A pair of U.N. special rapporteurs criticized the Israeli military’s rescue operation in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day, saying it had caused too many civilian casualties and that its tactics were illegitimate.
Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian-controlled territories, tweeted that she was “relieved” four hostages had been “released.” However, she went on to state that the operation “should not have come at the expense of at least 200 Palestinians, including children, killed and over 400 injured by Israel and allegedly foreign soldiers, while perfidiously hiding in an aid truck.”
The figures cited by Albanese, who has a long-documented history of anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, including outright support for Hamas, come from the terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Health Ministry.
According to Israeli officials, the extraction force came under heavy fire during the operation, leading to a firefight in the heavily populated Nuseirat neighborhood. Hamas forces fired rocket-propelled grenades at the extraction teams and hostages from within civilian buildings, according to the IDF spokesperson.
The IDF has also disputed the claim that an aid truck was used during the operation, claiming that a civilian vehicle was used to transport soldiers into the camp.
Albanese went on to assert that “Israel could have freed all hostages, alive and intact, eight months ago when the first ceasefire and hostage exchange was put on the table. Yet, Israel refused in order to continue to destroy Gaza and the Palestinians as a people,” calling it “genocidal intent turned into action.”
The United States, which was deeply involved in the negotiations that led to the temporary ceasefire in November, confirmed that Hamas violated its terms.
U.S. President Joe Biden has also rejected accusations of genocide leveled at Israel over its campaign against Hamas.
Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, tweeted on Saturday that “Countries that celebrate the release of four Israeli hostages without saying a word about the hundreds of Palestinians killed and thousands held in arbitrary detention by Israel, have lost moral credibility for generations and don’t deserve to be on any U.N. human rights body.”
The U.N. Human Rights Council, which appoints special rapporteurs, has long been criticized for including some of the world’s worst human rights offenders, including current members such as China, Cuba and Eritrea.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres wrote on Saturday that he had “sent messages” to the families of rescued hostages Noa Argamani and Shlomo Ziv, whose families he met with last week, “to express my relief that they and two other hostages are now free.”
“I renew my appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to this war,” he added. JNS
The IDF reported the deaths of four soldiers from the Givati Brigade in the fighting in southern Gaza.
Major Tal Pshebilski Shaulov, 24, from Gedera, served as a company commander in the Givati Brigade and was killed in the battle in southern Gaza.
Staff Sergeant Eitan Karlsbrun, 20, from Modi’in Maccabim-Reut, was a member of the Givati Brigade and fell in the southern Gaza conflict.
Sergeant Almog Shalom, 19, from Kibbutz Hamadia, served in the Givati Brigade and died in the battle in southern Gaza.
Sergeant Yair Levin, 19, from Givat Harel, also fought in the Givati Brigade and was killed in southern Gaza.
Hashem yikom domom.
Umacha Hashem dimah me’al kol ponim.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Apple has jumped into the race to bring generative artificial intelligence to the masses, spotlighting a slew of features Monday designed to soup up the iPhone, iPad and Mac. And in a move befitting a company known for its marketing prowess, the AI technology coming as part of free software updates later this year is being billed as “Apple Intelligence.” Even as it tried to put its own stamp on technology’s hottest area, Apple tacitly acknowledged during its World Wide Developers Conference that it needs help catching up with companies like Microsoft and Google, which have emerged as the early leaders in AI. Apple is leaning on ChatGPT, made by the San Francisco startup OpenAI, to make its often-bumbling virtual assistant Siri smarter and more helpful. “All of this goes beyond artificial intelligence, it’s personal intelligence, and it is the next big step for Apple,” CEO Tim Cook said. Siri’s optional gateway to ChatGPT will be free to all iPhone users and made available on other Apple products once the option is baked into the next generation of Apple’s operating systems. ChatGPT subscribers are supposed to be able to easily sync their existing accounts when using the iPhone, and should get more advanced features than free users would. To herald the alliance with Apple, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sat in the front row of the packed conference, which was attended by developers from more than 60 countries. “Together with Apple, we’re making it easier for people to benefit from what AI can offer,” Altman said in a statement. Beyond allowing Siri to tap into ChatGPT’s storehouse of knowledge, Apple is giving its 13-year-old virtual assistant an extensive makeover designed to make it more personable and versatile, even as it currently fields about 1.5 billion queries a day. When Apple releases free updates to the software powering the iPhone and its other products this fall, Siri will signal its presence with flashing lights along the edges of the display screen. It will be able to handle hundreds of more tasks — including chores that may require tapping into third-party devices — than it can now, based on Monday’s presentations. Apple’s full suite of upcoming features will only work on more recent models of the iPhone, iPad and Mac because the devices require advanced processors. For instance, consumers will