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Israel’s government cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday, the group said.The action came only days after Israel stopped two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party from entering the country.It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France would soon recognise a Palestinian state. Macron has in turn sought to pressure Netanyahu over conditions in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.Israel’s interior ministry said visas for the 27 had been cancelled under a law that allows authorities to ban people who could act against the state of Israel.Seventeen members of the group, from France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, said they had been victims of “collective punishment” by Israel and called on Macron to intervene.They said in a statement that they had been invited on a five-day trip by the French consulate in Jerusalem.They had intended to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of their mission to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace”, they added. “For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities cancelled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” they said.”We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment,” said the group.- ‘Major rupture’ -The delegation included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha and Communist senator Marianne Margate.The other members were left-wing town mayors and local lawmakers.The statement denounced the ban as a “major rupture in diplomatic ties”.”Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences,” the group said, demanding a meeting with Macron and action by the government to ensure Israel let them into the country.The group said their parties had for decades called for recognition of a Palestinian state, which Macron said last week could come at an international conference in June.Israeli authorities this month detained British members of parliament Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed at Tel Aviv airport and deported them, citing the same reason. Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the action “unacceptable”.In February, Israel stopped two left-wing European parliament deputies, Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan and Lynn Boylan from Ireland, from entering.Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted with fury to France’s possible recognition of a Palestinian state. He said establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel would be a “huge reward for terrorism”.

An Israeli military report on the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza admitted Sunday that mistakes led to their deaths and that a field commander would be dismissed.But a probe found no evidence of “indiscriminate fire” by troops and maintained that some of those killed were militants. The Palestine Red Crescent denounced the report as “full of lies”.The medics and other rescue workers were killed when responding to distress calls near the southern Gaza city of Rafah early on March 23, days into Israel’s renewed offensive in the Hamas-run territory.The incident drew international condemnation, including concern about possible war crimes from UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk.”The examination identified several professional failures, breaches of orders and a failure to fully report the incident,” a summary of the investigation said.Reserve Major General Yoav Har-Even, who led the investigation, accepted that troops had committed an error.”We’re saying it was a mistake. We don’t think it’s a daily mistake,” he told journalists when asked if he thought the incident represented a pervasive issue within the Israeli military.Those killed included eight Red Crescent staff members, six from the Gaza civil defence rescue agency and one employee of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Palestinian rescuers.Their bodies were found about a week later, buried in the sand alongside their crushed vehicles in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan area.OCHA described it as a mass grave.Younis al-Khatib, president of the Palestine Red Crescent in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has said an autopsy of the victims revealed that “all the martyrs were shot in the upper part of their bodies, with the intent to kill”.The military rejected his accusation.”The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that of any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” the probe said, amid allegations that some of the bodies had been found handcuffed.”The troops did not engage in indiscriminate fire but remained alert to respond to real threats identified by them,” it said, adding that six of the 15 were “identified in a retrospective examination as Hamas terrorists”.It had earlier said nine of those killed were militants.”The IDF (military) regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians,” the probe added, without providing evidence that six of the men were militants.Har-Even acknowledged that no weapons were found on the dead men.The Palestine Red Crescent rejected the investigation findings.”The report is full of lies. It is invalid and unacceptable, as it justifies the killing and shifts responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different,” spokesperson Nebal Farsakh told AFP.