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Palestinian rescuers reported 120 people killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a US-backed organisation said it intends to begin distributing aid by the end of the month.Aid to Gaza has been cut off since March 2, a tactic Israel has said is intended to force concessions from Hamas, but the group insisted on Thursday that the restoration of humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory was “the minimum requirement” for talks.It also warned that Gaza was not “for sale” hours after US President Donald Trump, on a visit to the region, again floated taking over the territory and turning it into “a freedom zone”.Gaza’s civil defence agency said the death toll from Israeli bombardment since dawn on Thursday had risen to 120.Israel’s aid blockade preceded a resumption of military operations on March 18, ending a ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities since mid-January.For weeks, UN agencies have warned that supplies of everything from food and clean water to fuel and medicines are reaching new lows.The World Health Organization said the last hospital in Gaza providing cancer and cardiac care had stopped functioning after an Israeli attack on Tuesday left it “severely damaged and inaccessible”.UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, accused Israel of “killing what’s left of Humanity”.AFPTV footage from the aftermath of a strike on Deir al-Balah in the centre of the territory showed flattened buildings and piles of concrete rubble. “We pray for this war to end, and we appeal to all international institutions to end the war because enough is enough,” said Gaza resident Maher Ghanem, his arm in a sling.- Gaza not ‘for sale’ -Following the latest deaths, Hamas called on the international community to hold Israel to account for what it described as a “barbaric escalation”. Israel says its aid stoppage and military pressure are meant to force Hamas to free the remaining hostages seized during the October 2023 attack that triggered the war.But senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the entry of aid into Gaza was “the minimum requirement for a conducive and constructive negotiation environment”.”Access to food, water, and medicine is a fundamental human right — not a subject for negotiation,” he added. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-supported NGO, said it would begin distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza this month after talks with Israeli officials.But the United Nations on Thursday ruled out involvement with the initiative.”As we’ve stated repeatedly, this particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the criticism of the plan and said Washington was “open to an alternative if someone has a better one”.Trump said he wanted the United States to “get involved” in Gaza.”I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good… let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,” he said on the Qatar leg of a Gulf tour, adding he would be “proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone”.The comments echoed a widely condemned idea he floated in February for the United States to “take over” the devastated territory and redevelop it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.Hamas official Naim said “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land — it is not real estate for sale on the open market”.The United Nations estimates that 70 percent of Gaza is now either an Israeli-declared no-go zone or under evacuation order.The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,010.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.- West Bank raids -In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, raids were ongoing and roads blocked after Israel’s military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of an attack that killed a pregnant Israeli woman.WhatsApp groups for Israeli settlers in the territory were rife with calls for vengeance in retaliation for the attack.In the northern village of Tammun, Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in a raid the military described as targeting buildings suspected of being used to plan attacks.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday a nuclear deal with Iran was close that would avert military action, as he toured Gulf capitals, securing $1.4 trillion in 10-year investments from Abu Dhabi.Trump made the Iran remarks in Qatar before flying on to the United Arab Emirates for the third and final leg of the tour that began in Saudi Arabia.The UAE vowed to invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over 10 years, the latest in a raft of multi-billion pledges and deals secured during Trump’s Gulf tour, which also saw Washington lifting decades-long sanctions on Syria.”We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran,” Trump said earlier in Doha.”I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said, referring to military action.Oil prices plunged more than three percent following his remarks, on rising hopes for a nuclear deal that could see Iranian exports return to the market.Iran has held four rounds of talks with Trump’s administration which has sought to avert threatened military action by Israel while keeping up its “maximum pressure” campaign.”You probably