World
Netanyahu sacks defence minister, jolting Israeli politics as war grinds on
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X, however, that “firing Gallant in the middle of a war is an act of madness.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, citing a “crisis of trust”, and replaced him with close ally Israel Katz to lead the country’s war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s critics accused him of putting politics ahead of national security at a time when Israel is bracing for Iranian retaliation to its [USN:L1N3M60ET TEXT:“Oct. 26 airstrikes”] on the Islamic Republic.
After Gallant was fired, protesters in Israel blocked highways and lit bonfires on roads, police said.
The prime minister named Gideon Saar as the new foreign minister in place of Katz.
Gallant and Netanyahu, both in the right-wing Likud party, have [USN:L1N3MC0YJ TEXT:“clashed for months”] over the objectives of Israel’s 13-month-old war in Gaza against Palestinian militant group Hamas. But the timing of Gallant’s dismissal was a surprise, and came as Israel’s ally the U.S. held its presidential election.
Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon have entered new phases following the killing of top commanders in both Hamas and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Netanyahu said Gallant has made statements that “contradict the decisions of the government and the decisions of the cabinet”. In response, Gallant said: “The security of the state of Israel always was and will always remain my life’s mission.”
Katz vowed the return of Israel’s hostages from Gaza and destruction of Hamas and Hezbollah.
“I accept this responsibility with a sense of mission and holy fear for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens,” Katz said on social media platform X.
As foreign minister, [USN:S8N3LA00X TEXT:“Katz barred”] U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month from entering Israel over what he described as a failure to condemn an Iranian missile attack and antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct. In September, he [USN:L8N3L80L2 TEXT:“rejected proposals”] from the U.S. and France for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon.
[USN:L8N3KY0U8 TEXT:“Reports”] appeared in September that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was considering firing Gallant.
Gayil Talshir, a specialist in Israeli politics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, believed the last straw for Netanyahu came this week when Gallant issued 7,000 draft notices for ultra-Orthodox Haredi men, angering those in the government who oppose conscription.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a minister in Netanyahu’s coalition government, praised Tuesday’s decision, saying Gallant was “deeply trapped in the conception” that it “is not possible to achieve absolute victory”.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X, however, that “firing Gallant in the middle of a war is an act of madness.”
In Washington, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said Gallant had been an important partner and that it would continue working collaboratively with Katz.
Gallant rose to the rank of general during a 35-year military career.
France’s foreign minister will travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Wednesday, a day after U.S. elections, to press Israel to engage diplomatically to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces issued new evacuation orders in the northern Gaza Strip and carried out military strikes which Palestinian medics and media said had killed at least 35 people since Monday night.
Acting U.N. aid chief Joyce Msuya said on X that Israeli military ground operations in northern Gaza had left Palestinians “without the essentials to survive, forced them to flee for safety multiple times, and cut off their escape and supply routes.”
An airstrike late on Monday damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya, killing at least 20 people, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.
Ten were killed in central areas of the Palestinian enclave – six in separate airstrikes on Gaza City and the town of Deir Al-Balah, and four in the town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics and health officials said.
At least five others were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia north of Gaza City, medics said later on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said, without giving details, that its forces had “eliminated terrorists” in the central Gaza Strip and Jabalia area. Israeli troops had also located weapons and explosives over the past day in the southern Rafah area, where “terrorist infrastructure sites” had been eliminated, it said.
Later on Tuesday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets over Beit Lahiya ordering residents who have not yet left their homes and shelters housing displaced families to quit the town completely.
“To all those who remained at homes and shelters, you are risking your lives. For your safety you have to head south,” said the leaflet, which was written in Arabic.
Palestinians said the new attacks and Israeli orders for evacuations were aimed at emptying areas to create buffer zones.
Israel says the evacuations are meant to keep civilians out of harm’s way as its troops battle Hamas fighters.
More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, health authorities in Gaza say.
The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. – Reuters
President Donald Trump’s administration officially launched his “Trump Gold Card” visa program on Wednesday to provide a pathway, with a steep price, for non-U.S. citizens to get expedited permission to live in the United States.