- ‘No attempt to conceal’ -After the incident, the army said its soldiers had fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles”. A spokesman later added that the vehicles had their lights off.But a video recovered from the cellphone of one slain aid worker, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military’s account. The footage shows ambulances travelling with their headlights on and emergency lights flashing. The military acknowledged an operational failure by its forces to fully report the incident, but reiterated earlier statements that Israeli troops buried the bodies and vehicles “to prevent further harm”.”There was no attempt to conceal the event,” it said.”We don’t lie,” military spokesman Effie Defrin said on Sunday. The Red Crescent’s Farsakh, however, said her organisation was denied access to the site for five days.The military said a deputy commander “will be dismissed from his position due to his responsibilities as the field commander in this incident and for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief”.- ‘Breach of orders’ -The military said there were three shooting incidents in the area on that day.In the first, soldiers shot at what they believed to be a Hamas vehicle.In the second, around an hour later, troops fired “on suspects emerging from a fire truck and ambulances”, the military said.”The deputy battalion commander assessed the vehicles as employed by Hamas forces, who arrived to assist the first vehicle’s passengers. Under this impression and sense of threat, he ordered to open fire.”The third incident saw the troops firing at a UN vehicle “due to operational errors in breach of regulations”, the military said.The probe determined that the fire in the first two incidents resulted from an “operational misunderstanding by the troops”.The UN said in April that after the team of first responders was killed, other emergency and aid teams were hit one after another over several hours while searching for their missing colleagues.Mundhir Abed, a medic from the Red Crescent Society who survived the attack, told AFP he was beaten and interrogated by Israeli troops. Another medic also survived, with the military confirming Sunday he was in custody.”Since the incident occurred by mistake, as the report claims, why does the occupation continue to detain the paramedic?” Farsakh asked, adding they were only informed he was being held days later by the Red Cross and that “the occupation has not yet clarified” where.

An Israeli military probe into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza admitted Sunday that mistakes led to their deaths and that a field commander would be dismissed.But the probe found no evidence of “indiscriminate fire” by the troops.The medics and other rescue workers were killed when responding to distress calls near the southern Gaza city of Rafah early on March 23, just days into Israel’s renewed offensive in the Hamas-run territory.The incident has drawn international condemnation, including concern about possible war crimes from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.Germany had called for an urgent investigation and “accountability of the perpetrators.”The probe said six of the dead were Hamas militants, although no weapons were found.”The examination identified several professional failures, breaches of orders and a failure to fully report the incident,” the summary of the investigation said.Reserve Major General Yoav Har-Even, who led the investigation, accepted that troops involved in the incident had committed an error.”We’re saying it was a mistake. We don’t think it’s a daily mistake,” he told journalists when asked if he thought the incident represented a pervasive issue within the Israeli military.Those killed included eight Red Crescent staff members, six from the Gaza civil defence rescue agency and one employee of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Palestinian rescuers.Their bodies were found about a week later, buried in the sand alongside their crushed vehicles near the shooting scene in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan area.OCHA described it as a mass grave.Younis al-Khatib, president of the Palestine Red Crescent in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has said an autopsy of the victims revealed that “all the martyrs were shot in the upper part of their bodies, with the intent to kill”.The military rejected his accusation.”The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that of any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” the probe said, amid allegations that some of the bodies had been found handcuffed.”The troops did not engage in indiscriminate fire but remained alert to respond to real threats identified by them,” it said, adding that six of the 15 were “identified in a retrospective examination as Hamas terrorists”.It had earlier said nine of those killed were militants.”The IDF (military) regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians,” the probe added, but did not provide evidence that six of the men were militants.Har-Even acknowledged that no weapons were found on the dead men.- ‘No attempt to conceal’ -Days after the incident, the army said its soldiers fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles”, with a spokesman later adding that the vehicles had their lights off.But a video recovered from the cellphone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appears to contradict the Israeli military’s account. The footage shows ambulances travelling with their headlights on and emergency lights flashing. The military acknowledged operational failure on the part of its troops to fully report the incident, but reiterated their earlier statements that Israeli troops buried the bodies and vehicles “to prevent further harm.””There was no attempt to conceal the event,” it said.”We don’t lie,” military spokesman Effie Defrin said on Sunday. The military said a deputy commander “will be dismissed from his position due to his responsibilities as the field commander in this incident and for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief”.The military said there were three shooting incidents in the area on that day.