Affaire abbé Pierre: un an après, douze nouvelles victimes et un fonds de réparation

Un an après les premières révélations concernant l’abbé Pierre, douze nouvelles victimes de violences sexuelles dont sept mineures ont été identifiées, et un fonds de réparation financière va être créé par l’Eglise catholique et Emmaüs.”Depuis janvier 2025, le groupe Égaé a reçu des informations concernant douze personnes ayant été victimes de l’abbé Pierre. Sept de ces témoignages concernent des personnes mineures” au moment des faits, explique mercredi le cabinet spécialisé mandaté par Emmaüs pour faire toute la lumière sur cette affaire.Longtemps figure iconique de la défense des démunis, Henri Grouès, décédé en 2007, est désormais visé par 45 accusations de violences sexuelles.Parmi les témoignages anonymisés, le rapport, mis en ligne sur le site d’Emmaüs France, cite ceux de deux sœurs dont l’une a “fait état d’une masturbation de l’abbé Pierre sur son sexe alors qu’elle venait d’avoir 11 ans”, au milieu des années 70. Sa sœur “lui a confié avoir subi une fellation forcée à ses 15 ans”, ce qui relève du viol.Une autre victime a décrit dans un mail “au moins trois faits de violences sexuelles lorsqu’elle avait 10 ans” dans les années 1990, selon le compte-rendu d’activité de la ligne d’écoute d’Égaé dédiée aux victimes de l’abbé Pierre.Une autre encore, âgée de 17 ans à l’époque, “a subi un contact entre ses cuisses, sous sa jupe” alors qu’elle voyageait en train dans le wagon de l’abbé Pierre en 1953. A son arrivée, les sœurs qui l’ont accueillie “lui ont dit qu’elle avait tout imaginé”, rapporte le cabinet.Pour ces victimes, Emmaüs et la Conférence des évêques de France (CEF) ont “décidé conjointement la mise en place d’un dispositif de réparation financière”, explique Emmaüs dans un communiqué distinct.Ce dispositif, qui veut “marquer une reconnaissance matérielle des violences et des conséquences subies”, sera porté par la commission reconnaissance et réparation (CRR), une instance mise en place par la CEF après les révélations, en 2021, sur la pédocriminalité dans l’Eglise depuis les années 1950.Opérationnel à compter de septembre 2025, le dispositif sera “entièrement financé par les fonds propres du mouvement Emmaüs et ceux de la CEF”.Le principe est celui de la “responsabilité partagée”, du moins à partir de 1954, date à laquelle l’abbé Pierre est associé tant à Emmaüs qu’à l’Église. “Avant cette date, la CEF assumera seule cette charge”, affirme l’hebdomadaire La Vie.- “Transparence” -L’autre instance de réparation mise en place par l’Eglise, l’Inirr, s’est elle engagée à “prendre en charge la réparation pour les trois victimes de l’abbé Pierre qui l’ont déjà contactée”, assure Emmaüs.La CRR et l’Inirr recueillent les témoignages de victimes et proposent une réparation financière pouvant aller jusqu’à 60.000 euros.Dans ce “travail de transparence”, Emmaüs rappelle avoir créé une commission de recherche dont le rapport est attendu “début 2027”. “Désormais, une nouvelle phase s’ouvre, avec un dispositif complet au service des victimes”, assure le communiqué.Ce scandale, qui a grossi au fil des trois rapports publiés en juillet 2024, septembre 2024 et janvier 2025, a eu des répercussions profondes pour Emmaüs comme pour l’Eglise de France.La Fondation Abbé Pierre, que le prêtre avait créée avec des proches en 1987, a ainsi changé de nom le 25 janvier, pour devenir la “Fondation pour le logement des défavorisés”, puis de logo en mars.Emmaüs France a fermé définitivement le lieu de mémoire dédié au prêtre, à Esteville (Seine-Maritime).Et des centaines de rues, places et bâtiments ont été débaptisés.Côté Eglise de France, les archives ouvertes mi-septembre ont montré comment, dès les années 1950, la hiérarchie épiscopale avait gardé le silence sur un comportement jugé “problématique” mais jamais nommé.Selon un livre-enquête paru en avril, le Vatican était au courant “dès l’automne 1955” des agissements d’Henri Grouès.Mais malgré les demandes de la CEF, aucune enquête pénale ne sera ouverte pour établir des responsabilités dans ces multiples accusations, car le prêtre est décédé en 2007, et la non-dénonciation des faits est couverte par la prescription.

