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Israel kills more than 100 in strikes after soldier’s death, says it still backs ceasefire

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Israel said on Wednesday it remains committed to the U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza, despite its retaliation for the death of an Israeli soldier with day-long bombardment that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people.

Even as the military affirmed it still intended to uphold the truce in the Palestinian enclave, it announced it had carried out another airstrike in the north of Gaza where it said weapons had been stored. Medics said two people were killed in that attack, Reuters reported.

The killing of an Israeli soldier in Gaza on Tuesday has triggered the worst escalation there since the ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump came into effect on October 10 after two years of war triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Israel says the soldier was killed in an attack by gunmen on territory within the “yellow line” where its troops withdrew under the truce. Hamas has rejected the accusation.

Israel described Wednesday’s attack as a targeted strike near Beit Lahia in the north of the strip, where it said weapons had been stored. It said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement while responding firmly to any violation.

“We want to ensure that the goal that President Trump and we agreed on of disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza is ultimately achieved,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later on Wednesday during a visit to a military facility in southern Israel where U.S. troops are monitoring the truce.

“There is a real effort here in cooperation, with security being maintained in our own hands,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement released by his office.

AIRSTRIKES TARGETED HAMAS COMMANDER, ISRAEL SAYS

In response to the soldier’s death, the military launched what it described as strikes targeting dozens of Hamas militants across the enclave, as well as weapons depots and tunnels belonging to the group.

It named 24 militant targets, including one it described as a Hamas commander who took part in an attack on a kibbutz during the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel that ignited the war.

The Gaza health ministry said 46 children and 20 women were among the 104 people killed in the airstrikes.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office issued a statement saying Israel’s list of targets was a product of a “systematic campaign of misinformation, forgery, and lies aimed at distorting the truth and covering up its ongoing crimes against civilians.”

In Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip, neighbours said the entire Abu Dalal family had been wiped out in an airstrike that flattened their home overnight.

A boy in a wheelchair wailed as the family’s bodies in white plastic body bags were loaded into the back of a flatbed truck. Crowds followed as the bodies were driven through the streets to a cemetery.

Despite the bombardments, Trump said the ceasefire was not at risk.

“As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back,” he added.

“Nothing is going to jeopardise” the ceasefire, Trump said. “You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”

He has touted the truce and hostage-prisoner exchange deal as one of the top foreign policy achievements of his second term, and he and his top aides have sought to keep the ceasefire from unravelling.

The latest flare-up has underscored the stumbling blocks to a lasting peace. Key questions of Hamas disarming, further Israeli troop pullbacks and future governance of Gaza remain unresolved.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who has acted as a mediator, said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and subsequent Israeli airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.

RESIDENTS DESCRIBE NIGHT OF BOMBARDMENT

Displaced Palestinians feared the truce could fall apart.

“The sounds of explosions and planes made us feel as if war had started again,” Ismail Zayda, 40, living in tents in western Gaza City with his 25-member family, told Reuters via a chat app.

Under the accord, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops and halted its offensive.

Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all dead hostages yet to be recovered, but has said that it will take time to locate and retrieve them. Israel has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by stalling in handing over bodies.

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Ukraine to share revised peace plan with US on Tuesday, Zelenskiy says

Zelenskiy pointed to the delicate balancing act the European powers need to strike as they try to negotiate better terms to the proposed U.S. plan:

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Ukraine will share a revised peace plan with the U.S. on Tuesday that is aimed at ending Russia’s war, after talks in London between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the leaders of France, Germany and Britain.

As the war nears its four-year mark, Kyiv, under pressure from the White House to agree quickly to a peace settlement, wants to balance out a U.S.-backed draft that was widely seen as favourable to Moscow.

Monday’s hastily arranged meeting among British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelenskiy was aimed to strengthen Ukraine’s hand.

Zelenskiy told reporters after the meeting that the revised plan comprised 20 points, but that there was still no agreement on the issue of giving up territory – which Moscow has pushed for.

“The mood of the Americans, in principle, is for finding a compromise,” he said. “Of course, there are complex issues related to the territory, and a compromise has not yet been found there.”

He repeated his oft-stated position that Ukraine cannot give up any part of its land.

Zelenskiy later flew to Brussels, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said in social media posts that any peace deal had to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and guarantee its long-term security.

Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, described his meeting with the two EU institution chiefs, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, as “good and productive. We are acting in a coordinated and constructive manner.”

Earlier, a British government source had said Monday’s meeting would focus on using the value of Russian assets frozen in the West.

Leaders from Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden urged the European Union to move quickly with a stalled proposal to use those assets to provide funds for Ukraine.

Starmer, Macron, Merz and Zelenskiy are also aiming to get U.S. security guarantees to help deter any further attacks from Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The publication of a U.S. ceasefire plan last month has gone some way to focus the minds of European leaders, who fear that Kyiv could be forced to accept many Russian demands, which some say could destabilise the continent.

