Latest news with #French-Israeli
Mint
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
600 days of Israel-Gaza war: Netanyahu claims Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar is dead—But Israel's army isn't so sure
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the 600th day of the Gaza war, announced that the military had killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas's top commander in Gaza and brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. 'We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, eliminated... Mohammed Sinwar,' Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament. Sinwar, dubbed 'the shadow' and 'the ghost' for his secretive operations, was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on May 13 near the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to Israeli media. Hamas did not respond to AFP's request for confirmation. And, Israeli military sources, according to Sky News, have stated that they are not yet able to confirm his death. Mohammed Sinwar's killing, if confirmed, marks another blow to Hamas's senior leadership. Since the war began in October 2023, Israel has claimed the assassinations of several high-ranking figures including: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political chief; Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas's armed wing; and Yahya Sinwar, the October 7 mastermind and Mohammed's brother. Mohammed Sinwar had been linked to the 2006 kidnapping of French-Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and reportedly played a critical role in securing his release in 2011, which saw the exchange of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners—including Yahya Sinwar. As the war drags on, signs of movement toward a ceasefire emerged. US envoy Steve Witkoff voiced optimism in Washington: 'I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire, and a peaceful resolution of that conflict,' Witkoff was quoted as saying. Hamas said on Tuesday it had agreed 'in principle' to Witkoff's proposal. The group offered to release 10 hostages in exchange for the freeing of Palestinians jailed in Israel. However, it stopped short of agreeing to disarm or send leaders into exile—conditions Israel has demanded. There has been no immediate response from Israel or the US to Hamas's statement. Tensions escalated around the US- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates separately from the UN's traditional aid system. A chaotic aid distribution on Tuesday left 47 injured and at least one dead, according to a Palestinian medical source. The UN's human rights chief for the Palestinian territories, Ajith Sunghay, claimed most injuries came from Israeli gunfire. Israel's military denied this, saying only warning shots were fired into the air. GHF also denied that civilians were shot and said operations had resumed 'without incident.' As Israel steps up its offensive, Gaza's health ministry said 3,924 Palestinians have died since March 18 alone. The total death toll in Gaza stands at over 54,000, with the vast majority being civilians, according to the Hamas-run authority. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 250. Over 400 Israeli soldiers have since been killed in the ongoing ground operations in Gaza.
Perth Now
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
'I would say that it should become a global attitude...' Charlotte Gainsbourg reveals the trait she wanted her children to have
Charlotte Gainsbourg has strived to teach her children to always be kind and courteous. The 53-year-old actress-and-singer has three children, son Ben and daughters Alice and Jo, with her long-time partner, French-Israeli director Yvan Attal. Charlotte says as a mother her main goal was to ensure her kids were good people before anything else. When asked what values she has tried to impart on her family, she answered: "It may seem banal, but it is kindness, courtesy. Authentic kindness, not superficial, is fundamental because it means respect for others. In fact, I would say that it should become a global attitude." Charlotte says the lessons she wanted to impart on her son and two daughters came from the things she learned from her own parents, her mother English actress-and-singer Jane Birkin and her father Jewish French musician Serge Gainsbourg. In an interview with Italian publication IO Donna, she said: "That all comes from my parents and my childhood. "People think I had an irreverent and cheeky father, when in reality dad was sensitive, open, had a very special charm that allowed him to be a little insolent at times, yet he was always very attentive to others. "My mother shared his philosophy of life. "In our house everything was very simple, no one was presumptuous, and my mum was very careful that we did not become girls full of airs - 'Now you are successful, maybe in a few years everything will be different' she would tell me. I was already aware of my lucky star, but I also knew that it was transitory, and this made me more modest." Charlotte - who can be seen in new Amazon series 'Étoile', which has been created by 'Gilmore Girls' writers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino - also gave an insight into her family life, revealing her home is full of laughter. She said: "We laugh a lot in our family. I love people who laugh and know how to make people laugh. My father, then, was funny. He was a born showman and my first intuition of humour certainly came with him. My mother also amused me. She was beautiful and witty, you can see it in her first films. With two parents like that you can't help but enjoy comedy in life."
