World
Israel and Hamas agree Gaza truce, Biden pledges assistance

Israel and Hamas will cease-fire across the Gaza Strip border as of Friday, the United States said, bringing a potentially tenuous halt to the fiercest fighting in years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said his security cabinet had voted unanimously in favour of a “mutual and unconditional” Gaza truce proposed by Egypt, but added that the hour of implementation had yet to be agreed.
Hamas and Egypt said the truce would begin at 2 a.m. (2300 GMT Thursday), after 11 days of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities.
In a televised address at 2200 GMT, U.S. President Joe Biden said both sides agreed the truce would begin “in less than two hours”.
The sides traded blows again in the countdown.
Sirens warned of incoming rockets in Israeli border communities, and a Reuters reporter heard an air strike in Gaza. A man in his 50s was lightly hurt in a direct hit on an Israeli factory, medics said.
Amid growing global alarm at the bloodshed, Biden had urged Netanyahu to seek de-escalation, while Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations sought to mediate.
Extending condolences to bereaved Israelis and Palestinians, Biden said Washington would work with the United Nations “and other international stakeholders to provide rapid humanitarian assistance” for the reconstruction of Hamas-controlled Gaza.
He said aid would be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority – run by Hamas’ rival, President Mahmoud Abbas, and based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank – “in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal”.
The United States was also committed to replenishing Iron Dome interceptors that helped Israel fend off the more than 4,300 rockets fired at it from Gaza during the this month’s conflict.
Hamas said the ceasefire would be “mutual and simultaneous”.
“The Palestinian resistance will abide by this agreement as long as the Occupation (Israel) does the same,” Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, told Reuters.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had ordered two security delegations into Israel and the Palestinian Territories to work towards upholding the ceasefire, Egyptian state TV reported.
In a televised speech Abu Ubaida, spokesman of the Hamas armed wing, said: “With the help of God, we were able to humiliate the enemy, its fragile entity and its savage army.”
He threatened Hamas rocket fire that would reach throughout Israel if it violated the truce or struck Gaza before the hour of implementation.
Rocket attacks by Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad had resumed after an eight-hour pause earlier on Thursday, as Israel pursued shelling that it said aimed to destroy the factions’ military capabilities and deter them from future confrontations after the current conflict.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Twitter that the Gaza offensive had yielded “unprecedented military gains”.
Speaking to his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin, Gantz said Israel’s defence establishment would “continue to work closely and in full cooperation with the Pentagon and the U.S. administration to stabilise the region,” Gantz’s office said.
Since the fighting began on May 10, health officials in Gaza said 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, had been killed and more than 1,900 wounded in aerial bombardments. Israel said it had killed at least 160 combatants in Gaza.
Authorities put the death toll in Israel at 12, with hundreds of people treated for injuries in rocket attacks that caused panic and sent people rushing into shelters.
The violence was triggered by Palestinian anger at what they viewed as Israeli curbs on their rights in Jerusalem, including during police confrontations with protesters at Al-Aqsa mosque.
Hamas previously demanded that any halt to the Gaza fighting be accompanied by Israeli drawdowns in Jerusalem. An Israeli official told Reuters there was no such condition in the truce.
“The only way there’ll be a Hamas-Jerusalem linkage is if they agree to us drowning them on ‘Jerusalem Beach’ in Tel Aviv,” security cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel’s top-rated Channel 12 TV earlier on Thursday.
Hamas is deemed a terrorist group in the West and by Israel, which it refuses to recognise.
The United Nations said its Middle East envoy, Tor Wennesland, was in Qatar on Thursday as part of truce efforts.
World
Trump says he is seeking ‘real end’ to Iran’s nuclear program
He said he is instead seeking “a real end,” which involves Iran “giving up entirely” on nukes.

