Author: AP/ PTI

Kyiv:  Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” with Russia for at least 30 days starting on Monday, Ukrainian FM Andrii Sybiha said Saturday.

His remarks came as the leaders of four major European countries visited Kyiv, amid a push for Moscow to agree to a truce and launch peace talks on ending the nearly three-year war.

It coincided with the last day of a unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Russia that Ukraine says the Kremlin’s forces have repeatedly violated.

In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.

The leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom arrived together at the train station in Kyiv, and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after to join a ceremony at Kyiv’s Independence Square marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. They lit candles at a makeshift flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and civilians slain since Russia’s invasion.

The visit marked the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled together to Ukraine, while Friedrich Merz is making his first visit to Ukraine as Germany’s new chancellor.

Sybiha on Thursday called the Russian truce a “farce,” accusing Russian forces of violating it over 700 times less than a day after it formally came into effect. Both sides also said attacks on their troops had continued on Thursday.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” the leaders said in a joint statement. “Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

Meanwhile, Russia has kept up attacks along the roughly 1,600-kilometre front line, including deadly strikes on residential areas with no obvious military targets.

On Saturday morning, local officials in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region said Russian shelling over the past day killed three residents and wounded four more. Another civilian man died on the spot on Saturday as a Russian drone struck the southern city of Kherson, according to regional Gov Oleksandr Prokudin.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron, said: “What’s happening with Poland, Germany and Great Britain is a historic moment for European defence and toward a greater independence for our security. Obviously for Ukraine, but for all of us. It’s a new era. It’s a Europe that sees itself as a power.”

Trump has previously pushed Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to end the war, threatening to walk away if a deal becomes too difficult — and causing alarm bells in Europe about how to fill the gap.

Ukraine’s European allies view the war as fundamental to the continent’s security, and pressure is now mounting to find ways to support Kyiv militarily — regardless of whether Trump pulls out.

Ukrainian presidential aide Andrii Yermak, who met the European leaders at Kyiv’s main train station, wrote on his Telegram: “There is a lot of work, a lot of topics to discuss. We need to end this war with a just peace. We need to force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.”

 

 

London:  The rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Op Sindoor targeting terror camps in PoK was debated at length in the British Parliament, with members across parties appealing for UK efforts to aid de-escalation in the region.

India launched Operation Sindoor early Wednesday, hitting nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan’s Punjab province in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

UK Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer opened the debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday with a statement reiterating Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s earlier remarks over the importance of diplomacy and dialogue.

He also expressed concerns related to the very “personal” aspect of the conflict for a large number of British Indians and British Pakistanis in the country.

“Our consistent message to both India and Pakistan has been to show restraint. They need to engage in dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward,” said Falconer.

“The UK has a close and unique relationship with both countries. It is heartbreaking to see civilian lives being lost. If this escalates further, nobody wins. We clearly condemned the horrific terrorist attack last month,” he said referring to the Pahalgam terror attack and said it was the worst such attack for many years for that region.

“Now, we need all sides to focus urgently on the steps needed to restore regional stability and ensure the protection of civilians,” Falconer said.

He asserted that the UK will continue to work closely with international partners in pursuit of “short-term de-escalation and longer-term stability”. “We now need to see calm heads. Britain will continue to play its full part for de-escalation and diplomacy,” he said.

UK shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel highlighted India’s right to take “reasonable and proportionate” steps to defend itself, and to dismantle the “vile terrorist infrastructure” that has caused death and continues to threaten Indian security.

“Terrorists based in Pakistan threaten India and western interests — it was the country that Osama bin Laden was hiding in — and because of the long history of violence being inflicted by terrorists on India, the UK has in place long-standing security cooperation agreements with India,” noted the British Indian MP.

She went on to question if Britain could offer specific support that might help avert escalation and also asked for the government’s assessment of who carried out the terror attack in Kashmir on April 22.

“I can confirm that I have had extended discussions with my Pakistani counterparts about the terrorist threats within Pakistan and the efforts that need to be made to address that. That is a terrorist threat that affects Pakistan herself, which, even in recent months, has suffered significant terrorist attacks,” minister Falconer responded.

India-born Labour MP Jas Athwal addressed the Commons on a personal note, highlighting that his parents were born in Pakistan. “I know only too well that neither nation will take a backward step, so what can the minister do to assure me and my residents in Ilford South that we will do everything possible to bring both the superpowers to the negotiating table to restore peace to this volatile part of the world,” he asked.

Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman called for terrorist bases to be removed “once and for all” from Pakistan.

“It was made clear at the time by India that either Pakistan removes the terrorist spaces along the line of control, or India would remove them… nine sites were hit; Those were terrorist bases where terrorists were being trained to commit further atrocities in India,” he said.

