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Plumes of smoke rose Thursday over the northern Gaza Strip, where Israel’s military urged civilians to evacuate, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed more than 50 people.The latest evacuation warning for parts of Gaza City and neighbouring areas came hours after the United Nations said it had begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza — the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2.The World Food Programme (WFP) later said a “handful of bakeries” had resumed making and distributing bread, while the United Nations said some trucks were “intercepted” by residents.Under global pressure to lift the blockade and halt a newly expanded offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was open to a “temporary ceasefire”, but reaffirmed the military aimed to bring all of Gaza under its control.In an Arabic-language statement on Thursday, the military said it was acting “with intense force” in 14 areas of the northern Gaza Strip, including parts of Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp.A map posted alongside the warning showed a swath of territory marked in red, with the army accusing “terrorist organisations” of operating there and urging civilians to move south.The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million have been displaced at least once during the war.After Israel announced it would allow in limited aid, Netanyahu said it was necessary to “avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action”.In Gaza, the Hamas government media office reported the arrival of 87 aid trucks.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that “a small number of trucks carrying flour were intercepted by residents and their contents removed”.Dujarric said it “was not a criminal act with armed men”, but “what I’ve been referring to sometimes as self-distribution, which I think only reflects the very high level of anxiety that people in Gaza are feeling not knowing when the next humanitarian delivery will take place”.- ‘Hunger and disease’ -Palestinians have been scrambling for basic supplies, with Israel’s blockade leading to critical food and medicine shortages.UN agencies have said that the amount of aid entering Gaza falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis.Hossam Abu Aida, a 38-year-old displaced Palestinian in Gaza City said: “I am tormented for my children”.”For them, I fear hunger and disease more than I do Israeli bombardment,” he told AFP.AFP footage showed bags of recently delivered flour at a bakery in the central city of Deir el-Balah, where workers and a host of machines began kneading, shaping, baking and packaging stack after stack of pita bread.”Some aid is finally reaching Gazans in desperate need, but it’s moving far too slowly,” said WFP executive director Cindy McCain.”A handful of bakeries in south and central Gaza… have resumed bread production after dozens of trucks were finally able to collect cargo from the Kerem Shalom border crossing and deliver it overnight,” the WFP said in a statement.Israel stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.Gaza’s civil defence agency reported “52 martyrs” in Israeli air strikes across the territory on Thursday.AFP footage of northern Gaza showed numerous plumes of smoke rising from the area over the course of the afternoon.There was no comment from the Israeli military on any strikes on Thursday.- ‘Emboldening Hamas’ -The intensified Israeli offensive has drawn criticism, with EU foreign ministers agreeing on Tuesday to review the bloc’s cooperation accord with Israel.Sweden said it would press the 27-nation European Union to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel.In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain, Canada and France slammed the escalation and the “wholly inadequate” resumption of aid, warning of the possibility of “concrete actions in response”.Netanyahu hit back on Thursday, saying the three leaders “may think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever.”Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Gaza’s health ministry says at least 3,613 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,762, mostly civilians.During the Hamas attack, militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israel military says are dead.Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would be ready “if there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free hostages”, noting that at least 20 captives held by Hamas and its allies were still believed to be alive.

Palestinian residents of Maghayer al-Deir in the occupied West Bank told AFP on Thursday that they had begun packing their belonging and preparing to leave the village following repeated attacks by Israeli settlers.Yusef Malihat, a resident of the tiny village east of Ramallah, told AFP his community had decided to leave because its members felt powerless in the face of the settler violence.”No one provides us with protection at all,” he said, a keffiyeh scarf protecting his head from the sun as he loaded a pickup truck with chain-link fencing previously used to pen up sheep and goats.”They demolished the houses and threatened us with expulsion and killing,” he said, as a group of settlers looked on from a new outpost a few hundred metres away.The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.Settlement outposts, built informally and sometimes overnight, are considered illegal under Israeli law too, although enforcement is relatively rare.The Israeli military told AFP it was “looking into” the legality of the outpost at Maghayer al-Deir.”It’s very sad, what’s happening now… even for an outpost,” said Itamar Greenberg, an Israeli peace activist present at Maghayer al-Deir on Thursday.”It’s a new outpost 60 metres from the last house of the community, and on Sunday one settler told me that in one month, the Bedouins will not be here, but it (happened much) more quickly,” he told AFP.The Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission denounced Maghayer al-Deir’s displacement, describing it as being the result of the “terrorism of the settler militias”.It said in a statement that a similar fate had befallen 29 other Bedouin communities, whose small size and isolation in rural areas make them more vulnerable.In the area east of Ramallah, where hills slope down towards the Jordan Valley, Maghayer al-Deir was one of the last remaining communities after the residents of several others were recently displaced.Its 124 residents will now be dispersed to other nearby areas.Malihat told AFP some would go to the Christian village of Taybeh just over 10 kilometres (six miles) away, and others to Ramallah.Uncertain they would be able to return, the families loaded all they could fit in their trucks, including furniture, irrigation pipes and bales of hay.