But although U.S. officials said they were in the final stage of reaching an agreement, there has so far been little sign that either Ukraine or Russia is willing to sign the framework deal drawn up by Trump’s negotiators.

“We stand with Ukraine and, if there was to be a ceasefire, it has to be a just and lasting ceasefire,” Starmer said after welcoming the leaders to his Downing Street residence.

Macron and Merz also expressed their determination to press on with a firm plan, at a time the German chancellor described as “decisive … for all of us”.

Zelenskiy pointed to the delicate balancing act the European powers need to strike as they try to negotiate better terms to the proposed U.S. plan:

“There are some things we can’t manage without the Americans, things we can’t manage without Europe; that’s why we need to make some important decisions.”

Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in a video address late on Sunday that a “new diplomatic week” was starting.

“First and foremost, security issues, support for our resilience, and support packages for our defence. First and foremost, air defence and long-term funding for Ukraine. Of course, we will discuss a shared vision and common positions in the negotiations,” he said.

Ukraine is enduring one of its toughest periods of the war. Russian troops are grinding forward in the east, and Ukrainian cities and towns are suffering hours of power cuts due to intensified Russian strikes on the energy grid and other crucial infrastructure.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner brought a revised plan to Moscow last week, then held several more days of talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami, which ended on Saturday with no breakthrough.

Zelenskiy called the discussions constructive but not easy. Trump said on Sunday he was “disappointed” with Zelenskiy, accusing him of not having read the latest proposals backed by the U.S.

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Shooting at South African bar leaves 11 dead, including a young child, police say

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At least 11 people were killed on Saturday including a three year old boy, after gunshots were fired at an illegal bar in the South African city of Pretoria, police said, adding that a manhunt was launched for three suspects who were not identified.

Another 14 people were wounded during the incident in the Saulsville township, they said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Police didn’t say whether the shooting occurred inside or outside the illegal bar, known locally as a ‘shebeen.’

“Three minors are among those deceased, which include 3- and 12-year-old boys (and a) 16-year-old female,” the South African Police Service said.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, averaging about 60 a day.

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Putin visits India for first time since 2022 Ukraine invasion

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Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin a two-day trip to India on Thursday, his first since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Moscow seeks to reinforce defense and trade ties with New Delhi amid rising pressure from the Trump administration over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

Putin will travel with a high-level delegation that includes Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.
Media reports suggest the two countries may revisit a long-delayed fighter jet agreement during the visit.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to host Putin for a private dinner on Thursday, followed by a summit meeting and business engagements on Friday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s S-400 air defense systems would be a “significant” point of discussion, underscoring the central role of military cooperation in the relationship. India has so far received three of the five S-400 units ordered in 2018, with remaining shipments delayed by Western sanctions and supply disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine.

Reports also indicate that Moscow may propose jointly manufacturing its Su-57 fighter jet in India. Russia remains a major source of India’s defense equipment, though its share of India’s arms imports has declined as New Delhi expands domestic production.

The visit comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian exports, arguing that India’s reliance on discounted Russian crude indirectly supports Moscow’s war effort. India has emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil since 2022, saving billions of dollars, though it has recently scaled back purchases as Washington tightened sanctions on producers such as Rosneft and Lukoil.

Indian officials worry that new defense or energy deals with Moscow could trigger additional retaliation from Washington at a sensitive moment in U.S.–India trade talks.

Speaking to Indian media, Peskov dismissed concerns over U.S. measures. “What matters to us is maintaining and increasing our business with India without interference,” he said.

Analysts say neither country is likely to abandon the relationship. Even if India further reduces its intake of Russian crude, Moscow remains indispensable as a supplier of parts for India’s large stock of Russian-made military platforms.

“There may be some reduction in energy purchases under U.S. pressure,” said Nandan Unnikrishnan of the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, “but the overall direction of the ties will be maintained because both countries need each other at the strategic level.”

Bilateral trade reached $68.7 billion in 2024–25, nearly six times the pre-pandemic figure, though Indian exports accounted for less than $5 billion. New Delhi has been pressing Moscow to open more space for Indian pharmaceuticals, automobiles and service-sector companies.

Analysts say the visit gives both leaders an opportunity to assess the geopolitical landscape, including the war in Ukraine, and signal continuity in the partnership.

“For India, the optics underscore its commitment to strategic autonomy, and for Putin—who rarely travels—the trip highlights the importance he places on the relationship,” said Harsh V. Pant of King’s College London.

A senior Indian Foreign Ministry official, speaking anonymously, described Russia–India ties as among the “most stable relationships in modern times,” urging observers to view the visit in its bilateral context.

“This is just another annual summit between two countries with a steady relationship,” the official said.

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