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Israeli fire kills 60 in Gaza, many near aid site, medics say

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.

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Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, most of them near an aid site operated by the U.S- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the centre of the enclave, local health officials said.

Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim before dawn, Reuters reported.

Israel’s military, which has been at war with Hamas militants since October 2023, said its forces fired warning shots overnight towards a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.

“This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review,” it said.

Later on Wednesday, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip said at least 14 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah.

The GHF late on Wednesday accused Hamas of killing at least five people in an attack on a bus carrying two dozen Palestinians working with the aid organization to one of its distribution sites.

“We will continue our mission to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza,” it said in a statement.

The foundation earlier said it was unaware of Wednesday’s incidents involving civilians but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions.

“Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population,” it said by email in response to Reuters questions.

“There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment.”

GHF said it distributed 2.5 million meals on Wednesday, the largest single-day delivery since it began operations, bringing to more than 16 million the number of meals provided since its operations started in late May, read the report.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.

The United Nations has condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what they say is a breach of humanitarian standards.

Elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, its health ministry said at least 11 other people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal enclave.

The war erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on October 7, 2023, Israel’s single deadliest day.

Israel’s military campaign has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there had been “significant progress” in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was “too soon” to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.

Two Hamas sources told Reuters they did not know about any breakthrough in negotiations.

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Netanyahu says US deal with Iran must dismantle nuclear infrastructure

Netanyahu said he is sceptical of a deal but it must include enriched material leaving Iran.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told U.S. President Donald Trump last week that any U.S. deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process, Reuters reported.

Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyahu also said Israel still needs to “complete the job” of destroying all tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km (93 miles) of an estimated 500 km.

A second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran are slated for this week. Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday.

Netanyahu said he is sceptical of a deal but it must include enriched material leaving Iran. “There shall be no enrichment capability – not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said.

Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation. The U.S. has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.

Netanyahu also said that he aimed to end U.S. military aid to Israel within the next 10 years, after the current 10-year deal of receiving $3.8 billion a year – which is largely spent in the United States on equipment – ends in 2028.

Due to a thriving economy, “we can afford to phase out the financial component of the military aid that we’re receiving, and I propose a 10-year draw down to zero. Now, in the three years that remain in the present memorandum of understanding and another seven years draw it down to zero,” Netanyahu said.

“We want to move with the United States from aid to partnership,” he said.

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Courts rule thousands of ICE detentions unlawful under Trump crackdown

Despite the rulings, ICE has continued holding people for prolonged periods, sometimes even after judges ordered their release.

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U.S. federal judges have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unlawfully detained immigrants under the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement, according to a review of court records by Reuters.

The rulings represent a broad legal rebuke of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Courts have repeatedly found that the administration abandoned a decades-old interpretation of federal law that allowed many immigrants already living in the U.S. to seek release on bond while their cases proceed.

Despite the rulings, ICE has continued holding people for prolonged periods, sometimes even after judges ordered their release.

Detention levels have surged to about 68,000 people, a roughly 75 percent increase from when Trump returned to office. The White House says it is acting within the law to fulfill the president’s mandate on immigration enforcement.

While a conservative federal appeals court in New Orleans recently sided with the administration in one case, most lower courts have rejected its position. In at least 4,421 cases, more than 400 federal judges ruled that ICE violated the law by denying detainees bond hearings or holding them without proper authority.

With limited alternatives, detained immigrants have filed over 20,200 lawsuits since Trump took office, seeking release from what they argue is unlawful detention. Judges in several states have found that the government failed to comply with court orders, leaving people jailed even after judges ruled in their favor.

Legal experts say the flood of cases has strained the Justice Department, forcing prosecutors to divert resources from criminal cases to defend immigration detentions.

While the Reuters analysis does not break down cases by nationality, Afghan immigrants have also been affected.

Advocacy groups and immigration lawyers have reported that some Afghans have been detained during routine ICE check-ins or traffic stops, despite having no criminal records and active immigration cases.

Like other detainees, Afghan nationals may be denied bond hearings under the administration’s stricter interpretation of detention laws, forcing them to file habeas petitions in federal court.

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Dubai’s DP World boss removed from post after pressure over Epstein

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Dubai port giant DP World said on Friday its chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem had resigned, an announcement that followed mounting pressure over his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Bin Sulayem, one of the Middle East’s most prominent business figures, is among the highest-profile executives to face scrutiny and be removed from senior roles following the recent release of the Epstein files, Reuters reported.

Dubai’s ruler on Friday also issued a decree appointing a new chairman for Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, one of several roles previously held by Bin Sulayem.

Members of the U.S. Congress said Bin Sulayem’s name appeared in documents published by the U.S. Department of Justice, prompting renewed questions over his past interactions with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Reuters was not able to independently verify the allegations in the files.

MOUNTING PRESSURE

Pressure had been building on the Emirati logistics firm after two organisations, the UK development finance agency and Canada’s second-largest pension fund, said this week they would suspend all new investment with DP World over Bin Sulayem’s alleged Epstein ties.

On Friday the UK agency, British International Investment, welcomed DP World’s decision and said it looked forward to continuing “our partnership to advance the development of key African trading ports”.

Canada’s La Caisse said in a statement that “the company took the appropriate measures”. It said it would “move quickly to work with DP World’s new leadership to continue our partnership on port projects around the world”.

DP World appointed Essa Kazim as chairman of its board of directors and Yuvraj Narayan as group chief executive officer, Dubai Media Office reported earlier.

Kazim currently serves as governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, while Narayan, who joined DP World in 2004 and most recently served as deputy CEO, has held several senior roles in the company.

GLOBAL FALLOUT FROM EPSTEIN FILES

The resignation of Bin Sulayem follows the departure of other prominent figures in business and politics from top jobs across the globe as the fallout from the files expands.

Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab general counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she will resign this summer over the ties, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, while at least three members of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration stepped down after the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. threw the government into crisis.

The Epstein files, among millions published by the U.S. Department of Justice, suggest a close relationship with Bin Sulayem for more than a decade after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 on prostitution charges involving an underage girl.

The documents include emails and text messages that appear to show discussions between Epstein and Bin Sulayem about business, conversations about sex and plans to visit Epstein’s Caribbean island.

The documents show the late disgraced financier’s web of relationships with prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business. Being named in the files is not evidence of criminal activity.

Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell where he was being held on sex-trafficking charges in August 2019. His death was ruled as suicide by hanging.

PROMINENT FIGURE IN BUSINESS HUB DUBAI

Bin Sulayem, a prominent figure in Dubai and the wider Middle East, was one of the names behind the emirate’s growth into the region’s business and tourism hub.

Some of his ventures included establishing Nakheel, the real estate developer behind Dubai’s famous palm-shaped islands, as well as contributing to the creation of commodities exchange DMCC.

A frequent speaker at the World Economic Forum and other global business gatherings, he most notably oversaw DP World’s transformation into one of the world’s largest port and logistics operators.

The company says it handles around 10% of global container traffic with operations spanning countries including Canada, Peru, India and Angola.

DP World also sponsors a leading professional golf tour in Europe and has been a logistics partner for McLaren’s Formula 1 racing team since 2023.

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