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Israel Forces Fire On Gazans Rushing For Food Aid

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Israeli forces in war-torn Gaza opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic melee on Thursday that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people.

The Israeli military said a “stampede” occurred when thousands of desperate Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it “posed a threat”.

The Gaza health ministry condemned what it called a “massacre” in Gaza City in which 112 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.

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The incident adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war which the ministry earlier Thursday said had topped 30,000, and dampens hopes a truce deal between Israel and Hamas militants could be just days away.

There were conflicting reports on what exactly unfolded in the hours before dawn.

A witness in Gaza City, declining to be named for safety reasons, said violence unfolded when thousands of people rushed towards aid trucks at the city’s western Nabulsi roundabout, and soldiers fired at the crowd “as people came too close” to tanks.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military had fired “a few warning shots” to try to disperse a crowd that had ambushed the aid trucks.

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When the crowd got too big, he said the convoy tried to retreat and “the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured”.

Aerial images released by the Israeli army showed what it said were scores of Gazans surrounding aid trucks in Gaza City.

Ali Awad Ashqir, who said he had gone to get some food for his starving family, told AFP he had been waiting for two hours when trucks began to arrive.

“The moment they arrived, the occupation army fired artillery shells and guns,” he said.

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The army spokesman Hagari later denied Israeli forces carried out any shelling or strikes at the time.

‘Another day from hell’
US President Joe Biden said Washington was checking “two competing versions” of the incident, while a State Department spokesman said the United States had been in touch with Israel and was “pressing for answers” on what happened.

The shooting incident would complicate efforts to broker a truce, Biden said, later admitting that any deal was unlikely to happen by Monday — the timeline that he had predicted earlier this week.

The US president spoke with Qatari and Egyptian leaders in separate phone calls, the White House said, saying he discussed both the ceasefire and the “tragic and alarming” aid incident.

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The UN Security Council will hold a closed-door emergency meeting on the incident on Thursday afternoon.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned what it called the “targeting” of unarmed civilians, while Kuwait and the UAE also issued condemnations.

Qatar warned that Israel’s “disregard for Palestinian blood… (will) pave the way for an expanding cycle of violence”.

Italy called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to facilitate more humanitarian aid.

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Looting of aid trucks has previously occurred in northern Gaza, where desperate residents have taken to eating animal fodder and even leaves to try to stave off starvation, as aid groups warn of looming famine after nearly five months of war.

The chief of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said that no UN agency had been involved in Thursday’s aid delivery, and called it “another day from hell”.

Truce hopes
The war began on October 7 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.

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Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed 30,035 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.

Israel’s military says 242 soldiers have died in Gaza since ground operations began in late October.

Washington, a key ally of Israel, has been pushing for a reduction in civilian casualties and a ceasefire.

It has been working with mediators from Egypt and Qatar to seek a six-week pause in the war.

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Negotiators had hoped a truce could begin by around March 10 or 11 when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, depending on the lunar calendar.

The proposals reportedly include the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza by militants in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Short of the complete withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see Israeli forces leave “cities and populated areas”, allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.

Fears of famine
The World Food Programme has said Israel has blocked access for aid deliveries — which Israeli officials have denied — and warned that if nothing changes, “a famine is imminent in northern Gaza”.

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As fighting continued in Gaza, Muhammad Yassin, 35, battled to find flour in Zeitun.

“We have not eaten a loaf of bread for two months,” he said. “Our children are starving.”

In the south, nearly 1.5 million people trying to flee the fighting are now packed into Rafah city, also short of food, as Israel threatens to send in troops against Hamas fighters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure to bring the remaining hostages home.

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A group of 150 Israelis have started a four-day march from Reim, near the Gaza border, to Jerusalem, calling for the government to reach a deal.

Violence has also surged in the occupied West Bank, where two Israelis were killed on Thursday.

AFP

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Trump kicks against Harris taking over Biden campaign funds

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, on Tuesday, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, saying that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris could not legally take over funds raised by President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

Biden, an 81-year-old Democrat who was in a tight race with Republican challenger Donald Trump, endorsed Harris when he ended his reelection bid on Sunday.

Harris quickly took control of Biden’s campaign accounts and on Monday night wrapped up the nomination by winning pledges from a majority of the delegates who at next month’s party convention will determine the nominee, according to her campaign.

The fight over the accounts, which had roughly $95 million in the bank at the end of June, is part of a multi-pronged effort by Republicans to stymie Harris’ bid to lead the Democratic ticket.