read today the story about Iran. It’s sort of agreed to the terms,” Trump said.The US president did not specify which remarks he was referring to, but an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, told NBC News Tehran would give up its stocks of highly enriched uranium as part of a deal in which Washington lifts sanctions.In Tehran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had yet to receive any proposal in writing from the United States but said it stood to build trust if sanctions were lifted. “We are ready to build trust and transparency about our nuclear programme in response to the lifting of sanctions,” he said.In Abu Dhabi, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed announced his country’s “plan to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States… over the next 10 years,” in fields including technology, artificial intelligence and energy.He hailed the “strong partnership” between Abu Dhabi and Washington which he said took an “unprecedented boost especially after your (Trump’s) arrival at the White House”.- AI ambitions -Trump was welcomed by the UAE president along with children waving flags and women performing a traditional dance that involves moving their heads from side to side to make their hair “dance”.Afterwards, he toured the opulent Sheikh Zayed mosque, the country’s largest, with its giant white columns and high walls adorned with golden moulding.English-language Emirati newspaper The National has reported that the United States and UAE are working on announcing an AI and tech partnership during Trump’s visit.The UAE is betting on artificial intelligence to help diversify its oil-reliant economy.But these ambitions hinge on access to advanced US technologies, including AI chips that were under stringent export restriction — which the UAE president’s brother and spy chief Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed reportedly lobbied for during a Washington visit in March.Two days ago, Trump rescinded further controls on AI chips, which were imposed by his predecessor Joe Biden to make it harder for China to access advanced technology.Trump estimated his “record” tour would raise between $3.5 trillion and $4 trillion.He hailed what he said was a record $200-billion deal for Boeing aircraft from flag-carrier Qatar Airways.Saudi Arabia promised its own $600 billion in investment, including one of the largest-ever purchases of US weapons.- Gulf largesse -The Gulf leaders’ largesse has also stirred controversy, with Qatar offering Trump a luxury aircraft ahead of his visit for presidential and then personal use, in what Trump’s Democratic opponents charged was blatant corruption.Trump has made no mention of human rights during his tour.Biden had initially vowed to shun Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over US intelligence findings that he ordered the gruesome murder in 2018 of Jamal Khashoggi — a Saudi dissident writer who lived in the United States.Trump, instead, hailed the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, as a visionary due to the kingdom’s rapid economic investments.The president also acceded to a key request of the crown prince in announcing the lifting of sanctions on Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December.He met in Riyadh with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first encounter between leaders of the two nations in 25 years.Sharaa — a former jihadist once on the US wanted list — appeared in a suit and was complimented by Trump as a “young, attractive guy”.

Only about 30 people turned up Thursday at this year’s Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia’s island of Djerba amid safety concerns following a deadly 2023 attack and as the war in Gaza rages on.The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa’s oldest, has in the past drawn thousands of pilgrims from Europe, Israel and beyond, attracting international and local tourists as well.But after a 2023 deadly attack on the synagogue that killed two worshippers and three police officers, fewer pilgrims have been turning out to make the pilgrimage.”It has been difficult for people to come, given what’s happening in the world,” Rene Trabelsi, the event organiser, told AFP.”The pilgrimage has gone through many difficult periods in its history,” he said.This year’s activities were restricted to indoor events at the place of worship.”In 30 years, I have never seen the Ghriba synagogue so empty,” said Khoudhir Hanya, the synagogue’s manager.”Usually even a week beforehand, pilgrims begin to arrive — sometimes up to 1,000 people.”Earlier this month, a knife attack injured a local Jewish jeweller, but Trabelsi said it was unclear whether it was motivated by anti-Semitism, as authorities have not provided further details. The pilgrimage is at the heart of Jewish tradition in Tunisia, where only about 1,500 members of the faith still live — mainly on Djerba. Many have left for Israel and France.Organisers say more than 5,000 people, mostly from abroad, attended the pilgrimage in 2023, whereas up to 8,000 pilgrims had attended in previous years.Security at the synagogue had already been tightened after previous attacks.A suicide truck bombing in 2002, claimed by Al-Qaeda, killed 21 at the synagogue, and another attack in 1985 killed four worshippers and a police officer.