need last year’s iPhone 15 Pro or buy the next model coming out later this year to take full advantage of Apple’s AI package, although all the tools will work on Macs dating back to 2020 after that computer’s next operating system is installed. The AI-packed updates coming to the next versions of Apple software are meant to enable the billions of people who use the company’s devices to get more done in less time, while also giving them access to creative tools that could liven things up. For instance, Apple will deploy AI to allow people to create emojis, dubbed “Genmojis” on the fly to fit the vibe they are trying to convey. Apple’s goal with AI “is not to replace users, but empower them,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, told reporters. Users will also have the option of going into the device settings to turn off any AI tools they don’t want. Monday’s showcase seemed aimed at […]
As he campaigns for reelection, President Joe Biden frequently touts his work on student debt, pointing to the millions of people who received cancellation under his watch. Yet relatively few Americans say they’re fans of his work on the issue, even among those who have student loans. Three in 10 U.S. adults say they approve of how Biden has handled the issue of student loan debt, while 4 in 10 disapprove, according to a new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The others are neutral or don’t know enough to say. The outlook wasn’t much better for the Democratic president among those responsible for unpaid student loan debt, either for themselves or for a family member: 36% approve, while 34% disapprove. The poll reveals a deep divide over the issue of student debt relief even as Biden makes it a campaign priority. The president is pressing ahead with a new cancellation plan while he strives to energize young adults and Black and Hispanic Americans — groups that are more likely to prioritize student loan relief but have flagging approval for the president. After Biden’s first attempt at widespread student loan cancellation was struck down by the Supreme Court last year, he proposed a more targeted plan offering relief to certain categories of borrowers. The Biden administration has separately erased student debt for about 4 million people through existing programs. Asher Marshall was rooting for Biden’s first cancellation plan. It would have chipped away at his $52,000 in student loans. But in hindsight, Marshall says it’s clear Biden made a promise he couldn’t deliver without going through Congress. “He suggested something that sounded good to a lot of individuals in this country, but there was no way for it to move forward from the onset,” said Marshall, 33, of Jacksonville, Illinois. Marshall, an independent, still plans to vote for Biden as the “lesser of two evils,” but he questions whether cancellation will energize other Black voters, especially since Biden’s latest plan helps fewer borrowers than the first one. Melissa Mata feels let down by the president. The Houston resident has $14,000 in student loans from a program she never finished, and she could have used the help that Biden promised. Now she plans to sit out the November election or vote independent. “They make these promises to get votes, but they don’t deliver. So I think for me, I wouldn’t trust it,” said Mata, 34, a bookkeeper. Some others say Biden isn’t to blame. Samantha Kempf, a social worker in Howell, Michigan, has $78,000 in federal student loans from her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Kempf, a Democrat, was upset when Biden’s initial plan failed, but she doesn’t hold it against him. “It was the Supreme Court that shut him down,” said Kempf, 32. “I don’t blame him for it, because he at least made an attempt to get something approved.” Americans overall had a dimmer view on the Supreme Court’s handling of the issue, the poll found: 15% approve of its work on the issue and around one-quarter disapprove. About 4 in 10 adults think it is extremely or very important for the federal government to provide student debt relief. A similar share say it’s not too […]
Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and Donald Trump attorney, was processed Monday in the criminal case over the effort to overturn Trump’s Arizona election loss to Joe Biden, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office provided a mug shot but no other details. The office of the Clerk of the Superior Court for Maricopa County said Giuliani posted bond of $10,000 in cash. “Mayor Rudy Giuliani — the most effective federal prosecutor in U.S. history — will be fully vindicated,” said his spokesperson, Ted Goodman. ”This is yet another example of partisan actors weaponizing the criminal justice system to interfere with the 2024 presidential election through outlandish charges against President Trump and anyone willing to take on the permanent Washington political class.” Giuliani pleaded not guilty in May to nine felony charges stemming from his alleged role in the fake electors effort. He is among 18 people indicted in the Arizona case, including Trump attorneys John Eastman, Christina Bobb and Jenna Ellis. Former Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump 2020 Election Day operations director Michael Roman pleaded not guilty Friday in Phoenix to nine felony charges for their alleged roles in the scheme. The indictment alleges Meadows worked with other Trump campaign members to submit names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress in a bid to keep Trump in office despite his November 2020 defeat. Other states where criminal charges have been filed related to the fake electors scheme are Michigan, Nevada and Georgia. (AP)