- ‘Breach of orders’ -In the first, soldiers shot at what they believed to be a Hamas vehicle.In the second incident, around an hour later, troops fired “on suspects emerging from a fire truck and ambulances very close to the area in which the troops were operating, after perceiving an immediate and tangible threat,” the military said.”The deputy battalion commander assessed the vehicles as employed by Hamas forces, who arrived to assist the first vehicle’s passengers. Under this impression and sense of threat, he ordered to open fire.”The third incident saw the troops firing at a UN vehicle “due to operational errors in breach of regulations,” the military said.The probe determined that the fire in the first two incidents resulted from an “operational misunderstanding by the troops.””The third incident involved a breach of orders during a combat setting,” it added.The UN said in early April that after the team of first responders was killed, other emergency and aid teams were hit one after another over several hours while searching for their missing colleagues.Mundhir Abed, a medic from the Red Crescent Society who survived the attack, told AFP earlier he was beaten and interrogated by Israeli troops. Another medic also survived and the military confirmed Sunday he was in its custody.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday from Red Bull polesitter Max Verstappen to lead the world championship for the first time in his career. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari completed the podium for this fifth round of the season under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.Piastri’s third win this year was in large part decided at the first turn, when Verstappen picked up a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage after going off the track.He becomes the first Australian to lead the drivers’ standings since his agent, Mark Webber, 15 years ago.”Very happy to have won, made the difference at the start. Great race. “Max was still a bit too close for my liking!” Piastri said, after crossing the line 2.843 seconds clear of the four-time world champion.”It is what it is,” said Verstappen, not wanting to discuss his penalty.Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who went into the weekend leading the standings, took fourth ahead of the two Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.As the sun dipped and the tension rose, the lights went out at the world’s fastest street circuit, a strip of asphalt hugging a lagoon on the Red Sea coastline.Piastri got off to a flyer and was upsides Verstappen at the first corner but the Dutchman cut the chicane prompting Piastri to tell his team: “He needs to give that back, I was ahead.””He just forced me off,” was Verstappen’s verdict.Behind, Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine tangled, bringing out the safety car and taking them both out of the race.Racing resumed on lap three with news that Verstappen had been slapped with a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.- ‘That is lovely’ -On being told of his sanction the Dutchman responded with an expletive, adding: “That is lovely”.He led Piastri on the restart, with Russell racing third and Leclerc fourth.Norris was up to eighth after starting way back on the fifth row – his car as good as new after all the ‘TLC’ showered on it last night by McLaren mechanics following Saturday’s major bust-up with a wall in qualifying.Given his start handicap, the Briton took a gamble as the only one of the top 10 to start on hard tyres, rather than mediums.Piastri was content to bide his time behind Verstappen, around a second back, safe in the knowledge that the lead was effectively his once Verstappen took his penalty.”My tyres are toast,” Russell reported, with pit stops approaching.On lap 20 with Norris up to fifth Piastri was the first of the leaders to come in to fit fresh rubber on his car.Red Bull were gambling, urging Verstappen to give everything he could to stretch his lead before his stop.The four-time champion came in on lap 22 to serve his penalty.Up front Leclerc and Norris, both yet to pit, led from Piastri, with Verstappen fourth.Leclerc finally came in on lap 30, Norris following suit a couple of laps later to leave his teammate in firm control of the race, over four seconds clear of Verstappen.Piastri held on to move on to 99 points in the race for the 2025 world title, 10 clear of Norris, with Verstappen a further two points back.After this final leg of a frantic, not to say draining, triple-header, F1 takes a breather before its well-oiled circus pitches up again in Miami in a fortnight’s time.

Lebanon’s military said a munitions blast in the country’s war-torn south killed an officer and two soldiers on Sunday, days after an explosion killed another soldier.Under a November truce deal that ended a war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.”An army officer and two soldiers were killed and a number of citizens were injured due to an explosion of ammunition as it was being transported inside an army vehicle” in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh district, an army statement said.Specialised army units were investigating the circumstances of the incident, the statement added.An AFP correspondent in Braiqaa, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli border, saw several charred and burnt vehicles on the road, with some damage to nearby shops and flats.The army had cordoned off the area.President Joseph Aoun offered his condolences for the three servicemen “who fell while performing their mission to preserve security and stability” and to keep south Lebanon residents from harm, a presidency statement said. On Monday, the army said a soldier was killed and three others wounded in an explosion in the country’s south, where Aoun said they had been dismantling mines in a tunnel.According to the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River. Israel was to withdraw all its forces but has kept troops in five places it deems “strategic”.

