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Campaigner Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden late Tuesday, after Israel detained herand other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and deported some.Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four including Thunberg agreed to be deported immediately, while all of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that legally represents some of them said in a statement.The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, and brought before a detention review tribunal on Tuesday, rights group Adalah said.”The state asked the tribunal to keep the activists in custody until their deportation,” Adalah said, adding that under Israeli law, individuals under deportation orders can be held for 72 hours before forcible removal.Israeli forces intercepted the boat, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod.They then transferred them to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, the foreign ministry said, from where Thunberg flew first to France then Sweden.Thunberg, 22, accused Israel of “kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will to Israel”.”This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing,” she said at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.Asked on arrival in Stockholm if she was scared when Israeli security forces boarded the sailboat, Thunberg replied: “What I’m afraid of is that people are silent during an ongoing genocide”.Four French activists who were also aboard the Madleen were set to face an Israeli judge, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.He had earlier posted on X that five would face court action and only one would depart voluntarily.Barrot told reporters that French diplomats had met with the six French nationals in Israel, and that French-Palestinian European MP Rima Hassan was among those who refused to leave voluntarily.The activists, from France, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands, aimed to deliver humanitarian aid and break the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.In what organisers called a “symbolic act”, hundreds of participants in a land convoy crossed the border into Libya from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza, whose entire population the UN has warned is at risk of famine.- Dire humanitarian conditions -Israel’s interception of the Madleen, about 185 kilometres (115 miles) west of Gaza, was condemned by Turkey as a “heinous attack”, while Iran denounced it as “a form of piracy” in international waters.In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists blaming an Israeli drone attack.A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade of Gaza, left 10 civilians dead.On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place since well before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons.Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Tuesday that in Gaza’s north, “Israeli military operations have intensified in recent days, with mass casualties reported”.An independent United Nations commission said on Tuesday that Israeli attacks on schools, religious and cultural sites in Gaza amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of seeking to exterminate Palestinians.”In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination,” the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a report.AFP has contacted Israeli authorities for comment on the report but has yet to receive a response.The Israeli military said it intercepted a projectile on Tuesday that had entered Israeli airspace from Gaza.It later called for residents to evacuate several neighbourhoods in the north of the Palestinian territory.The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,981 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable.Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the sanctions imposed Tuesday by Britain and other nations against two Israeli cabinet members accused of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians.”These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war” in Gaza, Rubio said in a statement.Britain’s foreign ministry earlier announced that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will be banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the country frozen.Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway also imposed fresh measures against the ministers, as the Israeli government faces growing international criticism over the conduct of its conflict with Hamas.The sanctions mark a break between the five countries and Israel’s closest ally, the United States, with Rubio urging partners “not to forget who the real enemy is” and to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel” against Hamas.Ben Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,” the foreign ministers of the five countries said in a joint statement.”These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now –- to hold those responsible to account,” they added.A UK government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Canada and Australia had also imposed sanctions, while Norway and New Zealand had implemented travel bans only.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar slammed the sanctions as “outrageous.”- ‘Horrendous language’ -Smotrich and Ben Gvir are part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile ruling coalition.Both have drawn criticism for their hard-line stance on the Gaza war and comments about settlements in the occupied West Bank, the other Palestinian territory.Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has called for the territory’s annexation.Last month, he said Gaza would be “entirely destroyed” and that civilians would “start to leave in great numbers to third countries.”Ben Gvir has also called for Gazans to be resettled from the besieged territory.UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the pair had used “horrendous extremist language” and that he would “encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language.”New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters insisted the measures were not directed against the Israeli people or government.”Rather, the travel bans are targeted at two individuals who are using their leadership positions to actively undermine peace and security and remove prospects for a two-state solution,” he said in a statement.- ‘Violence must stop’ -The UK foreign ministry said in its statement that “extremist settlers have carried out over 1,900 attacks against Palestinian civilians since January last year.”It said the five countries were “clear that the rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank must stop.””Measures today cannot be seen in isolation from events in Gaza where Israel must uphold international humanitarian law,” the ministry said. It added that the five nations “support Israel’s security and will continue to work with the Israeli government to strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.”Britain had already suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel last month and summoned Israel’s ambassador over the conduct of the war.It also announced financial restrictions and travel bans on several prominent settlers, as well as two illegal outposts and two organizations accused of backing violence against Palestinian communities.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday described closely watched trade talks with Chinese officials as productive, as scheduling conflicts prompted his departure from London with negotiations ongoing.Top officials from the world’s two biggest economies held a second day of trade talks Tuesday at the UK’s historic Lancaster House, with meetings stretching into the night.All …

