WorldIsrael has invited bids for about 1,200 illegal settlement homes in E1, a strategically important part of the occupied West Bank. Many say the move could damage prospects for a two-state solution, while former PLO adviser Xavier Abu Eid offers his analysis.
World3:47France, Italy, Britain and Germany joined growing international condemnation of a major Israeli settlement project in the occupied West Bank after authorities opened bids for more than 1,200 homes. Approved last year, the E1 plan would further separate east Jerusalem from the West Bank, France 24 reports.
PoliticsTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the United States will impose its “toughest sanctions in history” on Iran. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warns that Israeli settlers in Qusra could face a travel ban. Walmart misses its sales target, while enthusiasm for China’s space program spurs new tourist attractions.
Reuters
World5:38Malaysia, Canada and six European nations have denounced Israel’s intended enlargement of settlements in the occupied West Bank. They warn that the E1 scheme could split the territory and make Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution harder to achieve.
World5:06France, Germany, Britain and Italy on Thursday condemned Israel’s plans to open construction tenders for the “E1” residential project in the occupied West Bank. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live among millions of Palestinians on land captured in the 1967 war. Nearly all countries and several UN bodies deem the settlements contrary to international law, a position Israel disputes on historical and biblical grounds.
CultureIn Gaza, weddings provide spaces for joy and the preservation of heritage. Dabke and traditional music bring generations together, reflecting Palestinian resilience amid the war.
WorldUS Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned Israeli settlers’ attempts to take property belonging to Palestinian Americans in the West Bank. He called the actions criminal and cited the biblical commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”
Reuters
World1:21European leaders are calling on Israel to stop the controversial E1 settlement plan in the West Bank. Approved by Israel last year, the project would further separate east Jerusalem—occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians—from the West Bank.
WorldIsrael’s military says it is launching criminal investigations into two high-profile killings in Gaza, including the death of five-year-old Hind Rajab. Rights groups warn against expecting justice, citing Israel’s near-zero accountability record. International human rights lawyer Kathryn Ravey offers her assessment.
WorldU.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee cautioned militant Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank against taking property owned by Palestinian Americans, calling such conduct “a violation of God’s law.”
Reuters
WorldAustralia is challenging Israel’s decision not to pursue a criminal investigation into the 2024 deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, including Australian Zomi Frankcom. Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia has no confidence in the IDF’s military justice process. The report examines the diplomatic fallout, the military’s reasoning and reactions in Israel.
WorldPalestinians in Gaza have buried relatives whose remains were recovered from collapsed buildings in the north. Civil defence crews found 50 bodies and have retrieved hundreds of remains in recent weeks after they lay buried for years. The remains of 112 Palestinians were also buried earlier this month.
WorldIsrael has opened criminal investigations into the killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian medics. It is not opening criminal probes into three other incidents involving aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
WorldA newly published UN report again warns of the grave dangers facing aid workers in Gaza. At least 560 have been killed during nearly three years of Israel’s war, with the overwhelming majority belonging to the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA.
WorldAustralian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday that relations with Israel were “difficult” after Israel dropped its investigation into the deaths of aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom and her colleagues in Gaza. Frankcom was one of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed when their convoy was struck by an Israeli air strike in April 2024.
WorldAttacks by Israeli settlers are increasing across the occupied West Bank. Pipes and water-distribution networks are being damaged, while springs used to irrigate farmland are diverted, cutting people off from water. Palestinian authorities describe it as a “water war” intended to drive residents from their land.
WorldAn Israeli army investigation into the deaths of Hind Rajab and Gaza paramedics has surprised people in Israel because so much time has passed. France 24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky said the referral of the two widely known cases to criminal investigation already amounts to an admission by the army that something went deeply wrong.
WorldThe Israeli military acknowledged on Wednesday that its troops fired on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in 2024, and said a criminal investigation had been ordered into the killing, which provoked international outrage. It also released reviews of four other prominent Gaza incidents and said it would investigate the 2025 deaths of 15 Palestinian medics and humanitarian personnel.
WorldThe final phone call of five-year-old Hind Rajab, made from a car surrounded by her dead relatives, shocked the world. Israel’s army says it will investigate her killing and the deaths of 15 paramedics in southern Gaza, but critics say only 0.18% of such cases reach prosecution, leaving families with little faith in justice.
World1:31The Israeli military says criminal investigations will examine the Gaza deaths of Hind Rajab, aged five, and 15 Palestinian paramedics. It has excluded aid-worker deaths involving World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders from such probes.
The Associated Press
WorldA Palestinian-American family in Qusra in the occupied West Bank says militant Israeli settlers have surrounded its home for days, cutting off water and electricity. The report also examines the Israeli military’s criminal investigation into the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza.
World1:45The Israel Defense Forces have opened criminal investigations into the deaths of five-year-old Hind Rajab, six family members and two paramedics who tried to help them. The IDF will also investigate the deaths of 15 people in a southern Gaza convoy, but will not pursue three other internationally scrutinized cases involving aid workers.
Global News
WorldAt least 10 people were killed Wednesday in two strikes on Gaza, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. The attacks came just two days after U.S. negotiators reportedly asked Israel to reduce its assaults on the enclave, as Palestinians rushed victims to ambulances.
The Associated Press
WorldIsrael’s military says it will open internal investigations into the 2024 killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab as she fled Gaza City and an attack in Rafah that killed 15 rescue workers, including ambulance and UN vehicle staff. It will not pursue a criminal probe into the World Central Kitchen convoy strike, saying there is no reasonable suspicion of misconduct despite misidentified targets.