmine treaty