X chief Yaccarino steps down after two years

Linda Yaccarino resigned Wednesday as CEO of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, after two years at the helm of the Elon Musk-owned company.In a statement posted on the platform, she said she had decided to step down following what she described as “two incredible years” leading the company through a major transformation.No reason was given for her exit, but the resignation came as Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok was under fire for anti-Semitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler and insulted Islam in separate posts on the X platform.In a short reply to her post on X, Musk wrote: “Thank you for your contributions.”Yaccarino — a former NBCUniversal advertising executive — took over as X’s CEO in June 2023, replacing Musk who had been serving in the role since his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October 2022.Her appointment came as Musk sought to focus on product development while bringing in an experienced media manager to restore advertiser confidence.The company has faced significant challenges since Musk’s acquisition, including an exodus of advertisers and concerns over content moderation policies.Critics have cited a rise in violent content, racism, antisemitism and misinformation on X. Yaccarino’s background in advertising was seen as crucial to rebuilding business relationships.In her statement, Yaccarino praised the “historic business turn around” achieved by the X team and suggested the platform was entering “a new chapter” with xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company.xAI in March acquired X in an all-stock deal that valued the social media platform at $33 billion, making it a subsidiary of Musk’s AI company.”X is truly a digital town square for all voices and the world’s most powerful culture signal,” she wrote, adding that she would be “cheering you all on as you continue to change the world.”Analyst Jasmine Enberg from Emarketer said that being CEO “was always going to be a tough job, and Yaccarino lasted in the role longer than many expected.””Faced with a mercurial owner who never fully stepped away from the helm and continued to use the platform as his personal megaphone, Yaccarino had to try to run the business while also regularly putting out fires,” she told AFP.Yaccarino’s sudden exit “suggests a possible tipping point” in their relationship, even if the reasons are for now unknown.During her tenure, X introduced new features including Community Notes, a crowd-sourced fact-checking system, and announced plans for “X Money,” a financial services feature as part of Musk’s vision to transform the platform into an “Everything App.”It also coincided with Musk’s endorsement and financial backing of Donald Trump, which saw the South African-born multi-billionaire catapulted into the White House as a close advisor to the president, before a recent falling out.

Fears grow that Texas floods death toll could surge

Fears grew Wednesday that the death toll of 110 in the Texas floods could still surge as hopes fade of finding survivors among the many reported still missing several days after the disaster.More than 170 people remain unaccounted for after the flash flooding on the Fourth of July holiday, a tragedy that shocked many Americans.After torrents of river water roared through several Texas counties — some striking in the middle of the night — rescuers still worked to find bodies and any survivors as state Governor Greg Abbott warned that the final toll was not yet known.Officials in Kerr County, the epicenter of the flooding, on Wednesday confirmed 161 people were known to be missing in the county. Twelve others remain unaccounted for elsewhere in the state.”There very likely could be more added to that list,” Abbott said Tuesday, later posting on X: “Right now, our #1 job is to find every single missing person.”Kerr County, part of a Hill Country region in central Texas known as “Flash Flood Alley,” suffered the most damage, with at least 95 fatalities including 36 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters.Among them are at least 27 girls and counselors at a summer camp on the Guadalupe River when it burst its banks early Friday.Five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing as of Wednesday, plus another child not associated with the camp, Leitha said.Elsewhere in the state, there have been at least 15 fatalities, according to Abbott.More than 2,000 rescue personnel, police and experts have descended on the flood zone in what Leitha described as an “all hands on deck” operation.Ben Baker, with the Texas Game Wardens, said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were difficult because of the water, mud and debris.”When we’re trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it’s very hazardous,” Baker said. Kerrville police officer Jonathan Lamb spoke of heroic rescues by authorities and volunteers who evacuated hundreds of people from their homes or vehicles.Officers went “door to door, waking people up” in Kerr County early Friday and in some cases “pulling them out of windows” of flooding homes and trailers, Lamb told reporters.The tragedy, “as horrific as it is, could have been so much worse,” he added.The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast scattered storms on Wednesday in the Hill Country, including isolated pockets of heavy rain.In the neighboring state of New Mexico, flash flooding left three people dead Tuesday in Ruidoso, the village website said in a statement, adding the Ruidoso River rose to a record-breaking 20 feet (six meters).- Bodies in the mud -In the Texas town of Hunt, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead.Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for his grandmother, after having located the body of his grandfather. He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river.President Donald Trump is due to visit Texas on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump.”We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over… They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people,” Trump said.Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether Trump’s government funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation.During sometimes tense news conferences Tuesday and Wednesday, officials skirted questions on the speed of the emergency response.”There’s going to be an after-action” review of what happened, Sheriff Leitha said, adding “those questions need to be answered.”But officials stressed that the focus now was on locating the missing and reuniting families.Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall.”This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought…. We know that since May, temperatures have been above average,” Winkley told reporters.