Jurors will resume deliberations Tuesday in the criminal case against President Joe Biden’s son over a gun Hunter Biden bought in 2018 when prosecutors say he was in the throes of a crack cocaine addiction. Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before leaving the federal courthouse in Delaware Monday afternoon. They are weighing whether Hunter Biden is guilty of three felonies in the case pitting the younger Biden against his father’s Justice Department in the middle of the president’s reelection campaign. Prosecutors spent last week using testimony from his ex-wife, photos of Hunter Biden with drug paraphernalia and other tawdry evidence to make the case that he lied when he checked “no” on the form at the gun shop that asked whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs. “He knew he was using drugs. That’s what the evidence shows. And he knew he was addicted to drugs. That’s what the evidence shows,” prosecutor Leo Wise told jurors in his closing argument Monday. Hunter Biden’s substance abuse struggles after the 2015 death of his brother Beau are well-documented. But the defense has argued that he did not consider himself an “addict” when he bought the gun and checked “no” on the form that asked whether he was “an unlawful user” of drugs or addicted to them. Hunter Biden’s lawyers have sought to show he was trying to turn his life around at the time of the gun purchase, having completed a rehabilitation program at the end of August 2018. The defense called three witnesses, including Hunter’s daughter Naomi, who told jurors that her father seemed be improving in the weeks before he bought the gun. And the defense told jurors that no one actually witnessed Hunter Biden using drugs during the 11 days he had the gun before Beau’s widow, Hallie, found it in Hunter’s truck and threw it in a trash can. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell suggested that prosecutors were presenting circumstantial evidence like a magician might present a card trick, trying to get jurors to focus on one hand and ignore the other. “With my last breath in this case, I ask for the only verdict that will hold the prosecutors to what the law requires of them” — a verdict of not guilty, Lowell said in his final pitch to jurors. But prosecutors have shown jurors text messages sent in the days after the gun purchase in which Hunter Biden told Hallie he was waiting for a dealer and smoking crack. Hallie and Hunter briefly dated after Beau’s death. Prosecutors have also said they found cocaine residue on the pouch in which Hallie put the gun before tossing it in a trash can outside an upscale grocery store. First lady Jill Biden, the president’s brother James and other family members watched from the first row of the courtroom as the defense rested its case on Monday without calling Hunter Biden to the witness stand. The first lady has been in court almost every day since the trial began last week. Before the case went to the jury, the prosecutor urged jurors to focus on the “overwhelming” evidence against Hunter Biden and pay no mind to members of the president’s family sitting in the courtroom. “All of this is not evidence,” Wise said, extending […]
Rishi Sunak doesn’t know whether he’ll still be Britain’s prime minister the day after next month’s election. There’s nothing unusual about that. What is unusual is that he’s been forced to deny rumors he could quit even before polling day, amid alarm inside the governing Conservative Party over Sunak’s lackluster campaign. Sunak gets a chance — maybe one of his last — to change the narrative on Tuesday when he releases the Conservatives’ manifesto, a handbook of policies that forms each U.K. party’s blueprint for power. Despite gloomy polls and bruising headlines, Sunak insists the election is not a “foregone conclusion” and says resigning has not crossed his mind. “People are going to say what they’re going to say,” he told reporters on Monday. “The reality is I’m not going to stop going, I’m not going to stop fighting for people’s votes, I’m not going to stop fighting for the future of our country.” The Conservative manifesto is likely to include promised cuts to personal taxes, a chance for Sunak to repeat his claim that a government led by Labour’s Keir Starmer would raise taxes while a Conservative one would lower them. The Labour Party points out that the tax burden has risen to its highest level in decades during 14 years of Tory rule. On July 4 British voters will elect lawmakers to fill all 650 seats in the House of Commons, and the leader of the party that can command a majority — either alone or in coalition — will become prime minister. Sunak’s surprise decision to call a summer election — several months earlier than most people expected, even those in his own party — was intended partly to catch the opposition unprepared. But it’s the Conservatives who have seemed off-balance from the moment Sunak stood outside 10 Downing St. in the rain on May 22 to announce the start of the campaign. The Conservatives were already on the defensive after jettisoning two prime ministers without an election in quick succession in 2022: first Boris Johnson, felled by scandals, then Liz Truss, who rocked the economy with drastic tax-slashing plans and lasted just seven weeks in office. The party’s prospects worsened last week when populist firebrand Nigel Farage announced that he would run for Parliament at the helm of the right-wing party Reform U.K., vowing to be a “bloody nuisance” to the established parties. While Reform, with its anti-establishment and anti-immigration rhetoric, is aiming to attract disaffected voters from both Conservatives and Labour, it’s likely to take more votes from Sunak’s party. “The intervention of Farage has made it even less likely that Rishi Sunak will remain in Downing Street than was already the case — minimal though those prospects were,” said John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde. Sunak then flew home early from commemorations in France of the 80th anniversary of D-Day so he could resume campaigning. The photos of centenarian World War II veterans and an array of world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden attending the solemn ceremony on Omaha Beach without him were a publicity nightmare. Sunak quickly realized his error and apologized. Paul Goodman, a former Conservative lawmaker who is now a member of the House of Lords, said the irony is that apart from the D-Day gaffe, […]