The United States slashing foreign aid risks piling pressure on already acute humanitarian crises across the globe, a World Health Organization official said Sunday, also warning against withdrawing from the UN agency.Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has effectively frozen foreign aid funding, moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other programmes, and announced plans to leave the WHO.Washington, which had long been the WHO’s biggest donor, did not pay its 2024 dues, and it remains unclear if the United States will meet its membership obligations for 2025The agency, already facing a gaping deficit this year, has proposed shrinking its budget by a fifth, likely reducing its reach and workforce, according to an earlier AFP report citing an internal email.”The WHO with its partners have a significant role in sustaining healthcare systems, rehabilitation of healthcare systems, emergency medical team training and dispatching, pre-placement of trauma kits,” Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told AFP.”Many of these programmes have now stopped or are not going to be able to continue,” she said.The funding cuts will likely hinder the ability to continue delivering robust aid to communities in desperate need of care.Balkhy cited the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen as areas where healthcare institutions and aid programmes were already under pressure before the funding shakeups.In the Gaza Strip, where more than a year and a half of fighting has seen large swaths of the Palestinian territory reduced to rubble and few hospitals remain functioning, the public health situation is dire.”The emergency medical team support, procurement of the medications and the rehabilitation of the health care facilities, all of that has been immediately impacted by the freeze of the US support,” said Balkhy.In Sudan, the WHO is facing mounting issues amid a bloody civil war that has displaced millions, with several areas hit by at least three different disease outbreaks — malaria, dengue and cholera, according to Balkhy.”We work significantly to identify emerging and re-emerging pathogens to keep the Sudanese safe, but also to keep the rest of the world safe. So it will impact our ability to continue to do surveillance, detection of diseases,” she added.A US departure from the WHO will also undercut long established channels of communication with leading research facilities, universities and public health institutions that are based in the United States.That in turn would likely prevent the easy sharing of information and research, which is pivotal to heading off global public health crises like an emerging pandemic, said Balkhy.”These bacteria and viruses, number one, know no borders. Number two, they are ambivalent to what’s happening in the human political landscape.”

At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver’s cabin is eerily empty.This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama.Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer — the robotic version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer — is the future of automated combat.The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like trowelling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain.But since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops.”The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer,” said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer.During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks “even better than a human”, said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons.While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war.- ‘Changing the paradigm’ -Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law.Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends towards automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones.An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare”.Troops can now operate machinery without having to enter enemy territory, said the official.Andrew Fox, a retired British army major and a research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, said the Israeli military was likely the first force to use remote-controlled combat machinery in an active war zone.”It’s a really big development” that is “changing the paradigm” of warfare, carrying out tasks as effectively but at a far reduced risk to personnel, he said.- New era -“This is the future,” said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the US military’s Modern War Institute at West Point.Many “have been experimenting with it, but nobody has seen direct deployment into active modern combat,” he added. “It is very unique.”But beyond ethical and legal drawbacks to such advanced technology, there is also the need for an overriding human presence to make decisions particularly in unusual situations.Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war was a disastrous example for that, when Palestinian militants breached the high-security border, said Tal Mimran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.”I think that October 7 showed us that you can build a wall that may cost $1 billion, but if you do not patrol the border, then someone will infiltrate your country,” said Mimran, a lecturer and researcher of international law who has been closely following the Israeli military’s technological developments.”We must take note of the opportunities and of the risks of technology,” he said.”This is the era in which artificial intelligence is exploding into our lives, and it is only natural that it will also have a manifestation in the security field.”