FBI opens criminal probe into former FBI, CIA directors: report

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into its former director James Comey and ex-CIA chief John Brennan, two prominent critics of President Donald Trump, US media reported.Fox News Digital said the probe involved “potential wrongdoing” related to the investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election won by Trump and alleged false statements made to Congress.CIA director John Ratcliffe, a Trump appointee, had referred “evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan” to FBI director Kash Patel, another Trump appointee, for potential prosecution, Fox News Digital said, citing Justice Department sources.Comey and Brennan were named to their respective positions as head of the FBI and CIA by Democratic president Barack Obama, and they have a contentious history with Trump dating back to his first term in the White House.Trump fired Comey in 2017 as the FBI chief was leading a probe into whether any members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential vote between Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.That investigation was taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, who found there had been interference by Russia in the 2016 election in favor of Trump.But Mueller said the probe “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”Trump revoked Brennan’s security clearance in 2018, accusing the former CIA director of making “unfounded and outrageous allegations” about his administration.The Justice Department declined to confirm the opening of a probe into Comey and Brennan. “We do not comment on ongoing investigations,” a spokeswoman said Wednesday.But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked about the report in a Fox News Channel interview on Tuesday evening, said she was “glad to hear it.””Both of these disgraceful individuals turned against our constitution and our country,” Leavitt said. “And I’m sure they did, in fact, lie to Congress.”And it’s up to the Department of Justice to investigate that and to prosecute them if they did,” she said.Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies, stripping former officials of their security clearances and protective details, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.

Nvidia première entreprise à dépasser les 4.000 milliards de dollars de capitalisation boursière