A number of Pakistani-origin British MPs also intervened to condemn the “massive escalation” and a real threat of war between the two nuclear powers.

“It is important that the House remains focused on the importance of de-escalation,” the minister stressed.

Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip): Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 59 people, including women and children, hospital officials said Wednesday, as Israel prepares to ramp up its campaign against Hamas in a devastating war now entering its 20th month.

The strikes included one attack on Tuesday night on a school sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians, which killed 27 people, officials from the Al-Aqsa Hospital said, including nine women and three children. It was the fifth time since the war began that the school in central Gaza has been struck.

An early morning strike on another school turned shelter in Gaza City killed 16 people, according to officials at Al-Ahli Hospital, while strikes on targets in other areas killed at least 16 others.

A large column of smoke rose and fires pierced the dark skies above the school shelter in Bureij, a built-up urban refugee camp. Paramedics and rescuers rushed to pull people out from the blaze.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames Hamas for the death toll because it operates from civilian infrastructure, including schools.

The new bloodshed comes days after Israel approved a plan to intensify its operations in the Palestinian enclave, which would include seizing Gaza, holding on to captured territories, forcibly displacing Palestinians to southern Gaza and taking control of aid distribution along with private security companies.

Israel is also calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers to carry out the plan. Israel says the plan will be gradual and will not be implemented until after US President Donald Trump wraps up his visit to the region later this month.

Any escalation of fighting would likely drive up the death toll. And with Israel already controlling some 50% of Gaza, increasing its hold on the territory, for an indefinite amount of time, could open up the potential for a military occupation, which would raise questions about how Israel plans to have the territory governed, especially at a time when it is considering how to implement Trump’s vision to take over Gaza.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. The officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

Trump on Tuesday stunned many in Israel when he declared that only 21 of the 59 hostages remaining in Gaza are still alive. Israel insists that figure stands at 24, although an Israeli official said there was “serious concern” for the lives of three captives. The official said there has been no sign of life from those three, whom the official did not identify.

He said that until there is evidence proving otherwise, the three are considered to be alive. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details related to the war, said the families of the captives were updated on those developments.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the families of the captives, demanded from Israel’s government that if there is “new information being kept from us, give it to us immediately”. It also called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the war in Gaza until all hostages are returned. “This is the most urgent and important national mission,” it said on a post on X.

Since Israel ended a ceasefire with the Hamas militant group in mid-March, it has unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds and has captured swaths of territory. Before the truce ended, Israel halted all humanitarian aid into the territory, including food, fuel and water, setting off what is believed to the be the worst humanitarian crisis in 19 months of war.

Key interlocutors Qatar and Egypt said Wednesday that mediation efforts were “ongoing and consistent”. But Israel and Hamas remain far apart on how they see the war ending. Israel says it won’t end the war until Hamas’ governing and military capabilities are dismantled, something it has failed to do in 19 months of war.

Hamas says it is prepared to release all of the hostages for an end to the war and a long term truce with Israel.

Against the backdrop of the plans to intensify the campaign in Gaza, fighting has also escalated between Israel and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Houthis fired a ballistic missile earlier this week that landed on the grounds of Israel’s main international airport. Israel responded with a series of airstrikes over two days, whose targets included the airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

The Houthis have been striking Israel and targets in a main Red Sea shipping route since the war began in solidarity with the Palestinians. On Tuesday, Trump said the US would halt a nearly two-monthlong campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, after the rebel group agreed not to target US ships.

Israel does not appear to be covered by the US-Houthi agreement.

The Israeli official said the deal came as a surprise to Israel and that it was concerned by it because of what it meant for the continuation of hostilities between it and the Houthis.

Jerusalem: Israel’s military has issued a warning on social media for people in the area of Yemen’s international airport to evacuate immediately.

The warning by spokesperson Avichay Adraee on Tuesday came a day after Israel launched strikes against the Yemen-based Houthi rebels in retaliation for a missile strike on Israel’s international airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday.

“We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” Adraee wrote, attaching a map of the Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”

Israel’s military targeted the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida on Monday with airstrikes, killing at least one person and wounding 35.

The rebels’ media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Other strikes hit a cement factory in Bajil district 55 kilometres northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said. The extent of damage was not immediately clear.

Jerusalem, May 6 (AP) Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Tuesday that Israeli strikes had hit the capital, Sanaa, shortly after Israel’s military issued a warning for people to evacuate the area of Yemen’s international airport.

There was no immediate information on any casualties.

