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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would not extend an August 1 deadline for higher US tariffs to take effect on dozens of economies, while announcing plans for a separate 50 percent duty on copper imports.The copper levy would broaden a slate of sector-specific actions Trump has imposed since returning to the White House, …

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Lebanon said three people were killed Tuesday in a strike near Tripoli that the Israeli military said targeted a Hamas militant, the first on the north since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.The strike came as Israel and Hamas held ceasefire talks in Qatar and after five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite the November truce, mainly hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets but also occasionally targeting Hamas.The Israeli military said it “struck and eliminated the terrorist Mehran Mustafa Ba’jur” in an intelligence-led strike, calling him “one of Hamas’s key commanders in Lebanon”.It released six seconds of video footage of what appeared to be an air strike on a moving car. AFP cannot independently verify the footage.”During the war, he was responsible for rocket fire attacks towards (the northern Israeli cities of) Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona and additional cities across Israel,” a statement said.”His elimination significantly damages Hamas’s terror activity in Lebanon,” it added, promising to “operate against Hamas’s establishment in Lebanon, and… wherever they operate”.Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike on a vehicle “killed three people and wounded 13” in an area that is close to a Palestinian refugee camp.An AFP photographer saw a burnt out car surrounded by the emergency services and onlookers.Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of cross-border hostilities launched by Hezbollah in October 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally.Israel has struck Hamas operatives in Lebanon, including since the ceasefire.In May, Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in a strike on the southern city of Sidon as Israel said it targeted “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon”.In October, Hamas said one of its operatives was killed along with his wife and two daughters in a strike on their home in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. Israel’s military said it targeted “a senior member of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon”.In May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Beirut for talks on disarming militants in refugee camps across Lebanon as the Beirut government seeks to impose its authority across all its territory.Israeli strikes on south Lebanon remain common, but raids on the north have been rare.A separate Israeli drone strike on a car near the southern village of Babliyeh on Tuesday killed one person, the health ministry said.The Israeli military said earlier that it had killed two Hezbollah operatives in strikes on south Lebanon on Monday.burs-lg/lk/kir/dcp

US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would return to the White House for talks Tuesday in a bid to end the “tragedy” of the Gaza war, after Qatari mediators warned it would take time to seal a deal.The dramatic push came as Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he hoped for an agreement on an elusive 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by the end of the week.Trump said the second meeting in two days between the US and Israeli leaders — after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House on Monday — reflected that all sides wanted to reach an agreement.”It’s a tragedy, and he (Netanyahu) wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting.Netanyahu, who was also meeting congressional leaders during his third trip to Washington since Trump returned to power, is due to meet Trump again at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT), the Israeli prime minister’s office said.Trump has strongly backed Netanyahu, especially over the recent Iran-Israel war, but has also been stepping up the pressure to end what he calls the “hell” in Gaza.Qatar however said Tuesday more time was needed for negotiations for a breakthrough between Israel and Hamas, as indirect negotiations extended into a third day in Doha.”I don’t think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said.- ‘Hopeful’ -Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings in Doha were focused on a framework for the talks, while a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said no breakthrough had been achieved so far.But Witkoff, who is set to join the talks in Doha this week, was upbeat.”We are hopeful that by end of this week we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire,” Witkoff said at Trump’s cabinet meeting.”Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released.”On the ground, five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza — one of the deadliest days this year for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory.Gaza’s civil defence meanwhile reported 29 killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday, including three children.Israel and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.An Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu to Washington said the proposal under discussion was “80-90 percent of what Israel wanted.”But far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir opposed negotiations with Hamas, saying that “there is no need to negotiate with those who murder our fighters; they must be torn to shreds.”- ‘Difficult morning’ -Netanyahu described the loss of five soldiers in Gaza as a “difficult morning.” They were reportedly killed by improvised explosive devices near Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.According to the Israeli military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign.The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s more than two million people.Netanyahu said as he met Trump on Monday that Israel and the United States were close to a deal with neighboring countries on taking in Palestinians in Gaza — though Arab countries have rejected such plans.Earlier this year Trump proposed taking over the Gaza Strip and displacing its people, though he has been quieter on the plan in recent months.”I think President Trump had a brilliant vision. It’s called free choice. If people want to stay (in Gaza), they can stay; but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,” Netanyahu said.The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Of 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,575 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.burs-dk/bjt

United Airlines said Tuesday it would resume service between Tel Aviv and its Newark/New York hub on July 21, 10 days earlier than previously planned.The carrier joined a large group of international airlines that suspended service to Israel on June 13 as fighting between Israel and Iran closed off airspaces in the region. United subsequently said it would pause service with Tel Aviv through at least July 31.The restoration of service reflects the improved flying environment following a truce between the countries from late last month.”This resumption is in line with United’s longstanding commitment to serving Tel Aviv,” the airline said. “United service to Tel Aviv always follows a detailed assessment of operational considerations in the region and close consultation with the unions representing our flight attendants and pilots.”United had also said it would suspend daily service between Newark and Dubai. The company did not immediately reply to a query on the status of that service.American Airlines, which has not flown to Tel Aviv since October 2023, has “nothing new to share at this time regarding Tel Aviv service,” according to a spokesperson.”Customers who are planning travel to Israel can purchase tickets on aa.com on flights operated by our partner airlines that serve Tel Aviv,” the spokesperson said.American is part of the Oneworld Alliance, which includes British Airways and Qatar Airways, among others.Delta Air Lines, which also suspended service to Middle Eastern destinations, did not immediately respond to an AFP query.