Le géant des puces électroniques Nvidia est devenu mercredi la première entreprise à franchir le seuil symbolique des 4.000 milliards de dollars de valorisation boursière, porté par l’enthousiasme des investisseurs pour les valeurs liées à l’intelligence artificielle (IA).Peu après l’ouverture à Wall Street, le prix de son action a dépassé les 164 dollars, lui permettant d’afficher une capitalisation boursière de plus de 4.000 milliards de dollars, avant de refluer légèrement.A titre de comparaison, c’est plus important que le PIB de la France, du Royaume-Uni ou de l’Inde.”Si vous regardez le marché, il est le reflet ou le miroir de l’économie et les secteurs les plus forts de l’économie sont, de loin, la technologie et l’IA (…) c’est pourquoi Nvidia vaut autant et continue de croître”, commente auprès de l’AFP Adam Sarhan, analyste de 50 Park Investments.Depuis le début de l’année, le cours de Nvidia a bondi de plus de 20% alors que l’indice Nasdaq, à forte coloration technologique, a de son côté connu une avancée plus mesurée, de plus de 6%.- Révolution IA -“Il y a une entreprise dans le monde qui est à la base de la révolution de l’IA, c’est Nvidia”, résume dans une note Dan Ives, analyste chez Wedbush Securities.Depuis le succès de ChatGPT (OpenAI) fin 2022, la firme technologique fondée il y a 32 ans vit un conte de fées.Ses coûteuses cartes graphiques (GPU), déjà centrales dans l’industrie des jeux vidéo, sont devenues incontournables pour toutes les entreprises qui entraînent des modèles d’IA générative.”Qu’il s’agisse de Perplexity, d’Open AI, de Gemini (l’IA de Google, ndlr) (…) l’équipement de Nvidia est à l’origine de la plupart d’entre eux”, souligne auprès de l’AFP Steve Sosnick, analyste d’Interactive Brokers.”La demande pour l’infrastructure IA de Nvidia est incroyablement soutenue”, assurait en mai Jensen Huang, emblématique patron de l’entreprise californienne.Si Nvidia ne rend pas publique la liste de ses clients, elle a toutefois lié des partenariats avec les plus grands noms de la tech comme Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft ou Alphabet (Google).Plusieurs de ces géants ont récemment annoncé de massifs investissements, de l’ordre de plusieurs dizaines de milliards de dollars, pour renforcer leur position dans la course à l’IA.- Craintes liées à la Chine -Reste que la montée en puissance de Nvidia ne se fait pas sans difficultés alors que la place prépondérante qu’occupe la firme technologique est remise en question.Les Etats-Unis ont émis des restrictions à l’export de ses puces vers Pékin, craignant que les acteurs chinois de l’IA dépassent les pionniers américains.Cela a forcé Nvidia à passer une charge exceptionnelle de 4,5 milliards de dollars lors du premier trimestre de son exercice décalé.”Perdre l’accès au marché chinois de l’IA, que nous voyons atteindre près de 50 milliards (de dollars), aurait un impact négatif important pour notre activité et bénéficierait à nos concurrents en Chine et ailleurs”, a prévenu en mai Colette Kress, directrice financière de la société.La dirigeante a fait état d'”options limitées” pour pouvoir continuer à servir les clients chinois dans le respect de la réglementation américaine.En parallèle, Nvidia a été secouée par le succès de la start-up chinoise DeepSeek, qui a réussi à construire des modèles d’IA comparables à ceux d’OpenAI (ChatGPT) et des autres leaders américains, avec des composants moins sophistiqués et en moins grand nombre (dont certaines puces de Nvidia).Après la présentation de ce nouvel acteur chinois en janvier, Nvidia a perdu en quelques heures plus de 600 milliards de dollars de valorisation.Le retour en grande forme du fabricant de processeurs et cartes graphiques représente “juste de l’enthousiasme qui s’accumule” mais “cela nous dit tout sur le présent et rien sur l’avenir”, prévient toutefois auprès de l’AFP Kim Forrest, Bokeh Capital Partners.Dan Ives se montre lui plus optimiste, estimant que non seulement l’entreprise pourrait être rejointe par Microsoft dans le cercle très fermé des entreprises ayant dépassé les 4.000 milliards de dollars de valorisation boursière, mais qu'”au cours des 18 prochains mois, l’accent sera mis sur le club des 5.000 milliards de dollars”.