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Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway on Tuesday ordered sanctions against two hard-line Israeli ministers for “repeated incitements of violence” against Palestinians, upping their condemnation of Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will be banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the country frozen, Britain’s foreign ministry said in a statement.The Israeli government faces growing international criticism over the conduct of its conflict with Hamas. But the United States sided with Israel, calling the sanctions “extremely unhelpful” for efforts to reach a ceasefire.A UK government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Canada and Australia had also imposed sanctions, while Norway and New Zealand had implemented travel bans only.The measures see the five countries break from Israel’s closest ally, the United States.Ben Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, the foreign ministers of the five countries said in a joint statement.”These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now –- to hold those responsible to account,” they added.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions “outrageous” and US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said they were “extremely unhelpful”.”It will do nothing to get us closer to a ceasefire in Gaza,” Bruce added, calling on the five nations to “focus on the real culprit, which is Hamas”.”We remain concerned about any step that would further isolate Israel from the international community,” she said.- ‘Horrendous language’ -Smotrich and Ben Gvir are part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile ruling coalition.Both have drawn criticism for their hard-line stance on the Gaza war and comments about settlements in the occupied West Bank, the other Palestinian territory.Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has called for the territory’s annexation.Last month, he said Gaza would be “entirely destroyed” and that civilians would “start to leave in great numbers to third countries”.Ben Gvir has also called for Gazans to be resettled from the besieged territory.UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the pair had used “horrendous extremist language” and that he would “encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language”.New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters insisted the measures were not directed against the Israeli people or government.”Rather, the travel bans are targeted at two individuals who are using their leadership positions to actively undermine peace and security and remove prospects for a two-state solution,” he said in a statement.- ‘Violence must stop’ -The UK foreign ministry said in its statement that “extremist settlers have carried out over 1,900 attacks against Palestinian civilians since January last year”.It said the five countries were “clear that the rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank must stop”.”Measures today cannot be seen in isolation from events in Gaza where Israel must uphold international humanitarian law,” the ministry said. It added that the five nations “support Israel’s security and will continue to work with the Israeli government to strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza”.Britain had already suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel last month and summoned Israel’s ambassador over the conduct of the war.It also announced financial restrictions and travel bans on several prominent settlers, as well as two illegal outposts and two organisations accused of backing violence against Palestinian communities.

Global stock markets moved indecisively Tuesday as investors waited for the outcome of US-China talks aimed at cementing a fragile trade war truce between the world’s two biggest economies.A second day of high-level talks in London between the United States and China stretched into the evening Tuesday with no concrete announcements so far.US equities finished …

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At least two Palestinians were killed Tuesday as Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry and the Israeli army said.The military said troops opened fire and “eliminated” two Palestinians who had attempted to steal a soldier’s weapon as the “counterterrorism operation” was underway in the old city of Nablus.The Palestinian health ministry said authorities had been informed by Israel of the deaths of Nidal Amira, 40, and Khaled Amira, 35. It did not specify whether the two were related.The Israeli military said one soldier was “moderately injured” and three others lightly in the incident.AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city’s narrow streets, next to two dead bodies.An AFP journalist said dozens of military vehicles entered Nablus’s historic centre shortly after midnight (2100 GMT Monday). A curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.At a major square outside the old city, young men and boys gathered on Tuesday to burn tyres and throw stones at the Israeli armoured vehicles.The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that during the Israeli raid, at least three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from “physical assault”, and dozens more from tear gas inhalation.It added that ambulances were blocked from entering the old city, obstructing the work of medical teams.Israel said in a statement that its forces had searched “250 structures” and arrested “six wanted individuals” during Tuesday’s operation.The northern West Bank, where Nablus is located, has been the target of a major Israeli offensive since late January.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its forces regularly carry out raids that authorities say target Palestinian militants.An AFP correspondent in Nablus saw Israeli soldiers searching shops and detaining several people for questioning on Tuesday.The correspondent said Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings taken over by the troops and used as temporary bases.The old city of Nablus has seen several major Israeli raids, including in 2022 and 2023 during large-scale operations targeting a local grouping of armed fighters, and in 2002 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.The Palestinian Authority says at least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 2023.Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis including civilians and soldiers have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.

Britain and four allies joined forces Tuesday to sanction two Israeli ministers for “repeated incitements of violence” against Palestinians, upping their condemnation of Israel’s actions around the war in Gaza.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will be banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the country frozen, Britain’s foreign ministry said in a statement.The announcement was a rare joint action alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway and comes as the Israeli government faces growing international criticism over its conduct of the conflict with Hamas.The sanction sees the five countries break from Israel’s closest ally, the United States.Ben Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, the foreign ministers of the five countries said in a joint statement.”These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now –- to hold those responsible to account,” they added.Smotrich and Ben Gvir are part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile ruling coalition.Both have drawn criticism for their hard-line stance on the war in Gaza and comments about settlements in the occupied West Bank, the other Palestinian territory.Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has increasingly called for the territory’s annexation.Last month, he said Gaza would be “entirely destroyed” and that civilians would “start to leave in great numbers to third countries”.Ben Gvir has also called for Gazans to be resettled from the besieged territory.UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the pair have used “horrendous extremist language” and that he would “encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language”.Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel had been informed by Britain of its sanctions decision, describing the move as “outrageous”.The UK foreign ministry said in its statement that “extremist settlers have carried out over 1,900 attacks against Palestinian civilians since January last year”.- ‘Personal capacity’ -It said the five countries were “clear that the rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank must stop”.”Measures today cannot be seen in isolation from events in Gaza where Israel must uphold international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said. It added that the UK and its partners “support Israel’s security and will continue to work with the Israeli government to strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza”.”Hamas must release the hostages immediately, and there must be a path to a two-state solution with Hamas having no role in future governance,” it added.The action comes after the British government suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel last month and summoned its ambassador over the conduct of the war.It also announced financial restrictions and travel bans on several prominent settlers, as well as two illegal outposts and two organisations accused of backing violence against Palestinian communities.