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Leader Live
26 minutes ago
- Leader Live
At least 20 dead following latest Israel strikes on Gaza
The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks has dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Mr Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. In the latest round of strikes, at least 12 people died when tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, were hit, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told the Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead lying on the ground, according to footage shared by the health ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire – including calls to give up power and disarm.
Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump orders DoJ to speak to Ghislaine Maxwell about Epstein files
The Trump administration has asked to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein case. Todd Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, said the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the FBI had reached out to the British socialite and former girlfriend of the paedophile financier, who is currently serving a 20 year jail sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking. In a post shared by Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, Mr Blanche said: 'President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DoJ will hear what she has to say. 'Therefore, at the direction of Attorney General Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department. I anticipate meeting with Ms Maxwell in the coming days.' Mr Trump is facing the biggest crisis of his presidency over his administration's failure to release all information related to Epstein's case. The FBI and the DoJ sparked dismay among the president's Maga base earlier this month after concluding that the sex offender did not have a 'client list' and took his own life in a Manhattan prison cell in 2019. Conspiracy theorists, including many Trump voters, believe that Epstein was killed to prevent supposed information about high-profile 'clients' involved with the financier being made public. Mr Blanche said that no previous administration had made contact with Maxwell on behalf of the Department of Justice. 'That changes now,' he said. It comes after Alan Dershowitz, Epstein's former lawyer, described Maxwell as the 'Rosetta Stone' of the case. 'She knows everything. She is the Rosetta Stone. She knows everything. She arranged every single trip with everybody. She knows everything,' he told Fox News on Monday. He suggested she should be given legal immunity in exchange for talking freely about the case before Congress.
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
NY Times defends WSJ after White House ban from press pool: ‘simple retribution'
The New York Times is defending the Wall Street Journal after the Trump administration decided to bar the global outlet from the White House press pool following its investigative coverage of ties between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. In the public statement, a Times spokesperson said the White House's actions represented 'simple retribution by a president against a news organization for doing reporting that he doesn't like', warning that 'such actions deprive Americans of information about how their government operates'. 'The White House's refusal to allow one of the nation's leading news organizations to cover the highest office in the country is an attack on core constitutional principles underpinning free speech and a free press,' the spokesperson said. 'Americans regardless of party deserve to know and understand the actions of the president, and reporters play a vital role in advancing that public interest.' The Times' intervention follows the Trump administration's recent exclusion of the Wall Street Journal from accompanying the president on his trip to Scotland as part of the travel press pool following the publication of a story that alleged Trump sent a 'bawdy' birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. Their story claims that Trump at the time was part of a collective that sent Epstein birthday wishes in a leather-bound book, with his entry containing suggestive content and drawings of a naked woman. Trump has disputed the allegations and filed a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the publication, and the paper has stood by its reporting. White House Correspondents' Association president, Weijia Jiang, has also denounced the exclusion as 'deeply troubling' and an act of 'government retaliation' that undermines first amendment protections. But the banning represents just the latest version of the tactic in the Trump administration's evidently hostile relationship with the press since taking office earlier this year. In February, the White House blocked the Associated Press from the press pool after the news agency refused to adopt Trump's preferred terminology of 'Gulf of America' instead of the longstanding 'Gulf of Mexico' in its reporting. The administration has also assumed direct control of press pool assignments, a role traditionally managed by the White House Correspondent's Association, which enables a selective inclusion, and exclusion, of media outlets. Trump has also filed lawsuits against several major media companies, including CBS/Paramount, ABC News, and Meta, in addition to the Wall Street Journal action. All companies have settled their cases for millions of dollars.
