Australia news LIVE: Anthony Albanese brushes off claims Trump insulted him; RBA expected to slash rates; Trump to host Netanyahu for talks next Monday as US presses for Gaza ceasefire
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12.13pm
Dozens reportedly killed in strike on Gaza cafe as Netanyahu agrees to meet Trump
By Michael Koziol
Israeli forces killed at least 74 people in Gaza overnight, with airstrikes and gunfire that left multiple dead at a seaside cafe as Palestinians attempted to reach aid, witnesses and health officials said.
One airstrike hit a seaside cafe in Gaza City crowded with women and children, Ali Abu Ateila, who was inside Al-Baqa Cafe, said. 'Without a warning, all of a sudden, a warplane hit the place, shaking it like an earthquake,' he told the Associated Press.
Dozens were wounded, many critically, and 30 people were killed, the head of the Health Ministry's emergency and ambulance service in northern Gaza, Fares Awad, said.
It was one of only a few businesses to continue operating during the 20-month war in Gaza and was a gathering spot for residents seeking internet access and a place to charge their phones. Videos circulating on social media showed bloodied and disfigured bodies on the ground and the wounded being carried away in blankets.
Israeli forces also killed 11 people who had been seeking food in southern Gaza, according to witnesses, hospitals, and Gaza's Health Ministry.
It comes before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to Washington next week to meet with US President Donald Trump under the weight of heavy expectation for a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Trump, having helped broker a truce between Israel and Iran last week after the US bombed key Iranian nuclear facilities, has made clear that ending hostilities in the wartorn Palestinian territory is his next priority.
11.49am
Trump signs executive order ending US sanctions on Syria
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order ending many US economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to the country's new interim leader.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was designed to 'promote and support the country's path to stability and peace.'
'This is another promise made and promise kept,' she said.
The executive order is meant to 'end the country's isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanising investments from its neighbours in the region, as well as from the United States,' Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brad Smith, told reporters on Monday (Tuesday AEST) to preview the administration's action.
Monday's actions do not rescind sanctions imposed on ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad, his top aides, family members and officials who had been determined to have committed human rights abuses or been involved in drug trafficking or part of Syria's chemical weapons program.
It also leaves intact a major set of sanctions passed by the US Congress targeting anyone doing business with or offering support to Syria's military, intelligence or other suspect institutions. While the Trump administration has passed temporary waivers on those sanctions, they can only be permanently repealed by law.
Along with the lifting of economic sanctions, Monday's executive order lifts the national emergency outlined in an executive order issued by former US President George W. Bush in response to Syria's occupation of Lebanon and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, Treasury officials said. Five other previous executive orders related to Syria were also lifted.
Sanctions targeting terrorist groups and manufacturers and sellers of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon will remain in place.
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Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's national security and defence committee, called the decision to halt the shipments "very unpleasant for us". "It's painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine, it's a very unpleasant situation," Venislavskyi told reporters on Wednesday. However, last week Trump said he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, has been preparing a summer ground offensive, advancing gradually in the eastern region of Donetsk and northeastern region of Sumy. Ukraine was already experiencing a shortage of 155mm ammunition used for artillery on the front lines, said one Ukrainian defence source, calling the shortages and news of delays in US supplies "all quite sad". "At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces' readiness for administration defence priorities," said Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for policy. All weapons aid was briefly paused in February with a second, longer pause in March. The Trump administration resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Biden. No new policy has been announced. Politico reported the pause on Tuesday. The Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that US stockpiles are too low, two people familiar with the decision says. The slowing of some weapons shipments promised to Kyiv by former President Joe Biden's administration came in recent days, they said, adding that air defence interceptors to help knock down Russian drones and projectiles were among the items delayed. Russia has intensified air attacks on Ukraine's cities in recent weeks, on several nights launching hundreds of drones and missiles at a time, leading to widespread damage and an increase in civilian casualties. Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, he has softened Washington's position towards Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine and raising doubts about future US military support for Kyiv's war effort. Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's national security and defence committee, called the decision to halt the shipments "very unpleasant for us". "It's painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine, it's a very unpleasant situation," Venislavskyi told reporters on Wednesday. However, last week Trump said he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, has been preparing a summer ground offensive, advancing gradually in the eastern region of Donetsk and northeastern region of Sumy. Ukraine was already experiencing a shortage of 155mm ammunition used for artillery on the front lines, said one Ukrainian defence source, calling the shortages and news of delays in US supplies "all quite sad". "At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces' readiness for administration defence priorities," said Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for policy. All weapons aid was briefly paused in February with a second, longer pause in March. The Trump administration resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Biden. No new policy has been announced. Politico reported the pause on Tuesday. The Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that US stockpiles are too low, two people familiar with the decision says. The slowing of some weapons shipments promised to Kyiv by former President Joe Biden's administration came in recent days, they said, adding that air defence interceptors to help knock down Russian drones and projectiles were among the items delayed. Russia has intensified air attacks on Ukraine's cities in recent weeks, on several nights launching hundreds of drones and missiles at a time, leading to widespread damage and an increase in civilian casualties. Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, he has softened Washington's position towards Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine and raising doubts about future US military support for Kyiv's war effort. Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's national security and defence committee, called the decision to halt the shipments "very unpleasant for us". "It's painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine, it's a very unpleasant situation," Venislavskyi told reporters on Wednesday. However, last week Trump said he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, has been preparing a summer ground offensive, advancing gradually in the eastern region of Donetsk and northeastern region of Sumy. Ukraine was already experiencing a shortage of 155mm ammunition used for artillery on the front lines, said one Ukrainian defence source, calling the shortages and news of delays in US supplies "all quite sad". "At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces' readiness for administration defence priorities," said Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for policy. All weapons aid was briefly paused in February with a second, longer pause in March. The Trump administration resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Biden. No new policy has been announced. Politico reported the pause on Tuesday. The Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that US stockpiles are too low, two people familiar with the decision says. The slowing of some weapons shipments promised to Kyiv by former President Joe Biden's administration came in recent days, they said, adding that air defence interceptors to help knock down Russian drones and projectiles were among the items delayed. Russia has intensified air attacks on Ukraine's cities in recent weeks, on several nights launching hundreds of drones and missiles at a time, leading to widespread damage and an increase in civilian casualties. Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, he has softened Washington's position towards Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine and raising doubts about future US military support for Kyiv's war effort. Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's national security and defence committee, called the decision to halt the shipments "very unpleasant for us". "It's painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine, it's a very unpleasant situation," Venislavskyi told reporters on Wednesday. However, last week Trump said he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, has been preparing a summer ground offensive, advancing gradually in the eastern region of Donetsk and northeastern region of Sumy. Ukraine was already experiencing a shortage of 155mm ammunition used for artillery on the front lines, said one Ukrainian defence source, calling the shortages and news of delays in US supplies "all quite sad". "At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces' readiness for administration defence priorities," said Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for policy. All weapons aid was briefly paused in February with a second, longer pause in March. The Trump administration resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Biden. No new policy has been announced. Politico reported the pause on Tuesday.