Tour de France: Evenepoel remporte le contre-la-montre à Caen, Pogacar en jaune

Le Belge Remco Evenepoel a remporté le contre-la-montre de la cinquième étape du Tour de France mercredi à Caen devant Tadej Pogacar qui prend le maillot jaune et repousse déjà très loin son grand rival Jonas Vingegaard.Sur un parcours de 33 km, le Belge, grand favori de ce chrono, s’est imposé avec 16 secondes d’avance sur Pogacar qui a admirablement résisté au champion olympique. Jonas Vingegaard, seulement 13e, est le grand perdant du jour parmi les principaux favoris du Tour en concédant une minute et 21 secondes d’Evenepoel.Au classement général, Pogacar, qui ravit le maillot jaune à Mathieu van der Poel dont le contre-la-montre n’est pas du tout la spécialité, compte désormais 42 secondes d’avance sur Evenepoel, qui passe de la neuvième à la deuxième place, 59 secondes sur Kévin Vauquelin, et surtout 1:13 sur Vingegaard, un écart déjà très conséquent.Vauquelin a réussi un excellent chrono pour terminer cinquième de l’étape, juste derrière son compatriote Bruno Armirail, à 49 secondes d’Evenepoel, se payant le luxe de doubler l’Espagnol Enric Mas, parti avant lui.C’est la deuxième victoire d’étape sur le Tour de France pour Evenepoel après celle dans le contre-la-montre l’année dernière à Gevrey-Chambertin pour ses débuts sur la Grande Boucle.Le Flamand, coiffé d’un casque doré depuis son doublé olympique, est quasiment invincible dans l’exercice. Il a remporté les six derniers chronos auxquels il a pris part, et 9 sur 12 depuis le début de l’année 2024. Il a bouclé le parcours en 36:42 à une moyenne affolante de 54 km/h.”Je suis content de ma performance évidemment. Décrocher une deuxième victoire d’étape pour notre équipe c’est très bien aussi”, a-t-il dit, s’imposant deux jours après son coéquipier chez Soudal Quick-Step, Tim Merlier.”Tadej a fait un très gros chrono aussi, a-t-il ajouté. Comparé à celui du Dauphiné (en juin), il a fait un gros pas en avant. Il a montré qu’il était en grande forme et que c’était l’homme à battre dans ce Tour. Pour ma part, j’ai fait un pas vers le podium mais la route est encore longue.”

European stocks brush off Trump’s copper, pharma tariff threats

Wall Street rose and major European markets closed in the green Wednesday, brushing off US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on copper and pharmaceuticals. Investors kept an eye on countries seeking to hammer out tariff agreements before Trump’s new cut-off date of August 1.The US president had reignited trade jitters Tuesday by announcing a 50 percent toll on copper imports and saying he was looking at 200 percent tariffs on pharmaceuticals.The news sent the price of copper — with a wide range of uses including in cars, construction and telecoms — to a record high Tuesday.But Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, found Wednesday “the market is not taking Trump at his word when it comes to tariffs, and the market impact has been limited so far.”The tech-heavy Nasdaq had added almost 1 percent two hours into the session with chipmaker Nvidia barrelling ahead just over 2 percent as AI growth saw it top $4 trillion in market value, the first company to hit the mark as it extended its globe-leading market capitalisation.Noting tech had endured some lean months going back to the third quarter of last year, eToro’s US investment analyst Bret Kenwell said “we’re seeing growth stocks come to life on the back of AI initiatives, while cybersecurity firms are rallying higher. Mega-cap tech continues to spend fortunes building out the necessary AI infrastructure for the future.”After Trump said he would allow pharmaceutical manufacturers time to relocate operations to the United States before rolling out fresh duties, equity markets largely took the news in their stride as “details of when, how and who remain thin on the ground”, said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.European markets were shrugging off risks of a trade war. Germany’s Dax hit a new high as it posted a 1.4 percent gain, matched by the CAC 40 in Paris. London could only manage a gain of just under 0.2 percent. But Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, urged caution as “reports suggesting that Trump relishes the actual dealmaking process more than an actual resolution seem to suggest that a further delay to tariffs will be forthcoming, although this is an approach fraught with risk.”Trump warned he would not again extend his August 1 deadline to reach deals, after he pushed back his July 9 cut-off.Earlier in Asia, Tokyo gains were tempered by losses in Hong Kong and Shanghai.- Key figures at around 1545 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 44,306.77 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 6,242.61New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 20,5301.22London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,867.02 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 7,878.46 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.4 percent at 24,549.56 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,821.28 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 23,892.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,493.05 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1714 from $1.1730 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3606 from $1.3592Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.44 yen from 146.53 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.11 pence from 86.27 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $70.29 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.52 per barrel

