International
Israel/Hamas war: First hostages from Gaza to be released Friday
Israel/Hamas war: First hostages from Gaza to be released Friday
The start of a four-day truce agreement between Israel and Hamas that was supposed to take effect after nearly seven weeks of fighting is already being hampered by delays.
The agreement aims to release hundreds of hostages and allow aid into Gaza.
The actual start time of the truce, which was supposed to start on Thursday at 10 am (0800 GMT), remained unknown since Israel had not yet announced when it will stop its ground and air offensive in the coastal region.
According to an Israeli army spokesman, the procedure for bringing hostages back to Israel from the Gaza Strip is intricate and not yet finalized.
Daniel Hagari stated late on Wednesday that the military was getting ready to carry out this first part of the hostage exchange agreement.
However, the repatriation of the people abducted to the sealed-off coastal strip could take time and take place in several stages, he said.
“The release (of hostages) will begin according to the original agreement between the parties, and not before Friday,” Israel’s security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi was quoted by newspapers Haaretz and the Times of Israel and the N12 channel as saying.
“The talks on the release of our hostages are progressing and will continue on an ongoing basis.”
The first exchange of hostages kidnapped in Israel for Palestinian prisoners was initially expected to take place on Thursday.
The Times of Israel cited an Israeli official as explaining the delay by saying that both Israel and Hamas would have to sign a document ratifying the agreement for it to come into force.
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Haaretz reported that Israeli officials had said there would be no halt to the fighting as long as there is no finalized timeline for the agreement with Hamas.
The agreement foresees 100 hostages being released from Gaza in exchange for 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The Israeli Cabinet signed off on the deal early Wednesday after weeks of fraught negotiations mediated by Qatar and the United States.
The deal’s first step involves the release in stages of 50 Israeli women and children that have been held by militants in Gaza since the Oct 7 terrorist attack. In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be released.
In a second step, up to 50 further Israeli hostages are also to be exchanged in small groups for up to 150 further Palestinian prisoners.
The ceasefire is to be accompanied by larger aid deliveries for the suffering civilian population in the Gaza Strip, where food, water, electricity, and medical supplies are running scarce.
Israel said the ceasefire will last at least four days but could be extended by one day for every additional 10 hostages released.
A maximum of 10 days is planned for the entire exchange.
After that, the Israeli army’s fight against Hamas and other Islamist extremists in the Gaza Strip is to continue.
Terrorists from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups carried out unprecedented massacres in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 240 people hostage.
Of the 240 people who were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, four women have so far been released by Hamas.
One young soldier was rescued by the Israeli military.
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The army also found the bodies of two people.
It is unclear how many hostages are still alive.
Local media reported Israel will pass on a first list of names of hostages to be released.
Kidnapped mothers and children were not to be separated.
The Israeli government on Wednesday announced the names and details of the 300 imprisoned Palestinians who are eligible for release from prison.
On list are 123 people under the age of 18, with the youngest being 14.
According to the list, 33 prisoners are girls and women.
They are accused of throwing firebombs, arson, and knife attacks, among other offences.
No prisoners serving time for murder are set for release.
Once free, they are to return to the places where they lived before their imprisonment, such as the West Bank or East Jerusalem.
Shortly after the Oct. 7 attack Israel’s military launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and deployed ground troops with the aim of destroying Hamas.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 16,000 people have been killed so far.
The Israeli army said on Wednesday that soldiers have destroyed around 400 tunnel shafts since the start of the war.
Many of the tunnels used by Hamas were found under civilian hospitals, schools, and houses.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said more patients are to be evacuated from the ruined al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Fourteen ambulances, accompanied by staff from the UN and Doctors Without Borders, arrived at the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital on Wednesday.
Patients were to be taken to hospitals in the south, where conditions are relatively safer than in the north.
Israel/Hamas war: First hostages from Gaza to be released Friday
International
Just in: In assassination attempt, Slovakia’s Prime Minister shot multiple times
Just in: In assassination attempt, Slovakia’s Prime Minister shot multiple times
Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister, has been taken to hospital in a “life-threatening condition” after he was shot multiple times on Wednesday.
According to his official social media account, the 59-year-old leader was hit in the abdomen outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova.
Police have detained a suspect. There was no immediate information on the motive.
Reuters reported Zuzana Caputova, President of Slovakia, as condemning the “brutal and ruthless” attack on Fico.
She said in a televised statement, “A physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy.”
The Russian ambassador to Slovakia Igor Bratchikov also condemned the shooting of Fico.
“I strongly condemn this act of violence and express my conviction of the necessity of punishment for the perpetrators,” Bratchikov said in a letter to Fico that the Russian embassy shared on its Facebook page.
Fico, a third-time premier with the left-wing Smer (Direction) party, won Slovakia’s September 30 parliamentary elections, staging a political comeback after campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American message.
International
Updated: Three years after separation, Melinda resigns as co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Updated: Three years after separation, Melinda resigns as co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Melinda French Gates said on Monday she would resign as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that she helped lead for about 24 years.
In May 2021, the couple announced their plans to divorce after 27 years of marriage. Despite their breakup, they agreed to continue working together at the foundation.
But that other agreement has broken down too.
“After careful consideration and reflection, I have decided to step down from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” Melinda, 59, wrote in a statement on Instagram on Monday, May 13.
“My last day at the foundation will be June 7.”
As part of her separation agreement from former husband and founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, Melinda said she would receive additional $12.5 billion for her charitable work.
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According to her, she plans to put the funds in her next venture of helping women and their families.
“I will tell you more about what this will look like in the near future,” she added.
Melinda also said, “This is not a decision I came to lightly.
“I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”
Three years after separation, Melinda resigns as co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates
International
Man shoots stepmom trying to hug him during graduation ceremony
Man shoots stepmom trying to hug him during graduation ceremony
A woman has been shot by her stepson after she tried to hug him during a high school graduation ceremony.
The incident happened on Wednesday at Albuquerque in New Mexico, United States of America.
The man identified as Christian Bencomo, 21, is currently being held with no bail.
According to Fox News, Albuquerque Police Department (APD) said it received a call around 5 p.m. that shots were fired at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The media outlet report that authorities said the woman was attending the Southwest Secondary Learning Center graduation for her son.
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Her stepson arrived and “as she started to hug him, he produced a handgun and shot her in the neck,” police said.
APD Communications Director, Gilbert Gallegos, told the media at the scene there was a lot of chaos at the time.
Gallegos said there were over 100 people at the charter school graduation ceremony at the time, adding that the woman was rushed to a hospital and is expected to survive.
Bencomo was held by bystanders until the police arrived, the APD said.
According to jail records at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center, Bencomo has been charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm to a family member and preventative detention
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