Saturday, Jul 05th
Last update08:07:49 AM GMT
International Glance
An Israeli airstrike flattened a three-story home in Gaza City on Saturday, killing 10 people — half of them children — as Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire.
Israeli strikes killed at least 49 people in the past 24 hours, according to health officials.
The dead in the early morning airstrike in a neighborhood in western Gaza City included three women and five children, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies.
At least five people have been killed and 700 injured in a massive explosion at one of Iran's key ports, state media is reporting.
The suspected chemical blast took place at Shahid Rajaee, the country's largest commercial port, near the southern city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday morning.
The explosion blew out windows and roofs of nearby buildings and destroyed cars. Residents reported feeling the impact of the blast up to 50km (31 miles) away.
Videos online show a fire growing into a huge inferno before the explosion, with people subsequently fleeing the blast and others lying wounded on the roads, surrounded by smoking debris.
On Saturday afternoon, fires were still raging at the wharfs as thick columns of thick, black smoke filled the air.
The UN World Food Programme says it has depleted all its food stocks in Gaza, where Israel has blocked deliveries of humanitarian aid for seven weeks.
"Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens," it warned. "These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days."
Israel cut off aid on 2 March and resumed its offensive two weeks later after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire, saying it was putting pressure on Hamas to release its remaining hostages.
The UN says Israel is obliged under international law to ensure supplies for the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza. Israel says it is complying with international law and there is no aid shortage.
TVNL COMMENT: WHERE IS HUMANITY? WHY IS NO ONE HOLDING ISRAEL RESPONSIBLE FOR MURDER/?
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday pushed back at the idea of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia as part of any potential peace agreement, a day before American, European and Ukrainian officials are set for high-level talks in London.
During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the issue is expected to be on the agenda for discussion again this week as all parties focus on finding consensus on a credible approach for ending the war that the United States can convey to the Russians.
Russia launched one of the most devastating bombardments on Ukraine's major cities since the war began overnight Thursday, killing at least 12 people, hours after President Donald Trump said he believed he had struck deals with both sides to end the war.
“Vladimir, STOP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the attacks, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” Trump said. “5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Trump told reporters Thursday he believed Putin would listen to his plea to halt strikes on Ukraine. He said that while there was “a lot of hatred,” “bad blood” and “disgust” between Ukraine and Russia, they both wanted peace, “but they have to get to the table.” He said he believes both sides will ultimately reach a peace agreement and added that he wants it to happen quickly.
TVNL Comment: Yeah, that'll do it. Just yell loudly enough to frighten Vladamir. What a great negotiator!
My cousin Ziyad was too young to die. He was sleeping at home in Khan Younis refugee camp when the bombs fell just before midnight on Friday. After they heard the explosion, my cousins Mohammed and Moatsem ran to save him, they told me, but he had already died in his bed. He was 44.
Ziyad was a social worker for Unrwa, working with vulnerable families in Gaza’s refugee camps. Every summer when I visited Gaza from my home in Canada, he would buy my little son candies from Asa’ad’s shop – now gone with Asa’ad (who was killed in October 2023) – insisting that Gaza’s candies were the best in the world.
At least 25 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including 11 in the bombing of a school turned shelter, the strip’s civil defence agency said, as Israel’s war against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory grinds on despite a new ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators.
Intense Israeli bombings hit several areas of Gaza on Wednesday, killing 11 in a school sheltering displaced people in al-Tuffah, a neighbourhood of Gaza City. The strike ignited a huge fire that claimed most of the casualties, said a civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal.
The Qatari network Al Jazeera and Palestinian media broadcast footage of several bodies wrapped in white shrouds at al-Shifa hospital’s morgue, and women weeping over the body of a child.
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