Copper giant Chile awaits ‘official’ news on US tariff raise

Chile, the world’s biggest copper producer, said Wednesday it was awaiting an “official” follow-up on US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50 percent tariff on imports of the metal. The South American country is responsible for nearly a quarter of global copper supply, which contributes 10 to 15 percent to its GDP.”The government reacts to these matters with caution, as is appropriate in diplomacy,” President Gabriel Boric told reporters Wednesday. He said he was awaiting “official communication from the United States government regarding the policy” on copper duties, after which “we will be able to respond with the institutional strength that characterizes Chile.”Trump on Tuesday told a cabinet meeting: “I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make it 50 percent.” He did not set a deadline but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the rate will likely take effect by the end of July or on August 1. China is the leading buyer of Chilean copper.  In 2023, it accounted for 56 percent of exports, followed by the United States with 11 percent and Japan with 8.5 percent, according to the Chilean Copper Commission.  State-owned copper giant Codelco, the world’s single biggest producer of the metal used in wiring, motors and renewable energy generation, also noted there had been no formal communication on the US tariffs.  There is no “executive order from the United States,” said Maximo Pacheco, board chairman of Codelco, which produces between eight and 10 percent of the world’s copper.  Trump’s announcement sent the price of copper to a record high Tuesday. 

Israel PM eyes Hamas truce deal despite hurdles in talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounded upbeat Wednesday about the prospects for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza, even as talks with Palestinian militant group Hamas failed to produce a breakthrough.With the Israeli prime minister in Washington, indirect talks stretched into a fourth day in Qatar, with reported complaints of Israeli intransigence on aid distribution to civilians in the war-torn territory.But in an interview with US television, Netanyahu, who after talks with Donald Trump on Tuesday night was uncompromising in his determination to crush Hamas, appeared more aligned with the US president’s optimism.”I think we’re getting closer to a deal,” he told FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria programme. “There’s a good chance that we’ll have it.”Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said he thought a deal to end 21 months of bitter fighting was “achievable” and could even herald a more lasting peace.”If a temporary ceasefire is achieved, we will negotiate on a permanent ceasefire,” he added in a speech in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.Netanyahu is insistent he wants to permanently neutralise the threat to Israel from Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack sparked the war.But Hamas vowed: “Gaza will not surrender… and the resistance will impose the conditions, just as it imposed the equations.”- ‘Mostly listening’ -A Palestinian official close to the talks blamed Israel for a lack of progress when discussions broke up late Tuesday because of its “refusal to accept the free entry of aid” into Gaza.Another Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations said the Israeli delegation was “mostly listening rather than negotiating, which reflects Netanyahu’s ongoing policy of obstruction and sabotaging any potential agreement”.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, however, said the US administration was “hopeful” of agreement for a 60-day ceasefire by the end of this week.The deal would include the return of 10 living hostages held by Palestinian militants since October 2023, and nine dead hostages, he added.Of 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas has rebuffed pressure to release all the hostages, demanding an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants to ensure militants in Gaza never again pose a threat to its security.Qatari mediators had warned on Tuesday that it would take time to seal a deal, though Trump kept up his push for an agreement.”It’s a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to,” Trump told reporters, in reference to Netanyahu and Hamas.Asked earlier as he met US House speaker Mike Johnson if a ceasefire announcement was imminent, Netanyahu replied: “We’re certainly working on it.”- ‘Like an earthquake’ -On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Wednesday that 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes, at least six of them children. The military said it was looking into two of the strikes which killed 20.”The explosion was massive, like an earthquake,” said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who witnessed one of the strikes, which prompted frantic scenes as people scrabbled in the rubble for survivors.”It destroyed the house and several nearby homes. The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered,” he added, calling it “a horrific massacre”.Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,680 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.The military meanwhile said its troops crossed the border into southern Lebanon as part of targeted operations to dismantle infrastructure belonging to Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah.A video shared by the army claimed to show infantry troops on the ground just over the border, although AFP was unable to verify the footage.Israel signed a truce with Hezbollah last November but has kept up its strikes, hitting what it says are Hezbollah or Hamas targets.