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An Israeli far-right minister said on Friday it was time to use “full force” in Gaza, after Hamas said a new US-backed truce proposal failed to meet its demands. Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in Gaza in March ending a six-week truce.Israel recently intensified its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.”Mr Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again — there are no more excuses,” far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on his Telegram channel, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”The confusion, the shuffling and the weakness must end. We have already missed too many opportunities. It is time to go in with full force, without blinking, to destroy, and kill Hamas to the last one.”The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump and US envoy Steve Witkoff had “submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed”.Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that discussions were “continuing” with the militants.Israel has not confirmed that it approved the new proposal.Hamas sources said last week the group had accepted a US-backed deal, but on Thursday political bureau member Bassem Naim said the new version meant “the continuation of killing and famine… and does not meet any of our people’s demands, foremost among them halting the war”.”Nonetheless, the movement’s leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility,” he added.- ‘Retreat’ -A source close to the group said the new version “is considered a retreat” from the previous one, which “included an American commitment regarding permanent ceasefire negotiations”.According to two sources close to the negotiations, the new proposal involves a 60-day truce, potentially extendable to 70 days, and the release of five living hostages and nine bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week.It also involves a second exchange of the same number of living and dead hostages during the second week, according to the sources.The same sources said Hamas had agreed last week to two exchanges on the same terms, but one during the first week of the truce and the other during the final week.Out of 251 hostages seized during the October 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.The humanitarian situation in the territory remains dire despite aid beginning to trickle in after a more than two-month Israeli blockade.Food security experts say starvation is looming for one in five people.Medical facilities in Gaza, meanwhile, have come under increasing strain and repeated attack.French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that European countries should “harden the collective position” against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.With international pressure mounting on Israel over the deepening hunger crisis, Macron said action was needed “in the next few hours and days”. In its latest update Thursday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 3,986 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed major operations on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,249, mostly civilians. Hamas’s attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday dropped its civil lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its majority shareholder, Changpeng Zhao.”In the exercise of its discretion and as a matter of policy, the Commission deems it appropriate to dismiss this litigation,” the agency said in a court filing.The SEC added that dropping …

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For decades, civil servant Zayed al-Ghamdi’s social circles in Saudi Arabia were more than predictable, bound by routine and kinship in a country where societal divisions have rarely been challenged. Then came the metro.A decade after breaking ground, Riyadh’s gleaming new metro opened in December, offering the capital’s eight million residents an alternative to roads chronically clogged by its two million cars.A quicker commute is not the only difference: for the first time, the wealthy are sharing journeys with the less well off, and Saudi nationals are mixing with the large expat population, from white-collar workers to labourers.”For 40 years, I was confined to my car or restaurants with my father and brothers, then with my wife and children,” Ghamdi, a 42-year-old civil servant working in downtown Riyadh, told AFP. “I didn’t mix or talk to anyone except those I knew or who resembled me.”Now, things have changed. You feel that society, with all its classes, is in one place,” he added while speeding along the blue line, which connects working-class areas in the south with the downtown business district and affluent northern neighbourhoods.With its eye-watering oil riches, intricate tribal networks and large numbers of foreign workers, Saudi society has long been divided by rigid class structures. But on the metro, those divisions are more porous.Metro carriages are frequently crowded with labourers, university students, government employees and business executives wearing expensive suits. “I can now discuss general topics with strangers and even get to know new things and cultures up close,” said 56-year-old engineer Nasser Al-Qahtani, pointing to a young Saudi holding a skateboard.- ‘Family and friends only’ -While the metro has done little to clear Riyadh’s perennially gridlocked streets, its opening has been “a major social and psychological event”, said sociologist Mohammed Al-Hamza.”The metro has shifted the mindset of Saudi society. It has made people come closer together,” he said. “The culture in Saudi Arabia is one of family and friends only, and there is reluctance to get to know new people.”Along with chipping away at class divisions, the system is saving commuters time and money, to the delight of many. “I used to get to work in over an hour and a half, exhausted and stressed due to traffic,” said Ghamdi, adding that he had hardly used his prized SUV for months.”Now, I arrive relaxed and without stress,” he added. Prices range from just four riyals ($1) for a limited one-day pass to 140 riyals for a month.As in other countries in the Middle East and beyond, the metro offers family carriages reserved for women, children and couples.They afford women a safe and socially acceptable way to use the network to travel to work or study.For those willing to pay an extra 10 riyals per day, first-class compartments also offer a reprieve from the busy single-male carriages.For law student Hadeel Waleed, 20, the metro has been a game-changer, cutting her trip from the southern suburbs to Princess Nourah University from three to four hours to one hour or less.”Now I arrive home with energy for my family and studying,” she told AFP.- ‘No one expected this usage’ -The project is one of many major infrastructure initiatives under “Vision 2030” — the reform programme overseen by the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.With six lines spanning about 176 kilometres (109 miles) of track, the network serves 85 stations, including stops at all terminals of Riyadh international airport.There had been fears among city officials that the huge project could prove a white elephant, with few Saudis deigning to use it. A bus network developed by the city struggled to gain traction as Saudis remained committed to their cars, especially during the hot summer months when temperatures hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).  “Honestly, for 10 years, the question was: ‘Who will use the metro?'” a senior official who helps operate the system told AFP on condition of anonymity.”No one ever expected the current level of usage or even the financial returns,” he added. The Royal Commission for Riyadh did not respond to AFP’s enquiries about daily ridership but the official suggested the figure was likely in the tens of thousands if not more. Authorities are already hoping to expand the network, with a seventh line under development linking Riyadh to several new projects on the capital’s outskirts.For Muneer, a 28-year-old government employee, the metro is a welcome addition to a city undergoing rapid change. “It makes life easier,” he said.