The website Trumpcard.gov, complete with an “apply now” button, allows interested applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department of Homeland Security for speedy processing, Reuters reported.
After going through a background check or vetting process, applicants must then make a “contribution” — the website also calls it a “gift” — of $1 million to get the visa, similar to a “Green Card,” which allows them to live and work in the United States.
“Basically it’s a Green Card, but much better. Much more powerful, a much stronger path,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “A path is a big deal. Have to be great people.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said some 10,000 people have already signed up for the gold card during a pre-registration period and he expected many more to do so. “I would expect over time that we’d sell, you know, thousands of these cards and raise, you know, billions, billions of dollars,” Lutnick told Reuters in a brief interview.
Lutnick said the gold card program would bring people into the United States who would benefit the economy. He compared that to “average” Green Card holders, whom he said earned less money than average Americans and were more likely to be on or have family members on public assistance. He did not provide evidence for that assertion.
Trump’s administration has pursued a broad crackdown on immigration, deporting hundreds of thousands of people who were in the country illegally and also taking measures to discourage legal immigration.
The gold card program is the Trump version of a counter balance to that, designed to make money for the U.S. Treasury in the same way the president, a former New York businessman and reality television host, has said his tariff program has successfully done.
Lutnick noted that there was also a corporate version of the gold card that allowed companies to get expedited visas for employees they wanted to work in the United States, for a $2 million contribution per employee.
World
Shooting at Kentucky State University kills one, suspect in custody
The New York Times, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the suspect was not a student, but both victims were, and that the shooting had taken place outside of a residential dorm.
A shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday left one person dead and another in critical condition, according to police, who said the suspected assailant was taken into custody, Reuters reported.
Local police in Frankfort, the state capital, and county sheriff’s deputies made the arrest and secured the campus soon after reports of an active shooter, authorities said on social media. The Frankfort Police Department did not provide further details.
A spokesperson for Kentucky State University, a historically Black school, declined comment, but said the school – which had an enrollment of 1,700 students as of the fall of 2023 – would release a statement later on Tuesday.
The New York Times, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the suspect was not a student, but both victims were, and that the shooting had taken place outside of a residential dorm.
World
Powerful 7.6 earthquake hits northern Japan, tsunami warnings issued
At Kuji Port in Iwate, a 70-centimeter tsunami was recorded, while Hokkaido observed waves of 50 centimeters in Urakawa Town and 40 centimeters at Mutsuogawara Port.
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck northern Japan late Monday night, prompting tsunami advisories and an unprecedented alert for a potential “mega quake” along the country’s Pacific coast.
The quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture at a depth of 54 kilometers. Authorities initially issued tsunami warnings for Iwate Prefecture as well as coastal areas of Hokkaido and Aomori.
USGS has recorded the quakes magnitude at 7.6. However, Japanese officials have stated it was a 7.5 magnitude quake.
At Kuji Port in Iwate, a 70-centimeter tsunami was recorded, while Hokkaido observed waves of 50 centimeters in Urakawa Town and 40 centimeters at Mutsuogawara Port.
As of 1:00 a.m., officials confirmed six injuries in Aomori, with residents hurt by falling objects or during attempts to evacuate. More than three hours after the quake, the tsunami warnings were downgraded to advisories, though authorities continue to urge residents to stay clear of the shoreline.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency has issued a rare alert warning that a much larger earthquake could follow. A potential mega quake—magnitude 8 or higher—could generate tsunamis along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido down to Chiba.
Residents in the affected areas have been urged to review evacuation routes, prepare emergency supplies, secure household furniture, and ensure access to food, water, and portable toilets. Officials say people along the Pacific coastline should remain on high alert for the next week, although no formal evacuation recommendation is currently in place.
This is the first time Japan has issued an alert under this category since it was created in 2022.
Morikubo Tsukasa, a disaster preparedness official with the Cabinet Office, said: “Based on global earthquake statistics, there is a possibility that a large-scale earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher could occur as a follow-up along the Japan Trench or Chishima Trench off Hokkaido. It is unclear whether such an event will happen, but everyone should take precautions to protect their lives.”
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