Groups pushing tighter gun laws have been building political muscle through multiple elections, boosted by the outcry following mass shootings at schools and other public places, to say nothing of the nation’s daily gun violence. Now, gun-control advocates and many Democrats see additional openings created by hardline positions of the gun lobby and their most influential champion, former President Donald Trump. They also point to controversies surrounding the National Rifle Association, which has undergone leadership shuffles and membership declines after a key former executive was found to have expensed private jet flights and accepted vacations from group vendors. “It is a false choice to suggest that you have to be in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday in Maryland, where she spoke as part of a series of White House and campaign events focused on gun violence. President Joe Biden will speak Tuesday at a conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund. Biden’s campaign says gun control could be a motivating issue for suburban college-educated women who may be decisive in several key battlegrounds this fall. The campaign and its allies have already circulated clips of Trump saying, “We have to get over it,” after an Iowa school shooting in January and then telling NRA members in May that he “did nothing” on guns during his presidency. There have been 15 mass killings so far in 2024, according to data tracked by The Associated Press. A mass killing is defined as an attack in which four or more people have died, not including the perpetrator, within a 24-hour period. Asked for comment, the Trump campaign pointed to the former president’s previous statements promising no new gun regulations if he returns to the White House. Trump has spoken twice this year at NRA events and was endorsed by the group in May. He alleged that Biden “has a 40-year record of trying to rip firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.” His campaign and the Republican National Committee also announced the creation of a new “Gun Owners for Trump” coalition that includes gun-rights activists and those who work in the firearms industry. About 7 in 10 college-educated women who voted in the 2022 midterm elections supported stricter gun control laws, although less than 1 in 10 named it as the top problem facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of voters. An AP-NORC poll conducted in August 2023 found that about 6 in 10 independent voters said they wanted stricter gun laws. Only about one-third of Republicans wanted more expansive gun legislation while about 9 in 10 Democrats were in support. Biden White House gets high marks from gun-control advocates Biden and Harris highlight their action on gun policy, notably the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, a compromise brokered after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The law expanded background checks for the youngest gun buyers, tried to make it harder for domestic abusers to obtain weapons and allocated billions of dollars to programs intended to curb gun violence. It is the most sweeping federal gun legislation since a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons was signed in 1994; that ban expired a decade later. Biden also reenergized […]
A Wall Street Journal report has revealed messages penned by Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, to various Hamas terrorists and hostage deal mediators. According to the report, Sinwar recently wrote to Hamas officials negotiating a hostage deal, “We have the Israelis right where we want them.” In a message to Hamas leaders in Qatar, Sinwar presented as an example the civilian casualties during the Algerian war, affirming such casualties “are necessary sacrifices.” When the three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israel Air Force strike in Gaza in April, Sinwar affirmed both their deaths and that of other Palestinians would “infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honor.” Regarding civilian women and children being taken hostages by Palestinian mobs on October 7, the WSJ report cites his messages to negotiators as saying, “Things went out of control.” “People got caught up in this, and that shouldn’t have happened,” he claimed. Sinwar was also reportedly discontent with Hamas officials meeting with other factions in December to debate reconciliation after the war, which he labeled “shameful and outrageous.” He reportedly added, “As long as fighters are still standing and we have not lost the war, such contacts should be immediately terminated.” He further stated, “We have the capabilities to continue fighting for months.” Referring to a ground operation in Rafah, Sinwar wrote to Hamas leaders in Qatar that “Israel’s journey in Rafah won’t be a walk in the park.” The WSJ report also noted that Sinwar’s recent messages to Hamas allies illustrate an inclination to die while fighting. He equated the Gaza war to the battle of Karbala in Iraq, which occurred in the 7th century and in which the grandson of the prophet Muhammed was killed. “We have to move forward on the same path we started,” Sinwar said. “Or let it be a new Karbala.