Alana Hadid, the older sister of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, has helped set up a new film streaming platform to bring Palestinian perspectives to a global audience, its founders confirmed Thursday.Watermelon+ was launched at the Cannes film festival as more than 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Thursday. At least 80 died on Wednesday.”Unless we get (Palestinian) voices out there, nothing’s going to change,” said Badie Ali, one of two US-born Palestinian brothers who founded the website, where Hadid is creative director.A model and activist, her father, property developer Mohamed Anwar Hadid, is Palestinian.Showing “neglected or silenced” Palestinian perspectives was particularly important in the United States, an ally of Israel, Ali insisted.The platform offers around 60 films, including several set in Gaza.They span from Emmy-awarded documentary “Five Broken Cameras” to “The Wanted 18″, a comic true story about West Bank villagers hiding cows inside their houses from Israeli troops during the First Intifada.Co-founder Hamza Ali said the aim was to humanise Palestinians.”It’s dehumanisation and erasure that contribute to the politics,” he said.”We’re more than our suffering. We’re a warm, hospitable, creative, funny people.”Israeli bombardment has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, according to the besieged Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, and an aid blockade also threatens famine. Israeli leaders have expressed a desire to empty the territory of its more than two million inhabitants as part of the war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.The unprecedented assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side.President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wanted the United States to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone”. Earlier this year, he said he wanted to transform it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Palestinian rescuers reported more than 100 people killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a US-backed organisation said it intends to begin distributing aid by the end of the month.In the occupied West Bank, raids were ongoing and roads blocked after Israel’s military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of an attack that killed a pregnant Israeli woman.Gaza’s civil defence agency said the death toll from Israeli bombardment since dawn on Thursday had risen to 103. Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza on March 2, before resuming operations on March 18, ending a six-week ceasefire.”Israel’s blockade has transcended military tactics to become a tool of extermination”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) interim executive director Federico Borello said in a statement Thursday.HRW said “the Israeli government’s plan to demolish what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and concentrate the Palestinian population into a tiny area would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide”.Amir Selha, a 43-year-old Palestinian from north Gaza, reported “intense Israeli shelling all night”.”Tank shells are striking around the clock, and the area is packed with people and tents,” he said.He added that in early morning Israeli army drones dropped leaflets in his neighbourhood, warning residents to move south.Most Gazans have been displaced at least once during 19 months of war between Israel and Hamas.Israel says the pressure aims to force Hamas to free the remaining hostages seized in the October 2023  attack which triggered the war.The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-supported NGO, said it would begin distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza this month after talks with Israeli officials.In a joint statement on Tuesday, five European members of the UN Security Council said that they were “deeply concerned” at the Israeli plan, “which the United Nations has said would not meet humanitarian principles”.- Evacuation orders -The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday that 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,010.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.The United Nations estimates that 70 percent of Gaza is now either an Israeli-declared no-go zone or under evacuation order.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Basal said Israel was “employing a policy of shrinking areas and emptying populated regions to pressure and terrorise civilians”.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days.Despite the bombardment, efforts are still under way for a new hostage release and ceasefire deal.With US President Donald Trump touring Gulf Arab states, his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff discussed the hostages issue with Netanyahu on Wednesday.Hamas accused Netanyahu of undermining ceasefire and hostage release efforts “through deliberate military escalation, showing indifference to his captives, endangering their lives”.In the northern West Bank, the Israeli military said a manhunt was under way after an attack that killed a pregnant woman.Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said: “We will use all the tools at our disposal and reach the murderers in order to hold them accountable.”- Calls for revenge -Users of Palestinian Telegram channels sharing information on West Bank checkpoints reported many road closures in the north of the territory on Thursday.WhatsApp groups for Israeli settlers in the West Bank were rife with calls for vengeance in retaliation for the attack.”To make sure this never happens again… we need real revenge! Erase every terror village,” one user said.In the northern village of Tammun, Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in a raid the military described as targeting buildings suspected of being used to plan attacks.”The occupation forces killed five young men after besieging a house in the centre of the village,” Tammun mayor Samir Qteishat told AFP.The Israeli military said “soldiers identified armed terrorists who barricaded themselves in a building.””Following an exchange of fire, five terrorists were eliminated, and an additional terrorist was apprehended,” it said.The West Bank has seen an upsurge in violence since the beginning of the Gaza war.