Connect with us

World News

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Declared War on Hamas

Published

on

Following a barrage of more than 2,000 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip that killed at least 22 Israelis and injured hundreds, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas.

The Palestinian armed group Hamas launched the largest attack on Israel in years, infiltrating areas in the country’s south, local media reported, citing medical workers.

Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, warned Hamas that it had made a “grave mistake” in launching the attack, which began at 06:30am local time (03:30 GMT) on Saturday and involved rocket barrages fired from multiple locations in Gaza, as well as fighters infiltrating the Israeli border by land, sea, and air.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared from military headquarters in Tel Aviv in a video message.

Aljazeera reports, Mohammed Deif, a top Hamas military commander, had earlier stated that the missile launch signalled the start of “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” and he urged Palestinians worldwide to oppose the Israeli occupation.

“We’ve decided to say enough,” Deif declared, urging other Palestinians to oppose Israel. “This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” he stated over the radio.

Palestinian Terrorists from Gaza Launch Deadly Attack on Israel, 22 Dead, Over 500 Injured

The Israeli military advised Israelis living near the Gaza Strip to remain in their homes and warned Hamas that it would pay a “heavy price for its actions.”

Israeli media said that Palestinian fighters opened fire on bystanders in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show uniformed Palestinians engaging in border battles.

Another social media video purported to show a burning Israeli tank surrounded by joyous Palestinians.

By late Saturday morning, Israeli jets had begun pounding targets in Gaza as part of “Operation Iron Swords,” while Israeli soldiers were involved in ground fighting in various areas throughout the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“Right now, we’re at odds. We’re battling in many spots throughout the Gaza Strip… “Our forces are now fighting on the ground,” said Israel’s army spokesman, Richard Hecht.

According to media reports, witnesses in Gaza heard loud explosions and at least one person was killed in the first wave of Israeli air raids.

The commencement of significant combat between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters follows weeks of rising tensions along Israel’s fragile border with Gaza, as well as months of fatal clashes in Israel’s occupied West Bank.

So far this year, Israeli troops have killed at least 247 Palestinians, while Palestinian attackers have murdered 32 Israelis and two foreign nationals.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, criticised “the multi-front assault against” Israeli villages and cities around Gaza, calling them “heinous attacks targeting civilians.”

“These events have resulted in horrific scenes of violence and many Israeli deaths and injuries, with many thought to be kidnapped inside the Strip.” These are atrocious attacks on civilians that must end immediately,” Wennesland stated in a statement.

“I am deeply concerned about the safety of all civilians.” “I am in close contact with all parties involved, urging maximum restraint and urging all parties to protect civilians,” he said.

“This is a dangerous precipice and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.”

In a statement released earlier on Saturday on the Telegram messaging app, Hamas urged “the resistance fighters in the West Bank” as well as “our Arab and Islamic nations” to join the ongoing war.

Exiled Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri declared “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” was a response to “occupation crimes,” and Palestinian fighters were protecting their sacred place in occupied East Jerusalem.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, created in 1982 to combat Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, said in a statement that it was closely monitoring events in Gaza and was in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance.”

Hamas Terrorists From Gaza Launch Deadly Attack on Israel, 22 Dead, Over 500 Injured

Palestinian Terrorists From Gaza Launch Deadly Attack on Israel, 22 Dead, Over 500 Injured

Continue Reading

World News

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally Wins the First Round in France 2024 Election

Published

on

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party scored historic gains in France

Exit polls in France showed that Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally (RN) party made huge gains to win the first round of election on Sunday. However, the final outcome will depend on how people trade votes in the days before next week’s run-off.

Exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay, and Elabe showed that the RN got about 34% of the vote. This was a big loss for President Emmanuel Macron, who called the early election after his party lost badly in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.

The National Rally (RN) easily won more votes than its opponents on the left and center, including Macron’s Together group, whose bloc was predicted to get 20.5% to 23% of the vote. Exit polls showed that the New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily put together left-wing alliance, would get about 29% of the vote.

The results of the exit polls matched what people said in polls before the election, which made Le Pen’s fans very happy. But they didn’t say for sure if the anti-immigrant, anti-EU National Rally (RN) will be able to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron in a government after the runoff election next Sunday.

Voters in France Angry at Macron

Many French people have looked down on the National Rally (RN) for a long time, but now it is closer to power than it has ever been. A party known for racism and antisemitism has tried to clean up its image, and it has worked. Voters are angry at Macron, the high cost of living, and rising concerns about immigration.

Fans of Marine Le Pen waved French flags and sang the Marseillaise in the northern French district of Henin-Beaumont. The crowd cheered as Le Pen said, “The French have shown they are ready to turn the page on a power that is disrespectful and destructive.”

The National Rally’s chances of taking power next week will rest on what political deals its opponents make in the next few days. Right-wing and left-wing parties used to work together to keep the National Rally (RN) out of power, but the “republican front,” which refers to this group, is less stable than ever.

If no candidate gets 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates and anyone else with 12.5% of the registered voters immediately move on to the second round. The district goes to the person who gets the most votes in the runoff.

France is likely to have a record number of three-way runoffs because so many people voted on Sunday. Experts say that these are much better for the National Rally (RN) than two-way games. Almost right away on Sunday night, the horse trade began.

Macron asked people to support candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic.” Based on what he has said recently, this would rule out candidates from the National Rally (RN) and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party. Leaders on the far left and the center left both asked their third-placed candidates to drop out.