The Houthis’ satellite news channel said the strikes had hit Sanaa International Airport. They came a day after Israel launched airstrikes Monday night in retaliation for a missile strike the previous day on Israel’s international airport.

“We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”

On Monday night, Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, killing at least one person and wounding 35.

The rebels’ media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55 kilometres northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said.

The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel’s main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured.

It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion, since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. It prompted a flurry of flight cancellations.

The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, raising their profile as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.

The US military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15.

While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel’s missile defence systems, causing damage.

Israel has repeatedly struck against the rebels in Yemen.

It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv. In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.

Tel Aviv:  Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, in a move that if implemented would vastly expand Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory and likely bring fierce international opposition.

Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote, hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

The new plan, which the officials said was meant to help Israel achieve its war aims of defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held in Gaza, also would push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, what would likely exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis.

Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds. It has captured swathes of territory and now controls roughly 50% of Gaza. Before the truce ended, Israel halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, fuel and water, setting off what is believed to the be the worst humanitarian crisis in nearly 19 months of war.

The ban on aid has prompted widespread hunger and shortages have set off looting.

The Israeli officials said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories.” The plan would also seek to prevent the militant Hamas group from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza. It also accuses Hamas of keeping the aid for itself to bolsters its capabilities. The plan also included powerful strikes against Hamas targets, the officials said.

The officials said Israel was in touch with several countries about President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and relocate its population, under what Israel has termed “voluntary emigration” yet which has sparked condemnations from Israel’s allies in Europe and the Arab world.

One of the officials said the plan would be implemented gradually. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing military plans.

For weeks, Israel has been trying to ratchet up pressure on Hamas and prompt it to show more flexibility in ceasefire negotiations. But international mediators trying to bring the sides toward a new deal have struggled to do so. Israel’s measures do not appear to have moved Hamas away from its negotiating positions.

The previous ceasefire was meant to lead the sides to negotiate an end to the war, but that goal has been a repeated sticking point in talks between Israel and Hamas. Israel says it won’t agree to end the war until Hamas is defeated. Hamas meanwhile has demanded an agreement that winds down the war.

The Israeli officials did not disclose details on how the plan seeks to prevent Hamas from involvement in aid distribution. One said the ministers had approved “the option of aid distribution,” without elaborating.

According to an internal memo circulated among aid groups and seen by The Associated Press, Israel told the United Nations that it will use private security companies to control aid distribution in Gaza. The U.N., in a statement Sunday, said it would not participate in the plan as presented to it, saying it violates its core principles.

The memo, sent to aid organizations on Sunday, detailed notes from a meeting between the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, COGAT and the UN.

Under COGAT’s plan, all aid will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, letting approximately 60 trucks enter daily and distributing 20 kilograms of aid parcels directly to people on the day of entry, although their contents were unclear as was how many people will have access to the aid.

The memo said the aid will be distributed at logistics hubs, which will be run by private security companies. The memo said that facial recognition will be used to identify Palestinians at the hubs and SMS alerts will notify people in the area that they can collect aid.

The UN said the plan would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies. It said the plan “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy.”

The memo says that the US government has voiced clear support for Israel’s plan, but it’s unclear who would provide funding for the private military companies or the aid.

COGAT and the US Embassy in Jerusalem did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, the AP obtained dozens of documents about aid groups’ concerns that the hubs could end up permanently displacing Palestinians and forcing them to live in “de facto internment conditions”.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel says 59 captives remain in Gaza, although about 35 are believed to be dead.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza’s population, often multiple times, and turned Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape.

Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war and withdrew troops and settlers in 2005. Two years later, Hamas took over and has controlled the territory since.

Ben-Gurion International Airport (Israel):  A missile launched by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen on Sunday briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at Israel’s main international airport after an impact left a plume of smoke and caused panic among passengers.

The Houthi rebels have been striking Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before top Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. The army meanwhile began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in Gaza, officials said.

The missile launch Sunday set off air raid sirens in multiple parts of Israel. A plume of smoke was visible at the airport, according to footage shared by Israeli media. Passengers were heard yelling and scrambling for cover.

It was not immediately clear whether the projectile, which landed in a field near an access road leading to airport parking lots, was the missile or its fragments, or an interceptor from Israel’s air defence systems. It left a deep crater in the ground and a nearby road was littered with dirt.

Police said that air, road and rail traffic were halted following the attack. The traffic resumed after about an hour, Israel Airports Authority said. Israel’s paramedic service Magen David Adom said four people were lightly wounded.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.

Houthi rebels have been firing at Israel since the war with Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, and the missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel’s missile defence systems, causing damage.