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday a deal was close on Iran’s nuclear programme that would avert military action, sending oil prices tumbling, as he boasted of raising “trillions of dollars” on a Gulf tour.He made the remarks in Doha before flying on to the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi on the third and final leg of a Gulf tour that began in Saudi Arabia.”We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran,” Trump said. “I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said, referring to military action.Oil prices plunged more than three percent on rising hopes for a nuclear deal that could see Iranian exports return to the market.Iran has held four rounds of talks with the Trump administration, which has sought to avert threatened military action by Israel while keeping up its “maximum pressure” campaign.”You probably read today the story about Iran. It’s sort of agreed to the terms,” Trump said.The US president did not specify which remarks he was referring to, but an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, told NBC News that Tehran would give up its stocks of highly enriched uranium as part of a deal in which Washington lifts sanctions.Trump said Iran should “say a big thank you” to Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who had pressed the US leader to avoid military action against his country’s giant neighbour.Speaking to troops at Al-Udeid, the biggest US military base in the region, Trump said his priority was “to end conflicts, not start them”.But he warned that “I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners” — while flanked on stage by a fighter jet and an MQ-9 drone.He also said Qatar would invest $10 billion in the coming years to support Al-Udeid, which hosts the regional headquarters of the US military’s Central Command.- Abu Dhabi -In Abu Dhabi, he was wecomed at the airport by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, whose oil-rich country seeks to become a technology and artificial intelligence hub.But these ambitions hinge on access to advanced US technologies, including AI chips under restricted export — which the UAE president’s brother and spy chief Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed reportedly lobbied for during a Washington visit in March.Trump is hoping to secure billions of dollars in business deals with the oil-rich UAE.Earlier in Qatar, Trump again said the United States wanted to “take” Gaza, which has been obliterated by the war started by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.Qatar has been a key mediator in talks to end the 19-month war and release hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas.Gaza would become a “freedom zone”, Trump said, without elaborating.Trump has been unabashed about seeking Gulf money and hailed the effect on creating jobs at home.”This is a record tour. There’s never been a tour that will raise — it could be a total of $3.5-4 trillion just in these four or five days,” Trump said in Qatar.The president hailed what he said was a record $200 billion deal for Boeing aircraft from flag-carrier Qatar Airways.Saudi Arabia promised its own $600 billion in investment, including one of the largest-ever purchases of US weapons.The Gulf leaders’ largesse has also stirred controversy, with Qatar offering Trump a luxury aircraft ahead of his visit for presidential and then personal use, in what Trump’s Democratic opponents charged was blatant corruption.- Business, not ‘nation-builders’ -Trump has made no mention of human rights during his tour.Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden had initially vowed to shun Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over US intelligence findings that he ordered the gruesome murder in 2018 of Jamal Khashoggi — a Saudi dissident writer who lived in the United States.Trump instead hailed the crown prince, who is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, as a visionary due to the kingdom’s rapid economic investments.The president also acceded to a key request by the crown prince in announcing the lifting of sanctions on Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December.He met in Riyadh with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first encounter between leaders of the two nations in 25 years.Sharaa — a former jihadist once on the US wanted list — appeared in a suit and was complimented by Trump as a “young, attractive guy”.

Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Tammun Thursday, in a raid the military described as targeting buildings suspected of being used to plan terror attacks.”The occupation forces killed five young men after besieging a house in the centre of the village,” Tammun mayor Samir Qteishat told AFP.”The (Israeli) army took four bodies, and we found a fifth martyr, the charred body, after the (Israeli) forces left,” he added.The Israeli military meanwhile said it targeted “two buildings suspected of being used for planning terror attacks from Tubas and Tamun”.It said “soldiers identified armed terrorists who barricaded themselves in a building. Following an exchange of fire, five terrorists were eliminated, and an additional terrorist was apprehended”.The West Bank has seen an upsurge in violence since the beginning of the Gaza war, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.On Wednesday, a shooting attack in the centre of the West Bank killed a pregnant Israeli woman and left another Israeli wounded.Raids were ongoing Thursday and roads blocked after Israel’s military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of the attack.Israel’s military in January launched an ongoing, large-scale operation in the West Bank that has displaced at least 38,000 people, according to the United Nations.The operation, which Israel says aims to eradicate Palestinian armed groups, has primarily targeted refugee camps in the northern West Bank — where Tammun is located.Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 934 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to health ministry figures.Palestinian attacks and clashes during military raids have killed at least 34 Israelis, including soldiers, over the same period, according to Israeli figures.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory are considered illegal under international law. 

The EU accused TikTok on Thursday of breaking digital rules after concluding that the Chinese-owned social media platform was not transparent enough about advertisements.The European Commission “found that TikTok does not provide the necessary information about the content of the advertisements, the users targeted by the ads, and who paid for the advertisements”, it said in …

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