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops briefly violated the tense border earlier this week, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, as the rivals are embroiled in Cold War-style campaigns like balloon launches and propaganda broadcasts. Bloodshed and violent confrontations have occasionally occurred at the Koreas’ heavily fortified border, called the Demilitarized Zone. While Sunday’s incident happened amid simmering tensions between the two Koreas, observers say it won’t likely develop into another source of animosity as South Korea believes the North Koreans didn’t deliberately commit the border intrusion and North Korea also didn’t return fire. At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, some North Korean soldiers who were engaged in unspecified work on the northern side of the border crossed the military demarcation line that bisects the two countries, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Those North Korean soldiers carrying construction tools — some of them armed — immediately returned to their territory after South Korea’s military fired warning shots and issued warning broadcasts, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said North Korea had not conducted any other suspicious activities. South Korea’s military has assessed that the North Korean soldiers didn’t appear to have intentionally crossed the border because the site is a wooded area and MDL signs there weren’t clearly visible, Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon told reporters. Lee gave no further details. But South Korean media reports said that about 20-30 North Korean soldiers had entered South Korean territory about 50 meters (165 feet) after they likely lost their way. The reports said most of the North Korean soldiers were carrying pickaxes and other construction tools. The 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long, 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) -wide DMZ is the world’s most heavily armed border. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the border, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. It’s a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. On Sunday, South Korea resumed anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts from its border loudspeakers in response to the North’s recent launches of balloons carrying manure and rubbish across the border. South Korea said North Korea has installed its own border loudspeakers in response but hasn’t turned them on yet. North Korea has said its balloon campaign was in response to South Korean activists’ launches of their own balloons to drop propaganda leaflets critical of leader Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian rule, USB sticks with K-pop songs and South Korean drama shows, and other items in North Korea. North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its political system as most of its 26 million people have no official access to foreign news. On Sunday night, Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, warned of “a new response” if South Korea continued its loudspeaker broadcasts and refused to stop civilian leafletting campaigns. The tit-for-tat over speakers and balloons — both Cold War-style psychological warfare — have deepened tensions between the Koreas as talks over the North’s nuclear ambitions have remained stalled for years. (AP)
The main shipping channel into Baltimore’s port has fully reopened to its original depth and width following the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which blocked most maritime traffic into the harbor. Officials announced the full reopening in a news release Monday evening. It comes after a massive cleanup effort as crews removed an estimated 50,000 tons of steel and concrete from the Patapsco River. The channel was blocked by wreckage of the fallen bridge, which collapsed after a container ship lost power and crashed into one of its supporting columns, sending six members of a roadwork crew plunging to their deaths. All of the victims were Latino immigrants working an overnight shift to fill potholes on the bridge. The Port of Baltimore, which processes more cars and farm equipment than any other in the country, was effectively closed for several weeks while the wreckage was removed. Crews were able to reopen portions of the deep-draft channel in phases, restoring some commercial traffic in recent weeks. On May 20, the wayward cargo ship Dali was refloated and guided back to port. The vessel had been stuck amid the wreckage for almost two months, with a massive steel truss draped across its damaged bow. After the Dali was moved, crews opened a channel that was 50 feet (15 meters) deep and 400 feet (122 meters) wide. The full federal shipping channel is 700 feet (213 meters) wide, which means two-way traffic can resume, officials said. They said other additional safety requirements have also been lifted because of the increased width. Thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners have seen their jobs impacted by the collapse, prompting local and state officials to prioritize reopening the port and restoring its traffic to normal capacity in hopes of easing the economic ripple effects. The announcement Monday means the commerce that depends on the busy port can begin ramping back up. Officials said a total of 56 federal, state and local agencies participated in the salvage operations, including about 500 specialists from around the world who operated a fleet of 18 barges, 22 tugboats, 13 floating cranes, 10 excavators and four survey boats. “I cannot overstate how proud I am of our team,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore district commander for the Army Corps of Engineers. “It was incredible seeing so many people from different parts of our government, from around our country and all over the world, come together in the Unified Command and accomplish so much in this amount of time.” In a statement Monday, Pinchasin also acknowledged the loss of the victims’ families. “Not a day went by that we didn’t think about all of them, and that kept us going,” she said. The Dali lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka in the early hours of March 26. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found it experienced power outages before starting its voyage, but the exact causes of the electrical issues have yet to be determined. The FBI is also conducting a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the collapse. (AP)