A state-approved Iranian movie featuring women constantly in headscarves premiered at the Cannes film festival on Thursday, with director Saeed Roustayi defending his decision to bend to the diktats of national censors.The Cannes Festival has long offered a platform for independent Iranian filmmakers whose work is lauded on the French Riviera but usually banned at home. Roustayi has previously defied his country’s authorities. His last film in Cannes — “Leila’s Brothers” in 2022 — landed him a six-month suspended jail term and film ban.”It affected my whole life, my family, and those around me,” the 35-year-old told AFP. Three years later, he is back again with “Woman and Child”, again chosen for the main competition — but this time with official approval.The script was approved by Iranian censors, and the actors follow Iranian law, with women wearing the government-mandated hijab at all times on screen — even during scenes at home, where headscarves are typically taken off.”I’d love to make films without the hijab. I truly want to do that because I know my films would be more real and natural,” Roustayi told AFP.He added: “I didn’t want a permit, but they force you to get one. If you want to film in big locations like hospitals or schools or use professional cinema equipment, they require a permit.” The women actors in Roustayi’s movie did not wear hijabs when the film’s team walked the red carpet for the Cannes premiere, though the lead actor, Parinaz Izadyar, wore a discreet headpiece.Ahead of its screening in Cannes, his work was hailed in Iran’s state media, with the IRNA agency calling it “a happy and important moment for Iranian cinema”. – Exiles -Roustayi’s films often focus on the plight of women and “Woman and Child” is no exception, following a widow who struggles to balance the demands of her children, love life and work as a nurse. The director said he wants to make socially conscious dramas, and was seeking to “save” Iranian cinema from the low-quality commercial features that most of his compatriots are forced to watch. But his desire to make a film that can be viewed in cinemas in his homeland, not just at international film festivals and cinemas abroad, has been condemned by some exiled Iranian film figures.The hijab has become a politically charged symbol since the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” demonstrations that saw women openly defy the security forces and remove their mandatory headscarves.”The women on the screen (in hijabs) are following the most discriminatory law in Iran. People were killed to dismantle it,” California-based exiled Iranian film critic Mahshid Zamani told AFP.She helps run the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Association, a collective of 300 exiled Iranian cinema figures which has condemned Roustayi’s decision to seek permits and permission. “Roustayi is in the tradition of what the Iranian government has been doing for 40 years: they have been sending out films to the international stage and saying ‘look everything is rosy, there is freedom of speech’,” she added.”We’re not saying the film is a propaganda film. The government is using films like his film as a propaganda tool.” – Contrast -Roustayi’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of his compatriot Jafar Panahi, whose latest production “It Was Just An Accident” features several women without headscarves and is also competing for the top prize in Cannes.Panahi is a symbol of defiance, someone who has continued to make films despite receiving a 20-year ban in 2010. He spent nearly seven months behind bars in 2022-2023 and smuggled a copy of a previous film to the Cannes Festival hidden in a cake.”It Was Just An Accident” was shot in secret and tackles political repression and torture head-on, with a story about four ordinary Iranians who believe they have found their jail interrogator. When asked  on Wednesday how Iranian filmmakers should approach the censors, Panahi said: “Everyone finds their path, their way of doing things relative to their abilities and knowledge. I don’t have any advice to give.”He added that, “despite everything, I have always found a way”.Another Cannes favourite from Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof, fled the country last year for fear of being jailed for a third time, after making a film about the 2022-2023 protest movement.He has defended Roustayi, telling Variety magazine that there’s a “clear distinction between the propaganda films of the Islamic Republic and the films that are made under the constraints of censorship”.Last month, Iranian directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha were given suspended sentences for their acclaimed romantic drama “My Favourite Cake”, which competed at the 2024 Berlin film festival.  They were convicted of “spreading lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion”.