Israel has struck back against the rebels in Yemen and the U.S., Israel’s top ally, also launched a campaign of strikes in March against them.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed retribution for the airport attack: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them sevenfold.”

An Israeli official said the influential security Cabinet would meet on Sunday evening to vote on plans to expand the fighting. A military official said the country was calling up thousands of reserves. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, said he wanted to see a “powerful” expansion of the war, but did not disclose details as to what the new plans would entail.

“We need to increase the intensity and continue until we achieve total victory. We must win a total victory,” he said. He demanded that Israel bomb “the food and electricity supplies” in Gaza.

The plans to escalate fighting in Gaza more than 18 months after the war there erupted come as a humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens.

As part of its efforts to pressure the militant group Hamas to negotiate on Israel’s terms for a new ceasefire, Israel in early March halted the entry of goods into Gaza. That has plunged the territory of 2.3 million people into what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis since the war began.

An eight-week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that brought a lull in fighting and freed Israeli hostages collapsed in March. Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza on March 18 and has captured swaths of the coastal enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed, according to local health officials.

At least seven Palestinians including two parents and their two children, ages 2 and 4, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern and central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said. Asked about the strikes, the Israeli military had no direct comment.

The Israeli military said Sunday that two soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, bringing the number of soldiers killed since fighting resumed in March to six.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Israel says 59 remain in Gaza, although roughly 35 are said to be dead.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children according to Palestinian health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza’s population, often multiple times. Hunger has been widespread and the shortage of food has set off looting.

Tel Aviv: Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza while it was in international waters off Malta on Friday, the group organising the shipment said. A fire broke out but was brought under control, according to authorities.

A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience, which was carrying 12 crew members and four civilians, Malta’s government said, adding that those aboard refused to leave their ship.

The group was safe and no injuries were reported, it said.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship. It did not provide evidence of that or that the fire was caused by drones, but in a video it shared an explosion can be heard. Another video showed a fire blazing.

The Israeli army didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March, leading to what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis in nearly 19 months of war with Hamas.

Israel says it is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages it took during the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.

Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless.

When an aid flotilla attempted to break a blockade of Gaza in 2010, Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, killing nine people on board.

On Friday, the Conscience was hit about 26 kilometres from Malta, according to the Freedom Flotilla.

Charlie Andreasson, who has been involved with the group for more than a decade, told The Associated Press that he had spoken to people on board who said there were two explosions and a fire broke out.

Photos provided by the Cypriot authorities showed the ship with damage to its side. People on board the ship were not immediately reachable for comment.

Earlier the group said the strike appeared to have targeted the ship’s generator, causing a “substantial breach in the hull” and leaving it without power. It said that put the vessel at risk of sinking.

The incident comes as aid groups have warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of collapse.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday it will not have access to food, medicine, and life-saving supplies needed for many of its Gaza programmes if aid deliveries don’t resume immediately.

Programmes at risk include “common kitchens” that often give residents the only meal they receive each day and could be forced to halt operations in a few weeks, the ICRC said.

“Aid must be allowed to enter Gaza. Hostages must be released. Civilians must be protected,” it said. “Without immediate action, Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate.”

Damascus:  Israel’s air force struck near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday after warning Syrian authorities not to march toward villages inhabited by members of a minority sect in southern Syria.

The strike came after days of clashes between pro-Syrian government gunmen and fighters who belong to the Druze minority sect near the capital, Damascus. The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded.

Friday’s strike was Israel’s second on Syria this week, and attacking an area close to the presidential palace appears to send a strong warning to Syria’s new leadership that is mostly made up of Islamist groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

On Thursday, Syria’s Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri harshly criticized Syria’s government for what he called an “unjustified genocidal attack” on the minority community.

Early Friday, the Druze religious leadership said the community is part of Syria and refuses to break away from the country, adding that the role of the state should be activated in the southern province of Sweida and authorities should be in control of the Sweida-Damascus highway.

“We confirm our commitment to a country that includes all Syrians, a nation that is free of strife,” the statement said.

In the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, where fighting occurred earlier this week, security forces deployed inside the area along with local Druze gunmen, and at a later stage heavy weapons will be handed over to authorities. As part of the deal, forces from the defence ministry will deploy around Jaramana without going inside.

 

The Israeli army said that fighter jets struck adjacent to the area of the Palace of President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus. Its statement gave no further details.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strike was a message to Syrian leaders. “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow the deployment of forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community,” said the joint statement.

Pro-government Syrian media outlets said the strike hit close to the People’s Palace on a hill overlooking the city.

Over the past two days the Israeli military said it had evacuated Syrian Druze who were wounded in the fighting.