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
AI in the restaurant kitchen? Top French chefs debate the use of ChatGPT
At the annual gathering of France's finest chefs for the Michelin Guide awards this year, the talk was not only about whose restaurants had gained or lost a star. Advertisement 'Everyone's discussing AI. I was at a table of 12 other chefs, and it was the main thing we talked about,' Matan Zaken, who runs the one-Michelin-star Nhome restaurant in Paris, said at the event at the end of March. The 32-year-old believes that some of his peers are reluctant to admit just how much they are already consulting services such as OpenAI's ChatGPT to help them with recipes and ideas. 'You'd be amazed to know how many people are using it. There are a lot of egos in the business. They're not going to make a big thing about it,' he said. French-Israeli chef Matan Zaken at his restaurant Nhome in Paris. He embraces the use of ChatGPT in the kitchen. Photo: AFP Zaken has made a point of openly embracing the technology, which he says has the potential to produce surprising new pairings of ingredients, offering the possibility of palate-twisting discoveries for diners.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- First Post
Freed from Hamas, drugged & raped by fitness influencer: The harrowing tale of ex-Israeli hostage Mia Schem
Mia Schem, a French-Israeli national freed from Hamas captivity in November 2023, has accused a well-known fitness trainer in Tel Aviv of drugging and raping her at her home. The trainer, a familiar face on social media, is known for working with celebrities, including a former prime minister. Schem became a known face across the world after Hamas released a video of her in captivity just days after she was taken read more Mia Schem became known around the world when Hamas released a video showing her in captivity just days after she was taken. AFP/File Photo Freed from Hamas captivity in November 2023, a young Israeli woman has accused a popular fitness trainer in Tel Aviv of drugging and raping her. Mia Schem, 22, said the man persuaded her to host a meeting at her home by claiming a Hollywood producer would be there. She said the assault took place during that meeting. The trainer is said to be a familiar face on social media, known for working with celebrities, including a former prime minister. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mia, a French-Israeli national, became widely recognised after a video was released showing her with a bandaged arm during her time in captivity in Gaza. She said the attack happened after she returned home. In this explainer, we look at what the Israeli woman has accused the trainer of, how the incident took place, who the suspect is, the developments in the case, and a short background on Mia. What happened? Schem shared her experience in a recent interview with Israel's Channel 12. 'This was my biggest fear in life. Before captivity, during captivity, and it happened after the captivity, at my home, in the place meant to be safest for me,' she told the channel. The case had been reported earlier, but many details, including the names of those involved, were under a gag order. Schem said she had unexplained marks on her body following the alleged incident. X She said the incident took place last month and that she has been left deeply affected, struggling to cope since then. 'I've decided to tell the truth. I'm not the one who needs to hide,' Schem said at the start of what was her first interview since identifying herself as the complainant. She alleged that the man, who had given her three training sessions in the past, said he wanted to connect her with a Hollywood producer interested in making a film based on her survival in Gaza. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to her, when the producer did not turn up at the hotel lobby, the trainer arranged to meet again - this time at her home. Schem recalled that on the day of the meeting, the man arrived two hours late. When he got there, he asked her closest friend, who was also at the flat, to leave, saying the meeting was sensitive. She said her memory from that point became unclear. 'My body remembers; it feels everything,' she said in the interview. 'But I don't know what happened.' 'It took me three days to connect the physical sensations to consciousness,' she added. In the days that followed, her friend and family noticed she was not herself and became concerned. Since then, Schem said she has started to remember glimpses of what took place: the trainer coming into her room while she was not dressed and another person in the apartment. One of her friends suggested she might have been drugged. Schem said she went to the police, who then sent her to a support centre for survivors of sexual assault. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A medical check-up, according to reports, showed signs of sexual activity. Schem also said she had unexplained marks on her body following the alleged incident. What do we know about the suspect? What happened in the investigation? After the complaint Schem made to the police, the fitness trainer was arrested in late March. Around the same time, word began to spread on social media about a freed hostage being sexually assaulted, with speculation over the identities of both the woman and the suspect. Security camera footage from Schem's building, aired by Channel 12, showed the trainer arriving at 4:00 pm, followed by another man at 6:30 pm. Notably, the second man was not the Hollywood producer she had been told about. According to a report by The Times of Israel, the man is believed to live in the US, but his identity has not been confirmed. The trainer was later released but is still considered a suspect as the investigation continues. He has strongly denied having any sexual contact with Schem. However, police said his version of events has changed more than once, and a polygraph test reportedly showed that he was not honest when answering questions about sexual contact. During questioning, the trainer is said to have claimed that Schem 'destroyed his life.' He was repeatedly quoted by Ynet as saying, 'I'm a good person.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Messages he sent to Schem after their meeting have also drawn attention. One message read, 'What a night, wow,' followed by another saying, 'Yoel was really impressed by you. He's checking into it,' according to Haaretz. Schem was released from Hamas captivity on November 30, 2023, during a weeklong ceasefire. Reuters/File Photo What happened to Schem during captivity? The 21-year-old, who holds both Israeli and French citizenship, was attending a music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants crossed the border and attacked the site. She was released on November 30 that year during a weeklong ceasefire. Speaking to Israel's Channel 13 TV after her release, Schem said she was taken after escaping her friend's car, which had caught fire. She recalled that her captor began touching her upper body inappropriately, but stopped when she screamed and he saw she had been shot in the arm and was seriously injured. Schem became known around the world when Hamas released a video showing her in captivity just days after she was taken. In the video, she is seen lying in bed with someone bandaging her right arm. She says she wants to go home. At the time, it was the first public sign that the hostages were still alive. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Freed Israeli hostage accuses Tel Aviv fitness influencer of raping her: ‘It happened to me after captivity'
Mia Schem, an Israeli woman who was held hostage in Gaza, has accused a popular Tel Aviv fitness influencer of raping her after she was released by Hamas. In a recent interview with Channel 12, the 22-year-old claimed that the personal trainer allegedly raped and drugged her inside her own home. 'This was my biggest fear my whole life, before captivity, during captivity,' Schem told the outlet last week, per Haaretz. 'And it happened to me after captivity, in my safest place.' She claimed to have met the trainer, who was well-known among celebrities in Israel, at a 'Purim party.' Schem told the outlet that after three training sessions with him, the trainer offered to introduce her to a Hollywood film producer who was interested in making a movie about her harrowing captivity in Gaza. However, when the said producer failed to show up at the hotel lobby, a second meeting was scheduled at Schem's home. The French-Israeli national recalled that the trainer arrived two hours late and told her best friend to leave the apartment because of how sensitive the meeting with the producer would be. However, Schem does not remember what happened afterwards. But her 'body' does. 'My body remembers; it feels everything,' Schem told the outlet, adding, 'But I don't know what happened.' 'It took me three days to connect the physical sensations to consciousness,' she further said. Her mother, Keren, described her to the outlet as 'completely broken' in the days following the alleged assault. 'My daughter came back from captivity in a very difficult physical and mental condition,' Keren said, adding, 'And even then, she wasn't like this. Now I was seeing a kind of distress that really scared me.' In a post-interview Instagram Story, Schem wrote, 'It's not easy to stand in front of a camera and reveal the truth. But there comes a time when you realize your silence doesn't protect you, it protects others,' per the outlet.