The military has announced that four Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday by an explosion in a booby-trapped building in Rafah, southern Gaza. The fallen soldiers are: – Maj. Tal Pshebilski Shaulov HY’D, 24, from Gedera – Staff Sgt. Eitan Karlsbrun HY’D, 20, from Modiin – Sgt. Almog Shalom HY’D, 19, from Hamadia – Sgt. Yair Levin HY’D, 19, from Givat Harel They all served in the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit. An initial IDF investigation reveals that the troops had thrown an explosive device into a suspicious home in Rafah’s Shaboura neighborhood to trigger any possible traps. When there was no immediate blast, they entered the three-story building. As two soldiers entered, it exploded, causing part of the building to collapse on some of the soldiers. A tunnel shaft found inside the home suggests it likely belonged to a Hamas operative. In addition to the four soldiers killed, another seven were wounded, including five seriously, according to the IDF. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Soldiers are searching mountainous forests near a city in northern Malawi after a military plane carrying the country’s vice president and a former first lady went missing in the area Monday, President Lazarus Chakwera said. The plane carrying 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima, former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri and eight others left the southern African nation’s capital, Lilongwe, at 9:17 a.m. and had been expected to land 45 minutes later at Mzuzu International Airport, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north. But air traffic control told it to not attempt a landing and to turn around because of bad weather and poor visibility, Chakwera said in an address broadcast live on state TV channel MBC. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar a short time later, he said. “I know this is a heartbreaking situation. I know we are all frightened and concerned. I too am concerned,” Chakwera said. “But I want to assure you that I am sparing no available resource to find that plane. And I am holding onto every fiber of hope that we will find survivors.” Mzuzu is Malawi’s third biggest city and the capital of the northern region. It lies in a hilly, forested area dominated by the Viphya mountain range, which has vast plantations of pine trees. The president vowed that search operations would continue through the night and said authorities using telecommunications towers tracked the last known position of the plane to a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius in one of the plantations. That area was the focus of the Malawi Defense Force search and rescue operation, he said. “I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found,” Chakwera said. Chakwera said the U.S., the U.K., Norway and Israel offered assistance in the search operation and had provided “specialized technologies” that the president hoped would help find the plane sooner. Chakwera said Dzimbiri, the ex-wife of former President Bakili Muluzi, was also one of the passengers. The group was traveling to attend the funeral of a former government minister. Three of those onboard were the military crew flying the plane, the president said. Chakwera asked Malawians to pray for all those onboard and their families. Chilima has been vice president since 2020. He was a candidate in the 2019 Malawian presidential election and finished third. That vote was won by incumbent Peter Mutharika but was annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court because of irregularities. Chakwera finished second in that election. Chilima then joined Chakwera’s campaign as his running mate in an historic election rerun in 2020, when Chakwera was elected president. It was the first time in Africa that an election result that was overturned by a court resulted in a defeat for the sitting president. The vice president had been facing corruption charges over allegations that he received money in return for influencing the awarding of government contracts, but prosecutors dropped the charges last month. That led to criticism that Chakwera’s administration was not taking a hard enough stance against graft. Chilima was arrested in late 2022 and made several court appearances, but the trial has yet to start. He has denied the allegations. (AP)
A heartwarming scene unfolded at Five Towns Premier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Monday as a large crowd gathered to welcome Yonatan, an IDF soldier who had been grievously wounded in the Gaza Strip. Yonatan suffered severe injuries and underwent initial surgery in Israel, but due to the overwhelming number of casualties from the war, his necessary follow-up surgeries were put on hold. In a remarkable display of compassion, a doctor at Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, NJ, learned of Yonatan’s situation and generously offered to take him on as a patient. Now, as Yonatan requirs rehabilitation, Five Towns Premier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was contacted and kindly agreed to admit him. Hatzalah was contacted and arranged for an ambulance to transport Yonatan to the rehab facility, while Achiezer coordinated a joyous gathering to welcome him. The crowd that gathered at Five Towns Premier included community members, local leaders, and supporters, all eager to show their appreciation and support for Yonatan’s service and sacrifice.