Minority government

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed, said, “Our rule is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.” But the center-right Republicans party, which split before the vote when some of its members joined the RN, didn’t say anything.

The president of the RN party, Jordan Bardella, who is 28 years old, said he was ready to be prime minister if his party gets a majority of seats. He has said he won’t try to make a minority government, and neither Macron nor the communist NFP will work with him.

“I will be a “cohabitation” Prime Minister, respectful of the constitution and of the office of President of the Republic, but uncompromising about the policies we will implement,” he said.

A few thousand anti-RN protesters met in Paris’s Republique square on Sunday night for a rally of the leftist alliance. The mood was gloomy.

Niya Khaldi, a 33-year-old teacher, said that the RN’s good results made her feel “disgust, sadness, and fear.”

“This is not how I normally act,” she said. “I think I came to reassure myself, to not feel alone.”

Election Runoff

The result on Sunday didn’t have much of an effect on the market. In early Asia-Pacific trade, the euro gained about 0.23%. Fiona Cincotta, a senior markets expert at City Index in London, said she was glad the outcome “didn’t come as a surprise.”

“Le Pen had a slightly smaller margin than some of the polls had pointed to, which may have helped the euro a little bit higher on the open,” she noted. “Now everyone is waiting for July 7 to see if the second round supports a clear majority or not. So it does feel like we’re on the edge of something.”

Some pollsters thought the RN would win the most seats in the National Assembly, but Elabe was the only one who thought the party would win all 289 seats in the run-off. Seat projections made after the first round of voting are often very wrong, and this race is no exception.

On Sunday night, Reuters reported there were no final results for the whole country yet, but they were due in the next few hours. In France, exit polls have usually been very accurate.

Voter turnout was high compared to previous parliamentary elections. This shows how passionate people are about politics after Macron made the shocking and politically risky decision to call a vote in parliament.

Mathieu Gallard, research head at Ipsos France, said that at 1500 GMT, nearly 60% of voters had turned out, up from 39.42% two years earlier. This was the highest comparable turnout since the 1986 legislative vote. It wasn’t clear when the official number of people who voted would be changed.

 

Continue Reading

World News

Pakistan Seeks US Support for Counter-Terrorism Operation Azm-e-Istehkam

Published

on

Pakistan

(CTN News) – Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, has urged Washington to provide Pakistan with sophisticated small arms and communication equipment to ensure the success of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a newly approved counter-terrorism initiative in the country.

The federal government recently approved the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive, which comprises three components: doctrinal, societal, and operational.

Ambassador Khan noted that work on the first two phases has already begun, with the third phase set to be implemented soon.

Addressing US policymakers, scholars, and corporate leaders at the Wilson Center in Washington, Khan emphasized the importance of strong security links, enhanced intelligence cooperation, and the resumption of sales of advanced military platforms between Pakistan and the US.

He argued that this is crucial for regional security and countering the rising tide of terrorism, which also threatens the interests of the US and its allies.

“Pakistan has launched Azm-i-Istehkam […] to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment,” said Ambassador Khan.

Pakistan–United States relations

The ambassador observed that the prospects of Pakistan-United States relations were bright, stating that the two countries “share values, our security and economic interests are interwoven, and it is the aspiration of our two peoples that strengthens our ties.”

He invited US investors and businesses to explore Pakistan’s potential in terms of demographic dividend, technological advancements, and market opportunities.

Khan also suggested that the US should consider Pakistan as a partner in its diplomatic efforts in Kabul and collaborate on counterterrorism and the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

He stressed that the bilateral relationship should be based on ground realities and not be hindered by a few issues.

“We should not base our engagement on the incongruity of expectations.

Our ties should be anchored in ground realities, even as we aim for stronger security and economic partnerships. Secondly, one or two issues should not hold the entire relationship hostage,” said the ambassador.

Continue Reading

World News

China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland ‘Without Worry’ Despite Execution Threat

Published

on

China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland Without Worry Despite Threats

China has reassured Taiwanese citizens that they can visit the mainland “without the slightest worry”, despite Taiwan raising its travel alert to the second-highest level in response to Beijing’s new judicial guidelines targeting supporters of Taiwanese independence.

Last week, China published guidelines that could impose the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “diehard” advocates of Taiwanese independence.

In response, Taiwan’s government urged the public to avoid “unnecessary travel” to mainland China and Hong Kong, and raised its travel warning to the “orange” level.

However, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for a Chinese body overseeing Taiwan affairs, stated that the new directives are “aimed solely at the very small number of supporters of ‘Taiwan independence’, who are engaged in malicious acts and utterances”.

She emphasized that “the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots involved in cross-strait exchanges and cooperation do not need to have the slightest worry when they come to or leave mainland China”.

“They can arrive in high spirits and leave fully satisfied with their stay,” Zhu added.

What’s Behind The China-Taiwan Tensions?

The tensions stem from the longstanding dispute over Taiwan’s status. Mainland China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to bring the democratic island under its control, while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state.

Beijing has not conducted top-level communications with Taipei since 2016, when the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan’s leader. China has since branded her successor, President Lai Ching-te, a “dangerous separatist”.

“The DPP authorities have fabricated excuses to deceive the people on the island and incite confrontation and opposition,” Zhu said in her statement.
Despite the political tensions, many Taiwanese continue to travel to mainland China for work, study, or business.

Continue Reading

Trending