International Glance
- An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.
The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the U.S. Agency for International Development and completed in late June. It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of U.S.-funded supplies reported by U.S. aid partner organizations between October 2023 and this May.
It found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from U.S.-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters.
A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos. The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up "aid corruption."
USAID analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,248
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were facing fierce fighting around the city of Pokrovsk in the country’s east, a logistics hub near where Russia’s military has been announcing the near-daily capture of Ukrainian villages.
Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, described Pokrovsk and five other sectors as among the most difficult theatres of war along the 1,000km (620-mile) front with Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced the capture of two villages on either side of Pokrovsk – Zvirove to the west and Novoekonomichne to the east. A third village – Novotoretske – near Pokrovsk was declared “liberated” by Moscow earlier this week.
President Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were also “continuing to act” in border areas in the northern Sumy region, where Russian troops have gained a foothold in recent weeks.
According to the popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState, Kyiv’s forces have retaken the previously lost village of Kindrativka in Sumy.
4 things to know about Gaza right now amid warnings of 'mass starvation' risk
Hunger and disease continue to stalk Palestinians in Gaza, and aid organizations are warning that children are at greatest risk of starvation. The latest dire warnings come as Israeli attacks have forced the population into an increasingly confined area and aid deliveries have all but halted.
In March, the collapse of a temporary truce that had begun in January marked the start of a new and deadly phase of the conflict, as Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza. Despite pressure from President Trump on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a new ceasefire, negotiations have so far stalled.
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Italy this week to meet with officials from Israel and Qatar to try to broker a new ceasefire that would halt the fighting that began with the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by Gaza-based fighters of Hamas, who killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others. The January truce was meant to facilitate the return of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages, fewer than half of whom are still believed alive.
On Thursday, however, Witkoff posted on X that U.S. team members were returning from Qatar, which has hosted the talks, because the response from Hamas "clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza."
This week, some 100 aid and human rights groups warned that Gaza is at risk of "mass starvation."
Here is a brief summary of the situation in Gaza, which includes reporting from NPR's Anas Baba in Gaza City:
Zelenskyy moves to restore independence of Ukraine anti-graft agencies after protests, EU criticism
The previous bill was seen as undermining the agencies’ independence and sparked a public outcry and protests, the first major demonstrations since the war began, as well as sharp criticism from the European Union.
Zelenskyy said parliament would review the new bill, which “guarantees real strengthening of Ukraine’s law enforcement system, the independence of anti-corruption bodies, and reliable protection of the legal system from any Russian interference.”
France will recognize Palestine as a state, President Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will recognize Palestine as a state, in a bold diplomatic move amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza. Israel denounced the decision.
Macron said in a post on X that he will formalize the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,” he wrote.
The mostly symbolic move puts added diplomatic pressure on Israel as the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip rage. France is now the biggest Western power to recognize Palestine, and the move could pave the way for other countries to do the same. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.
he Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel’s government and most of its political class have long been opposed to Palestinian statehood and now say that it would reward militants after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
‘’We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. ‘’Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.”
The Palestinian Authority welcomed it. A letter announcing the move was presented Thursday to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem.
Landslide Knesset vote approves non-binding proposal to annex West Bank
Israel’s Knesset have approved a motion calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the latest move in an ongoing campaign to strengthen Israel's hold on the occupied Palestinian territory.
The proposal is non-binding and serves largely as a symbolic gesture that does not affect the legal status of the West Bank but will help build momentum towards a possible move on the territory, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
“This move would make it clear to the world that Israel will not accept solutions that involve dangerous territorial concessions, and that it is committed to its future as a secure Jewish state,” the proposal says.
Besides receiving broad support across the Likud coalition, the conseravtive Yisrael Beiteinu party also voted in favour of the motion, along with independent MK Idan Roll and far-right Noam party leader Avi Maoz.
The motion was initiated by Likud member Dan Illouz and three other MKs, including Minister for Settlements Orit Strook.
North Korea’s military is being transformed on the battlefields of Ukraine – so why is Seoul silent?
When North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from its eastern coast in May, South Korea’s response was swift. Within hours, Seoul joined Washington and Tokyo in condemning the launch as a “serious threat” to regional peace and security.
But just weeks earlier, when a North Korean KN-23 missile – designed to strike South Korean targets – hit a residential building in Kyiv, killing 12 civilians, Seoul said nothing.
That silence fits a broader pattern. There was no response when Russia reportedly deployed a surface-to-air missile system to protect Pyongyang, nor when Ukrainian intelligence revealed that Russian instructors were training North Korean drone pilots on home soil, even as Kim Jong-un voiced “unconditional support” for Moscow’s war.
Relations between the North and South, technically still at war, remain tense and the muted response has raised questions from analysts over whether Seoul fully grasps the consequences of what many see as North Korea’s most significant military transformation in decades – one shaped in real warfare, on the battlefields of Ukraine.
“We definitely should be alarmed,” says Chun In-bum, a former South Korean special forces commander. “But it’s just the nature of people to avoid catastrophe or be indifferent to the terrors of reality.”
More Articles...
- Protests in Ukraine as Zelensky signs bill targeting anti-corruption bodies
- UK, Canada and 26 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now’
- NATO countries promise more weapons for Ukraine as Russia launches massive assault
- Ukraine war briefing: Russia insists on sticking to its war demands amid Trump sanctions threat
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