Irish rappers Kneecap on Thursday denied supporting a proscribed group and vowed to defend themselves after a singer was charged with a “terror” offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert.The Iran-backed Lebanese force Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are banned in the UK and it is an offence to support them.”We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction,” the band said on X.Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged on Wednesday with showing support for a proscribed group during a London performance on November 21. Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, the Belfast group rap in the Irish language as well as English.They have courted controversy since they were formed in 2017.Last year the group was catapulted to international fame by a semi-fictionalised film, partly in Irish, partly in English, that won multiple awards including at the Sundance festival.The movie, which is laced with music, drugs and biting satire, also made shortlists for Oscar nominations in the best international feature film and best original song categories.London’s Metropolitan Police said officers from its Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation after a video of the Noveber event surfaced online last month.In its statement, Kneecap attacked the “establishment” for trying to focus attention elsewhere while the population of Gaza suffered, and accused Israel of committing genocide.”We are not the story. Genocide is. As they profit from genocide, they use an ‘anti-terror law’ against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage.” The charge follows growing scrutiny of Kneecap’s performances after footage circulated online showing political statements made by the band on stage.One video appeared to show a band member shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”- Confrontational style -The band, known for its confrontational style and Irish nationalist, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel messaging, has denied supporting violence or banned groups.In April they debuted at the Coachella music festival in California, which band member DJ Provai said was another “milestone” for the group, whose signature look is wearing balaclavas.They said they had been surprised by the success of the film.Mo Chara told AFP in April: “It’s an international story of languages being oppressed, because obviously the first protocol for colonialism is to eradicate the language and the culture.” Another video clip under investigation by London police appears to show the band urging an audience to kill British Conservative MPs. Kneecap later issued an apology to the families of Labour Party MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016, and Conservative lawmaker David Amess, who was killed in 2021.The rows have turned attention on a slew of European and US dates lined up for the group this year.The trio were to perform at a festival in London on Friday and sent a message on X on Thursday to say “London. We’re back” adding “Wide Awake Festival, see you tomorrow”.They also unveiled an exclusive gig Thursday at “The 100 Club tonight – tickets onsale at 4pm they’ll be gone in minutes.”Several of their gigs have already been cancelled, including three in Germany and one in the UK, while the British government has urged Glastonbury festival organisers to “think carefully” about the band’s planned appearance there next month.Kneecap’s manager Dan Lambert said there was a coordinated campaign to target the group for their outspoken views on Gaza.Israel has repeatedly denied charges of genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory.Prominent British musicians and groups including Paul Weller, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Pulp and Primal Scream have defended the group and signed a letter denouncing a “concerted attempt to censor and de-platform Kneecap”.

Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead at a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested, sparking new international tensions over anti-Semitism.The killings took place just outside the Capital Jewish Museum, a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, late Wednesday as it held an event for young professionals and diplomatic staff.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited “the terrible price of antisemitism” and what he called “wild incitement against the State of Israel.”US President Donald Trump echoed this, posting on social media: “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!”Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple who had been hoping to marry.Police said they detained the shooter, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, from Chicago, at the scene.Video footage showed the bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away.The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide in the wake of Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas.- Tensions over Gaza, anti-Semitism -Tensions are high in the United States and in many other countries over the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza.Britain and France — who have stepped up their condemnation in recent days of Israel’s actions — were among those condemning the shooting, as well as Germany and the United Arab Emirates. But Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, put blame on European governments, claiming there was “a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.””This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe,” he said.French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation “completely outrageous and completely unjustified.”Israel’s consul in New York City sought to draw a link between the shooting and US student protests against the Israeli war in Gaza, which he painted as “unprecedented riots organized by terrorists.”Trump has gone on the offensive against campus protesters, also claiming they are “pro-terrorist,” with punitive measures to slash university funding and deport foreign student activists.-  ‘Call the cops’ -In an incredible mix-up, witnesses reportedly said that security personnel appeared to mistake the gunman for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was initially comforted by bystanders.”Some of the people at the event brought him water. They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘somebody call the cops’,” Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media.Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters that the suspect was seen pacing back and forth outside the museum before the shooting around 9:00 pm on Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday). “He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire,” she said.Smith confirmed the suspect then entered the museum and was detained by security, and said he told them where he discarded the gun. – Marriage plans -The targeted event was an annual reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.Lischinsky was a research assistant at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles.Lischinsky was Christian, according to The Times of Israel, for whom he had previously worked as a blogger. Germany’s foreign minister said he also held a German passport. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, who said he spoke with Trump by telephone, told reporters the young staffers were a couple about to get engaged.”The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” Leiter said.”They were a beautiful couple.”