Five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, the military said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented a “difficult morning” as he visited Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump, who is pressing for a ceasefire in the more than 21-month war.”All of Israel bows its head and mourns the fall of our heroic soldiers, who risked their lives in the battle to defeat Hamas and free all our hostages,” Netanyahu posted on X. The Israeli military said the five soldiers, aged between 20 and 28, “fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip”. Two others were severely wounded and “evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment”, it said, adding their families had been notified.”The investigation indicates that the force was hit by three (improvised explosive devices) that were activated within a matter of minutes,” military spokesman Effie Defrin said.A force that was deployed to rescue the troops, “encountered fire that opened towards it, wounding some of the fighters”, Defrin added.He said Israeli troops were now “surrounding the Beit Hanoun area from all directions, above and below ground,” and that dozens of militants were located there.Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said “the complex Beit Hanun operation is yet another blow delivered by our valiant fighters”.”The war of attrition our fighters are waging against the enemy — from the north of the Strip to its south — will inflict additional losses on it every day,” the spokesman of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.- Tributes – One of the soldiers who was killed, Noam Musgadian, 20, was buried in Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery on Tuesday, his coffin carried by soldiers while family members mourned.”A huge thank you for almost 20 perfect years,” his brother, Roi, said. “I don’t know how they manage to fit such a big heart into such a small coffin.”In a post on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said “the unbearable news of the fall of five heroic sons in Gaza — most of them fighters of the ultra-Orthodox ‘Netzach Yehuda’ battalion — pierces the heart”.Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for an end to the war “for the sake of the fighters, for the sake of their families, for the sake of the hostages, for the sake of the State of Israel”.According to the Israeli military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27, 2023.Hamas’s October 7, 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 57,575 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Brushing aside increasingly urgent official warnings to stay clear of Iran, some European tourists still head to the Islamic Republic, which is accused by Western governments of practicing “hostage diplomacy”.Lennart Monterlos, an 18-year-old French-German national who disappeared while biking across the country on a tour from Europe to Asia last month, is the latest possible target of unwarranted Iranian arrests.The French foreign ministry called the case “worrying”, and government minister Laurent Saint-Martin, whose portfolio includes French nationals living abroad, said “Iran pursues a deliberate policy of taking Western hostages”.The minister did not say whether Monterlos had indeed been arrested by the Iranian authorities, who are believed currently to hold around 20 European nationals.The French foreign ministry’s list of French or French-Iranian nationals registered to be in Iran either as residents or visitors has about 1,000 names, but the real number is likely higher, given that there is no obligation to check in with the consulate.Ingrid, who is in her 50s and asked for her last name to be withheld, said she had been to Iran three times already without notifying the foreign ministry.”I was aware of the ministry’s travel warnings but I didn’t pay attention,” she told AFP, saying she did not believe her “profile” exposed her to arrest.- ‘I don’t care’ -She said she always has a valid visa on her trips, told the Iranian authorities where she would stay and wore a headscarf, in line with Iran’s strict dress code for women.She was always under heavy surveillance in Iran, she said, “but I don’t care”.Aymeric, a 25-year-old Frenchman who also declined to have his last name published, has a “special affinity” with Iran because one of his best friends is from there. In 2023, he went cycling there for a month.”I wasn’t worried, although I knew that French people were being held in Iran,” he told AFP.Aymeric says he took some precautions, using his mobile phone and his camera as little as possible, staying off social media, making no comment on politics and avoiding striking up friendships with women.Since, however, he has come to see it as “very naive” to assume he could avoid all dangers.”At the end of the day, it is not just about how you yourself behave,” he said.Francois-Henri Deserable, a French writer, said he visited Iran in late 2022 “to bear witness to what was going on out there” during protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurd detained for an alleged breach of the dress code for women.”I think it would be reckless to take such risks just to take selfies in the Persepolis ruins,” he said.Jean-Francois Rial, CEO of travel company Voyageurs du Monde, said it stopped sending clients to Iran “months or even years ago”, adding it would be “irresponsible” to organise trips there.Most people still visiting Iran did so “on their own initiative” and were “uncontrollable”, Rial said.In stark contrast to current risks of arrest, Iran is widely considered an attractive destination when it comes to personal safety, including for women and solo travellers, and interactions with ordinary Iranians are mostly friendly.”The hospitality is extraordinary, there’ll always be someone to take care of you,” said Aymeric, adding that this could create the impression “that there’s nothing to fear” when travelling in Iran.That sentiment is shared by Ingrid.”I feel safer in any big Iranian city than in Paris,” she said.

At least four people were killed and 27 injured in a fire at a major telecomms centre in Egypt’s capital that caused widespread disruptions, the health ministry said on Tuesday.Internet and phone connections were still heavily disrupted in Cairo on Tuesday, with the Egyptian stock exchange suspending operations.Flights into and out of the capital had also been affected by the fire, which began on Monday evening, although by the following morning the civil aviation ministry said all flights had resumed following delays caused by the blaze.Gas and electricity outages were also reported on Monday by Cairo governor Ibrahim Saber.”Civil defence forces recovered four bodies from the scene of the incident,” the healthy ministry said in a statement.The authorities are yet to announce a cause for the fire, nor has any information been given about the 27 injured. Local media reported that the fire at the Ramses Exchange, the former communications ministry headquarters, was extinguished on Monday night.