The Israeli army said in a statement Friday that a soldier was killed and three were lightly injured in an accident in the Golan Heights. An army statement added that the soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at the hospital and that the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

The clashes broke out around midnight Monday after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticising Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric. But cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio, which angered many Sunni Muslims.

Syria’s Information Ministry said 11 members of the country’s security forces were killed in two separate attacks, while Britain-based war monitor The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 56 people in Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana were killed in clashes, among them local gunmen and security forces.

The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria, largely in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus.

Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.

Washington: The US and Ukraine on Wednesday signed an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, finalising a deal months in the making that could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that President Donald Trump might scale back support in ongoing peace negotiations with Russia.

The two sides offered only barebone details about the structure of the deal, which they called the United States-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund. But it is expected to give the US access to Ukraine’s valuable rare earth minerals while providing Kyiv a measure of assurance about continued American support in its grinding war with Russia.

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.”

The announcement comes at a critical moment in the three-year war as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both sides. The signing comes two months after a different but similar agreement was nearly signed before being derailed in a tense Oval Office meeting involving President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump has long criticised Zelenskyy, saying he didn’t “have the cards” to win the war and blaming him for prolonging the killing by not giving up Crimea, but in recent days has rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin as well, saying he was complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching deadly strikes on Kyiv.

Trump said Wednesday night on NewsNation that the deal, “in theory,” means that the US will get more from Ukraine than it contributed. “I wanted to be protected,” he said, adding that he didn’t want to be looking “foolish” by not getting money back for the investment.

For Ukraine, the agreement is seen as key to ensuring its access to future US military aid.

“Truly, this is a strategic deal for the creation of an investment partner fund,” said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. “This is truly an equal and good international deal on joint investment in the development and restoration of Ukraine between the governments of the United States and Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, flew to Washington on Wednesday to help finalize the deal.

“Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment to our country,” she said in a post on X after the signing.

Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House — hours after Ukrainian officials indicated a deal was nearly finalised — that there was still work to do.

“The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes,” Bessent said when asked about reports that Ukraine was ready to agree to the pact. “We’re sure that they will reconsider that. And we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are.”

He didn’t elaborate as to the late changes he said Ukraine made.

The US has been seeking access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical to its interests, including some non-minerals such as oil and natural gas. Among them are Ukraine’s deposits of titanium, which is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, which is used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons. Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.

After Kyiv felt the initial US draft of the deal disproportionately favoured American interests, it introduced new provisions aimed at addressing those concerns.

According to Shmyhal, the latest version would establish an equal partnership between the two countries and last for 10 years. Financial contributions to a joint fund would be made in cash, and only new US military aid would count toward the American share.

Assistance provided before the agreement was signed would not be counted. Unlike an earlier draft, the deal would not conflict with Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership — a key provision for Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Cabinet approved the agreement Wednesday, empowering Svyrydenko to sign it in Washington. The deal still needs to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament before it can take effect.

The negotiations come amid rocky progress in Washington’s push to stop the war.

Putin backs calls for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, “but before it’s done, it’s necessary to answer a few questions and sort out a few nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin is also ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions to seek a peace deal, he added.

“We realise that Washington wants to achieve quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is far too complex to be done quickly,” Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters.

Trump has expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress in negotiations aimed at stopping the war. Western European leaders have accused Putin of stalling while his forces seek to grab more Ukrainian land.

Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory since Moscow’s forces launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Trump has long dismissed the war as a waste of lives and American taxpayer money — a complaint he repeated Wednesday during his Cabinet meeting. That could spell an end to crucial military help for Ukraine and heavier economic sanctions on Russia.

The US State Department on Tuesday tried again to push both sides to move more quickly and warned that the US could pull out of the negotiations if there’s no progress.

“We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict,” department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as telling her.

Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt to Ukraine’s mobilisation effort and Western arms supplies to Kyiv.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had accepted an unconditional truce only because it was being pushed back on the battlefield, where the bigger Russian forces have the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians have been killed or wounded in attacks every day this year, according to a UN report presented Tuesday in New York.

The UN Human Rights Office said in the report that in the first three months of this year, it had verified 2,641 civilian casualties in Ukraine. That was almost 900 more than during the same period last year.

Also, between April 1-24, civilian casualties in Ukraine were up 46 per cent from the same weeks in 2024, it said.

The daily grind of the war shows no sign of letting up. A nighttime Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, wounded at least 45 civilians, Ukrainian officials said.

Also Wednesday, the Ukrainian Security Service claimed its drones struck the Murom Instrument Engineering Plant in Russia’s Vladimir region overnight, causing five explosions and a fire at the military facility.

The claim could not be independently verified.