US President Donald Trump said early Tuesday that he is seeking “a real end” to Iran’s nuclear program, adding that he will be monitoring developments in the Middle East from the White House later in the day.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight from a G7 leaders’ summit in Canada, Trump ruled out the possibility of calling for a ceasefire in the Iran-Israel conflict.
“I didn’t say I was looking for a ceasefire,” he said, CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs posted on X. Instead, he stressed the need for Iran to give up its nuclear activities completely.
He said he is instead seeking “a real end,” which involves Iran “giving up entirely” on nukes.
On Israel’s ongoing military strikes, Trump said: “The Israelis aren’t slowing up their barrage on Iran. You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far.”
On any potential threat to US interests, Trump said Iran knows not to touch US troops, warning that the US would “come down so hard if they do anything to our people.”
Asked about sending US emissaries such as Steven Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet with Iranian officials, Trump remained noncommittal. “I may,” he said, adding that his decision “depends what happens when I get back.”
Asked about calls for Iran’s capital Tehran to evacuate, Trump said he wants “people to be safe.”
When asked whether the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and the US defense secretary have provided him with military planning options should Iran attack US bases in the Middle East, Trump declined to comment, saying: “I can’t tell you that.”
Trump also commented on whether the Gang of Eight – a group of US congressional leaders with access to sensitive intelligence – has been briefed on the situation, he said they would, but “it’s not necessary” at this stage.
On the possibility of US involvement in the conflict leading to the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, Trump expressed hope that Iran’s program “is wiped out long before that.”
Tensions in the region have intensified since Friday, following Israeli airstrikes targeting several locations across Iran, including military and nuclear sites, which triggered retaliatory attacks from Tehran.
Israeli officials reported that Iranian missile strikes have killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds.
Iran stated that the Israeli attacks have resulted in at least 224 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries.
World
Britain appoints first female head of MI6 spy agency
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is currently in Canada for the G7 summit, said Metreweli’s appointment comes when Britain is “facing threats on an unprecedented scale”.

Britain on Sunday named Blaise Metreweli, a career intelligence officer, as the first female head of the Secret Intelligence Service, the foreign spy service known as MI6, Reuters reported.
Metreweli, 47, who is currently MI6’s head of technology, known as “Q”, joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1999, and has spent most of her career in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe, the government said in a statement.
Richard Moore, the current chief of MI6, will step down in the autumn after a five-year tenure.
“I am proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service,” said Metreweli, who takes on one of the most powerful jobs in Western intelligence and will be known by the code name “C”.
MI6, founded in 1909, joins the other main British spy agencies, the domestic spy service MI5, and the intelligence communications agency GCHQ, in having appointed a female head.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is currently in Canada for the G7 summit, said Metreweli’s appointment comes when Britain is “facing threats on an unprecedented scale”.
“I know Blaise will continue to provide the excellent leadership needed to defend our country,” he said.
Metreweli’s biggest challenges are likely to be dealing with Russia, China and Iran, read the report.
Britain’s spy agencies have accused Russia of waging a campaign of sabotage across Europe to scare other countries off from backing Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion.
Moore in 2021 said China was the single greatest priority for his spy agency, while MI5 said last year that Iran had been behind 20 plots to kill, kidnap or target dissidents or political opponents in Britain since 2022.
MI6, depicted by novelists as the employer of some of the most memorable fictional spies, from John le Carré’s George Smiley to Ian Fleming’s James Bond, operates overseas and is tasked with defending Britain and its interests.
Metreweli previously held a director-level role in MI5, and studied anthropology at the University of Cambridge, the government said.
MI5 has had two female bosses, starting with Stella Rimington in 1992. Eliza Manningham-Buller ran MI5 between 2002 and 2007, Reuters reported.
In 2023, Britain named its first female director of GCHQ.
Metreweli’s appointment comes three decades after the actress Judi Dench first played a female boss of MI6 in the James Bond film “GoldenEye”.
World
Trump hosts grand military parade in Washington DC amid nationwide backlash
With a price tag estimated between $25 million and $45 million, critics slammed the parade as wasteful and evocative of authoritarian imagery

US President Donald Trump presided over a large-scale military parade in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, commemorating both his 79th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
The event, held along Constitution Avenue and the National Mall, featured approximately 6,600 troops, a cavalcade of 150 military vehicles, and aerial demonstrations with over 50 helicopters and aircraft—including historical reenactments and modern systems like HIMARS rocket units.
Trump, arriving behind bullet‑proof glass at around 6 pm gave a patriotic address lauding the “legacy of unmatched courage” of American soldiers and swore in 250 new recruits.
As tanks rumbled and troops marched, a fireworks display capped the ceremony later that evening.
With a price tag estimated between $25 million and $45 million, critics slammed the parade as wasteful and evocative of authoritarian imagery—especially as it mirrored similar displays in France and Russia.
Supporters argued it was a fitting tribute to the armed forces, marking a rare public celebration of the Army’s 250th anniversary.
Simultaneously, millions marched across the country under the “No Kings” banner—decrying Trump’s policies and warning of democratic backsliding. Over 2,000 protests took place nationwide, from New York to Los Angeles.
While mostly peaceful, some demonstrations turned violent—officers deployed tear gas in cities like L.A. and Portland and, tragically, a politically motivated shooting in Minnesota left two lawmakers dead.
The event however underscored deep political divides: patriotic celebration for the president’s base vs. fears of authoritarian symbolism voiced by his opponents.
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