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Hamas is moving the hostages around from one apartment to another in order to keep their location hidden. Other hostages are believed to be in tunnels. According to the report, a “fusion cell” was quietly formed in Israel after the October 7th assault, where US and Israeli intelligence and military analysts share imagery from drones and satellites and communications intercepts that may shed light on the hostages’ locations. However, the chances of additional rescue operations are slight. The location of many of the hostages is unknown. Additionally, Hamas is likely to move any additional hostages being held in apartments into tunnels. “One must remember that the release of the four hostages is ultimately a tactical achievement that does not change the strategic aspect,” said Avi Kalo, a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli reserves who once led a military intelligence department that dealt with prisoners of war and missing people. “Hamas still has dozens of hostages, the vast majority of whom, if not all, will not be released in operations, but can be rescued only as part of a cease-fire deal.” Sadly, since October 7th, 43 hostages have been declared dead. Israeli officials think that less than 60 are still alive. US officials say there are five US citizens still alive and three bodies of Americans being held by Hamas. A small group of hostages are being used as human shields for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. According to NYT, Sinwar is believed to be currently hiding under Khan Younis but the tunnel network there is vast and neither the US nor Israel can determine his precise location. Hamas leaders have ordered their terrorists that in the case of Israeli forces approaching, the first thing they should do is shoot the captives. The US military has flown surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip since right after the Oct. 7 attack to aid in hostage rescue efforts. The report quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that US and British drones have been able to gather intelligence that Israeli drones cannot collect. Although the US drones have the same sensors as the Israeli and British ones, “the sheer numbers of American aircraft means that more territory can be surveilled more frequently and for longer periods.” Officials added that although drones can’t map out Hamas’s tunnel network -Israel is using highly classified ground-based sensors to do that – their infrared radar can detect the heat signatures of terrorists or other people going into or out of tunnel entrances on the surface. Intelligence sharing between the United States and Israel related to the war in Gaza initially focused on hostage-recovery efforts, but over time the collaboration expanded, three current or former senior U.S. officials said. “They are part of the largest intelligence effort ever conducted in Israel, and probably ever,” Colonel Kalo said of the Americans and the British.
Police have released dramatic footage of the rescue operation for hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, conducted by the elite Yamam unit and Shin Bet agents in central Gaza’s Nuseirat on Saturday. The video captures Yamam officers storming the residence of “Journalist” Abdallah Aljamal who worked for the Palestine Chronicle. (He had written his last article on Thursday.). Abdallah had been holding the three Israeli men hostage. In the footage, the hostages identify themselves to the officers before being extracted while under fire. During the intense fighting at Aljamal’s home, Yamam officer Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora HY”D was tragically killed. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
It wasn’t an easy night at Sheba Medical Center for the hostages rescued in the daring and miraculously successful operation on Shabbos. Although initial reports said that the hostages’ medical condition was good, subsequent reports revealed a much more complex picture. Although the hostages appear healthy, they are suffering from malnutrition and are in a compromised psychological state. Kan News reported that the three male hostages who were held together, Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, and Almog Meir Jan – formed extremely tight bonds with each other. Even after their release, in the hospital, the three were constantly looking out for each other and it’s clear that after eight months in captivity together they still need each other’s support. They endured extremely difficult moments together, with some captors treating them more harshly than others. At some of the places they stayed, they were blindfolded. The three may also be suffering from Stockholm syndrome to a certain degree. They reported that some of the captors cared about their welfare but in the same sentence, spoke about abuses they endured. Almog said that on his birthday, his captors cynically presented him with a birthday cake. Almog’s mother, Orit Meir, said in a press conference on Monday that her son learned Arabic and Russian during his captivity – Arabic from Al Jazeera and Russian from his fellow hostage Andrey, who made aliyah only months before he was abducted and spoke limited Hebrew. She added that “his relationship with the other hostages is what really helped to keep his hopes and spirits up. The connection gave them lots of koach and that’s what strengthened them during captivity. They didn’t lose hope until they were rescued. They constantly felt that the day would come, that they would return home.” Their emotional and psychological recovery will be a slow process as it will take time for them to process their experiences and return to a fully functional life. Dr. Itai Pesach, the director of Sheba Hospital, said that they are suffering from severe nutritional deficiencies and they will need many months of psychological and medical support Channel 13 reported that Shlomi Ziv told his relatives that he learned Arabic from Al Jazeera and said they were forced to read the Koran and pray every day. The three also said that they were moved several times from place to place and they ate mostly carbohydrates. The hostages were unaware of almost anything that had happened in Israel since October 7th and finding out the details has been shocking and painful for them.