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The Trump campaign argued that Harris undertook a “brazen money grab,” according to the filing by David Warrington, the campaign’s general counsel. In the filing, which Reuters said it saw, Warrington said Harris was in the process of committing what he described as the “the largest campaign finance violation in American history.”

Saurav Ghosh, a lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan watchdog group, has said that because Harris was already part of “Biden for President” as the vice presidential candidate, her claim on the money should be secure.

In any case, election regulators are unlikely to resolve the issue before the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The FEC said they were unable to comment on unresolved enforcement matters.

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris laid out her argument against Donald Trump at the first rally of her presidential campaign on Tuesday, while a new poll showed her with a slight lead over her Republican rival.

Harris’ campaign has said it had raised $100 million since Sunday, when Biden stepped back from the campaign and endorsed her – exceeding Biden’s remaining tally in just a few days. Her campaign brushed off the FEC complaint.

“Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal claims – like the ones they’ve made for years to try to suppress votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we sign up volunteers, talk to voters, and win this election,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Charles Kretchmer Lutvak.

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Sierra Leone Court Sentences 11 Soldiers, Policemen For Failed Military Coup

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Two female police officers were also sentenced. Ramatu Kamanda Conteh received a 30-year sentence for harboring Koita.

Ahigh court in Sierra Leone has sentenced 11 people, including soldiers and police officers, to lengthy prison terms for their role in a failed military coup attempt last year.

The court’s verdict follows an attack on November 26, 2023, when gunmen targeted multiple military barracks and a prison, freeing about 2,200 inmates and killing over 20 people.

Reuters reports that, after the failed coup attempt, 12 people were charged with treason in January.

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However, on Monday, 11 people were convicted in a unanimous jury verdict on 20 counts, including treason, murder, and unauthorized use of military uniforms.

The twelfth accused, Bai Mahmoud Bangura of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, is being tried separately due to health concerns.

Amadu Koita Makalo, a retired army major and former bodyguard to ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma, was sentenced to multiple terms totaling 40 to 70 years in prison, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

Two female police officers were also sentenced. Ramatu Kamanda Conteh received a 30-year sentence for harboring Koita.

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The government said the coup bid was led mostly by bodyguards to Koroma, who was later charged with four related offences, before the government decided to let him leave the country on medical grounds.

However, Koroma condemned the coup attempt and his lawyers called the charges “trumped up” and part of a “political vendetta”.

Tensions have resurfaced in Sierra Leone, nearly two decades after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that claimed over 50,000 lives.

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Trump Shooter Searched Online For Info On John F. Kennedy Assassination A Week Before Rally, FBI Says

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Despite gaining access to Crooks’ electronic devices, including his cellphone, investigators have yet to uncover any significant information regarding his motive or ideology.

FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday that the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13 had conducted a disturbing Google search about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy just one week prior to the shooting.

The FBI said it was still working to determine the motive behind 20-year-old Thomas Crooks’ actions, which resulted in the death of one attendee and injuries to Trump and two others, CBS News reports.

Despite gaining access to Crooks’ electronic devices, including his cellphone, investigators have yet to uncover any significant information regarding his motive or ideology.

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Wray’s testimony highlighted the complexity of the case, as authorities strive to understand the reasoning behind Crooks’ violent actions. The investigation remains ongoing, with the FBI exploring all possible leads to shed light on this disturbing incident.

A chilling discovery was made on a laptop linked to Crooks. A search history revealed a disturbing query made on July 6, exactly one week before the Pennsylvania rally: “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”

This eerie search suggests Crooks may have been drawing inspiration from the infamous assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.

Oswald fatally shot Kennedy from a sixth-floor perch at the Texas Schoolbook Depository in Dallas, with the Warren Commission later determining the distance between the two to be approximately 265.3 feet at the time of the deadly shot.

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This striking search term stands out as a significant finding in the investigation, potentially offering a glimpse into Crooks’ motivations or mindset leading up to the attack. As authorities continue to probe the circumstances surrounding the shooting, this haunting query raises more questions about the influences and intentions behind Crooks’ actions.

Crooks fired shots from a rooftop approximately 400 feet away from the target.

The gunfire struck Trump in the ear and injured rally attendees.

According to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony at Wednesday’s hearing, Crooks wielded an AR-style rifle and left behind a trail of evidence, including eight spent bullet cartridges found on the roof.

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