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Israeli strikes kill multiple civilians at shelters in Gaza combat zone, as Blinken seeks more aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli military strikes killed multiple civilians Saturday at a U.N. shelter and hospital in the main combat zone in the Gaza Strip as the assault intensified on the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers amid growing international uproar over the soaring death toll and deepening humanitarian crisis.Israel’s military has said it has encircled Gaza City, the target of its offensive to crush Hamas, but on Saturday offered a three-hour window for residents trapped by the fighting to flee south.The new attacks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region trying to find ways to ease the plight of the civilians caught in the fighting. He met with Arab foreign ministers on Saturday in Jordan, the day after talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted there can be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released. The Israeli military has repeatedly demanded that northern Gaza’s 1.1 million residents flee sou...

Analysis: New House Speaker Johnson caught up in ‘whirlwind’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters ahead of the debate and vote on supplemental aid to Israel, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(AP/J. Scott Applewhite) Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters ahead of the debate and vote on supplemental aid to Israel, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(AP/J. Scott Applewhite) For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.House Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t had much time to adjust to the demands of his new leadership post, amid war in the Middle East, a ...

Rashford misses United game after Ten Hag criticism for going to nightclub. Club says he’s injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was missing for the Premier League match against Fulham on Saturday, a day after manager Erik ten Hag criticized the player’s decision to go to a nightclub party after a derby loss to Manchester City.United said Rashford’s absence was down to a heavy knock to his leg in training and that he failed a fitness test before the game.Ten Hag had been unhappy with Rashford going to a nightclub for a pre-arranged birthday party hours after the 3-0 defeat to City on Sunday. Rashford turned 26 on Tuesday.“I spoke with him about it,” Ten Hag said Friday. “It’s unacceptable, I told him, he apologized and that’s it. For the rest it’s an internal matter.”Ten Hag repeated that it was an “internal matter” when asked if Rashford had been fined for the incident.Rashford was among the substitutes in the 3-0 loss to Newcastle in the League Cup on Wednesday, with Ten Hag saying that was due to rotation rather than punishment...

Thousands expected to march in DC in support of Palestine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

Thousands of people are expected to take part in a march in support of Palestine on Saturday afternoon in D.C.’s Freedom Plaza.Up to 30,000 people are expected to flood the streets of the District during the “National March on Washington: Free Palestine!” rally organized by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition.The purposes of the rally and march, according to the coalition, are to demand a cease-fire in the war, end federal aid to Israel and “end apartheid.”The “End the Siege in Gaza” rally will be from 2 to 4 p.m., then the march will begin, with demonstrators looping around the White House.WUSA9 reports that the coalition’s city permit outlines how marchers will leave Freedom Plaza, travelling north on 14th Street, then west on K Street to 17th Street and south on 17th Street to the White House, where they will demonstrate on a closed portion of Pennsylvania Avenue. The march route then continues to 15th Street, ...

Israel bombs ambulance convoy near Gaza’s largest hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

The Israeli army bombed a convoy of ambulances near the largest hospital in Gaza on Friday, an attack that “horrified” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The facility — Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City — is overcrowded with patients and serves as a refuge for some 20,000 displaced people, according to local health authorities.The attack resulted in 15 deaths and at least 60 wounded civilians, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS). In a statement, the PRCS said the convoy of five ambulances tried to transport casualties toward the Rafah border crossing, but was returning to the hospital because the road was blocked with rubble when it was targeted by two missiles.Israel acknowledged that it attacked an ambulance because it was used by the Hamas militia. The Israeli forces have been insisting on the evacuation of this hospital, claiming it houses the underground command center of the Islamist militants.The Gaza Strip — which is control...

The UN is in disarray over the Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

The state of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians is nearly as old as the United Nations. But it’s hardly ever caused as much havoc at the typically staid institution as it has in the last month.Israeli officials have called for the secretary-general to resign, a top human rights official stepped down with an angry letter invoking “genocide,” and diplomats on a paralyzed U.N. Security Council are upbraiding each other for being too soft on Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7.The frustration is palpable in Turtle Bay, the New York neighborhood home to the U.N. headquarters, diplomats and officials say. It courses through WhatsApp messages and the corridors. Informal meetings on totally unrelated topics inevitably turn toward the Middle East.And it’s getting worse as the body count rises — a number that already includes more than 70 U.N. employees.“You can feel that tension — it’s definitely a big crisis. The numbers are absolutely staggering,” said one diploma...

Toronto, GTA gas prices to drop Sunday and will hold until midweek

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

It will be a good few days for Toronto and GTA drivers when it comes to gas prices.Roger McKnight, Chief Petroleum Analyst with En-Pro International Inc., says the price of gas will drop three cents at midnight on Sunday, from 151.9 cents to 148.9 cents per litre at most Toronto and GTA locations.McKnight adds that this price will hold for Monday, November 6 and Tuesday, November 7. Related: Toronto & GTA Gas Prices It will be the lowest price since it dipped to 147.9 cents in October. Before that, though, the last time the gas price was that low was in May 2023 (147.9 cents per litre) and will match the lowest price of April 2023. The cheapest price was in March 2023, when it dipped to 139.9 cents a litre at most gas stations. Factors that can influence the pump price include: Seasonal changes Weather conditions Increased demand Geopolitical conflict Status of oil and gas reserves Refining capacity Value of the US dollar The...

Colorado Republican Ken Buck plans to challenge GOP’s direction under Trump as he leaves the House

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Ken Buck has had enough.When the Colorado Republican announced this past week that he would not seek reelection, he began with the type of criticism of Democratic policies that is standard fare for a hard-line conservative. But then Buck turned his ire to fellow Republicans, spending most of the three-minute announcement video accusing them of being “obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”Buck’s scorched-earth approach caught few on Capitol Hill by surprise.With a deadpan demeanor, an independent streak and a background as a federal prosecutor, Buck has gained national prominence as a House Republican fed up with Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and the Trump allies in Congress who amplify them. It’s a stand few others in the GOP are taking and is a remarkable turn that shows just how deeply Trump’s once-fringe lies about that race have settl...

Gov. Youngkin aims for a GOP sweep in Virginia’s legislative elections. Democrats have other ideas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — In a closing message to voters in this year’s closely watched Virginia legislative elections, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin ticks off accomplishments from the first half of his term. Tax cuts, law enforcement pay raises and more money for mental health services, Youngkin says in the political ad, adding that there’s so much more he wants to get done over his next two years in office.“Elect a Republican team to back me up and I promise, we’ll deliver,” Youngkin says.Unmentioned is what Democrats warn will happen if Republicans end two years of divided government: new restrictions on abortion, a rollback of gun control laws and recently expanded voting rights, and an agenda driven by divisive social issues.Voters could make their priorities clear Tuesday when they decide whether to give the GOP full control of state government for the first time in a decade or empower Democratic legislators to continue serving as a check on Youngkin’s priorities...

Israel’s military and Hezbollah exchange fire along the tense Lebanon-Israel border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

RMEISH, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes along the border with Lebanon Saturday as the militant Hezbollah group attacked several Israeli army posts, including one that was struck with two large rockets.The escalation came a day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his powerful group is already engaged in unprecedented fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border. He threatened a further escalation as Israel’s war in Gaza with Hamas, Hezbollah’s ally, nears the one-month mark. Hezbollah is prepared for all options, Nasrallah declared, “and we can resort to them at any time.” Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters attacked at least six Israeli posts along the border, saying “suitable rockets and weapons” were used. It added that “direct hits were scored and technical equipment was destroyed.”The Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV network reported that Hezbollah fired Saturday two Burkan rockets, which carry heavy warheads, at an Israeli post kno...