The responsibility to accept a deal that would return all of the hostages is on Hamas, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday during a meeting in Israel.
Blinken “commended Israel’s readiness to conclude a deal,” per a U.S. State Department readout of the Monday meeting.
The State Department referred to the deal as a “proposal to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal, secure the release of all hostages and surge humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.”
Blinken stressed that the deal “would advance Israel’s long-term security interests, including by enabling the possibility of further integration in the region,” the department said, noting that the U.S. official “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of its Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, wrote that it was “not a savvy move” for Blinken or for Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot to meet in Israel after the latter two quit the Israeli War Cabinet.
“Despite the resignation of Gantz and Eisenkot, Blinken is also meeting with them, making the duo appear like U.S. agents,” Doran wrote. “Not a savvy move for him or them. They all misread the situation.”
Blinken was asked about meeting with Gantz during a press conference at Cairo International Airport in Egypt on Monday.
“On virtually every trip to the region, including in Israel, I’ve met with leaders in Israel, whether part of the government or not part of the government, and Benny Gantz is someone for whom I have deep respect,” the U.S. secretary said.
“The decisions that the Israelis make about their government, who’s in, who’s out—those are decisions for Israelis to make, not for us,” Blinken said. “But I’ll continue to meet with Mr. Gantz and others who lead major political parties in Israel and who are going to be critical to the path forward.”
{Matzav.com}
Moderna’s combined coronavirus-influenza shot produced a higher immune response in older adults than separate vaccines for those viruses administered together, according to data the company released Monday.
The promising results from clinical trials, which have yet to be peer reviewed and published in a medical journal, could offer a new option to boost paltry uptake of updated coronavirus vaccines.
Moderna officials say the earliest that the combined vaccine could hit the market is fall 2025, pending regulatory approval.
Here’s what you need to know:
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What did the trials find?
Moderna has been examining the effectiveness of a new mRNA vaccine containing components of its flu and next-generation coronavirus vaccines in people between 50 and 64 years old, and people 65 and older. Researchers compared outcomes from that vaccine to co-administering existing flu shots and Moderna’s individual coronavirus vaccine.
In both age groups, the combined vaccine elicited statistically significant higher immune responses against three influenza strains and coronavirus, Moderna said in a news release.
The phase 3 clinical trial involved cohorts of about 4,000 people in each age group and is randomized and observer-blind, meaning the researchers monitoring participants did not know which vaccine they received. Older people are at higher risk of severe disease and death from respiratory viruses.
Moderna also said the trials showed an “acceptable” safety profile with typical side effects such as pain at the injection site, fatigue and headaches.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax, the other licensed manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines in the United States, are also developing combined vaccines, but Moderna is further along in releasing data.
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Why is a combined vaccine significant?
Moderna said its combined vaccine would improve coverage rates and reduce barriers to vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 22.9 percent of adults received the most recent coronavirus vaccine, compared to 48.5 percent receiving an annual flu shot.
“There’s such a large gap between what the CDC recommends we do and what we are actually able to achieve each year,” said Jacqueline Miller, Moderna’s senior vice president who leads development of vaccines against infectious diseases.
Miller compared a combined covid-flu shot to pediatric DTaP vaccination, which she said protected more children against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis by offering combined shots.
Experts say providing protection against flu and covid in one shot can be a sound public health strategy.
“As a physician and a patient, I would prefer to get one vaccine that has both of them,” said Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “It’s less time getting stuck, and you don’t have to keep thinking about, ‘When do I get this vaccine and when do I get that vaccine.’”
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What’s the latest with coronavirus vaccines?
Federal health officials are focused on updating and administering coronavirus vaccines as an annual shot released in the fall as part of a broader seasonal respiratory virus protection strategy. They have also recommended second shots for people ages 65 and older and immunocompromised people.
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended last week that vaccine manufacturers update coronavirus vaccines in fall to target the JN.1 variant that was the most common version of the virus circulating for much of the year.
“Covid has now joined the pantheon of respiratory viruses that can cause you to be hospitalized and die,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Moderna officials say a combined vaccine could be updated annually to match federal recommendations for which formulas to use for both flu and coronavirus.
(c) Washington Post
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