Tech giant Xiaomi unveiled a new advanced in-house mobile chip on Thursday, a significant milestone for the company as Chinese firms shift resources towards home-grown technology against a bleak international trade backdrop.Xiaomi, which sells goods from smartphones to vacuum cleaners and electric vehicles (EVs), is one of China’s most prominent consumer electronics firms.With the XRING …

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This year’s Eurovision Song Contest winner Austrian singer JJ called for Israel to be excluded from next year’s competition in an interview published Thursday.He also expressed regret over Israel’s participation in this year’s competition despite the war in Gaza.Eurovision has faced criticism for allowing Israel to participate in the contest despite the devastating Gaza war. This year, pro-Palestinian activists staged protests during the extravaganza in Switzerland over the weekend.Russia has not been allowed to participate in Eurovision since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.   “It is very disappointing to see that Israel continues to participate in the contest,” the 24-year-old countertenor told Spanish daily El Pais in an interview.”I would like next year’s Eurovision to take place in Vienna without Israel,” he added.”But the ball is in the court” of the organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), he said. “We, the artists, can only express our views on the subject.”JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, also called for “greater transparency” regarding the public vote, after Israeli singer Yuval Raphael was propelled into second place.Israel’s entrant survived the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, hiding beneath bodies as Hamas gunmen attacked a music festival, killing hundreds.”This year, everything happened in a very strange way,” said JJ.The singer faced a backlash over his comments in Austria, one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in Europe. The country’s public broadcaster ORF distanced itself from his remarks, saying they “reflected a personal opinion”, APA news agency reported.JJ said he was “sorry if his comments had been misinterpreted” via his record label Warner.On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most outspoken critics of the Israeli government, said Israel should be excluded from Eurovision.He expressed his solidarity with “the people of Palestine who are experiencing the injustice of war and bombardment”.”What we cannot allow is double standards in culture,” Sanchez said in reference to Russia’s ban.Israel has come under massive international pressure to abandon its intensified military campaign in Gaza and allow urgent humanitarian aid into the besieged strip.Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 53,762 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Two Israeli embassy staffers, one of them an American, were shot dead outside a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, both of them blaming anti-Semitism.”Blood libels against Israel are paid in blood — and they must be fought relentlessly,” Netanyahu said in a statement, ordering a boost in security at Israeli embassies around the world.Shots rang out on the sidewalk outside the Capital Jewish Museum, a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, late Wednesday as it held an event for young professionals and diplomatic staff.Emergency vehicles remained at the scene in the early hours of Thursday after police taped off the area in the heart of the US capital.Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple who may have been planning to marry. Lischinsky was a research assistant at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Lischinsky was Christian, according to The Times of Israel, for whom he had previously worked as a blogger. Germany’s foreign minister said he also held a German passport. Washington’s police chief identified the shooter as a 30-year-old from Chicago,  Elias Rodriguez, and said he was in custody. Video of his arrest by police showed the bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away.The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide since Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas.- ‘What happened? -Witnesses reportedly said that security personnel appeared to mistake the man for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was comforted by bystanders before claiming responsibility for the attack.”Some of the people at the event brought him water. They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘somebody call the cops’,” Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media.Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters that the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum before the shooting around 9:00 pm on Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday). “He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire,” she said.First responders found a man and a woman unconscious and not breathing. Despite life-saving efforts, both were pronounced dead.”After the shooting, the suspect then entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Smith said.She said the man told them where he discarded the gun.- ‘Despicable’ -“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.”We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and the wild incitement against the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in his statement.”My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and woman, whose lives were abruptly cut short by a despicable antisemitic murderer.”Britain and France — who have stepped up their condemnation in recent days of Israel’s actions in Gaza — as well as Germany were among those condemning the shooting. Israel’s foreign minister accused European governments of “incitement.””There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder,” Gideon Saar told a press conference.”This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”The targeted event was an annual reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement that the organization was “devastated” by the shooting.Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, who said he spoke with Trump by telephone, told reporters the young staffers were a couple about to get engaged. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” Leiter said.”They were a beautiful couple.”